Photograph In Time

The first pictures ever recorded were done on a camera obscura. This was a small box completely shut out from light except for one pinhole. The back end of the box was fixed with a plate that had bitmen coating. This chemical coating would change color with the introduction of light. This camera had an exposure time of almost 8 hours. As we look forward in time we begin to see cameras with exposure times of only a few minutes and much clearer photos. This came with the revolution of the technology for the camera. New chemicals and wisely crafted camera bodies helped speed the process. Even in todays age we continue to see a progression of the technology involved in photography. In todays era you can take a photo with an exposure time of a trillionth of a second. The colors in the photo are incredibly vivid and you can store thousands on a small card placed into the digital camera. It is truly an incredible feat to see how far we have come in photography.

Vaudeville

Vaudeville is a genre of entertainment that was especially popular during the 1880's and the early 1900's.  The performances were stage based and usually contained multiple acts. The acts were unrelated. The performers were called Vaudevillians and included singers, dancers, jugglers, and magicians. The shows were very light hearted. The happiness of the show is what attracted so many viewers. By attending a Vaudeville the average citizen could release themselves from the plight of everyday life just like we go to view a movie to escape reality. There eventually became a chain of theaters around the country offering these variety shows. Their popularity reached its peak around the early 1900's. At this point the introduction of cinema spelled the decline of Vaudeville shows. Cinemas were much more affordable. The Vaudeville shows could also be filmed and have their acts replayed over and over. This exhausted an act that would usually go on tour for several years in a regular Vaudeville stage act. We still see the remnants of Vaudeville shows in the circus circuits that now travel across the U.S. Circuses offer much of the same feel as a Vaudeville show including the format of having multiple unrelated acts in one showing.

Alumni Art Exhibit

On the University of Tampa campus we are lucky enough to possess an art museum as a part of our art building. Often times the campus will offer an art exhibit for the students and public to attend. The shows change about once a month. This month the Bailey Art Studio is offering an exhibit featuring some work from the Alumni of the University of Tampa. There were pieces in mixed media options placed along the walls. It was interesting to see the different formats that the artists had submitted. The piece that caught my eye the most was the one featured left.
This piece was done on a canvas that was about 4 feet tall and 3 feet wide. This piece has a very powerful message as a piece of propaganda. It points to the elephant that is the U.S. economy. There are people of the world trying to hold this beast up while a monkey apparently dressed in very patriotic clothing that is orchestrating what the elephant must do. I suspect the artist believe the monkey is our government and that they may view our government as dishonest with the way money is falling from his pockets. All in all I enjoyed the exhibit I do however wish there were more pieces to look at. The exhibit seemed a bit limited.