I'm really enjoying the discussions on the AA100 February 2012 and A215 October 2012 Facebook groups. There's always something interesting to talk about whether it is study related (Cleopatra, Faustus, assignments), computer related (open Office vs Microsoft, Evernote vs One Note) or food related (Marmite, Jaffa Cakes, Monster Munch, Coffee, Vodka, Marmite Vodka!).
Today though, one of the conversations was quite civilised and cultural, turning to artists and galleries. This of course allowed me to talk of the many wonderful artists and the fantastic FREE museums and galleries in West Yorkshire, all within about ten miles of my home, and more important to me they are easily accessible by bus.
West Yorkshire has produced some of the greatest artists, writers, actors and broadcasters the World has ever seen. I'd be shocked if you haven't heard MOST (if not all) of these names:
Henry Moore (Sculptor), Leeds
Barbara Hepworth (Sculptor), Wakefield
David Hockney (Artist), Bradford
Andy Goldsworthy (Artist), raised in Leeds
Damien Hirst (Artist), raised in Leeds
The Bronte Sisters (Novelists), Thornton/Haworth/Birstall/Mirfield/Dewsbury
Barbara Taylor Bradford (Novelist), Leeds
Helen Fielding (Novelist), Leeds
J B Priestley (Novelist/Playwright/Broadcaster), Bradford
Alan Bennett (Playwright/Broadcaster), Leeds
Ted Hughes (Novelist/Poet Laureate), Mytholmroyd
Alan Titchmarsh (Novelist/Broadcaster), Ilkley
Michael Parkinson (Broadcaster), Cudworth
John Craven (Broadcaster), Leeds
Jeremy Paxman (Broadcaster), Leeds
Chris Moyles (Broadcaster), Leeds
Patrick Stewart (Actor), Mirfield
James Mason (Actor), Huddersfield
Malcolm MacDowell (Actor), Leeds
Leigh Francis (Actor/Broadcaster), Leeds {Avid Merrion/Bo Selecta/Keith Lemon}
Thomas Chippendale (Furniture Maker), Otley
I could go on with a few dozen more names (as well as sports personalities, politicians, scientists, musicians etc) but you're probably bored already, so instead let me tell you about those wonderful museums and galleries that I mentioned.
National Media Museum, Bradford - Several galleries exploring the history and future of photography, film, television, the Internet and digital media. Two special exhibition galleries
1853 Gallery, Salt's Mill, Saltaire - This gallery has a large collection of works by David Hockney. The mill is at the heart of a model workers' village which is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site
The Henry Moore Institute, Leeds - Collection of works by Henry Moore
The Hepworth, Wakefield - Collection of works by Barbara Hepworth
Yorkshire Sculpture Park, Wakefield - Open air gallery of works by Hepworth, Moore and others set in the grounds of Bretton Hall
Again I could carry on telling you details of dozens more museums (Royal Armouries, National Coal Mining Museum, Eureka Children's Museum...) and art galleries in every town but if you ARE interested then I don't mind helping you to plan a visit to GOD'S OWN COUNTY!
As a treat, and considering today's date, here's a video of former Poet Laureate, Ted Hughes reading one of his poems...
After writing last night's blog, I decided to have a go at writing some blank verse in 'Iambic Pentameter' and after a bit of trial and error, I managed to write a poem (click here). I've been a bit hit and miss with my poems since I started looking at the materials for this course, and I'm afraid it's going to stay that way.
Anyway, on to today. I've finally started on Chapter 4 - Fame and Faraday. So far so good. I'm enjoying reading about his life, and how he became a famous name through the 19th Century. However, upon scanning through the rest of the chapter, I've noticed there's quite a lot about his experiments. I realise that these contributed to his fame but I'm surprised to see them in an 'arts' course. Oh well, time to put my science head on...
I didn't read as much as I wanted last night so I've still not moved onto Faraday (I will eventually... Honest). I was thinking about what to do on Saturday after the Induction Event at Leeds University. I've no money left (apart from the £5 I've put on one side for my bus ticket), so I won't be shopping. The event will finish around 12.15pm which leaves the rest of the day clear, and as I will have a 'Day Ticket' for the buses, I might as well get some use out of it.
I decided to start by looking at the Gazetteers on the AA100 website. They list locations around the country to see examples of works I will be studying throughout the course. After a bit of scrolling and clicking I've discovered that there is a great example of Pugin's architecture at St Anne's Catholic Church in Keighley, and examples of Benin art in the Leeds City Museum (there are others at the Leeds Discovery Centre, but this is only for pre-booked tours). I can't decide whether I should visit any of these or leave them until I'm actually studying them (possibly on the same day as a tutorial).
As I was scrolling through the coming weeks I discovered that NONE of the Ancient Sacred Sites, Roman Villa Sites or Eighteenth Century Houses listed on the website are within West Yorkshire. The nearest being in York, which although only another hour by bus would be another £6! I think a bit more research might be required to find something similar locally.
I also spent a little time today working through the online activities for using the Harvard Referencing System, and then followed this up by adding some references to my pre-prepared assignment and advising someone on the AA100 Facebook page. Now back to my reading...
Quite a productive day today! I did the online activity about the death of Christopher Marlowe and discovered that nobody is really 100% sure of how he DID actually die, although I did learn that if you are going to trust anybody's opinion about someone's biography, then Oxford University Press is a pretty good source.
Next was the 'Inside Art' activity. As you've probably gathered from previous posts, paintings are not my thing at all. This activity has helped with SOME aspects of evaluating paintings (perspective, light source, colour) but these are the few things I actually remember learning about at GCSE. I've still not got the foggiest when it comes to deciding WHY an artist painted the way he did.
It did mean that I could tick off these activities on the website. And as an added bonus I got 9 out of 9 on the Chapters 1-3 Quiz. I'm going to leave the TMA questions for a couple of week (until I've been to a tutorial) so tomorrow I might start on Chapter 4, although it is CSI Sunday on Five USA...
From Germany at the beginning of the 17th Century we take the short hop to the South of France in the mid 19th Century. From a Doctor of Theology to a Student of Law. This particular student has a dream of being an artist, but rather than selling his soul, he simply enrols at the free school of drawing (much easier), and then moves to Paris.
We're into chapter 3 of book 1 now, and we're looking at the artist Cézanne. He was quite a determined fellow, submitting work to the Salon (THE major art exhibition of the time) for almost twenty years before he finally had a work admitted. However, it was what he did during this period that sets him apart.
Cézanne and a group of other independent artists (little known names such as Monet, Pissaro, Renoir, Degas...), unhappy with the influence of the Acadamy of Fine Arts, held their own exhibition outside the Salon. They became known as the Impressionists.
As for Cézanne's paintings? Well I'm afraid I just couldn't grasp the concept of evaluating them, so I quickly skimmed over the rest of the chapter, though if YOU want to look at them there's a link below...
Having decided that I was indeed doing the right thing I couldn't wait to get started. I was still weeks away from the official start date, but needed to get in front. I'm currently unemployed, having given up working last year to help look after my disabled Mum. I realised that when (if??) i find work, I will have to completely change my daily routine, and as I tend to think best really late at night (or is that really early in the morning? - it's currently 1.15am), it would mean having to study when I'm NOT at my best.
Book 1 on the course (AA100- The Arts Past & Present) is all about Reputations. Why are some people famous and others not? What makes us remember some people but forget others? So as you've probably gathered, this book is about famous (and some not-so-famous) names from history.
The first chapter in the book is all about Cleopatra. You all know everything about her right? Bathed in asses milk, bitten by an asp, Julius Caesar and Mark Antony... but what about her Greek ancestry, marrying two of her brothers... where does this appear in the films? Well apparently the 'modern' view of Cleopatra was brought to us courtesy of the Romans. I must say I am hooked! Much more interesting than today's so-called celebrities. Now I'm just off to watch all the films so I can answer my first assignment...
Around five weeks ago now, I received an early Christmas present. A box full of books, CDs and DVDs... my study materials for the Open University. After checking the contents I placed it in a corner and immediately forgot about it. After all it was Christmas... and there was partying to be done!
Once Christmas and New Year were out of the way (and the living room back to a state of normality) it was time to get the box back out again. I set up a study area in the corner of the room. Desk, bookshelves, boxes of pens and pencils, laptop and printer, and calendar and whiteboard on the wall. All set, ready to go and only three weeks until the website opens... and a full month until the official start date!
Eager to get going, I took the Study Companion from the shelf and devoured it in a single afternoon. I spent the evening navigating the eternal sea that is the OU website, and still working under full steam I read the Assignment Booklet from cover to cover. Just the tonic I needed to slow me down a little!
I haven't studied since school, twenty years ago so seeing the questions for the assignments started me thinking whether or not I had made the right choice. Arts? Me? When I was at school I dropped History and RE before GCSE, just managed to scrape a C in English Language, D in Music but only F in Art & Design... should I have considered a BSc instead? My results were much better for Maths, Geography (Physical), Economics, Chemistry and Physics.
But no! I just HAD to go down the Arts route if I was to develop my writing skills. You see, after my Mum died last October, we found a book in the bottom of her wardrobe. It didn't look particularly important or exciting, just a dog-eared, greying school exercise book; the type we used to use as jotters (or for doodling when we couldn't be bothered working). But it was what was INSIDE the book that was important.
For about fifteen years, my Mum had been writing poems. They were never going to win any awards, and were unlikely to be published in a Faber Anthology. A lot of them though were about her seven children - Me, my two brothers and four sisters. She had been writing all this time and never shared them with anyone. It was then that I decided I would start writing every day and share MY writing with the world. I just hope she's looking down and reading this over my shoulder, because Mum - this is all for you.
