Shahzia Sikander

When finding a definition for ‘art’ the only phrase that comes to my mind is the expression of one’s creative skill and imagination. The word imagination brings out this thought of largeness and expressiveness to me and therefore when viewing a large painting, one immediately gets drawn towards it and tries to create a connection with the painting. Shahzia Sikander was an artist who was known for her embrace of miniaturist paintings in the Indo-Persian style.To many, miniature paintings seemed somewhat restrictive because of the space present for the artists to express themselves and are also looked at as a â€Å"faded genre that had more to do with craft and technique than genuine expression†(Bhaha, Homi). But according to me, Sikander’s artwork successfully portrayed her thoughts and helped us gain knowledge about her culture.What attributes to making her paintings so acknowledged is the way her artwork embodies not only her culture but also  "works across diverse cultural references – Hindu, Christian, Classical, mythological and folkloric† (Rachel Kent). When talking about ‘elements of narrative’ in artwork, I feel that one is referring to the way in which the particular artwork is portrayed and the techniques that the artist has used to portray his/her skill and imagination. Viewing all of Sikander’s artwork, the one element that is seen as having and influence on all her works of art is her cultural background.Her adoption of the miniaturist tradition took place while she was studying at the National College of Arts in Lahore, Pakistan where this form of art was seen as an â€Å"unconventional choice that conjured associations with imperialism on one hand and, on the other, deeply rooted local traditions of story-telling and popular mythology† (Rachel Kent). One of the reasons that it felt like story telling and popular mythology to me was because when viewing each painting, it felt like one was viewing a page from a book.The paintings looked flat like a page but at the same time contained layers within which gave them depth. One particular artwork of hers that gives me this impression is â€Å"Writing the Written† (2000). In all her works and this one in particular one can see how â€Å"she explored compositional constructs such as repetition, the placement of color across the surface of the work, the use of a flattened, stacked perspective and the relationship between image and border† (Rachel Kent). Repetition is seen a lot in â€Å"Writing the Written†, whether it is the repetition of certain symbols of just design.The most important factor to keep in mind when analyzing Sikander’s artwork is the size of each piece. Each miniature painting is not more than 8 x 51/2 inches, which is just like analyzing a painting that has been printed on an A4 sized paper. Viewing a painting so small can make us see the artist in a completel y different light because as the audience, we are usually not used to being able to glance at a whole painting at one time, and by this I mean that our eyes are usually used to moving around, moving to different corners of the painting since we relate the size of majority of paintings to being large.When viewing â€Å"Writing the Written† for the first time, the first thing that caught my eyes was the repetition of horses in the boarder. Since I am of Hindu religion, the whole painting felt like Sikander was trying to tell her audience a story about the Hindu culture. The horse is linked to the Hindu god Varuna that shows how Sikander is incorporating mythology in her artwork. Also, the focus of this painting seems to be the two figures that are placed somewhat in the center of the painting, which to me represents the Hindu gods Krishna and Radha.Considering that this is a miniature painting, it doesn’t seem ‘small or simple’ in any way because there is so much going on in it. The blurred circle in the center is what got me thinking because in the article â€Å"Intimate Immensity†, Rachel Kent mentioned, â€Å"historically, the circle invited a range of associations. It is at once a complete unit, unbroken at any point so without a beginning or end; a spiritually changed symbol across cultures, associated with the continuity of the life cycle†.But I felt like by using the circle to blur out the faces she was in some way referring to the problems that Muslim women have to face everyday. In an interview by Homi k Bhabha, Sikander mentions that even for her such things as the veil that she uses a lot in her work, remains exotic. She states that the first time that she put one in her work everyone reacted strongly. So when looking at the blurred faces in her painting I felt like she was trying to portray how Muslim women are forced to hide their faces from the rest of the world. Images within images, borders within borders; all form active constituents in Sikander’s art of transformation†(Rachel Kent). This technique of Sikander’s is seen in a lot of her artworks especially in â€Å"Writing the Written† where at ones first glance of the painting it seems like there are three different frames to it and this to me makes the painting look layered and gives it some form of depth. The outer most layer is that of the border with the horses imprinted on it, the second layer consists of the two blurred figures and the third layer is that of the backdrop.The tiny blue circles that start of big on the outer most layer and then gradually become smaller as they move towards the inner most frame better represent this depth that Sikander is trying to portray. According to me it is quite difficult to analyze every aspect of Sikander’s paintings because there always seems to be so much going on. One of the reasons that I feel this way is also because of the way she represents movemen t in her paintings. In â€Å"Writing the Written†, the movement is solely portrayed by the various horses.First, the way she draws them in different directions on the outer most border and then by the single house that is shown jumping on the top left edge of the painting. At first, when I read the title â€Å"Writing the Written† I didn’t necessarily understand why she would give the painting that name but then I started notice the writing on the outer most border which seemed like Arabic to me. In an interview Sikander says, â€Å"The text becomes more like horses or there’s the suggestion of movement, and that aspect is my experience of reading the Koran where I would read it with no particular understanding because I was a child.I could read Arabic, but I couldn’t understand it and the memory of it is this amazing visual memory where the beauty of written words supersedes everything else† (Bhabha, Homi). One can see that Sikander used th e Arabic words for the beauty of the language rather than the meaning behind the words. Through these minor details we can see how Sikander incorporates different cultures her painting rather than being this ‘traditional’ artist that many consider her to be.Seeing that Sikander’s artwork consisted of so many traditional figures and symbols, many considered her artwork as that of a traditional Muslim artist who I trying to portray the different between the East and West to her audience. But seeing how she incorporated cultures such as Islamic, Arabic and Hindu in her painting â€Å"Writing the Written†, it seems like she is trying to â€Å"bring together the difference between the East and the East, the nearest difference, the intimacy of difference that can exist within any culture† (Rachel Kent).It took me a while to understand the complexity of her miniature paintings, but in the end I feel that they are as expressive and creative as any other â⠂¬Ëœlarge’ painting because of the addition of intricate details and the incorporation of various cultures. Bibliography Bhabha, Homi. â€Å"ESSAY: THE RENAISSANCE SOCIETY. † SHAHZIA SIKANDER. Web. 20 Nov. 2011. . Rachel Kent, â€Å"Intimate Immensity: Shahzia Sikander’s Multi-Dimensional Art,† Shahzia Sikander, pp. 11-25.

Bread Givers By Anzia Yezierka

The correct date of the birth of Anzia Yezierka is not know but it was in between 1880 or 1885 in a village in Poland. Her father being a Talmudic scholar could not earn therefore the family was living on the money her mother was earning by selling peddling goods and also from the neighbors contribution that were thrilled they way the entire family was being run without her father earning anything. THE NOVEL BREAD GIVERS Her story Bread Givers is based upon the life of a 10 year old American Jewish female who is doing stuff beyond her age.This story is about Sara Smolinksky. She lives with her father Reb Smolinsky, her mother Shenah Smolinsky and her three sister Mashah, Bessie and Fania in a East side apartment in New York. The story opens with the mentioning of the family who are very poor with five women who are besieged for cash just to survive and the man of the house Reb Smolinsky is only concerned with studying the sacred text of Jews. The family is about to starve. Saraâ€⠄¢s elder sisters Fania, Bessie and Mashah are jobless and Mashah spends what money she has on herself just to make her beautiful.The man of the house Reb Smolinsky sits at home all day long, just reading the holy books of Jews and confiscating whatever money his daughters bring home, and this is his duty as a father. When Sara’s mother Shenah Smolinsky shows hopelessness over the entire condition, the youngest daughter Sara goes to the outside world to make some money for the family by selling herring. Than later her elders sisters also find some jobs and Shenah (their mother) gives the second room on rent which somewhat enhances the financial position of the family.Well behaved and quite Bessie soon starts to love a young man name Berel Berenstein. She asks him to come home for dinner. The entire family is happy for Bessie other than her very own father, who thinks that he won’t be able to survive as Bessie was bringing the most money. Berel wants to get married to B essie with nothing in return but her father says that Berel should give money for the whole wedding and also set him a business. This offer is refused by Berel and he goes out of the house. Later he asks Bessie to leave her father and marry him; this offer is rejected by Bessie.Berel gets engaged to another girl, which crushes Bessie’s heart. The next daughter to find love is Mashah. Her love is also believed to be inappropriate by her father. Her love is from a rich family who is a piano player by the name of Jacob Novak. Reb Smolinsky totally disapproved and somehow blackmails Jacob so that he may stay away from Mashah for numerous days thus breaking her heart. Later Jacob asks for pardon which Mashah does not give him and asks her father to kick him out of the house. Fania’s lover is also disapproved by her father who happens to be a poet who is poor.His name is Morris Lipkin. Morris is shown the door by Fania’s father again. Reb Smolinsky than finds his own suitors for his three daughter which makes them all sad. The youngest daughter Sara watches all of this and is very angry at her father because what he has done to her elder sisters, but because of she being a girl and her tender age leaves her helpless. Reb Smolinsky spends almost his entire life ready the Torah and other Holy Jewish books. He is living in his own world where there is only religion, a place which is highly unsuited with what the rest of his family are living.His entire day and night are mainly concerned on the assurance of heaven and contributing generous assistance to other people, which makes him not to realize that on Earth, a man needs to assure that his family are being fed before the strangers. When on a holy work, men seem to be kind and good and also they value the significance of the study, he tries to explain this knowledge to the outside world where sometime people do not even care what your reason is for not giving them anything and try to deceive you t hrough any means. The thing which is most damaging not only to him but also the outside world is he being extremely knowledgeable.He takes this the wrong way and thinks that the outside world is as knowledgeable as he is and at times makes some rather silly decision without consulting his wife who is more sensible. After his decisions thought to be badly made, he does not accept it and makes the decision to be more shameful rather than admitting that he was wrong about it. In Spite of the numerous warnings by Mrs. Smolinsky, her husband Reb takes all the money which he had gotten from Bessie’s marriage and invests into a grocery store which the last owner had fake stock kept all over. He is double crossed. Mrs.Smolinsky and Sara must again act quickly to survive and each day they get more anger from Reb. A day comes when Sara loses it and runs away and decides that she wants to become a teacher. She decides to stay with her sister Mashah or Bessie but because of a bad marriag e and being too poor she does not. She gets her own private room which is dirty and small. She finds a job in a laundry shop to pay for the room and her nights are used up in either taking classes or studying. The main motivating force in the life of Sara is to find her own description of light that she sees glowing from her father.When she was a child she desired for anything that would motivate her, like the poetry of Morris Lipkin did sometimes. She dreamt of becoming a teacher when she was just a teen, so that all of the eyes are focused on her like they are on her father when he is preaching. She manages to find books which motivate her day after day. She later gives up Max Goldstein as because of him she would have left her education, she calms herself by saying that this sacrifice by her is like the rejection of the world’s success by her father to better study the Torah.When she gets to know that what is meant by inner light, the first thing that comes in her mind tha t this she would like to share with her father, thinking that he is the one who will understand what she is thinking. She decides that she wants to gain knowledge more than anything else in the world and she gives her entire time and force to obtain that knowledge like her father does when he is studying his books. In her mission to find internal light, Sara is perfects her logic of fury at the unfairness by many people.Even though she has no sort of man backing, still she is tough to be angry at a restaurant cook who gives her a less amount of meat only due to the fact that she is a woman. She is also angry at Jacob and Berel for breaking her sister’s heart and her hate for her father starts when she sees that he is denying them a life of their own. This fighting of injustice is what makes Sara and her father to reunite again and this is motivated by the promise of her mother to take care of her father when she is lying on her death bed.When she sees the way his new wife is treating her father, she decided to live with her father under the same house. The light of her father seems to be finishing but only Sara knows that it is vital that it should be lit. The path that Sara chooses is not easy. She faces favoritism for being a woman and also because she is living alone, her fellow employees shuns her, her mother wants her to come back, her elder sisters who are unhappy with their life want Sara to find herself a husband.Sara is very lonely and when she meets a friend of Fania, whose name is Max Goldstein, she thinks of getting married to him but later refuses as she comes to know that Max is not interested in her but her possessions. When her father hears about this, he is so angry at Sara that he quickly says that Sara is no longer his daughter. For Sara another fight is her College besides the loneliness and poverty she faces, but Sara wants to live a good, clean and a beautiful life like the people who are around her.She later graduates and finds a job at a New York school. She gets a good salary and with that she buys better clothes, rents a bigger and better apartment. But this ends quickly as she gets to know that her mother is sick. Even though her mother is on the sick bed, her father married another women Mrs. Feinstein who is a widow living upstairs. She is a cruel woman who decides to take money from her new stepchildren. All of the Reb’s four daughters decide to stop talking to their father. Due to her unanticipated poverty, Mrs.Feinstein writes a letter to the principal of the School where Sara is working. The principal, Hugo Seelig after reading the letter becomes more close to Sara and their friendship turns into love after they get to know that they share the same cultural heritage. This relationship helps Sara to get rid of her loneliness and after finding her happiness she decides to go back to her father, Hugo agrees with her and the novel ends with Hugo and Sara inviting Reb Smolinsky to live with them, thus making Sara’s life a happy one. Conclusion:This novel by Anzia Yezierska is based on fiction; the story of the Jewish family of the Smolinsky’s is quite the same which in reality was faces by many Jews who traveled from the Eastern part of Europe. This story tells how did Sara a young girl to struggle and than gained what she always wanted to gain. This novel tells that good knowledge is essential. It is important that you look after your family besides doing religious preaching. This story tells us that if your strong from the inside than you can overcome anything in this world. Conclusion †¢ Yezierska, Anzia. Bread Givers Publisher: Persea Books; New Ed edition (May 1

Sample of Job Advert, Job Description and Person Specification

Job advert KANE Kane ltd. is a family business company with 8 local outlets for clothing. Aside the 8 outlets, they also have an office in San Gwann. The company is recruiting people as: CUSTOMER CARE OFFICER (REF: 71193) The candidate should have at least 6 O’Levels including Maltese, English and another language, 2 years experience in this job role, be well organised, be responsible, be good to work in a group as well as working on their own, have ECDL, have good communication skills and are willing to work. Good conditions are given to the selected candidate as well as bonuses every June and December.Applicants should send their CV attached with an application letter by not later than 30th December 2012 to: [email  protected] COM or send via mail to: Mr. T. Bajada HR Manager Main Street San Gwann Job description KANE CUSTOMER CARE OFFICER (REF: 71193) The person having this job will have several duties such as taking telephone calls, taking messages, dealing with callers, filing, photocopying, assisting to the customer care co-workers and assistant and report to the customer care manager Mr. J. Schembri. This is a clerical job on level 2 and the selected candidate is to work in the new building in San Gwann.The customer care officer will have responsibilities such as: ? Answering telephone calls ?Taking messages ?Dealing with callers ?Filing ?Photocopying ?Typing reports ?Sending reports to the manager to let him know about complaints ? File reports in appropriate files ?Type, send and receive emails ?And other duties The customer care officer has to work with other customer care officers as well with the customer care manager. The applicant must have O’Level standard of education, preferably Maltese, English and another language and have ECDL.Name of complier: Roxanne Bartolo – HR Assistant Name of approver: Ms. P. Pace – HR manager Date of issue – 3rd December 2012 Person specification KANE CUSTOMER CARE OFFICER (REF: 7 1193) Post title: customer care officer (Ref: 71193) Grade: clerical level 2 Date: 3rd December 2012 CRITERIA ESSENTIAL DESIRABLE Qualifications ?O’Levels – English ? – Maltese ? – Another language ? ?ECDL ? Experience ?2 years experience ? Social aptitudes ?Multi-tasking ? ?Responsible ? ?Typing ? Temperament and personality ?Calm ? ?Smart personality? Personal circumstances ?Fulltime ? ?Can work over time ?

The Life and Adventures of Joaquin Murrieta Essay

The Life and Adventures of Joaquin Murrieta - Essay Example This is the case with Joaquin Murieta who despite being a bandit is also depicted as being an honorable man as seen in the manner in which he shows acts of kindness especially for those people who are marginalized or poor in society. An incident where Murieta is shown being kind is where he demands that a ferryman ferries his gang across a river and give him all his money (Ridge 64 - 65). When Murrieta realizes that the ferryman only has a hundred dollars, he tells him to keep his money and pays him the full costs of ferrying the gang across the river. In this way, Murieta is shown to be a man sensitive to the plight of the poor, and it is likely that it is as a result of his having been raised in an environment of poverty which forced him to come north to California in order to make his fortune. The portrayal of Murieta, despite being a bandit, is one where he is depicted as being a very likeable individual as seen through the way that most individuals in the towns he ventures into do not consider him a threat. Instead, he is a man who is quite well liked with friend in almost all towns he visits who often warn him of anyone who is hunting him. It seems that it is as a result of the numerous friendships that he has developed all across California that Murieta is always a step ahead of those who hunt him. As a person who is considered to be a hero, he is constantly being protected by his friends in various towns who do not wish him to be captured. His likeable nature is part of the characteristics that make him a hero because despite living in banditry, he is an individual who seeks to always do the right thing at all times. Murieta is shown to be a man who has a very complicated personality in such a way that while he kills, he only does so in self-defense or in situations where he has suffered betrayal from people that he

Impact of Advertising on Tweens Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Impact of Advertising on Tweens - Essay Example On the other hand, authors such as Young(90), Roedder (1981) argue that children are nave & need protecting from exploitation. They are criticized by Gunther & Furnham (1998), Mc Neal (1999). The opponents of advertising claim that ads make children materialistic, it stifles creativity fosters conflict between parents and their children, develops cynical attitudes. [Greenberg & Brand,1993; Liebert (1986), Pollay (1986), Churchill & Moschis (1979), Moschis & Chuchill (1979), Moschis & Moore(1982), Ward & Wackman (1971); Goldberg & Gorn (1978)] Initial bibliography: see Appendix A Research QUESTIONS Based on the polarities found in the literature review, this research will try to present a balanced and informed view of the issue by answering the following research questions: Does marketing/advertising impacts buying behavior and brand awareness on tweens; does it contribute to "Pester-Power" Is consumerism and materialism reduced by restricting or removing direct exposure to advertising or marketing influences What is the role of peer pressure - edges, persuaders, followers etc. What is the role of parents as consumer socialization agents At what age do children understand persuasive and /or commercial intent How do children decode and process the sensory information delivered via the advertising medium and whether empiric models can be used to evaluate this decoding What kind of challenges (re: advertising) does the multi channel/multi media environment present to children Research Design The method of research chosen for this dissertation is quantitative. Since the focus will be primarily on the impact of TV advertising, quantitative techniques will be most useful. A questionnaire can help to measure...[Greenberg & Brand,1993; Liebert (1986), Pollay (1986), Churchill & Moschis (1979), Moschis & Chuchill (1979), Moschis & Moore(1982), Ward & Wackman (1971); Goldberg & Gorn (1978)] Since the focus will be primarily on the impact of TV advertising, quantitative techniques will be most useful. A questionnaire can help to measure variables such as media exposure, peer relationships and other socioeconomic factors; central to the dissertation. The questionnaire should be administered to children in year 4-8 in a variety of schools (state, private, boarding & day) in rural, urban and suburban areas in the South of England. The children's ages ranging from 8-13 years. Children of this age were chosen, not only because within this age range they are deemed to be 'Tweens', but also this age group corresponds with Piaget's concrete operational stage of development and they would also be deemed 'cued processors' (Roedder 1981). Research on how advertising may or may not influence children to buy or ask for certain goods and products i.e. 'Pester Power' has been carried out using various methods.

Competence based assessment Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

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Epstein-Barr Virus and the disease it causes Infectious Mononucleosis Research Paper

Epstein-Barr Virus and the disease it causes Infectious Mononucleosis - Research Paper Example The research paper "Epstein-Bar Virus and Infectious Mononucleosis" is directed to review the main symptoms, causes, and reasons of persistent Eppstein-Barr virus infection, the connection between viremia and manifestation of Infectious mononucleosis, as a typical disease among children and youngsters. The author mentions that EBV is a gamma-group herpes virus, and it occurs worldwide and can affect any person at all points of the lifecycle. Once the virus infects a human, it can remain with them for their entire life, and one of the most significant aspects of the virus is that it has been associated with numerous diseases, most commonly with infectious mononucleosis. The EBV genome is made up of double-stranded and linear DNA molecule, which has a length of 184 kb. Its genome encodes for approximately one hundred proteins, most of which are critical in viral DNA replication, viral genes regulation, monitoring how the immune response of the human responds to the virus, and provision of structural elements of the virion.IM may be suspected and diagnosed based on the presented symptoms and signs, a physical examination to check for enlarged spleen, liver, tonsils, and lymph nodes, and the duration of the symptoms. Lab tests are normally not required but, in case additional confirmation is needed, some of the more common ones include the antibody test to check antibodies for EBV, although this test may require a longer time. Finally, specific treatment has not been invented yet, that makes this disease some kind of challenge for modern medicine.