Reading Response: Writing an Artist's Statement
1. A writer might choose to make the Author's Statement take the form of a Director's Commentary or a one-page Artist's Statement. As the Author's Statement reflects the genre of the composition, a song may be appropriate when the composition is a song or some other musical form. From my understanding, all forms could potentially work as a Statement, depending on one's composition genre; if there were any form that would not work, it would be one that did not reflect the composition's genre because this is the Statement's purpose.
2. (1) Michael Kipp convinces the audience that practicing gratitude can make us happier by promoting the idea that we make choices about how we perceive experience, so if one practices gratitude, one will be happier.
(2) Latent audiences could be people who are interested in art, psychology, philosophy, those who appreciate the abstract, and those who may be persuaded to think about how a grateful attitude could be greater than objectivity.
(4) It might be an inappropriate decision to use pathos in an Artist's Statement because the purpose of the Statement is essentially to provide justification for decisions made in the composition. There would be no need to persuade, which is what pathos serves to do. It might be appropriate if the Artist Statement's intention is to follow the composition's genre because the Statement generally reflects the composition.
(5) Utilizing visuals would enhance Kipp's Artist Statement because the audience would have clear examples and therefore support for his recollection of the composition. He might incorporate visuals in the section where he mentions his collage, specifically when talking about pathos, the landscape, and the arms.
(9) Kipp's piece would be strengthened with the use of subheads. The sections would consist of what he addressed about his composition, such as Intro, Audience, Rhetorical Appeals, Research, Images, and Conclusion.
(10) Kipp's research serves in providing second opinions and ultimately support, or evidence, for his claims made in his piece.
#LiveTweetingTrevorNoah
1. What are the advantages and constraints of using comedy as a genre? (Why does comedy work the way it does? When does it not work for you?) How would you describe Trevor Noah’s style as a comedian, compared to other comedians or cultural critics you know? What does he do to try to connect with his audience, or to affect his audience? (Always point to specific examples.) What most struck you about his sketch?
The well-known reason for why comedy is such an effective genre is because satire is an effective tool for societal criticism. Though the advantages offset the constraints, a constraint might be not being able to dive into why the social issue being addressed truly is detrimental and not being able to use pathos. Comedy is effective because it allows one to address a typically awkward situation with light-heartedness. It does not work, however, whenever I am addressing a very touchy subject. I would describe Trevor Noah's style as more personal because he utilizes his youth and minority status to connect to the younger population as well as be an example to the older and more privileged one. He brings in personal examples in order to poke fun at himself once the sensitive part of topic is approached. This is evident, for example, when he addresses awkward situations he has been in because he is black, such as "not being black enough". The most shocking part of his sketch for me was probably whenever he began to address how he grew up with parents of different races who were not able to be open about their relationship; this would be difficult for a child to grow up witnessing, and he utilized the situation as an example to point out the inequality still present in society, even American society, today.
2. Besides racial tensions, Trevor Noah addressed U.S. imperialism and gender inequality. The article I found over the weekend, "How I Feel When Men Tell Me to Smile", is distinct from Trevor Noah's account because it does not utilize comedy, but it does utilize personal examples as the author is a woman who has been affected by female objectification and takes it seriously. Because the article addresses how women are perceived physically, my research question could potentially be about a prominent female political figure who has been judged by her appearance as opposed to her policies. My question could be, "How do comments about Carly Fiorina's physcial appearance demonstrate society's expectations are different for men and women?"
3. I am truly interested in exploring gender roles for both men and women, specifically female objectification and expectations for males.
4/17/16 Extra Credit Opportunity
The genre piece I found is political images. The purpose of the political images is to fulfill my Global and Public Affairs Living-Learning Community’s “Cold War” hall theme. The audience is the members of the Global and Public Affairs Living-Learning Community in DeGraff Hall; essentially this is why a political theme, or the Cold War more specifically, was chosen. The audience and its interests were taken into consideration; Most of the members are Political Science or International Affairs majors, and if they are not, they are at least interested in politics or foreign policy. Another hall might have a Netflix show theme, or another Living-Learning Community, such as the Music Living-Learning Community might have a composer theme. This piece is utilizing pathos because members are expected to become excited by the political hall theme. Ethos could all be a goal because through this theme the resident assistant is demonstrating she is knowledgeable about historical and political events.
There are no true sources, but if any are being alluded to it could be the perspectives of each nation during the Cold War, so the countries are the sources themselves. The design and style of the genre piece are purposeful; the positions of the images, such as Cuba on one side, the USSR on the other, and the U.S. on the other accomplishes an accurate and realistic reflection of the Cold War. This piece proved to be successful among my hall, from JFK fans to die-hard patriots. It could potentially be more successful if some text was provided with the images, detailing the situation.
