Mind of Mine by Zayn Malik

Mind of Mine is a debut solo album by English singer-songwriter Zayn Malik. Although primarily R&B and alternative R&B, the album blends elements from a wide range of elements including pop, folk, dub, soul, funk, electronic, Qawwali, hip hop, reggae, classical and soft rock. Following Zayn’s five year career with British-Irish band One Direction, due to lack of artistic freedom, he began working on his career shortly after. Due to the band's pop orientated musical direction, Zayn was unable to sing or write the kind of R&B music he had originally been pursuing before joining the band. He mentioned that "If I would sing a hook or a verse slightly R&B, or slightly myself, it would always be recorded 50 times until there was a straight version that was pop, generic" and that "Whenever I would suggest something, it was like it didn’t fit us. There was just a general conception that the management already had of what they want for the band, and I just wasn’t convinced with what we were selling. I wasn’t 100 percent behind the music. It wasn’t me. It was music that was already given to us". On July 29^th 2015 Zayn officially signed to RCA Records and thus Mind of Mine came to life. One interesting thing about Zayn’s album is that the song titles are capitalized erratically. For instance some of the titles of the track are “BoRdErSz”, “lUcOzAde”, and “fOol fOr YoU”. Zayn said that he had done so because the stylized capitalization reflects the way he used to like capitalizing letters when he was at school.

With his album Zayn was trying to communicate, as described with the title of the album, a listen into the ideas of his mind. Concerning the title he said, “It's really reflective of the whole experience that I want to give the listener. I wanted it to be almost like a brainstorm. It’s just music and it’s just whatever you’re feeling at that moment in time.” This album was mostly a showcasing of what Zayn is really about. It was the first thing that defined Zayn as himself rather than one of the five members of a band. With this album he is trying to give everyone a look into his past and the type of music he is interested in. The album was influenced by the music that Malik grew up with, mainly his father's urban music records, including R&B artists R. Kelly, Usher, Donell Jones, and Prince, rappers Tupac and Biggie, and reggae artists Gregory Isaacs and Yellowman, as well as some Bollywood music. The lyrics of the tracks feature themes of lust, sadness, freedom, bliss, love, and frustration. Influenced by his upbringing as a British Pakistani Muslim Zayn’s album also features a song in Urdu which connects him back to his roots.

There are many factors that contribute into my finding this album beautiful. For one, I have always loved Zayn’s vocals. Even from the time he was in One Direction, I found his vocals to be superior and his voice more skillful than his other three band members. Through this album I was able to figure out Zayn’s music and his musical style, composed mainly of R&B, is one that I enjoy. It was also interesting to hear him sing in Urdu because he doesn’t seem very connected to his Pakistani roots. I also enjoyed the overall mood and tone that his album has as a whole. I like how it’s very sparse and random while still maintaining an overall downbeat hazy tone. One of my favorite tracks on the album is lUcOzAde. I like how it is written in a “stream of consciousness” manner with no pauses and an abrupt ending. . The song also lacks a chorus most resembling a continuous flow of thought. It is the track on the album that is most representative of the album’s title, Mind of Mine. Overall, through the album I was able to understand Zayn a bit more and I find it very beautiful when artists are able to express themselves in music rather than putting out generic music that doesn’t give the audience a sense of who the artist is.

 

The Lotus Temple

 

The Lotus Temple is a Baha’i House of Worship located in New Delhi, India. It was completed in 1986 and serves as the Mother Temple of the Indian subcontinent. It was created by architect Fariborz Sahba of Canada and he had won acclaim for the design before it was even completed. The temple has become a prominent attraction in the city and has also won many architectural awards. Like all Baha’i Houses of Worship, it is open to all people regardless of their religion. With over 70 million visitors, the Lotus Temple has become one of the most visited places in the world. In only one day, it receives an average of 8,000 to 10,000 people, the maximum being 150,000. The central prayer hall accommodates 2500 people. In terms of design, the temple is described as an example of expressionist architecture. It is over 40 meters tall, composed of 27 marble clad “petals” arranged in clusters of three. In order to maintain accordance with the Baha’i belief in the mystical properties of the number nine, the temple has nine sides. The conversion of the lotus design into working drawings and structural design alone took the architect nearly 18 months.

Prior to designing the temple the architect, Fariborz Sahba, travelled through India extensively. He was inspired by the architecture of the temples as well as by the art and religious symbols in which the lotus flower inadvertently played an important role. He was influenced by his experience, and in an attempt to bring out the concept of purity, simplicity and freshness, all prominent symbols of the Baha’i Faith, he created the temple in Delhi in the form of a lotus. The flower symbolizes purity and peace to the people of India and also the manifestation of God. It is valued by the people of India because the lotus rises pure above stagnant waters and teaches them to remove themselves from material preoccupations. The flower is highly admired in Indian mythology and culture, and therefore it attracts attention from people all over the world. The overall effect of the temple is that of a floating lotus flower on the verge of blooming and surrounded by its leaves symbolizing the purity and beauty of the Baha'i faith.  According to the Baha’i faith, the temple must act as a constant reminder to the followers of each faith that all the religions of God are one. While keeping this in mind, Sahba used the Lotus to show that the Baha’i faith is not detached from the Indian people but rather respects them.

I find the overall aesthetic of the Lotus temple to be beautiful for many reasons. For one, the design of the structure is very unique and unlike any other architectural work I’ve ever seen before. Sahba’s use of the lotus flower was truly genius and it not only encompassed the beliefs of the Baha’i faith but its design is attractive to all, proven with the amount of visitors it receives. I find beauty in how the temple is reminiscent of nature and therefore is pleasing to look at. I also like how the work is accurately created with the depiction of a lotus flower floating above water which is where it is typically found in nature as well. The beauty in the symmetry and use of various geometrical shapes also give the temple an admirable quality. Most of all, I find beauty in Sahba’s connection to the people of India and their culture and beliefs. The lotus flower is especially significant in Indian culture and the fact that Sahba took that into account when designing the temple makes the Lotus Temple seem perfect for its location. The temple is not only beautiful for what it signifies, it also holds beauty in its overall appearance.

 

Cloud Gate

Cloud gate is a sculpture created by Anish Kapoor and it serves as the centerpiece of Millennium Park in the Loop area of Chiago, Illinois. It is Kapoor’s first public outdoor piece in the United States and it is also the work by which is he most recognized. It was constructed between 2004 and 2006 and is nicknamed “The Bean” due to its bean like shape. A 12 foot high arc provides an entrance into the chamber underneath, welcoming visitors to touch its mirror like surface and as a result see their image reflected back from a variety of perspectives. It is made up of 168 plates of stainless steel and has no visible seams giving making it truly unique. It measures 33 by 66 by 42 feet and weighs about 110 tons.  The work was the result of a design competition and Kapoor’s design was chosen over thirty other submitted designs. The work, inspired by liquid mercury, distorts the image of visitors and creates a fun-house like effect. Due to its elliptical shape The Bean also reflects the Chicago skyline in a distorted and twisted way. The total cost of producing the cloud gate was expected to be at $6 million but the final figure turned out to be $23 million.

Anish Kapoor describes Cloud Gate as a transformative, iconic work. He also aims to evoke immateriality and the spiritual in this sculpture. The intent behind the work’s mirror effect’s help to dematerialize the piece making it seem light and weightless. Kapoor wants the viewers to internalize The Bean through theoretical and intellectual exercises. By reflecting many things at once, it limits its viewers to a limited comprehension at any time. The spiritual dimension of Cloud Gate comes from the interaction of the viewer who moves to create his or her own image. Kapoor also plays with the duality of empirical space and abstract space. The reflectiveness creates a sense of depth and therefore makes the viewer question what they are seeing. He does so by transforming solid into the likes of a liquid. The distortion that the reflection creates of the architecture surrounding the sculpture challenges the perception of the viewer. He also describes his work through the Hinduism’s ideas and says that “The experience of opposites allows for the expression of wholeness.” A prominent duality in Hinduism is that of lingam and yoni, and The Cloud Gate represents both of these by the symbolization of both the male and female entities in the vagina and testicles.

I find this piece beautiful for a multitude of reasons. I have visited the Cloud Gate many times and each time is just as fascinating as the previous. The mirror-like surface makes it both engaging and entertaining. Everyplace you stand gives you a different distorted image of yourself which makes it especially appealing. The way the sculpture reflects the architecture around it in a distorted way, gives the viewer a different perception of the city. I was also unaware of what the sculpture was intended to be. I had always thought that it was just as its nickname says, The Bean, but finding out that it is representative of a vagina and testicles brings out its beauty even more. I like how the opposites are present and how they complement each other while not being so distinctly profound. The seamlessness of the sculpture also brings out the sense of an endless depth and that intensifies the experience of the viewer. I also find it intriguing how the Cloud Gate changes the perception of time by changing the speed of movement of objects passing by such as those of the clouds. Overall, The Bean is beautiful due to its versatility and ability to captivate its viewer.

 

What's Eating Gilbert Grape

 

What’s Eating Gilbert Grape is a film directed by directed by Lasse Halstrom starring Johnny Depp and Leonardo DiCaprio. The film is about 24 year old Gilbert who takes responsibility of his family after the death of his father. Gilbert lives in what seems a dysfunctional family, with an extremely obese mother who refuses to leave the house and a mentally challenged 17-year-old brother Arnie.  Gilbert works as a store clerk and delivery boy for a local store. Gilbert is torn between his responsibilities for him family and his own happiness when he meets a girl-visiting town. He realizes that his love for his family, especially Arnie is more important to him. This movie was based on the book by Peter Hedges. Hedges wanted people to interact with each other with compassion and understanding when writing the novel. He wanted people to view each other with more empathy; even if they don’t necessarily know why someone acts the way he or she does, he wanted them to understand that people are different for a reason. The movie is a struggle of young man finding a balance between his needs and desires while trying to figure out who he is. He is trying to find his place in the world without compromising the responsibilities he has toward his family.

There are many themes and motifs in the book. One of them is the idea of responsibility. Many characters in the movie use Gilbert to fulfill their needs and responsibilities. His mother uses him so she does not have to take on responsibility as a parent, one of his customers uses him for sex because she is in a “boring” marriage, and his boss uses him as reassurance that the store will not go out of business due to the bigger grocery store opening. At one point in the movie, Gilbert is frustrated with all the responsibility and becomes violent with Arnie. The movie emphasizes that these feelings are natural and people will get frustrated with their responsibilities. Another theme expressed in the movie is the effects of bad parenting. Gilbert’s mother starts eating after the death of her husband and reaches a state of extreme obesity. She does not take care of her children and puts all responsibility on Gilbert. Because of this, Arnie gets into quite a bit of trouble as Gilbert has many responsibilities and cant watch Arnie all the time. In addition, Gilbert is left without time for his personal responsibilities such as his love life.

This film is beautiful to me because of the themes it conveys. I believe the world would be less violent if people tried to understand the other person’s perspective. Not everyone is the same and it is hard to please everyone all the time. It is not hard, however, to empathize with one another. Although you might not agree with the way someone thinks or acts, you should try to understand the reasons behind his or her thoughts and actions. I also find this movie beautiful because I can relate to it. My little sister is disabled. She was born deaf and had to go through surgery to artificially fix her hearing. It was difficult and frustrating trying to communicate with her at first and still is at times. But, just as Gilbert realized that love for his brother is most important, I realized that I love my sister very much. It is my responsibility and duty to understand that she is slightly different form everyone else and try to help her as much as I can. I know that sometimes my emotions get the best of me and that is completely natural. But in the end, family is something that will always be there for us and we must cherish it while still playing our parts.

Freedom by Zenos Frudakis

 

The Freedom sculpture, by Zenos Frudakis is a quartet of figures that are located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Frudakis mentions that the sculptures are created from a personal situation but does not specify what the situation was. Frudakis’s father moved to the United States from Greece when he was five years old. Because he was raised in Greek culture, Frudakis was really interested in the art of sculpture. His aesthetic vision was heavily influenced by Greek art. Sculptors including Michelangelo, Bernini, Carpeaux and Rodin inspired Frudakis. Frudakis was also interested deconstructionist philosophy including the poetry of Eliot, Frost, Roethke and Graves. He emphasizes figure and portrait. The sculpture tools he uses are inherited from other artists and are between 50 and 100 years old. His sculptures are made out of bronze and each piece may take between 6 months and a year to create. Frudakis follows a specific process when creating his pieces. First, he designs his ideas on paper. First drafts are then made in the studio followed by the actual models. The clay sculptures are cast in bronze and baked at 2100 degrees Fahrenheit. Once they are cooled, they are installed in either museums or public parks. The Freedom sculpture is 20 feet long and 8 feet high. They were finished on June 18, 2001 and weigh 7,000 pounds.

The Freedom sculpture represents the universal desire to break free; the need to break free could be from an internal struggle or an argumentative circumstance. For the artist, it is about the “struggle of for freedom of achievement” through art and creativity. The quartet of sculptures signifies one person’s process of breaking free. The first one is in the position of a mummy like death who is trapped in his background. Michelangelo’s Rebellious Slave inspires the second figure that is beginning to move out. The third figure is stepping out of the wall toward his freedom. The final figure is completely free and escapes his own mortality. The artist escapes his mortality through his art; the artist dies but is remembered through his art. Another theme Frudakis depicts in this sculpture is the process of creating sculptures. The original design is cast into the left hand corner of the sculpture. In the lower right hand corner there is a cast of the sculptor’s hand holding tools and rolls of clay. Throughout the sculpture, Frudakis has left his handprints in the wall to represent fingerprints on the miniature model he made. In addition, the figures move from left to right in a way that depicts the rough drafts to the final product.

 

This piece appeals to me because it is a one size fits all. The theme Frudakis is trying to portray is a universal one. The idea of breaking free can be applied to almost all aspects of life from African American slaves trying to escape discrimination to transgender people trying to break free from societal standards. I believe everyone should take the leap and break free from his or her problems. People should not live their lives in fear. In addition, they should not live up to societal expectations. Everyone should live the life the way they want to. This work also speaks to me because it represents the power of art. Through the time consuming process, artists are able to portray universal truths that are universal and immortal. One does not need to know any language to understand the message Frudakis conveys in Freedom. Anyone can see that it is a man seeking freedom. Not only can people appreciate this piece while Frudakis is alive, but also after his death. He will be remembered through his work. Therefore, this beautiful idea can be appreciated by many generations to come. One thing that I find particularly beautiful about his work is that the sculpture is genderless, making it even more universal.

Autumn Rhythm by Jackson Pollock

 

“Autumn Rhythm: Number 30” is a piece of artwork created by Jackson Pollock, an influential American painter and a significant figure in the abstract expressionist movement. Abstract expressionism is a form of art that developed after World War II in New York City in the 1940s. It chronicled the fervor and constraints of modern life.  In the late 1930s, Pollock began visiting a Jungian analyst to treat his alcoholism. His analyst encouraged him to create drawings to outpour his feelings. These would shape Pollock's understanding of his pictures not only as expressions of his own mind, but expressions that might stand for the fear of all modern humanity living in the shadow of the devastating war. Pollock emphasized the journey to create art as being just as important as the piece itself. Pollock distinguished himself from other artists of the time with his radical abstract styles in the history of modern art. He detached line from color, redefined the categories of drawing and painting, and found a new means to describe pictorial space. By the 1940s, Jackson Pollock introduced his famous drip paintings, the first of their kind. He forever altered the course of art with his revolutionary techniques.

               Although some may look at Autumn Rhythm and merely see a bunch of splatters of paint that a five year old could produce, looking deeper into the artwork showcases otherwise.  Pollock first created a complex foundation using black paint and he then intricately added webs of white, brown, and turquoise lines, which produce the contrasting visual rhythms and sensations: light and dark, thick and thin, heavy and buoyant, straight and curved, horizontal and vertical. Although Pollock's imagery is nonrepresentational as was meant to be, "Autumn Rhythm" is evocative of nature, not only in its title but also in its coloring, horizontal orientation, and sense of ground and space. The piece originally had no name going only by “Number 30” but it was later named “Autumn Rhythm” due to it being reflective of the piece. Because there is no representation in the painting it is deemed timeless allowing for viewers to connect with it readily and not feel alienated. In a time where America was recovering from a terrible war, it was a comfort to the average American as it was a simple representation of a collective thought shared by the Americans. It served as an expression of an identity that could be expressed and shared by all.

               Many have looked at this work of art and dismissed it as art that is not “real art”. I, however, find many aspects of this painting rather intriguing and worthy of being appreciated. First and foremost, the preciseness of the various strokes, splatters, and drips make the painting beautiful. At first glance, the piece as a whole seems random and merely unorganized marks on a canvas but Pollock carefully placed each stroke with respect to space and color variants. The intricacy of the painting makes it so that no one can exactly replicate what Pollock has done. In my opinion, originality is a major component when determining a work’s beauty. Additionally, the variety of the painting is another attractive factor that elevates the beauty of the work. Every time you look at the painting you notice a specific line, blend of colors, or evidence of control that you may not have noticed the previous time. From various angles, the painting looks completely different. By using a mere four colors Pollock was able to put an enormous amount of depth into a two dimensional painting. He brought the canvas to life in a beautiful, persistently effortless way.