Distress About Dress

When I consider how I dress I generally consider myself to have good fashion sense. However, sometime I intentionally wear wardrobe flaws just to avoid being too normal. And in many ways this expresses my values. Now don't get me wrong, I don't dress innapropriately, but when the opportunity presents itslef I like to be a little wacky. Halloween is a great time for people to wear item of clothing they would not normally consider. I find this to be a good thing because too often people stress about what to wear and Halloween allows you to let loose a little or a lot a bit.

Upon looking in my closet, I quickly notice one obvious quality of my wardrobe; diversity. Particularly in the colors department. I'm not afraid to wear virtually any color evene the bright or neon ones. To a certain extent this shows my eccentricity, but it also shows my openess to a variety of things. Though I don't always like falling into the category of a jack of all trades but a master of none, it is usually fitting for me even in the style department. I have even tried sporting an earing the last couple months after gettign my ear pierced at the Lane County Fair. I didn't really expect to be able to pull it off, but it ended up working for me and I now have multiple types of earing. I started to appreciate the concept of body adornment, after previously looking at it as a worthless pursuit. In reality fashion, fashion as well as body adornment are both art-forms, and as someone has callied it "art you can wear." I really like this consept, so much so that I've actually considered getting a tattoo. Growing up I felt that tattoos destroyed one's body and hence their image. This is due in part to the beliefs my parents instilled in me. Now after opening my eyes to a little bit more of the world I am increasingly fascinated by body art and more willing to try it myself.

This puts the choice in my hands now. I am still concerned about the permanence of certain forms of body adornment. But now, having friends with tattoos I respect the sort of commitment and significance a tattoo requires. My friends have also influenced my brand taste. Especially during middle school is when everyones styles began to change. In elementary school no one seemed to care what everyone else wore, then immediately in middle school things changed. People were instantly aware of what they looked like. Although this created some problems overall it was probably for the better. People were finally responsible for what they wore as well as what they did. But this also meant more freedom to do what you want. Fashion is continually evolving as well as body adornment and I hope to evolve with it.

Appetizing Art

The article "Appetizing Art" offers a little bit of the history as well as varieties of artistic food. It mentions Egyptian banquets being among the first arrangements of artistic food to the more recent use of food as a medium for art. The article goes on to describe a food-art exhibit that has attracted the attention and admiration of many people. People were spending as much as $15,000 on these pieces of food-art. The organizers enjoyed watching the people reactions to the art because they had the choice of looking, smelling or eating the pieces. Also, there is apparently a chocolate lion that has remained intact since 1971. They also suppose that food is another way of communicating to a populace that obviously participates in the act of eating, so each can relate to the food-art in their own way.

Now food is for more than just the stomach, as the article suggest, but for the eyes as well. In some cases food-art is not even to be eaten but simply admired. This brings a level of curiosity to the viewer when they consider that a certain piece of art is made from all edible substances yet is intended for the sole purpose of being appreciated as aesthetic in nature. This brings an interesting contrast to the "Food as Art" view that it is food first and possibly art second. It also takes a different approach to analyzing food as art by putting it in the perspective that food is art especially when presented as such. Furthermore by recruiting top artists along with top chefs artistic decadence can be achieved. However the article does mention the transiency of the food-art but views it as a good thing because its closer to real life and it makes each piece more unique given its short life span. Irrespective of ones view of what constitutes art, everyone can enjoy something that looks good, tastes good and probably makes you feel good as well.

Silberman, Vanessa. May 2002. Appetizing Art. Art Business News. Retrieved October 19, 2007 from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0HMU/is_5_29/ai_85916888

Is Food Art?

In this article that author doesn't ask if food is art she wonders "why not?" Since virtually anything can be considered art why wouldn't food be given the same respect. Furthermore the author also inquires into what is art itself and she acknowledges that it will be different for different individuals. She also pokes fun into the seriousness and snobbery that some show when debating art. Someone suggests that food can't be art because the chef creates it in order to please the costomer even though this is not always true. She does acknowledge that often chefs put added emphasis on what critics have to say, but the same can be said for artists of different modes. Towards the end of the article she mentions that eating is one art that engages all of the sences as well as the mind and for this reason would elevate food to a more substantial art-form. She also mentions a chef who has literally brought some to tears of joy and shows that eating and food can be an emotional event. This brings new meaning to the term emotional eating and this also contrasts with the "Food As Art" position that food doesn't bring about any emotional connections and as a result implies that food is only a minor art because of it. This article shows for many good reasons food is an art-form unique and fulfilling in many regards and should not be dismissed as a minor variety of the arts.

Smillie, Susan. May 2007. Is Food Art?. The Observer Food Monthly. Retrieved October 2007 from http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/food/2007/05/theatre_of_food.html

Life Values

Friendship
Family
Health
Wisdom
Enjoyment
Location
Leadership
Loyalty
Personal Development
Security
Community
Wealth
Expertness
Service
Personal Accomplishment
Prestige
Power
Independence
Integrity
Creativity

This sums up my life values in a nut-shell, but it certainly doesn't tell the whole story. Especially when I consider my activities for today. I spent time with both my family and friends and I definately enjoyed that time. I lifted weights and ate generally healthy then I went to work anf fulfilled my duties as a manager at the rec center. Now I am doing homework and increasing my knowledge base. So obviously some of these values were directly integrated into my day, however others were more subtlely appreciated. Since I was working, wealth was a consideration, as well as the convenience of my location. Offering a beneficial service at the rec center displays a sense of community along with service.

Focusing primarily on the top five values I quickly recognize that my days like today I always surround myself with family and friends, mainly due to the enjoyment I receive by spending time with them. Since my family enjoys family time we all have a mutual appreciation for this value and would be something I would like to pass on to my kids. Although studying and working out are not always the most enjoyable activities they do serve a purpose in maintaining my health as well as increasing my knowledge and thereby raising my quality of life. In the past, I would have placed a greater importance on wealth and power, and although these do serve a purpose, they are no longer a focus in my day to day living. As for the future I wish to pursue a career that would enable me to teach in a location near to Eugene. But I have yet to commit to a particular career or field of study for fear of failure and/or missing out on an alternative option. One of these days I will have to make that decision, but for now I can only stay true to my values.

Man and His Values

When reading Man and His Values by W.H. Werkmeister I came across a section that describes humans as simply being composed of atoms and a series of chemical reactions just like any other creature or substance within the universe, and this is certainly something to consider when thinking about what really makes us human. Especially when it has been suggested that man processes through every cell and atom within his/her body every couple years as I have read elsewhere. When one thinks of this from an objective standpoint, we would think that everything about us would change significantly as time goes on. But as most have realized by now, change happens slowly, especially when it comes to our physical body or our personality. Nevertheless, this makes us consider what we do to our bodies and its effect on our future. From our diet to our activity level we are not simply seeking an immediate consequence to our actions because our activities as well as our nutrients will effect us for years to come. Therefore with everything we do, we are investing in our future...for better or worse.