{Medieval}

In the Last Judgment in Sainte Foy, they tympanum is divided in to two different sections: Heaven and Hell. This shows that they did value the after life and what it meant. On the left side of Christ, is the representation of Hell. It is chaotic and unorganized. People are twisted in all sorts of ways and they seem to be distressed. On the right hand of Christ, are people in order. They are all standing in a line and they seem to be very calm and peaceful. You can see clearly in the tympanum the representation of Satan. All of the figures next to Satan represent a certain trait: greed, adultery, and pride, to name a few. While this is mainly used for decoration, it is a large representation of their values and beliefs.

In the Last Judgment in the Notre Dame de Paris cathedral, it is formed to be more of a hierarchy. It is a more triangular arch that leads all to Christ. He is sitting on a throne with patrons on both sides of him offering him different objects. Above him are 2 rows of angels that are looking down upon the throne. Underneath Christ’s throne, on the right side, are people lined in an orderly manner, protected by an angel. On the left side, people are being punished behind Satan, like in the other tympanum. It appears to be that underneath the 2 sides of the afterlife, people are laying below watching the experience. Some of the people underneath have crowns and instruments. It appears to be that they may just be townspeople.

In both of the tympani, it shows the same system of belief. Not much changes over time. They both represent the hierarchy of Christ. It shows the wrath of Satan and his punishments. The tympanum at Notre Dame appears to be more sophisticated, but they both portray the same message. I don’t see any major differences that are exemplified in these tympani. The art did change over the years, to what appears to be a more detailed and delicate form. But even with the different art forms, the beliefs stayed generally the same.

{Chinese Women}

In Fu Xuan's, How To Be A Woman, he gives a striking view on what it was like to be a Chinese woman in the third century. While he was very sympathetic towards women, he still gave an honest interpretation of how women were treated and expected to behave. Referring to women, Xuan says in the poem, "Nothing on earth is held so cheap". Men are full of power and considered to be like gods, while women are close to nothing. In comparison to Fu Xuan's poem, Liu Xijun writes from a woman's perspective regarding a woman's situation. She states that she was married off by her family and living in a poor situation. She only wished that ".. I were a yellow swan, returning to my old holmstead." Women are expected to leave everything they know and marry a man that they ahve never met. Women were under-valued and taken completely for granted, as they still are. In both of the poems it gives an explanation of women's roles. They are to be kept, so called, secret. They are not supposed to look a man in the eye and they have no power. Marriages are set up and the women are expected to work and stay out of the men's way. In both poems, the women are sent off to be married, both longing for home. In Fu Xuan's poem, a woman's leaving is everything but sad or upsetting, "No one cries when she leaves her home-". A woman is married off and her family does not miss her.  An ideal marriage is a woman sent from home to work for a man that she does not know. And forever be afraid of him. Even in a marriage, men are the powerful figure and are in charge of everything. The women are just expected to work and keep to themselves. Neither of the poems mention children, but I assume that they are expected to produce sons for their husbands. The women have to become humble in order to serve the men. Like said in Fu Xuan's poem, "She must humble herself even to the servant". Women were considered the lowest of lows in China during the third century. While it was their culture, the women are still human beings and deserved to be treated like one. Yes, some people do believe that men have the upperhand, but women do deserve to be acknowledged. They were not even supposed to look a man in the eyes. With current times, I hope that the women of China have earned some of their own rights.

{Antigone}

Like Antigone, Achilles was courageous, loyal warrior. Antigone had to be loyal to her family and courageous and stick up for herself. She had to stand-alone. Unlike Odysseus, Antigone would have fought for her country and not tried to hide from it. She was brave and would have risked herself. Mentioned in Pericles funeral speech, Antigone uses her freedom, knowing the consequences, to be loyal to her family and brother. Antigone represented that she only had herself to depend on. And to each other, She shows the honor, the honor and the sense of duty that she felt to protect her family. Like Pericles said, Antigone found it hard to not overtake after the passing of her brothers.  Antigone represented the heroism that made up ancient Greece. Creon was a leader who stuck to his word. He did exactly what he said he would. He came in to power and did not want to show any weakness. Creon got put in to power due to blood and it was sudden and unexpected. Odysseus worked for his power. He travels to the underworld and back, none of his family recognizes him and he has to win his wife back. Achilles was one of the greatest warriors of all time. But just like any other warrior he had a weakness, and it is what ended up killing him. While Creon shares some heroic values, I would not consider him a hero like Achilles or Odysseus. I think that Antigone is the perfect representation of heroism. Although it is not like the other stories, she stays loyal to her family. She even ends up dying for them. She stands up to her sister and stands up to Creon and admits to breaking the rules. She is brave and courageous and picks the divine law over the civic law. She stands up for what she believes and what she knows is right.

{Law}

After comparing the Ten Commandments and Hunefer’s innocent 42 sins, there are many similarities. In both, there is no lying, no adultery, no killing or death, no stealing, no harm and so on. The Ten Commandments were created as guidelines so that we could try our hardest not to sin. Of course, being human, we sin everyday; but the Ten Commandments are still being used today and are a very well known thing. According to how well we keep the Ten Commandments, we will later be judged. The followers of the Ten Commandments only believed in one God. It is a personal choice to keep the Ten Commandments or not, whether it be religion or it is what you feel is right. Keeping the Commandments builds character and is a guideline on how to live your life. Where Hunefer was in a much harder situation.

Hunefer’s 42 sins that he was innocent of are very detailed. It would be a very hard thing to go in front of Osiris and be judged. They had to be careful of everything that they did, because if you did any bad, they believed it would stay in your heart. So if you had any bad in your heart, it was weighed on a scale at the Judgment Day in front of Osiris. How hard would it be to claim that you have never made anyone cry or ever caused any harm? Because I know that I have. With this kind of law, you are only protecting yourself. Of course you have followed it and not harmed anyone, killed anyone, or made anyone cry, but it is only for your own salvation. They were doing anything to keep their heart lighter, or so they believed.

Both of the laws are very good. They both have meaning and were making the people in the communities live to a higher standard to receive the salvation they wanted. Everyone who followed the laws were protected, those who do not are either sentenced to the underworld, or judged before God. Laws like this are and have been the basis of communities for thousands of years.  

{docUT: Tikotin}

Tikotin

                        Felix Tikotin is known worldwide for his beautiful collection and his respectable knowledge in Japanese art. He originally wanted to be an artist, but his mother would not allow that, so he settled and became an architect. That did not last long. He fell even more in love with Japanese art and could not stay away. He was trading, buying, selling and collecting rare pieces of art. He knew the brush strokes of one artist and the type of materials for another. It’s like he was born to do it. We get to watch as his grandson discovers parts of his grandfather’s life that no one has seen before.

            In this film, his grandson is trying to inform us of Japanese art, and the great man Tikotin was, along with his struggles. He was a Jewish man and no one quite understood why he was so intrigued in Japanese art. He didn’t speak the language or live in the country. When he came out of hiding after the Second World War, he was worried that his shop in Berlin would be destroyed. But because of the sign on the front reading “Japanese Art” the people assumed he was Japanese, and left it alone.  His store was everything to him.

Tikotin left Berlin to open his museum in Israel. He later got banned from his own museum and the movie did not tell why. He left Israel and moved on to the mountain and left his family in Israel. He became the lonely old man on the mountain with all of his art. But he created happiness for himself.

Tikotin was also a family man, although he did not show it. His wife was in a manic, deep depression her whole life and later ended her own life, leaving him with their 3 daughters. Soon after their mother’s death, the third daughter also took her own life. Leaving Tikotin and his two eldest daughters. After his tragedies, he didn’t know what to do besides turn to art. His daughters began to become very jealous of the art.

            In the film, they interviewed many different close friends and family members of Tikotin. Everyone came from different countries, resulting in the whole movie being in subtitles. With all of this, it made you realize how many contacts Tikotin had. He was a very respectable man who knew many people. He used his talents with Japanese art to interact with people all around the world.

            The film was based on the readings of letters that his grandson had found from his grandfather to his colleagues or his grandfather to his daughters and wife. The film was very personal and fulfilling. I never knew about Japanese art, let alone Felix Tikotin. It was interesting to follow his life, along with hearing the personal inputs of the people in his life. His grandson was able to convey the importance and the personal level of Tikotin’s life and I really liked watching that. He also made an effort to emphasize the Japanese art aspect. Many art vendors and professionals were involved in the film.

            Before watching Tikotin I had no idea about Japanese art or Tikotin. I’m really impressed with the way that they conveyed the message of his life and his love for the art.

           

{me}

My name is Ann Eliza Odette. I was born in Salt Lake City, UT on October 7th, 1995. I grew up in St. George and love/hated it. I'm still wishing I was a California girl. (but who doesn't?) I went to Bloomington Elementary and had the best time. I had a great childhood; full of camping, traveling, adventures, and a lot of friends and family. At age 7, I was diagnosed with Epilepsy and have learned (kind of) how to work with this crazy disease. I went to Dixie High School and graduated in the spring of 2014. I couldn't be happier to be out of high school and starting this new chapter of my life.

Along with school, I am working at Bloomers Flower Shop in town. My job makes me happy. Flowers are so perfect. I get to work with people that are dealing with the best and the very worst moments of their lives, and to me that is the best part. I considered it for a career, but right now I don't know that I want to work every weekend and holiday for the rest of my life. So for now, it will remain a hobby.

I have had the amazing opportunity to be able to travel the world for close to nothing. My mom works for SkyWest Airlines which results in free flight benefits for my family. I have been to Mexico, spent a summer in Costa Rica, a Christmas in New York and my 18th birthday in Paris. To me, traveling is so exhilarating. You get to see things and people you've never seen before. Eat foods and have experiences you might only get once in your life.

I grew up in a home with a mom as an architect. My mom knows art and tries to pass that on to us. Any new city we go to, we try and hit whatever art museum they have, whether it be big or small. I feel like I have seen a lot of art, but I know that compared to everything that is out there, I've pretty much seen none. I'm excited to see and I'm excited to hear opinions of the people around me.

Right now, I'm not quite sure what I want to do with my life. I want a career in some type of design. I want a husband and family. I also want to be able to travel the world. So I'm kind of at a beginning stage in my life and I'm so excited to see where it takes me.

And just in case it matters.. I'm totally a dog person.