Active Sports on Holidays Essay Example for Free

Active Sports on Holidays Essay The best-known from of this sport holiday is undoubtedly the skiing holiday. Skiing can pursued at different levels (beginner, experienced, simply for pleasure, or in pursuit of high performance and excellence ), by different age groups, and in different settings- at a ski school, a ski coursxe, a ski clup, or privately. Skiing is the classic example of sport tourism and the most populer of all winter sports activities. Every year it introduces 40-50 million visitors to the Europen Alps, with 40,000 ski runs and around 12,000 cable ways and lifs to support this popular holiday industry (Mader, 1998). From Britain alone it is estimated that around 653,000 people took ski holidays worth some US$321 million in 1991-92(Mintel international Group, 1992).0 the ski market is now said to account for around 20 percent of the total European holiday market. In the last 25 years the holiday market for winter sports has expanded to the extent that there are now holiday packages to suit many tastes and financial means. Skiing is no longer the preserve of high-altitude dwellers,nor is it limited to the rich and famous. Increasingly, with the provision of self-catering chalets and camp sites to complement hotels and clubs,millions of people throughout the has developed world can enjoy touristic experience of mountain beauty at the same time as learning to ski on all five continents of the world. Cross-country skiing,sometimes known as Nordic skiing or langlauf, has also become very popular. Because this sporth activity is easy learned and the equipment is less expensive than required for downhill skiing, it is practiced by many sportists. The fact that beginners can,from day one,enjoy langlauf in a circuit of loipe(i.e., twin-grooved tracksz) integrated in the countryside and free of the use of ski lifts are but two strong point of this sport(Clough, 1989). Snowshoes are the hottest new trend in winter recreation. Accourding to Schwiesow(1995), snowshoeing is the second fastest-growing winter sport behind snowboarding as outdoor enthusiasts for simpler, more convenient ways toget outside during the winter. Some other new trends are dogs sledding and ice fishing. Many of the best known winter sport resorts in the United States and Canada have at least one dog sled tour company from which to choose. Alaska is provably the best known place for dog sledding, the state’s official sport ( Sloan, 1995). Ice fishing is popular in Minnesota ;there are plenty of companies that will rent huts by the day, week or mount (Sloan, 1995 ). The model of the skiing holiday (that is,a holiday with a single sport as the primary intetion-offered an different levels to different age groups and under different organization forms ) has recently been adopted by varios other forms of sport. Holiday concerns, holiday organizations, (cultural ) societes, and private sport schools now provide holiday courses in sailing, gliding, riding, golf, driving, cycling, mountaineering, surfing and so forth. Cycling tours often follow the ski-holiday model. Nowdays there are hundreds of cycling holidays on offer, of all lengths, levels, and degrees of comfort. Some are organized by well-known cyclist, but very often people decide to organize their cycling holiday themselves. Cycle-friendly countries are growing in number. The world’s most cycle-friendly country is probably the Netherlands due to its low, flat physical characteristics. Bike paths are provided all over the Netherlands from the smallest village to the biggest town. Cycle weekends are also offered by youth organizations, communities, tourist boards, hotels, and so forth. Hotels especially are trying to reach the cycle tourists by offering half or full board, bike hire, and route maps, this is called a single-center or fixed point holiday because the tourists is based at one hotel orcampsite and takes day rides out from there to explore the surroundings. Some hotel chains offer hotel-to-hotel tours with accommodations each night in a different hotel; the luggage is transported by the hotel manager. More sophisticated are those bicycle tours that include not only a guide, but also a bicyle technician, a medical doctor, and support vehicle ( Cample, 1995 ). It is possible to take a cycling tour almost anywhere in the world. Reputable companies throughout North America and Europe operate bycling tours China, Africa, Vietnam, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bali, and Thailand, an deven high-altitude regions such as the Atlas Mountains and Tibet. Since the mid-1960s, the bicyle has divided into subspecies of racers, mountain bikes, toures, and hybrids. All-terrain bycling has become one of the fastest growing segments of the recreation industry. Sales of all-terrain bicycles in North America skyrocket from 300,000 bicycles in 1984 to over 2 million in 1986 ( Crandall, 1987 ). At the January 1998 London International Boat Show, the assembled boat builders acknowledged that their industry is facing worldwide problem, a declining interesting in boating:46 percent of sailorsand 35 percent of motor boaters are now over 55 years of age, and boating magazine subscriptions are down by 20 percent in six years. The problem is not limited to Great Britain-the downward trend is acute in the United States, home of the world’s biggest boat industry. In the last decade, turnover in the United States has fallen from $10 million to $8 million, an deven trough â€Å"recreational spending has grown by more than 50 percent in seven years,†¦ boating’s share has shrunk from 3.7 percent to 2.1 percent† ( Groom, 1998, p. 1 ). In 1984, owning a boat was sixth on a wish list of American consumer preferences, but by 1996 it became the 15th. Nevertheless, the link between water sports and holidays is increasing with sailing becoming a very popular holiday activity. The use of smaller and more easily transportable craft, such as dinghy car-toppers, jet skis, and windsurfes, has increased and together with multihulled and chartered cruisers these crafts provide for a wide range of interests. While the Caribbean and the Mediterranean are the most popular seas, it is now possible to charter yachts in the South Pacific, the Seychelles, Australia, Alaska, Brazil, Thailand, and the Galapagos Islands ( Robinson, 1984 ). Martin and Mason’s survey ( 1990 ) indicates that between 1.5 and 2 million people take part in water sports while on holiday in Britain. Britain has been described as a mecca for boating holidays on the country’s two thousand miles of inland waterways each year ; about 87 percent are U.K. residents and 13 percent are inbound tourists principally from Europe ( Hhoseason, 1990 ). A 1986 survey (veal, 1986 ) found that over half of those who take part in sailing do so only when on holiday. Also worth mentioning here are the old, great clipper ships thar a century or mre ago sailed around the world. The Mediterranean and the Caribbean are popular ports for such ships as the Star Clipper, the Star Flyer, the Windstar, and Clup Med’s two play boats. On some, visiting â€Å"crews† learn to navigate and handle the sails. Valef Yachts, a Greek company, advertises â€Å" a vacation fit for a million-aire,† offering its Christina I for around US$100,000 per week for 12 people, none of whom need to have previous yachting experience. With a crew of nine, it has acruising range of 9,500 kilometers of Mediterranean water and includes its own private speedboat for water skiing, a small sailboat,and aWindsurfer for exploiring the Greek islands ( Richins, 1992 ) New sports are constantly developing and tourist are continuously in search of new thrills and experiences. One of these is body-boarding, broadly practiced in Australia, NEW Zealand, and the U.S states of Hawaii and California. The Atlantic coast in France is visited by an increasing amount of tourist who want to body-board and surf.

Influences of Egyptian Art on Art Deco

Influences of Egyptian Art on Art Deco A dissertation on Art Deco how it was influenced by the discovery of Egyptian art, more specifically the findings at Tutankhamens tomb. Explore how the London exhibition of these findings was of great significance to the worlds of fashion interiors in the 1970s and how many designers started to redeploy Egyptian motifs in their work. Introduction Egyptian art and design was very much centred on decorative motifs and patterns for both large and small items. As Egyptian artefacts were uncovered and became known to modern civilization, their art designs began to have an influence on modern design.[1] This paper will look at how these Egyptian motifs and designs became hugely influential on the Art Deco movement in the 1920’s and 1930’s, as well as the revival of the movement in the 1970’s. There will be a particular focus upon the artefacts found in the legendary tomb of Tutankhamen. Through the London exhibition of this work, its decorative motifs spread into what we now know were the beginnings of the Art Deco movement. It also had a strong influence on the resurgence of Art Deco designs in 1970’s home decorations and furnishings. The paper will be split into two main sections, with the first section looking at the general influence of Egyptian design on Art Deco design. The second section will then look at specific examples of designs and designers to support the claims of Egyptian influence on Art Deco design through the artefacts of the Tutankhamen exhibition. Firstly, though, it is worth mentioning a brief history of how Egyptian design began to influence modern design, particularly in the Western world. It was in the 18th century that Egyptian design first became fashionable for furnishing within British homes, mainly through the influence of Italian design at the time. This is when obviously Egyptian items were being used as designs within homes, including obelisks and sphinxes. As Western society learnt more about Egypt through the decipherment of the Rosetta Stone, the opening of the Suez Canal and an exhibition of Egyptian artefacts by Belzoni in 1821, the trend for Egyptian design as a fashion continued throughout the 19th century and into the early 20th century.[2] However, during this time much of the Egyptian designs were limited to copies or replicas of large, visible artefacts of Egypt. It was not until the discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamen in 1922 that the styling of Egyptian design began to really influence modern design. The artefacts in Tutankhamen’s tomb were of amazing quality and style, and it is these artefacts that inspired the Art Deco movement. Examples first appeared in architecture such as the Hoover Building in London in 1931/32, which is still around today. Many other aspects of design from this period such as furniture, jewellery, and even clothing were influenced by Egyptian design. However, it was the Art Deco movement that took Egyptian motifs and designs and used them in a different way, rather than exactly copying or reproducing existing designs. [3] The artefacts of Tutankhamen again had an influence on design in the 1970’s as they were exhibited in London. This sparked a renewed interest in Egyptian design and again clothing, furnishing and decorations were created in an Egyptian style. The next section of the paper will look at the general design similarities between Egyptian design, particularly the Tutankhamen artefacts, and the Art Deco movement. Influence of Egyptian Motifs on Art Deco At first glance, the obvious similarity between Egyptian design as seen in Tutankhamen’s tomb and Art Deco design is the use of decoration to cover as many different surfaces as possible. Egyptian designs were highly decorative, and this was a huge influence on the Art Deco movement that used decorative patterns and design elements wherever there was space to do so. [4] However, the term Art Deco itself was not coined until the 1960’s, and in the 1920’s and 1930’s the movement which is later known as Art Deco was more concerned with mixing the glamour of Hollywood with the mystical and spiritual designs of ancient cultures such as Mayan and Egyptian. The concept of Art Deco was to do with forms, shapes and geometric lines which signified the rise of the machine age, the aeroplane and the automobile. However, they also mimicked the geometric patterns found in Egyptian design and hieroglyphs.[5] As 1930’s Britain and America were reaching a more advanced stage than modern society had ever achieved, the style of Art Deco paid homage to this through its use of the Egyptian motifs – the motifs of the ‘pinnacle’ of ancient society. The influence from Egyptian design also had to do with a fascination for the primitive and the primeval of ancient times. The influence of the Tutankhamen artefacts can be seen in the adoption of pharaonic imagery in Art Deco, such as scarabs and cats.[6] An article in Harpers Bazaar in 1928 showed this influence directly by showing women’s accessories of the time against profiled heads of Egyptian females.[7] There was a very clear influence from Egyptian design on the Art Deco architecture in cities like London and particularly Manhattan in the 1930’s. Symbolically, the beginning of the era of skyscrapers is like the looming of the ancient Pyramids. There is a certain sense of mystery in such powerful and dominating structures, and this was certainly part of the Egyptian influence on Art Deco architecture at the time.[8] Other designs in Europe more showed more direct influence from Egyptian design, with pyramid style apartments and buildings being planned in London, New York and Paris as a sign of luxury and sophistication.[9] Hybridism is another area where Egyptian design has influenced Art Deco. Egyptian design was based upon a mix of traditional and contemporary styles, and mixed decorative style with function and purpose. Art Deco also did this by mixing not only Egyptian styles but the styles of other ancient cultures as well as the functionality and precision of modern design.[10] Whilst Egyptian design was a hybrid of designs from the cultures and peoples that were dominated by the ancient Egyptians, so Art Deco was a mixture of the traditional and the modern from all over the world. Egyptian design was also important as a social influence on Art Deco, because the discovery of Tutankhamen and the tomb’s wonderful artefacts represented a time when luxury, mysticism and a ‘golden age’ were occurring. During the 1920’s and 1930’s people were still recovering from the ravages of the First World War, and they wanted to move away from those times of hardship into a new era of peace, fashion and decadence. Egyptian design was a perfect representation of such an era, and this is another reason why the Art Deco designs of the time incorporated Egyptian motifs.[11] The geometric patterns of Art Deco however are perhaps the main focus of the movement’s aesthetic, and came not only from Egyptian design influences but from the influences of Cubism. It was the geometric patterns of Cubism mixed with the decorative aesthetic of Egyptian design that influenced much of the European and American movements of Art Deco during the 1920’s and the 1930’s.[12] A further design aspect of Art Deco influenced by the Egyptian, or at least the perception of Egyptian, design was the concept of feminine style. The 1920’s and the 1930’s were the start of a new era for feminine style after the austere fashions of the early 1900’s. Egypt, with its female gods and female ruling figures, is seen as a barometer of classic feminine elegance and style. Therefore, many of the fashion styles and interpretations of Egypt at the time were based on this idea of femininity. Nowhere can this be better seen than in the 1930’s film version of the story of Cleopatra, where Cleopatra is played by Claudette Colbert. The movie was made on the back of the popularity of Egyptian-inspired Art Deco, or ‘Nile Style’ as it was sometimes referred to in Hollywood circles. Colbert’s image as Cleopatra was far more about current Art Deco style than historic recreation of Egyptian design.[13] She even advertised her hair in a curled ‘Egyptian’ style and endorsed Cleopatra Egyptian-inspired dresses and gowns like those shown in the movie. Even the physical feminine style for women at the time of being tall and thin was similar to historical records of the feminine style preferred in ancient Egypt. Her costumes in the film were influenced by those historically recorded for Isis. Below is an example of this style, showing the influence of Egyptian style on Art Deco even in contemporary movie-making of the time. This may have been a film based on an Egyptian story, but Colbert was known for wearing modern styles even in such movies and this is reflected in the Art Deco Egyptian dress worn. Colbert’s Art Deco Cleopatra Look[14] The Art Deco movement’s use of Egyptian motifs and design was certainly launched fully by the discovery of Tutankhamen’s tomb in 1922, and this set off the recreation and interpretation of Egyptian artefacts and design in almost all areas of art and design. This ranged from costumes such as those designed by Sonia Delaunay, the Egyptian Theatre by Grauman and the biscuit tins of Huntley and Palmer. Some of these designs will be examined more closely in the next section of the essay. What all of these designs share is the sense of decadence, elegance and sophistication that people craved during this era and was expressed through the use of Egyptian motifs.[15] Art Deco architecture was influenced by Egyptian architectural techniques in that it places a certain importance on aesthetics as well as functionality. This makes the architecture closer in some ways to painting or art rather than merely the design of buildings. Art Deco buildings like the Egyptian buildings were highly functional, but not at the cost of style and decoration.[16] Jewellery of the Art Deco period was also greatly influenced by Egyptian design as well. The fascination with Egyptian culture meant that artefacts from Tutankhamen’s tomb were reproduced or at the very least elements of their design were used for highly sought after jewellery pieces. Although Egyptian motifs had been used before this time, this was the first time that they were used to such an extent in modern, fashionable design. Van Cleef and Arpels in Paris set tiny Egyptian figures in coloured stones into a diamond background, and Cartier designed Egyptian-inspired clocks. A heavy use of previous metals such as platinum and gold as well as diamonds became more popular, inspired by the hugely elaborate and stunning gold pieces found in the tomb. However, this type of jewellery became less popular after the 1929 Wall Street crash and cheaper materials were again used.[17] However, not all of the Art Deco movement was influenced so heavily by Egyptian design. The Art Deco movement in Paris was influenced more by the visit of the Russian ballet and the aesthetics that came with their performance. However, in London and New York the scenes, particularly architecture and interior decoration were highly influenced by Egyptian design.[18] However, towards the end of the 1930’s the style started to become less fashionable, and tastes changed. The Art Deco movement though would be revived in Britain in the 1960’s and 1970’s, again when it was heavily influenced by the arrival of the London exhibition of the Tutankhamen artefacts. The first stirrings of the Art Deco revival in London were through retail styles of stores like Biba in Kensington. The ceramic designs of Clarice Cliff were still in high demand, and even the headquarters of MI6 has a number of Art Deco touches in terms of detail and symmetry. [19] However, it was the arrival of the Tutankhamen exhibition in London in 1972 that again sparked a revival of Egyptian-inspired Art Deco style. The sheer excitement and opulence of the exhibition of these world famous treasures meant that Egyptian design once again became fashionable. The exhibition attracted around 1.7 million viewers in its year run and inspired the revival of the Egyptian inspired Art Deco movement that is sometimes referred to as ‘Egyptian Revival Art’.[20] This revival of the Art Deco was also a response to Modernism that had deemed Art Deco too decadent and had replaced the decoration with ‘cleaner’ looks. The Postmodernist architecture and design began to pay homage to the decorative excesses of Art Deco and ornate jewellery, ostentatious sports cars and lacquered furniture once again moved design back towards a more decorative aesthetic.[21] It was almost as if the arrival of the Tutankhamen exhibition sparked a remembrance of the Art Deco style, and this created the first real collecting phase of Art Deco in the UK. Exhibitions and retrospectives began to flourish and the movement was looked at again in a new light. It once again became fashionable as celebrities such as Elton John and Barbra Streisand began to collect Art Deco pieces. [22] We have seen in this section how Egyptian motifs were one of the key elements in the Art Deco movement in the 1920’s. The real spark of inspiration came with the discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamen by Howard Carter in 1922. The decadence and decorative appeal of the artefacts in this tomb appealed to the tastes and fashions of the time and became imbedded in the Art Deco movement. The architecture of New York and London during this period is highly influenced by Egyptian motifs, as well as the furnishings, fashion and art. Although the movement was replaced by Modernism in the 1940’s, the arrival of the Tutankhamen exhibition in London in 1972 once again created a demand for Art Deco designs that were inspired by Egyptian motifs. The next section of this paper will examine some of the key examples of Egyptian motifs within Art Deco design in the 1920’s/30’s and the 1970’s in Britain and how they are inspired by the artefacts found in Tutankhamen’s tomb. Examples of Egyptian Motifs in Art Deco Fashion and Interiors The Egyptian motifs appeared in Art Deco in the 1920’s and 1930’s most prominently in the architecture of Britain and America. In Britain, perhaps the best surviving example of this Egyptian inspiration in Art Deco is the Hoover Building in Perivale.[23] Other good examples still to be seen in London are The Daily Telegraph Building designed by Ernest Elcock (1928-1931). This building has huge, bulging Egyptian columns. Another building of the same era is the Carreras Building in Camden which features an imposing Egyptian colonnade. [24] The Carreras Building is influenced by the Temple of Bubastis, the cat-headed goddess. It had a sense of spaciousness and light to match the mystical feeling of the ancient temple, and was adorned with a wide variety of Egyptian motifs and designs.[25] In America one of the earliest examples was the Egyptian Theatre (1922) by Sid Grauman. However, many of the skyscrapers in New York built during this era have some Egyptian influence – even the famous Empire State Building with its needle-like point and angular edges similar to many of the ‘needles’ found in Ancient Egypt.[26] The rebuilding of San Francisco after the terrible 1906 earthquake was masterminded by Timothy Pfleuger. He built a number of Art Deco buildings including the Castro Theatre and the Telephone Building. Pfleuger mixed all types of ancient cultural influences into his decorative works including Egyptian and Mayan motifs.[27] Interior design was also influenced by the Egyptian motifs from Tutankhamen’s tomb. The Harrods Egyptian escalator hall in London may not be the best example of Art Deco, but it shows how the influence of Egyptian design continues even as art movements change. The designer, William George Mitchell said that he wanted the â€Å"staircase to be a walk-in sculpture, a journey from the Lower Nile to the Upper Nile.†[28] It is also clear that the areas where Art Deco was most prevalent tend to have the most examples of Egyptianized architecture. London has some, but the Art Deco movement was more prevalent in New York and this is where the largest concentration of Egyptianized buildings is located. The influences of Egyptian design could even be seen in the writings of famous literary minds of the time. F. Scott Fitzgerald begins one of his most famous short stories known as ‘May Day’ with a sort of Mock Arabian introduction of how New York will be reborn for the Art Deco. It establishes the importance of exoticism within Art Deco, which is certainly something that Egyptian design can add to the mix.[29] This exoticism can be seen in the jewellery of the time, particularly the high-aesthetics of Cartier. As Bracewell discusses an exhibition at the Victoria and Albert museum on Art Deco, a 1925 vanity case is mentioned as an example of this Egyptian-inspiration in Art Deco. The vanity case is the shape of a sarcophagus, and illustrates the exotic luxury that is synonymous with Egyptian designs in Art Deco pieces. The catalogue option for the vanity case reads as a veritable plethora of luxurious materials and decorative design – Gold, platinum, carved bone, sapphires, emeralds, diamonds, onyxes and enamel; interior with folding mirror, tortoiseshell comb, lipstick holder and cigarette compartment.[30] The Cartier jewellery epitomised both the visual design aspects of Egyptian design in Art Deco, but also the ethos and ideals of the Art Deco movement. The jewellery was decadent, but because it harkened back to the past and primeval culture it was not ostentatious in the same way as the Art Nouveau movement before it. The Cartier brand and its use of precious materials using modern lines, but combined with ancient motifs and symbols, shows the glamour and escapism that Art Deco was trying to create.[31] The furnishings of the time were also examples of the almost Pharoah-esque aesthetics of the Art Deco movement. Two houses in England – Coleton Fishacre and Courthauld house – are excellent examples of the use of luxurious fabrics and different textured materials within Art Deco interior design. The influence from Egyptian design is less obvious here, and is more to do with the luxurious fabrics and importance of aesthetics that are stylistically similar to the ancient Egyptian palatial interiors. Both use clean lines mixed with good colours, sensitive lighting and textured materials to create a tactile environment. The interior of Coleton Fishacre was designed by Basil Ionides, who invoked a Jazz Age feel in the house. Dining rooms contained Lalique lights, and ornate iron framed furnishings. The sea-blue tabletop was clearly influenced by the colours within the Tutankhamen tomb. [32] The initial movement of Art Deco was certainly geared towards the upper classes and incorporated not only the influences from the Tutankhamen tomb but also the improvements in transport technologies and communication. This brought new and exotic materials to the market such as ebony, shark skin, mother of pearl, lacquer and tropical woods. This allowed for experimentation with new and exciting materials, but still paying tribute to the traditional and ancient cultures where they came from. The Egyptian influence was just one of these influences, although perhaps the most striking of all thanks to the artefacts found and the decorative beauty of the items in the tomb. The rise in consumerism reflected the dawning of a new and wonderful age, and so it was only natural that elements of previously successful and respected societies would be included in design. With no society more famed and revered in the ancient world than Ancient Egypt this meant the design elements crept into many of the styles of age including the Chrysler Building by William Van Alen (1927-1930). Just as the pyramids of ancient times were engineering wonders that looked like they could not be built by the hands of humans, the modern skyscrapers of the 1920’s and 1930’s were designed to look like they were made by machines, with their huge heights and angular structures.[33] However, the movement changed somewhat in the later era of Art Deco and the revival in the 1970’s, where again ‘Tutmania’ took over and the demand from the masses for Egyptian inspired design meant that mass production techniques and cheaper materials were now used and the focus was less on luxury and more on the motifs and exoticism of Egyptian design. The designs became more like reproductions of Egyptian designs than inspirations within a distinct movement. Fashion throughout the Art Deco period though was perhaps one of the most heavily influenced areas of design. Delaunay was one such fashion designer of the Art Deco period who was influenced by Egyptian designs. She had always incorporated different styles into her work, including influences from Fauvism, Cubism and ethnic trends. Her career saw her develop from a painter to a designer, and it was in her capacity as a designer that she was involved in costumes for Diaghilev’s version of Cleopatra (1917). Many of the costumes for dancers of this production could not be full recreations of Egyptian clothing, but instead were Art Deco pieces that hinted at Egyptian motifs through the scarves and other accessories for the costumes.[34] However, it must also be shown that there were a number of designers within the Art Deco movement influenced by other designs. Clarice Cliff marked her Art Deco with different ethnic designs, but was perhaps most famous for her use of bold colours and Cubist designs. Although there are certainly some Egyptian influences in Cliff’s work, it was her hybridity and blending of styles in pottery that made her a success in the late Art Deco period, and still makes her work sought-after today. Cliff mixed themes from the Jazz Age and exotic elements of different ethnic cultures with elements of De Stijl and Cubism to create Art Deco pottery that was influenced by everything yet looked like none of the individual influences. The items she created were meant as household items and used materials that were less expensive than the opulence associated with the earlier Art Deco period. However, the concept of hybridity is certainly an idealistic homage to the hybridity seen within the great and Ancient Empires such as the rule of the Egyptians. Their culture mixed together all of the cultures they had observed and the knowledge they had learnt, which was evident in their beautiful but elaborate designs. Cliff’s design mimics this with its use of hybridity, and whilst visually there are few influences in Cliff’s work to Egyptian design, her use of Art Deco hybridity is indirectly influenced by the hybridity of Egyptian design. [35] Virtually all of the major Art Deco designs have some influence from Egyptian design, either through their visual aspects such as Egyptian motifs or through the ideals of hybridity, exoticism, decoration and aesthetics. The designers that have been looked at in this section give a glimpse at both the visual influence of Egyptian design on Art Deco design as well as the idealistic influence. From the deep-sea blues of the table at Coleton Fishacre to the bejewelled sarcophagus-shaped case created by Cartier, Art Deco owes a great deal of its stylistic and visual appeal to Egyptian Design. This is most evident in large cities such as London and New York where the giant architectural monoliths carry the motifs and flourishes of Egyptian design. Whilst Egyptian design was popular before the Art Deco movement, it was the discovery of Tutankhamen’s tomb in 1922 that really influenced the movement. The artefacts found in this collection were so mesmerising and unlike anything seen before that their style was sought-after as an escape from the previous designs of the late 19th century and early 20th century. This link to Egyptian design is not only in the visual aspects but in this ideal of luxury, exoticism and hybridity that epitomises Art Deco. The next section will conclude the paper, and look at the main points of similarity and influence between Egyptian design and Art Deco, and how this is particularly linked to the Tutankhamen artefacts. Conclusion Art Deco’s goal was to break away from the Art Nouveau of the 19th century and break the rule of not paying tribute to past styles, whilst still looking forward. Art Deco did this by looking at truly ancient motifs and styles from Egypt that was at once primeval and dazzlingly modern because of the distance of time between the modern era and the ancient era.[36] The need to move away from the horrors of the First World War and embrace and new, elegant and decadent present meant that the 1920’s were a place where decorative design took precedence. However, it was the discovery of Tutankhamen’s tomb in 1922 by Howard Carter that really caught the imagination of the public and pushed Egyptian design as a major influence for the Art Deco movement. Although the term Art Deco was not coined until the 1960’s[37], the influences of Egyptian design on the movement in the 1920’s and 1930’s can be seen throughout all aspects of design at this time. The Art Deco architecture of New York and London was heavily influenced by Egyptian motifs including the pyramid shapes, the decorative interiors and exteriors and the sheer size and dominating presence of the buildings themselves. The design aspects of furnishings, jewellery and even fashion were influenced by Egyptian design during the Art Deco period. The two styles have similarities in concept and meaning as well as visual appearance, with both styles being a synergy of different styles and techniques from the past and the present. This is why the influence of Egyptian design within Art Deco is so far reaching, with all the different materials and types of design being used in this movement. Also, both movements place the bulk of importance upon decorative aesthetics, with function important but not at the cost of decoration. The use of precious metals, frequent and multiple design elements and geometric designs also match. Even the ideas of femininity were fairly similar as can be seen through Hollywood movies of the time and their use of sleek, tall women wearing clothes that enhanced their appeal as ‘Goddesses’ or powerful, mysterious women. The movement was replaced by modernism in the 1940’s, but it was once again revived in the UK in the 1970’s with the arrival of the London exhibition of the Tutankhamen artefacts. Egyptian-inspired furnishings, decorations, jewellery and fashion became popular, and this era is often dubbed as the ‘Egyptian Revival Movement’. It coincided with a renewed interest in Art Deco, and shows the deep links between the Art Deco movement and Egyptian design not only in visual similarity but in design ideals and principles. In conclusion, the influence of Egyptian design on Art Deco both in the 1920’s/1930’s and the 1970’s was significant, constituting not only a visual influence on the movement but a stylistic and symbolic significance. Although Art Deco’s primary style of geometric patterns and lines was perhaps more heavily influenced by Cubism, the decorative aesthetics of Egyptian design brought many of the design aspects and motifs that we associate with the Art Deco movement. Bibliography 20TH CENTURY LONDON. (2008) Art Deco Style. (Online). Available at: http://www.20thcenturylondon.org.uk/server.php?show=conInformationRecord.72 (Accessed 25th October 2008). BINNEY, M. (2007) Vibrant motifs from the old world found new life in Art Deco. The Times, November 15th, 2007. Available at: http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/specials/tutankhamun/article2864301.ece BRACEWELL, M. (2003) Another Time, Another Place. New Statesman, 132(4631), p. 38+. CHILVERS, I. (1999) A Dictionary of Twentieth-Century Art, Oxford, Oxford University Press. CLOUZOT, H. (1997) Art Deco Decorative Ironwork, Courier Dover Publications. CONDON, S. (2007) How Hollywood manipulates history through costume, University of Portsmouth Dissertation. Available at: http://dissertations.port.ac.uk/179/01/CondonS.pdf CRANFIELD, I. (2001) Art Deco: An Architectural and Interior Design Source Book, Devon, David Charles Publishers. DAWSON, J. (2003) Deco Rationale. The Architectural Review, 214(1275), p. 21+. DOWS, D. (1942) Review of Egyptian Architecture as Cultural Expression by E. Baldwin Smith. American Jo

Oconto, WI vs. Las Vegas, NV :: essays research papers

Oconto, WI vs. Las Vegas, NV   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I currently live in Oconto, WI, but would love to go to Las Vegas, NV. Therefore, I am going to compare these two very different cities in terms of economics. There is great variation in the comparison between Oconto, WI and Las Vegas, NV. Oconto is located in Oconto County and Las Vegas is located in Clark County. Las Vegas has an elevation of 2000 feet, while Oconto is only 591 feet. Oconto has a land area of   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  6.9 square miles, compared to Las Vegas with 113.3 square miles. Also Oconto has only one zip code, but Las Vegas has 36. The population of Oconto, Wisconsin was estimated at 4,751 in July of 2002. Compare this to the estimated population in July 2002 for Las Vegas at 508,604 people. Males made up 48.0% of Oconto’s population at 2,259 and females made up the other 52.0% at 2,449. However, males made up 50.8% of the population in Las Vegas at 243,077 and females made up the remaining 49.2% at 235,357 people. The median resident age for Oconto is 36.9 years. This is fairly close to that of Las Vegas at 34.5 years. Oconto had a median household income of $34,589 in 2000. Again Las Vegas had a fairly close number of $44,069 which was also in 2000. A big difference comes in the median house value between the two cities. Oconto has a value of $69,800 which was in 2000. However, Las Vegas had a value of $137,300 in 2000. The race breakdown between the two cities is also very different. The majority of Oconto is made up of the White Non-Hispanic race at 97.3% of the population. Following are the minorities in Oconto of American Indian at 1.2%, two or more races at 0.9% and Hispanic at 0.8%. By looking at this data it is easy to see that Oconto is not a very culturally diverse town. The majority of Las Vegas is also made up of White Non-Hispanic people at 58.0%. This is considerably lower than Oconto and Las Vegas is made up of many more races than Oconto. Following are the minorities in Las Vegas of Hispanic at 23.6%, Black at 10.4%, other races at 9.7%, two or more races at 4.1%, Filipino at 2.3%, American Indian at 1.5%, Chinese at 0.6%, Other Asian at 0.6%, and Japanese at 0.

Essay --

Damon Perez Mrs. Mcgillivray 8th Grade Science 18 December 2013 Incarceration is the process of being sent to prison. The top 10 reasons people are sent to prison are: larceny, drug possession, public intoxication, fraud, theft, aggravated assault, armed robbery, DUI, homicide, and rape. Women are 20% of people arrested. About 15% of people that are arrested are released within 4 hours or less - and about 66% are released within 48 hours. Some people that are arrested are released on bond - 46%. Some people who are arrested are charged with felonies - 25%, the other people were charged with misdemeanor offenses - 75%. There are differences between prison, jail, and juvenile detention. Prisons are operated by state governments and the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP). They are designed to hold individuals convicted of crimes. People serving long sentences (over a year) go to prison. Jails are most often run by sheriffs and/or local governments. They are designed to hold individuals awaiting trial or are serving short sentences. People serving short sentences (a year or under) go to jail. A youth detention center, also known as a juvenile detention center or, known as juvie, is a secure residential facility for young people. They are called juvenile delinquents. They are waiting court hearings and/or placement in long-term care.(www.BOP.org) There are approximately 1494 prisons in the United States. Jail is where people serve time for the bad stuff they did, a place where a person convicted of a crime is detained. Prison is a place for those convicted of serious crimes. Felony charges are more serious crimes that carry much higher jail time. Misdemeanor charges are still serious crimes just not as dangerous nor se... ...y will schedule a hearing to think about the sentence at a later date. In most felony cases the judge waits for the results of a presentence report, prepared by the court's probation office, before making the sentence. If the defendant pleads not guilty, the judge will proceed to schedule a trial. People charged do not have to prove their innocence. Instead, the government must provide evidence to convince the jury of the person’s guilt. The level of proof in a criminal trial is proof "beyond a reasonable doubt," which means the evidence must be so strong that there is no logical doubt that the person charged committed the crime. (http://www.uscourts.gov/FederalCourts/UnderstandingtheFederalCourts/HowCourtsWork/CriminalCases.aspx) Works Cited: www.fbi.gov www.uscourts.gov www.fedstats.gov www.state.gov www.zellislaw.com www.avvo.com www.wisegeek.com

Directing Television Programs :: Media Entertainment Essays

Directing Television Programs Directing Television programs requires hardwork and dedication and this involves taking some risks about your life too because as a television director you have to work with different people of different characters and when people are on stage performing they have to work according to your directions. People become tense on stage and they sometimes become frustrated easily by being asked to repeat the same thing so many times and some end up losing temper and they can sometime injure the director both emotionally and physically. There is never free time for television directors, instead of paying more attention to the family needs they devote so much time to their work because of the artistic ideology they posses, wherever they are they should be thinking about how they will direct in the next project and what new things to add on that particular program to put a new look hence giving inadequate attention to their partners/family. â€Å"Rafkin recounts how his directing of temperame ntal actors, as he confronted their frustrations and dodged their blows, made life on TV set a world unto itself. Indeed, having a good sense of humor helped him survive three divorces and as many open-heart surgeries ( Alan Rafkin, Tales from TV's Most Prolific Sitcom Director). † Directors hardly find time to rest since some of them work from morning until sunset and they can have problems with their health. According to Joe Michael from early morning news and talk shows, â€Å" Directors of network morning news programs have one of the toughest jobs. They are responsible for directing ten hours of live programming per week, fifty-two weeks a year. It is a formidable challenge, not only because of the sheer quantity of material, but also because of its variety. The 7-9 a.m. morning programs are a grab bag of formats, combining news, interviews, cooking and lifestyle segments, live remotes, and musical performance (Brian Rose 1). In an interview between Larry Auerbach and David Pressman from the Daytime Dramas, they said. â€Å"Directors of soap operas are hard working directors in the entertainment industry. Unlike their counterparts in film and theatre, their activities are not limited to one or two projects a year, with lots of long planning and down time in between. Even the directors of prime time television, who they most closely resemble, still lead a life of comparative ease, with a schedule measured by, at most, a little more than a dozen hours of actual on-air production per season, mixed with repeats and months off a summer vacation. Directing Television Programs :: Media Entertainment Essays Directing Television Programs Directing Television programs requires hardwork and dedication and this involves taking some risks about your life too because as a television director you have to work with different people of different characters and when people are on stage performing they have to work according to your directions. People become tense on stage and they sometimes become frustrated easily by being asked to repeat the same thing so many times and some end up losing temper and they can sometime injure the director both emotionally and physically. There is never free time for television directors, instead of paying more attention to the family needs they devote so much time to their work because of the artistic ideology they posses, wherever they are they should be thinking about how they will direct in the next project and what new things to add on that particular program to put a new look hence giving inadequate attention to their partners/family. â€Å"Rafkin recounts how his directing of temperame ntal actors, as he confronted their frustrations and dodged their blows, made life on TV set a world unto itself. Indeed, having a good sense of humor helped him survive three divorces and as many open-heart surgeries ( Alan Rafkin, Tales from TV's Most Prolific Sitcom Director). † Directors hardly find time to rest since some of them work from morning until sunset and they can have problems with their health. According to Joe Michael from early morning news and talk shows, â€Å" Directors of network morning news programs have one of the toughest jobs. They are responsible for directing ten hours of live programming per week, fifty-two weeks a year. It is a formidable challenge, not only because of the sheer quantity of material, but also because of its variety. The 7-9 a.m. morning programs are a grab bag of formats, combining news, interviews, cooking and lifestyle segments, live remotes, and musical performance (Brian Rose 1). In an interview between Larry Auerbach and David Pressman from the Daytime Dramas, they said. â€Å"Directors of soap operas are hard working directors in the entertainment industry. Unlike their counterparts in film and theatre, their activities are not limited to one or two projects a year, with lots of long planning and down time in between. Even the directors of prime time television, who they most closely resemble, still lead a life of comparative ease, with a schedule measured by, at most, a little more than a dozen hours of actual on-air production per season, mixed with repeats and months off a summer vacation.

Outline and assess the role of the police in the social construction of crime (50 marks) Essay

Social construction refers to the way in which crime and deviance in society might be created and shaped by society and social institutions. This can occur in a number of different ways. For example, they can influence public perception and definitions of what establishes crime and deviance, deviants or non-deviants. They can also influence the amount of crime in society by amplifying it therefore clamping down on it. They can add pressure for changes in legislation which can then alter definitions of crime and can criminalise activities previously regarded as legal. They can also influence the extent, trends and patterns of recorded crime in how they operate. Interactionism is an action approach which views society in a micro perspective. It argues that the definitions of deviance and normality are social constructions and are relative, meaning it will depend on a range of factors such as the time, place and social context in which the act takes place whether the behaviour is defined as a crime or deviant. Marxism is an example of the conflicting view as they argue that the law and social rules reflect the interests of the rich and powerful groups in society who have managed to impose their ideas and way of thinking on the wider population through coercion and ideological control. Therefore they are able to get their assumptions of crime to stick as opposed to the opinions of an ordinary person on the street. Functionalism however argues the consensus view that law and norms about acceptable behaviour in any society are simply a reflection of the wider collective conscience and these laws and social rules are created and enforced to the benefit of everyone. Therefore deviance is behaviour that breaks these agreements on what is acceptable. Functionalists view this defining process as straightforward and objective. The police are an institution that is assigned the duty to enforce the law and take action to those breaking these rules, in order to achieve order and safety in society. They are therefore considered as having a key role in the social construction of crime. The main way the police display this is through the use of discretion in the enforcement of the law. This refers to when police officers have to apply their own judgement to decide which laws are suited for the given circumstance. The choices individual police officers make would be greatly influenced by their own concerns and interests. Colman and German found evidence in their study which showed that there were individual racist police offers who apply the law more harshly to certain ethnic minorities. Reiner also suggested an explanation on the basis of police discretion which refers to culture. It is noted that the police force are overwhelmingly white males. Officers work long hours in each other’s company, being largely isolated from the public. This therefore results in the development of a very specific occupational culture. This is referred to as ‘canteen culture’. Skolnick suggested three of its components. The first being suspiciousness. This talks about the fact that officers, whilst carrying out their training, are taught to discriminate between ‘decent people’ and ‘potential troublemakers’. According to Reiner, they categorise and stereotype certain people as ‘police property’. For example, they regard young males, particularly youths from ethnic minorities as potential troublemakers. A second component is internal solidarity and social isolation. This causes police officers to rely on one another in terms of support when physically threatened and when denying accusations made by the public. Lastly, conservatism refers to those who join the police in the first place are rarely politically radical. However while the job of policing emphasises a non-political attitude, police officers must uphold the law; it also upholds the traditional values and nature of the state. There is a strong sense of conservative values evident in the police. A final component of masculinity was suggested by Graef. He noted how most police officers are male and drawn from the working class. Their culture therefore ultimately reflects traditional working class values of heavy drinking, physical prowess and heterosexuality. Racial stereotyping is also heavily emphasised and linked with assuming the role of the police officer. Cicourel attempted to discover what deviance is by examining the way in which some acts and individuals become defined or labelled as deviant. Cicourel therefore looked how a young person is defined as delinquent. The first stage is a police officer deciding to stop and interrogate the individual based on meaning held by the policy about what is ‘suspicious’ or ‘unusual’. These can be related to particular geographical areas for example. If the individual portray themselves as the ‘typical delinquent’ in ways they speak and in their demeanour, they are more likely to be arrested. The second stage applies if the young person has been arrested, resulting in being referred to a juvenile (probation) officer. The suspect’s background is then looked at. Coming from a ‘broken home’ and showing bad attitude towards authority are factors that would increase the likeliness of them being charged with an offence. Cicourel identifies how social classes can alter the way the juvenile probation officer would consider their choice of action. When a middle class juvenile is arrested they are less likely to be charged with an offence due to their background not fitting the typical criteria of a delinquent. Moreover, middle class parents are better able to negotiate successfully on their child’s behalf. Due to this, middle class juvenile is often defines as ‘ill’ or accidently straying from the path of righteousness, allowing them the chance to reform. Middle class juvenile are more likely to be released with just a warning. Cicourel concluded that justice is negotiable and his theories reveal the power and control both the police and the juvenile probation officer have over a young individual’s life. This therefore implies that it is these two agents who contribute towards the social construction of crime as they are given the authority to select certain individuals and undergo the process of labelling them as deviant. Taylor, Walton and Young however criticise Cicourel’s conclusion as he fails to explain how subjective meanings held by the police and juvenile probation officers of the ‘typical delinquent’ originate in the first place. Marxists agree with considering the police as a key agent in social construction of crime and deviance but they believe it reflects the ideology of ruling class. Gordon argues that crime is rational and individuals must fend for themselves in order to survive. This is particularly true of the American poor as America has minimal welfare services compared to many other advanced societies. Gordon stated that most crimes in the USA share the similarity of representing rational responses to the competitiveness and inequality of life in capitalist societies. Gordon argues the law enforcers in the USA support the capitalist system in three ways. Firstly they select members of the subject class and punish them as individuals – they are viewed as ‘social failures’ and responsible for their criminal activities. By placing this focus on an individual, it draws away from capitalism which is primarily responsible for their criminal deviance. Secondly the imprisonment of members of the subject class is a way of eliminating those who may have shown opposition to the capitalist society – reducing the opposition of the system. Finally by imprisoning the criminals who are ‘enemies of the state’, they are sweeping away an embarrassing extreme outcome of capitalist society. If something was done to help these people, if their difficult situations were made public then it would throw doubt on the capitalist society – as it produced them initially. This reflects the idea that enforcers of the law serves to maintain ruling-class power and ideology. Therefore suggesting that the police and courts exert their power and control to further strengthen the ruling class and continue to force submission of the subject class. The laws and the ideas of crime and punishment are argued to have been constructed based on the ruling class’ preferences. It is also argued that the police are not a significant factor of the social construction of crime and the informal agent of social control which is media has a greater influence. The media shape wider social definitions of what is criminal and deviant. They can also configure the public’s perceptions and fears in terms of what they choose to report and how they choose to represent this. This therefore implies that what is considered as deviant is linked to the influence that the media has on the public, causing them to react in a certain way. The police can therefore be argued as just victims of the media as it pressures them to act against these negative social groups which have been categorised as public enemies, and if they don’t choose to take action, the reputation of the police could be threatened. ‘Moral panics’ is a concept used to describe the media’s reactions to particular social groups or acts that threaten societal values. Their reaction is often out of proportion to the real threat and puts pressure on authorities to control the problem. Marxists believe that moral panics serve an ideological purpose. Stuart Hall studied the media coverage of black muggers in the 1970s and concluded that it served the purpose of dividing the working class, diverting attention away from the mismanagement of capitalism by the ruling class and justified severely restrictive laws and policing that could be used against other problem groups. Stuart Hall’s theory however is criticised for being too deterministic and ignoring the centre of activity. Functionalists would argue the influence of the role of police in the social construction of crime is wrongly exaggerated. They would describe the police as having a close relationship with the local area being policed. Therefore the role of the police force is being to represent the shared interests of the majority of law abiding people to defend them against the minority of offenders. They would disagree that the enforcements made by the police are revolved around the interests of the ruling class as they argue that police officers are drawn up from the community therefore ultimately reflecting its characteristics. They also believe that individual offenders are caught as a result of complaints made by the community not due to the individual police officer’s view and attitudes affecting the decision.

Barbie Doll Marge Piercy

The title of this poem immediately underscores its thematic concerns. ‘Barbie’ is not just a toy for girls but has become a cultural icon of developed America. The doll is the archetype and symbol of the perfect American girl who has physical appeal and wealth. She is the prime example of feminine qualities and beauty. Yet as we read on, Piercy’s description of the young girl is vastly different. She seems, unlike Barbie, to have â€Å"a great big nose and fat legs. † The young girl, however, is entrapped by society’s definitions of beauty here exemplified by Barbie doll.By consistently contrasting the ideal and the real, Piercy created a dark poem about a girl’s suicide because of social pressures to be Barbie-beautiful. The theme of the poem is distinct: Piercy is alluding to the impossible conditions of beauty in the modern world and how the desire for such unattainable ideals can lead to death. It also very much about subscribing to social beliefs of femininity, of what it is to be a ‘woman,’ and not just about physical beauty.The dark and ominous atmosphere in the poem is set by the descriptive details of the poem and the consequent mood that is set by the tone. Piercy employs a matter-of-factly way to describe the details of a fat girl and her growing up years. Yet the choice of images employed is unique and powerful for they evoke images of childhood. â€Å"Dolls that did pee-pee and miniature GE stoves and irons and wee lipsticks the color of cherry candy† evoke innocence in the playthings of childhood but these images are immediately contrasted with the girl’s â€Å"big nose and fat legs.† This occurs again in stanza two where the girl is described as a â€Å"healthy† and â€Å"intelligent† girl almost full of potential, â€Å"abundant sexual drive and manual dexterity. † The positive physical image of this young pubescent girl is shattered at the end of the stanza for she needed to feel bad about herself for having a â€Å"fat nose on thick legs. † Such a contrasting descriptive method is one of the ways that Piercy employs to underscore the irony of the poem even more.The sardonic tone that Piercy uses is most blatant in the final two stanzas. Here, we see a girl who has been compelled to subscribe to false social beliefs of looking like a ‘barbie doll. ’ She needs to â€Å"play coy,† exercise, diet, smile and wheedle. † These are archetypal images of femininity. Here, Piercy moves beyond a description of physical beauty but one of social expectations of femininity. The girl is compelled to follow social norms of what it is to be female both physically and socially.The opening stanza, with its images of dolls, stoves, and lipsticks also reveal the same intentions of how from a young age the girl is compelled to buy into a social definition of what a ‘female’ is. The poem becomes much dark er and Piercy’s sardonic tone and scornful attitude towards such social belief becomes much stronger in the final stanza where she employs irony powerfully. The girl is described as having taken her own life for â€Å"she cut off her nose and her legs and offered them up.† In the final stanza, she is described as looking pretty â€Å"dressed in a pink and white nightie† and having a â€Å"turned-up putty nose. † Here, the image is one of a barbie doll. The girl has been transformed into the image she could not attain in life and could only do so in death. This is a chilling thought that Piercy is attempting to communicate to readers – women die trying to achieve impossible notions of beauty and perhaps the only way to do so is in death. Such a reading is certainly accentuated by the final lines of the poem â€Å"Consummation at last. To every woman a happy ending.† The happy ending can seemingly only be found in death. The lines in this stan za are then charged with irony and the irony evokes a sense of sadness and shock. There is no real happy ending for although she does finally for her quest for beauty and perfection is consummated she dies in the process. The poem thus echoes with how society often compels women to subscribe to expectations of what is feminine – like a Barbie doll. It also thereby reveals the very misplaced qualities that society holds with regards to women. Women are objectified as dolls and playthings.