Fionna. Fifi. 18. Female. III-BS PSYCHOLOGY student. Single (and lovin' it). Shy. Sensitive. Spontaneous. Beautiful. Stern. Sweet. Compassionate. Determined. Talkative. Dramatic. Calm. Cool. Confindent. Snob. Passionate. Sensible. Sentimental. Cry baby.

Friday, July 27, 2007
naked and nude

We also discussed about the difference between nude and naked. Naked simply means a lack of clothing. Being naked is to be bare from head to toe, to openly show one’s body without mask. On the other hand, nude, while being naked, gives the impression that one person is clothed. His/her nakedness has turned into a mask. The flesh, the tresses, and the contours of one’s body is presented fully and seen as an object, an object of desire.




On all the paintings showed by our mentor, the Judgment of Paris is one of the paintings that captured my attention. Although this painting connotes a negative feeling for me, I’d still say that it is one of the striking paintings that I saw. It looked beautiful. However, its message, rather, its story didn’t make me feel good as a woman. Who would want to be judged by men based only on their physical appearance? Oh, maybe other women would but I certainly would not condone it. The painting only shows that most (most but not all) men are very superficial.

Anyway, the intention of the painters who follows the western tradition of nudes doesn’t appeal to me at all. They imply that women are mere objects to be fantasized and be desired to. They think lowly of women and the women’s capabilities. To them, women are objects and thus can only be useful to pleasure them. Even the way people view women that time are degrading. Everything that a woman does is a reflection of her persona. Unlike men, they can easily attribute their actions to their mood and not to their personality. No wonder most women nowadays feel so insecure and apprehensive.

In the Eastern Tradition nudes, I particularly like the picture of Vishnu and Lakshmi that was presented in class. However, the image of Lakshmi as “flirtatious” irked me somehow because I don’t like overly flirtatious women. But still, the thought that the eastern paintings portray love and equality made me look optimistic compared to indifferent paintings in the Western tradition.






Western tradition of nudes exudes a feeling of ownership. The women in the paintings are viewed as an object. At the same they (women) are aware of their spectators. Eastern tradition of nudes on the other hand, portrays love and equality between men and women. The paintings show active participation of both parties in expressing their sexual desire and love to one another.

This week, we were tasked to do our own interpretation of “The Mona Lisa”. This should be done in groups of two or three. So, of course, I’m grouped with my ever so loyal block mates, Talitha and Carl. =) The three of us have always been group mates in every one of our classes, may it be a lecture class or a laboratory class. So I think, we would probably be group mates till’ the end – even in our thesis.

Anyway, right after Ms. Jewel told us of our creative project, we’ve been brainstorming on what we are supposed to do. We basically decided to focus on Mona Lisa’s feminine side. Therefore, we chose the products that will embody her femininity. Thus, we ended up with feminine wash and sanitary napkins. Why these products? - Well, we decided to select this product because it can relate to every woman in this world.

We named the products as “Babae”, because we wanted to cater the Filipino society. Not only that, we also want to familiarize the “common people” on the persona of Mona Lisa. Since not every Filipino, especially the poor ones, know who she is, or rather, know about the sitter in the famous painting of Leonardo da Vinci.

In this activity, we basically showed that art can be used as a business strategy. Art can serve as the “attention-grabber” for the costumers. Just like what the class did the Mona Shampoo, Colegate, and (Mona Lisa) Boxer shorts.

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Sunday, July 22, 2007
Museum

Museum

I together with Anjo, Red, Carl and Talitha, went to the university museum (DLSU) last Tuesday, right after we submitted the contact prints for our yearbook. This term’s theme is about faces and facets of life.

Upon our entrance, we were welcomed by paintings of the board members of Lasalle and the donors of the art collection. And then we were bound to see the collection of art that the museum equipped for the students’ viewing pleasure. Most of the paintings are about the everyday work of the Filipinos, they also exemplify the life that most of us encounter. Common themes are “ang tatlong maria”, “sabongero” and “mag-ina”. From the art collections, one can deduce that the purpose of this terms’ theme is to make the students aware of the life of the common Filipinos. The situations in every piece of art presented in the museum, tells us about the life of a real person who works all day to meet the needs of their family. Some show how Filipinos entertain themselves during their free times, and some illustrate the hardships and problems that the ordinary people encounter as they go on with their lives.

Each artwork/painting tells its own stories. It doesn’t matter how one view a particular art, it is how we grasp the message that the creator wants us to discern. A good creation is something that leaves a mark, something that will make us remember… something that as we go out the museum and continue on with our lives, will still manage to entrap our minds onto thinking that what we just saw is the illustration of our own lives, an expression of the reality that we live in…

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Sunday, July 15, 2007
Microscopic Smile

Microscopic smile


What’s in a smile?

Based from my personal experience, a smile can affect how other people perceive you as a person. A smile is very vital to a person’s social life because it is where friendship starts. You know… when you’re out somewhere and you don’t know anyone… all you have to do is to smile at someone then approach him/her and from there, a new friendship will bloom.

Anyway, for the 18 years, 11 months, and 21 days of my existence, I’ve been labeled as “snob” or “mataray” by most of the people that I got acquainted of – and it’s because of my intimidating looks. Some says that it’s in the way my eyes and my eyebrows move (?!!?) while others, such as my mom’s officemates, say that it’s because of my smile, or the lack of it. J

I confess that I don’t really smile a lot. Just like what my mom always say… “Mahal ang ngiti niyan!”. But even though I’m not used into smiling at others, I always make it a point to smile whenever I’m in the presence of my parents’ colleagues. But then, they still say that they haven’t seen me smile even once! Oh my Gossshh… are they blind!?!? Haha… My English teacher way back in high school love to call my smile as “the Mona Lisa smile” – but I protest, of course, since Mona Lisa truly gives me the creeps. Instead, I call my smile “the microscopic smile.” I think it would be the best description for my so-called “non-existent” smile.

Okay… moving on to our lesson this week…

We discussed about a very famous panting of Leonardo da Vinci. It is all about Mona Lisa for our art appreciation class this entire week. The entire week was spent on deciphering the meaning on the sitter’s smile, as well as the sitter’s identity and history. But then, in the end, all that was left was questions - Questions that one cannot answer just by the mere evidences collected by some historians, scientists, and scholars.

By the time the end of our session came, a question was raised… What makes a masterpiece? For me, a masterpiece is shaped when the creator pours his heart and soul onto making something that can overawe and entice people. A master piece is something that makes the viewers think and hypothesize. It must show emotions, or a story, or better yet, it should bring up questions, just like what the Mona Lisa has done or has been doing to us right now.

If I’m going to be asked whether I wanted to know who the real sitter is in this celebrated painting… or whether I wanted to know why the sitter is smiling… I would probably say no. The magic, or shall I say, the mystery of this painting lies on its anonymity. Its value greatly relies on the mystery that it entails. So, when the time comes that all the questions are answered, its value will depreciate. And soon, it would just be an ordinary painting. Just an ordinary work of art… :(

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Monday, July 2, 2007
On the Elements of Cinema...

On the Elements of Cinema...

The elements of cinema are the things that held us pre-occupied last week. We discussed in detail the elements that make movies more interesting and fun to watch. This area consists of 5 subtopics: the camera, mise-en-scene, editing, sound design, and narrative.

These elements must work together in order to establish a film that has a form and a substance. One cannot work well without the other. It’s like a basketball team. You have the center player, power forward, small forward, shooting guard, and point guard. Without the center player, the team would have a hard time in getting the rebounds and that will stop them from getting second-chance points. The absence of the power forward on the other hand, will stop the team from scoring within the shaded area of the court. Then again, the team wouldn’t be able to establish a three-point shoot out in the perimeter area if the small forward is not around. The shooting guard is responsible for ball handling and obtaining points, without him, the team would definitely have a handicap. And of course, without the point guard, the so-called “play maker”, the team will be highly disorganized and frenzied. In basket ball, to end up with a triumphant game, each of the members of the team must play their roles.

It is the same in film making.

In order to capture the attention of the viewers, the “production team” must make the elements of cinema work in accordance to each other. Each element must be given a proper amount of attention for the reason that the success of the film will depend on how they were manipulated and put into use. Each of the elements portrays a significant part in the film. The camera is responsible in drawing the attention into the characters. The Mise-en-scene is accountable to the overall design that we see in the frame. The amplification of emotions and meaning of the film relies on sound design. The narrative serves as the base of the film. And last but not the least, the editing which is responsible in separating the badly made shots to the good ones. The collaborative work of the elements will yield to a film that effectively brings its message to the viewers.

I think… the appropriate sentence or phrase that best expresses the connection of movies with the elements of cinema will be…

“You complete me…”


Okay, so I think that I’m not making any sense here. I apologize for this very lousy post. I can’t seem to compose something that corresponds to my “actual” thoughts about the elements of the film. I’m really sorry to Ms. Jewel and to the regular readers of my blog entries!!!

Anyway...

Back then, before I had art appreciation, I only recognize the narrative, dialogue, and the background music of the movies that I watched. I didn’t pay close attention to the camera positions, angles and the production design. Now, I realize that these elements support one another. They make the scenes more realistic. The harmony of the elements further help the viewers identify with what’s happening in the scene. They make the spectators be “in-touch” with the emotions that are conveyed in each shot. These elements are held responsible for the success of the film.

I salute all the people behind these elements (cinematographer, director, scriptwriter, art producer, editor, and casting directors). I now realize that their job is way beyond easy. After knowing all these, I now appreciate the hard work and effort that they give in order to satisfy the movie aficionados like me. :)

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