Art Section Design for the Journal

It is the webpage screenshot of art section I involve in editing for the journal Lying Cotton Review. There are more information and detailed elements added into the page after improvement, such as the main sidebar which has hyperlinks to provide easier access for readers to find specific art work with its information, and the page also added the awards and winners part according to the voting results this week.

Ending of Killing Alec

Ending of Killing Alec

When we are thinking, Alec is standing quietly. He looks quite beautiful, almost perfect, shinning in the sun and makes both himself and the surroundings look illusory and unreal. We are still thinking, more deeply and quietly, as if the time is freezing. We actually love this static so that we can enjoy appreciating our pretty Alec in a moment without disturbing.

Well, finally our thinking have a result when Caroline speaks first to break silence. “It is a quite lovely place, I just not really satisfy with the grave for Alec. It does not match him.” We then look around, pick some beautiful flowers and cobblestones to intersperse the grave Alec dug for himself, and decorate it nicely. “It is the time.” We are happy when saying that, there are no regret leaving for both us and Alec. He looks at us, soulful, and Tiffany gives him a drink with pills dissolved in it. “Have a lovely dream, Alec.” He says goodbye with gentle smiles, and lying into the grave.

Things go smoothly and nicely. We drive home with a happy mood, and everything about Alec will then be a lovely memory of every of us.

Appropriation

Appropriation

The Original Piece is named Girl with a Pearl Earring by Johannes Vermeer who was one of the greatest painters of the Dutch, but his life was miserable that he didn't sell one painting when he was alive, and he had been forgotten by people for more than one century after he died. Until the middle of the 19th century, his talents and achievements were finally recognized.

This oil painting is one of his famous works which drew a girl who wears a pearl earring is watching towards the painter of the audiences. Her lips open slightly, as if she is telling something. And her eyes are beautiful and pure, which just like the pearl that symbolizes the pure soul of the beautiful girl.

 This is the new image I appropriated. The icon I use is Marge Simpson, who is a cartoon figure in the famous animated sitcom The Simpsons. This animation by showing family lives of the Simpsons to humorously satirize the lifestyles, social and cultural phenomena in America.

For the appropriation, I subvert the original painting which is beautiful and makes people feel comfortable and serene into the new image which is funny. The appropriation gives the new meaning that when the girl is looking at you with the face of Marge Simpson, it has no longer the feeling of pure beauty which is aesthetic but restrained and distant. Instead it gives the sense of humor and intimacy, which makes audience feel easy and closely as if she is looking at you as your friend. 

Reconsider Traditional Definitions of Love

How to get the reader to reconsider traditional definitions of love (or at least not dismiss the new idea immediately).

From the fiction Killing Alec, it is clear that the love showing in this story between Alec and his four girlfriends is not a love in traditional meaning. To consider the traditional definition of love, it should be loyal, devoted, kind, and harmless. However, in the story Alec is dating with four girls at the same time, and the girls therefore plans to kill him. The story makes this causality quite naturally, which is wired and makes us doubt the real definition of love. The girls actually quite love Alec, but they are also very excited when discussing how to kill Alec, and seem enjoy the process of killing him a lot. And Alec, on the other hand, although is dating with four girls, but he shows his sincere love to them all. Therefore, although it is a bit unacceptable to many audiences, there is the possible that the romantic love between people can be un-single. It may be alike to family love that we love the one as much as we like another. So maybe the universal love is not less than the exclusive love, and though it is not well-recognized, we could not reject it. 

When Does Appropriation Become Creation?

Answer to the question: "When does appropriation become creation? When is it only copying and derivative?"

Firstly, to define appropriation, it is an action to borrow some ideas or similar elements from the original work which is famous or well recognized as successful one. In my opinion, if an appropriation is considered as only copying and derivation, then this work must be just simply copy the elements from the original one such as its image, style, ideas, or the similar meanings. It is the same when we say “appropriation” in a painting or picture. The copy does not have its new creation but merely piece two different icons or images together, which seems like to have fun and tell others never be too serious to art. However, if we want to make appropriation become creation, it is necessary to change many things from the original work, not simply the appearance like the image and style, but also create a new meaning which is to subvert its original meaning and has a strong distinction. The contrast will be showed striking and make the audience to think the new meaning rather than what it used to express. 

Response to the City of Tanfy

Response to the City of Tanfy

It is an interesting fiction that the story happens in a strange place Tanfy with many strange things occurrence. Firstly, the story creates the overall atmosphere of the city very well, which is unknown, mysterious, and wired. It arouses the feelings of a bit scary and curious which make the audience want to understand more about Tanfy. Secondly, the story is quite creative. From the plots the narrator begins to know the strange custom of the city has that people eat cold food and they dance in a crazy party. It disturbs narrator, the consumption of cold meat is threatening and makes both narrator and audience feel uncomfortable, and the description of the taste of meat makes it seems like cannibalism. Then the show up of the butcher makes the plots change a bit that he seems like a helper that brings the narrator warm food, or in another possibility he could be the evil person who condemns him to a bad end. Generally, the story puts a lot effort in making the city Tanfy more mysterious and has many unknown factors; nevertheless, it also brings audience much confusion without giving enough information or explanation in the story. The writer mentions lots of issues but not describes them clearly, and some the plots are not connected very closed or naturally.

The Story "Killing Alec"

This fiction tells the story of four girls (include narrator) who find out they have the same boyfriend named Alec who is cheating on them, and therefore they decided to kill him. In the story, it can be seen that all the girls love Alec very much and they care about him a lot. But yet they still decide to kill him without hesitate but even feel very excited when discussing which way should he die. And Alec is a careless and muddleheaded man. At first, he made the mistake that dating with four girls, but then when they decide to kill him, he did not agree but also not show strong opposition. He even took a stand that he liked manhunt most as the way he died.

I think what is working in this story is the element of absurdness. The whole events happened in this story seemed very abnormal and wired, but the narrator tells them in a very normal mood just like they are the ordinary things happen in daily lives. And this feeling makes the story more interesting and mysterious that the reader wants to know more with the story developed. And the thing need to be change is that this story seems to please the reader with absurdness and unreasonable plots which is very interesting and creative but also make confuses. So maybe in the end of the story there can be something happen that are more rational and arouse the audiences’ emotion which gives the story a meaningful ending.