brookeannmason

Gerrymandering: To Reform or Not to Reform?

Gerrymandering is the act of dividing up district maps in a way that benefits one political party by giving them the majority and detrimental to the other by giving them the minority in as many districts as possible (“Gerrymander”). On election day, Michigan residents will have the opportunity to vote on Proposal 2, an initiativeContinue reading “Gerrymandering: To Reform or Not to Reform?”

Gentileschi & Velazquez: Status in the Art World

Both Artemesia Gentileschi’s Self-portrait as the Allegory of Painting and Diego Velazquez’s Las Meninas send a message to the viewer about their role as a painter in society.[i] [ii] For each of them, it’s clear they wanted to portray their respective status and that they were talented and well-connected.[iii] [iv] For example, in Gentileschi’s self-portrait,Continue reading “Gentileschi & Velazquez: Status in the Art World”

Dancing on Their Graves: The Paranoid Style, Watergate and the Popularization of Political Scandal

Political scandal has colored the front page of newspapers consistently for decades, and even more so in the past few years. The obsession over being on the “right side” has polarized the entire country and the actions of our leaders reflect back onto us, bleeding out into the rest of the world. Nearly every newsContinue reading “Dancing on Their Graves: The Paranoid Style, Watergate and the Popularization of Political Scandal”

Jose Antonio Vargas Speaks at Georgia State, Highlights Campus Protests

Pulitzer-prize winning Jose Antonio Vargas spoke at Georgia State University about his life as a working journalist and undocumented immigrant, highlighting the protests organized by undocumented students on the Georgia State campus earlier this month. Vargas’ impassioned speech was centered upon the frustration of life in the United States as an undocumented immigrant and howContinue reading “Jose Antonio Vargas Speaks at Georgia State, Highlights Campus Protests”

Formal Analysis: Picasso’s “The Old Guitarist”

Pablo Picasso’s The Old Guitarist is oil on panel, and about 48 inches by 32 inches. It was painted between 1903 and 1904 when Picasso was 22 years old. Picasso painted this during the Blue Period of his life. The painting is of an old, fatigued man playing the guitar. The painting is mainly madeContinue reading “Formal Analysis: Picasso’s “The Old Guitarist””