Commercial law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 5

Commercial law - Essay Example On the other hand, a Cost, Insurance and Freight (CIF) contract refers to an agreement of selling shipped goods at a price inclusive of the total cost of the goods, freight to the port destination and the maritime insurance coverage. One of the major essential features of CIF contracts is that it requires the vendor to ship the agreed goods in the contract, procure a bill of lading (contract of carriage), arrange for the insurance of the goods, and make a commercial invoice before finally tendering the documents to the buyer1. For example, in the case Biddle Brothers v Clemens Horst Co.2, it was ruled that the buyer was obliged to make the payments before the shipment of goods. This paper offers advice to the parties involved in the case namely, Bernadette, David and Barkers Bank with particular focus to their obligations, limitations and potential remedies in the event that a breach of the contract occurs. Based on the circumstances facing Bernadette in the presented case, the major challenge that arises is whether under the English commercial laws, Bernadette would be able to recover the money she paid for the documents from Arthur, claim the insurance policy or take legal action against the carrier in tort compensation for the damaged goods since she had already made the contract payments. Bernadette is obliged by the law to pay Mr. Arthur (the seller) even if the rice was destroyed during shipment. This can particularly be seen in the case Manbre Saccharine Co Ltd v Corn Products Co Ltd[3]Â  in which the court ruled that that the seller may still claim payment even if the goods are lost or destroyed after shipment. In my opinion, the only available remedy subject the English commercial laws is to sue Claude’s vessel Jeanne d’Arc carrier for compensation of the loss incurred due to the damage of rice during the

Installation of CCTV in McDonalds Fast Food Chains in UK Essay

Installation of CCTV in McDonalds Fast Food Chains in UK - Essay Example Having established more than 30,000 fast food restaurants all over 121 countries around the world (BBC News, 2001), McDonald’s is considered as one of the largest global foodservice retailers today. Since the era of globalization, there are quite a lot of McDonald’s restaurants all over the world that operates 24/7. For this reason, McDonald’s restaurant has become one of the common places wherein criminal activities can take place. Serving almost 50 million customers each day, Andy Lane – McDonald’s region security manager created the urgency for the need to invest on the installation of closed circuit television system (CCTV) in each of the company-owned restaurants (Dallmeier, 2009). Right after convincing the top management that the use of digital video recorders could effectively protect their staff and customers from becoming a victim of crime, Dallmeier was again awarded the contract to install digital CCTV specifically within the southern regions of the United Kingdom. (Sims, 2008). Making it known to the public that McDonald’s is using a digital CCTV that are directed straight to nearby police stations could somehow make people think twice before committing a crime. As of 2011, McDonald’s managed to establish approximately 1,000 fast food restaurant outlets throughout the northern, central, and southern regions of the United Kingdom (Fujitsu, 2011; Sims, 2008). As reported b y Sims (2008), approximately 400 McDonald’s restaurants were established in the southern region. Specifically the business relationship between Dallmeier and McDonalds was established way back in 1999. Back then, Dallmeier was able to win the contract for the installation of analogue products in each of McDonalds’ restaurants in southern area (Sims, 2008). Basically, the shift from the use of analogue products to digital products such as digital CCTV was necessary to allow McDonalds gather some digital images which can be use for legal purposes. The study of project management strongly suggests the idea that having a clear planning process could empower the project managers to effectively manage and implement a successful project plan. Considering the importance of installing digital CCTV in each of McDonald’s fast food store outlet throughout the southern part of the United Kingdom, this report will tackle in details rationale behind the need on the part of Dal lmeier’s project manager to make use of a SMART metric, power and influence graph, risk exposure, activity network, three-point estimate, and project cash flow over the success of installing CCTV to approximately 400 fast food restaurants in the southern part of the UK market. A SMART Matrix The acronym SMART in a SMART goal matrix means that the project manager of Dallmeier should be able to come up with a project plan that is specific, has a measurable time table or schedule, is very much attainable, realistic and relevant to the installation of digital CCTV, and is within the proposed time bound (Kerzner, 2009: 296). In other words, given that the project manager of Dallmeier would come up with a non-specific and unrealistic project plan, the team members that is being headed by the Dallmeier’s project manager may end up being confused about what they really need to complete within a given project schedule. Coming up with a non-effective project plan may lead to a l ong-list of installation errors. As a result, there is a huge possibility wherein the cost of installing digital CCTV throughout the 400 McDonalds restaurant outlets throughout the southern part of UK may increase. This is probably due to a lot of unnecessary expenses which includes the installation of a wrong model of digital CCTV in a wrong spot. When this happen, the company may end up spending extra not only for the salary or wages of the team

Reflective Essay on Art and Famous Artists

Reflective Essay on Art and Famous Artists The Olive Trees† by Vincent van Gogh caught my eye as soon as I saw it. Van Gogh has always fascinated me with his dramatic use of color and the thick texture he used while painting. After doing some research, I learned that he painted â€Å"The Olive Trees† in 1890 after voluntarily entering an asylum at Saint-Remy (MoMA). It has been said that van Goghs talent flourished in the last two years of his life while at Saint-Remy. Although he died at the ripe age of thirty-seven, he was a busy man. He created over 200 oil paintings during his life. Some of his most famous pieces are The Starry Night, Portrait of Dr. Gachet, and Irises (Artquotes). â€Å"The Olive Trees† is an oil on canvas painting that measures 28 5/8 x 36† (MoMA). This piece is in the post-impressionist style. Post-impressionists extended Impressionism while rejecting its lack of emotions. Artists continued to use vivid colors, thick application of paint, distinctive brush strokes, and real-life subject matter (Topofart). The post-impressionist style is seen throughout most of van Goghs works and especially in â€Å"The Olive Trees†. Van Gogh used thick oil paint combined with wide rough brushstrokes to create texture in this piece. This technique called â€Å"impasto† is evident in many of his other works such as â€Å"The Starry Night† (Frank). The subject of the picture is olive trees. These trees could be found all around the asylum he admitted himself to. This painting seems to have a lighter mood than some of the other paintings he completed right before his death. It seems that he, â€Å"found happiness† or something that got his mind off of the deep depression and mental sickness he had. The viewer can see it in this piece by looking at the use of color and dancing lines he used to create a happy, but mellow mood in the piece. This technique can also be seen in his other works such as â€Å"Starry Night†. Not only did he use color and line to lighten the mood of the piece, but he also used shape. Van Gogh painted the olive trees, mountains, and clouds all by using organic shape. This creates a flow of line, mass, and space. By using these effects, van Gogh creates a visual rollercoaster for the viewer to follow. At first glance, the viewers eyes roll from the grass up to the olive trees, and then across the blue colored mountains. By using this flow of line, the painting has a unique balance to it which allows no space to appear empty. The painting seems lively and the olive trees create a mood of dancing across the landscape. Van Gogh created a well balanced atmosphere by using the light colored clouds to balance out the blues used in the mountains. The clouds also help to balance the arrangement of greens he used for the foreground and olive trees. This is called symmetrical balance. I believe van Gogh used this in his work not only create a well flowing piece, but also to get the viewers eyes to move across the painting. By doing this, he keeps the viewers eyes from staring at one section of the painting. Instead, the viewer receives an emotional grasp from the flow of line, color, and texture that the painting offers. Overall, I really enjoy this piece of art. Although it is not one of van Goghs most-known pieces, it is one of my favorites. I tend to go against the grain and choose things that I find interesting instead of going with the â€Å"social norm†. His use of color and texture is what keeps me looking at his work. I think the mood and emotion that he gave off by this painting could not be done with any other color. Obviously van Gogh had a message and an emotion that he wanted to portray in this piece, and I think he conveyed it perfectly. I think van Gogh was conveying a since of hope and happiness from this piece. His use of line and texture creates movement in the painting and a sense of joy. The bright cloud contrasts against the olive trees and seems to brighten the piece not only through color, but emotionally as well. The painting is a joy to look at and will remain that way for a long time to come. Works Cited Famous Vincent Van Gogh Paintings. Artist Quotes Art Quotes Famous Artists Fine Artists. Web. 17 Apr. 2010. . Frank, Patrick, and Duane Preble. Prebles Artforms: an Introduction to the Visual Arts. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson /Prentice Hall, 2009. Print. Impressionism and Post-Impressionism Art Reproductions, Impressionism and Post-Impressionism Paintings. Art Reproductions Oil Painting Reproductions. Web. 18 Apr. 2010. . MoMA | The Collection | Vincent Van Gogh. The Olive Trees. Saint Rà ©my, June-July 1889. MoMA | The Museum of Modern Art. Web. 14 Apr. 2010. . Diego Rivera Diego Rivera was born into a wealthy family in Mexico. From the age of ten, Rivera studied art at the Academy of San Carlos in Mexico City (Biography). He was sponsored to continue study in Europe by the governor of Veracruz (Biography). After his arrival in Europe in 1907, he began to study art with a number of well known artists. A few years later Picasso and Georges Braque began getting world-wide exposure with their new type of art, Cubism. From 1913-1918, he devoted himself almost entirely to the cubist school of art (Arttrader). In 1920, Rivera left France and spent a short time in Italy. While there, Rivera studied frescoes and the popular works from the Renaissance period (Biography). In 1921, Rivera returned to Mexico to start on what I personally believe to be some of his best works. He began to paint murals in auditoriums, schools, and other various government buildings. Most of his art carried political influence which he believed in. Rivera was a communist and his work shared that of his political beliefs and how he felt about the Mexican people. He began to develop his own native style based on large, simplified figures and bold colors. Although his paintings were beautiful, his attacks on the church and political beliefs made him a controversial figure. (Biography). Some of his best known works during this time are: En el Arsenal, Creation, and The Flower Carrier. Rivera painted frescoes in this style for many years up until his death in 1957 (Biography). I chose to do my paper on one of his pieces with a Cubist influence. It was completed in 1912 while he was in France. The artwork is called â€Å"Cubist Landscape†. It is an oil on canvas that measures 25  ¾Ã¢â‚¬  x 35  ½Ã¢â‚¬  (MoMA). I chose this piece of art because it reminds me of my grandmother. She was a quilter, and at first glance, this painting reminds me of a patchwork quilt. Cubism was a huge influence in Riveras earlier career, and this was one of his first works in France. The content of this piece is a landscape filled with trees of different colors and a colorful sky with a mountain in the background. To me, it looks like you are looking at four different paintings that have been sat on top of each other at different angles. The use of the cubism style in this painting is very evident due to not only the name, but the way the object of the picture and background are â€Å"chopped† up and distorted throughout the piece. Rivera used big chunks of dif ferent objects to make this piece so it is not as distorted as the works of Picasso. I believe he did this so the viewer would not lose emphasis on the emotion Rivera was trying to get the viewer to feel. Rivera balanced the painting by using the Cubist style to section the painting out in to different pieces. The eye is specifically drawn to the lighter-green tree in the front. This tree is standing straight while all the other trees are bent and leaning in different directions. By doing this, Rivera made the tree in the front the subject of the piece, and made your eyes be drawn directly to this object. Line also played a role in the emotion and emphasis on the tree. He emphasized the front tree even more by making it more detailed and by giving the trunk of it texture. It stands straight up compared to the other ones to symbolize strength and power. The background of the artwork is where the emotion in the painting is created. The background is colored in a patchwork of the color wheel. Greens, reds, oranges, blues, violets, and yellows are all woven into the background to create a happy mood that surrounds the trees. The other trees also fall into the back ground and are red and blue. I think the added color that surrounds the subject gives the piece a lighter feeling and makes the viewer want to smile. I also like the use of impressionism in the piece. Around the border of the painting, Rivera dashed color on the background to create a meadow-like scene to the piece. The use of different color reminds me of wild flowers swaying in the breeze. He created what the eye would actually see in a meadow by using wide, short brush strokes. The way he painted the background reminds me of the brushstrokes used in â€Å"Impression Sunrise† by Monet. His short brush strokes also give texture and movement to the piece. Short brush s trokes make the piece look soft in texture and give it movement as if there were a breezing blowing through the scene. Overall I really enjoyed this piece of art. Not only did it remind me of my grandmother, but it also gave me a new grasp on the Cubist style of art. I was not a fan of cubism until researching this piece because I did not â€Å"get it†. So many times when viewers see cubism we want to run away because we cannot understand what we are looking at. In this piece Rivera makes it very clear and there is no underlying meaning like some of the other Cubists work. It is direct and straight-forward and that is why I chose it. This piece has caused me to grasp new meaning and understanding of the Cubist style and I will definitely embrace what I have learned. Works Cited Art Trader. Web. 21 Apr. 2010. . Diego Rivera Biography. Biography.com. Web. 21 Apr. 2010. . MoMA | The Collection | Diego Rivera. Cubist Landscape. 1912. MoMA | The Museum of Modern Art. Web. 20 Apr. 2010. . Georgia OKeeffe Georgia OKeeffe was born November 15th, 1887 in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin. She grew up most of her life in Wisconsin but moved away to go to the Chatham Protest and Episcopal Institute in Williamsburg, Virginia in 1900. After graduating in 1904, she studied art at the Art Institute of Chicago and at the Art Students League in New York (Georgia). She is well known for her artwork and has won many awards such as the Gold Medal of Painting, the Medal of Freedom, and was presented the National Medal of Arts in 1985 by President Ronald Reagan (Georgia). It is said that OKeeffe revolutionized modern art in both her time and to the present. She painted natural scenes which she vividly portrayed with a close-up view. She used art to convey that nature is as powerful as the widespread industrialization of the period of her time. Georgia OKeeffe married Alfred Stieglitz in 1924 (Georgia). He was a famous photographer who put his wifes work in his gallery. In 1916, Georgias work was first exhibited and this is when her art began to be seen and appreciated. In 1949, OKeeffe moved to New Mexico where her art took on a new dimension. She painted bones and desert scenes which captured the calmness and bareness of the desert (Georgia). During her career as a painter, OKeeffe has mostly been remembered for her abstract style of art. She painted many things you would see in nature. She painted them as she saw them, not has how most would see them. She created her style of art by zooming in on the object and painting things that the naked eye would not be able to see. This was her representation of the flower or other object she was painting. Her style of art has been viewed all over the world and she is one of the most famous American artists to this day. I chose â€Å"Lake George, Coat and Red† to do my paper on because the piece jumped out at me. The painting is oil on canvas and it was created in 1919 (MoMA). This abstract piece is rich in texture and the mood of it warms your heart and lightens your mood. Georgia not only used line to create happiness in her piece, but she also used the bright reds in the background to accent the dark color of the painting. She used red and blue because they contrast one another, and it is a great way to catch the viewers eye. Not only did OKeeffe use red and blues in the painting, she also used greens, yellows, and orange. Im not sure if each color was meant to represent different types of emotions, but it gives the piece a center or â€Å"wholeness† since she used every color. Not only is the color balanced in this piece, but the way she used the value in each hue also creates a centralized feel. Since the subject of the piece is a dark blue, I think OKeeffe used the small white ball in the upper portion of the painting to create a small mass that contrasts the heavy blues she used for the subject. Her use of thick lines and texture also contributes to the balance of the piece and gives the subject a since of flow and gracefulness that draws your eyes from the lower left-hand corner of the piece on towards the upper right-hand corner. The paintings size is 27 3/8† x 23  ¼Ã¢â‚¬  (MoMA). This is an average size piece for her, and I think she used this size to get the viewer to see the painting up close and visually â€Å"feel† the texture and the movement of the piece. Not only did the size of the canvas play a role in how she wanted the viewer to feel, but the medium she used did as well. Georgia OKeeffe used a lot of oil paints to make her art because of the way she could create texture throughout each piece with this medium. She also used oil paints because she could blend each color easily to create the hue she wanted. Scale also played a huge part of OKeeffes work because most of her abstract art is a zoomed-in version of what the eye can see. By using this blown-up scale, OKeeffe can make the viewer feel the emotion of the object. Overall, I think that Georgia OKeeffe mastered abstract art and I will continue to be a fan. She has forever changed the way art will be viewed and will be an inspiration for many artists to come. I would not change anything about this piece because the size, color, texture, medium, and line all play a part in what OKeeffe wanted to portray in this piece. Works Cited Georgia OKeeffe Biography. Lakewood Public Library (Lakewood, Ohio). N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Apr. 2010. . MoMA | The Collection | Georgia OKeeffe. Lake George, Coat and Red. 1919. MoMA | The Museum of Modern Art. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Apr. 2010. . Paul Cà ©zanne Paul Cà ©zanne was a French painter born January 19, 1839. He developed artistic interests at an early age and was sent to Paris to study when he was twenty-three. He has often been called the father of modern art, who â€Å"strove to develop an ideal synthesis of naturalistic representation, personal expression, and abstract pictorial order† (Retro). While he was in Paris he studied the works of Monet, Delacroix, and Gustave Courbet (Retro). Cà ©zannes early paintings show little resemblance to his later and more important style. The subject matter is dark and depressing and includes fantasies, dreams, religious images, and a general theme concerned with death (Notable). Most of the work from this era of his life was harshly criticized and was never accepted in any art exhibitions. In the 1870s, Cà ©zanne began to change his style. He started using brighter colors and the religious subjects he once used in his paintings began to disappear (Notable). Cà ©zannes paintings from the 1870s clearly show the influence of Impressionism. He used short brushstrokes characterized by Monet and other early Impressionist to portray what the â€Å"eyes see rather than what the mind knows† (Frank). Some of his most known pieces from this time are â€Å"House of the Hanged Man† and â€Å"Portrait of Victor Choquet† (Notable). In the late 1870s Cà ©zanne moved back to his home in southern France and isolated himself from the art world. He began to create his own style of Impressionism, but he did not exhibit his art for almost twenty years (Notable). Cà ©zannes began to come out of his solitude during the 1890s. In 1895, a large number of Cà ©zannes paintings were shown, and public interest in his work slowly began to develop. By 1904 he was given an entire room at the Salon dAutomne (Notable). Unfortunately he died October 22, 1906 due to natural causes (Notable). Though he died right when he was getting large recognition for his work, Cà ©zanne will be remembered as a front-runner of modern art (Notable). The piece of Cà ©zannes work I chose was â€Å"Still Life with Fruit Dish†. This painting is an oil on canvas that measures 18 1/4 x 21 1/2 (MoMA). According to MoMA, [Still life was an important genre to Cà ©zanne, who made approximately two hundred such paintings over the course of four decades. In â€Å"Still Life with Fruit Dish† he created a shallow, compressed space that flattens the sculptural volumes of dish, glass, and fruit. This painting was a prized possession of the artist Paul Gauguin, who described the picture as an exceptional pearl, the apple of my eye. It was only when he needed money for medical care that Gauguin unhappily parted with it.] I completely agree with Gauguin. This painting is a fantastic example of how Cà ©zanne created his own style of Impressionism. If the viewer were to put Monets work next to it, you could see the resemblance of Impressionism, but he or she could also see both artists personal style difference. Monet was the pioneer of Impressionism, but personally, I prefer what Cà ©zanne did with this piece much more than â€Å"Impression: Sunrise† or â€Å"Water Lily Pond† by Monet. In â€Å"Still Life with Fruit Dish†, Cà ©zanne created most of the lines in the painting with thick, swift brushstrokes in the Impressionist style. Most of the lines in the painting are jagged and not very detailed. The lighting in the piece looks like it is coming from the right and is shining down on the table and the fruit bowl. By using light this way, Cà ©zanne put emphasis on the fruit bowl which is the subject of the piece. Cà ©zanne also positioned the knife to point directly toward the fruit bowl. This guides the viewers eyes from the lower-right-hand corner of the painting directly to the subject. Since this piece is in the Impressionist style, Cà ©zanne painted what the eyes actually see. Impressionists painted what they saw, so there is no underlying meaning to this piece like works of the Renaissance had. The colors Cà ©zanne used give emphasis on the subject. The background is a dark-colored wall. The tablecloth and fruit bowl are both bright white. Though blue is sometimes used to evoke sadness in a viewer, I do not believe Cà ©zanne was trying to create sadness in this piece. The colors he used for the fruits are realistic colors and their greens, yellows, and reds warm the painting dramatically. Cà ©zanne used thick texture in this painting, but it does not create movement or rhythm in the piece like the works of van Goghs did. I think here he used subtle texture just so the painting would not look bland and flat. The texture he used gives character to the fruit as well as the blue background. Overall, I really like this painting and wish I could have a copy in my house. So far it is my favorite painting I have written about. Cà ©zannes realistic proportion, contrast, and use of space also drew my eye to this piece. I like being able to view art and â€Å"know† what the artist wanted you to see and feel. When looking at this painting, I immediately â€Å"got it†. After reading about Cà ©zanne, I have definitely acquired more knowledge about the Impressionist style and gained a new love for his type of art. Works Cited Frank, Patrick, and Duane Preble. Prebles Artforms: an Introduction to the Visual Arts. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson /Prentice Hall, 2009. Print. MoMA | The Collection | Paul Cà ©zanne. Still Life with Fruit Dish. 1879-80. MoMA | The Museum of Modern Art. Web. 25 Apr. 2010. . Paul Cà ©zanne Biography. Oil Painting Reproductions : Museum Quality Art. Web. 25 Apr. 2010. . Paul Cà ©zanne Biography Life, Story, Death, School, Information, Born, House, Time, Year. Encyclopedia of World Biography. Web. 25 Apr. 2010. . Pablo Picasso Pablo Picasso was a famous Spanish painter and sculptor who lived from 1881-1973. He is best known for cofounding Cubism with Georges Braque. His father, Ruiz, was an artist and influenced Picassos early works. When Picasso was seven, his father began to give him formal training in drawing and painting (Answers). Ruiz was a traditional artist and instructor who believed that proper training required disciplined copying of famous artwork. Picasso became so preoccupied with art that he put his education second. After only six years of painting, Picassos father realized that his son was more talented than him (Answers). At the age of thirteen, Picasso took an entrance exam to the Barcelona School of Fine Arts. After creating his piece in only a week, he was accepted and began taking classes (Answers). Three years later his father sent him to Madrids Royal Academy of San Fernando which was one of the most recognized art schools in Spain (Answers). Shortly after enrolling at the Royal Academy, Picasso dropped out to move to Paris in the early 1900s. His first masterpiece was â€Å"Les Demoiselles dAvignon† which he created in 1907. It was thought of as being controversial because of its reference to the female body and masked faces he used (Answers). From 1909-1912, Picasso continued to work closely with Georges Braque to create what would be known as â€Å"Cubism† (Answers). Though Cubism is a huge part of Picassos work, the painting I chose has no cubist influence. My artwork is â€Å"Night Fishing at Antibes†. It is a 69† x 114† oil on canvas that Picasso completed in 1939 (MoMA). I chose this piece because I wanted to learn more about abstract art, and because I enjoy fishing. The subject of this painting was based on â€Å"Picassos observation of night scenes off the shore of Antibes in the South of France. Men went out and fished by the light of acetylene lamps; the lights attracted the fish to the surface, where they could be netted or speared† (Lenin). Some say that the painting has deeper meaning that relates to the outbreak of World War II, but after researching the topic heavily, I found that the idea is not for certain. The content in the painting is two fishermen in a boat. One has fishing line attached to his toe, and the other man is about to stab a fish with a spear. Two women are standing on a bridge to the right . One woman is holding a bicycle and eating an ice cream cone. Picasso used symbolism in his paintings, and there must be symbolism in this piece, but after my research, I could not find any concrete answers for why he painted â€Å"Night Fishing at Antibes† this way. Most art critics believe that Picasso painted this piece as a war protest much like â€Å"Guernica†, but he never announced that this was the paintings meaning (Answers). The size of the painting also has to do something with the meaning. This painting is almost twelve feet wide and seven feet tall. If the meaning of the piece is to protest WWII, Picasso created this painting to be the size of a billboard. This would help drive the underlying meaning of the painting and convey what Picasso wanted to say about the war with a bold message. Picasso created a well-lit piece by making the moonlight shine directly down on the water. This contrasts the fish on the right and makes the eyes look directly at it first. The piece is well balanced due to its large, dark background and small space of lightness. The viewers eyes go directly toward the fish on the right not only because of the lighting, but also due to the way Picasso used line. The spear has four straight, thick arrows pointing directly at the fish. This spear also looks like a trident. This could have some time of underlying meaning as well. The spear looks strong and bold. After guiding your eyes up the shaft of the spear, your eyes drift left across the arm of the fisherman. He is scaled much larger than the other fisherman in the boat and his eyes seem to be looking directly at the viewer. No other subjects in the painting are looking towards the viewer except for this fisherman. The spear and the fishermans arm are by far the strongest lines in the piece. They are at 90 degree angles, unlike any of the other lines in the painting. Though the piece is constructed with purely organic shapes, the painting does not convey a since of movement or rhythm. To me the piece seems like a snapshot in time catching everyone off guard. The colors Picasso used in the painting give the piece emphasis on what time of day it is. The viewer can tell the painting is a night scene because of the title, but I believe Picasso painted a night scene for an underlying meaning. Almost every color in the painting is dark except for the water on which the moon shines down on. The dark hues give the piece a cold and sad feeling. Just by the color alone, I can tell that I would not want to be in this scene. I really liked this work when I first saw it, but after doing research I have changed my view of it. Now knowing what was going on in the world at the time, I feel that this painting has a much deeper meaning than what I as young college student can grasp. I will always be a fan of Picassos work, but to be honest, I just do not understand a lot of what he wants the viewer to catch on to. I like the painting, but I am actually disappointed after writing this paper. Personally, I would have rather picked a piece that I could have understood than try to chase down the meaning of this painting. I spent more time doing research on the underlying meaning than I spent enjoying the painting. I felt like I was chasing my tail while doing the report on this piece. Nonetheless, I am still a fan of Picassos and maybe one day the message of this piece (if any) will hit me. Works Cited MoMA | The Collection | Pablo Picasso. Night Fishing at Antibes. Antibes, August 1939. MoMA | The Museum of Modern Art. Web. 22 Apr. 2010. . Pablo Picasso Night Fishing at Antibes (1939). Lenin Imports UK Latest CDs, Cassettes, Vinyl , Movie, Art Memorabilia In Stock Art, Rock, Movie Loads More. Web. 21 Apr. 2010. . Pablo Picasso Night Fishing at Antibes (1939). Lenin Imports UK Latest CDs, Cassettes, Vinyl , Movie, Art Memorabilia In Stock Art, Rock, Movie Loads More. Web. 28 Apr. 2010. . Pablo Picasso: Biography from Answers.com. Answers.com: Wiki QA Combined with Free Online Dictionary, Thesaurus, and Encyclopedias. Web. 23 Apr. 2010. .

Analysis of two poems; Prayer Before Birth and Easter Monday Essay

Analysis of two poems; Prayer Before Birth and Easter Monday In this essay I will be analysing two poems. Both poems reflect upon the theme of war. I will be analysing them through their meanings, forms and show how the poets use language to express their ideas and feelings. I have decided to look at the poems Prayer Before Birth by Louis MacNeice and Easter Monday by Eleanor Farjeon. Louis MacNeice was born in 1907, he died in 1963. His mother died when he was young and her death got to him deeply. He studied at Oxford and was one of a group of poets here who became famous. He was intensely affected by the political events of the 1930’s and also by the Second World War. This poem is about an unborn child praying that it should be born into a good world. The only verse which provides images of this good world is verse number three and the images of goodness are linked to nature; water, grass, trees, sky and a white light to guide him. All the other verses are filled with images of a world of hostility, repression, distraction and many of them refer to things that ...

James Baldwin: On What it’s Really Like Essay

In James Baldwin’s â€Å"A Stranger in the Village† and â€Å"Sonny’s Blues,† our eyes are opened to the struggles of African Americans in the 1950’s. Baldwin writes about the struggles with identity, social acceptance, and racial discrimination. It is apparent that Baldwin has a very strong opinion behind the reasoning for these three struggles and he elaborates on each throughout these two stories. Through bringing these themes to life, he helps us to have a closer glimpse of what it was like to be like him. First and foremost, Baldwin’s writings deal with the overwhelming sense of identity, or the search for identity. In â€Å"A Stranger in the Village,† he states, â€Å"At the root of the American Negro problem is the necessity of the American white man to find a way of living with the Negro in order to be able to live with himself. † (pg. 1712) In this statement, Baldwin is commenting on the search for identity through the idea of what white people need to live with themselves. The black Americans can only find identity once the white man figures out how to live with them having one. He goes on to say, â€Å"†¦the white man’s motive was the protection of his identity; the black man was motivated by the need to establish an identity. † (pg. 1712) Because black Americans have had to endure so much struggle and decades of anonymity through the time fo slavery, at this point, they are starting from the ground up to find out who they are as a people and as a community. Even further, they must find out who they are as a people and as a community, and how that fits into the white society surrounding them. In â€Å"Sonny’s Blues,† we read about more of a personal identity struggle, rather than a racial identity struggle as a pair of brother try to find out who they are and what the mean to each other. Sonny is a heroin addict who only feels complete when he is surrounded by music. His older brother, the narrator, a teacher, does not understand this, and constantly tries to get Sonny to figure out what it is he wants out of life. This is a common struggle between family members who live very opposite lives. As we watch the narrator struggle to help Sonny find his identity, he never really reveals his own, other than his identity being that of a caretaker for his brother. All along, even though he is seen as a complete mess with no direction, Sonny is the one who has a strong sense of identity. It isn’t until the end of the story, that the narrator can finally see his brother for who he really is. Sonny identifies with the music, and the lifestyle it exudes. He is comfortable in his own skin when he is surrounded by the music. â€Å"Sonny’s fingers filled the air with life. His life. † (pg. 1749) Secondly, Baldwin tackles the theme of social acceptance in both pieces. In â€Å"A Stranger in the Village,† Baldwin is living in Chartres, Switzerland, a small mountain town where he can be completely removed from the noise and chaos of Harlem or Paris, and he can just write. When he walks through the small town, he knows that he is the first and only black person most of these people have ever seen. However, he is greeted very differently that in America. As he walks down the street, â€Å"The children who shout ‘Neger! have no way of knowing the echoes this sound raises in me. † (pg. 1707) Such a word that comes with a supremely negative and threatening connotation in the U. S. is simply a word spoken by children who see a man different from themselves and are intrigued. Baldwin is seen as more of a side show act, or an exotic creature to the people of Chartres. They are fascinated by his difference from them, but do not seem to be threatened or disgusted. The biggest example of social acceptance from â€Å"A Stranger in the Village† would be the image of Baldwin playing with the local children on a nice day. To see a grown black man playing with small white children in the United States at this time would not be tolerated. In some parts of the country it would absolutely result in jail time, violence, or even death. In Chartres, the children play freely with Baldwin as their parents look on. It is both socially accepted and celebrated. It is amazing to see the difference in perspective through a difference of history. America’s past dictates its present. In â€Å"Sonny’s Blues,† the biggest theme of social acceptance comes with Sonny’s chosen lifestyle and profession. As he struggles with a heroin addiction, he also struggles to make a life for himself through his music. There is a stigma placed on artists that they are lazy, irresponsible people who don’t want to go out and get a â€Å"real job. † This is definitely a stigma placed on Sonny by not only society, but his brother as well. â€Å"Sonny’s Blues† is a piece that teaches us to celebrate those who want to live creatively, and to recognize their importance in our society. Lastly, as with most of Baldwin’s pieces, we are forced to look at the theme of racial discrimination. In â€Å"A Stranger in the Village,† Baldwin speaks of rage. He says, â€Å"Rage can only with difficulty, and never entirely, be brought under the domination of the intelligence and is therefore not susceptible to any arguments whatever. † (pg. 1708) he says that the rage and resentment the black man has for the white man is something that can never completely go away, and that there are two ways to deal with it. â€Å"†¦either rob the white man of the jewel of his naivete, or else to make it cost him dear. † (pg. 1708) In Chartres, Baldwin is approached by children who want to see if the color on his skin will rub off. When they realize it doesn’t, they are fascinated by this person who is so different than them. At the very same time, in America, it is a well-known fact that the color of your skin will not rub off and that it will dictate every part of your life. In certain states it will tell you where you can eat, where you sit, who you can buy from, and where you can go to school. In â€Å"Sonny’s Blues,† the suffering that the narrator finally sees his brother going through as a struggling musician and addict, can be mirrored to the suffering of black people in America. He reads of Sonny’s arrest in the subway where Baldwin writes â€Å"I stared at it (the article of Sonny’s arrest) in the swinging lights of the subway car, and in the faces and bodies of the people, and in my own face, trapped in the darkness which roared outside. † (1728) This can be read literally, as it is very dark outside a running subway car, but also metaphorically, seeing the â€Å"darkness which roared outside† as the darkness and suffering black people would face on a daily basis, struggling to get through life in a white dominated society. In conclusion, Baldwin writes about real life experiences as well as fictional experiences that come to the same conclusions. His writings hold a mirror up to the society in which he lived in and gave insight to the troubles, and also the triumphs of the human race. He exposed 1950’s America for what it really was, and showed us 1950’s Europe, which had a very different opinion on people such as himself. He gives us perspective on the life he lead and the lives led be those surrounding him, ultimately giving us a greater understanding of our own history, white or black.

Perceptions of African American Women Essay

I am taking some classes that will eventually qualify me to major in Astro – Physics, or Chemical engineering, I also want to work with NASA and train as an astronaut. It was amazing to know that Dr. Mae C. Jemison who happens to be the youngest of three children born to a middle class African American family, Charlie Jemison, a maintenance worker and his wife, Dorothy, a teacher. Dr. Mae C. Jemison was the first black woman astronaut to be in space in an era filled with segregation and racism, she is a Chemical engineer, scientist, physician, teacher and astronaut, she has a wide range of experience in technology, engineering, and medical research. In addition to her extensive background in science, she is well-versed in African and African-American Studies, speaks fluent Russian, Japanese, and Swahili, as well as English and is trained in dance and choreography. Dr. Mae C. Jamison was an inspiration to me, and probably to many African American women. She was full of resilience and determination especially to have reached and achieved success in an unusual field of endeavor for many African American women, I applaud her determination to make a difference among the African American women and blacks in Diaspora. After graduating from Morgan Park High School in 1973 at the age of 16, Dr. Mae Jemison earned a BS in Chemical Engineering from Stanford University, while also fulfilling the requirements for a BA in African-American Studies. After earning these degrees in 1977, she attended Cornell University and received a Doctor of Medicine degree in 1981. During medical school she traveled to Cuba, Kenya and Thailand, providing primary medical care to people living there. This is an indication of her humanitarian efforts and eagerness to reach out to the less privileged population. Having a desire to do more with her life, she enrolled in graduate classes in engineering and applied to NASA for admission to the astronaut program. She was turned down on her first application, maybe because she is a black woman, but she persevered and in 1987 was accepted on her second application. She became one of the fifteen candidates accepted from over 2,000 applicants. When Dr. Mae Jemison successfully completed her astronaut training program in August 1988, she became the fifth black astronaut and the first black female astronaut in NASA history. In completing her first space flight, Dr. Mae Jemison logged 190 hours, 30 minutes, 23 seconds in space, making her the first African-American woman in space. She says, â€Å"I had to learn very early not to limit myself due to others’ limited imaginations. I have learned these days never to limit anyone else due to my limited imagination. † This is an inspiration to other blacks in general who normally assume a second class citizen and believe that they will never do well or will be appreciated in whatever they do. This is a wake-up call, and manifestation of the saying â€Å"Determination is the mother of invention†. In 1993, Dr. Mae Jemison resigned from NASA and founded the Jemison Group, Inc.to research, develop and implement advanced technologies suited to the social, political, cultural and economic context of the individual, especially for the developing world. Current projects include: Alpha, (TM) a satellite based telecommunication system to improve health care in West Africa; and The Earth We Share, (TM) an international science camp for students ages 12 to 16, that utilizes an experiential curriculum. Among her current projects are several that focus on improving healthcare in Africa. She is also a professor of environmental studies at Dartmouth College. Dr. Mae Jamison made a name for herself and name for blacks in general; Her entrepreneurial spirit put her in the limelight and acts as a boost to determined black men and women in Diaspora. Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf. It was quite surprising to read about Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, I know almost nothing about this â€Å"giant and queen of modern Africa† who is presently the current president of Liberia. According to what I have read so far about this â€Å"queen of Africa† she was born In Monrovia, the capital of Liberia on October 29, 1938. During this period, Liberians had no clue that the First female president of an African country had been born into their mist. Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf is a daughter to descendents of original colonists of Liberia (ex-African slaves from America, who promptly on arrival set about enslaving the indigenous people using the social system of their old American masters as a basis for their new society). These descendents are known in Liberia as Americo-Liberians. From what I read, I noticed that Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf was truly an intellectual power house, a charismatic leader and destined to make a change in Liberia and contribute her quota in Africa. From 1948 to 1955 Ellen Johnson studied accounts and economics at the College of West Africa in Monrovia. After marriage at the age of 17 to James Sirleaf, she travelled to America (in 1961) and continued her studies, achieving a degree from the University of Colorado. From 1969 to 1971 she read economics at Harvard, gaining a masters degree in public administration. Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf then returned to Liberia and began working in William Tolbert’s (True Whig Party) government. Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf also served as Minister of Finance from 1972 to 73, but left after a disagreement over public spending, this is an indication of her prudence and will power. As the 70s progressed, life under Liberia’s one-party state became more polarized to the benefit of the Americo-Liberian elite. On 12 April 1980 Master Sergeant Samuel Kayon Doe, a member of the indigenous Krahn ethnic group, seized power in a military coup. With the People’s Redemption Council now in power, Samuel Doe began a purge of government. Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf narrowly escaped – choosing exile in Kenya. From 1983 to 1985 she served as Director of Citibank in Nairobi. I will say that Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf had a lot of courage, because it was quite unusual for a woman to challenge a dictatorial incumbent president in Africa without being kidnapped, tortured or killed in the process, although She was later sentenced to ten years in prison. Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf spent just a short time incarcerated, before being allowed to leave the country once again as an exile. During the 1980s she served as Vice President of both the African Regional Office of Citibank, in Nairobi, and of (HSCB) Equator Bank, in Washington. Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf played an active role in the transitional government as the country prepared for the 2005 elections, and eventually stood for president against her rival the ex-international footballer, George Manneh Weah. Despite the elections being called fair and orderly, Weah repudiated the result, which gave a majority to Johnson-Sirleaf, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf eventually became Liberia’s first elected female president, as well as the first elected female president in the continent Africa. . In 2005 She established a Truth and Reconciliation Commission with a mandate to â€Å"promote national peace, security, unity and reconciliation† by investigating more than 20 years of civil conflict in the country and in November 2007, she received the United States Presidential Medal of Freedom, the U. S. government’s highest civilian award. She is truly a giant and â€Å"queen of modern Africa†. References: 1. http://space. about. com/cs/formerastronauts/a/jemisonbio. htm 2. http://www. k-grayengineeringeducation. com/blog/index. php/2008/09/12/first-african-american-women-in-space. 3. http://www. joinafrica. com/africa_of_the_week/ellenjohnsonliberia. htm.