Can Wang

S.C.U.M was said to the short of “Society for Cutting Up Men”. Not only in the manifesto, but also in the name, was filled with radical words and languages. I do think that makes sense and seems effective, because the manifesto aims to evoke people’s attention, and passion to be part of the party. In fact, they want revolution, no matter to eliminate the male power, or free the Black. Using radical words and languages can make the audience feel the motion, feel the angry, and then make an action to be part of the revolution. The radical languages are full of passion and full of literary color of the text, it can support the enthusiasm of the radical youth, excite the hearts of struggling people. According to the result of this revolution, it was effective, because it attracted lots of radical youth to involve in the revolution, and fight for the freedom.

Dance (I) by Henri Matisee is an oil painting on canvas created in 1909. While analyzing this piece there were a few things I stood out to me.

While inspecting the piece in an objective tone there are many things to notice; the colors, the background, the figures and what is occurring in the picture. One of the first things that stood out was that while many other oil paintings consisted of an abundance of colors and mixing, this artist only used around 4-5 colors for this piece. Next I noticed how the piece was extremely simple, it did not contain many details. The background was just a green hill with a blue background. The people in the painting were all the same color and all had simple sketches of their features (eyes, nose, lips, breast, buttock). While observing the colors I noticed how the artist used dark colors in the background but lighter colors on the people. Lastly while trying to figure out what was occurring in the piece I concluded that they were all dancing in a circle (hence the title of the piece) and that the girl on the bottom right had fallen. I would personally point to the person the bottom left as the most prominent figure in this piece due to their hieratic scale (being the largest thing in this piece) and his contrapposto position with his feet. The contrapposto could be seen throughout many pieces of art throughout history, this position is usually linked with the image over power. As you continue to look at the figures counter-clockwise you can notice how they are slowly progressing from standing up and dancing well to falling and on the floor. If you look even closer to the the last figure, you can notice how their hand is outstretched but not connected to the next person, thus breaking the circle.

After this I started to truly analyze the piece by closely examining all the things I stated in my objective analysis. I noticed that by making the people a lighter color they stood out a lot more and made them a general focus of the painting, as he probably desired. I concluded that his lack of detail was because the artist didn’t want the painting to distract you from a message he was trying to send. This message could be seen in the figures dancing and how they are falling apart. After reading the note on the side, I saw that the artist once stated that the piece evoked “life and rhythm”. Life and rhythm can easily be seen in this painting. When viewing life it can easily be associated with the word rhythm, much like a rhythm life consist of many ups and downs. In this painting you can see the figures representing this as the figures go from quite literally standing up to being down. However, just like the figures in the painting, life and rhythm is a circle, they constantly go through sequences of being up and down. The faces of these figures does not matter because they are us. All of us are dancing to the rhythm of life, constantly experiencing all of its ups and downs. Going back to the background you can now see how the background is so simply because in life things are always changing, thus where we are doesn’t matter. What matters is that through all these changes we are always ourselves, and no matter where we are, we will always fall down but just to get up again.

Manifestos serve as a declaration of an individuals or parties policies, goals, intentions and motives. While this declaration does a vital role in describing them, we must also acknowledge that these pieces also hold the intent of persuasion. Manifestos shows how the authors acknowledge the absolute urgency of the issues present and that they know proper steps that will not just fix, but conquer the issue. They then state the importance of the readers, stating how each reader has tremendous amounts of power and how their commitment is vital in the effort of conquer the problem. In order to achieve all of these points and persuade the readers to join their movement, authors turn to the use of radical language.

The use of radical language in manifesto’s not only set them apart from other outlets that discuss either the manner in more passive or not at all, but it also represents their character. It shows the true raw emotions that the author/group holds towards the issues present and the dedication they possess and use towards conquering the issues. In the Black Panther Party Platform and S.C.U.M. Manifesto they discuss the the black rights moment and the feminist movement , respectively. Through radical language they are able to successfully motivate and persuade their targeted audience to join their movement by; educating them of the issues and its background, stating what has to occur for the issue to be conquered and how they are dedicated to the cause and need your assistance.

The Black Panther Party Platform for example acknowledges the desires of the their audience and uses radical language in establishing they also have the same desires. By using the word “we” they represent what they want, but it also subconsciously causes the leader to include themselves with the word we. Thus when they do recognize this, the readers essentially already links themselves to the group. They differentiate themselves from other groups by not just asking for rights, but demanding them. They provide examples of the injustices that they have incurred and blame those who caused it, thus following the famous quote “An enemy of my enemy is my friend”. This leads the readers to stimutameously truly see the absolute urgency of the problems but to also grow more passionate about it.

The S.C.U.M. Manifesto also does the same by acknowledging how society degrades women and places them in a low level of social hierarchy. Then through the use of radical language, empowers the readers by establishing how men have their abundance of flaws too. This use of radical language is extremely vital in the success of this manifesto because it allows them to be literally the only group that is both attacking and insulting men by exploiting their flaws. While the readers may have originally read the articles with the thoughts that women should have equal rights, they leave with the thoughts of; men have a lot of flaws themselves, women should demand their equal rights, women are an essential part in both society and men and quitting is not the answer. Through all this they see how S.C.U.M. wants to and will obliterate all these problems and that they are literally the only group that is willing to do so radically.

Vivak woke up to his usual 8:00AM alarm. However, instead of jumping out of bed and starting his usual mundane morning routine he decided to lay in bed a little bit longer and peer out his window directly above him. It was an exceptionally gloomy day, the grey sky was littered with clouds everywhere as it illuminated a sense a despair and sadness, the obnoxious sounds of birds chirping  had somehow turned into an erie tone. Finally at 8:10AM his father called him, “You’re late.” he said in a stern voice, a voice aged with hardship, courage, dedication and success. A voice that Vivak knew he wanted to obtain, hence why he tried so hard in school. Vivak finally stood up, rubbed his eyes with his balled fist before putting on his glasses and headed to his bathroom. Here his usual mundane morning routine started; he brushed his teeth, stripped of his clothing and flexed in the mirror (a way to start off the morning confidently he thought to himself), went through his phone picking the recommended playlist by Spotify and blasting it as he went into the shower. As he exited the shower he looked at his clock, 8:30AM, he was very late. As he ran toward his closet his wrapped towel started to rise like a cape with the speed he was running at. In a frenzy he picked out his go to outfit; his CK briefs, his UA socks, H&M faded denim jeans, the first shirt on the neatly folded pile and his adidas superstars. As he ran down the stairs the sounds of his heavy footsteps echoed the house, the sounds you heard next was the sounds of keys, the lifting of a cup and the slam of the door. He quickly entered his car, pushed it to start, and went full throttle towards the LIRR station. He payed no attention to his surrounded, just the holes between the cars infront of him and the sound of his revving engine, he would speed up and both quickly and preciously turn into the whole and speed up infront of the cars. As he approached the train station he quickly turned left into the parking lot and got the first parking spot he saw. As he ran out of his car and towards his train he noticed the fog around him, as if he was in a forest in one of the artsy pictures, yet before he could finish his thought the train arrived infront of him. Loud and obnoxiously. He boarded the train and walked to the first empty seat he saw. He popped in his headphones and continued to listen to his music as he fell asleep. Finally he arrived to Penn Station, he gathered his belonging and headed up the long flight of stairs. Yet instead of his stepping sounds powerful and heavy like in his house, they only made a faint noise in the flurry of all those around him. As he finally got out onto 34th street he walk left towards 6th street. Today was just another usual day in the unusual NYC. Homeless people in the same spots as the days before, just with different un-rememberable faces. He continued this walk concentrating his head to the ground, he didn’t want to think or look at anything else, he wanted to be lost in his thoughts. As he approached 6th street he made another left and continued to walk down under 24th street. Each brief moment he lifted his head there was a different surrounding. The first time he lifted his head he noticed the row of Citibikes to his left, the blue bikes stood locked to their base, while they looked prestige and maintained at a first glance, he saw under deeper inspection the damages they all had. Some had small tears on their seats, some of their handlebars were faded from the sweat and pressure of the hands of those who rode them, some had marks that indicate that they had been dropped or collided, each the same but different in its own way. This next time he glanced up he saw a giant inflatable rat. This 10ft large rat with red eyes was just another usual unusual NYC thing, as it stood prominently in middle street with tired looking construction workers surrounding it he noticed how no one else on the streets noticed it. Everyone gave it a small glance and continued on their busy day, no one had time to wonder why. As he approached closer to the rat he could see that it had caught the eye of an individual. The man laid mesmerized by it. He was clearly of asian descent, about 5’5, dressed up in old running shoes, loosely fitting sweatpants, a black ECHO hoodie with small holes on the right side, and a dirty faded white golf hat with RF on top. Wrinkles claimed his skin, the wrinkles on his face carefully surrounded his eye, deep black, concentrated on his phone while he took a picture of the rat. It only took Vivak about 3 seconds to see and analyze him, quietly he said “Tourist” with a grin on his face. He continued his walk finally turning left onto 24th street. He looked at the time, 10:20AM, he was late. This time he finally looked up and dashed towards Baruch. Just like he was in his car, he payed no attention to all his surrounding, he focused on the holes between people and his loud footsteps. Finally he arrived at Baruch College at 10:24AM, panting and sweating, he swiped his Baruch ID card through the old turnstyle and was ready to offical start his day.

When I went to the MoMA, this piece by Atsuko Tanaka really struck me for its simplicity and color choice. The description in the museum left a lot to my own imagination, so I began to think of it as the human condition. The red orb reminded me of an outsider in a world full of similar people, feeling destined to live on the outskirts of society while everyone else remains together in solidarity. Yet, it isn’t just the people in the painting, there are squiggly lines of connection between them all. Some touch the circles while some don’t, and they, too, are in blue and red. I think it shows a certain hope that connection can happen, even with the outsiders in our society and communities. While it has to make contact, the opportunities for connection surround all of us at all times, we just have to scoot a little closer to each other. It also struck me that each blue orb, while easy to consider exactly the same, have their own differences. The world isn’t so black and white that there are only the outsiders and the others. Even within the others there are differences. If we use our place in the world and our abilities to connect correctly, perhaps we can see the beauty in all of the differences between people, both big and small.

S.C.U.M. means “Society for Cutting Up Men.” The beginning of reading already shows how this manifesto will use radical expressions. This manifesto said that men are not necessary in the world. Women can make the better world by only themselves without men. It’s ridiculous now but I understand what the author wanted to say at that time. I can’t say how well the radical language is effective. If the radical language should be “effective,” we would expect that the society was supposed to be changed right way? It’s not. At this point, I can say that the radical language is the effective way to let people the world is not fair. Only people with powers would think the world is fair. Those people might realize how women feel anger and still repress anger. The black panther use less radical language than the S.C.U.M. Manifesto. However, at that time, it might be extreme radical language because black people was on discrimination.
Both said that they want to be fairly treated as a human being. So, people said what they want. Speaking up voice is like an opinion. No one judge if it is right or not. It’s just telling something. We need this even if we don’t receive any response or feedback. If we don’t say anything, no one knows what we are thinking. Say something. It’s a first step to communicating each other. Speak, listen, again speak, and again listen. It’s a communication. The process of communication was not easy, for example, between majority and minority such women and black people. However, without such radical expressions of S.C.U.M. Manifesto and Black Panther, nothing would be changed in the world. Communication is required for all people in the world. We should keep trying to talk each other and understand each other. It’s a first, easy step but it will result in the biggest step and result to change the world better.

This was my first visit to the MoMA and I was very impressed by the museum as well as the ease that me and my friend where able to get in with our CUNY id’s.  This piece that cough my attention was created by Maria Freire and was located in the “Woman Artist and Postwar Abstract” exhibit.  The exhibit consisted of female abstract artists between World War 2 and the Feminist movement that took place around 1968.  I can not pick out specifically why I like this painting but for one it is balanced.  The black shape is placed evenly throughout the painting.  The large red triangle is slightly to the right of the piece but is off set by the small yellow rectangle to the left.  Although it is an abstract painting Freire gave the painting depth but having some of the shapes overlap and intersect each other.  The left side of the triangle is underneath the black shape but on the right side of the triangle it is over the shape.  I also like how the black shape is one continuous form.  It reminds me of a bent up spring or something.  The part that is closed to the viewer appears larger and the futurist away piece which looks as if it fads away.  The grey background and black shape are the dull colored parts of the panting but the red triangle and 2 rectangles one yellow and one blue make the painting feel complete.  If one of those colored shapes where missing the piece would feel incomplete or off balance.

Before reading the Black Panther Party Platform I expected to see a lot of extreme and radical ideas.  After reading I was shocked to see how relevant the issues that were discussed are today. Almost all the points are reasonable yet still not met today, which is crazy considering this was written in the 1960’s.  Number 6 “We Want All Black Men To Be Exempt From Military Service” seems to be the most extreme, but once you read the explanation you can understand it.  If black man do not feel protected by the government why should they be forced to go defend it? Especially with the Vietnam War going on.  Number 8 and 9 go together, again at a quick glance you think this is crazy but considering that most, or all, of these men did not have a fair trial it is reasonable.  Likely these black men had an all-white jury who pinned them as guilty even before they heard the case.  A black man might have a very good explanation or an alibi but the white jury has their mind made up already.  Number 7 “We Want An Immediate End To Police Brutality And Murder Of Black People”  is still such a big problem today and is very sad.

This artwork was created by Jose Clemente Orozco who was a Mexican artist that created political murals during the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. The painting shown above is called “Dive Bomber and Tank”. It was created in 1940 and is a painting that is made out of fresco, which can be spilt by six panels and can be assorted in anyway. If looked at closely you can see the painting consists of materials of war like tanks tracks, airplane tails and wings, and also chains. Another element added to this painting are faces of either humans or masks that show distress and hardship which is probably because of the havoc caused by the war scene. Human legs are also painted into this piece of art, which are put upwards maybe because Jose was trying to show some more negative ideas of what war brings to us and in his perception it seems to be a dead body. Jose did choose to put the legs on top of the set of tank tracks so another thought would be that he was showing a body getting run over by the tank. Another aspect I noticed in his painting was that the face in the middle has what seems to be a horn sticking out his head which makes me wonder if Jose was trying to implement the devil into his painting as well. To top everything off the only color that stands out in his painting is the red which resembles anger, violence and danger which goes hand in hand with his idea of showing war.

I believe radical language is used in the Black Panther Party Platform and SCUM Manifesto because extremism is needed to emphasize on their opinions and beliefs. They feel the need to say things drastic things to make their manifestos stand out and be known. This may bring more attention to their needs and wants. It’s exaggeration in words that can help make things apparent and this is whats used intensely in the SCUM Manifesto. Valerie Solanas was very repulsive in writing her manifesto by writing things like “To call a man an animal is to flatter him; he’s a machine, a walking dildo.” Solanas also reiterated much about men wanting and trying to actually become women since man is the incomplete female. She wrote “Being an incomplete female, the male spends his life attempting to complete himself, to become female.” This type of literature will cause groups of people to become furious, most likely being all males, which in result would bring more attention to the manifesto written. Radical language in the Black Panther Party Platform was also used but not with such offensive vocabulary. They demanded orders in their list by being very assertive rather than a consistency of insulting the opposing party. I believe radical language can be used to some extent but I feel like the way it was used in the manifesto took it too far while in the Black Party Platform it was aggressive and had its ways of degrading the opposing party but was not so direct and unprofessional. Radical language can help get the arguments across because of the awareness it may bring, which should help grow the fighting side.