Anyone willing to take a crack at my essay? Thanks so much in advanced!
College of Arts and Sciences: What work of art, music, science, mathematics, or literature has surprised, unsettled, or challenged you, and in what way?
The first time I heard John Cage's 4'33'', to say I was surprised would be an understatement. Very frankly, I thought it was a joke. How on Earth could anyone classify this as artistic? Cage's magnum opus, no less? The piece very literally consists of 4 minutes and 33 seconds of silence. Pure, empty, quiet silence. I was utterly baffled and could not for the life of me comprehend this supposed 'masterpiece'. How did the world of music get from great maestros to this? What happened along the way? When I reached home, still I couldn't push it to an unforgotten part of my mind and so I decided to do my own little research. And with that one Google search button, everything changed.
Turns out, John Cage was attempting to create a piece which would utilize the automaticism movement first proposed by Romantic Era composers to the closest it's ever been before. Upon realizing what the movement is about and the ingenuity behind the John Cage's piece, I started to understand and agree, to a certain extent, on the 'beauty' of 4'33". For the first time, I approached the piece with a different mindset; not one strictly bound by the musical influences of the classical eras but one that's open to new concepts, one without judgement. The unconventionality of it, the brilliance behind its creation, the audacity and boldness Cage undertook to create this, my feelings quickly progressed from hate to utmost admiration.
Art doesn't have to be aesthetically pleasing. It doesn't have to be worth grand amounts of money and it doesn't have to be understood by everyone. In my opinion, successful art is something that triggers emotions - emotions one didn't even know they had. 4'33'' helped me realized this and encouraged me to face problems with an open-mind.
What is your favorite word and why?
"Home" means something completely different to each and every person. It may for some be accompanied with a rush of nostalgia and joy and for others possibly with a slight tinge of dread. Its origins and details differ from person to person but it is something that everyone lives with. To me, home is where I am most comfortable. Home is an escape from harsh realities of the world and home is my favorite word.
It really wasn't until the prospect of leaving it in half a year's time did the concept of my own home really hit me. All the things that I would miss, all the things that I take for granted that would be out of reach, all the things so familiar to me suddenly whisked from under my feet. At first it was the trivial things; the laundry, the cleanliness, the home-made cooking. But as I thought on, what was really the most essential thing I'm going to miss?
Home is where I can put up my feet without anyone questioning. It's where I can loudly sing at the top my lungs without a batter of an eyelid. It's where I can sleep most at ease during the nights. A home is so much more than a house and its contents, of the trivial thing that comes along with it: it's a feeling. It's that warm fuzzy sensation when you first walk through the front doors after a long vacation. It's the sense of unconditional belonging. Simply put,
Home to me will always be nothing less of blissful to me. It goes hand in hand with childhood, family, happiness and for that "Home" is my favorite word.
The word count for both the essays is, and I quote, "half page or roughly 250 word". For the first essay, my final word count it 301 and for the second it's 281. Thank you!
College of Arts and Sciences: What work of art, music, science, mathematics, or literature has surprised, unsettled, or challenged you, and in what way?
The first time I heard John Cage's 4'33'', to say I was surprised would be an understatement. Very frankly, I thought it was a joke. How on Earth could anyone classify this as artistic? Cage's magnum opus, no less? The piece very literally consists of 4 minutes and 33 seconds of silence. Pure, empty, quiet silence. I was utterly baffled and could not for the life of me comprehend this supposed 'masterpiece'. How did the world of music get from great maestros to this? What happened along the way? When I reached home, still I couldn't push it to an unforgotten part of my mind and so I decided to do my own little research. And with that one Google search button, everything changed.
Turns out, John Cage was attempting to create a piece which would utilize the automaticism movement first proposed by Romantic Era composers to the closest it's ever been before. Upon realizing what the movement is about and the ingenuity behind the John Cage's piece, I started to understand and agree, to a certain extent, on the 'beauty' of 4'33". For the first time, I approached the piece with a different mindset; not one strictly bound by the musical influences of the classical eras but one that's open to new concepts, one without judgement. The unconventionality of it, the brilliance behind its creation, the audacity and boldness Cage undertook to create this, my feelings quickly progressed from hate to utmost admiration.
Art doesn't have to be aesthetically pleasing. It doesn't have to be worth grand amounts of money and it doesn't have to be understood by everyone. In my opinion, successful art is something that triggers emotions - emotions one didn't even know they had. 4'33'' helped me realized this and encouraged me to face problems with an open-mind.
What is your favorite word and why?
"Home" means something completely different to each and every person. It may for some be accompanied with a rush of nostalgia and joy and for others possibly with a slight tinge of dread. Its origins and details differ from person to person but it is something that everyone lives with. To me, home is where I am most comfortable. Home is an escape from harsh realities of the world and home is my favorite word.
It really wasn't until the prospect of leaving it in half a year's time did the concept of my own home really hit me. All the things that I would miss, all the things that I take for granted that would be out of reach, all the things so familiar to me suddenly whisked from under my feet. At first it was the trivial things; the laundry, the cleanliness, the home-made cooking. But as I thought on, what was really the most essential thing I'm going to miss?
Home is where I can put up my feet without anyone questioning. It's where I can loudly sing at the top my lungs without a batter of an eyelid. It's where I can sleep most at ease during the nights. A home is so much more than a house and its contents, of the trivial thing that comes along with it: it's a feeling. It's that warm fuzzy sensation when you first walk through the front doors after a long vacation. It's the sense of unconditional belonging. Simply put,
Home to me will always be nothing less of blissful to me. It goes hand in hand with childhood, family, happiness and for that "Home" is my favorite word.
The word count for both the essays is, and I quote, "half page or roughly 250 word". For the first essay, my final word count it 301 and for the second it's 281. Thank you!
