Bridges of Amsterdam Essay Example for Free

Bridges of Amsterdam Essay Leonid Afremov is a modern impressionist. He uses bright colours and strong strokes but he does not use a brush he uses a pallet knife. He developed his unique style of painting over many years, being influenced by other artists on the way. Afremov says that Marc Chagall was his biggest influence with his earlier work. He has then moved away from surrealism and into impressionism. Leonid was born on the 12th of July 1955 in Vitebsk. He was raised in a traditional Jewish household. Leonid had a difficult upbringing as he had to care for his paralysed Grandmother. His family were unwanted by many people in their town as they spoke Yiddish and practiced many Jewish traditions despite the anti-Semitism law. Leonid was a good student in school. he was interested in history and art. He attended every possible art class the school offered and even got private lessons from local artists. I did not know anything about this artist but his painting caught my eye when I was searching for a painting to write about. I chose this painting because of the eye catching colours; I like the use of hot and cold colours and how parts of the painting blend while other parts don’t. The painting gives me a feeling of warmth and happiness I think this is because of the warm colours used and how bright they are this may also be because of the big bold strokes that are so obvious in the painting that make it just that little bit more unique than other artists. I think Leonid is trying to put across the message of happiness but it could also be a message of loneliness, if you look closely you will see that there is no one in the street and you can’t see anyone in the windows of the buildings. This painting is very interesting all together but one of the most interesting things about the painting is how Leonid made the lights on the bridge actually look like they are glowing the way he did this is by using different tones of yellow and orange to make a glow effect. Leonid uses many interesting techniques such as how the textures are realistic especially in the reflection of the river, and how the tree blends into the sky but you can tell exactly where the leaves of the tree come to the end of the climb towards the sky. He uses a wide variety of thick and thin lines which are very different to the lines that you would see if the painting had been painted with a brush. The composition of this painting is different to other painting as I feel that there is no real focal point, your eyes just wonder around the canvas looking for something new to catch. You could tell who’s painting this is as there are no other artists that use these bold trade mark strokes that are mostly used in the sky but you can see little bits of them used in the buildings and in the tree’s What makes this painting just a little bit more special is that even though you can tell it is night there is still light bright colours in the sky which gives us a feeling o f day but the way he has made the reflections in the river and the way the street lamps shine and the light in the windows of the building that is what gives us the feeling of night time. The very famous painting â€Å"Sunday afternoon on the island of the Grand-Jatte† by Georges Seurat is in some ways very similar to Leonid’s work but in other ways not similar at all. The technique George Seurat used to paint this piece is very unique as was Leonid’s also the shadows and reflections are similar as they are both quite discrete about them. There may be similarities within the work but they are very different as Georges uses a very fine brush and normal colours but Leonid uses a pallet knife and bold colours as well as more texture to his painting. Leonid’s early work was influenced by Marc Chagall who grew up in the same town as Leonid. Chagall was a surreal expressionist this comes to show how much Leonid has grown as an artist as he has experimented with many different styles and has grown to develop his own style of painting within the modern impressionistic way of painting. Many events in Leonid’s life may have affected the way he paints but he himself is positive that war was not one of them, Leonid moved to Israel as he found that he and his family couldn’t have a steady life in Russia anymore. Israel influenced him in many ways as he was an optimistic he found contributing the colours of the bright southern sun made his painting just that little bit more unique this is when he flourished as an artist the most in his career. The society was a big problem in Leonid’s time as it was not very welcoming with the Jewish faith, he found this was the biggest problem in Russia and that was also one of the reasons that he and his family had to move. Even though Leonid was born in Russia he didn’t feel like it was his home country. i think this affected his painting’s in a big way, if you look at the painting you will see that there is no one in the streets its deserted it gives a feeling of serenity as if he wants to be alone separated from something.

Acid Rain :: essays research papers

Acid Rain If you have ever wondered why precious monuments are fading away, or the reason your car starts to look old, or if you can't understand why the bricks on the side of your house are breaking, look up the term Acid rain in your encyclopedia. Acid rain is the cause of all of this and much more. Acid rain is a widespread term used to describe all forms of acid precipitation (rain, snow, hail, fog, etc.)( ). Precipitation is naturally acidic because of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Acid rain begins with the production of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides from the burning of fossil fuels, such as coal, natural gas, oil, and from certain kinds of manufacturing. Sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides react with water and other chemicals in the air to from sulfuric acid, nitric acid, and other pollutants ( ). What was once a local problem for towns and cities is now an international problem. The spread of this problem originated from tall chimneys dispersing pollutants high into the atmosphere, which then traveled with the wind for thousands of kilometers until once again reaching the ground in an invisible state. The effect of acid rain when it reaches the ground reacts chemically with any object it comes in contact with. Acids are corrosive chemicals that react with other chemicals by giving up hydrogen atoms ( ). The acidity of a substance comes from the abundance of free hydrogen atoms when the substance is dissolved in water ( ). Acidity can be measured using a "pH" scale with units from 0 to 14. Rain (snow, fog, etc.) measured at a pH below 5.6 is considered acid rain. Acid rain is responsible for a widespread of environmental damage. Such examples of this include soil and plant degradation, depleted life in lakes and streams, and erosion of man-made structures( ). When acid rain enters the soil it dissolves and washes away the nutrients needed by plants. It can also dissolve toxic substances, such as aluminum and mercury, which are naturally present in some soils, freeing these toxins to pollute water or to poison plants that absorb them ( ). After events like this take place animals and humans are soon effected. If one plant or animal is adversely affected by acid rain, animals that feed on that organism may suffer and animals that feed on that animal may suffer also (usually humans).

An essay considering whether Romeo and Juliet Essay

‘Romeo and Juliet’ was a play written by William Shakespeare in 1595. William Shakespeare died on St. George’s day, 23rd April, 1616, making ‘Romeo and Juliet’ one of his earlier plays; written in what is now described as his second period, from his joining the Lord Chamberlain’s men in 1594 to the opening of the Globe Theatre in 1599. The diversity of Shakespeare’s work included comedies, histories and tragedies as well as poetry. ‘Romeo and Juliet’ comes under the category of a tragedy, tragedy meaning an event in which something dreadful occurs, or in a theatrical sense a serious play with a tragic theme, often involving a heroic struggle and the downfall of the main character. This definition of tragedy relates to ‘Romeo and Juliet’ because it is a play in which both the principal characters die in preventable circumstances at the close of the play. The downfall of Romeo and Juliet occurs by the fact that both characters start as young, beautiful descendents of powerful families and find themselves fleeing the city of Verona in fear of their lives and their relationship – both banished by the authorities or their own households. However, an alternative view could be developed by looking at the perception of the word tragedy when the play was written; in the late 16th century. People of the time were of the view that if something tragic were to happen it must happen to a person of innocence, otherwise it is not technically tragic. Romeo is not an innocent person because he takes the life of another person on more that one occasion, with the murders of Tybalt and Paris. Even though there is the argument that these crimes were a consequence of his obsessive and at times over-enthusiastic love for Juliet, they are still actions that take away his virtuousness. Juliet damages her purity by treating the wishes and guidance of her parents with contempt and disregarding the arranged marriage to Paris. These egocentric actions help develop another, more imperfect impression of the two protagonists which provides an argument against ‘Romeo and Juliet’ being a tragic play. In further illustration, tragic storylines generally end in unhappy circumstances, which on the one hand ‘Romeo and Juliet’ does with the many deaths, â€Å"for never was a story of more woe, than this of Juliet and her Romeo.† Whilst on the other hand it could be argued that a more exultant conclusion occurs by the fact that the long-standing feud between the Montagues and the Capulets is finally resolved through their deaths. Basis for this statement is provided in the final scene by Capulet, â€Å"O brother Montague, give me thy hand, this is my daughter’s jointure, for no more can I demand.† In Shakespearean times ‘Romeo and Juliet’ would have been compared to such tragic plays as ‘Hamlet’ and ‘Macbeth’ which were tragedies to the exact definition because they entailed stories of monarchs with flawed characters diminishing from the highest place in society to death over the course of the play. These stories fulfilled the public criteria for a tragic tale; a concept initially introduced by Aristotle, a Greek philosopher who lived from 384 to 382 BC. He produced directives for the perfect tragedy, concepts which heavily influenced academics and writers throughout Europe. He dictated that, â€Å"the tragic heroes of any play must be people of royal or other high-born backgrounds.† Therefore, ‘Romeo and Juliet’ can be argued against being a tragedy because the two central characters are not royalty or part of any particular hierarchy. Many contend that being young and beautiful puts them in a social position to surpass most to begin with, although this does not fit unerringly into Aristotle’s theory. Aristotle exactly specifies the protagonists must be of â€Å"royal or other high-born backgrounds,† explicitly kings or generals, which Romeo and Juliet are not. The aforementioned statement can be supported by the following quotation from act three, scene one, in which Romeo’s killing of Tybalt is analysed, with the prince announcing, â€Å"Immediately we do exile him hence.† The fact that he has been exiled prior to his death illustrates further the fact that he is at a low point in society. Additionally, Aristotle also expresses his belief that these high born protagonists should have fatal flaws which lead to their downfall. Romeo’s fatal flaw is his impetuous and spontaneous nature which causes him to act before thoroughly thinking about what he is doing and considering the consequences of his actions. An example of his rashness comes when Balthasar tells Romeo that Juliet is dead, not knowing it is a faked death, â€Å"hire post-horses, I will hence to-night.† Here he is saying he will return to Verona, which he has been banished from, without waiting for news from Friar Lawrence; an action, as the audience soon finds out, that causes his death. His hot-headed rashness develops into the fuel for his uncontrollable obsession for his love, Juliet; who herself is fatally flawed by her notorious and narcissistic disobedience which causes her to defy the instructions and beliefs of her family. Juliet becomes so caught up in the irrepressible ardour of her relationship with Romeo that she fails to see the outrage and hatred she is rousing from an already hostile feud between two households. An example of her defiance comes when her mother tells her of her arranged marriage to Paris, â€Å"He shall not make me there a joyful bride.† Here she refuses to marry Paris, which infuriates her parents, causing them to reject their daughter; and inevitably her character’s downfall as she is now shamed. These self-centred actions defiantly caused their demise leading to their death because if they both were to act with less haste when fuelling their love for each other then some of the consequences that occurred may have been p revented. Therefore, it is possible to maintain that Romeo and Juliet both suffered dramatic downfalls due to their own actions. On the contrary to this it could also be argued that as both their families recognised their lives by erecting statues of them, â€Å"for I will raise her statue in pure gold,† their characters therefore living on in a manner of speaking, meaning that their characters were not entirely degraded by their actions, thus rendering their characters not downfallen. Moreover, another notion primarily introduced by Aristotle was centred around the audience’s perception of a tragedy, and how this could be used to define a tragic play. He said that the audience should feel pity and terror, pity for the hero and terror at the importance of the gods. This relates to ‘Romeo and Juliet’ in the sense that the heroic characters are Romeo and Juliet themselves, whom the audience does feel a certain amount of pity for because of the unfortunate and seemingly preventable misfortunes that happen to them throughout the course of the play. Juliet is pitied for the fact that she is disowned by her family, â€Å"do as thou wilt, for I have done with thee.†

Discrimination Against Men - 1350 Words

Discrimination is the unjust or prejudicial treatment of different categories of people or things, especially on the grounds of race, age, or sex. In today’s society, men are being discriminated against through the media, suffering from parental custody discrimination, being discriminated against in the courtroom and even for their choice of career. BBC reporter David Benatar said that, â€Å"the second sexism is that across the world men are more likely to be conscripted into the military, be victims of violence, lose custody of their children and take their own lives† (Castella, 2012). Even the way men are being portrayed on television and in film plays a big part in how they are treated in real life situations. The most common and subtle†¦show more content†¦Since men only receive custody of their children 8% of the time, â€Å"fathers are 97% of child support collections prosecutions† (Census Bureau). When men do actually get custody of their children, â€Å"the average child support payment due from women is half the amount due from men† (Gender Bias Against Men). So either way men are being asked to contribute more than women, whether he has sole custody of his children or not. Men are being denied custody of children even though studies have shown that growing up fatherless can affect the brains of children. Dr Gabriella Gobbi of McGill University in Montreal said that the main impacts of growing up in a fatherless home were seen in the prefrontal cortex of the brain. She had also said that â€Å"growing up without a father could permanently alter the structure of the brain and produce children who are more aggressive† (Spencer, 2013). Men also do not stand a chance at getting custody even if they are the primary caregiver of the child. â€Å"When the man is the primary caregiver his chances of winning custody are lower than when the woman is the primary caregiver† (Castella, 2012). The odds of winning custody are stacked firmly against the fathers and pretty much handedto the mothers. Even when both parents are together and are raising the children together, things are still not in the favour of men. While new mothers are given a maternity leave by their place of work to be able to spend time at home with their newborn, the same cannotShow MoreRelatedPay Gap Discrimination Against Working Women And Men Essay2161 Words   |  9 Pages â€Å"Pay gap discrimination against working Women and Men† â€Å"The day may be approaching when the whole world will recognize a woman as the equal of man.† This quote by the late Susan B Anthony speaks great volumes in regards to one of the raging issues of today. 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