POP ART

What is Pop Art and where did it begin?

In order to answer these questions you should listen to the explanation on the videocast below. The document lasts about ten minutes but gives a very clear definition of Pop Art as well as examples of some of the most well known artists of this school of thought. ( Go to 2.30-3.30 then from 5-5.50)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-IxcJsXyWtQ

I am sure you understood the same thing as I did? That is to say that the term Pop Art is an abbreviation of popular art which focuses on the mass media, comics and consumer products. It puts everyday products and actions on the same level as the unique and by so doing narrows the gulf between 'high' art and 'low art' .

This art form began in Great Britain after World War Two and displayed the optimism felt by the masses no longer having to use ration books but being able to consume . The consumer boom exploded and the Pop Culture connected with the youth of the 1950s and early 60s and the image of the fashionable and hip London scene crossed the Atlantic to America. Almost anybody or anything could become 'Pop Art' .



Just look at these paintings below to understand what I mean as well as those on the right.


You should try to find out who did these different paintings and imagine why they chose such subjects!

Then there are those of the comic strip style:

As you can see you can even make them into a story!

Other artists favour repetition :

So as to clarify your thoughts about Pop Art and the differences with what came before try the following treasure hunt on the net :

http://academics.uww.edu/cni/webquest/Fall02/popart/page1.htm

This quiz is extremely interesting and informative so if you have the time go ahead and try it.

Not everyone liked or really understood it even though they were inspired by it. Here is a song by a famous pop artist himself , David Bowie entitled Andy Warhol. What do you think his opinion was? How did he help Warhol by singing about him ?

You can also look carefully at the videocast at the address below and try to find out who the singers are as well as talking about the types of images used to illustrate and accompany their song. You can perhaps likewise think about the relationship between music and art . Who profited by it ? In what way? What does this tell us about the society of the time?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=avfGUEDMWZY

Well I hope that has helped you to understand Pop Art a bit more and the society in which it was created. .

Happy New Year

Hello all of you!
I'd just like to take the opportunity of wishing you a Happy New Year with this song of the last decade's important events !

Listen to it and see what you think. I find it rather well explained indeed!

http://unclejayexplains.com/2009/12/20/uncle-jay-explains-year-in-review/

Uncle Jay really does a good job of it, don't you think!

For those of you who want something more bookish: scholarly try this review, diaporama style :
It's rather heavy and takes a while to appear but is well worth the wait!

http://dl.free.fr/fU9g4YPP8


The Noughties, the name given to the last decade and it's events, was not often good for the planet and its inhabitants! Let's hope the next decade will bring us more happiness , peace and prosperity !!!

To finish this post I'd like you to listen to one last song namely The Twelve Days of Christmas, Indian style. It's quite something, believe me!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owK5tHjL0aE

Guy Fawkes

I hope you have all lit your bonfires and have put the Guy on the top! Yes tonight is Guy Fawkes.




Remember, remember the 5th of November!!!



Remember, remember the fifth of November.Gunpowder, Treason and Plot.I see no reason why Gunpowder Treason Should ever be forgot."


This poetic little rhyme, still popular among children today, continues to remind us why, on the night of November 5th, bonfires surmounted by cloth manikins or "Guys" are set alight in every town and village in Britain amongst a blaze of celebratory fireworks:
The scene was the early 17th century Lambeth home of one John Wright deep in the suburbs of the City of London. Three British Catholic gentlemen met in secret to discuss their troubles. King James VI of Scotland had only recently taken on the English throne as James I but, despite promises of a relaxation in the anti-catholic laws, it now appeared that the new King would be even more severe in their persecution than his predecessor had been.
Being no stranger to plots and intrigue, Robert Catesby, a notorious Northamptonshire catholic, now felt the time was right to strike a blow for his religion. He had called his cousin, Thomas Wintour, to the house of his friend, Wright, in order to lay before the them both his plan to blow up the King and the House of Lords at the next Opening of Parliament. With the monarch, the Prince of Wales and most of his leading ministers dead, they would seize the young Prince Charles and the Princess Elizabeth and raise a general revolt to return Catholicism to the land.
In May 1604, Thomas Wintour enlisted the help of a Yorkshire mercenary named Guy Fawkes who had distinguished himself on the continent in the Spanish Army. With his vast experience of dangerous situations, Fawkes was to be the man of action in a group which was growing quickly as Catesby persuaded relatives, friends and colleagues to enter the conspiracy and help finance his plans. Robert Wintour, Christopher Wright, Thomas Percy, John Grant, Ambrose Rokewood, Robert Keyes, Sir Everard Digby, Francis Tresham and Catesby's servant, Thomas Bates all joined in the hazardous plot.
Originally the Catesby rented a house near to the Palace of Westminster and the group began to dig a tunnel out under the Houses of Parliament. However progress was slow for these gentlemen who were not used to such hard labour. Eventually, in March 1605, Thomas Percy was able to use his connections at the Royal Court to rent a cellar right under the House of Lords! The tunnel was quickly abandoned and, posing as Percy's servant, one "John Johnson," Fawkes was able to fill the underground storehouse with some thirty-six barrels of gunpowder hidden beneath coal and wooden sticks, a store of fuel for the winter. Everything was set in place: all the conspirators had to do now was wait.
Perhaps they had prepared too early though, for doubts began to creep into the minds of some of the plotters, worried about fellow catholics who would be present in Parliament on the appointed day, the 5th November. Only ten days before the Opening of Parliament, Lord Monteagle, an apparently reformed catholic, was sitting down to dinner in his Hoxton home when an important letter arrived for him. It read:
"My lord, out of the love I bear to some of your friends, I have a care for your preservation. Therefore I would advise you, as you tender your life, to devise some excuse to shift of your attendance of this Parliament, for God and man hath concurred to punish the wickedness of this time. And think not slightly of this advertisement but retire yourself into your country, where you may expect the event in safety, for though there be no appearance of any stir, yet I say they shall receive a terrible blow, the Parliament, and yet they shall not see who hurts them.. This counsel is not to be contemned, because it may do you good and can do you know harm, for the danger is past as soon as you have burnt the latter: and I hope God will give you the grace to make gooduse of it, to whose holy protection I commend you."
The authorship of the letter has never been certainly identified, but Lord Monteagle was Francis Tresham's brother-in-law.
Monteagle immediately showed the letter to Robert Cecil, the Earl of Salisbury and Secretary of State. Though rather slow to act, the Privy Council eventually had the vaults beneath the Lords searched on the 4th November, first by the Earl of Suffolk and late the same evening by Sir Thomas Knyvett. Composed to the end, Fawkes coolly let the officials into Percy's cellar. Of course, the gunpowder was quickly discovered and Guy Fawkes was overpowered.
On hearing that their plans had been foiled, Robert Catesby and Thomas Wintour fled to the Midlands where they met up with the rest of their party in Warwickshire, but failed to rally any support. They managed to travel amongst the houses of friends and sympathisers for three days before finally being captured in a bloody raid on Holbeche House in Staffordshire. Catesby, Percy and the two Wright brothers were killed, while a wounded Thomas Wintour and Ambrose Rokewood were taken away to London. Others were captured a few days later (though Robert Wintour was at large for some two months). All the conspirators, save for Tresham were executed for their crimes.
Francis Tresham died while still a prisoner in the Tower of London and it has often been suggested that his death was arranged to cover up his complicity in the uncovering of the plot. Whether through genuine second thoughts or external pressures, Tresham may have warned his brother-in-law, Lord Monteagle, of the plot some time before the arrival of the now-famous letter and together they agreed upon this means of scuppering the plan, yet still giving the conspirators enough time to escape. There is certainly much more to the famous "Gunpowder Plot" than first meets the eye and its mysteries endure to this day.
How were these known trouble-makers able to so easily penetrate the inner sanctum of English Government? And why did it take so long for the cellars to be searched? Is it possible that the Earl of Salisbury had actually instigated the plot in order to frighten the King into recognising the Catholic threat? A popular theory sees Guy Fawkes as an agent provocateur with other plotters, like Tresham, acting as double agents. It seems more likely, however, that Salisbury's agents merely infiltrated an existing conspiracy. He then left the plot's unveiling until the last minute for added dramatic effect. In fact, the King may never have been in any real danger.
From: http://www.britannia.com/


Many people nolonger agree with this traditional celebration and boycott it. Each person must decide for himself if Guy Fawkes and his friends were really 'terrorists' or not .


If you have ever seen the film V for Vendetta you will have come across , unknown to you perhaps, Guy Fawkes taking his revenge!


You should login to YOUTUBE to find out more.

When no one's looking !

I've just come across this video and thought you might like to share it with me. The question I ask myself is who is to blame for such a situation? Think about it and I'd be pleased to hear from you on the subject.

http://video.nytimes.com/video/2009/10/25/us/1247465360380/when-no-one-s-looking.html

I won't say enjoy it since the subject doesn't lend itself to such a happy feeling however make the most of it and have a good think!

A Class Apart

Hernandez V Texas January 11th 1954, a case which has gone down in history as being the beginning of a change , atleast officially, for the Mexican population in the States. Neither black nor white, separate, unequal and alone in life as in death, they were a class a part. Overtly discriminated against even though their young men had fought in the Second World War on the same side' as the Caucasions it wasn't until the United States Supreme Court ruled it was unconstitutional to treat them as if they weree an inferior race that things started moving!

If you are interested in finding out more about their civil rights crusade login to the address below and follow through the video . Enjoy and learn at the same time!

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/class/

Creation

Well here is a film you all must see , Creation , which talks about Darwin and his theory on the Evolution of the Species . He definitely saw the world through different eyes and brought a lot of criticism and scorn upon himself for doing so .

However his theory did change a lot for the scientifically and less scientifically minded and in this bicentenary anniversary year what better way to celebrate than to go and find out about his life, work and ensuing traumas !

Enjoy the trailer for the film, which is to come out

in Sept 2009 by clicking on the address below .

http://www.filmeducation.org/creation/index.html

Salon and Street Art

If you are interested in Street Art and in particular that which can now be seen in art galleries try the address below . Some of the works of art are well worth it !

The visuals are by Victor Ash, one of the numerous artists you can view and appreciate . What is more surprising is the way some of them began their artistic careers . However, you will have to login below to find out more about that.

http://helenbeckgallery.dnsalias.com/waw/files/admin/en/flash.html

Lewis and Clark Expedition

Have any of you ever wondered how the West was made ? Really, I mean ? Well below you will find information to blow your mind. The 3rd President of the United States of America, Jefferson, commissioned the expedition .

View for yourselves to see and if you are interested complete the accompanying worksheet .

http://melhenglish.free.fr/Webquests/LewisandClark.htm

THE LEWIS AND CLARK EXPEDITION - MAPPING OUT THE WEST OF NORTH AMERICA



As you browse the given sites, please answer the following questions on a sheet of paper. Please write out the questions.


Who were the main actors in the Corps of Discovery?
Under whose orders were those men?
What sort of expedition was it?
Who ordered that expedition?
Who was he? What were his hopes?
What was the territory they were to discover? Tell of some of the beliefs held at the time on that particular part of North America?
What were they originally looking for? Why?
Where and when did they set off from?
What was their order of mission?
How many miles were they to cover?
What did they take along with them for this long journey?
What were their main means of transportation?
What was Clark’s job on the team?
What about Meriwether Lewis’s?
Name some of the tribes they met along their journey and choose one and develop:
Who was the female member of the expedition?
In what way was she essential to the success of this mission?
What happened to the keel boats once they left the Misouri river?
What did they send back to Washington? Who was it addressed to?
Which trail did they follow in the Bitterroot Mountains?
What was their final destination?
Where did they spend the winter of 1805?
Name some of the events that took place on their return journey?
What did most of America believe before their appearance in St Louis in 1806?
How are they looked upon even today and why?


I would like to thank my friend and colleague from The Legion d'Honneur Saint Denis, for the above work . Cheers !

Red Nose Day

Red Nose Day is the day on which everybody does something silly in order to earn some money for charity !

In Great Britain a lot of organisations pull together to earn money for the third world and the very poor .

What could you do to help ?

SHAKESPOD

Very soon , Friday February 13th , a theatre group will come to the high school to perform a play entitled Shakespod . This play , as its name suggests , is created around a playlist of scenes from eight of Shakespeares works of art .

Shakes is obviously an abbreviation for Shakespeare , the Bard as he was otherwise known . As for pod it doesn't take much of an imagination to guess where that comes from !

However the question is ' What is the connection between Shakespeare and an ipod ? '

How on earth can we associate two completely opposite things ? Well if you are interested , as many of your teachers, you will be able to find out by attending .

The performance costs 6 euros per pupil and will take place at 16 .00 / 4pm in the auditorium . Don't forget your ticket , your ears and a broadmind !!!

Happy viewing !

Try this site for further information :

http://www.drama-ties.com/

Then watch the following 'trailer' , youtube style , of the play !

Enjoy

For those of you who are in to Shakespeare here is the trailer from Shakespeare in Love , which I strongly recommend :

For those of you who are really interested in the Elisabethan theatre , watch this video about The Globe , Shakespeare's haunt !

A Tour of England

Justine Shapiro takes a tour of the sites and landmarks which have shaped the cultural and social heritage of England . From Hastings to London , Jack the Ripper , Dickens and the Blitz . Then via the canals to Yorkshire and the Hotel on Wheels , Whitbey and Drakula and up to Northumberland , Langley Castle and Hadrians Wall . Don't worry you will not venture up into Scotland but will pass to the west coast and Carlisle then down to Settle and Liverpool . From there you will descend once again further south to Stonehenge and Glastonbury or AVALON and the sacred vows of King Arthur then on to Saint Mary's and Guy Fawkes to finish in Cornwell with the mythical birth place of King Arthur .

The journey is well worth the 60 minutes so if you are willing log into :

http://www.teachers.tv/video/30851

World history : England

New Year's Resolutions

Well here we are again back to January and resolution time . I would like to wish you all a Happy New Year and hope that you , at least , will keep the resolutions you have made !

Tell me about this lady , did she keep hers last year and what do you think she'll do this year ?

Here is an review of 2008 ,carried out in the States and found on Voice of America . See what you think ! Once on VOA go into Last Year , Look back at 2008 downloads .

">Linkhttp://www.voanews.com

Others have thought about reviews of last year too , it is so typical of the Anglo Saxons to do a run down of the year .

What do you think of Bridget Jones and her problems and New Year's Resolutions ?

Wel all I can say is if you make any resolutions try to stick to them as much as possible !!

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU ALL !!!!!!!

Have a nice end of year break all of you big and less big ! !

At this time of the year all we can think of is having a rest , enjoying ourselves with those we love and appreciate and eating ! However listening and viewing certain traditional songs and videos I can see a lot of different things in them . I would like you to help me find the themes and topics in the following .



Those of you who bring me satisfactory answers after the Xmas break will gain extra points for their house . The others will get a surprise !



1 . Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer , 1948

2. So this is Christmas by John Lennon

Some of the images are rather shocking so abstain if you are fragile !

3. A White Xmas by Bing Crosby

4. Christmas with Mr Bean

For those of you interested in Charles Dickens and his Xmas legacy try the following

http://www.teachers.tv/video/30574

Last but not least here is something from me namely the singalong with the twelve days of Xmas

Enjoy it and do have a nice end of the year break !

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU ALL

Common FT and Will i am sing I have a Dream

One of you , you will know who you are when you see the clip , sent me this song ! I was pleased to receive it and even more so once I'd listened to it .


I hope you all enjoy it as much as I did .

Obama's Muses

We can not ignore or forget the influence of Martin Luther King , the leader of the non-violent civil rights movement of the 1950s and 60s . You should watch this video for further proof :

However the real CHANGE seems to have come from Sam Crooke , a former Gosple singer then Soul artist and producer of the 1950s and 60s . Obama has used a lot of MLK's and Sam Cooke 's ideas and wording in his speeches .

Below I have recorded parts 1 , 3 , and 6 of Sam Cooke's story as well as one or two of his songs to show you how the future President of the USA has been influenced by his ' roots ' . Parts 2 , 4 and 5 can be found on You Tube along with many more songs and documents about the period .

Enjoy !

Sam Cooke 1 The beginning of the Father of Soul

Sam Cooke 3 Prejudice , the KKK and revolt !

Sam Cooke 6 , The Civil Rights Struggle 1964 +

Now let's listen to one of his well known songs " A Change is going to come "

Here is another version of the same song with many photos and pictures of well-known historical characters especially for the black American community . How many can you recognize ?

Presidents , States and Capitals

Here are two videos about the Presidents and the States plus their capitals . Quite an interesting way of learning such things don't you think ?


The Presidents of the USA

The States and their capitals