Conner Harkins' Intro to Blogging

              Image: "Everything is Art" sign, Source:  Smartistcareerblog.com I believe that nearly anything in this world can be considered art. Art is formally defined as  the expression of creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form such as painting or sculpture, producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty. However, this definition somewhat excludes certain things that some may not consider art. Yet, art is all around. In my opinion art is everything and everywhere.            Some people may see a desk or a piece of furniture, a building or a house for just what they are. But who is to say that they aren’t all pieces of art?               Nowadays, the definition of art is broadening, long ago are the days where just paintings and sculptures were considered the only artistic mediums. In today’...

                                        Image: Schedule on a laptop, Source: Visual-Planning.com          After coming up with my idea last week of focusing my project around the art of Mac Miller, it's time to get to work and begin planning and scheduling my project around the time I have. Although early, I think that the most important part of a successful long term project is to create an easy to follow schedule at the beginning so that I can get a better idea of the work load and help keep myself on track. Due to my toxic trait of procrastination I think that doing this will help me accomplish what I need to week by week instead of saving it all for the final week or two. Other than that I hope to create my initial layout for my website using wix.com software in order to get a baseline to begin my project. Within this I will ...

Image:  Théodore Géricault's  The Raft of the Medusa , Source:  Britannic          A work of art that I found very interesting and reoccurring during my research of Romanticism in art was  Théodore Géricault's painting The Raft of the Medusa . Painted in 1818 by the French  Géricault, the work is commonplace as one of the most important pieces of Romantic art during the 19th and 20th centuries. The painting displays the crew of the French naval ship the Meduse struggling against nature to survive after their ship wrecked. It is important to note that a major theme in early Romanticism was terror and fear, especially pertaining to the power of nature.  Géricault's work does just this as it accurately portrays and insights terror to exemplify the power that nature has over man. The painting also displays deep emotion and drama, portraying a realistic event, yet stylistically using Romanticism traits to match the era's style...

                                  Image:  Théodore Géricault's The Raft of the Medusa , Source: Britannica          Romanticism Art was a very important style of works that intended to fray away from the reason and science of The Enlightenment, and instead dial in on nature and emotion to evoke rather romantic and intense feelings. The trend was an alternative to the art styles of the prior Enligtenment era and was monumental in creating a more liberal and artistic society During the 18th,19th, and 20th century. Link to Infographic:  https://venngage.net/ps/B3VOVxzFs0/all-about-romanticism-conner-harkins

           Originally I was a bit unsure of what I would do my project on, I don't consider myself a very artistic person and often times I overlook the artistic value of the things around me, so the brainstorming aspect didn't come too easy. However, as I sat at my desk desperately trying to figure out what I would base my big project on I found myself subconsciously listening to music in the background to ease my mind. And that's when it hit me. My favorite artist of all time is Mac Miller and I really admire how his lyrics are so raw and provide the listener an insight on what his art was really about. Although dark and often times evolving, Mac's writing was one of the things that boasted him to fame and brought his fans closer to him. When I hear any type of Mac song I see it as more than just music, but a true piece of art and reflection. So with that being said, I plan on basing my project on the way that Mac's art changed throughout h...

                     Image: Joseph Wright of Derby's A Philosopher Lecturing on the Orrery, Source: Wikipedia         The work I found most interesting from the Enlightenment Period was Joseph Wright of Derby's painting titled A Philosopher Lecturing on the Orrery. I thought that this was a great piece to represent the period because it not only expresses the increased focus on science and reasoning, but also pertains to today's society of enhanced philosophical and scientific research. During the Age of Enlightenment many societies began to look towards reasoning to explain the world around them. Science and philosophy prior to the era was rather underwhelming and even sometimes neglected. However, as thoughts of reasons came about, so did science to help explain certain phenomena's and occurrences in the natural world. Another thing that slightly changed with the occurrence of enl...

    Image: The Age of Enlightenment by Lemmonier, Source: Wikipedia          The Enlightenment was a period of time around the 17th and 18th centuries in which western society began to increasingly focus on humanism in order to better themselves and their societies. The Scientific Revolution, The Renaissance, and religious reforms all led to people using reason to better explain the things around them and make sense of the world.  Link to infographic:  https://venngage.net/ps/BL0XPqmUMvc/the-enlightenment-by-conner-harkins

          Personally, I tend to be a much bigger fan of non-fiction writing as opposed to fictional stories. my favorite subsection of non-fiction would have to be biographies. I enjoy reading about the lives of interesting and important people. Yet, I am also pretty into shorter news articles and other non-fiction pieces, often found through Twitter or social media. What I think is great about non-fiction writing is it's truthful and often unbiased, it allows the reader to view a situation as it truly is. Likewise, I find that good non-fiction must be unique and interesting. the best pieces always tend to be about a subject that resonates with someone or amazes them in some way. One article I've read in the past that I thought was fantastic was a piece written by current Las Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Robin Lehner in  The Athletic . This article is a firsthand account of the battles that Lehner has faced in the past based around mental health. Wh...

       Throughout the Covid-19 pandemic I have found that music is a very important and essential part of our everyday lives and culture. Music has proven itself to be arguably one of the most popular forms of art and that popularity has only risen throughout the pandemic. Music is closely associated with culture and as different cultures continue to evolve and change, so does music.      Every culture has specific genres or types of music that are connotated with them. As important cultural issues or situations arise, the music that most accurately defines that specific culture will often speak on those issues through lyrics and messages. In my personal experience, music has always been important to me and although I don't consider myself a very "cultured" person or identify with any specific culture, I believe it's important to understand different views and cultural situations through music.      Just like culture creates a s...

          Feedback is an essential part of any facet of life. It provides a check on how one is doing in relation to the baseline standard. Without feedback it would be quite difficult to accurately rate your own performance in things like school, work, or anything that requires you to put an effort forward.            Feedback can be given in many unique and differing ways; however, the key is to do it in a manner that both criticizes while also highlighting the effort put forth in order to motivate instead of bringing down. In the past feedback for myself has come in many different forms. Whether it be the grades and comments I’ve received from professors, discussion board responses on blackboard, or even a stern look from someone when my work isn’t up to standard or I’m out of line.            Yet I firmly believe that most of the time feedback should tend to be positive. Instead of in...

  Image: "Everything is Art" sign, Source: Smartistcareerblog.com I believe that nearly anything in this world can be considered art. Art is formally defined as the expression of creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form such as painting or sculpture, producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty. However, this definition somewhat excludes certain things that some may not consider art. Yet, art is all around. In my opinion art is everything and everywhere.           Some people may see a desk or a piece of furniture, a building or a house for just what they are. But who is to say that they aren’t all pieces of art?             Nowadays, the definition of art is broadening, long ago are the days where just paintings and sculptures were considered the only artistic mediums. In today’s society music, writing, designing, and building can all be considered a...

  Image: A picture of a person Blogging, Source: beamoneyblogger.com Hey everyone, my n a me is Conne r Harkins and I am current ly a sophomore in the const ruction management program. I've never written a blog before; however, I tend to read a lot of B arstool Sports blog's and understand  the idea of blogging as an unconventional and fun way to convey information or even  jus t explain one's thoughts.  As of now I’m not completely sure of the direction in which I plan to take my blog or what m any of my t opics will be about. However, I intend to share my thoughts on school, life, or sports, all relating to whatever prompts or topics are prevalent within the course.      As for my initial post I guess I should further introduce myself. I am 19 years old and from Bridgewater Massachusetts. My hobbies include hockey, construction, carpentry, and hanging out with friends. O ther than that, there isn’t a whole lot else about me ( Anythingadditional abo...