When I think of the video of the American soldiers shooting the journalists, I am on the fence swaying back and forth with it, I know its not the 'right' thing to do, but I feel like America has been doing that for years and years. Something is telling me to leave it be and its just another day gone by. America was so war strong and very patriotic, but when this video is released and shows what is actually going on, people don't like what they see. This can be related to truth and beaty versus happiness theme we were talking about in class, where we are 'easy living' , living happy but when people realize what is actually going on most America are not happy.

Man vs. Second Life

I came across this video about second life , pretty entertaining and gives a sense of how second life actually was for me.

One thing that never clicked in my brain was that the Western and Renaissance painters would use sex to sell, as we use it in advertising today. The Female Gaze, still used today, was something that painters gave the audience the choice of what will happen next. It is seen in many posters for films and advertisements. The Male Gaze is also apparent now on that is aimed primarily to the women but also to the heterosexual men. For example, they would use it in cosmetic ads. The 'Gaze' is intended to excite admiration in the audience to which they would begin to be drawn into the gaze. The face would be a side profile but the eyes are staring out towards the audience to stir some curiosity and wonder. For me, I'm excited to see how the 'Gaze' would be used next.

As I was constructing my presentation for class, I came across how Vito Acconci would observe people and follow them throughout the day. "Following Piece" is one of Acconci's early work. The idea was to pick a person who would walk by and follow the person until he or she would hit a private place where Vito could not enter. He did this performance everyday for a month and would send each 'pursuit' to a member of the art community. I feel like Vito did the following piece as a way of crossing the line of how society keeps to themselves and where it is uncomfortable, but in a public space. The art piece could have been made on how people would occupy the public space given to the everyday person, and he took it far enough as to step into the persons step and almost disappear.