Night World : Huntress Chapter 18

Jez heard herself scream, but only faintly. There was a roaring in her ears as if the BART train was coming at her again. And a pain that engulfed her whole body, sending agonized spasms through her limbs. It centered in her chest, though, where something white-hot was lodged inside her, crushing her lung and dislodging her internal organs and burning right beside her heart. She'd been staked. What she had done so often to others had been done to her. She hadn't realized anything could hurt like this. She was glad none of her victims had lived long to keep suffering. The wood of the stake was poisoning her heart, she knew. Even if it were removed, she would die. No vampire could survive contact between living wood and its undead heart. Still, she would live for a little while-in unimaginable agony as the poison ate through her. A voice was screaming in her mind. Jez-JezJezJez†¦ Over and over, incoherently. Morgead, she thought. And she hoped he wasn't feeling any of what she was feeling through the silver cord that connected them. Hugh and Claire were sobbing. Jez wished they wouldn't. They had to stay calm; to think of a way to save themselves. Because she couldn't help them anymore. Over the sobbing she heard a shrill and angry voice. Lily. â€Å"What is wrong with you?† Lily was saying. â€Å"Don't you see what's happening to her? Don't you want to save her?† Through the red haze that filled Jez's vision, she felt dim approval. They were doing what she'd told them. Whichever of them was the Wild Power was suppressing it Good. That was what mattered. Although she couldn't really remember why any longer†¦. Suddenly a face broke through the red haze. It was Lily, bending over her. â€Å"Don't you understand?† Lily yelled. â€Å"You can stop this right now. Ill have him kill you cleanly-all the pain will be over. All you have to do is tell me who it is.† Jez smiled at her faintly. She couldn't breathe to answer, and she didn't want to try. Would you believe that I don't know? she thought. No, I don't think you would. †¦ The pain was getting less by itself. It was as if Jez was moving farther and farther away from it. â€Å"How can you be so stupid?† Lily was screaming. Her face was twisted, and to Jez's vision, floating in a scarlet mist. She looked like a monster. Then she turned and seemed to be screaming at someone else. â€Å"All right. Get the other vampire down here, too. Morgead.† She was looking at Jez again. â€Å"We'll just have to stake your friends one after another until the Wild Power decides to reveal itself.† No. No†¦ Suddenly everything was much clearer around Jez. She could see the room again, and she could feel her own body. There was still the roaring in her ears, but she could hear Claire's sobs over it. No. Lily couldn't mean it. This couldn't be happening†¦. But it was. They were shoving Morgead down on the floor beside her, and Claire and Hugh beyond him. The thugs with spears were getting into position. No. No. This can't happen. Jez wanted to scream at them, to tell the Wild Power to do something, because everything was lost now anyway. But she didn't have air to scream. And she felt so adrift and confused anyway†¦. Her universe had become disjointed. Her thoughts seemed to be unraveling at all once, past memories combining with flashing sensory impressions from the present, and with strange new ideas†¦. If it was involuntary, why didn't the Wild Power work magic more often? Unless there was some other requirement†¦. I can't let this happen. The dampness of blood spreading around her heart. †¦ Claire's nails digging into her arms. â€Å"When there's no physical way to escape †¦Ã¢â‚¬  Power in the blood. Claire on the floor there. Screaming and screaming†¦ Something building inside her, hotter than the stake. Morgead beside her whispering, â€Å"Jez, I love you.† Pierce with the stake over him. Morgead looking up unafraid†¦. Hotter than the heart of a star. Hugh in the distance saying almost quietly, â€Å"Goddess of Life, receive us; guide us to the other world. . . .† Hotter than the sun and colder and bluer than the moon, like fire that burned and froze and crackled like lightning all at once. Something that filled her with an energy that was past rage and past love and past all controlling and that she recognized in her soul even though she'd never consciously felt it before. It was swelling Jez to bursting, a pure and terrible flame that was never meant to be unleashed like this†¦. â€Å"Do it!† Lily shouted. And Jez let it free. It came roaring out from her in a silent explosion. Blue fire that streamed from her body and blasted in all directions, but especially up. It came out and out and out, engulfing everything, flowing from her in a never ending torrent. Like a solar flare that didn't stop. It was all she could see. Blue flames, streaked with blue-white lightning that crackled almost soundlessly. Just like the fire that had cocooned her on the BART tracks. Except that now she could tell where it was coming from, even if she couldn't direct it. She knew how to let it out, now, but once out it did what it wanted. And it wasn't meant to be used this way. That was the only thing she knew clearly about it. She'd been letting it slip out when she was desperately upset-when she was worried for someone's life, and she knew that she couldn't do anything else to save them. That was forgivable, because it had been unconscious. This wasn't. She was probably violating some law of the universe or something. The blue fire was only meant to be used in the last battle, when the darkness came and the Four were called to stand against it. I suppose that means I should try to stop now, Jez thought. She wasn't sure how to do it. She guessed that she needed to call it back, somehow, to draw it down into her body again. Maybe if I sort of tug†¦. She did-something. A gathering-up with her mind. It was harder than letting the fire go had been, but it worked. She could feel it returning, flooding back inside her, as if she were sucking it in. †¦ And then it was gone, and Jez could see the world again. Could see what it had done. The house had disappeared. Or most of it, anyway. There was about a foot and a half of ragged wall left all around, with charred insulation spilling out. Blue energy like electricity ran along the edges here and there, fizzing. Other than that, no house. Not even chunks of wreckage lying around. There were fine bits of debris floating down, making the sunlight hazy, but that was all. It got†¦ vaporized, Jez thought, searching for the right word. No Lily. No Azarius. No Pierce. And none of the ugly thugs. Goddess, Jez thought. I didn't mean to do that. I only wanted to stop them from hurting Morgead and Claire and Hugh. †¦ What about them? she thought in a sudden panic. She turned her head, painfully. They were there. And alive. They were even stirring. The cords they'd been tied with were lying on the carpet, sizzling with that same blue energy. It's so weird to have a carpet without a house to go with it, Jez thought fuzzily. She was going away again. And that was too bad, but at least it didn't hurt anymore. The pain was gone completely, replaced by a warm and sleepy feeling-and the sensation of gently floating outward. Her eyelids felt heavy. â€Å"Jez? Jez!† It was a husky whisper. Jez opened her eyes to see Morgead's face. He was crying. Oh, dear, that was bad. Jez hadn't seen him cry since†¦ when was it? Sometime when they'd been little kids†¦. Jez, can you hear me? Now he was talking in her mind. Jez blinked again, and tried to think of something comforting to say to him. â€Å"I feel warm,† she whispered. â€Å"No, you don't!† He said it almost in a growl. Then he looked behind him, and Jez saw Hugh and Claire crawling up. They were all shining with golden light. â€Å"You're so pretty,† she told them. â€Å"Like angels.† â€Å"This isn't the time for your weird humor!† Morgead shouted. â€Å"Stop it! Don't yell at her!† That was Claire. Claire was crying, too, lovely tears that shone as they fell. She reached out and took Jez's hand, and that was nice, although Jez couldn't exactly feel it. She could see it. â€Å"She's going to be all right,† Morgead was snarling. â€Å"She's lost blood, but she'll be okay.† Someone was stroking Jez's hair off her face. She felt that; it was pleasant. She frowned slowly at Morgead, because there was something important to tell him, and talking was difficult. â€Å"Tell Hugh†¦Ã¢â‚¬  she whispered. â€Å"Tell Hugh your freaking self! He's right here! And you're not going anywhere.† Jez blinked with the difficulty changing focus. Yes, there was Hugh. He was the one stroking her hair. â€Å"Hugh†¦ the prophecy. I figured out what the two eyes watching were. They're the sun and the moon-get it? Two eyes†¦ for somebody who belongs to both worlds.† â€Å"The Day World and the Night World,† Hugh said softly. â€Å"You got it, Jez. That was so smart.† â€Å"And blood,† Jez whispered. ‘†Power in the blood'-that's why I couldn't do it anytime I wanted. Blood has to flow before you can let out the power. The first two times Claire was scratching me. And this time . . .† Her voice died off, but it wasn't important. Everybody could see the blood this time, she knew. Hugh's voice was thick. â€Å"That was smart, too, Jez. You figured it out. And you saved us. You did everything just right.† â€Å"No†¦ because there's only going to be three Wild Powers now†¦.† â€Å"No, there aren't,† Morgead raged. â€Å"Listen to me, Jez. There's no reason for you to die-â€Å" Jez couldn't manage a smile anymore, or a sentence. But she whispered gently, â€Å"Wood†¦ poison.† â€Å"No, it isn't! Not to humans. And you're half human, Jez. You're vampire enough to survive something that would kill a human, but you're human enough not to be poisoned by wood.† Jez knew better. She couldn't see much anymore. Only Morgead, and he was getting indistinct. It wasn't that the world was dimming, though-it was getting brighter. Everything was golden and shining. Four less one and darkness triumphs, Jez thought I'm so sorry about that. I hope they can manage it somehow. It would be so sad for everything human to be lost. There's so much good in the world, and so much to love†¦. She couldn't even see Morgead now. Only gold. But she could hear. She could hear Claire whispering to her in a voice broken by tears, and feel wetness dropping on her face. â€Å"I love you, Jez. You're the best cousin anybody could ever have.† And Hugh. He was crying, too. â€Å"Jez, I'm so proud to be your friend†¦.† And then, through the mist and the gold and the warmth and peace, came a voice that wasn't gentle at all. That was roaring in sheer outrage and fury. â€Å"DONT YOU DARE DIE ON ME, JEZEBEL! DON'T YOU DARE! Or I'll follow you to the next world and KILL you.† Suddenly, in the pretty gold mist, she could see something else. The only thing in the universe that wasn't golden. It was a silver cord. â€Å"You come back and you do it right now,† Morgead bellowed in her ears and in her mind. â€Å"Right now! Do you hear me?† The peace was shattered. Nothing seemed quite so warm and wonderful anymore, and she knew that once Morgead got into one of his Excited States, he wouldn't stop yelling until he got what he wanted. And there was the cord right in front of her. It was strong, and she could feel that the other end was somewhere in. Morgead's heart, and that he was trying to drag her back to him. All right. Maybe if I just grab on†¦. Somehow, she was holding on to it, and bit by bit, pulling herself back. And then the golden light was fading and she was inside a body that hurt and Morgead was holding her and kissing her and crying all at the same time. Claire's voice came from beyond him. â€Å"She's breathing again! She's breathing!† â€Å"I love you, you stupid human,† Morgead gasped against Jez's cheek. â€Å"I can't live without you. Don't you know that?† Jez whispered, â€Å"I told you never to call me Jezebel.† Then she fainted. â€Å"Time for a nice bath,† the nurse said. â€Å"And then we can have a visitor.† Jez eyed her narrowly. The woman was kind, but she had some mania for sponge baths, and she was always putting strange-smelling ingredients in the water. Which was actually not that surprising since she was a witch. â€Å"Skip the bath,† Jez said. â€Å"Let the visitor in.† â€Å"Now, now,† the witch said, shaking a finger and advancing with the sponge. Jez sighed. Being a Wild Power in a Circle Daybreak sanctuary meant that she could have pretty much anything she wanted-except that everyone was still treating her like a little kid. Especially the nurses, who spoiled her and flattered her, but talked to her as if she were about three. Still, she was glad to let the Circle take care of some things. Keeping her relatives safe, for instance. Although she was almost fully recovered, thanks to a strong constitution and a lot of healing spells from the witches, she wasn't up to that yet. Uncle Bracken and the entire Goddard family needed constant protection, since Hunter Redfern and the Night World Council were all undoubtedly after them by now. The Circle had imported some experts from back East to take care of it. A rival vampire hunter, of all things, named Rashel something. Plus her soulmate, a vampire-turned-Daybreaker called Quinn. At least they were competent. They'd gotten Jez's uncle Bracken, as well as the remnants of the gang out of San Francisco, a city that was going to be bad for their health for a while. Morgead was trying to get the gang to join Circle Daybreak for their own good, and he said that Raven, at least, was showing some interest. Val and Thistle were being stubborn, but that was hardly surprising. What was important was that they were alive. Pierce, on the other hand, was simply gone. No one had seen a trace of him or Lily or any of her people since Jez blasted them. Apparently they had truly been vaporized, and Jez couldn't bring herself to feel too badly. â€Å"All done!† the nurse said brightly, straightening Jez's pajama top. Which was just as well because at that moment a black head came poking in the door. â€Å"What is going on in here? You getting ready to go to the opera or something?† Jez raised her eyebrows at Morgead. â€Å"Maybe. Are you telling me I can't?† He snorted and came in as the nurse went out â€Å"I wouldn't dare tell you that. You're the princess, right? You can have anything.† â€Å"Right,† Jez said, with huge satisfaction. â€Å"So how*re Hugh and Claire?† â€Å"Claire's fine; she fits right in with the witches here. I think she's trying to get them to put up a Web page. And Hugh's just his same stupid self. He's off saving chipmunks from toxic waste or something.† â€Å"And how about the kid?† â€Å"The kid,† Morgead said, â€Å"is living it up. The Day-breakers are crazy about her; something about one of the oldest Old Souls ever found:-I dunno. Anyway, they're trying to talk her mom into letting her live here. She says thanks for saving her life and she's drawing you a picture.† Jez nodded, pleased. It would be nice if Iona came to live at the sanctuary; it meant Jez could see her a lot. Not that Jez planned to live here all the time herself-she and Morgead needed their freedom. They couldn't be penned in; they had to be able to come and go. She just hadn't gotten around to telling the Daybreakers that yet. With the people she loved taken care of, she could turn her attention to other matters. â€Å"Is that chocolate?† â€Å"It's the only reason you like to see me, isn't it?† Morgead said, allowing her to take the box. He sat beside her, looking tragic. â€Å"Nah,† Jez said with her mouth full. She swallowed. â€Å"Everybody brings 'em.† Then she grinned. â€Å"I like to see you for a different reason.† He grinned wickedly back. â€Å"I can't think what that could be.† â€Å"Hmm†¦ you're right†¦ maybe there is no other reason.† â€Å"Watch it, Jezebel,† he growled and leaned forward menacingly. â€Å"Don't call me that, idiot.† â€Å"You're the idiot, idiot.† â€Å"And you're-† But Jez never got to finish, because he stopped her mouth with a kiss. And then his arms were around her-so gently- and the silver cord was humming and everything was warm and there were only the two of them in the world. One from the land of kings long forgotten; One from the hearth which still holds the spark; One from the Day World where two eyes are watching; One from the twilight to be one with the dark. [The End]

Crimes that deserve the capital punishment Essay

Nowadays when one hears about recent news, filled with constantly growing reports of crimes and atrocities he may wonder whether we live in a world where strong moral principles and justice fades. The causes of such situation may be diverse, ranging from weak and incompetent law or the state of society which promotes the pursuit of material wealth at all costs. It is often highlighted that punishment sentences are not adequate to the crimes and it’s not uncommon to see brutal and outrageous felonies penalized with a mere few years of imprisonment. That said, aside from whether these unlawful offenders manage to rehabilitate themselves, the fact that after the incarceration, the most hardened murderers and thugs are at liberty again raises doubts about the effectiveness of law and may lead certain individuals to think that they are practically unpunishable. This problem doesn’t concern prevailing part of the States of America, because in 32 out of 50 States the death sen tence is a possible method of dealing with the most ignoble cases of trespassing a law. Historically speaking the death sentence was a part of common English law and as such became a part of the English colonies law, but as soon as the Declaration of Independence was proclaimed and United States began to form, certain States had different views on this punishment. Offences that were penalized with it and methods of the executions also varied. The breakthrough in the judicial treatment of this matter was a case ruled in 1972, known as Furman v. Georgia. The defendant charged robbery and murder was sentenced to death, but the verdict was never carried out. That’s because the opinion of court was that the current death penalty is in this case a cruel and unusual punishment. This led to the mortification of capital punishment for 4 years, until the Greg v. Georgia in 1976 and unification of the death penalty. As for now, in almost every big state, death penalty is legal. Texas is currently known as having performed the highest number of executions, which is not surprising, as it has the second highest population rate. The debate over capital punishment is continuing to this day, but is very controversial. There is a definite tendency to abolish this penalty over introducing it, as seen in  Connecticut and Maryland. These states abolished death penalty in 2012 and 2013. The moral issue is whether it is possible for human to decide over the other human death or life, but also if certain crimes deserve the capital punishment. Again, is it really just for certain offenders to live in confinement at the expense of the taxpayers even for the rest of their lives? In my opinion the feelings of the family and close acquaintances of the victims should be taken into account. It is only natural for them to wish the dangerous murderers dead. Furthermore I think that notorious criminals and particula rly brutal killers should be sentenced to death. Another moral controversy stems from the fact that there were cases in which convicts were posthumously proven to be not guilty. The contemporary judicial process allows for such wrongful convictions but this number is statistically low. On the other hand a system which allows execution when there is even a doubt about the defendant’s guilt can be considered inhumane and barbaric for such advanced and progressive country as the United States of America. The recent case of Troy Davis, who was believed of being innocent of murder brought much attention to the subject in 2011. The Death Penalty Information Center reported much higher than anticipated opposition to the current situation, because the American society was seen majorly as in favor of capital punishment. From the economical viewpoint the death sentence has its benefits and drawbacks. Firstly, the most felonious offenders could spend a set number of years or the rest of their lives doing the hard labor, but there is possibility that they will not work or deliberately do a bad job. Currently in the United States the penal labor is not required, b ut the convict who refused to work usually gets smaller food rations, longer sentence or other restricting sanctions. It seems like it’s the good solution but would it be enough to compensate for their sustenance, particularly when they live to the old age and can’t work? Next issue is connected with the high costs of exceptionally long trials. If there is insufficient evidence about the defendant who is in the death row the law is in a fix. There is little to do in such situation unless the new methods of interrogation or criminal research become viable. To summarize, this topic offers a great number of controversies and has no easy and direct approach. In the past the capital punishment was a part of every society, but now in almost every country in the world it is abolished or under the moratorium,  which shows that we, the human kind are progressing as a sentient and civilized beings. The United States of America is one of the most industrialized and populous countries today that still practice the death penalty, others being for example China, Japan and India. This makes one wonder if these countries can be considered civilized, but the capital punishment still has a very strong support. One of the most reasonable argument is that under the threat of the most severe consequences people will not commit crime. In the end, whether it is justifiable to take the other’s life in the name of law or not, I am in favor of such possibility and America’s approach. In my opinion there are some crimes that deserve the capital punishment.

Before the Harlem Renaissance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Before the Harlem Renaissance - Essay Example In another one of Harry Bloom’s books he reports on another famous black writer, Fredrick Douglass (â€Å"Major Black American Writers through the Harlem Renaissance† 34-35). Fredrick Douglass, like Phillis Wheatley, was born a slave. Unlike Phillis Wheatley, Fredrick Douglass’ owners treated him brutally. His owner shipped him from home to home working for cruel men. One of the mistresses he worked for taught him to read and write until she was ordered to stop by her husband. Fredrick wrote about what he knew about, slavery. His autobiography and speeches were published after his escape to England. His only fiction work was also about slavery. His need to document the plight of slaves and fight for the abolishment of slavery was apparent in all of his writings. Alexandre Dumas the writer of The Count of Monte Cristo and The Three Musketeers was from France (Goetz). Even though Alexandre had been born a freeman, his grandmother was a slave. Alexandre grew up in the world of his white father. Thus his writing reflected 19th century France. The revolution in France had redefined justice. You see in The Count of Monte Cristo and The Man in the Iron Mask the new democratic views sweeping France at Alexandre Dumas’ time. Even the black writers not mentioned in this essay wrote about their plight at the time. Before the Harlem Renaissance black writers faced hardship, whether they were slaves or not. Even the best master could not help a writer they did not see as an equal. Each writer before the Harlem Renaissance faced a bias audience.

Ancillary 1 Audience Exploration Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Ancillary 1 Audience Exploration - Essay Example The company is based in New York City. In tandem with its objectives, it covers topics related to celebrity relationships, the ever growing fashion world with the latest trends, beauty and entertainment. The present format of the magazine was introduced in the year 2000. The important sections of the magazine are: â€Å"Just Like Us: photos of celebrities doing things everyday people do. Inspired by a regular Sesame Street feature about animals. Who Wore It Best? : Reader polls of which celebrity wore an outfit better Hot Stuff: the latest gossip from inside Hollywood’s The Red Carpet: the looks and styles from Hollywood’s hottest parties and premieres Hot Pictures: Celebrity sightings of stars around the globe Fashion Police: Famous comedians cite the fashion disasters of the stars, and the best â€Å"look of the week† The Record: A roster of changes in the lives of stars — births, marriages, divorces, etc. Loose Talk: Quotes from the stars Us Musts: Acc ording to Us Weekly, the must-see films, TV shows and DVDs.†(Us Weekly) The titles of the sections are self-explanatory that cater to the psyche and expectations of the celebrities and their fans. The ideal target audience and their social practices The Editorial Board, the policy and decision makers know their objectives well and the art of appealing to the psychology of the celebrities and their fans. The contents of the magazine lead the reader to their website Usmagazine.com launched in 2006 with about two million hits per month. This site is a source of public relations exercise to maintain and augment the popularity of the magazine. It also provides a number of additional features like news blog, star photographs, and coverage from the red carpet galleries from premieres special events, videos, games, quizzes and opinion polls. They know how to hold on and gain popularity amongst the target audience well, by bringing out many signature issues, Hot Hollywood special issue s, Best Bodies Issue and Best Makeovers issue. These moves make the magazine â€Å"celebrity friendly.† The magazine is more information-giving in its targeted areas and not totally gossipy in character. Well-researched information adds to the respectability of the magazine and the readers remain expectant about the arrival of the magazine week after week. Some of the top stories in the latest issue of the magazine are a pointer to the ground which it covers: Jane Seymour Goes Without Makeup in Stunning Picture Kim Kardashian Shows Off Growing Baby Bump on Super Bowl Sunday Kate Middleton Covers Up Baby Bump: Pictures Kate Middleton Covers Up Baby Bump: All About Her Outfit! Beyonce Performs at the Super Bowl: Why Jay-Z Didn't Join Her on Stage Thus, Us Weekly makes constant exploration to construct and maintain audience connectedness, and has been growing in all the directions like the octopus. Audience measurement means to be on the lookout for relationship of the audience to the sections of the magazine and the types of articles covered under those sections. The themes of the articles should cater to the needs of the current demands of the audience, besides creating a lasting impression in their minds. They need to inspire the focus groups and fan forums and establish a connectedness. They must answer the individual and social needs through the contents of the articles. Aggressive marketing helps audience

Hitler vs. Stalin Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Hitler vs. Stalin - Essay Example Stalin emerged from the Seminary, not as a priest but as a political revolutionary with a new ideology: Russian Marxism (Stalin, 1913). On the other hand Hitler was a miserable student who never completed high school. Yet he was an avid reader, gaining anti-Jewish, anti-democratic convictions through various pamphlets, and becoming a staunch follower of Nietzsche (Hitler, Encarta 1999). Stalin was a revolutionary, Hitler was a soldier. But they were both opportunists. Russia was suffering from a decadent monarchy, a weakening agricultural market and unemployment. The Bolsheviks were on the rise, promising equality and employment to the masses. Stalin became an important part of the Bolshevik movement through dogged organization and administration work. He became Lenin’s secretary-general. Stalin took over the Bolshevik Party by manipulation and propaganda, displacing Trotsky who was considered Lenin’s natural successor (Stalin, Encarta 1999). He further eliminated his competitors in a carefully planned campaign of political terror. One by one his rivals pleaded guilty to treason and were executed. The real strength of Stalin lied in the fear he invoked among the people of Russia. In Germany, another dictator was rising in a similar way; Hitler. In 1919 Hitler joined the National Socialist German Workers (Nazi) party. In the year 1921 he was elected party chairman with dictatorial powers. His campaign involved hundreds of meetings and terrorization of political rivals through hired thugs. His attempt at a coup misfired and he spent 5 years in jail, but after release he rebuilt his party by exploiting a community’s natural mistrust of another. He began blaming Jews and Communists for the Depression and the lagging state of German economy, and the masses supported him enthusiastically. Both Stalin and Hitler vowed to make their countries invincible if they came into power. To a certain extent, they succeeded. Stalin launched a massive

PABLO PICASSO Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

PABLO PICASSO - Essay Example Born in 1881, he lived for 91 years, and devoted himself to artistic production. Picasso is most renowned for co-founding the Cubism movement along with Brasque. The 1800’s were marked with astounding impressionist paintings, but enter twentieth century, and the artwork is completely different with more focus on adding great depth to objects by breaking them up and rejoining in an abstract form. The whole concept of Cubism is analyzing objects from every angle, giving a holistic view, and being able to penetrate every reality and then depicting the entire thought in a very artistic abstract way. â€Å"Ambiguous Spacing† (Mallory, 2011) is the main characteristic of Cubist paintings, where the background blends with the object. Picasso went through some different phases in his life, and experimented with different kinds of styles which is reflected in his artwork and they are divided into different stages. The first period was identified as the Blue period which lasted f rom 1901 to 1904, and was highlighted with subdued colors. Next was the Rose Period from 1904 to 1906 which has a cheery style with red, pink and orange colors seen in his paintings. Following this was Analytical Cubism from 1910 to 1912 where he used monochrome brown and more of neutral colors. Synthetic Cubism followed which was reflected in his paintings from 1912 to 1919, and was symbolized by fragmented paper cut style paintings. Classicism and surrealism was also later reflected in his paintings, however it wasn’t a period of his life. Pablo Picasso is known to have produced around 13500 paintings in his entire lifetime, and even more drawings. In 1903, when Picasso was only 21 years of age, he painted â€Å"The Old Guitarist† in Madrid, when his very close and dear friend, Casagemas committed suicide. Picasso’s outpour of emotions is reflected in his painting, so much so that this led to the beginning of the Blue Period which was highlighted by hopelessne ss and melancholy is his paintings which were usually in shades of blue and green. This particular painting of Picasso haunts the onlookers with its gloominess; the subject of the painting is a very old, weak man, who somehow resembles a beggar sitting on the street begging for pennies while glued to his guitar. The painting has a lot of emphasis on the contours of the body of the old man giving a very dramatic look. This painting speaks for the lower-class people and emphasizes on the hardships they have to face in real-life, and is a masterpiece created by Picasso. Another painting of Picasso which later became a masterpiece is Les Demoiselles d' Avignon ((The Young Ladies of Avignon, and originally titled The Brothel of Avignon) and is known to have launched Cubism in the twentieth century. Picasso painted it in 1907, however it wasn’t displayed till 1916. This painting has also been voted as the most influential painting in a hundred years by Newsweek. It is a very artful painting which was also controversial, however it depicts Cubism in essence that different people have different perspectives regarding the same artwork. The painting illustrates five nude women in angular and disorderly shapes, with not very feminine bodies, and two wearing primitive African masks. The concept behind this painting was to depict a brothel, where the women were shown without any expressions, charm or personality. The disjointed figures were to represent the aggression and hostility of the such women, who had Iberian features. This

Art Theory Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Art Theory - Essay Example As such a formidable tool, visual stimuli have played an important role in both publicity and advertising (propaganda), and other forms of public art-different parts of society at different points have created art to send messages, or created art to demonstrate the beauty, the potential, or the ugliness of something. While public art exists in many incarnations, from the seemingly innocuous logo to the graffiti at the bus stop to the almost universally-identifiable swastika or cross, its careful manipulation and is an extraordinarily powerful political and economic tool. The advertising industry has capitalized on art's flexible nature, and makes billions annually off our susceptibility to the visual. Images have a long history of manipulation and an important role in propaganda. From the US Army's famous War Bonds posters of World War II to Maoist propaganda, images have been used for hundreds of years to send powerful political messages to the world's illiterate masses. The media, famous for its use of photography, has successfully changed the course of wars, stirred public opinion, ignited arguments, and evoked sympathy through skillful manipulation of images. The US Army's innovative use of artistic images and paintings raised more than XXX in War Bonds between 194 and 194 One particular poster shows a valiant nurse in a bloodstained uniform cradling a wounded soldier; in the background a fascist monster with cunningly painted green eyes lurks. The monster-in reality, probably a German soldier as young, poorly-educated, and confused as our own-is depicted as subhuman, a creature whose only purpose is to thwart American democracy and to kill our men in uniform. The artist's us e of color, context, and detail carefully and clearly fulfills his social purpose: if the Average American Citizen wants to keep these terrible killers off of our shores, he must purchase War Bonds. The War Bonds posters, thanks to this artist and a handful of others, were extremely successful. JC Lenneydecer, iconic poster illustrator during WWII, used powerful, quotidian images such as the Boy Scout to evoke feelings of patriotism and good (ER1). The images portrayed in these pieces of public art were stimulating, convincing, and terrifyingly real. Likewise, the image of the American icon 'Uncle Sam' grew to represent something much greater than art. Although the government did not formally assimilate the image of Uncle Same until the 1950s, it had already become a pivotal part of the average citizen's conception of the government (Ketchum vii). The personifcation of this figure helped to make him that much more 'real', a presence to which one must respond as if one were responding to one's uncle. Conversely, art provokes understanding of our own surroundings; art assists us with defining our sense of place. The cultural icons with which we surround ourselves are largely artistic, and largely specific to our parts of the world. In the United States we are intimately familiar with a thousand small logos, each of them carefully designed to be both visually appealing and to fulfill a certain purpose. We see this art every day in something as commonplace as a the Greenpeace logo, showing the Tree of Life, or the Nike logo, a constant reminder for one to be all that he can be. We look