Naturalist and interpretationist social science Essay

The naturalist approach to social sciences is based on content. The naturalist actually pays attention to what people say and considers their life stories as revealing phenomena. On the other hand interpretational approach, if people have beliefs and desires, an interpreter ascribes them. In this approach there are no independent facts of the matter about content. So there should be some way in which the content is interpreted as a set of revealing set of beliefs. In other words, there should be some agent and a system of methods (procedures) with which the interpretation is done. So, the basic assumption in interpretationist approach is that there is an acceptable behavior of the agent whose relation to the environment is understood and that the beliefs of the agent will match those of the subject he is interpreting (Davidson. D, 1993). The basic conflict between these two approaches is that the naturalist approach accepts the contents of the life stories of what people say, on the other hand the interpretationist accepts only those beliefs and desires that are ascribed by an interpreter. The naturalist accepts that independent facts can exist on the other hand the Interpretationalism does not accept independent facts about mental content. The naturalist accepts what people say on the other hand unless ways of interpreting the spoken word is not found Interpretationalism does not accept the set of beliefs that are held by person making the utterances. Let us consider a more general fact that is studied by social sciences, that if the supply of a product decreases then, â€Å"other things being equal† the price for their product will increase. The naturalist may study the life story of a commodity dealer who may give an account of how the prices of the commodities that he dealt with like wheat; barley and rye went up whenever there was a shortage of these commodities. The naturalist may then visit a grocer who may give a lifetime account of how every shortage led to increase in the prices of products he studies. The naturalist may proceed to take several such life stories, statistically significant and establish the cause and effect relationship between the shortage of supply and price increase. In case of Interpretationalism the scientist would approach an interpreter, in case of a commodity market it would not be the commodity dealer but an expert who would interpret the behavior of the dealers. The task of the interpretationist would be to first select the agent (agent) on the basis of his behavior in relationship to the market. The interpretationist would study the relationship of the expert with that of the commodity market, and attempt to ascertain if his beliefs are similar to those of his. Then the expert will interpret the behavior or the utterances of the commodity dealers and reach a conclusion that if the supply of a product decreases, then, â€Å"other things being equal† the price for the product will increase. Currently, using an expert opinion is an interpretationist approach to market research. The strength of the naturalist approach in establishing that that if the supply of a product decreases then, â€Å"other things being equal† the price for their product will increase is that the naturalist gets information direct from the dealers, that is from the people who are the actual actors. In addition, getting information from several actors increases the validity of the study as well as provides scope for statistical analysis. On the other hand the weakness of such an approach is that the naturalist may misinterpret the data from dealers. For, example the dealers may not eliminate the factors relating to â€Å"other things being equal†. It is possible that factors like a substantially increased demand may have led to the increase in prices but because the naturalist depends on the dealer’s accounts he may accept their interpretation that the prices of commodities have gone up because of decrease in supply. The strength of the interpretationist approach is that the interpreter or the agent has the expertise to interpret the utterances of the dealers. His relationship to the market (environment) is such that he has the ability to make a learned interpretation of what the market dealers utter. In addition, the agent is supposed to have beliefs that are similar to those of the interpretationist. In other words he has the sagacity to take into consideration â€Å"other things being equal†. The weakness of this approach is that the interpretationist has to depend on the interpreter or the expert. He does not have the facility of large numbers. It is not easy to subject the information to numerical analysis. In addition, there is a chance of errors in interpretation because the selection of the agent may be faulty. The agent’s relationship to the market (environment) may not be as close as required. In addition, the beliefs of the agent may be at variance with that of the researcher. In both these cases the results would be erroneous. To sum, there is a conflict in the approach of the naturalist and the interpretationist. Each approach has its own advantages and disadvantages.

MythBusters: Walking on Water Essay

Adam and Jaime are to conduct an experiment to see if it is possible to walk on water, but before they could begin their experiment they must have completed some research. They began by looking back into the history of the ninja and ancient Japanese myths, and then continued on to search for a modern day ninja. They discovered the â€Å"mizugumo†, which is a circular flat wooden disc that might have helped the ninjas stay afloat as they walked over the water. Description of experiment – Kelsey Alvarez (Ms. Garrity) The mizugumo is said to distribute the ninja’s weight evenly on the surface of the water because of the wide surface area. Due to this, the ninjas would not be able to sink. To make the mizugumos Adam decided to measure and cut 2 circles of pine wood. They were then each sliced into 4 pieces. Later, he painted the 4 pieces a shade of brown. When this was completed he sanded the paint off. When the 4 pieces of wood had that worn look color he proceeded to adding a rectangular block in the middle of the 4 pieces. He tied the 4 pieces and the block in the center with twine, repeating this step for each one. Adam has now created an exact replica of the mizugomos. When the footwear was complete they proceeded to the actual experiment. The twine that was left over was used to tie the mizugumos on to Adams shoes. Adam was now ready to â€Å"walk on water†, however, after taking his second step into the pool he sank right down. Jaime then explained that in order for Adam to walk on water he would have to be able to take very fast steps across the water. In Adams second trial at attempting to walk on water he decided to increase his momentum like Jaime suggested, and even with this done, he still sank right after the second step. Adam and Jaime then concluded that Mizugumos were actually a myth and were never actually used to walk on water. However, the team did not give up yet. Adam decided to make a pair of modern ninja shoes to test what it would take to actually walk on water. This time he used aluminum, a packing foam, and snow boots. In order to make this work he used the principle of water displacement. This principle states that an immersed object is maintained above water by a force that is equal to the weight it displaces. Adam continued to cut the shape of the boot on the packing foam boards and glued 4 layers of packing foam together with the snowshoes in the middle. In order for the foam shoes to not fall apart he covers them in aluminum sheets and tapes it on. He also adds a light rail in order to keep it firm. Before testing them out Adam paints the shoes entirely black. Using his aluminum shoes Adam is ready to test and see if he can walk on water. On his first trial with the shoes Adam walked too quickly and ended up sinking. On his second trial however, Adam gently stepped on the water and tried to gain his balance; he was finally standing! Although he was standing on the water, it was impossible to move forward. The team then concluded that the shoes could not be used to walk across the water. < Jaime’s cornstarch solution

Law Exam Review

Or the victim choosing not to have a blood transfusion? * Court Ruling: * Guilty. Thin skull rule Those who use violence against others must take victims as they find them Blaue had to take the victim as a Jehovah’s Witness * The defendant is not responsible if the victim dies as a result of an unrelated event If his actions led to the event, he is still guilty R v Hummel (Stare decisis- lower courts must follow higher courts) * Summary: Judge Perkins did not follow a binding decision of a higher court (contravening the doctrine of stare decisis) * Perkins struck down a section of the criminal code, in favour of the defendant * The crown appealed, and judge Clements disagreed with Perkins, allowing the appeal * Shortly after, Perkins had another ssimilar case, and refused to follow Clement’s judgment. He once again adopted his own reasoning as in the previous case. * Legal Principle: * Decisions of a higher court must be followed because that is what holds common law to gether.Their decisions are â€Å"binding decisions† * It doesn’t matter that Perkins could have been more intelligent than Clements * Rulings of higher courts bind lower courts R v Ladue (Does mistake negate mens rea? ) * Summary: * Woman at a party died from drinking too much alcohol * Forensics showed that Ladue had sex with her after he died * He couldn’t be charged with sexual assault because he was dead * He was charged with doing an indignity to a dead body * Used the defense that he did not know she was dead, so he had no mens reaR v Bird and Bolduc (Doctor allowed friend to examine patient) * Summary: * doctor told a female patient that his friend was a medical intern * she gave consent for the friend to observe a medical examination * The fraud was as to the identity of the onlooker, not as to the act, of which she knew and understood. * Legal Principal: * Was consent obtained fraudulently as to the nature and quality of the act? * Court Ruling: * Boldu c did exactly what the victim understood he would do.There was no fraud on his part as to what he was going to do * Victim knew that Bird was present and consented to his presence * Innocent: the fraud had nothing to do with the act, but with Bird’s identity * If he touched her, it would have turned into an assault R v Campbell and Mlynarchuk (Stripper case, mistake of law) * Summary: * Campbell was convicted of dancing naked * Previously, Alberta supreme court made dancing naked legal * Campbell did not know that the Court of Appeal overruled it * Legal Principle: Mistake of fact is a defense to a criminal charge, mistake of law is not * Court Ruling: * Campbell’s mistake was one of law She coincluded that the decision of the judge correctly stated the law, which it did not * Although this is not fair, it is necessary in order to prevent ignorance of the law as a defense * Out of the sense of justice, (naked dancing is not a prevalent problem), Campbell got an absolut e discharge * Mistake of fact is a defense to a criminal charge, mistake of law is not R v Keegstra (Freedom of speech vs hate speech) * Summary: Keegstra was a schoolteacher who taught his sstudents anti-Semitism and expected them to use his teachings on exams. If they didn’t, their marks suffered * A few months after a paren't complained, Mr. Keegstra was dismissed * Legal Principle: * S. 319 bans promoting hatred against an identifiable group * Charter protects freedom of speech * Court Ruling: * Court of Appeal states it was protected under s. 319 2(b), which protects innocent and imprudent speech (people who think that their hate speech is actually true) * Majority: Failed the Oakes proportionality test.Hate propaganda contributes little to the quest for truth, or the protection and fostering of a vibrant democracy The infringement was justified R v Rabey (Automatism) * Summary: * Stabbed a woman after finding out that she doesn’t like him * Used the defense of no n-insane automatism, stating that he had a blackout due to his rage (powerful emotional shock) * Legal Principle: * Was his dissociative state due to a disease of the mind? * Court Ruling: * His automatism was insane * Ordinary stresses and disappointments of life do not explain the mind alfunctioning * Rabey’s emotional stress from the girl’s rejection is not reasonable It was due to his psychological or emotional make-up, thus constituting â€Å"disease of the mind† R v Ruzic (Duress) * Summary: * Ruzic landed in Pearson airport with 2 kilos of heroin and a fake passport * She used the defense of duress, because a man in Serbia would kill her mother if she didn’t listen to him

Branch of Buddishm Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Branch of Buddishm - Essay Example Through the meditation a person becomes one with himself, with his body and with the subconscious. Zen developed in China in 6th century and became a main Buddhism school during the reign of Song dynasty, with many monks travelling from Japan to China to study. Then, these monks established Zen in Japan, where it had a great impact on Japanese culture. It is believed that Zen is originated from the disciples of Buddha, the patriarchs, with Indian monk Bodhidharma, the â€Å"wall-gazing Brahmin† and Huineng, an illiterate peasant from China being responsible for establishing founding principles of Zen. The Indian monk is a legendary personality; there are not so many historic accounts of him documented. A century after his death his biography was written where it was stated that he was original follower of Mahayana Buddhism, who traveled to China to get converts. However, he did not have much success, but instead received much persecution. Finally, he got two disciples, one of which furthered Zen Buddhism. Bodhidharma became knows in Japan as Daruma. Legends tell us about Daruma’s long hours of meditation, sometime having his back to the rest of the world and facing the wall. He was training his disciples in the art of meditation as well. There is a very popular toy in Japan – the Daruma doll. It is believed to bring good luck, safety and wealth. The doll has no legs and its base is round, which helps it to always maintain upright position, after being tipped. Unlike other branches of Buddhism, Zen does not promote reincarnation, rather, when meditating, it suggests basing the meditation on individual life’s experience. In Zen anyone can reach Nirvana, the state of enlightment: those who adhere to Buddhism wholeheartedly as well as common people. What needed is to practice meditation, and follow personal spiritual experience and intuition; one should also be calm and not to be affected by such strong emotions as hatred, passion or van ity. It is believed that enlightment can be passed on directly from one person to another. Nature is considered divine. Holy Sutras are put in the back burner in this branch, with the main writings being the story of Huineng, an illiterate young man who became a disciple of Bodhidharma (Daruma), and the later – the 6th patriarch of Zen. One of the central terms of Buddhism is atman. This is the name for â€Å"ego†, â€Å"self†, â€Å"soul†. Atman is a philosophical term, meaning a Higher Self. In Buddhism it is similar to Buddha-nature, of which everyone has a part. There are several aspects of it. Atman is infinite, eternal, non-born and timeless. We are only witnesses to the existence. Everything that is happening in the world around us is happening in the Atman as well. There is completeness, nothing is lacking. Atman means becoming one with the Divine. In Zen, Atman means merging with the nature, the world that surrounds us. Zen Buddhism has its centr al element in awareness and mindfulness. Being mindful and aware of one’s actions and feelings adds meaning to all the activities, helps to concentrate better and to find insight. Zen’s philosophy gives freedom, which comes from connection between personal experience of uniting with the universe, as well as seeing connections with the world around. It teaches its followers to experience all things in life anew each time, to rid one’s mind of the stereotypes about oneself, to make one’s mind â€Å"empty†. It suggest to live â€Å"

Obama signs order on minimum wage Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Obama signs order on minimum wage - Assignment Example This move would be of great assistance for these citizens as it would improve their income annually and improve the economy of the country. Even though, this order has been positively accepted by the masses, it has also received negative criticism. Economists have argued that this implementation would harm the economy rather than bringing any benefit. They believe that employers and large firms would reduce the number of employees to cope up with the rising salaries and thus lead to unemployment. This would be a blow to the economy as unemployment rates would raise and dissatisfaction amongst the common man would increase. Though economists have presented their views and fears, but this decision taken by the President is a very bold one which is for the betterment of the Americans. It aims to improve the pay scale of the workers and to improve the income of the poor households. The bill would achieve its desired result if it is implemented with effective policies and a strong check is kept on the

The Place of current employment Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

The Place of current employment - Research Paper Example For example, in my previous employment there were various incentives such as Christmas bonuses to employees, which aimed at motivating employees. Despite the human resource policies and strategies, the interrelationships of various departments of the organization, inter-organizational relations and demographic factors have an impact on employees’ performance. The paper will seek to identify, which factors affect the performance of employees in an organization. According to Armstrong (2006), human resources are valuable assets for an organization. Understanding the issues, which influence worker performance, may be key to enhancing employee’s productivity and morale. Organizations formulate strategies of providing excellent work environment in order to attract and retain the best employees. These strategies should address those factors that affect the performance of workers. These factors may be within or outside the company, including those factors emanating from the employee’s personal lives. The paper will discuss the following factors as determinants of employees’ performance. These factors include ability, knowledge and skills, feedback, environment, standards, and motivation. Motivation is the key of an effective organization to sustain the stability of the work in a strong way and help the survival of the organization. Motivation is discovering a requirement inside the workers and assisting to attain it. Motivation enables employees to widen their skills to meet the organizational objectives. Motivation drives human beings to achieve their objectives and company objectives through each challenge and limitation they experience in their workplace. The need of accomplishment leads in a desire to put extra effort to have something done better and the desire for success. There are three internal forces that influence an individual’s behavior; direction, intensity, and persistence. In terms of direction,

Real Estate Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Real Estate Law - Essay Example While denying Steinichen's motion for new trial, the trial court ruled that Steinichen gave up her right to point to the special master's report and the trial court's judgment by running out to object to the report before the trial court adopted it. On further appeal, Steinichen argues that this ruling was error. Thus, the Trial court's judgment was reversed and the case was remanded to the trial court for it to address the merits of Steinichen's motion for new trial(http://www.lexisone.com/lx1/caselaw/freecaselawaction=FCLRetrieveCaseDetail&caseID=7&format=FULL&resultHandle=ae14b712d0559ea22a3d8054440e2522&pageLimit=10&xmlgTotalCount=89&combinedSearchTerm=adverse+possession&juriName=Georgia&sourceFile=STATES;GACTS accessed on 21 October 2009). At issue is title to a rectangular-shaped piece of real property with dimension of 25 feet by 75 feet in Hoschton, Georgia. The appellant filed an appeal to quiet title against the entire world with regard to four contiguous parcels of real property. The appellee and the owner of the property adjacent to that of appellant, Larry Stancil, filed an answer and counterclaim in which he contended he held fee simple title to the property at issue. Consistent to OCGA 23-3-63, the case was presented to a special master who quieted title to three of the four Tracts in Stancil after ruling that Steinichen had failed to present evidence-establishing title to those parcels. As to the fourth parcel, the special master ruled that Steinichen had failed to carry her burden of proof to establish title, and that Stancil had presented sufficient evidence to establish adverse possession under color of title as well as prescriptive title without color of title. The trial court figured an order assuming the findings and the testimonial of the special master and announced Stancil as the holder of fee simple title to all the property in dispute. This appeal follows the denial of Steinichen's motion for new trial (http://www.lexisone.com/lx1/caselaw/freecaselawaction=FCLRetrieveCaseDetail&caseID=7&format=FULL&resultHandle=ae14b712d0559ea22a3d8054440e2522&pageLimit=10&xmlgTotalCount=89&combinedSearchTerm=adverse+possession&juriName=Georgia&sourceFile=STATES;GACTS accessed on 21 October 2009). Appellee's Argument Steinichen does not take issue with the trial court's finding that she was not able to prove her title to the disputed tract. Instead, she maintains that the manifest was deficient to back up the conclusion that Stancil had gained the property by adverse possession. "To establish title by adverse possession, whether by twenty years or seven years under color of title, a party must show possession not originated in fraud that is public, continuous, exclusive, uninterrupted

Cyber Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Cyber Law - Essay Example Therefore, an analysis of all of the above will begin below, starting with the legality of Naj’s actions and whether or not he needs to give Sarah the information she is asking for. Advise Naja of the legality of his actions, and whether he needs to give Sarah the information she is asking for. One of the issues in this question deals with Sarah’s right to privacy. The advent of new communication technologies including the distribution of personal information; the acceleration of the speed of communication through e-mail, IM, social networking and the like; and the ability of employers to electronically monitor employees has made this a hot-button issue.1 As employers cannot reasonably take the Internet and e-mail away from their employees without hurting the company's efficiency, there must be a balance between the need for employers to provide the Internet for business-related functions and reasonable personal use, and the employees tendency to abuse their privilege. Therefore, employers increasingly turn to tools such as monitoring employee e-mail and Internet usage, and disciplining employees who abuse the privilege.2 Employers typically do this with software that reads, intercepts and monitor's employee's electronic e-mail and Internet usage, much to the consternation of many employees.3 At present, â€Å"employers can lawfully intercept, search and read any messages stored in workplace computers because courts have ruled that employees have no expectation of privacy in workplace electronic communications.†4 As employee abuse of e-mail and Internet privileges can have severe consequences - in addition to lost productivity, such abuses also open the employer up to security breaches, viruses and hacking, not to mention that employees commit crimes against their employers more than third parties5 - there is a definite need for employers to subject their employees to surveillance. Then there is the issue of â€Å"cyberslacking,† whi ch is just like it sounds – employees abusing their privilege and taking away valuable company time with their personal on-line activities, which leads to loss of productivity and theft of company resources.6 However, employees have rights as well, and there are a number of different UK cases and statutes that are implicated in employee surveillance. One such is the Human Rights Act 1998, which states in Article 8 that â€Å"everyone has a right to respect for his private†¦correspondence.†7 Courts have interpreted this particular Act in a variety of ways that would be pertinent to the question of employee surveillance. For instance, the court in Halford v. UK [1997] I.R.L.R. 471 (1997). This court found that intercepting phone calls made from an employee on business premises was a breach of the employee’s privacy.8 This decision was upheld in Valenzuela Contreras v. Spain (1998) 28 E.H.R.R. 4839 and Douglas v. Hello Ltd. [2001] QB 96710. Other decisions per tinent was the decision in Niemitz v. Germany (1992) 16 E.H.H.R.R. 97, in which the search of a lawyer’s office invaded his private life.11 However, the right to privacy is not absolute – if the employer has a legitimate concern that is being furthered by the seizure, which a surveillance would be considered to be, then the employer would be held to be

Discussing strenghts and weaknesses in a research article Paper

Discussing strenghts and weaknesses in a article - Research Paper Example The title of the article is a weakness of the entire research process, and this is because of how the authors stated it. Mccluskey and McCarthy who completed the research could have stated the title in a suggestive manner to draw the attention of readers on such an essential practice in nursing. For instance, they could state title in a way that reflects their stand. Packing a wound is a medical process that involves the application of packing materials such as sterile gauze to deep wound so as to absorb drainage from the wounds to allow for faster healing, initializing the healing process from the internal section of the wound towards the external section or outer skin. The main purpose of setting up this qualitative research on packing wounds is therefore to effectively and conclusively determine the level of knowledge, skills, and competencies of nurses whom we entrust to attend to patients’ wounds (Wounds UK, 2008). The aim of the study is a formidable strength of the research the authors conducted. This is because the purpose of the study pioneered the study trying to determine the correlation between knowledge and competence in wound evaluation and management that had never been done prior to their study. How much knowledge in terms of empirical, aesthetic, personal and tacit knowhow do our nurses have or require to enable them be competent to the level of owning patients’ trust while being attended to? The research question strengthens the article, and this emanates from the way the authors tied the research question to the title, and this makes up for the statement of the title, which seems to be inadequate in the way it appeals to the readers. The need for professionalism in wound care cuts through all ages and specialties as stated by the law, which illustrates that each and every patient with a wound deserves the right to get access to and receive a good minimum standard care irrespective of etiology of their wounds, where care is

National culture Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

National culture - Case Study Example However what best they can do is to find out and research the strengths and weaknesses of this area and hence upon getting the much needed knowledge, base their theories and strategies in a much more effective and efficient manner. This will help one and all to better understand what the new territory, region or country offers the business and the people associated with it. The best thing is that the benefits and disadvantages are determined even before the organization goes the global way and thus it saves itself from embarrassment which it might face without having proper knowledge and adequate research within it. The significant thing here is to get prepared and be ready for what is to come in the future as concerns to the organization that we are talking about here. Cultures like in the U.S., where organizations are experiencing increased workforce diversity are also finding work effectiveness is influenced by relationships between superiors and subordinates who have different cu ltural heritages (Ettorre 1993; Muller & Haase 1994; Watson, Kumar & Michaelsen 1993). Different cultures have different models of management and ideas of the nature of organizations (Hofstede & Hofstede, 2005). The ways and means that are usually taken care of whilst managing a business are aplenty and it is only up to the top management within a company that the same can be handled in a several different methods. They are the ones to decide as to what is the real manner in which the firm's operations would be handled as well as who will head the respective departments, lead the business strategic units and act as legal and media representatives of the said business. The business, as marketers say, exists to satisfy its target audience through fulfilling a need courtesy its products and/or services or a combination of the both, the same being true in case of a retail outlet which sells gasoline to local consumers, thus giving in petrol plus extra services in the form of window cleaning, fuel gauge checks and so on and so forth. A company or an organization needs soun d management framework at its top so that the staff and the employees working at different levels feel at ease with the job as well as the working environment. This indeed is very important as it builds long-term credibility of the organization that it cares about its employees and not just the customers and in cases profits and revenues only. A formal organization takes into account the role of leadership at the top and the manner in which this leadership is basically carried about, both in the interests of the people within the company as well as the company itself so that the end result is one on which everyone solemnly agree, that is to make the company thrive from a revenue-generating angle and image building aspect in the long run. A business does not come into its own overnight. It takes a lot of research, planning and proper execution to take it where the marketers,

Favorite Possession Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Favorite Possession - Essay Example According to the findings, as a point of departure, my pet is a dog-named jimmy. Jimmy is one year, 3 months old. I find immense fascination in Jimmy because of numerous reasons, which include its appearance, courage, skilfulness and its charming actions. To start with, Jimmy is white with few black spots, which make it beautiful. I like the colour match because it brings happiness to me when am with Jimmy. On equal measure, the courage jimmy exhibits whenever he wants to attack is beyond comprehension. Jimmy is so courageous to defend me against a number of enemies. Jimmy is flexible and skilful. This makes him fierce when doing long-range attack on the enemy. He applies tactical moves, when he feels that someone might respond back and hit him. It is difficult to defeat Jimmy, because he is smart in his moves, which are enhanced by his long limbs and claws. I feel protected whenever I walk with Jimmy. He is a real warrior. Another fascinating aspect of Jimmy is the charming antics, which make me joyous and active whenever am tired or angry. He is a true friend who understands my mood pattern and responds to it appropriately.

Drugs and Their Effect on Society Essay Example for Free

Drugs and Their Effect on Society Essay Drugs have been a long standing issue in this country from sniff and cocaine as one of the main ingredients in Coca-Cola and opium dens in much of the west coast till in recent years of prescription drugs being sold illegally. It wasn’t till the early 1900’s has drugs been addressed as habit forming and legislation being implemented to curtail addition and violence that can go hand-and-hand with the drug trade culture. The history of drugs in this country can go as far back as the Native Americans sharing the peace pipe with the Pilgrims. Drugs have taken many different forms within American society from what may have originally been used in the form of something as innocent as a soft drink (the original ingredients in Cocoa-Cola) and in forms of ailing some sort of deficiency that originally was prescribed by doctors can eventually be abused. In the late 1800’s and early 1900’s Chinese’s immigrants brought over opium and created opium dens in much part of the west coast where the drug itself left the user in a euphoric and mind and mood altering state. In the late 1960’s and early 1970’s with the hippie cultural, much part of the society was introduced to drugs like psychedelics which would be considered LSD and other drugs with heavy usage like mushrooms, marijuana and hashish and in other forms of society like the inner cities heroin pelage the communities with how highly addictive and deadly the drug came to be with heavy use. In the late 1970’s and early 1980’s cocaine became the prominent drug in club the atmospheres of disco techs and later became in the form of crack cocaine that pelage major cities around the U. S. with addiction and violence over the drug trade. In the early 1990’s till recent years many perception drugs and meth have been highly addictive and have been a part of the illegal drug trade. The DEA was established in 1973 that was assisted by President Richard Nixon in its creation as a form of a task force with combating drug smuggling and use within the United States of all the drugs deemed illegally additive or dangerous. â€Å"Controlled substances are generally grouped according to both pharmacological and legal criteria into the following seven categories: stimulants, depressants, cannabis, narcotics, hallucinogens, anabolic steroids and inhalants. (Schmalleger, 2012, p. 341) By federal law these categories are deemed illegal from use or distribution; stimulants: cocaine and amphetamines; cannabis: cannabis plants, hashish, hashish oil and marijuana; narcotics: codeine, Dilaudid, heroin, methadone, morphine and opium; hallucinogens: belladonna, LSD, Ectstasy (MDMA), mescaline, MDA and PCP; anabolic steroids: nandrolene, oxandrolene, oxmetholone and stanozolol; inhalants: acetate, amyl nitrite, butyl nitrite, carbon tetrachloride, chloroform, Freon, nitrous oxide and toluene. Trafficking is a form of distribution of illegal drugs through the means of either smuggling which is the illegal shipment of controlled substances across state and national boundaries in many different methods like shipment overland, direct shipments to U. S. ports concealed in containers or packed with legitimate products, flights onto United States commercial airplanes or private aircrafts and airdrops to vessels waiting offshore to smuggle drugs into the U. S. boarders. The DEA follows different routes used by traffickers and one of the methods to track the occurrences is the Heroin Signature Program (HSP) is a Drug Enforcement Administration program that employs special chemical analyses to identify and measure chemical constituents of sample of seized heroin. Border patrols have protected the boarders to ensure that traffickers are disparaged from attempting to smuggle in their products. The supply and demand has kept smugglers in business because as long as there is a need for their product by the users and suppliers; distributors of the drugs will find new and advanced methods of smuggling in drugs. Government agencies have enacted different policies to somehow impact drug abuse like the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906 which required manufactures to list their ingredients and specifically targeted mood-altering chemicals. The Harrison Act was passed in 1914 which was the first federal anti-drug legislation that required anyone dealing in cocaine, heroin and morphine and other drugs to register with the federal government and pay a tax of $1 per year with the authorized the registration of only those in the medical profession and outlawing the street use and street distribution of these drugs. In 1956 the Narcotic Control Act increased penalties for drug traffickers and made the sale of heroin to anyone under the age of 18 a capital offense. In 1970 the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act established five schedules that classified psycho-activity and potential for abuse. In 1988 the Anti-Drug Abuse Act proclaimed the goal for a â€Å"drug-free America by 1995 by increased penalties for drug users and made weapon purchases by drug dealers much more difficult. The goal of drug control acts are to battle illegal drugs from use and distribution by anti-drug legislation and strict enforcement, interdiction, crop control, asset forfeiture and antidrug education and drug treatment. Conclusion Early legislation against drug abuse focused on eradicating the wide spread problem of drugs in numerous of ways like requiring companies to list their ingredients on their products if it may alter the users mood or brain chemistry, taxation on drug companies, making harsher drugs illegal for sale or distribution and harsher sentencing for those whom distribute illegal drugs. Since numerous types of legislation; the focus has been much in fact on punishment and less on rehabilitation which has caused a financial strain on society and has given a stigma upon those involved in the drug trade or an abuser of these substances.

The Naval Blockade Of Cuba History Essay

The Naval Blockade Of Cuba History Essay Since the morning of October 16, 1962, it has been clear that Robert F. Kennedys involvement in the Cuban missile crisis was the definitive factor in the prevention of war. In the months precluding October, U.S owned U-2 spy planes discovered that the Soviet Union were building surface-to-air missile launch sites. Suspicion was also raised from reports that there was an increase in the number of Soviet ships arriving in Cuba, which the United States government feared were carrying weapons. President John F. Kennedy and his own Intelligence Department watched on with great alarm, and seemed to tolerate the arms being supplied to Cuba, as long as the Soviets did not begin to place nuclear missiles there. On September 11th, 1962, J. Kennedy warned the U.S.S.R that he would prevent by whatever means might be necessary Cubas becoming of an offensive military base. Robert F. Kennedy became involved when on October 16th, 1962, President John F. Kennedy revealed to him that a U-2 had just fi nished a photographic mission two days earlier, and had produced evidence that Russia was placing missiles and atomic weapons in Cuba, thus confirming the countries first suspicions. For the next thirteen days, the Cuban missile crisis became R. Kennedys life  [2]  , as he joined the Presidents Executive Committee of the National Security Council, or EXCOMM, to discuss a reasonable but efficient strategy. The members of the EXCOMM discussed, with the help of Robert F. Kennedy, 5 possible courses of action  [3]  : Do nothing. Use diplomatic pressure to get the Soviet Union to remove the missiles. An air attack on the missiles. A full military invasion The naval blockade of Cuba, which was redefined as a more selective quarantine. For each strategy, pros and cons were discussed between the members, and it was mutually agreed upon that a plan that would avoid conflict, while still showing the U.S.A to be strong and serious about the situation, had to be conceived. The Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman, General Maxwell. D. Taylor, whom was the military adviser for EXCOMM, disagreed and believed that the full-scale attack and invasion was the only probable solution. However, R. Kennedy was extremely sceptical of this, and it was he who helped develop the strategy to blockade Cuba, as it was, in his own mind, the only option that would avoid nuclear war. It was also important for the United States to redefine the blockade as a selective quarantine, as a blockade is a direct act of war. In reference to the other options available, and especially the air strike, R. Kennedy said: Youre going to kill an awful lot of people and we are going to take a lot of heat for it à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ youre going to announce the reason that youre doing it is because theyre sending this kind of missiles, well, I think its almost incumbent upon the Russians then to say, Well, were going to send them in again, and if you do it again à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ were going to do the same thing to Turkey or Iran. He also believed that attacking Cuba by air would gesture the Soviets to presume a clear line to blockade Berlin, which they had done previously in 1948 after the conclusion of World War II. If the U.S. was to lose Berlin, R. Kennedy believed her allies would lose faith. He feared that doubt would be casted on the superpower, and that many would believe the only reason they lost Berlin was because they could not peacefully resolve the Cuban situation  [4]  . On the 24th October, the blockade began, and the first 20 missile-carrying ships that were closest to the 800km blockade zone at the time stopped or turned around, in order to avoid their ships being searched  [5]  . It is clear that without the ideas R. Kennedy put forth, an uncivil military strike would have been initiated, and it is for this reason that he is credited with playing the most pivotal role in precluding nuclear war. With R. Kennedys help and support, the U.S.A. had only successfully stopped one problem of the crisis, for they still had to deal with the missiles already in Cuba. After many negotiations, requests, and exit strategies were discussed between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R, a plan of action became apparent to the Soviets. They would agree to dismantle their Cuban missiles in exchange for the U.S. never invading Cuba, and the removal of the U.S. owned Jupiter missiles in Turkey and Italy. R. Kennedy was, at first, against this and was only willing to agree upon the no invasion policy. He believed that this would show a sign of weakness, something that the United States was strongly trying to avoid. However, as no other options became apparent, R. Kennedy suggested their removal after a period of 6 months, as there were already plans to disassemble them. John F. Kennedy suggested his brother be the man to speak with Soviet Ambassador for the United States Anatoly Dobrynin about the crisis, a nd it was his negations with the Ambassador that played the most essential role in the final circumstances of the predicament. R. Kennedys contact with Soviet Ambassador Anatoly Dobrynin was his second biggest contribution to the Cuban missile crisis. Three times R. Kennedy met with Dobrynin, with each meeting being held in secret so that both sides, the U.S and U.S.S.R, could talk freely. Together, they discussed ideas to work out a solution. This allowed R. Kennedy to successfully convey his brothers wishes to Dobrynin, which, as stated before, called for the secret removal of all Jupiter missiles in Turkey and Italy. R. Kennedy had to make it clear that if the Soviets were to go public with their agreement, the U.S. would strongly deny it. He stated to Dobrynin that the missiles would be removed within a short time after the crisis was over, to avoid suspicion from the U.S. citizens. After each meeting, Dobrynin would cable a report through to the Russian Premier Nikita Khrushchev, telling his superior of new developments in the crisis, who evidently valued these reports greatly. R. Kennedy, being an infl uential American official, was capable of accurately informing Dobrynin and the Soviets how urgent the situation was. This direct contact with the Soviets was the key feature in the outcome of the Cuban missile crisis, and portrays how important R. Kennedys role was in the crisis. On October 29th Russian Premier Nikitia Khrushchev wrote a letter to John F. Kennedy stating that: The Soviet government, in addition to previously issued instructions on the cessation of further work at the building sites for the weapons, has issued a new order on the dismantling of the weapons which you describe as offensive and their crating and return to the Soviet Union. The quarantine continued to watch over Cuba to ensure that all offensive weapons were shipped out, and on November 20th, 1962 at 6:45pm the blockade was formally ended, although it was not till December 5th and 6th that the final Soviet missiles were shipped off. True to his word and the informal agreement, R. Kennedy made sure that all U.S. missiles were disassembled, and by April 24, 1963 the last of the missiles had been defected and were flown out of Turkey shortly after. These final actions show that the work R. Kennedy contributed to the United States throughout the Cuban missile crisis was extremely fundamental in the avoidance of nuclear war. It can be argued that Robert F. Kennedys role was mediocre and that the successful outcome of the Cuban missile crisis should be more broadly shared. He famously passed a note on to the president, which read: I now know how Tojo felt when he was planning Pearl Harbor. The argument arises because it is unclear if R. Kennedy was making an ironic comment, ridiculing the members of EXCOMM calling for an air strike, or if he in fact meant it literally. It could have been that in the early stages of the crisis, R. Kennedy was for an invasion of Cuba, and he genuinely felt the same way the Japanese would have. Despite this, further evidence shows that R. Kennedy clearly supported the blockade, and even by simply comparing a U.S. attack on Cuba with the Japaneses bombing of Pearl Harbor, R. Kennedy was able to discredit the pro-invasion members of EXCOMM. It would seem that the evidence taken from the secret meetings and initial strategies of the Cuban missile crisis shows how crucial Robert F. Kennedys role was in precluding nuclear war. The 1930s taught a clear lesson for the world; that aggressive conduct, if allowed to go unchecked and unchallenged, ultimately leads to war. The evidence suggests that the Soviets antagonism would have led to nuclear war, and it is therefore accurate in stating that Robert F. Kennedy played the most pivotal role in averting nuclear war, as he was indeed the key voice against the U.S.S.R during the Cuban missile crisis.

Influences of Technology on Contemporary Abstract Art

Influences of Technology on Contemporary Abstract Art In order to establish an informed understanding of how contemporary abstract painting is situated in the art world today, this dissertation will investigate how painting has been questioned by artists since the 1960s. It will discuss how contemporary artists have been influenced by the expanse of the technological world and how they are influenced by or reflect upon this in their paintings. Another important area of discussion will be the work of contemporary artists whose abstract paintings dont appear to have adapted to technological change and dont seem to reflect transformations in contemporary culture. These are painters who are still continuing to create paintings about paint itself and are exploring what can be done with the material alone. It is important for this dissertation to begin by defining the modernist art movement and the arrival of creative thinking that brought abstract painting into history. The theories thoughts and ideas of critic Clement Greenberg will be discussed in order to set into context the work of abstract painting. Greenberg was an influential art critique during the twentieth century, who introduced an abundance of ideas into discussion around painting from the 1930s. In particular this dissertation will address Greenbergs statements about the importance of purity and flatness in modernist painting. The dissertation will then examine how the supposed end of painting provoked discussion in the1960s, addressing how the artist Ad Reinhardt explored paintings definitions. It will also be important to assess how the advances in technology and the popularisation of image have affected painting. This will then lead into a discussion about the work of a selection of contemporary artists who have conti nued to make paintings after the medium was pushed aside by critics. What has always developed the medium of painting is not only the artists individual passion and enthusiasm to explore the vast possibilities of using paint, but also the artists interest in displaying their conceptions, thoughts and feelings visually. Artists have repeatedly attempted to push their practice to new levels, break boundaries, and depict their philosophy through the use of paint. The communication between an artist engaging with a painting and the paintings audience interpreting the artists intentions or making an interpretation of their own creates a unique language of painting. It is this language that poses questions about painting and its context within contemporary culture and history. These questions will be evaluated in this dissertation in order to establish if and how abstract painting has developed since modernism. Gerhard Richter (b. 1932) is a significant artist of both the twentieth and twenty-first centauries whose artworks have questioned the role of painting through almost five decades. His personal writings and responses in interviews are a valuable resource and a record of his artistic intentions, subject methods and his overall questioning of the medium of painting. His work is particularly interesting as it moves between abstraction and figuration and it addresses the merging of painting and technology. Richter also works with paint in an abstract nature where he uses no representational imagery to depict his thoughts. This dissertation will study the artists developing body of painting and pull out the key questions he asks about painting through painting itself and discuss them in relation to modernism and to the artwork of younger contemporary artists. The first younger Contemporary painters work that will be discussed is that of Nicholas May (b.1962. His artwork uses an experimental painterly approach with the paint material. When talking about his work the dissertation will refer to art critic James Elkin and his ideas about the language of painting, exploring what paint can do on a canvas as a material. Whilst analysing Mays work it will also relate back to Greenbergs views on modernism and the concepts that have been lost and brought forward into contemporary painting. Another contemporary artist with a similar working method to Nicholas May is the John Moores painting prize 2010 exhibitor GL Brierley. Through Comparing his work to Mays and referring to modernist concepts this dissertation hopes to achieve an understanding of how these painters works fit into the art world today. Contemporary artist Carrie Moyers work is similar to Nicholas May as it contains alchemic experimental elements, flatness of the picture plane but graphic elements suggest her influence from the digital, she studied graphic design as an M.A. influences from that but later took a painting course MFA. Her use of glitter. Feminist writings interested in female artist today. Fiona Raes painting will also be of interest. Paintings are influence from the digital, Use of Photoshop to create paintings. Discussing the questions formed by these artists creative intentions, subject methods and sources of painting will form a discussion on the status of abstract painting and the artist in society today. Looking at how abstract painting was defined during the modernist era and how it has progressed over the years to present day. The following chapter will discuss where abstract painting came from and the ideas and theories of Clement Greenberg. Chapter One: Greenbergs Theories on Modernism. Clement Greenberg sets out to define the importance of abstract art in his first manifesto written in 1936 for the magazine The Partisan Review entitled Avant-garde and the Kitsch. Here he discusses for the first time concepts behind the modernist art movement. Greenberg viewed western painting up until the early 19th century as limited. The works had become stagnated and werent moving forward, they were stuck using the same techniques and form. They used skills in perspective and chiaroscuro to form deceptive illusionistic realities on the canvas. As impressive as this was as a technical skill there then became an urge for something new, to go beyond this way of working and to challenge the material and process of painting. Greenberg described this repetition as Alexandrianism that he defined as a motionless academism in which the really important issues are left untouched because they involved debate, and in which creative activity dwindles to skill in the small details of form wit h all larger questions being decided by the standard of the old masters, therefore with this nothing new is produced.  [1]  From this Greenberg defines the cultural importance of Avant-garde culture as stated: It has become amongst the signs in the midst of the decay of our present society that we some of us have become unwilling to accept this last phase of our own culture. In seeking to go beyond Alexandrianism, a part of western bourgeois society has produced something unheard of heretofore: Avant-garde culture.  [2]   Western societies were still recovering from World War one amid the Great Depression, with Nazism rising in Germany and the beginning of World War two approaching. Western societies at this time were stuck between two wars in a depression that followed a large increase in unemployment and bankruptcy. This decay of society heavily influenced artists and their paintings during the avant-garde movement. Modernist painting opened up art to all social classes and was a revolutionary art form that created the avant-garde culture. Painting before the modernist movement had been typically aimed at the upper class and only available for the bourgeoisie to view. The bourgeoisie is the class of people who owned and still own the means of production in the country capitalist, who exploit labourers for their own capital gain. The avant-garde artists abstract paintings scandalised the bourgeoisie by not displaying things as they are. Instead paintings were progressive, moving on from traditional realist painting and chose to use innovative forms of expression.  [3]  Artists began questioning the medium of painting and started producing works that formed a language of its own. Using painting they could visualise the subconscious and depict the world around them on canvas in a way that had never been done before. Although artists were opposed to the bourgeoisie capitalist values, they relied on these people for art funding. The avant-gardes stable source of income was provided from privileged among the ruling class, from which it thought of itself to be cut off. Greenberg described this as an umbilical cord of gold that has always remained attached. (Cite art in theory pg 542) Today artists find themselves in a similar position where they are often reliant on funding from galleries and the art establishment in order to produce and promote their artwork. This can lead to the artists work being restricted by gallery guidelines or what critics, collectors and the power figures of western art deem fashionable in contemporary art. Later in Greenbergs writing Modernist Painting written in 1960 he refines his definitions and explores themes further. Greenberg promotes in this essay the purity in painting in which he explores the restrictions of the medium of painting. The idea of purity in art and painting is that the art should continually move forward to improve itself by moving away from the use of imagery like that of the Renaissance. Instead Painting should move towards the two dimensional qualities of abstract painting.  [4]   Greenberg described this change in perspective in the following statement: Realistic naturalistic art had dissembled the medium, using art to conceal art; Modernism used art to call attention to art. The limitations of the surface, the shape of the support, the properties of the pigment were treated by the old masters as negative factors that could be acknowledged only implicitly or indirectly. Under modernism these same limitations came to be regarded as positive factors, and were acknowledged openly.  [5]   By deliberately drawing attention to the natural flatness of the canvas in a work of art, the artists have created a new perspective for the viewer to look towards the painting. In modernist painting the viewer is not meant to appreciate the deception of anything but instead admire the act of painting itself. The artist is freely acknowledging the processes limitations of trying to apply visual depth to a two-dimensional surface. Barnett Newman and Mark Rothko began a serious pursuit for flatness in their painting, aiming to create an infinite space on the canvas using a flat layer of colour and shape. Focusing on the images and content of a painting according to Greenberg was a negative factor, he believed for art to be pure and have clarity the subject matter must be thrown out and the emphasis should be put on the painting instead. Where as one tends to see what is in an old master before one sees the picture itself, one sees a modernist picture as a picture first.(cite modernist painting) This he believed was the best way to see any kind of picture and that modernism imposed it as the only and necessary way. Greenberg acknowledges in his essay Modernist Painting that the art of sculpture is by its very nature a three-dimensional form. Painting However is applied to a two-dimensional surface, modernist artists were inspired by that attribute, so rather than attempting to disregard it they embraced it. (cite MP) The artist Ad Reinhart (b.1913-1967) sought to achieve the ultimate modernist painting that contained definitive purity and flatness on the canvas. He took this tendency towards abstraction and simplification in modern art to the extreme when he created his controversial black paintings during the last ten years of his life. The next chapter will discuss Reinhardts definitions of painting and his belief that he had created the last painting. The chapter will also discuss the shift of painting from the limelight to background in art culture, as advances in technology and social interest change during the 1960s. Chapter Two: The End of Painting? Abstract painting No.5 (1962) is an example of the ‘black painting style which Reinhardt is best known for. The canvas appears to have a uniformly plain blue-black surface, an art piece devoid of colour and light. Seen up close however, the carefully painted layers reveal small amounts of blue, yellow and red. These colours form an underlying grid of different coloured squares, divided by a green central horizontal and a central vertical band that resemble the simple shape of a cross. Each of these colours were mixed with black oil paint to give a matt surface quality. (ref Tate modern) In an interview with Bruce Glaser, published in 1966 Reinhart discusses his black square paintings. He believed that there can be only one painting during one time and his were the only valid ones. In this interview he explains that he was trying to make the last ever painting. He also pronounces that his paintings were not about the materials or ideas and that each work he was working on always related to what he previously created. He believed art should be expressionless, clear, quiet, dignified and timeless (cite art as art pg13) in the following statement Reinhardt explains his ideas further: The one direction in fine or abstract art today is the painting of the same one form over and over again. The only intensity and the one perfection come only from long and lonely routine preparation and attention and repetition. The one originality exists only where all artists work in the same tradition and master the same convention.  [6]  (cite Ad Reinhart Art as Art art in theory. or Reinhardt art is art page 823.) By repeating his black paintings he believed he was creating works that considered truly the ultimate modernist pure form and paintings that had been developed as far as they could possibly go. Reinhardts paintings were formalist which meant the context of the work including the reason for its creation was not necessary; the only important factor was the paintings literal form. It can be argued that Reinhardts paintings contributed to the end of modernist painting. Greenberg wrote in his essay modernist painting his acceptance that The flatness towards which Modernist painting orients itself can never be an absolute flatness.(Ref) He claimed that the instance paint touches the canvas, some depth or form has been created, therefore the canvas ceases to remain flat. He uses the artist Mondrian as an example of how a simple mark on the canvas can create a kind of optical illusion that suggests a third dimension. CG, MP (1960) pg90). S. This optically according to Rosalind Krauss: was thus an entirely abstract schematized version of a link that traditional perspective had formally established between viewer and object, but one that now transcends the real parameters of measurable, physical space to express the purely projective powers of projective level of sight. (cite Page 29) She then continues to say that the most serious issue for painting in the 1960s was not to understand its objective features, such as flatness and material surface, but its specific mode of address and to make this a source of new conventions. (Page 29.) Therefore the 1960s brought art into a situation where the concepts and ideas in a piece of art had taken precedence over the aesthetics of the object calling the end to modernism and brining art into the post-modern age. Professor Anne Ring Peter states in her essay painting spaces that The experiments of the 1960s and the 1970s had moved art into a post-medium condition (Rosalind Krauss 1999 cite pg 32 ). In which traditional arts past categories have been diminished by new interdisciplinary overlaps, and the modernist discourse on the specificity of disciplines has been over taken by the new media and their seemingly tireless potential for re adjustment, technology updating and the generation of new hybrids. Therefore painting is seen as restricted because of its simple and old fashioned materials with its thoughts being changed to the past because of its traditional origins it derives from. Pgs 123/124 CPC Paintings were now seen as dull and boring whereas the new media appeared more exciting, futuristic and popular. Peterson then states that: It is widely agreed that the cul-de-sac of painting was caused by the modernist attempt to preserve the discipline from contamination by other kinds of art and culture and restricts its activities to what the formalists regarded as its primary task: to explore the formal aspects of painting, on the theory that all painting is basically about painting. Pgs 124 CPC Through the arrival of new technology and bombardment of visual imagery this Cul-de-sac or dead end of painting placed it in the background of the art world, with more artists using new media and technology to express their ideas and perspectives through art.. Reinharts black paintings are therefore a great example of the modern paintings purism having reached an end. The following chapter will discuss Gerhards questioning of painting through his personal art practice from the beginnings of the 1960s. Chapter Three: Gerhard Richters Questioning of Painting. Gerhard Richter is a master technician and maker of painting having created both figurative and abstract artworks since the 1960s. During this time there was an upheaval in art criticism where painting was considered to have developed as far as it could go; therefore it was no longer the dominant art practice in society. Many artists were using new materials and methods to explore their ideas and perspectives of the world like performance art, body art, installation, video and conceptual but Richter chose to continue using paint. In his notes 1962 Richter sums up brilliantly where his passion for painting and creating art derives: The first impulse towards painting, or towards art in general, stems from the need to communicate, the effort to fix ones own vision, to deal with appearances (Which are alien and must be given names and meanings) without this, all work would be pointless and unjustified, like Art for Art Sake.  [7]   In this statement Richter is rejecting the modernist notion of Art for Art sake he believes that work with no meaning or purpose is pointless. Richters practice communicates his perspective of the world around him through his expression and questioning of painting. Richters work can be described as not fitting with any one genre moving between abstract and figurative or combing the two, one paintings form is a response to another. Richter believed that as soon as something turned into an ism, it ceased to be artist activity. He believed fixed categorisations of paintings do not serve matters of creativity. Restricting creative flow confines artistic practice and stops work developing. (cite384/5) His artwork therefore questions the art establishment and his painting in context with that.. It can be said that the artists personal development and exploration through painting is more important than how the figure heads of the art world decide to define it. Richter criticises the artists that are so consistent in their development, he never worked at paintings like a job. When artists were encouraged to make a consistent body of work or make a conscious progression from one area to the next Richter acted oppositional. His work progressed through his desire to try something new and fun. (cite384/5) If an artist needs money they may work towards a show, they may then produce works that fit into the guidelines of the gallery or collector. This work does not contain genuine artistic creativity and is a forced part of the artists art practice. Richters work moves away from convention and shows his personal development.. Modernist artist Ad Reinhardt believed that art work should be consistent and repetitive with one work of art leading into the next (cite art as art interview). Richter disregards Reinhardts modernist idea showing a progressive move from modernism. Before 1962 Richters artwork consisted of Representational paintings. In 1962 his art practiced moved to his first set of paintings based on photographs. This was due to the radical change in belief at the time about what art is; ‘that it has ‘nothing to do with painting, nothing to do with composition, nor with colour Photographs are and were in the 1960s seen in abundance everyday, Richter was inspired when he saw the photograph in an new light which offered him a new view, which he believed was free from all the convention he had associated with art. It had no style, no composition and no judgement. pg4 Therefore It was only natural for Richter in the aftermath of the avant-garde to abandon the world of painting objects and turn to the investigation of refined forms of perception in photography. Written in Richters statement in 1967 he talks about how â€Å"we have arrived at a point where we trust reproduced reality in the form of photograph more than we do reality itself. pg 47 This perception of the world is brought to the public by the media through the camera lends. Richters work forms a critique of how the mass media influence our thinking through the photographs in news papers, posters and advertisements. Richters collection of work atlas†¦. In an interview with Robert Storr in 2002 Richter discuses his painting Blurred table an oil painting of a table where the paint has been speared over the images disguising it. The photo for table came from an Italian design magazine called Domus. His initial approach to the photograph was to copy it realistically, but when he had finished painting it, he was dissatisfied with the result so pasted parts of it with newspaper. He was dissatisfied because there was too much paint on the canvas therefore he became less happy with it, so he over painted it. Then suddenly it acquired a quality that appealed to him and he felt it should be left that way. cite p259 This artistic development happened by chance and he learned from it then developed the medium and process to develop work further. He destroyed or over painted many pictures during this time, he wanted to draw the line from his older paintings, indicating that these earlier paintings were in the past and so he set table at the top of his work list. cite p259 Richters paintings 1965 Boy baker and girl baker were initially blurred by him to fix cracking in the painting but he got angry with it and smudged the oil paint about. Table was the first blurred painting, what provoked him to smear the image was as he describes it I painted it very realistically, and it looked so stupid. You cant paint like that, thats the problem Therefore the blurring technique started out as he describes it as either a technical emergency-cracking-or, a conceptual emergency pg382/383 His wiping away of a painting brings into question what makes a good or bad painting? Richter answers this by saying and that development in an artists practice by accident not by the convention of what is the right way to d it It is interesting that Richter felt the need to destroy his own work, what was so imperfect about the perfect picture? As a technique to give paintings an effect deliberately and also to wipe out paintings he found ugly therefore creating the painting with a status of its own. It is also interesting how obscuring the viewers vision of the piece lets them become more intrigued in the image. Through these works Richter questions the importance of colour and its effect on a painting. Richter believes that if you hang his grey paintings next to red or green the grey turns into a different colour each time, this made the paintings aesthetic when he didnt want them to be. His grey paintings intended to take the object in the photograph away from its natural colour which creates an artificial operation intending to distance the object. He believed the first artificial is taking the photograph. pg 54 Through these Photo Paintings he sets up a Post Modern dialect between Modernism and the 1970s. His expertise in the language of painting displays the fate of art in technology through his creation of photo paintings; these works combine painterly abstraction along with mechanic photography. Showing influences from modernism but also developing from it. Abstract paintings From grey to colour†¦ sep 1977 pg 94 For two years he had been working on a different idea from the grey pictures . He decided to start in a totally different direction as he felt this couldnt go on any further. on small canvases at random he put illogical colours and forms assorted. He called them ugly sketches the total antithesis to the grey paintings they are not legible, because they devoid of meaning or logic if such a thing is possible, which is an interesting question itself. This question opened up a new door into a world of his abstract paintings. From the 1970s Richter started to create his larger abstract paintings, In 1973 during an interview with Irmeline Lebeer, (pg 72 ) Richter is asked why he thinks people wont be interested in his abstract paintings. His responds to this was that this type of artwork puts him in a trap, because the public are used to seeing his realist better-known paintings. He is worried that his abstract works will look like mere scribbles to the public. 72 It is interesting that Richter challenges Greenbergs enthusiasm towards pure painting. page 93 through his abstract cage paintings These could be viewed as purist modernist style paintings purely about the flat colour and form however in a letter to Benjamin H.D. Buchloh in may 1977 Richter says that what makes me sick above all is when the describers build that up as pure painting, completely denying the value of the object. Firstly I have said pure painting -if it could ever exist- would be a crime and secondly, these pictures are valued solely and uniquely for their stupid bumptious object content. This naturally includes the effective recording of the painters blind, ferocious motor impulse, as well as the maintaining of a semblance of intelligence and historical awareness through the choice and invention of motif. page 93 t This twists the paintings that are so important to him which he says I have nothing to say and I am saying it twisting it round into we have nothing to say and we are not saying it these purist ideas are like that of Greenbergs modernism and this shows Richters progressive development in thinking since then. Richter is still practicing the painting today. Since the 1960s technology has advanced even further, we are in a time in the western world where the internet is in almost everybodys home the digital has taken over and the influence on painting has developed it further. The next chapter discussed the work of younger contemporary artists who are creating paintings in contemporary practice. Chapter Three: The Work of Younger Contemporary Artists. The artist Fiona Rae became in the public eye during the 1990s with her use of colour shape , flatness of the picture plain hybrid use of technology with paint Fiona Rae. Does her work loose something because it makes it easier to understand because of the figurative elements or is it just more pleasing to the eye and less confusing? Or maybe they add to the confusion. Or the confusion gives it more meaning? Its all in personal perspective when looking at the canvas. Greenberg purity in painting mentioned earlier. Absence of form gives s a painting more meaning. What Paint does in contemporary art above all mediums are engaged with the material and has a language of it own. The purity of painting describes of an earthly medium playing with the material ruined by technology? Artists who use Photoshop what does this do to painting? Fiona Rae. Compare to Nicholas May†¦ Digital looses the genuine experimental element tried and tested on the computer. Visually biased not a true record of thought with paint. First see it on the comp then try and replicate it. Not learn from it adjust it and edited on canvas till it is how the artist feels it should be. Maybe then the computer is the record of thought a technological one less about the material itself but about the colour and shape and that aspect of form composition. Maybe my view is biased because I personally enjoy works where you can see the application of the paint and the surface. Flat plain colour painting has been done before but so has the other, maybe more to learn from the other than the flat. The computer is the record of the thought and brings a whole new element into the paint. Does this push the medium or destroy it? Forms a new Hybrid? New is goodright? Nicholas Mays work involves stuff In the article ‘Intention, Meaning and Substance in the Phenomenology of Abstract Painting Professor of Philosophy Dale Jaquette discusses the writing of Gertrude Stein, a critique and commentator on culture in particular modern abstract painting. Stine is fascinated by the visual possibilities of oil paint applied to a surface. It is something she finds intriguingly to admire. According to Stein â€Å"The existence of the oil painting itself is the thing that draws us powerfully, whether as representation or abstract image.â€Å" Jaquette believes that paintings do have this effect to draw us in. Stine continues to say That: when we experience painting especially but not uniquely it fascinates us because it not only reveals the world as seen by the artist but, perhaps more obviously, and, in the case of abstract art more purely and essentially, because it reveals the artists mind, the artists outlook on the world and conceptual framework, history background, obsessions, preoccupations and in a personality. pg 41 para 2 People believe that there is more talent in representational painting, however representational painting is a depiction of something other than the artists themselves. Every splodge splash brush mark and controlled abstraction is the interpretation of the artist a view of their perspective trying to capture an emotive, So it does more than just representing something that exists. Does repeated exposure to abstract art wear thin? What has been interesting is no longer what was free expression has it grown old? Has the medium been pushed so far it can no longer express anything new? pg 48 What was exciting and new pushing boundaries cant anymore because we have become desensitised by the work. Fischer pg 49 What was shocking during the avant-garde cant be done now to create similar reaction. Its not revolutionary and has lost its voomft†¦ Has painting run its course? Jaquette suggests the value of abstract painting its not to illustrate†¦ pg 51 Why abstract arts are important. link to Richter†¦ What does GR say about the feeling of paint and what that does? Jacs view on Elkin/ My view on Elkin. pg 53 Its is the Art Historians and the critiques that decide what happens with painting. Elkins emphasises the role of the painter. They are entranced by the qualities of the paint and by the challenge of trying to make paint do what they want it to down when applying to the surface, in both figurative and abstract painting pg 54 para 3 This is why in contemporary day with all the other ways to express ideas they choose paint. Nicholas May link with the writing s of Elkin and Richters approach to abstracts. The fascination cant die in the individual thats why painting will live on! Nicholas May his experiment an Influences of Technology on Contemporary Abstract Art Influences of Technology on Contemporary Abstract Art In order to establish an informed understanding of how contemporary abstract painting is situated in the art world today, this dissertation will investigate how painting has been questioned by artists since the 1960s. It will discuss how contemporary artists have been influenced by the expanse of the technological world and how they are influenced by or reflect upon this in their paintings. Another important area of discussion will be the work of contemporary artists whose abstract paintings dont appear to have adapted to technological change and dont seem to reflect transformations in contemporary culture. These are painters who are still continuing to create paintings about paint itself and are exploring what can be done with the material alone. It is important for this dissertation to begin by defining the modernist art movement and the arrival of creative thinking that brought abstract painting into history. The theories thoughts and ideas of critic Clement Greenberg will be discussed in order to set into context the work of abstract painting. Greenberg was an influential art critique during the twentieth century, who introduced an abundance of ideas into discussion around painting from the 1930s. In particular this dissertation will address Greenbergs statements about the importance of purity and flatness in modernist painting. The dissertation will then examine how the supposed end of painting provoked discussion in the1960s, addressing how the artist Ad Reinhardt explored paintings definitions. It will also be important to assess how the advances in technology and the popularisation of image have affected painting. This will then lead into a discussion about the work of a selection of contemporary artists who have conti nued to make paintings after the medium was pushed aside by critics. What has always developed the medium of painting is not only the artists individual passion and enthusiasm to explore the vast possibilities of using paint, but also the artists interest in displaying their conceptions, thoughts and feelings visually. Artists have repeatedly attempted to push their practice to new levels, break boundaries, and depict their philosophy through the use of paint. The communication between an artist engaging with a painting and the paintings audience interpreting the artists intentions or making an interpretation of their own creates a unique language of painting. It is this language that poses questions about painting and its context within contemporary culture and history. These questions will be evaluated in this dissertation in order to establish if and how abstract painting has developed since modernism. Gerhard Richter (b. 1932) is a significant artist of both the twentieth and twenty-first centauries whose artworks have questioned the role of painting through almost five decades. His personal writings and responses in interviews are a valuable resource and a record of his artistic intentions, subject methods and his overall questioning of the medium of painting. His work is particularly interesting as it moves between abstraction and figuration and it addresses the merging of painting and technology. Richter also works with paint in an abstract nature where he uses no representational imagery to depict his thoughts. This dissertation will study the artists developing body of painting and pull out the key questions he asks about painting through painting itself and discuss them in relation to modernism and to the artwork of younger contemporary artists. The first younger Contemporary painters work that will be discussed is that of Nicholas May (b.1962. His artwork uses an experimental painterly approach with the paint material. When talking about his work the dissertation will refer to art critic James Elkin and his ideas about the language of painting, exploring what paint can do on a canvas as a material. Whilst analysing Mays work it will also relate back to Greenbergs views on modernism and the concepts that have been lost and brought forward into contemporary painting. Another contemporary artist with a similar working method to Nicholas May is the John Moores painting prize 2010 exhibitor GL Brierley. Through Comparing his work to Mays and referring to modernist concepts this dissertation hopes to achieve an understanding of how these painters works fit into the art world today. Contemporary artist Carrie Moyers work is similar to Nicholas May as it contains alchemic experimental elements, flatness of the picture plane but graphic elements suggest her influence from the digital, she studied graphic design as an M.A. influences from that but later took a painting course MFA. Her use of glitter. Feminist writings interested in female artist today. Fiona Raes painting will also be of interest. Paintings are influence from the digital, Use of Photoshop to create paintings. Discussing the questions formed by these artists creative intentions, subject methods and sources of painting will form a discussion on the status of abstract painting and the artist in society today. Looking at how abstract painting was defined during the modernist era and how it has progressed over the years to present day. The following chapter will discuss where abstract painting came from and the ideas and theories of Clement Greenberg. Chapter One: Greenbergs Theories on Modernism. Clement Greenberg sets out to define the importance of abstract art in his first manifesto written in 1936 for the magazine The Partisan Review entitled Avant-garde and the Kitsch. Here he discusses for the first time concepts behind the modernist art movement. Greenberg viewed western painting up until the early 19th century as limited. The works had become stagnated and werent moving forward, they were stuck using the same techniques and form. They used skills in perspective and chiaroscuro to form deceptive illusionistic realities on the canvas. As impressive as this was as a technical skill there then became an urge for something new, to go beyond this way of working and to challenge the material and process of painting. Greenberg described this repetition as Alexandrianism that he defined as a motionless academism in which the really important issues are left untouched because they involved debate, and in which creative activity dwindles to skill in the small details of form wit h all larger questions being decided by the standard of the old masters, therefore with this nothing new is produced.  [1]  From this Greenberg defines the cultural importance of Avant-garde culture as stated: It has become amongst the signs in the midst of the decay of our present society that we some of us have become unwilling to accept this last phase of our own culture. In seeking to go beyond Alexandrianism, a part of western bourgeois society has produced something unheard of heretofore: Avant-garde culture.  [2]   Western societies were still recovering from World War one amid the Great Depression, with Nazism rising in Germany and the beginning of World War two approaching. Western societies at this time were stuck between two wars in a depression that followed a large increase in unemployment and bankruptcy. This decay of society heavily influenced artists and their paintings during the avant-garde movement. Modernist painting opened up art to all social classes and was a revolutionary art form that created the avant-garde culture. Painting before the modernist movement had been typically aimed at the upper class and only available for the bourgeoisie to view. The bourgeoisie is the class of people who owned and still own the means of production in the country capitalist, who exploit labourers for their own capital gain. The avant-garde artists abstract paintings scandalised the bourgeoisie by not displaying things as they are. Instead paintings were progressive, moving on from traditional realist painting and chose to use innovative forms of expression.  [3]  Artists began questioning the medium of painting and started producing works that formed a language of its own. Using painting they could visualise the subconscious and depict the world around them on canvas in a way that had never been done before. Although artists were opposed to the bourgeoisie capitalist values, they relied on these people for art funding. The avant-gardes stable source of income was provided from privileged among the ruling class, from which it thought of itself to be cut off. Greenberg described this as an umbilical cord of gold that has always remained attached. (Cite art in theory pg 542) Today artists find themselves in a similar position where they are often reliant on funding from galleries and the art establishment in order to produce and promote their artwork. This can lead to the artists work being restricted by gallery guidelines or what critics, collectors and the power figures of western art deem fashionable in contemporary art. Later in Greenbergs writing Modernist Painting written in 1960 he refines his definitions and explores themes further. Greenberg promotes in this essay the purity in painting in which he explores the restrictions of the medium of painting. The idea of purity in art and painting is that the art should continually move forward to improve itself by moving away from the use of imagery like that of the Renaissance. Instead Painting should move towards the two dimensional qualities of abstract painting.  [4]   Greenberg described this change in perspective in the following statement: Realistic naturalistic art had dissembled the medium, using art to conceal art; Modernism used art to call attention to art. The limitations of the surface, the shape of the support, the properties of the pigment were treated by the old masters as negative factors that could be acknowledged only implicitly or indirectly. Under modernism these same limitations came to be regarded as positive factors, and were acknowledged openly.  [5]   By deliberately drawing attention to the natural flatness of the canvas in a work of art, the artists have created a new perspective for the viewer to look towards the painting. In modernist painting the viewer is not meant to appreciate the deception of anything but instead admire the act of painting itself. The artist is freely acknowledging the processes limitations of trying to apply visual depth to a two-dimensional surface. Barnett Newman and Mark Rothko began a serious pursuit for flatness in their painting, aiming to create an infinite space on the canvas using a flat layer of colour and shape. Focusing on the images and content of a painting according to Greenberg was a negative factor, he believed for art to be pure and have clarity the subject matter must be thrown out and the emphasis should be put on the painting instead. Where as one tends to see what is in an old master before one sees the picture itself, one sees a modernist picture as a picture first.(cite modernist painting) This he believed was the best way to see any kind of picture and that modernism imposed it as the only and necessary way. Greenberg acknowledges in his essay Modernist Painting that the art of sculpture is by its very nature a three-dimensional form. Painting However is applied to a two-dimensional surface, modernist artists were inspired by that attribute, so rather than attempting to disregard it they embraced it. (cite MP) The artist Ad Reinhart (b.1913-1967) sought to achieve the ultimate modernist painting that contained definitive purity and flatness on the canvas. He took this tendency towards abstraction and simplification in modern art to the extreme when he created his controversial black paintings during the last ten years of his life. The next chapter will discuss Reinhardts definitions of painting and his belief that he had created the last painting. The chapter will also discuss the shift of painting from the limelight to background in art culture, as advances in technology and social interest change during the 1960s. Chapter Two: The End of Painting? Abstract painting No.5 (1962) is an example of the ‘black painting style which Reinhardt is best known for. The canvas appears to have a uniformly plain blue-black surface, an art piece devoid of colour and light. Seen up close however, the carefully painted layers reveal small amounts of blue, yellow and red. These colours form an underlying grid of different coloured squares, divided by a green central horizontal and a central vertical band that resemble the simple shape of a cross. Each of these colours were mixed with black oil paint to give a matt surface quality. (ref Tate modern) In an interview with Bruce Glaser, published in 1966 Reinhart discusses his black square paintings. He believed that there can be only one painting during one time and his were the only valid ones. In this interview he explains that he was trying to make the last ever painting. He also pronounces that his paintings were not about the materials or ideas and that each work he was working on always related to what he previously created. He believed art should be expressionless, clear, quiet, dignified and timeless (cite art as art pg13) in the following statement Reinhardt explains his ideas further: The one direction in fine or abstract art today is the painting of the same one form over and over again. The only intensity and the one perfection come only from long and lonely routine preparation and attention and repetition. The one originality exists only where all artists work in the same tradition and master the same convention.  [6]  (cite Ad Reinhart Art as Art art in theory. or Reinhardt art is art page 823.) By repeating his black paintings he believed he was creating works that considered truly the ultimate modernist pure form and paintings that had been developed as far as they could possibly go. Reinhardts paintings were formalist which meant the context of the work including the reason for its creation was not necessary; the only important factor was the paintings literal form. It can be argued that Reinhardts paintings contributed to the end of modernist painting. Greenberg wrote in his essay modernist painting his acceptance that The flatness towards which Modernist painting orients itself can never be an absolute flatness.(Ref) He claimed that the instance paint touches the canvas, some depth or form has been created, therefore the canvas ceases to remain flat. He uses the artist Mondrian as an example of how a simple mark on the canvas can create a kind of optical illusion that suggests a third dimension. CG, MP (1960) pg90). S. This optically according to Rosalind Krauss: was thus an entirely abstract schematized version of a link that traditional perspective had formally established between viewer and object, but one that now transcends the real parameters of measurable, physical space to express the purely projective powers of projective level of sight. (cite Page 29) She then continues to say that the most serious issue for painting in the 1960s was not to understand its objective features, such as flatness and material surface, but its specific mode of address and to make this a source of new conventions. (Page 29.) Therefore the 1960s brought art into a situation where the concepts and ideas in a piece of art had taken precedence over the aesthetics of the object calling the end to modernism and brining art into the post-modern age. Professor Anne Ring Peter states in her essay painting spaces that The experiments of the 1960s and the 1970s had moved art into a post-medium condition (Rosalind Krauss 1999 cite pg 32 ). In which traditional arts past categories have been diminished by new interdisciplinary overlaps, and the modernist discourse on the specificity of disciplines has been over taken by the new media and their seemingly tireless potential for re adjustment, technology updating and the generation of new hybrids. Therefore painting is seen as restricted because of its simple and old fashioned materials with its thoughts being changed to the past because of its traditional origins it derives from. Pgs 123/124 CPC Paintings were now seen as dull and boring whereas the new media appeared more exciting, futuristic and popular. Peterson then states that: It is widely agreed that the cul-de-sac of painting was caused by the modernist attempt to preserve the discipline from contamination by other kinds of art and culture and restricts its activities to what the formalists regarded as its primary task: to explore the formal aspects of painting, on the theory that all painting is basically about painting. Pgs 124 CPC Through the arrival of new technology and bombardment of visual imagery this Cul-de-sac or dead end of painting placed it in the background of the art world, with more artists using new media and technology to express their ideas and perspectives through art.. Reinharts black paintings are therefore a great example of the modern paintings purism having reached an end. The following chapter will discuss Gerhards questioning of painting through his personal art practice from the beginnings of the 1960s. Chapter Three: Gerhard Richters Questioning of Painting. Gerhard Richter is a master technician and maker of painting having created both figurative and abstract artworks since the 1960s. During this time there was an upheaval in art criticism where painting was considered to have developed as far as it could go; therefore it was no longer the dominant art practice in society. Many artists were using new materials and methods to explore their ideas and perspectives of the world like performance art, body art, installation, video and conceptual but Richter chose to continue using paint. In his notes 1962 Richter sums up brilliantly where his passion for painting and creating art derives: The first impulse towards painting, or towards art in general, stems from the need to communicate, the effort to fix ones own vision, to deal with appearances (Which are alien and must be given names and meanings) without this, all work would be pointless and unjustified, like Art for Art Sake.  [7]   In this statement Richter is rejecting the modernist notion of Art for Art sake he believes that work with no meaning or purpose is pointless. Richters practice communicates his perspective of the world around him through his expression and questioning of painting. Richters work can be described as not fitting with any one genre moving between abstract and figurative or combing the two, one paintings form is a response to another. Richter believed that as soon as something turned into an ism, it ceased to be artist activity. He believed fixed categorisations of paintings do not serve matters of creativity. Restricting creative flow confines artistic practice and stops work developing. (cite384/5) His artwork therefore questions the art establishment and his painting in context with that.. It can be said that the artists personal development and exploration through painting is more important than how the figure heads of the art world decide to define it. Richter criticises the artists that are so consistent in their development, he never worked at paintings like a job. When artists were encouraged to make a consistent body of work or make a conscious progression from one area to the next Richter acted oppositional. His work progressed through his desire to try something new and fun. (cite384/5) If an artist needs money they may work towards a show, they may then produce works that fit into the guidelines of the gallery or collector. This work does not contain genuine artistic creativity and is a forced part of the artists art practice. Richters work moves away from convention and shows his personal development.. Modernist artist Ad Reinhardt believed that art work should be consistent and repetitive with one work of art leading into the next (cite art as art interview). Richter disregards Reinhardts modernist idea showing a progressive move from modernism. Before 1962 Richters artwork consisted of Representational paintings. In 1962 his art practiced moved to his first set of paintings based on photographs. This was due to the radical change in belief at the time about what art is; ‘that it has ‘nothing to do with painting, nothing to do with composition, nor with colour Photographs are and were in the 1960s seen in abundance everyday, Richter was inspired when he saw the photograph in an new light which offered him a new view, which he believed was free from all the convention he had associated with art. It had no style, no composition and no judgement. pg4 Therefore It was only natural for Richter in the aftermath of the avant-garde to abandon the world of painting objects and turn to the investigation of refined forms of perception in photography. Written in Richters statement in 1967 he talks about how â€Å"we have arrived at a point where we trust reproduced reality in the form of photograph more than we do reality itself. pg 47 This perception of the world is brought to the public by the media through the camera lends. Richters work forms a critique of how the mass media influence our thinking through the photographs in news papers, posters and advertisements. Richters collection of work atlas†¦. In an interview with Robert Storr in 2002 Richter discuses his painting Blurred table an oil painting of a table where the paint has been speared over the images disguising it. The photo for table came from an Italian design magazine called Domus. His initial approach to the photograph was to copy it realistically, but when he had finished painting it, he was dissatisfied with the result so pasted parts of it with newspaper. He was dissatisfied because there was too much paint on the canvas therefore he became less happy with it, so he over painted it. Then suddenly it acquired a quality that appealed to him and he felt it should be left that way. cite p259 This artistic development happened by chance and he learned from it then developed the medium and process to develop work further. He destroyed or over painted many pictures during this time, he wanted to draw the line from his older paintings, indicating that these earlier paintings were in the past and so he set table at the top of his work list. cite p259 Richters paintings 1965 Boy baker and girl baker were initially blurred by him to fix cracking in the painting but he got angry with it and smudged the oil paint about. Table was the first blurred painting, what provoked him to smear the image was as he describes it I painted it very realistically, and it looked so stupid. You cant paint like that, thats the problem Therefore the blurring technique started out as he describes it as either a technical emergency-cracking-or, a conceptual emergency pg382/383 His wiping away of a painting brings into question what makes a good or bad painting? Richter answers this by saying and that development in an artists practice by accident not by the convention of what is the right way to d it It is interesting that Richter felt the need to destroy his own work, what was so imperfect about the perfect picture? As a technique to give paintings an effect deliberately and also to wipe out paintings he found ugly therefore creating the painting with a status of its own. It is also interesting how obscuring the viewers vision of the piece lets them become more intrigued in the image. Through these works Richter questions the importance of colour and its effect on a painting. Richter believes that if you hang his grey paintings next to red or green the grey turns into a different colour each time, this made the paintings aesthetic when he didnt want them to be. His grey paintings intended to take the object in the photograph away from its natural colour which creates an artificial operation intending to distance the object. He believed the first artificial is taking the photograph. pg 54 Through these Photo Paintings he sets up a Post Modern dialect between Modernism and the 1970s. His expertise in the language of painting displays the fate of art in technology through his creation of photo paintings; these works combine painterly abstraction along with mechanic photography. Showing influences from modernism but also developing from it. Abstract paintings From grey to colour†¦ sep 1977 pg 94 For two years he had been working on a different idea from the grey pictures . He decided to start in a totally different direction as he felt this couldnt go on any further. on small canvases at random he put illogical colours and forms assorted. He called them ugly sketches the total antithesis to the grey paintings they are not legible, because they devoid of meaning or logic if such a thing is possible, which is an interesting question itself. This question opened up a new door into a world of his abstract paintings. From the 1970s Richter started to create his larger abstract paintings, In 1973 during an interview with Irmeline Lebeer, (pg 72 ) Richter is asked why he thinks people wont be interested in his abstract paintings. His responds to this was that this type of artwork puts him in a trap, because the public are used to seeing his realist better-known paintings. He is worried that his abstract works will look like mere scribbles to the public. 72 It is interesting that Richter challenges Greenbergs enthusiasm towards pure painting. page 93 through his abstract cage paintings These could be viewed as purist modernist style paintings purely about the flat colour and form however in a letter to Benjamin H.D. Buchloh in may 1977 Richter says that what makes me sick above all is when the describers build that up as pure painting, completely denying the value of the object. Firstly I have said pure painting -if it could ever exist- would be a crime and secondly, these pictures are valued solely and uniquely for their stupid bumptious object content. This naturally includes the effective recording of the painters blind, ferocious motor impulse, as well as the maintaining of a semblance of intelligence and historical awareness through the choice and invention of motif. page 93 t This twists the paintings that are so important to him which he says I have nothing to say and I am saying it twisting it round into we have nothing to say and we are not saying it these purist ideas are like that of Greenbergs modernism and this shows Richters progressive development in thinking since then. Richter is still practicing the painting today. Since the 1960s technology has advanced even further, we are in a time in the western world where the internet is in almost everybodys home the digital has taken over and the influence on painting has developed it further. The next chapter discussed the work of younger contemporary artists who are creating paintings in contemporary practice. Chapter Three: The Work of Younger Contemporary Artists. The artist Fiona Rae became in the public eye during the 1990s with her use of colour shape , flatness of the picture plain hybrid use of technology with paint Fiona Rae. Does her work loose something because it makes it easier to understand because of the figurative elements or is it just more pleasing to the eye and less confusing? Or maybe they add to the confusion. Or the confusion gives it more meaning? Its all in personal perspective when looking at the canvas. Greenberg purity in painting mentioned earlier. Absence of form gives s a painting more meaning. What Paint does in contemporary art above all mediums are engaged with the material and has a language of it own. The purity of painting describes of an earthly medium playing with the material ruined by technology? Artists who use Photoshop what does this do to painting? Fiona Rae. Compare to Nicholas May†¦ Digital looses the genuine experimental element tried and tested on the computer. Visually biased not a true record of thought with paint. First see it on the comp then try and replicate it. Not learn from it adjust it and edited on canvas till it is how the artist feels it should be. Maybe then the computer is the record of thought a technological one less about the material itself but about the colour and shape and that aspect of form composition. Maybe my view is biased because I personally enjoy works where you can see the application of the paint and the surface. Flat plain colour painting has been done before but so has the other, maybe more to learn from the other than the flat. The computer is the record of the thought and brings a whole new element into the paint. Does this push the medium or destroy it? Forms a new Hybrid? New is goodright? Nicholas Mays work involves stuff In the article ‘Intention, Meaning and Substance in the Phenomenology of Abstract Painting Professor of Philosophy Dale Jaquette discusses the writing of Gertrude Stein, a critique and commentator on culture in particular modern abstract painting. Stine is fascinated by the visual possibilities of oil paint applied to a surface. It is something she finds intriguingly to admire. According to Stein â€Å"The existence of the oil painting itself is the thing that draws us powerfully, whether as representation or abstract image.â€Å" Jaquette believes that paintings do have this effect to draw us in. Stine continues to say That: when we experience painting especially but not uniquely it fascinates us because it not only reveals the world as seen by the artist but, perhaps more obviously, and, in the case of abstract art more purely and essentially, because it reveals the artists mind, the artists outlook on the world and conceptual framework, history background, obsessions, preoccupations and in a personality. pg 41 para 2 People believe that there is more talent in representational painting, however representational painting is a depiction of something other than the artists themselves. Every splodge splash brush mark and controlled abstraction is the interpretation of the artist a view of their perspective trying to capture an emotive, So it does more than just representing something that exists. Does repeated exposure to abstract art wear thin? What has been interesting is no longer what was free expression has it grown old? Has the medium been pushed so far it can no longer express anything new? pg 48 What was exciting and new pushing boundaries cant anymore because we have become desensitised by the work. Fischer pg 49 What was shocking during the avant-garde cant be done now to create similar reaction. Its not revolutionary and has lost its voomft†¦ Has painting run its course? Jaquette suggests the value of abstract painting its not to illustrate†¦ pg 51 Why abstract arts are important. link to Richter†¦ What does GR say about the feeling of paint and what that does? Jacs view on Elkin/ My view on Elkin. pg 53 Its is the Art Historians and the critiques that decide what happens with painting. Elkins emphasises the role of the painter. They are entranced by the qualities of the paint and by the challenge of trying to make paint do what they want it to down when applying to the surface, in both figurative and abstract painting pg 54 para 3 This is why in contemporary day with all the other ways to express ideas they choose paint. Nicholas May link with the writing s of Elkin and Richters approach to abstracts. The fascination cant die in the individual thats why painting will live on! Nicholas May his experiment an