Mozart in Pop Culture

Pjotr Sapegin's Madama Butterfly

This piece is a shortened version of the opera with the same name, Madama Butterfly. It's about a Japanese Geisha who falls in love with an American navy officer, and then gets pregnant with his kid. Eventually he leaves her but promises to come back for her and the kid. When he comes back however, he's married to an american women and has kids with her, but takes Madame Butterfly's kid regardless.

This particular rendition of the story is a highly insightful one. Basically it gives a more literal rendition to the titular character's name, and gives a more literal meaning to the story. She falls in love and enjoys her "spring time" with the American, losing herself to the lust and joy of the experiences and lets herself let loose. She doesn't want it end and is torn when she finally has to part with him, but finds hope and comfort in the child that's left with her. She raises it as a memory of what she once had, what she'll have again. It's a memory of him that'll stay with her. Eventually when he comes she regains her hope, before it's pulled away with an agonizing quickness and nonchalantness when he introduces his wife to her. He seems to have no issues with introducing her to the wife, nor taking the child from her right in front of the wife. This further wrecks the girl's psyche, being led to believe that all they had was a fling. That he doesn't care about her at all and all this time she spent waiting has been for naught. Eventually she can't take it and carves herself to pieces until nothing remains but a butterfly, all that remains of a memory of happiness long gone. The piece might have been going for the effect that she hoped to leave with a happy memory, because it ends with a return to her first meeting of the American. That or it might have gone even further back and she might have wanted to wipe herself clean, forget everything there was to do with the American. Point is that it's a story of love and misery. Unrequited love with a string of hope that's laid across time before snapped (Quite literally) painfully.

Juan Carlos Delgado - Critiques

Cuarto Norte

Mechanically the piece is copper-wiring set up in such a way to mimic the works of a refrigerator, and it's encasing supports/finalizes this effect. The freezing effect makes the piece look like this in a matter of a few months:

The drastic change is not only part of the intended design for the piece, but it enhances the meaning and the beauty of the piece. While still in it's original form, it looks like a traditional art piece, that although well made, it doesn't seem to have much if any meaning. The warm colors on a neutral face could make it a meaning of the start of life, unsure and expecting of the future, despite however we may take it we're all looking forward to it on the inside. But then as time passes we become jaded, cold, the world around us makes us bitter and strips of our happiness, of our hope. And the piece does an amazing job of showing that in a most literal form, the object freezes through time and as the design becomes enhanced and more detailed, showing how one's journey through life is always going to define us, it doesn't change that we're all changed into a more stiff, colder form thanks to our surroundings.

An Introduction to the Wild World of Santi's 211

About Me?
My full name is Juan Raul Sedano and I'm an aspiring gfx-designer/coding-geek thus finding myself in a major that's quite suitable for both. Not big on talking about myself so thats enough for now right? Right. Onwards!

First Impressions?
Amusing. After a uh, small mishap, the class was quite amusing. A bit daunting to finally be in it, but I'm already well aware of the time constraint and dedication the class requires so it wasn't a surprise. I'm actually kind of looking forward to what this semester will bring. I've merely watched and heard from people who've taken the class before, so it's going to be interesting to be able to take it. Yeah, definitely anticipating a lot of chaos this semester, but who doesn't need chaos every now and again?

Expectations?
Uh, a new-found appreciation for what little sleep I will be getting. Lots of challenging work that'll probably make me think in ways I can't comprehend at the outset of this class. A lot of new information and viewpoints that I probably haven't even begun to think of before. And lots of hard work.