Dominant United States planes of WWII

During the second World War, bomber planes were heavily used. Both Axis and Allied powers tried to break each others' will to fight by raining bombs on civilians, military forces, railways, harbors and industrial areas. Even though the United States joined the war much later than Britain, the development of bomber aircrafts and the enforcement of strategic bombing greatly strengthened the Allied power. Among dozens of bomber aircrafts, the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress and the Boeing B-29 Superfortress were the most famous models. 

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The picture shown on the right is the famous B-17 Flying Fortress. The prototype first flew on July 28, 1935. This plane was a vital asset in establishing air superiority against a dominant German military . 

The B-17 had a wingspan of 103 feet 9 inches and a length of 74 feet 9 inches. With the help of four 1,200-horsepower Wright R-1820-97 engines, the B-17 was able to climb to 35,600 feet and maintain a cruising speed of150 mph. 

Over 12,726 B-17's were produced to execute daylight strategic bombing over Europe in WWII. Even though it lacked the range and only had a 9,600 pound bomb capacity, the B-17 contained thirteen machine guns, earning the name of the Flying Fortress. The B-17 also earned a reputation with the Japanese, who called it the “four-engine fighter.” 

                                        

Its heavily armored body enabled the B-17 to bring crews home safely after taking devastating damage.  They often returned to their bases with significant damage to the fuselage.

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Like its predecessor, the B-17 Flying Fortress, the B-29 Superfortress had four engines. However, the B-29 was more technologically advanced, with features such as a pressurized cabin, remote-controlled machine gun turrets (twelve .50-cal machine guns and a 20mm cannon), and an electronic fire-control system. 

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Increases in range and bomb capacity (up 10,400 pounds) made the B-29 a highly affective long range bomber. Fortified protective armor made it the heaviest production plane.

The B-29 had a wingspan of 141 feet and a length of 99 feet. Its maximum cruising range was significantly raised to 5,830 miles compared to that of B-17 (3750 miles). Four 2,200-horsepower Wright Double Cyclone engines paired with the large Fowler flaps were able to lift the 105,000 pound behemoth, while maintaining a top speed of 365 mph. 

The B-29 Superfortress was most famous for carrying out the atomic bombings that destroyed Hiroshima and Nagasaki. On August 6, the B-29 "Enola Gay", commanded by Colonel Paul W. Tibbets, departed from Tinian and dropped the first atomic bomb "Little Boy" on Hiroshima. Three days later, the B-29 “Bockscar” dropped the second atomic bomb "Fat Man" on Nagasaki, crippling Japan's will to fight. 

Poets and Poems of World War II

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World War II was the travesty that brought disastrous damage not only to the worldwide economy but also to the standard of living for people who suffered from the war. Although the United States was trying to stay out of the war at the beginning, the attack at Pearl Harbor forced the states to join in 1941. Even if it was for the defense and honor of America, participating in WWII was not a good decision because most sources state that approximately 405,399 Americans died in total at a rate of about 416 people per day. Because of the horrors of the war, such as the deaths of Americans and the destruction of fortunes, many poets started to write anti-war-themed poems in order to awaken Americans to recognize the damage WWII imparted.

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http://www.ppu.org.uk/learn/poetry/poetry_ww2_3.html

During that time, Randall Jarrell, a famous American poet, enlisted in the Army Air Corps, giving him a deep personal experience of how cruel war is. Jarrell was a talented poet who captured the sounds and images of World War II in his work. In the poem Frost, the uproar of the war is colored with “fog over the base” and “the bombers banging like lost trucks down the levels of the ice”. Jarrell goes on to speak about death, the most poignant aspect of the war. Some lost their friends, others their children, and still others their lovers. Jarrell asks, “Can’t you hear me?”, a seemingly simple question. But in the context of war, it takes on a new meaning: it means life or death on the battlefield. Due to his experience in the army, Randall Jarrell developed his poems through his elegant language, which left a deeper meaning behind.

http://home.hiwaay.net/~magro/poemsww2.html

Peter S. Griffin, a paratrooper with an outstanding combat record, was another one of the best-known poets from World War II. His famous poem called "The Thousand Yard Stare" is about the terrible situations he paid witness to during World War II.   In this poem, Griffin expresses his thoughts about the awfulness that people, especially soldiers, suffered during the war. For example, Griffin writes that "the way their lives were ended, leaves mankind most offended…. horrors endured together, tossed in pits, interred forever…!" From these few lines, I can feel the horrible feelings that Griffin tries to convey. Lives are invaluable; however, because the war had no benefits, their lives are cruelly ended, dying for nothing. Many could not even be properly commemorated after their sacrifice, as their bodies were lost in Europe and the Pacific. With the picturesque descriptions, Griffin impressively conveyed the cruelty of the WWII to the readers. 

Poets like Griffin and Jarrell really captured the fundamental truths of what WWII was: the life, death, sacrifice, and meaninglessness of war.

Victorian Era fashion and Its Influence on Alexander McQueen’s Design

    In a fast-paced, driven society, more and more people tend to pursue fashion, which is usually defined as a general term of a popular style or practice, especially in clothing. However, their understanding of fashion is superficial. Fashion was actually born in prehistoric times when men and women wore fur to cover their bodies. People later developed the ideas of fashion with five elements that have survived through the centuries: color, shape, size, texture and balance of the garments. Of the major periods of fashion, the Victorian era stood out with its lively style of ornamentation and left a great impact on trends to follow. 

    Coco Chanel once said, “Fashion changes, but style endures”. The Victorian style has endured through years and influenced many modern designers, including Alexander McQueen, who is best known for his versatility and crazy arrangements that emulate the stylings of the Victorian era.

http://www.trendhunter.com/trends/alexander-mcqueen-aw10

    When you examine McQueen’s work on his Victorian collection, you will find profound inspiration originating from the mid-late 19th Century. The dress on the right comes from his much-lauded Victorian line. The waist section of the dress is every rigid and tight, which reflects the Victorian image perfectly. What I am really interested in is the fabric that McQueen used on the dress. The fabric is a luxurious gold color, which was commonly used in the royal families. However, its texture is significantly different. Instead of the types of laces seen in the dress on the left, layers and layers of feather-like fabrics were used on McQueen’s dress to create a modern look. Some people might find such design a little bit unacceptable; however, I think such innovation is the essence of fashion.

    The more I look at the women from the Victorian era, the more I think of an old adage: “a woman has to suffer to be beautiful”. 

    I don’t know how the women from that period endured their thousand-pound clothes consisting of a crinoline cage, a corset, excessively large skirts and overly ornate hats, but I am sure that they moved with great panache and sweat.

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    The white dress above is from the aforementioned collection by Alexander McQueen. Though he clearly shirked many of the aspects of the original style in favor of a sleeker, more modern look, McQueen still kept several elements from the Victorian fashion. If you turn your attention to the painting on the right, it depicts the color of two women’s dresses. It is hardly coincidental that the  of the top worn by the model to the left and that of the red dress in the painting on the right are almost identical.

    Stylistically, even though McQueen abandoned the crinoline, he still made the skirt part large enough to contrast with the excessively skinny waist of the dress. 

    To merely claim that McQueen’s inspiration for his Victorian collection comes directly from the Victorian style would be far too arbitrary. However, when comparing his works and many of the dresses from the Victorian period, anyone could easily see the parallels between these exemplary samples of high end fashion at their respective times. 

Movie, Creativity, History

   The film industry blossomed in the 1920s, burgeoning upon the foundations of earlier years. Small movie studios began to be taken over by the large corporations in Hollywood on the West Coast including The Big Five Studios, Warner Bros, Famous Players-Lasky(Paramount), RKO, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Fox Film Corporation/Foundartion. By the Mid-20s, movies became a business with a capital investment totaling over 2 billion. During the 1920s and 1930s, film production reached 800 films per year and became the highest output in the history. 

   

   Among thousands of movies that were produced during that period, some of them are still around and most importantly, they set the foundations for many modern movies. 

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  The Phantom of the Opera, Frankenstein and Dracula were the forbearers of horror movies. Dracula is more of a classic vampire who doesn’t glow like diamonds and fly from tree to tree while kissing his lover. These horror movies were mostly silent. However, I think silent films are wonderful mediums to exemplify terror because instead of engulfing tedious dialogues throughout the movie, the directors had to focus on sound and lighting to creating extra tension. Darkness and shadows blended with terrifying music became an indispensable part of horror movies, and this feature is used by directors over and over agin to make the audience shiver.

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   Sir Charles Spencer “Charlie” Chaplin was probably the most famous comedian in history. Though he was an English comic actor, he became famous in the United States and his films flourished during the silent film era. His iconic attire includes a slapstick, a derby hat, excessively large pants and rugged shoes. He says, “I had no idea of the character. But the moment I was dressed, the clothes and the make-up made me feel the person he was. I began to know him, and by the time I walked onto the stage he was fully born.” Chaplin’s impact on society was the appeal to the lower class, the working class of the time and his character perfectly exemplifies this class. His famous movies include A Woman of Paris, Monsieur Verdoux, The Gold Rush and The Great Dictator. His outstanding performance not only started a new era of comic films but also heavily influenced some of the current film stars such as Jim Carrey and Adam Sandler.

  These antecedents of modern movies did not have any special effects and were mostly silent. However, they caught millions of peoples' attention and inspired play writers, directors and musicians for years. Unfortunately, how many movies today are not stuffed with excessive special effects, tedious dialogues and highly predictable plots? In this highly competitive industry, how many film makers actually care about making great and creative movies? Let’s just hope our creativity does not sink along with the 3D Titanic into the endless abyss. 

History and Influence of The Great Depression

The Great Depression, the single greatest economic cataclysm in American history, began in 1929 and lasted until 1939. A disastrous tragedy which threw many people out of work and into poverty, it originated in America, spread to the world and was the beginning of the modern conception of government involvement in the economy and in society. 

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On the October 29th, 1929, the United States was thrown into despair on what came to be known as Black Tuesday, when the stock market crashed and marked the beginning of the Great Depression. A lot of banks were forced to close since they had invested a great amount of money coming from their client’s savings in the stock market. Afraid of losing all their savings, more and more people started withdrawing their money from banks. This massive withdrawal caused more banks to collapse. Aside from banks, business and industry were also influenced. Some corporations could not survive at all without the monetary support from banks. Moreover, more and more workers began to lose jobs. In the picture on the left, the sheer number of people waiting in line for the soup kitchen shows the poverty in America during the Great Depression. 

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     By this time, America was stuck in a vicious cycle. The more businesses closed, the more workers lost their jobs, the more banks collapsed as people rushed for their savings and defaulted on their loans. From the picture above, we can see two children leaning on the mother’s shoulder and suffering from starvation. However, the mom cannot do anything but pray a bit of hope comes through.

“I pledge you, I pledge myself, to a new deal for the American people,” said Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the 32nd president of America, in his 1933 inaugural address. Considered America’s economic savior in the pits of financial collapse, he assembled a group of elite economists and thinkers and constructed a new economic program called New Deal. The new program provided money and supplies to needy families and created jobs for the unemployed. As a result, President Roosevelt effectively rekindled hope for millions of despondent Americans and successfully helped the country get out of the perfect storm of the Great Depression.

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As I stated before, the Great Depression was a worldwide situation which triggered important events in the political realm of different countries. In the United States, because of his successful implementation of the New Deal, President Roosevelt won reelection in 1936 in a landslide and strengthened the status of democrats. In Europe, the Great Depression strengthened extremist forces and lowered the prestige of liberal democracy. For instance, in Germany, economic distress directly contributed to Adolf Hitler's rise to power in 1933. 

From my point of view, although the Great Depression made American people suffer from hunger and despair, its long-term effects were positive. In learning from our past, we can avoid the same mistakes in our future lest we tread down the same tragic road.

The epitomes of Impressionism paintings

   Before Impressionism became pervasive in the late early 20th century, artists chiefly focused on depicting subjects in third person objectively. Without interpretation or illusions, realistic paintings were largely rendered obsolete because of the rise of photography. The artists' response was to create a style that depicted the world around them with creative license, one not constrained by the necessity of realism; this style was dubbed 'Impressionism'. It was developed chiefly in France during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Impressionists focused on small brush strokes, accurate depiction of light and ordinary matters. Artists no longer sealed themselves in their studio; instead, they took excursions beyond their own four walls to capture simple and elegant images that were based on their own interpretation of the real world. 

Manet, "A Bar at the Folies Bergere, "1882
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   Edouard Manet was one of the first artists to approach modern-life subjects through the lens of Impressionism.

"A Bar at the Folies Bergere" is one of his celebrated masterworks. The flickering lights in the background were a perfect example of the Impressionist technique of playing with light and color in motion.

   The barmaid Suzon’s alienation is shown by the way she distances herself from her surroundings. Her nonchalant aloofness strongly contrasts with the blusterous and lively background reflected in the mirror.  

   The scene is nothing grandiose or epic; rather, we are given a very pedestrian situation. However, I just can’t take my eyes off it. I've seen various interpretation of this painting. Some people think that Suzon is a prostitute who is unwilling to take clients, including the man in the painting. As for me, I just feel like sitting at the bar waiting for her to pour me a drink. 

Paul Gauguin, "The Cellist," 1894
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   As the Impressionist movement reached its end, another group of artists, the Post-Impressionists, took on their own artistic styles and injected more emotional context into their works. 

   Paul Gauguin was one of the avant-garde Post-Impressionists artist who was recognized for his use of bold colors and synthesist style, separating him from the Impressionists. 

   In 1894, Paul Gauguin did a portrait, "The Cellist", who was thought to be Upaupa Sckneklud. Some people confused Upaupa with Paul Gauguin because the appearance is so similar; however, Paul Gauguin was no where close to be a cellist and . 

   This portrait captures the intensity of a cellist during performance. The abstract background in this painting clearly indicates this is a work of a Post-Impressionist, as extremely detailed elements and realism take a back to seat to the stylistic tendencies of the artist. Gauguin used the theory of Synesthesia by attempting to convey the idea of music through visual art. As for me, Gauguin succeeded in doing so because the back ground reminds me of flowing notes and I can almost hear Elgar's Cello Concerto in E Minor, Op.85 by simply looking at this painting. 

   What interested me the most was the deliberately cropped hands, arms and foreground in this painting, which reminded me of the paintings of Edgar Degas. As you can see, in the painting below, "Courtauld 03 Edgar Degas-Two Dancers on a stage," one of the ballerinas' hand was intentionally cropped off the painting as well. 

   In the next weekly post, I will be focusing mainly on Edgar Degas’ works and where his inspirations came from. 

Courtauld 03 Edgar Degas -Two Dancers on a Stage

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Jazz and Its Roots

        Everyone loves music, but not everyone knows what jazz really is. It is a stylish music that has influenced people in America for many years and brought people a sense of relief.

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Referred to as “America’s classical music,” jazz is one of the oldest and most well-known musical genres in the United States, characterized by the use of syncopation, off beat rhythm, improvisation and blue notes. I feel jazz brings me closer to American culture and music through its powerful beat and energy. Many jazz lovers, myself included, view jazz as a soul or even a motivation by saying," Jazz washes away the dust of every day life." 

The history of jazz can be traced back to the beginning of the 20th century in black communities in the Southern United States. From Ragtime and Blues to Big Band and Bebop, jazz has been an indispensable tradition of America in its various forms for over 100 years. Furthermore, jazz has firmly planted its roots in some cities like Chicago, New York and various other metropolises, in which many jazz clubs were later established as time progressed. 

        The formation of jazz band is amazing! Trust me! If you have not watched a jazz band show, you are outdated already!

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            Jazz bands usually consist of a rhythm section and a horn section, in the early days often trumpet, trombone, and clarinet with rhythm section of piano, banjo, bass or tuba, and drums. The combination of different instruments brings more spirit to the music. Moreover, as we know, we can get a sense of relief from music. The jazz players completely manifest that kind of feeling on the stage. The clarinetist sitting on the piano perfectly captures the essence of jazz music: his relaxed composure coupled with the energy of the music creates an environment of sublime ease. Although seeming really amorphous, the band intangibly reveals an authentic meaning of music, a way to express emotions. 

http://www.nathanielturner.com/jazzpoemsrogersinger.htm

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Jazz has a diverse range of fans, from the young to the old. For instance, like the poem I put above, some poets have even written about jazz. Jazz is a really good source of inspiration. I have found a poem called Like a Snake, which can best illustrate what jazz really is and how influential the music is. 

Music, especially jazz, is strange. It is a communication that carries no discrimination or prejudice. As we all know, racial prejudice was relatively serious back in the early 20th century. In my opinion, jazz was a means for people who were suffering from discrimination to release all their pains. Nowadays, it is a great choice for people to release themselves from the busy works and indulge themselves in the relaxing music.

Victorian era art and its characteristics.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victorian_era

     The Victorian era of the United Kingdom was the period of Queen Victoria’s reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on the 22nd of January 1901. The reign was a long period of prosperity for British people as the profits were gained from both the overseas British Empire and industrial improvements at home. In the middle of the Victorian era, the United Kingdom reached its economic apex due to its large industrial capacity and strong trade agreements. However, the prosperity of the economy was not the only remarkable aspect of the nation in this period; the art of the Victorian era was also remarkable due to its distinctive characteristic. Victorian art was produced by many artists whose focus was on the popularity of England’s high fashion and modern elegance, which was inspired by the British Empire’s growth. Furthermore, the depiction of aristocratic functions and events in bold colors vividly expressed the emotional energy and excitement of upper class's luxurious life style.

    When I was skimming through the various works from the Victorian era, what struck me most was the unique style of the period, which is best characterized as highly ornate, lavish and naturalistic. Victorian style in art was pushed by the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, a group formed in 1848 in London by artists Dante Gabriel Rossetti, John Everett Milliais and William Holman Hunt. The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood rejected the pervasive Italian Renaissance art styles and sought a return to genuine art that was painted directly from nature. 

http://painting.about.com/od/figuresportraits/ig/Millais-Paintings/Tate-Millais-Ophelia.htm

“Ophelia” was painted by Millais between 1851 and 1852. This painting exemplifies of all the characteristics of the early Victorian style. The painting is meticulously done, and is decorated with intense, saturated colors. The model depicted in the scene was Elizabeth Siddall and she was an English artists' modle, especially for the Raphaelite Brotherhood. She married one of Millais's fellow Pre-Raphaelites, Dante Gabriel Rossetti in 1860, almost nine years after the famed piece was completed. 

http://painting.about.com/od/figuresportraits/ig/Millais-Paintings/Tate-Millais-Mariana.htm

The subject of this painting comes from the poem Mariana by Tennyson (1830), which was inspired by Shakespeare's play Measure for Measure. The woman depicted, Mariana, was rejected by her fiancé after her dowry was lost, and lived a solitary life as consequence. This painting also portrayed the main stream Victorian style in the arts. The use of intensified colors and highly detailed chamber and its accommodations caught my eye immediately. My favorite part is the woman's dress, as I have a penchant for velvet fabrics and Millais perfectly depicts the details of the material. I also noticed the leaves on the desk and floor, which tie in nicely with one of the tenants of the Victorian style: naturalism.
      Just about twenty years after Millais painted the epitomes of Victorian art works. Impressionism arose and quickly came about. So please follow up, and I will show you the essence of Impressionism and its influence on modern arts next week.