High-heeled shoes: A cultural artifact

        When high-heeled shoes are mentioned in American society, the references are to shoes that literally raise the heels of one’s foot.  Heels are commonly referred to as, stilettos, pumps, kitten heels, wedges, kinky boots and even the legendary stripper heel.  Predominantly, heels are associated with feminine characteristics and female sexuality.  Although there are males who partake in the heels phenomena, such as male drag queens, this critique will focus on the cultural impact of heels on the role of women in society.  High-heeled shoes are commonly known to be uncomfortable after wearing them for a varying period of time.  However, the question remains, why do women choose to continue wearing heels if it hurts to wear them?  It transcends the notion of simply following the “fashion must-haves” trend, but instead incorporates how societies have been shaped to believe the sexualized message of heels and what this message offers to a woman’s image. 

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High-Heeled Shoes: A Cultural Artifact

Dance as a Political Movement

Alvin Ailey

           Dance is not normally associated with themes of politics, economics or other areas of the world that can dissociate itself with feelings.  When one attends a theater production, he or she is usually attempting to escape from reality and witness magic on stage.  Yet, dance is much more complex than it appears.  Dance is a cultural movement and one can read dance and its physical movement as cultural artifacts.  If one views dance in an academic perspective, dance can be perceived to have a particular purpose, “a form of social organizer, reinforcing societal norms within the contexts of celebrations or mating rituals” (Cohen-Stratyner 121). 

Donald McKayle

Probing further, the creators of dance works are automatically incorporating their own cultural experiences of the time they are living in.  Thus, several years following the development of a piece he or she created, the choreography documents a historic time from the perspective of one person’s cultural understanding of the time period.  Not only does one need to understand the cultural issues and contestations of the time, but one should also approach the choreography as an emotional experience with relevance to the time it was created to add upon his or her own cultural understanding (Sklar 31).  

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Dance as Political Movement

                                                                                                       

Google Images:
http://thepharaohsden.blogspot.com/2009/09/donald-mckayle.html
http://www.bet.com/News/Photos/News_Photos_BHM_BlackIcons.htm?i=14

The Impact of the Relationship between Matisse and Picasso

Henry Matisse, Bathers with a Turtle, 1908

Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso crossed paths within the ‘art world’ several times before being officially introduced to each other through the mutual patronage of a family of Americans, the Steins.  From the beginning, Matisse and Picasso were competing for attention toward their works of art.  The age difference also played a part in the rivalry between Matisse and Picasso, who were eleven years apart.  Matisse, being the elder, was sensitive to the fact that despite the age difference Picasso was going to be in competition with him not only for the patronage of the Steins but also within the world of modern art. 

Pablo Picasso, Three Women, 1908

Matisse and Picasso both primarily relied on reality as their core base for subjects in their paintings, and although they each painted similar subjects, the depiction of these subjects were different.  This difference inspired the artists to paint more exuberant paintings, each trying to gain more attention from the viewers in their different styles.  Therefore, this influence that Matisse and Picasso had on each other not only triggered the flow of creativity but it began the rivalry between them.  

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The Impact of the Relationship between Matisse and Picasso

 Images:

http://arthistory.about.com/od/from_exhibitions/ig/cezanne_and_beyond/cab_pma_09_11.htm

http://www.writedesignonline.com/history-culture/postimpressionism.htm