Art review

Just as the street art in the movie, "Exit Through the Gift Shop" was an example of great art, the movie itself was a great piece of art. Therefore, I will review the movie. I loved the style of the movie,  especially how it was like a home video. The travels and "adventures" of Thierry Guetta were exciting and it was very cool to see the best street artists doing their work in the middle of the night. The mysterious encounters with Banksy throughout the movie were both mysterious and comical. The voice change and the mask may have been a bit over the top, but this showed how much Banksy cared about his street art and the message that it was sending. Some of my favorite works by Banksy include his painting of the girl having her crayon house boarded up by a worker. I really enjoy how the detailed drawings of the people contrast with the rudimentary drawings of the house and the flowers. Another piece of street art that follows these lines is the work that shows what appears to be a Vietnamese child with a huge machine gun, with crayons hanging out of it instead of bullets. I also really like the funny tags of the British police officers, mainly the one that displays an officer with a balloon dog on a leash. Again, this is a contrasting picture because of the seriousness of the officer and the lighthearted mood that the balloon animal adds to the scene. Another one of my favorite pieces by Banksy is the vulture in the middle of nowhere with a gas pump nozzle for a head. Here are a few of the pieces that I have talked about.

We Have the Right

We all have the equal right to express ourselves in creative ways. I don't think that we should be able to put our creations anywhere because we must respect each other's individual space. I am still on the fence about whether street artists should be able to put their art in public spaces, but I am leaning towards them being able to. If the artists are actually contributing to the beauty of the city, I believe that they should be able to add their pieces. Pieces that are controversial and tarnish the property of others' (Mickey and Minnie billboard) really shouldn't go up, even though they convey a strong message and raise awareness about certain issues in society. Thierry, on the other hand, really shouldn't be putting up street art anywhere! He is only doing it because he envies the adventures of the street artists who he had followed with a video camera. At the end of the day, this is his main motivation, which means that he isn't really adding any beauty to any of the walls where he puts up his work. Banksy actually plans out his work so that it makes a statement and also looks great. People also have the right to interpret art how they want to see it. At banksy's art show, the reporters say that PETA was worried about the painted elephant, which was ironic because the media missed the big point, which is also known as the "elephant in the room". Not only was the piece extremely creative, but was practically a slap in the face to anybody that didn't really see the point of the art.

Mr. McCarthy's Birthday Weekend

Happy Birthday! I hope you had a good time, whatever you did to celebrate your birthday. Fortunately for you, you got a three-day weekend as a present. Not many people receive something that great for their birthday. By the way, are you still thinking about getting that smoker? Maybe your family should get you that for your birthday. I'm sure you'll put it to good use with your soon-to-come catering duties and all (I think that's what you want to use the smoker for, if I heard right). I'm not quite sure what else to say here...I'm looking forward to watching the film about the best tagging and street art. It's amazing how people can take creativity to an all new level and express that creativity to the rest of the world. Unfortunately, this art is illegal, which can make for some funny getaway scenes, I'm sure. This also means that some of the most artistic and expressive people out there are limited in how much street art they can actually put out there. Does this movie have anything to do with your birthday? My guess is that it doesn't, but you never know! I'm trying to think about this blog in philosophical terms, but it's not really working out right now. Well, I hope you had a great birthday and I look forward to the rest of the year!

X is Known

At this point in the book, Malcolm X has make quite a drastic change in his lifestyle. The main reason is because he can't keep up his regular hustling life while in prison. When his brother introduces Malcolm to Islam, he plants a seed that grows exponentially over a relatively short period of time. This time allowed Malcolm to formulate his own beliefs about what being a Muslim means, and gave him the opportunity to educate himself. He took the latter very seriously and eventually became a very well read person. Malcolm's interaction with Elijah Muhammad really motivated him to look further into the nation of Islam and make the journey his own. After a while of reading and exploring, Malcolm came to the point where he had strong convictions about how the modern world had been formed and had his own opinions about the condition of the black American. This is actually the point where Malcolm has made a 180 degree change in his thinking. It's amazing to think that only years before, Malcolm had never put any thought into books, let alone reading about religion and faith. He was only about hustling and living life as dangerously as he could. The reformation that Malcolm is going through in prison brings out the Malcolm X that is known and remembered now, the Malcolm that risked and gave his life to change the condition of the black American. For this reason, I could say that at this point in the book, X is known. X is known for both Malcolm and the reader.

X Marks the Spot

I'm having trouble deciding what this topic actually means, but the first thing that came to my head was the idea that the Autobiography of Malcolm X is probably one of most influential and powerful books ever printed. This means that it is a book that everyone really need s to read, maybe even more than once. In this context, I suppose the title of this blog can mean that out of the millions of books out there, this book is one that really stands out and can make people rethink their beliefs and their view of the world around them. In more specific terms, this topic could be referring to how all of Malcolm's actions up to this point in the book are leading up to some climactic point where he learns something significant about himself and his outlook on life. Right now, Malcolm is just getting deeper and deeper into the trouble that was to be found in Harlem at that time. Eventually, all of this must lead Malcolm to a point where he decides to completely change his lifestyle and beliefs. Maybe, without even knowing it, Malcolm has picked out a point of crime, drugs, and alcohol that he won't go past. This could be the point at which all of the negative things he has done come to a head, and he is faced with a choice: change his ways, or end up facing serious jail time or maybe even death.

Album/Track Review

Now that we have just finished a movie on the topic of sampling music and creating new tracks and albums, I'd like to bring up the song, "Dark Fantasy" from Kanye West's newest album, "My Dark Twisted Fantasy". This song is one of my favorites off of the album, but one little bit of the song had me thinking about sampling copyrighted materials, and what portion of that sampled music is "OK" to use. One line of the hook is, "Can we get much higher?", and this line was taken directly from another song. This song is Mike Oldfield's, "In High Places". The line sounds exactly the same in Kanye's song as it does in Oldfield's. I bring up this particular instance because it occurs in a relatively recently released album, which I think should receive recognition as one of the best albums of 2010. This obviously means that I really like this album, but the movie that we just watched had me thinking about the fact that West directly took someone else's idea and sound without actually recognizing that person. I suppose I'd be completely ok with it if Kanye actually included the names of the artists whose works he sampled. I definitely respect Kanye as a producer, but I'm somewhat apprehensive to recognize his genius without recognizing all of those who added to his album.

I Know This Means Something

I don't really want to write about religion for this blog; I'd rather write about something that I am a bit more certain about. That subject would be the help and support my Mother and Father have provided me with for the past 18 years and the fact that I will have to thank them in a tremendous way someday. They may say that I have repaid them already because of who I have become and how I have done in school and everything, but I don't really think that this is enough. They have been there for me countless times and I definitely wouldn't be where I am today without them. For this reason, one of many motivations to become successful is to attempt to show my parents how much their support meant to me and how large of a role they played in nearly every step of my life. I'll have to show them that the minor arguments that we've had over the years meant nothing next to trust and reliability of our relationship. At the end of the day, they are the only people I know that will have my interests on their mind even before they think of themselves. As time passes, I think that this concept should flip the other way around. One of my biggest wishes is that my parents can live life exactly how they want to when they are older and I'm on my own. I would love to call them in the future and hear that they are taking a trip to the Caribbean or to Europe. If I can be part of getting them to that point, I'd be a much happier person. Right now, I see the best way of returning their tremendous favor to me as helping them get to where they want to be, once I can of course.