Madama Butterfly

My initial reaction to Madama Butterfly by Pjotr Sapegin was a feeling of strangeness and discomfort, the dolls are somewhat creepy and them having intercourse was not exactly what I expected. My initial feelings grew into pity for the woman since the sailor had left her pregnant and alone on the island. When she then gave birth to a crying fish which proceeded to morph into a child which she then happened to fly like a kite my feelings turned into a bit of confusion. I thought that when the sailor did come back that it was going to be a happy ending however he took her child with him and brought her to his family with his beautiful blonde wife and again I felt pity for the woman. The last part I actually did understand and that the man leaving her and taking her child literally tore her apart this made me feel sorrow.

My Thoughts on Raul Cuero's Interview on Creativity

I enjoyed and was somewhat inspired by Raul Cuero's story. His family was too poor to even afford books but he still excelled in school and was given a chance to enter higher learning with a basketball scholarship. He still faced adversity and was told by his basketball coach that his best attribute was his ability to play basketball, even though he was very smart his intellect was not recognized. This lead him to take a scholarship to an American school where he could delve deeper into enhancing his mind. I liked that he pushed his students to fix their own work if they messed something up and that he taught them that they are capable of anything as long as they try their hardest.

I liked how he described how creativity is doing the unknown instead of doing what is known like most others do. However I disagree with his statement that computers, and new technology doesn't play a part in creativity, I believe that technology plays just as large of a role in creativity as well as nature, because there is infinite unknown in technology and if there is infinite unknown in technology then there is an unlimited amount of creativity that can be tied to technology.

Overall I think Raul Cuero is an amazing man that sets an example that if you put your mind to succeeding in something then you can do it, you just need to put all the effort you can into it.

The image that I chose for this assignment is a picture that was recently taken of me and my friend Maddy who I met for the first time on my way down to school. However this was not the first time I had ever talked to her, which is why I chose the picture because ASCII code is used in computers and telecommunication devices, thus playing a part in us meeting.

My first feelings about this class are a mix of anxiety, excitement, and curiosity. Anxiety because art is usually not my strong suit in school, but this leads to my feelings of excitement because this is unlike any art class I have taken before. My feeling of curiosity comes from wondering more about what we will be doing in this class.

A little bit about myself: My name is Nathan Winkler and I grew up on Cape Cod, throughout my time there the ocean was a big part of my life, I got a job on a whale watch boat when I was 15 and have been working there since. Some of my hobbies are boating, going to the beach, and in the last couple years I have gained a taste for going to concerts and music festivals. The individuals that I go to these festivals with have almost become family to me. I am also a member of the Sigma Chi Kappa Omega chapter at the University of Tampa.

What I expect from this class is to learn more about a different kind of art.