Adventure to the Arboretum

Our class today was lucky enough to venture outside the realm of the classroom and really explore the other shining features of the Penn State Campus. By simply walking about a block away from East Halls and about another block up the road, I saw a the giant "H.O. Botanical Gardens" sign and thought, "whew, I actually made it here alive." Besides being happy that I was actually in the correct place, it was nice to be out of the classroom and steering away from the books for a change. I entered the arboretum through a small passageway by the parking lot. You are first struck with a giant circular field being lined by all kinds of flowers and fixtures. We later learned that this is the Event Garden. After further walking into the gardens, the amount of color seems to explode off the usual green scenery. Greenery makes a type of archway that encases the circular pathway lining the Event Garden. Rays of sun shone through the woven vines and leaves above. Eventually, you found yourself at a large metal structure with an overhang draped with curtains overlooking both sides of the arboretum. The view from all points of the overlook deck made it seem like we were no longer on a college campus. It seemed secluded and a quaint place to get away. There are flowers of blue, pink and yellow, roses of red and tall vineyard structures scattered throughout the gardens. There is always a brightly painted bench to sit and relax. Rock fixtures on one side of the overlook deck also provide great places to sit and read a book. And you cannot forget about the secret fountain at the very tip of the event garden. The expansion plans, like the Children’s Garden and added bike paths, provide for noisy construction now, but eventually will only add to the beauty of the H.O. Smith Botanical Gardens.

This was my very first trip to the Arboretum. To be honest, I did not even know it existed. I had always noticed the law building when walking or driving through, but never the extensive gardens next to it. I am not necessarily a nature lover, but the Arboretum seems like a quiet peaceful place to get away from the hustle and bustle of an upbeat college campus. There were a few people just strolling through like I was, but not so many people that it felt overcrowded. I love looking at flowers, but do not like when they make me sneeze.

My father loves visiting botanical gardens. My family and I have visited the New York Botanical Gardens more times than I can count. When everyone is home at the same time, that is the first place we end up all together. I can see myself heading back to the Penn State Arboretum because I know my dad would definitely love to check it out. He grew up in big cities his whole life, worked in them and now we live in a big suburb with tons of people. He loves being able to just escape to a quiet place with beautiful plants just to experience something out of the norm. 

Palmer Museum of Art: Bibutsu

After visiting the Palmer Museum of Art and gazing at all the sculptures, paintings and other pieces of fine art it had to offer, Ed Paschke’s Bibutsu, grabbed my undivided attention. It was painted in 1982 around the introduction of colored television and more advanced technology. This painting, composed with oil on a canvas is part of a series depicting oversized glowing television screens. It’s immense size over dramatizes the impact that television has had on social culture. The viewers can tell that times were certainly being altered when Paschke painted his piece. The painting of two men, unnamed, said to be “glowing” from the bright blues and greens, shows how people during this time period now looked up to the people displayed on the television screen. It makes a jab at the social culture of this time and those who put too much value in the television.

When I first noticed the piece, I was only really drawn in by the neon colors, but after learning the deeper meaning behind such artwork, Ed Paschke left me with feelings of doubt and a sort of sadness. Am I one of these people the artist pokes fun at? It makes me question if mass media has become too much a part of my life. I doubt myself when I say that technology does not hold that much importance. I know that if I did not have my computer or television that my life would be completely different. It makes me sad to think that my generation’s values are linked to the mass media that Paschke displays.

Ed Paschke was a part of the Chicago School, a group of artists who found inspiration through the culture surrounding them. They were also referred to as “Imagists.” He received his Masters degree in art from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. This group became associated with an art revolution that incorporated surrealism and ugly features to highlight the underlining values of the social culture they were in. Paschke, like many other Imagists, created a series of collections that poked fun at the glorified ideas of fame, money and power. He established his credibility through his involvement with the Imagist movement.

The piece, Bibutsu, focuses on people’s over indulgence in mass media. The word “bibutsu” means “two Buddhas.” Buddhas are those people look up to for enlightenment and guidance. In this painting, Paschke uses an oversized canvas to make the two men seem larger than life and important to the piece. What Paschke really says is society puts value into the two people on the board even though the men have no value at all. The electronic colors grasp our attention like television. The artist makes the claim that society will blindly follow the people involved with mass media and television even if they hold no importance to the values one should be holding dear. The piece does an excellent job at persuading one into questioning their values.

It was my first visit to the Palmer Museum of Art on campus. Living not too far from the city, my family visits museums quite frequently like the Metropolitan Museum of Art. While the Palmer is not as grand in size, it still holds a lot of powerful pieces of art that should not be overlooked. Exploring the museum again with a different assignment would be a great idea for the future!

http://www.edpaschke.com/home.php

Template: I chose a simple sort of template with a more sleek look. Since other students and myself will be able to navigate around the blog, simplicity was key. I choose the travel template with the dark shaded boxes around the words to really highlight the font and actual words on the page. The light blue and white fonts stand out the most. They are what is really important in exploring the subject matter of English 015S.

Title: Many things rhyme with Kelly: smelly, belly, telly. I figured I could creatively incorporate my simple name into an eye catching title. Besides, fun fact, peanut butter and jelly was my go-to sandwich all throughout middle school so it's basically a shout out to my  past. I also included a quote from Bill O'Brien from the Class of 2016 pep rally. People questioned why I wanted to come here once the scandal broke. People questioned Coach O'Brien too. I think if people saw what Happy Valley was really about, there would be no second guessing.

Color: I can be a loud person, but in class I'll usually be the one just listening so I did not want to choose a neon color. I went with the white and blue fonts because blue has always been my favorite color and one must show their school pride any way they can. The background picture is of blurred New York City lights. I'm about a half an hour bus ride outside of NYC and I spend a lot of time there. Most people do not like big cities with all the clutter and people everywhere. I personally love it and can't get enough of it.

Font: I'm a simple, calm kind of girl. I went with Helevtica for my posts and pages so they were easy to read. I choose "Cherry Cream Soda" as my blog title font and for the other sub headings. It is a fun font, but yet, still easy to read and not too crazy. 

Pages: I included pages so that I could really focus on certain things that I liked and would care to share. You can't really get to know someone in a few sentences so I added a little more in the "About Me" page. I talked about my family and friends and how I owe a lot of my successes and good qualities to them. I listed the basic likes and dislikes so people could get a sense of what I was like. I also included what I did in high school and how that carries over into Penn State. I plan on including other pages with things I like such as sports teams or funny videos I find.