Student 17

Self - Expression

In this self-expression project, I learned how to express myself through art. The self is defined as the essential being of one person as distinct from any other. In this essay I will discuss the various theories of the self from Asian and European traditions and from disciplines such as psychology and literature. I will express the various ways to state the self through the arts. In my essay I will discuss the psychological theories of Freud and Jung, the Asian view which is Hinduism, the music and arts voiced out during the Romantic Period, and the project that I arranged to express myself through symbolism.

First, I will discuss the self from the psychological view. The self is one's deepest emotions. Freud splits the mind into three parts, the ego, the id, and the superego. The ego means I, as in the part of me in control. The id is the part of the self I am born with, the wild animal within me. The superego is the moral, conscience, and guilty side of me. Regression, rationalization, and suppression are all part of a healthy human mind. Carol Young, also known as Jung, feels that the self develops out of the ego, but this process takes time to become whole. Jung feels that the older we get the more mature we are, so we become more balanced. Jung referred to the mondala as a representation of life. The mondala is a circle that contains my theories of personality. A circle is a symbol of wholeness and unity. Psychologist feel that for every action I make there is a code for it on the inside. Some psychologist say that all humans are in constant war on the inside, but that this is normal. However, if we are healthy we can hold ourselves together.

In the Asian view of the self, the main point to learn is that I am the cosmos. The Asian theory is believed by 1\7 of the world today. India is a third world country. I believe Hinduism came about due to the caste system, acceptance of poverty, and the fact that one is born into a certain life due to their past life. The caste system is still alive today, yet it has been legally abolished. Today we use Arabic numerals, but they are not really Arabic at all. The Aryan culture has its origin in Asia. Hinduism has Verdic Texts, which were received at the feet of the master, and the word Veda means knowledge. The Rig Veda is the oldest example of this, and it contains over 1,000 hymns. There is no founder of Hinduism, and the self is not an individual. The self is the universe. The Upanishads are the world's oldest religion texts still in use. It was the last of the Vedas. There are stages of belief, and they believe that everyone is a Hindu, but that the individuals are not aware because of the stage they are in. The cosmos or Atman is the soul and it is indefinite. Karma is the consequence of one's action. One must continue to live and return again until karma is gone. Hindu believe that Ishwara is what the mind can know of God. There is three persons the Brahma ,the creator, the Vishnu ,the preserver, and Shiva the destroyer. There is over 300 million God's, but the emphasis is on one supreme God, Brahman.

Romanticism in art and music display the power of passion. The key characteristics of this era are intuition, emotions, exotic, deep rich colors, and the use of diagonals. The subjects of the artists works were primarily on legends, exotic, nature, "the Sublime", and wild animals. Romanticism is impossible to define, but Victor Hugo said that "Romanticism is certainly vague and indefinably fantasy." Romanticism came from a revival of interest in old medevil tales. It was before the Neoclassical period . Romanticism deals with the relationships between man and nature. It capture's divinity with emotions. An excellent example of the use of diagonal lines is portrayed in the "Raft of the M edussa" (1819) by Theodore Gericault . This painting portrays a heroic struggle. The "Tiger Hunt"(1854) also portrays diagonal lines with rich light contrasts, it is an exotic work of art with drama also displayed . These are examples of the French Romanticism and the Germans, the English, and Americans was also experiencing a revival of old interest. In America Thomas Cole's "The Oxbow After a Thunderstorm" (1836) it displayed rain and the earth after the rain and how the earth was revived. Romanticism was in the music also. Jean Pearl feels that "no color is as romantic as a tone." Romantic music was strongest in Germany. This music displayed emotions, contrast, boundlessness, and expansionism. This was a break away from the classical mold. Individualism was present, and most of the composers displayed there personalities. Some of the best music wrote was while the composer was in a depression. A few examples of Romantic music are: Beethoven's Eroica Symphony no.3 was dedicated to Napoleon .Beethoven started in the classical period and played for Mozart, but began with Romanticism and expanded his work. Lizst played the Transcendental Etudes and this is a very difficult piece to play, no one can play it as he did. Chopin explored with nationalism he also produced Polonaisses. Brahms' Capricio Opus 76 no.1 has an emotional since of sadness at times, it is not stiatic, it is irregular. He was probably in an emotional turmoil. Music does an excellent job of portraying emotions like none other form of art. I feel that Wilhelm Wackenroder said it best when he said "In the mirror of tones the human heart learns to know itself; it is how learn we learn to feel feelings."

I feel that I am totally different than all of the above. I somewhat agree with Freud in the three divisions, and the internal war. I used this in my project because I have a box with a lock on it. This is my shadow box with all of my inner most secrets. For my project I made a box look like a house on the outside, and within my house there are several shapes portrayed. I used a mirror in the window to reflect the side of me that acts as every one around me acts. I feel this is my weakness. The vertical lines on the fence represent the side of me that is always ready for action. I feel that I am this way because I am taking the first responder class in my home town. First responders are always ready to save lives. I used flowers on my fence to display color, and I formed a triangle in the roof to express the relationships within my house. The circular window is for the unity and wholeness my family displays, and the religious emphasis that my parents have placed as a role in my life. On the inside of my box I placed two birds decorated with color and there tails are spiral to show the growth and change in my life since I have started college. The cotton balls are there to show the tender soft side of myself. Which is rarely shown. The cross is made of sandpaper to show how when I am at cross roads in my life that life can be tough. I had my little 18 month old niece stick her foot in gel to set, and pored plaster in a heart shaped container to get the mold to desplay my quote. My favorite quote is "Some people come into our lives and go quickly others stay for a while and we are never ever the same."(-Unkown) I used a salt shaker to represent that my friendships are the spice of my life. I used the ducts to represent how I follow the leader, and I also feel this is a down fall of me. I had an excellent time making this project and I learned a great deal about my self.