Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

When given the task of choosing an 18th century classical music composer, I came to select Mozart the iconic Austrian musician because of curiosity, I've heard the name countless times throughout my life but never investigated his actual works. So naturally, when looking his work up online I chose one of his most popular pieces to give myself the best chance of actually liking it. This piece was Andante and it did not disappoint. It automatically took my mind into a different place, not necessarily happy but just extremely peaceful and I was just free to think as it made my mind wander in a way it never normally does. If i had to describe it it was almost a nostalgic type of feeling. This piece was a concerto and the piano was undoubtedly the dominant instrument however the violins and flutes came in to add great feeling to certain portions further amplifying the zen type effect.  The tempo of the song was slow and the melody was rather static and this is what created the relaxing attributes the song possessed and what helped create the reminiscent or nostalgic mental stories I created in my head while listening. If I had to choose between a bright or somber feel I would have to go somewhere in between because it was in no means extremely happy with its slow tempo and non overwhelming instrument work, but it also wasn't sad. I think this matches well with how there is a bitter sweetness to nostalgia on looking back at moments from the past, enjoying it for the moment, but then realizing you can't relive it and things have changed. While just laying in bed and listening through the speakers on my laptop I could still definitely recommend this composer and specifically the song, and I couldn't imaging how it'd feel to listen to this audible art in a live scenario.



https://www.google.com/search?q=mozart+background&rlz=1C1CHZL_enUS706US706&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwidlNGwmfjSAhXMzVQKHdj1AkUQ_AUICCgB&biw=1309&bih=733#imgrc=7V74ozj6DpoinM:

Locke vs Hobbes

The choice between Locke and Hobbe's premises is difficult because both bring important ideals to the table. For me Hobbes has the right idea when it comes to the true nature and morality of men. With no rule and no one to decree what is moral and what is not, there is much doubt and no control. This would lead to men doing only what benefits them at that point. A major part of this point is that God has been a huge part of the molding of men's morality in history, the right and wrongs in the bible have been obeyed and created the foundation long ago. While that part is true I do not believe one man should be in control of everyone's moralities because those ideas are not set in stone like the works of the bible, this leader whoever he might be could change his mind at any point. This could lead to extreme scenarios such as Hitler. This is where I think Locke becomes the front runner of the two theories because he would want to see the power to the, most of the time, good intent minded people. That leaves a lot less room for error by one man if a group of people can come to a consensus on moralities. For that reason and the fact that history has shown some horrible cases of absolute rule by dictators/kings I would have to side with Locke's ideals. Even in today's society we the people still have power even thought we have a president, there are also separation of powers, state, senate etc.


https://www.google.com/search?q=good+and+evil&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwic8MH9gOfSAhUNxGMKHYyTATkQ_AUIBigB&biw=1536&bih=695#tbm=isch&q=devil+and+angel+on+shoulder&*&imgrc=UyKh30Gj3DBubM:

Rijksmuseum Masterpieces

We talked a little bit about the Dutch Golden Age a little bit in class. If I ever go to Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam I would really like to see, The Little Street by Vermeer, Morning Ride Along the Beach by Anton Mauve, and Stillevan Met Vergulde Bierkan by Willem Claesz. First off The Little Street by Vermeer was eye catching to me because of the uniformity it had as a landscape, but then the brighter more vibrant colors that Vermeer had access to, which we spoke of in class, popped out quite intensely in comparison to the rest of the building atmosphere. It is also the feeling it gave me that made it stand out to me it reminds me not of 16th century, but of small towns in cities today, favela's and communities similar to that nature.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2b/Johannes_Vermeer_-_Gezicht_op_huizen_in_Delft,_bekend_als_'Het_straatje'_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg/827px-Johannes_Vermeer_-_Gezicht_op_huizen_in_Delft,_bekend_als_'Het_straatje'_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg

Next was the Morning Ride Along the Beach, this caught my eye because of the realism and over all good feel it brought about just by looking at it. The brush strokes where kind of sloppy (in an intentional way) and to me it looks like the beach, the water and the horses all blend into the scenery but it isn't a bad thing because the scenery is somewhere I'd like to be and reminds me of pure relaxation. Also I feel like a lot of the tones sort of mend together to draw attention to the men on the horses and makes you wonder where they are headed while trekking through this beautiful area.

http://paintingandframe.com/uploadpic/anton_mauve/big/morning_ride_on_the_beach.jpg

Lastly the Stillavan Met Vergulde Bierkan was the most amazing to me because it was insanely realistic and the almost perfect attention to detail in certain areas of the painting. The perfect details in my opinion were with the realism added to the metals displayed in the painting. If I was to not know this was a painting and looked at just the metal instruments on the table specifically I would have a really tough time knowing if it was a photograph or not, and to me that is impressive. Then another minor touch was showing the light sources off the class in the center, via window panels and that kind of draws your eye to the center of the painting and helps it make more sense in regards to lighting.

https://lh4.ggpht.com/yf01__YGn2oSRGIl3CW32IifUK7AoJc2J7vkSVr3EaWouHwiRmonJVxJNfE3RkKZHvd1Rvk1ZEfarN1JXi1sKcP1vWk