Art and Technology SP 2021

Opera was invented in Florence, Italy. It was designed to be an alternate artform to be performed through only song. It is interesting to me that after the first two performances, Opera looked to be heading out the door already. It only needed the right audience and stage to succeed, and L'Orfeo was just the right performance to help Opera get off the ground. I cannot imagine how archeologists felt when they uncovered that secret room. The art on the walls itself is so intricate and detailed, it feels like it was painted by one of the great renaissance painters. In order to reproduce Monteverdi's sound, it was important to use the same all male choir to capture a similar sound that would have been captured at the time. The songs performed during the shows are serene, and the music tells a story in itself, even if the listener isn't aware of what's being said. The instruments used serve only as a background as the main focal point is the harmonies and long tremulous note...

Aria by Pjotr Sapegin is a very thought-provoking animation. I think that the medium they chose, stop motion animation, was useful in telling the story the creator intended. At first Pinkerton appears to be a nice guy, as he left Butterfly his hat and record player. But overtime we as an audience lose hope in him as he fails to return, leaving Butterfly pregnant. Displaying the baby as a goldfish in a bowl was a good representation to use, because of the parallels to water breaking in pregnancy. The umbilical cord is still attached to the mother showing their strong connection, and when Pinkerton returns, he severs that cord. This leaves Butterfly alone and empty. Her hair immediately greys as she runs away, the pain driving her to dismantle her puppet body and become a pile of nothing. Even though an inanimate object can't show emotion, the animation conveys her sadness perfectly through the symbols and imagery used.

The Native Americans are some of the earliest storytellers and entertainers, but in their time they only had access to drums and dancing as means of making music and permforming. They lived in small houses made of twigs and branches, reeds, and bark. If we move ahead to the Greeks, they had the Amphitheatre to perform in. I find it fascinating that they were able to design a structure back then that could amplify the sounds from the center of the theater and project it all the way to the back rows of seating. Next to discuss is the Roman Circus Maximus. This was a giant chariot track that was located in a valley. I remember when I was in Rome and saw the remains I was surprised at how big the structure could be back then. The sheer capacity for audiences was impressive back then. After the circus there was the Colosseum, a large arena where the citizens would watch gladiators fight. They were assinged seating based on their class in society, and it impressive to me that they were able ...