Category: Writing About Art!

Final Draft

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1uU7R274P6GZmEkMPEVe03vu6E8PXnDC8/view?usp=drivesdk

Hadeel Abuhamda

English 1101

May 5, 2019

Queen Bey

Everyone knows who Beyoncé is A.KA “Queen Bey.” Unlike many, I have a very unpopular opinion about her and well, I believe she’s a bit overrated. She dropped an album on April 23, 2016 called “Lemonade” and everyone went wild about it. It turned out to be a Grammy winning album. To be specific, this album earned her sixth consecutive number-one album on the charts. As of December 2016, it sold over 1.5 million copies in the United States, which made it the third best selling album of the year. (Wikipedia) All over these songs, she battles through heartbreak, betrayal, and infidelity. When I first heard about it, I wasn’t very interested in actually listening to it. Once again, I just thought it was everyone doing the usual of worshipping everything that she does. But, I have to give it to her. She really did do her thing on this album. And that’s coming from a person who doesn’t necessarily like her.

I will say, Beyoncé seems to be the one artist, in whose voice people find their own stories. With this album, you can tell she poured her everything into it. A dozen songs plus a sixty minute movie that is more than just advertisement for the music, but an important partner that supplies context and deepens the understanding. It’s apparent that this album is her most accomplished and cohesive work yet. This album is more than just music and play for pop supremacy. It is the work of an artist who is trying her best to know herself better and deeper for better or worse and letting the listeners in on the sometimes brutal self inspection. Lemonade bristles with anger, vengeance dreams, political disappointment, internal turned inquiries and commotion.

If you ever been cheated on by someone who you thought you can trust and who thought you would be too stupid to notice, the first half of Lemonade is for you. At first we might have thought that Beyonce is only using the album to tell the world about her experiences with Jay-Z’s un-loyal self. Probably for publicity reasons. But then again, it’s Beyoncé does she really need any more buzz? This was probably what caused it to get so much attention because everyone viewed this couple as “goals.” That just shows that we never know what goes on behind closed doors. But, in the second half of the album we start to realize they actually have a happy ending and that this isn’t the only theme she’s going for in her album.

This album is so much more than Jay-Z and to be completely honest I feel like a lot of people missed that… Actually, I know a lot of people missed that. Apart from marital infidelity, the album is structured around feminism, the black lives matter movement, black identity, and more. People might have missed these concepts if they didn’t see the visual part of the album. The visual album in itself is a sixty minute long celebration of black culture and more importantly, black women celebrating themselves. For example, in “Sorry” the women are in tribal clothing, tribal paint, and tribal hairstyles. Then we see Beyoncé sitting on a throne with Serena Williams beside her. This scene is set to represent two powerful, successful, and influential women. Then there’s the song itself that represents women no longer putting up with infidelity. But, it also goes way deeper than that. Take the song “Forward” for instance, Beyoncé brings Trayvon Martin’s and Michael Brown’s mothers to shift the focus from her internal issues to those that are occurring on the outside. This one seems to encourage a form a collective healing. “Formation” makes a bold political statement on both police brutality and black feminism. She filled the video with images that read “Stop Shooting Us.” She also stood on top of a sunken police car to let everyone know where she stood on these issues. Although the song itself might be just another catchy Beyoncé track, the video does make some powerful statements.

Lemonade is more than I ever thought it could be. Although I previously said I’m not a fan of hers, I would never deny the fact that she is indeed talented. After Lemonade, I answered my own question as to why it is that she’s so successful. We all know Beyonce sings with her usual soul and irreplaceable skills. But, her passion, representation, and creativity is what I believe that has gotten her to where she is today. The point is even if you don’t like Beyoncé, like myself, the fact that she is using her platform to get this out to thousands of people that might not be aware of these issues is actually brilliant. Sometimes it takes people like Beyoncé to get people talking, thinking, and understanding these issues. My advice to you would be, listen to Lemonade and dedicate some of your time to watch the visuals. The visual album provides a whole other level of understanding of this narrative. Beyoncé really outdid herself with this one. And once again, this is coming from someone who isn’t a big fan of hers.

Works Cited :

• Dam, Freja. “Beyoncé’s ‘Lemonade’: A Visual Tale of Grief, Resurrection, and Black Female Empowerment.” Spin, 26 Apr. 2016,
• www.spin.com/2016/04/beyonce-lemonade-hbo-album-film-analysis/

 

• https://g.co/kgs/x9ghav

Jessica Garcia

Professor Hall

Eng 1101

April, 27, 2019

Suicide is described to be a very difficult topic but it is important and necessary to talk about.  According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Suicide is a leading cause of death in the United States”, some problems that often contribute to suicide are related to relationships, substance use, physical health, job conditons, abuse, trauma or housing stress. After the tragedy of losing a loved one due to suicide it is devastating for family and friends. Therapist Mark Redwood explained “that for someone in grief they may experience feelings of guilt which is very common” (Redwood). Guilt comes from the belief that we should have, or could have done something to prevent that person from turning to suicide. Learning more about what might lead to suicide may help prevent further tragedies from happening but if it couldn’t be prevented, you are always informed.

Robert Bryson Hall II some may know him as Logic, grew up in poverty in suburban Maryland. In his album Everybody released on May 5, 2017 , he confronts the challenges with identity that he experienced growing up and announces it as a piece about race in America that is explored through the lens of Logic’s biracial identity. His father is an African-American, while his mother is Caucasian but he lived a troubled childhood because both of his parents were alcoholic and addicted to drugs. Ahead of the release he explained,  “It’s about me being black and white, seeing life from two sides, and about that cultural evolution and how you can go from the darkest of skin to the lightest of skin” (Logic), he focuses on issues and the importance of privilege, equality or racism in America. In Logic’s interview discussing anxiety, depression and education his famous motto is “The fight for everyone regardless of race, religion, color and sexual orientation and against racism, oppression, discrimination, and sexual orientation” but in his music he also touches on depression, anxiety and suicide. You may remember from your history class the quote “All men are created equal”, stated on the Declaration Of Independence that regardless of race or ethnicity we must be held to be equal. It’s important to point out the issue that although we may be born equal we are not being treated equally therefore there must be change.
Throughout his album he discusses his race and experiences because he is proud of who he is but he also seems to be rapping from different perspectives. Logic focuses on “the fight for equality” because in society we aren’t treated equally. One of the songs in his album that I believe had most impact would be “ 1-800-273-8255”, that has in fact saved many people’s lives. It is clear that there is a transition from “ I don’t wanna be alive” to “ I finally wanna be alive”. The name of the song is the number of The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. He raps from the perspective of a gay man who is struggling with his sexuality and is trying to find acceptance within himself specifically but he is scared about coming out to this family.

In the music video it took a dark turn when the truth comes out, the boy’s father finds out that he is gay and the boy runs away from home. His dad doesn’t accept the way his son identifies himself leading to the phrase “ I don’t wanna be alive” while the boy is calling the hotline. In school he is bullied adding on top of the fact that his own dad doesn’t support him. In the phrase “ I know I’m hurting deep down but can’t show it “, the idea of isolating yourself and putting on a fake smile to fool others that you are okay when in reality you aren’t. He is shown sleeping in a small corner even sleeping through classes, his track coach reaches to his dad because he notices that he is not getting any sleep even buys him food. The only one noticing that the boy isn’t okay is the track coach. The phrase also lets the listener feel connected, having the power to inspire the listener to call the hotline because they feel exactly the same. Later on the boy is shown running home to get the gun, crying because he realizes what he is going to leave behind, the love for track and his family but is also overwhelmed with his surroundings. The ending of the song delivers a message of hope, “You don’t gotta die, I want you to be alive,” told from the perspective of the person offering emotional support, the operator giving the reasons to why he should live.  At the end it fast forwards to the future where the young boy is a man marrying the love of his life and says “ I finally wanna be alive, I don’t wanna die today”, calling the hotline had saved his life and allowed him to experience what his life had in store for him, learning to make the most of the present.

On April 28, 2017, the day the song was released, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline received 4,573 calls. It was the second-highest total in the organization’s history, after the day Robin Williams died. Logic wanted to reach out to those that are struggling, depressed or  have suicidal thoughts. Reaching out to the public letting them know that if they relate and feel the same way that help does exist because their life is worth living.

In the 2017 VMAs, he performed “1-800” and used his platform to send out a positive message and let others know about the truth even if it hurts because in reality there are people struggling and feel alone. According to the director of the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, giving phone numbers where help is available is an important first step because media and public figures are big influencers. The tone is serious because on one hand he is talking about suicide which should be taken seriously but he also wants to spread awareness. During his performance he is joined by suicide survivors and individuals who lost loved ones due to suicide wearing shirts with the hotline number and “ You are not alone”  making the message clear. Psychiatrist Jeffery Barenstein stated “Silence can have tragic results but knowledge can save lives” (Barenstein). It’s important to let people know that if you’re in crisis, there are options available to help you cope and help you find a way out when you feel trapped.

Works Cited 

“Who Is Logic? Everything You Need to Know.” Logic (Sir Robert Bryson Hall) Biography – Facts, Childhood, Family Life & Achievements of Rapper

“Home.” Lifeline

“Why Guilt Is so Common after a Bereavement.” Counselling Directory

Saalik Jackson

 

                    Vic Mensa rage

Rage,a song titled by Vic Mensa, greatly represents what it means to ascend from a darker place. The visual for this song perfectly conveys this theme that Vic Mensa attempts to present. The video begins with Vic casually riding in an airplane. As he stares out the window everything seems fine. While looking out the window he sings the opening lines of the song. These first few lines are actually contradicting to this thought. “Command we’ve lost control, the engine’s bound to crash, the lightning strikes went bright, do not go gently”. This serves as a warning to what’s about to happen in the video . As Vic is singing he then sees lightning flash from outside the plane. Shortly after that the plane then experiences a strong turbulence. He then frantically rushes over to what looks like drugs and alcohol. He starts to indulge in them as if they are giving him comfort during this stress inducing situation. He then sees a great flash that leave a puzzled look on his face.

Then suddenly the plane starts to bust open and break apart. The entire inside of the plain is left in in shambles. Metal can be seen flying off of the plane. The turbulence is so strong that Vic is seen being yanked around in the plane. The turbulence only proves to worsen showing sparks,metal, and various objects flying around. As the plane spirals out of control Vic raps about external struggles. “They say home is where the hate is I’m from where they kill they own”said Vic during the first verse.“Tired of chasing pills that I’m tired of taking,” he proclaims over booming drums and synth strings. “Tired of court cases, tired of judges. Tired of saying Fuck it.”he continued. He falls to the floor and what seems like little pieces of metal are seen being blown around him. As the first verse finishes and the hook comes back the plane has crashed. Vic is seen starting to drown in the ocean that the plane crashed in. Vic fights to stay alive but is inevitably overwhelmed by the water. His body then seems to become lifeless as he starts to sink. We then see a new Vic wearing a white shirt and all his tattoos removed. As Vic appears we see flames as he is rapping. This seems to serve as an entity telling him to get up. It is a more pure version of himself that acknowledges his flaws. As he is rapping he starts to reference his internal conflict that he has with himself. He makes reference of his addictions that he has. This signifies the him being reborn into something different. The scene then switches back to Vic under the water as he now resiliently begins to swim to air. It is as if the old Vic died in the plane crash and a new one has now emerged. He now has the hope and strength that he did not have previously. As he reaches the top he passes a few objects from the plane. He then makes it to above sea level where fire can be seen. With all his remaining strength, Vic swims to what looks like an uninhabited island. With some of his clothes missing, he finally gets up and stands. After everything that he has survived and been through he manages to stand. Tired and out of breath, He starts to stare, looking at the wreckage that once was a plane. The camera zooms in on his face so that viewers can see the exhausted but yet determined look on his face. This is the look of a survivor. This video brilliantly conveys the idea of sacrificing what you are for what you will become . Vic Mensa shows what it means to improve and leave the past behind. It shows that Mensa is not so easily defeated. He raps about the trials and tribulations he has been through in his life, in addiction to drugs. Vic has also had suicidal thoughts amongst other dark issues. He has also frequently dealt with legal problems. All of these are things that he addresses towards the end of the video during his final verse. He eventually channels all of his inner turmoil and manages to come out stronger from it. This is shown as he stands triumphantly at the end of the video. This song rage epitomizes what it means to endure. It means to rage against the tribulations and problems that are thrown in one’s way. It means to refuse to let your problems overwhelm you. Some of the lines are coming from a famous poem by Dylan Thomas called “Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night”. Vic references this poem in the beginning of the video while he is sitting.” “Command, we’ve lost control
The engine’s bound to crash
The lightning strikes went bright
Do not go gently” says Vic in the beginning. The hook also references the poem. “Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light”wrote Dylan Thomas in the poem. The hook of this song uses this poem as Vic says “ I want you to rage into the night, I want you to blaze into the light”. This video and song is the epitome of what it means to endure one’s trials and tribulations.

Topic: Kendrick Lamar_HUMBLE

The artist Kendrick Lamar (born June 17, 1987) is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. He is regarded as one of the most skillful and successful hip-hop artists of his generation. Raised in Compton, California, Lamar embarked on his musical career as a teenager under the stage name K-Dot, releasing a mixtape that garnered local attention and led to his signing with indie record label Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE). He began to gain recognition in 2010, after his first retail release, Overly Dedicated.

 

One of his music videos is particularly interesting to me as it includes many captivating scenes and words. That particular video was released in 2017 and got a lot of attention. In addition to being a very well-sounding song, it also includes messages depicted with scenes. Through this song, the singer addresses Americans, but more precisely Black people, women, corrupt people and more directly to those taking part in that racial segregation and or profiling. The purpose of this song was to highlight what black people are still going through and how it affects the way they live and the way they act. The content was expressed in a lyrical and explicit way to the audience and the original oeuvre may be somewhat inappropriate for underaged people.

 

From the music video, it is clear that the artist put a lot of work to make things look exactly the way he wanted it to look. Scenes throughout the video have meanings and are meant to send messages to the audience. In the introduction, we can see Kendrick standing still dressed like a pope portraying “HUMBLE” manners till he starts singing with somewhat a though character.  This scene represents the “awakening”, stating that none can consider one ethnicity to be superior to another, and still expect the oppressed people to stay nice. As a side note to that scene, oppression is not “Christian”. Suddenly, from a pope driving the word of God, Kendrick turned into a different personality where many girls are sitting next to him counting money. This scene represents how media takes advantage of the hard work of others. The women counting his money also have masks on their faces which means that they are undercover. Next, a scene shows him in the middle of a dinner table covered in red with wine and bread on it, and other people sitting along. This scene depicts the famous diner Jesus had before being crucified. This scene has been interpreted in many music videos by other artists such as A$AP Ferg, Nas, and Stormzi. That scene more particularly shows that the people you just broke bread with, can betray you.

Another scene shows Kendrick in front of a group of men with their heads on fire and other streets guys in the background. He then mentioned “Dreamers”, to illustrate how racist people think, their selfish manners when they feel like someone is taking over. Their heads are on fire due to their dreams that they can’t reach and are forced to live like the guys in the far background. On another scene with a little bit of controversy, he says that he is “tired of Photoshop” and that he needs something natural then displays a girl in two screens (natural and “photoshopped”), where the girl seems to look even better natural! That scene causes a bit of controversy from the feminists. Some seemed offended for being portrayed as “photoshopped” because they use makeup. But on the other hand, some people say that he just stated his preference and that nobody should feel concerned. The meaning of the scene was tricky as he mentioned Richard Pryor who was an American stand-up comedian, and actor. He reached a broad audience with his trenchant observations and storytelling style and is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential stand-up comedians of all time.

Pryor won an Emmy Award (1973) and five Grammy Awards (1974, 1975, 1976, 1981, and 1982). In 1974, he also won two American Academy of Humor awards and the Writers Guild of America Award.

Pryor’s body of work includes the concert movies and recordings: Richard Pryor: Live & Smokin’ (1971), That Nigger’s Crazy (1974), …Is It Something I Said? (1975), Bicentennial Nigger (1976), Richard Pryor: Live in Concert (1979), Richard Pryor: Live on the Sunset Strip (1982), and Richard Pryor: Here and Now (1983). As an actor, He collaborated on many projects with actor Gene Wilder. Another frequent collaborator was actor/comedian/writer Paul Mooney.

He starred mainly in comedies such as Silver Streak (1976), but occasionally in dramas, such as Paul Schrader’s Blue Collar (1978), or action films, such as Superman III (1983).

In addition, the first-ever Kennedy Center Mark Twain Prize for American Humor was presented to him in 1998. He was listed at number one on Comedy Central’s list of all-time greatest stand-up comedians.[1] In 2017, Rolling Stone ranked him first on its list of the 50 best stand-up comics of all time. He also actively fought against racism and the fact that some people change their appearance just to fit into society.

A well-known scene forms an old commercial was also illustrated, where he exchanges a jar from the back of a car to another man inside another car. The original commercial scene was made by two white men and he shows that the same scene among black Americans can be interpreted as a criminal activity.

The same action is judged different when done by someone of adifferent race. Next, he then appears in a house with gun lasers pointing at him. That scene shows media attack towards African-Americans and says it’s even worse than alcohol abuse. By “Be humble! Sit down”, Kendrick illustrate what African- American have been told. He then appears in the middle of bold head black men face down (oppressed), saying “be humble, sit down”, with him in the middle signifies that he is the voice with his face facing up no matter what he is being told. The following scene shows him between a group of black people in high status with their faces up and him wearing white to tell the difference and show that he will keep the battle going.

This music video is very entertaining, but the main idea behind this video was mostly about showing the audience facts about what is going on, that racist people are brainwashing the masses so they can think negative about African American. Considering the actual situation, such oppression does not help at all, it makes some people stop caring and just do what they are mostly considered to be doing, bad things. It was an overall very interesting song with many messages that the audience needs to understand even though some of the content were a source of questioning and controversy.

 

 

 

 

• Link to discussed video: https://youtu.be/tvTRZJ-4EyI
• Other sources of research https://youtu.be/yzoenMAFHns
• https://youtu.be/G6zWJFCTmZM
• https://youtu.be/Ne4YRL2Gpk4

Zevanya

Carrie Hall

English 1101

May 2, 2019

April and A Flower

April 28th, 1979 a flower named Patricia Lauretta Viola was born. Started off buried in the ground and slowly grew out of the soil forming a stem, a leaf, and finally a fully bloomed flower. This beautiful flower went through hurricanes, rainfalls, and landslides but it did not dismantle her. On April 10th, 2001, her very own offspring bloomed and that offspring was me, Zevanya Margareth Francien Sibarani.

“젊고 아름다운 당신의 계절
여길 봐 예쁘게 피었으니까
바닥에 떨어지더라도
꽃 길만 걷게 해 줄게요”
(you gave up your youthful and beautiful season. Look at me, I have bloomed prettily. Even if I fall to the ground, I will make you walk only on flower paths)

The song “Flower Road” was released on November 22, 2016. The song is sung by a South Korean singer and actress named Kim Sejeong. She is a former member of the girl group I.O.I and a current member of the girl group Gugudan. She is under the label of YMC Entertainment but on November 2016, she participated in Jellyfish Entertainment’s music channel and released the famous Korean ballad “Flower Road” as a soloist (Kim Se-Jeong). The song charted really well throughout seven huge Korean music sites and she also received a trophy on Show Champion ( a music show where they rank the top 5 songs released each month and award the first place a trophy). Her single “Flower Road” was released on November 2016 and was actually produced by the famous South Korean rapper, record producer, singer-songwriter Zico from the boy group BlockB (Zico (rapper)). In 2015, he appeared as a producer in Korea’s famous rap competition tv show “Show Me the Money”. Throughout the years, he’s won multiple awards such as “Song of the Year, Artist of the Year, Best Male Artist, etc..” (Zico (rapper)). Zico was highly inspired by the letters Sejeong and Chaeyon (her former member from I.O.I) wrote to their mothers. It was known that Zico writes and gives his music to people he truly feels could make an impact and portray the emotions of the song well.

In the music video, you could only see the image of a mother as it represents Sejeong’s family background. Her parents were divorced when she was little and her mother raised both her and her older brother alone. I felt as if she was speaking for me through this song. My parents got divorced when I was younger and I’ve been raised by my mother alone too which made me feel like she could relate to how sorry I actually felt towards my mom. My mom worked day and night supporting not only me but my grandparents and her sister’s family as well. People always thought because she was the youngest child she would become the most spoiled but in reality, she’s carrying the weight of three families on her own. Which is why I am always proud to say that Patricia Lauretta Viola is my mother and there’s absolutely nothing this woman can’t do if she puts her mind to it.

The music video was composed of split screens and parallels which compares the daily routine of the singer, Kim Sejeong, during the past and the present. In one scene, the screen on the left showed Sejeong tucking herself into bed while the opposite screen showed a woman or a mother tucking a little girl (younger Sejeong). The soft and warm colors deeply reflected the presence of the mother even though the mother’s face was not seen throughout the music video. As you can see, the left screen has a brighter color palette compared to the right side. I personally think the warmer colors represented the feeling of being safe and calm as she was still under her mother’s wing. The brighter colors seem to portray a sense of growth and independence but still filled with the feeling of calmness as blue is known to be a calming color.

Nearing towards the end of the music video, the mother was holding onto the little girl’s bike and eventually lets go as she rides the bike on her own. I believe this was to show the mother letting go of her daughter so she can grow, shine and make her own path. I was personally really touched by this scene because it reminded me of when I gave my mom the last hug before I left for my flight to New York. The words she said to me was, “I have raised you well. You are brave, smart and wise. Always remember no matter how far or long we’re apart I will always love and support you. You keep me going and I’m beyond blessed. God gave me the best gift I could ever ask for so remember if you miss me, I’m always a call away.”

At the end of the music video, Sejeong was holding an umbrella and reaching her hand out to check if it was still raining. The sun was shining and it was probably the brightest filter in the entire music video. I think this was to symbolize that even though the rainy days the sun will come out and things will get better no matter how hard it gets.

As I mentioned earlier, Sejeong received a trophy from Show Champion which showed how well the song was doing. After she received the trophy, she gave a short speech while crying and thanked Zico, the staff, her fans and last but not least her mother and grandfather. Her eyes watered even more when she mentioned her mother and I couldn’t help but cry along with her because I was able to feel her sincerity. Seeing a very beautiful and strong woman openly talk about her family and her love for her mother makes me so happy. Her voice suited the song very well and when watching her live performance you can tell that she meant every word. It wasn’t just a typical ballad song about a breakup, it was a song about a mother’s love and her child promising a brighter future for her mother.

Patricia Lauretta Viola is my motivation and my flower. She gives me hope and she helps me persevere. I believe that’s how Kim Sejeong feels whenever she thinks about her mother. She feels gratitude yet her heart aches knowing she will never be able to fully give back the love and support she received. She cries on television shows when hosts ask, “what does your mother mean to you?” She never fails to thank her mother for every achievement, may it be huge or small. To the woman who went through nine risky months to give birth to me, the woman who sacrificed her youth just so I can have an amazing childhood and never experience poverty and lastly the only woman who made me feel beautiful and loved, I promise to only let you walk on a flower path when I get older.

Works Cited:

Jacob, Ryan. “Sejeong’s ‘Flower Path’ Is a Much-Needed Healing Song This Season.” Seoulbeats, 30 July 2017, seoulbeats.com/2016/11/sejeongs-flower-path-is-a-much-needed-healing-song-this-season/.

“Zico (Rapper).” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 11 Apr. 2019, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zico_(rapper).

“Kim Se-Jeong.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 1 May 2019, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kim_Se-jeong.

Footnotes: All lyric quotes are from “Jacob, Ryan. “Sejeong’s ‘Flower Path’ ”

Britney Lilly
Dr. Hall
1101
4.13.19
Scholastic Art Magazine

A Starry Night and its Tortured Soul

 

Vincent van Gogh wasn’t just the man who decided to chop his left ear off because he wanted to give it to someone he loved (or so they say). Vincent van Gogh was a man of many faces, all of which turned into a life of unexpected twists, turns, and emotional turmoil.
Though Vincent van Gogh was thought of as a tortured soul, the life he lived and the roles he played created the artist we revere today. Just like many of people nowadays, Vincent van Gogh clearly struggled with mental disabilities along with some physical ones throughout his life. He has been commonly believed to eat his yellow paint in the hopes that its color would brighten his demeanor. Though in reality while he did eat his paints it was found by Dr. Peyron to have been in attempts of suicide through poisoning “The medical notes of Dr Peyron, Vincent’s physician, revealed that Vincent wanted to poison himself by eating paint and drinking turpentine. That’s probably why he wasn’t allowed into his studio while he was suffering from his attacks”(VanGoghmuseum).Vincent van Gogh also had the habit of consuming absinthe while falling into a fit of emotions that lasted for the remainder of his life.
He later admitted himself to an asylum after one of his fits caused him to chase his roommate painter Paul Gauguin around with a razor in hand. That evening ended in the severing of Vincent van Gogh’s left ear (which he handed to the brothel owner in which he frequented) though no one really knows if it was by him or Gauguins’. When Vincent van Gogh arrived back home, this is when he shot himself in the stomach in a wheat field where later his brother Theo had found him bleeding. Vincent van Gogh died a few days later from internal damage and inability to remove the bullet, and his brother Theo followed after six months, leaving many to think Theo unable to live his life without his brother when in fact he really died from syphilis.
In his death, Van Goghs’ fame rose quickly, causing many doctors to attempt in diagnosing this plagued artist. He is commonly thought to have suffered from psychosis, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, epilepsy, borderline personality disorder, severe depression, and paralyzing anxiety. No matter what they tried to diagnose him with, Van Gogh was a man with much sorrow, who tried to work through his pain with his paintbrushes. And because of this he created beautiful and emotionally driven paintings that can be seen and felt throughout the art world.
It was 1889 when Vincent Van Gogh admitted himself into Saint-Rémy asylum after having a nervous breakdown, there he found he could “paint en plein air” (French for outdoors), it is here that he pained one of his most famous masterpieces. The scene of “The Starry Night” came entirely from Van Gogh’s imagination, none of the scenery actually matches the area that surrounds Saint-Paul or the view seen from his window. As a man who religiously paints what he sees, it’s a remarkable break from Van Gogh’s normal work.
Really look at his brush strokes. From the sky and how they swirl, to each dab of color moving with the clouds around the stars and the moon. The cypress tree that bends with each curve of the branches. The whole effect is graceful and dreamlike it’s like each stroke is creating a dance only his mind understands. The hills lazily spiral down into the village below. In a striking difference, the town is painted with rigid lines that break up the fluid like the flow of the brush strokes. There are fewer trees through out that soften the harshness of the town merging nature into the roughness of buildings. The contrast in styles plays on the dreams versus reality or natural and unnatural. Nature could even be attributed to the divine in this work. While in the asylum Vincent van Gogh wrote to his brother, “I feel a tremendous need for religion, so I go outside at night to paint that stars.” (Theartpostblog). In his search for self discovery and healing, he found that the sky, the nature, the starry nights satisfied his desire for infinity. (Theartpostblog).
It reminded me when I placed myself into an institution, like Vincent van Gogh I placed myself in willingly after a mental breakdown. There I met a nurse who would paint replications of many famous artists’ paintings, with Vincent van Gogh painting being one of them. This was where I found my love for his artwork. Watching her as she would paint with practiced strokes and concentrated face of what she saw Vincent van Goghs’ painting to be through her mind’s interpretation. That along with the telling of his life’s tale I soon saw how I could relate to such a beautifully broken mind. Through my own turmoil just as he had his, he inspired me. I believe everything can be beautiful if you just try to see it through another’s eyes.
Many people have seen a picture of “The Starry Night” either in a museum or on the internet and felt the power of his brush strokes created in their soul. I myself have gotten lost in this painting many times. The connection that is felt inside myself when I view “The Starry Night” is indescribable, I become at ease. It is as though the world around me has melted away where the colors start becoming one. In my personal episodes of depression, anxiety, mental breakdowns, this painting has brought me to places of solace. The calming blues, swirling whites mixed with yellow, the speckles of stars, and the sleepy town below is a place I wish I could be. A constant place of steadiness created from a mind that was in wild disarray .
Life is moving so quickly that people forget to stop and appreciate the small things yet people always seem to ask, but why? Why should I care? For me people like that have a tendency to close themselves off when a new world is offered to them. It’s as if those types of people are afraid to step out of the confinement of their personal bubble. “The Starry Night” shows that even in the darkness there’s an underlying beauty in the things that are around us if we know how to look. Everything that is created is made with emotion and care. You don’t have to necessarily like something to understand the emotion behind it. That is what art is, the emotion that brought that image, sound or story to life.
When people have their mindset in the place of pain and misery, there is not much that we can do for that person in terms of reliving their sorrow. When dealing with manic depression, if it is not handled properly, what that person has been through to that point is normal to them, even though their judgment is seen as askew. If someone is going to commit suicide such as Vincent van Gogh, then they have readily convinced themselves that they are no longer needed in this world. Letting go is the easy part, it’s finding subnational reason to hold on that is hard.

Works Cited
o www.vangoghmuseum.nl/en/125-questions/questions-and-answers/question-63-of-125?fbclid=IwAR2oZa0GI0vXi0T3BtyocuqvgZ9bDKHFYQyLCRxlm_MvV4VHQziDK6slPUk&v=1.
o “The Starry Night by Van Gogh: What It Represents.” The Art Post Blog | Art and Artists Italian Blog, 14 Mar. 2019, www.theartpostblog.com/en/the-starry-night-by-van-gogh-what-it-represents/.