English 2850 Fall 2022: Great Works of World Literature II

According to georgesbasque.org, Georges Braque is a painter from the 20th century who co-founded cubism alongside Pablo Picasso. As defined by Merrian Webster, cubism is an art style focused on abstract structures usually by showing different perspectives of one object at the same time or fragments of an object. 

I chose “The Violin” which is meant to recreate an engraved metal nameplate. These nameplates were usually used to name the brands in advertisements. He used this more common type of nameplate as a way to defy the hierarchy between artists who can afford more expensive materials and those who cannot. The parts with wood particles, sawdust, and raised paint are theorized to be pieces stuck together like a collage. 

This piece displays cubist ideals by showing the different parts of a violin just in a perspective that we don’t typically see. When I think of an artwork of a violin, I imagine the painter painting a violin when it is fully built. In contrast, this artwork shows the pieces of a violin rather than a completed violin. It is still a violin, but it’s just a different perspective of a violin by showing different pieces simultaneously. 

I was looking for the modernist portion of the museum when I saw the special cubism exhibit at the metropolitan museum and had no idea that this was actually modernism. I just wanted to look at a bunch of pretty cubes. I kept wandering around when I realized that the pieces were actually going to help me with my assignment. The only drawback of this experience was a security guard kept looking at me while I was looking at the piece. 

What drew me to this piece was the sawdust. It was a texture that I don’t associate with paintings so to see it took me by surprise. I read the description and loved the piece even more since we read about how elitist the writers of modernism can be, but seeing a painter going directly against that elitism made me excited. I was glad that not all of the paintings here were elitist since I was the only person of color throughout most of the exhibit and I felt as if I wasn’t meant to understand or see these paintings. I felt as if this was a space that I didn’t belong in, but this artwork gave me some kind of comfort. There are paintings of artists who didn’t look down on the common people. It was a sign of affirmation that I do belong in this space just like all those other well-off white people. Maybe the artist didn’t envision people with my skin color appreciating his piece, but the sentiment still comforts me.

The artifact that I chose between the modernism artifact was “Contour of loss, 2020” by Titus Kaphar who was Black woman who was holding her child that she lost. The meaning of the artifact a black woman who lost her child due to gun violence, environmental violence in American society. Titus Kaphar exposed conceptual basics between the nationalist histories and colonialist legacies and how they are connected to bring cultural, personal identity. Titus Kaphar is a painter, sculptor, filmmaker, and installation artist. By schretting, cutting, stitching, binding and erasing, by subject and support. Titus Kaphar made new rebuilt codes and odalites based on black possibilities. Titus Kaphar is a person who makes his sculptures based on social issues, political concerns, etc (Titus Kaphar 2020). Titus Kaphar. Gagosian. (2020, March 8). Retrieved December 2, 2022, from https://gagosian.com/artists/titus-kaphar/

Titus Kaphar decided to paint this sculpture to show to the Americans the violence that black people were facing in the American’s society. The paint of the white part in the sculpture is showing the loss of a woman’s child. Another way the meaning of this sculpture can represent the loss of a woman’s child. It shows how women feel despereted, how they feel lost in their memories, how they feel so much pain in their soul. They can’t imagine the loss of their child by gun violence, and the environmental violence in American society (Dafoe, 2020). Dafoe, T. (2020, June 4). Artist Titus Kaphar painted a black mother with the silhouette of a child for the cover of Time Magazine’s protest issue. Artnet News. Retrieved December 3, 2022, from https://news.artnet.com/art-world/titus-kaphar-time-magazine-george-floyd-1878975

All of this happened after George Floyer’s death because George Floyer death give Titus Kaphar an idea about discrimination, violence based on the Black community. This whole scene gives him inspiration on how he can include this gun violence, racism based on Black in his art and how he can illustrate these big issues in his painting. 

The reason why I chose this object is because I thought it’s connected to modernism. Additionally, he was talking about the racism that Black people were facing by police in our society. Without these problems, he could not obtain in-depth information that could raise racism in the black community from the police department. Plus, these issues it’s related to the loss of a woman’s child, and we can see how they feel after losing their child. That’s why I chose this artifact to work with it.

• Conferences – Don’t forget your individual conferences. These are mandatory. See weeks #13 and #14 for the link to sign-up. Contact me if you can’t find an available appointment that works for you.

• Modernism in Visual Art – Your posts are due by Monday, Dec.5. Don’t forget that I have asked you to provide me with proof of your visit. You can show me your proof in class on Wednesday, or send it to me via email.

• Essay Questions – By now, almost all of you have emailed me with proposed questions for your final essay. Don’t hesitate to reach out if you need help with this essay. I am happy to provide general feedback on drafts, outlines, etc….

• Reading for Monday, Dec. 5th – Jamaica Kincaid’s, “Girl” – Please read this short piece and answer two of the questions I have shared in a separate post.

• Reading for Wednesday, Dec. 7th – Isabel Allende, “And of Clay are They Created”. Choose one of the following questions to respond to in a comment on this post. Post your response before our class on Wednesday.

–What do you think the significance of Allende’s title is? What does it mean to be made of clay?

-What happens to Rolf in his encounter with Azucena?

–Why do you think Azucena becomes a symbol of the tragedy that is unfolding in the story?

–What did you make of the President’s visit to the site of the disaster? What kind of commentary is Allende making here?

–How can you connect this story with your own experiences of natural or other disasters? Are there elements of the story that you can relate to? How?

Please respond to any two of the following questions. Share your responses by Monday, December 5th. If you’d like, you can hear Jamaica Kincaid reading “Girl” HERE.

–How would you describe the STYLE of this text? Be specific in illustrating your response.

–Where do we see conflict in this text?  What is the nature of the conflict?

–What does this text tell us about the expectations placed on girls and women?

–Explain the text’s last line: “you mean to say that after all you are really going to be the kind of woman who the baker won’t let near the bread? “.

–Choose a specific instruction or prohibition from the text that stands out to you.  What do you make of it?

–To what extent do you feel that you have been given, either explicitly or implicitly, instructions about what it means to be a woman or a man?  Share an example of an instruction that you have received.

• Don’t forget that you need to submit your proposed essay topic (in the form of a question you are asking about your two texts) to me via email by Sunday, November 27th.

• Reminder: Each of you needs to sign up to meet with me on one of the three remaining Mondays of the semester. You can find the sign up HERE.

• Your Modernism in Visual Art posts should be shared to the blog by Monday, December 5th.

• Our reading for this week is Tadeusz Borowski’s “This Way for the Gas, Ladies and Gentlemen”. We will be discussing the story in class on Wednesday. Please respond to two of the following questions. Share your responses by Friday, Dec. 2nd.

Please respond to two of the following questions.  Remember to compose your answers in complete sentences and to ground your ideas in specific details from the text where appropriate. 

1. What did you learn from this story that you did not previously know about life in Nazi concentration camps?
2. This story can be described as a kind of “initiation story” for the narrator.  How is he changed or transformed by the events of the narrative?
3. Describe an example of dehumanization in the text.  What about this moment made a particularly strong impression on you? Why?
4. A tall, grey-haired woman who has just arrived on the “transport” whispers, “My poor boy,” to our narrator.  What does she mean?
5. “Are we good people?” asks our narrator.  What is this exchange about? What do you think?
6. Explain the significance of the story’s title, “This Way for the Gas, Ladies and Gentlemen.”  What seems strange about it?

Manao tupapau (Watched by the Spirit of the Dead) from Noa Noa  by Paul Gauguin is an art piece in which a woman is laying down while an evil spirit creeps in the background. Paul Gauguin, the creator of this piece, was very talented in many aspects. Paul was a painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramist, and writer. He was born on June 7th 1848 in Paris , France and was an important figure in the era of symbolist art. He produced over 516 art pieces and was sadly recognized for his great work after he passed away in 1903. Paul’s most notable piece of art was “WHERE DO WE COME FROM? WHAT ARE WE? WHERE ARE WE GOING?” right behind is “Watched by the Spirit of the Dead”. In the “Watched by the Spirit of the Dead ” Paul shows a woman on her stomach and someone in the background , Paul says that the woman laying down could either be imagining the figure or it could actually be there. His point was to come across as haunting and he very well did so. The canvas itself was produced in 1892 and uses many different kinds of colors to bring it together. The way it’s drawn with vibrant colors you have to really pay attention to the image or else you won’t understand what’s going on. That’s how I came across the art piece. When I first laid my eyes on it , I thought I saw a turkey from a fast glance but then I noticed it was a human body. I then saw the woman in the back and realized the woman before me on the bed was naked .All these different factors had me looking around the painting for other things I may have missed. I really enjoy the theme of horror and this painting was the closest to it , from the image to the actual background of the work it was something I genuinely found interesting. In my opinion the form of art used in this painting was surrealism . The painting’s bizarre scenery and dream-like background leads me to think that. It’s not something commonly found in paintings and for that i believe it’s surrealism. Furthermore while reading the painting’s description I was intrigued as to how the author came up with such an idea for an art work. Where did the inspiration for this come from ? Was it from another piece of art or an actual experience of his ?

• There is no in-person class this Wednesday, Nov. 23rd. Instead, we will be meeting via Zoom from 3-4 pm on Monday, Nov. 21st. On this zoom, we will be continuing our conversation about “The Metamorphosis” and discussing your final essay. Have your copy of the text with you. Use this link to log on: https://baruch.zoom.us/j/7078160027

• I have posted the assignment for your Final Essay above, under the “Essays” tab. Please read it carefully BEFORE our conversation on Monday. We will discuss the assignment on the zoom, and you will have an opportunity to ask questions.

• You will notice that the first step in your essay-writing process is to come up with a “question” that will guide you in your writing. Submit your question to me via email at [email protected] no later than Sunday, Nov. 27th. The earlier you submit your idea, the sooner you will get feedback, and the sooner you can move forward with the assignment.

• Please sign up to meet with me on one of the three remaining Mondays in the semester. You can find the sign up HERE. If none of these days works for you, please reach out to me to schedule an alternative. These conferences are required.

• There is no reading assigned this week, so if necessary, you can use this week to catch up!

As an extension of our study of Modernism, you will be exploring Modernism in visual art through a visit to one of the NYC museums listed below.  All of these museums are currently requiring that visitors book their visit ahead of time, so be sure to go to their website and follow instructions to make a reservation before your visit. 

Museum of Modern Art (www.moma.org) 11 W.53rd Street

CUNY students can visit MoMA for free.  When booking your visit, click on the button that says “Reserve Affiliate Tickets”.

Neue Galerie (www.neue galerie.org) 1048 Fifth Avenue

This small museum focuses specifically on Austrian and German art.  It is housed in a beautiful mansion.  Admission is free on the first Friday of every month.  All other times, student admission is $12.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art (www.metmuseum.org) 1000 Fifth Avenue

This museum is “pay as you wish” for full-time students in NY and for all NYC residents. There is a suggested price listed for students, but you can choose how much you want to pay for admission. However you still need to make a reservation to book your visit!

At the museum, you will select one piece of work created between 1890 and the beginning of WWII in 1939 that you believe can be described as modernist.   It might be helpful to keep in mind that impressionism, expressionism, cubism, and surrealism are all streams of modernism. 

On our course blog, post an image of the work (preferably a photograph taken by you at the museum or an image found online) and a post of 400-500 words about the work.  If you consult any sources to complete this assignment, please include that information.  It’s fine to look up basic biographical information, but all description and thoughts about the work you’ve selected should be entirely your own.  Be sure to include the following elements:

–Basic information about the artist.

–A description of work you selected.

–An analysis of how this work reflects the aesthetic preferences associated with Modernism.

–A description of the context in which you encountered the work. 

–An explanation of what drew you to this piece.

–Any questions you have about the work.

***Your work must be posted to our course blog by Monday, Dec 5th.

Please retain proof of your visit to the museum to be submitted to me in class after your visit.

• Our reading for this week is Kafka’s The Metamorphosis. You can find the text in Volume F of your Norton Anthology.

Please respond to any two of the questions below. You can share your responses as a comment on this post or in response to one of your classmates’ responses. For each response, please be sure to provide concrete textual evidence to support and illustrate your ideas.  Responses should be shared by Friday, Nov. 18th

1. How is Gregor’s family transformed in the wake of his metamorphosis?
2. Do you think that Gregor is more powerful BEFORE or AFTER his metamorphosis?  Explain your response.
3. Discuss the theme of food and eating. What role does it play in “The Metamorphosis”?
4. At the end of the second section of the story, Gregor’s father pelts him with apples.  What do you think this episode is about?
5. Gregor emerges from his room one last time when he hears his sister playing her violin for the lodgers.  What is the significance of this scene? What meaning does music hold for Gregor here?
6. Ultimately, what do you think Gregor’s metamorphosis means?  What does it mean to be transformed into a giant bug?
7. Explain your understanding of Gregor’s death.  How/why does he ultimately die?
8. Look at the final paragraph of the story. How does it shape or alter our understanding of the text?

• In a separate post, I have shared your Modernism in Visual Art assignment. Please read the assignment carefully. I will be discussing the assignment and answering questions about it in class on Wednesday.

• Our class will not be meeting on Wednesday, November 23rd. In lieu of that in-person class, we will be meeting via Zoom on Monday, November 21st from 3-4 pm. During that call, we will be discussing the assignment for your Final Essay, among other things. You can link to our Zoom HERE.

• Because of scheduling limitations, we have skipped over one of our scheduled readings, “In the Wineshop” by Lu Xun. I have included a link to the story under the “Texts” tab, and you should feel free to read it if you are curious about Chinese Modernism. You are also welcome to write about it in your final essay and/or final exam if you so choose. Consider it an “optional” reading.

–How does justice work in the world of “Punishment”?  What happens when one tells the truth? What happens when one lies?

–What do we make of Chandara’s choice to take responsibility for the death of her sister-in-law? Do you see her as a hero or as a victim?

–Explain the significance of the details Tagore offers about the marriage between Chandara and Chidam.  How do they help us understand the events of the story?

–How do you understand the title of the story?

–As she approaches death, Chandara both says, “to hell with him,” and maintains that she loves her husband.  How do you reconcile these two apparently contradictory statements?