Third, you will want to check out some basic research tutorials from your university library. Simon Fraser University students look here and Kwantlen Polytechnic University Students look here.
Finally, give yourself time before handing in your paper and review the "Top 10 Mistakes" students make when completing a research paper (Part One and Part Two).
For an even more detailed approach to writing a research paper (especially if you are new to university and/or have not written a research paper before), see my previous post "Research Paper Season: Are You Prepared?" that breaks down the steps above to an even greater degree. Good luck and remember that the best research papers are ones that set out a clearly established argument (thesis) and make direct references to your sources. We don't necessarily expect original research from undergraduates, but we do expect to see a framework for how you arrived at your final conclusions.
What bridges the gulf between art and life more than some latte "painting"? See tweet below Image courtesy: slate.com
What? Another week done already, and we are into March? Hard to believe, but yes it is true. I spent it much like the one before (lots of midterm grading and meetings with students), but I managed to work in the second of my moderated Philosopher's Cafes, this one addressing the question of whether contemporary art is intrinsically political. A nice group discussion revealed that the answer to that question is highly subjective and must take into account what each individual expects and asks of the art that surrounds them, together with recognizing the cultural capital that knowledge of contemporary art carries. An engaging article that we examined in connection to the broader question can be found here. As for tonight, see if you can manage to find some inspiration and make your own latte painting before sitting down and checking out some of my favourite tweets from around the Twitterverse:
An inspiring example of how artists can direct our
attention. A great example of how art can be important
An article decoding the many references to film history
in Martin Scorsese's "Hugo"
how to cite a tweet in an academic paper tho,
i'd suggest putting a link to the tweet in there, too
PS We have lots of silent films catalogued here: Including
15 by Charlie Chaplin
Higher education must not become a luxury afforded only
to America's elite, says Columbia U. professor
Deepa Mehta's Midnight's Children to debut this fall
A documentary based on Abramovic's MoMA
performance in 2010 is now making the film festival circuit.
Image source: marinafilm.com
I finally had a chance last week to catch up on some of my archived podcasts. I especially enjoy the CBC radio program Ideas with Paul Kennedy, so I was especially excited to see that Marina Abramovic had sat down with the CBC for an hour long interview. Having spent several years researching and teaching about Abramovic's practice, not to mention reading many student essays and projects discussing her work, I was surprised about how much new information (and very personal and intimate knowledge at that) Abramovic shared with interviewer Eleanor Wachtel. Listening to the interview [find embedded link below], we learn more details about Abramovic's upbringing in 1950-60's Belgrade and the relationship she had with her parents and grandparents, all of whom were celebrated war heroes. She also details the life of privilege she enjoyed as a "red bourgeoisie" under the Communist regime of the former Yugoslavia. This was especially interesting to hear Abramovic describe because it complicates accounts of how her art practice was perceived by both her family and the art institutions within Belgrade who first supported her. She goes on to discuss in fascinating detail how and why she abandoned her painting practice, connecting her early and controversial "Rhythm" projects to an interest in sound installation that would eventually evolve to a performance-based practice. As Abramovic sums up about this transition, she discovered that her body was her best tool.
In the interview, Abramovic also tackles the more profound question of determining when one knows if they are an artist. She defines this through a number of criteria, reserving the category of the "great artist" only to those select few willing to sacrifice everything else for the craft. As Abramovic argues, "you have to be in a fever...be obsessed... it has to be the most important thing in your life." For Abramovic, the act of silence and being present in one's body are powerful and disciplinary tools that help shape that level of inner awareness, especially at a time when young artists are seduced into a perpetual and technologically-induced state of distraction. "The only real change comes from your own experience" states Abramovic, and this is perhaps the most concise summary of her artistic practice as a performance artist. The interview reveals an even greater depth of Abramovic's energy and passion which extends to all of her performances, perhaps none more profound than that of The Artist is Present (2010)-- a piece I have blogged about here. Now with the much anticipated documentary film about this performance making the film festival rounds-- most recently at Sundance and here in Canada at Reel Artists (P.S. fingers crossed that this film shows up at VIFF this fall!)-- we will be hearing a great deal more about what makes Abramovic so resiliant and perpetually relevant as a contemporary artist.
Here is a trailer for the feature-length documentary The Artist Is Present directed by Matthew Akers and Jeff Dupre.
Cindy Sherman's retrospective opened today at MoMA-- lots of Twitter activity all week around it.
Source: huffingtonpost.com
A hectic couple of weeks with lots of great events, openings, and visits with students and friends. The reading break also allowed me to catch up with some of the marking that is now rolling in along with some much needed early spring cleaning. Now if only the weather would cooperate and bring some warmer days. I am also finally settling into the planning phase for our now booked-to-capacity field school to Paris and Documenta in June! We have a terrific group assembled and there are plans to record our activities through a collaborative blog that I will link here when the time comes. I am just now getting ready to sit down and begin watching the Oscars, both on TV and also via my Twitter feed (which is as much fun as watching the event). I am hoping The Artist sweeps the awards as predicted! In the meantime, check out some of my favourite tweets from the past week:
Movie Review: Gene Sharp in Documentary ‘How to Start a
Revolution’
The Austin Powers theory of academic interviewing
Adding to the deluge of Marina Abramovic articles in T.O.
@ the moment:my Q&A at @cdnartmagazine
Martin Scorsese's 85 Films You Need to See
Duchamp and the Readymade McNugget
Research proves college lectures need to go the way of
the dinosaur
The original Russian and German movie posters for
Dziga Vertov's Man With A Movie Camera (1929). courtesy: mubi.com
In the age of Internet copyright legislation and the question of fair use of media sources for the university classroom, there is a great deal of controversy over how student audiences access and view films online. Teaching a film studies course, I am well aware that the majority of my students download and circulate movies in less than purely legal ways. Let's just say that we live in a world that maintains a strong technological "don't ask, don't tell" environment. This is even more so the case with the recent mass closure of video-store outlets around North America. I can count on one hand how many places I can rent a hard-to-find DVD in a 100km radius of where I live. At the same time, the growing popularity of computer tablets and network accessible HD television has transformed the software and hardware applications delivering film to audiences. That said, the increase of high quality streaming movies on demand (both from cable operators and media giants like Netflix and Amazon) has created a new and competitive environment in which to locate and screen classic cinema choices legally, and often for free.
Most recently, I have been directing students to YouTube Movies-- a relatively new arm of the popular video-sharing website that has entered into the movies on demand market with an easy to use and subscription-free interface. For those in Canada, YouTube Movies also offers the added bonus of not blocking content the way other streaming providers such as Amazon.com and Hulu do. While surfing through the catalog last summer, I was delighted to find a number of film gems offered through their Classics Category. Taking a closer look, many of the movies are made available through VISO Cinema (part of the consumer arm of BroadBandTV) and OpenFlix (films in the public domain or released to the public domain).
Here is a shortlist of links to some of the best classic films streaming in their entirety for free on YouTube Movies. Best of all, they look as fantastic on my Playbook as they do on my large screen HDTV. With the Academy Awards approaching this Sunday, it is a great time to set up a DIY Film Festival and begin exploring the world of classic cinema.
