San Antonio is the 10th largest city in the country. It has a great influence on Texas as far as culture. Food, clothing, and language are some of the things that define San Antonio as the unique city that it is. But an even greater influence and distinct characteristic of this city is the music. Conjunto music is everywhere around town, but hard to find if you're not looking. Rooting itself in European and Mexican music, conjunto owns its sound and is compared to no other. It uses the basic instruments of a band such as the drums, bass, and even some brass. But the key instrument that brings the sound to life and really accentuates the genre is the button accordion. It is vital to any conjunto band and is practically the main focus; the heart of the band.
Conjunto music is different from other genres in terms of it listening audience in that it its community based. There are night clubs and gatherings that promote this music all over San Antonio. It is a very underground genre that doesn't get a lot of attention from the mainstream audience. it depends on the locals, who, by the way, thrive off of it. Conjunto has a certain purity that it somehow retains and remains untainted. With its own listeners its been in a sort of "discreet limelight" ever since Valerio Longoria put lyrics to it in the 1940's. As time progresses, I'm more than positive it will continue to thrive. More than 60 years in the making, Conjunto music is extremely needed and must be thought of whenever thinking of San Antonio's heart.
Monday, November 26, 2007
Monday, November 19, 2007
Traditional vs Contemporary
The two pieces of art that interested me the most come from the San Antonio Museum of Art. The titles of the two works are "Passing Storm over the Sierra Nevadas" done with oil painting on a canvas and "Double Scramble" done with fluorescent alkyd on canvas. The first is on the third floor of the east tower and the second piece is on the second floor of the east tower.
The work entitled "Passing Storm over the Sierra Nevadas" is a magnificent piece of American art done by Albert Bierstadt. It really caught my eye simply because of the piercing feeling of nature's depression laced with the hope of a brighter, more illuminating future. I related to it from the get-go. I love the use of color in this painting. The mountains in the background have a blue tint. Although its a saddening color, its the subtle brilliance of the background itself that makes the color a desperate cry of hope contrasted with the front matter. Perfectly complimented, we see the front with a monochromatic burnt orange. Though this color is usually more thought of as warm, the murky shadows looming over the body of water seem to give it a bland and stagnant feel. So you have the front capturing your attention with the cool calmness yet losing it at the same time in comparison to the majestic mountains in the blue-bound background. From serenely depressed to depressingly magnificent this painting entails more emotion than a Hollywood romance movie.
Done with a type of oil paint known as "alkyd", the next piece I saw was titled "Double Scramble" and my attraction to this particular piece wasn't emotional like the other piece, but it was emotional. Its hard to explain, but it was more like an optical illusion as my eyes were traveling in a figure eight form in a rapturous delight. The feeling it brought was non-ambitious, a more worry free feeling that didn't lose me because of the only constant in the piece; two small and dark squares. One placed in the center of each square. All other colors on either side are violently opposing of each other. This very symmetrical piece simply belongs. It diversifies itself, and unites itself at the same time. There is so much movement yet its so symmetrical its like organized chaos.
Wow is all I have to say about these two pieces. There was so much intensity even in the stillness of the first painting that it was all worth writing about. Though the first painting really opposed itself in color it united itself in some twisted sense. On the other hand, though the second painting was opposed in a twisted sense it was the color that united it. No doubt about it, these are two very different paintings. One is American and traditional, the other is modern and contemporary. Both are done with oil paints but brought to life in different ways. My view and interpretation must be obsolete to the surpassing value of knowing the genuine inspiration each artist felt. Words may fail us where the arts dare to go, which is why I deeply appreciate these raw moments of life realistic or abstract. -535 words
Here are the following links to each painting:
http://www.samuseum.org/collections/collection.php?uid=2
http://www.samuseum.org/collections/collection.php?uid=7
The work entitled "Passing Storm over the Sierra Nevadas" is a magnificent piece of American art done by Albert Bierstadt. It really caught my eye simply because of the piercing feeling of nature's depression laced with the hope of a brighter, more illuminating future. I related to it from the get-go. I love the use of color in this painting. The mountains in the background have a blue tint. Although its a saddening color, its the subtle brilliance of the background itself that makes the color a desperate cry of hope contrasted with the front matter. Perfectly complimented, we see the front with a monochromatic burnt orange. Though this color is usually more thought of as warm, the murky shadows looming over the body of water seem to give it a bland and stagnant feel. So you have the front capturing your attention with the cool calmness yet losing it at the same time in comparison to the majestic mountains in the blue-bound background. From serenely depressed to depressingly magnificent this painting entails more emotion than a Hollywood romance movie.
Done with a type of oil paint known as "alkyd", the next piece I saw was titled "Double Scramble" and my attraction to this particular piece wasn't emotional like the other piece, but it was emotional. Its hard to explain, but it was more like an optical illusion as my eyes were traveling in a figure eight form in a rapturous delight. The feeling it brought was non-ambitious, a more worry free feeling that didn't lose me because of the only constant in the piece; two small and dark squares. One placed in the center of each square. All other colors on either side are violently opposing of each other. This very symmetrical piece simply belongs. It diversifies itself, and unites itself at the same time. There is so much movement yet its so symmetrical its like organized chaos.
Wow is all I have to say about these two pieces. There was so much intensity even in the stillness of the first painting that it was all worth writing about. Though the first painting really opposed itself in color it united itself in some twisted sense. On the other hand, though the second painting was opposed in a twisted sense it was the color that united it. No doubt about it, these are two very different paintings. One is American and traditional, the other is modern and contemporary. Both are done with oil paints but brought to life in different ways. My view and interpretation must be obsolete to the surpassing value of knowing the genuine inspiration each artist felt. Words may fail us where the arts dare to go, which is why I deeply appreciate these raw moments of life realistic or abstract. -535 words
Here are the following links to each painting:
http://www.samuseum.org/collections/collection.php?uid=2
http://www.samuseum.org/collections/collection.php?uid=7
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