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Post by Mr. Vitale on Jul 7, 2015 16:43:07 GMT
Write your responses to the essay "Georgia O'Keeffe" by responding to this thread.
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Post by cassfletcher on Jul 9, 2015 15:43:09 GMT
Art is one of my favorite subjects because I enjoy expressing what is on my mind with pictures and color. Georgia O'Keeffe was an artist but not a certain kind of artist. She was her own kind of artist. Joan Didion wrote this essay to make the readers understand to be their own person and to pursue their own ideas. Anyone can draw a flower but not everyone sees the flower the same. O'Keeffe once said, " Where I was born and where and how I lived is unimportant. It is what I have done and with where I have been that should be of interest." What she means by this is that what is interesting is what she has done with where she has been. What matters is her art.
Didion took her daughter to the Chicago Art Institute one day and that was the day her and her daughter saw that the glory in Georgia O'Keeffe's work reflected a glory in its maker. This basically means that the painting was the painter and every choice made in the artwork was made alone, by the thoughts of just one person. It showed character and "Style is character.", says Didion. O'Keeffee's ability to show her style through her paintings gave Didion the ability to sort of translate who she is as a person. O;Keefee's paintings and her judgment toward the words people use about her paintings is how she profiles the artist. She descries the artist "...Simply hard, a straight shooter, a women clean of received wisdom and open to what she sees. This is a women who could early on dismiss most of her contemporaries as "dreamy," and would later single out one she liked as "a very poor painter". Didon sees O'Keeffe as strong and free to speak her mind which was a very hard personality to have back in that time of men power.
Throughout O'Keeffe's life she has been told what to draw by "the men". The men tell her that her art is impossible but she proves them wrong. Didion repeats O’Keeffe’s words, “I made you take time to look at what I saw and when you took time to really notice my flower you hung all your associations with flowers on my flower and you write about my flower as if I think and see what you think and see — and I don’t”. O’Keeffe words shows the defiance and boldness she has despite the thoughts that others have on her. She doe not care what other people think and that is a hard lesson to give to readers. People care so much about what others think because it hurts to be judged but O'Keeffe's personality can spark a change in someone's life and that is why Didion is using her as an example to portray that lesson. Didion explains O'Keeffe's past starting out as an artist with being often criticized and rejected. People would paint over her art which is probably what gave her a “hard shell”.
What is being portrayed in this essay is that art is meant to express yourself. Do not paint certain tings because it is what people want. Paint your style because people can read your character just by looking at your paintings. That is what Didion did to O'Keeffe. She was able to figure out what type of person O'Keeffe was just by reading and look at the paintings. She lived in a time where men dominated over women and despite all of the difficulties, she still lived her life blissfully painting and expressing her own feelings and thoughts.
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Post by Nauttikka on Jul 28, 2015 19:44:35 GMT
Georgia O’Keeffe, an artist who expressed herself fully through her artwork. She cared nothing about others opinions and pursued her own dream. Joan Didion explained the determination of this woman to show others that if you want something go and get it. Georgia O’Keeffe said, “It is what I have done with where I have been that should be of interest.” This means that the only things that should matter are the achievements that she has and the places she has gone. Everything else is irrelevant. It never took her very long to not care about others opinions. When someone painted over her trees to show her how the Impressionists did trees, even though she never knew the techniques of the Impressionists, she never really cared about how they did trees. It was her art work and no one could take that away from her. She made things that made her happy and that reflected her personality.
One day in Chicago, Didion’s daughter made an assumption with the work that people do and who they are. Because the art work that she saw, she assumed something about Georgia O’Keeffe and wanted to talk to her. She thought that the “painting was the painter as the poem was the poet.” This shows that her daughter believed that every action taken by the artist illustrates their character. “Style is character.” This means that the manner, with which one paints, portrays their personality. O’Keeffe is rendered as a “hard” person. While using this description, Didion shows that if you work hard towards something that you really care about and don’t let the hurtful opinions of others bring you down, you will succeed. Self determination is a strong character trait that Georgia O’Keeffe possessed. Without this she would not have been able to block out the thoughts of the men who never truly understand the meaning of her paintings. The men who saw the pictures of her flowers sentimentalized about them. They thought that her painting were to aggressive for a women’s paintings but she did not care. The paintings that Georgia O’Keeffe did were not common, especially because she was a woman.
I feel that this essay was written to show that women can do everything that men do and be successful. O’Keeffe was in a time period when men were the head of the household. The women were to clean and watch after the children. She did not carry that stereotypical role; instead she became an independent, triumphant woman. This artist also showed that everyone looks at things differently. Everyone saw her flowers differently; however few saw the vision she had when she created it. When she finally left everyone else’s opinions behind, she was happy. When someone lives just for themselves and not others, they are happier than they could ever be. Georgia O’Keeffe is someone that should be a role model for all girls and women. She disregarded all the others and men who told her what she would be and made herself the person she wanted to be. In today’s society there are many girls who do not express the things that they really like to do because they are worried about others will think. They pretend to blend in and like whatever is in the “norm”. If everyone could be like Georgia O’Keeffe, the world would not be boring but more diverse.
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Post by Katie Mayer on Jul 30, 2015 14:13:53 GMT
Georgia O'Keeffe was a wild flower among a perfectly planted garden. Joan Didion shows O'Keeffe in a specific light that does not highlight just her work but her character as well. "Style is character" Didion states and that statement exemplifies the whole tone of the work. Georgia O'Keeffe was a soul of her own pleasing and let that be evident through her art.
Didion went to a Chicago art museum with her daughter. There she was faced with her Daughters realization that art is an expression of who one is, and one cannot attempt to please anyone else but themselves through their work. "...you write about my flower as if I think and see what you think and see-and I don't" said O'Keeffe at a time when not holding back was unheard of. She spoke her mind and freed her thoughts in the most beautiful form, accepting that most likely nobody would understand her visions and inspiration. Not caring how other people view you and judge you is the key to enjoying life whole heartedly, Georgia O'Keeffe didn't change for anyone and was able to come to terms with who she was and everything she believed in without a second thought of the disapproval that would soon follow. Didion's daughter saw that O'Keefe was a poet of art and became every stroke she took with a paint brush, only seeking interest on how SHE saw that flower going down on the canvas. Didion tells how Georgia O'Keeffe was unwilling to change for any man or person at all and most likely that was the reason for her personal success.
Overall Didion simply admires O'Keeffe's attitude toward art and life in general. Anyone who reads Didions work or views O'Keeffe's work will take it in their own way. That's the beauty of having your own mind, thoughts, dreams, and inspirations. No matter how someone expresses themselves it wont appear the same to any one person. I a way Didion made the fact that everyone has a similarity to O'Keeffe's attitude become evident, they just need to get the mentality to express it without a care. Didion brought to attention that whether man or woman nobody has the power to hold someone back however it may seem. Everyone has a flower in their head, but not everybody has the willingness to embrace their diversity whole heartedly.
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Post by madisonbailey on Jul 31, 2015 16:08:17 GMT
In the essay, "Georgia O'Keeffe" the author, Joan Didion uses language to help convey that the painter Georgia O'Keeffe is not who people portray her as. O'Keeffe's profile shows that through her paintings, statements towards people's opinions, and her past that she can be a hard person. In Didion's essay, she shows that O'Keeffe is not a soulless person but someone who speaks her mind and is very bold.
"Style is character." This is a quote that Didion uses to describe O'Keeffe as both a person and a painter. Didion states in the essay, "She is simply hard, a straight shooter, a women clean of received wisdom and open to what she sees." This quote shows how O'Keeffe personality and artwork all played together. O'Keeffe seemed to speak her mind and was very blunt about it. It was unlikely for a women to do such-a-thing especially in the 1900's. The author shows how bold O'Keeffe was not only to women but also to men. The men back in the painters time were very impossible to deal with so O'Keeffe does numerous things to prove herself. Georgia O'Keeffe not only proved herself to men but also through her paintings. In her early artist years, O'Keeffe was given a lot of criticism and rejection for her work at places she never went to. This was most likely the cause for her "hard shell." Despite what all the people have said about her, O'Keefee's boldness and defiance seek through and made her very successful not only through her paintings but her inner-self.
In the final last words of Didion's essay, she explains O'Keeffe's quality, "Georgia O'Keeffe seems to have been equipped early with an immutable sense of who she was and a fairly clear understanding that she would be required to prove it." Didion states that even though O'Keeffe has been through a lot with criticism, she continued to make sure people hear her out and freely speak her mind. O'Keeffe is a true inspiration to anyone who wants to express themselves without worrying about other peoples judgements.
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Post by juliethearon on Jul 31, 2015 19:17:40 GMT
The first couple sentences in Georgia O’Keefe are worded perfectly. The first paragraph dragged me in wanting to read more due to the way it was written. It wasn’t an interesting story, I just loved the way the story was conveyed and verbalized. I liked that I could understand exactly what she was describing and didn’t have to guess and hope it was right. Also, I liked the story because the girl just wanted to be different and prove to everyone that there isn’t just one way to do something. This shows that not everyone views art the same way and the artists might have a completely different perspective on the overall meaning of the art piece. I have always viewed things differently than others and this story explains what it is like being that person.
When Didion explains that the artist didn’t know what certain kind of artist she is it showed that she is diverse. She will express herself whatever way she wants to and a being a certain kind of artist would confine her. I believe that the author was trying to tell the readers to be different. Don’t be restricted by stereotypes and expectations. Prove others wrong when they are trying to limit you from being yourself.
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Post by Elizabeth Osman on Jul 31, 2015 23:59:43 GMT
Georgia O'Keefe was a woman unlike any other in her time. Her opinionated personality and wise character were mistaken for "eccentricity and crustiness."If she had been born a few decades later she may not have even been remembered because much of her fame came from the fact that she was different. Reading "Georgia O'Keefe" by Joan Didion brought all of these aspects of her life into the light. She never had any fear of what others thought, in fact on many occasions she would try to spite what they said just because she could. As an artist under constant critique, her lack of need of approval from others was made incredibly clear. If the critics wanted her to paint more farmland, she would paint more desert. Her art was never about approval but expression.
Even as a child she knew she wanted to be an artist, and she didn't even know what kind. She was just able to see the freedom and character in their works and she knew that she desired that kind of freedom. The writer highlights on how one of O'Keefe's biggest frustrations in her career is that people believed that they had the ability to judge her paintings and decide what they meant. But she knew that that was an impossibility because she captured an experience, full of her thoughts, wisdom and memories. So a critic would see a flower bursting with color and technique and she would see a hazy summer day full of love, laughter and adventure. Throughout this reading, Didion really expresses O"Keefe's frustrations. No matter how much she longed not to be remembered by other peoples definitions of her life's work, it was inevitable occurrence.
Learning about O'Keefe in school I never quite understood why she would want to paint a flower so up close, I always felt it was job to be done by a camera. She was always a vague and adventurous woman that had a place in the back of my mind. But this essay revealed how closely our opinions of art are correlated. O'Keefe loved to share her work with others but trouble came when she began to be defined and placed into a little box of expectation. I completely understand this type of frustration because as an artist, being defined is one of the most constricting things ever. To be held up to a rubric, when an artist's work is just an individual expression of a feeling or memory is obnoxious. And this injustice is exactly what Didion revealed in this essay.
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Post by Alyssa Bright on Aug 11, 2015 20:24:31 GMT
This essay written by Joan Didion was such a great reminder that there are people in the world who feel that there is great importance to be who you want to be and not what people tell you you have to be. So many people in today's world put on an act and pretend that they do not care what other people's opinions are of them. You would think the person really did not care what other people thought of them until their actions start to become a reality of what people say about them.
What Joan Didion wrote about Georgia O'Keefe's art work is actually inspiring. What I gathered from Didion's description was that Georgia O'Keefe was constantly told that she was not following the "norm". She was painting things that no other woman would have painted, and people did not know how to accept that fact. And because people did not know how to accept it, her art work was not fully appreciated. No one thought it was "normal" for a woman to create a painting of anything other than a flower.
At the end of the essay Didion stated how Impressionists had painted over O'Keefe's tree painting because they were not painted as society knew them to be painted. When O'Keefe saw that this was happening, she did not care what anyone thought of her trees or any of her art work for that matter. All that mattered to Georgia O'Keefe was that, what she painted was appealing to her eye and that is all she cared about and needed. What a wonderful thing.
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Post by kaylawilson on Aug 15, 2015 1:04:53 GMT
Joan Didion wrote an essay exposing the true nature of Georgia O'Keeffe. Based on O'Keeffe's artwork, one can perceive that the artist is thinking and seeing what they think and see. In O'Keeffe's case, this was not true. Joan Didion took her daughter to the Chicago Art Institute, and hanging on the wall above one of the staircases was a painting by O'Keeffe. Didion's daughter assumed that the glory of the painting was the glory of painter, as a poem is the poet. In art, it is nothing like that. The picture itself is not the character of the artist, rather it is the style of the painting that is character. When Georgia O'Keeffe was 90 years old, she had said "Where I was born and where and how I have lived is unimportant." O'Keeffe was said to be "hard". While hardness in the elderly is referred to as "crusty", and "eccentric", Georgia O'Keeffe was neither. She was just hard. A "straight shooter", and rather than a solitary "wisdom", she was open to what she saw.
In 1939, O'Keeffe advised admirers that they were missing the point of one of her paintings. O'Keeffe did not paint for the satisfaction of others, as many other artists did. She painted because it was she loved to do. Painting was her passion, and when she went to art school, she took a solitary path and did not paint as others did. Her fellow students as well as her teachers advised her to paint differently, and often painted over her work to show her how the painting was "supposed to be". When O'Keeffe was in her early twenties, she moved to Texas where she was no longer critiqued and was able to paint whatever and however she pleased. Didion uses contextual evidence to support the fact that O'Keeffe was unlike any other artist. Didion says that "the man" believed that it was impossible to paint New York. Georgia O'Keeffe did just that. "the man" did not like the bright colors in her paintings, so O'Keeffe made it brighter. "the man" yearned for Europe, so she went to Texas. O'Keeffe regarded herself as an outsider, unable to fit into any sort of typical class. It has been proven in her astonishing paintings that she really is unique. Before reading this, I assumed that Georgia O'Keeffe was a typical artist, based off of her paintings that I have seen. I had assumed that she was the cliche, that she had felt happy when she drew bright paintings, or that she felt sad when she drew dark, dull paintings. This assumption has obviously been clarified, that she in fact did not feel the painting itself when it was finished, but that she felt strong emotion while creating her masterpieces, not the finished product itself.
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Post by carriestango on Aug 19, 2015 23:49:16 GMT
Author Joan Didion began the essay "Georgia O'Keeffe" by writing about her young daughters reaction upon seeing a painting created by Georgia O'Keeffe. This experience leads her to the understanding that "style is character". Character is defined as the mental and moral qualities distinct to an individual, and style is defined as the manner in which something is done or the distinct appearance of something. You need a style to display your character because it physically represents your mental state and how you are your own person with your own specific qualities. O'Keeffe denied the idea of becoming a certain kind of artist as well as the idea of having a certain type of style. "I guess he wasn't a painter at all. He had no courage and I believe that to create ones own world in any of the arts takes courage." (Didion, 70) O'Keeffe put herself in the mindset that in order to be yourself you need to have courage, and she is absolutely right. We are afraid to put anything weird or different into the world in fear of being rejected. But here is this woman that, whos hardness is mistaken for "crustiness" or being eccentric, takes her unadmired characteristics and creates a beautiful and unique style.
Didion went on to write about how O'Keeffe ignored what society wanted in her paintings and did what she wanted. They wanted Europe, she painted Texas and New Mexico; They wanted flowers, she gave them red hills. They did not think much of bright colors, so she painted them brighter, etc.. O'Keeffe rebelled against society several times in 1922-39, and by 1976 her "style" was well known and appreciated by the public. This goes to show that the things you are doing may not be popular or admired currently, but in time will be treasured, inspiring, and might eventually spark a new genre of art. Take Vincent van Gogh for another example. He, like O'Keeffe, was not a particular favorite in his time, but afterword's became one of the most well-known artists in the world.
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Post by briannadavids on Aug 20, 2015 22:45:24 GMT
Joan Didion portrays Georgia O’keeffe’s diverse talent in such a way that it was impossible for the reader to feel somewhat of a connection to her work. Didion’s daughter was presented to one of O’keeffe’s paintings and could not help but see the beauty in such a simple thing, and she wanted nothing more than to meet the artist herself. Her joy and curiosity towards the painting made her mother realize that her daughter may have believed that “Style is character.” All it took was one look for a seven year old to realize that behind a beautiful work of art, there is a story. In this particular case, it was Georgia O’keeffe’s story that she wanted to know more about. Didion’s daughter’s reaction to O’keeffe’s painting made me think that sometimes, you have to put all of your thoughts aside and realize the beauty that is among us started from a beautiful mind.
Georgia O’keeffe did not want to settle as an artist, she always wanted to grow. She did not want to be a specific type of artist who painted the same thing every time. O’keeffe once said, “you say it is too bad that I don’t always paint flowers. A flower touches almost everyone’s heart. A red hill doesn’t touch everyone’s heart.” O’keeffe was determined to do something that was not close to ordinary, she wanted to be amazing and find a way to tug at someone’s heart strings with something as simple as a hill. She took something so small and made it into a work of art, which became one of her most well known paintings. O’keeffe painted because it was what she loved to do and no one could take that away from her by not understanding her works. I connected to this because I do not want to be the person that is always fighting to satisfy others, I would aspire to be doing something because I love it.
Moreover, O’keeffe also says, “It is what I have done with where I have been that should be of interest.” Such a powerful statement really means a lot in the world today. Georgia O’keeffe said it was not about the looks or being on the front page of the magazines that mattered, but it was truly what she did to achieve such great things. She had to put in the effort and work for what she wanted, she could not just sit on the couch. I hope that everyone realizes that you get what you work for, not what you ask for in this world. Just because you have hit rock bottom does not mean you cannot rise to the occasion and try your hardest to succeed. Sure, you could feed off of just the bare minimum, but why not take a big risk to see how amazing you can truly be? I think that was the point O'keeffe was trying to get across here and by doing so it makes people believe they could be so much greater than they believe. You never know how far you will go until you break out of your shell and be the best you can be.
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Post by tymartinez88 on Aug 22, 2015 5:19:47 GMT
In "Georgia O'Keefe" written by Joan Didion, Didion explains the hardships O'Keefe faced in her pursuit of becoming a free-minded, independent artist. Didion translates O'Keefe character through her paintings, past experiences and personality. Opinions that Georgia has towards others and thoughts towards society conveys her overall nature and persona.
Didion utilizes mainly diction to get her stammering point across to the reader. She uses words such as: condescending, imposed and undimmed. This language reveals a hard and abrupt form of Georgia in which she is constantly being tested. Didion portrays O'Keefe's role by saying "She is simply hard, a straight shooter, a woman clean of received wisdom and open to what she sees. This is a women who could early on dismiss most of her contemporaries as "dreamy", and would later on single out on she liked as a "very poor painter." This quote voices how the author visualizes O'Keefe as an artist and how Georgia perceives her surroundings and everyone in it. The language and what it displays in regarda to Georgia is startling; she wants to live simply and freely and doesn't pay mind to what anyone thinks. She is her own person.
Didion exhibits O'Keefe' to be a blunt, carefree and unbroken woman. She is a strong artist; not only on the outside but on the inside. This is shown when she paints a cow red, white and blue. She makes it noticeable that the red stripes were the first and final step. Then she adds the stars. It symbolises not only nationalism but our inability to see equality in everything. Georgia proves her strength when she says "I made you take time to look at what I saw and when you took time to really notice my flower you hung all your associations with flowers on my flower and you write about my flower as if I think and see what you think I see- and I don't." This is the strongest quote in the book to me personally and explains her character thoroughly.
Georgia O'Keefe is bold. She doesn't care what anyone thinks of her for the sole reason that she has better things to worry about. She has been an artist since she started using watercolors in the fields. She knew from the start she would have a rough time dealing with society's perception of her work but she could always back up her beliefs. Didion uses language, diction and perceptions to dictate Georgia's life. Throughout the book, words sound dull and mean and for good reason. Her paintings mean something, something greater than societys norms. They are trying to reach a higher audience, possibly a much more practical and original group of people.
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Post by desireetolchin on Aug 23, 2015 19:16:01 GMT
In the essay "Georgia O'Keeffe" joan didion shows that her style is character, what you do or what you create reflects who you are as a person. You can't do something and have it not reflecting who you are for example, clothes, art, the way you talk, basically anything that comes from you.
The author describes Georgia O'Keeffe as an "astonishing aggressively women" who makes astonishing aggressive paintings" supporting that her style is character. It's amazing how much Georgia really went above and beyond with her paintings and the amount of people that told her she wouldn't succeed when she in fact did the complete opposite. She was a very hard person but she didn't fall into what other people thought she should be, because she was a "women" she was expected to act a certain way. While some people didn't like the bright colors she then retaliated by painting even brighter. When she did paint the flowers people thought they knew what the flowers meant and what they meant to her but really the flowers meant so much more than what those people could wrap their heads around.
Many things show a persons character. Personally I would say art shows others how I am as well, I enjoy art. It helps me relax and take all my problems away whether I'm drawing or painting my mind is at ease, I don't have one single thought in mind yet is still is also a form of expression. Art doesn't necessarily define who I am as a person only a small portion of me however, that still is a little bit of my own character.
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Post by Zoe Lambert on Aug 23, 2015 21:10:32 GMT
Back in 1900's women stepping outside of the box and doing something extraordinarily different from all other women was not very common. Only someone with as much confidence as Georgia O'Keeffe was able to cross the line and be different. This is why Joan Didion admires Georgia O' Keeffe so much. She wasn't afraid of others opinions and rarely took second thought before doing anything. She didn't paint the usual "flowers" like the other women, she painted what came to her and she didn't look back at all before doing it.
Many women today care too much about what others think of them to stray from normal. Georgia on the other hand wanted to be different. " The men believed it impossible to paint New York, so Georgia O'Keeffe painted New York" She was never afraid to take risks and that is what made her so successful. Didion was so intrigued by O'keeffe because of how bold and hard headed she was. She enjoyed how different and eccentric O' Keeffe was. The quality of " Hardness" was not something seen alot back then. It was admired but just not normally seen.
If Georgia O' Keeffe was alive today she would fit right in. Thankfully in our world today we have brave and bold women with the willingness to step outside the box and be different. She would be proud to know that not everyone is painting the same old flower for themselves, and would be glad to know many women prefer " The Shanty" over a flower any day! Didion saw something special in O'Keeffe that not many people saw. Being different is a good trait to have, making your own path for yourself shows just how strong you really are.
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Post by eeinhaus17 on Aug 28, 2015 20:54:39 GMT
Joan Didion, the author of the essay "Georgia O'Keeffe", visited the Chicago Art Institute one day along with her daughter to admire the works of art by Georgia O'Keeffe, a very inspirational painter who crossed the border line when it comes to painting certain things. "Style is character", Didion stated, which reflects on how O'keeffe was in her artistic skills. She crossed the borderline when it came to painting. She was very out-of-the-box, unafraid of what anybody thought, and very risky. She also used her past experiences and hardships to show how she felt, in the form of her historic artwork.
O'keeffe challenged society with her artwork, in which she expected. But, she was not afraid of anyone's opinions because, well, they are just opinions. She just continued to follow her dream to produce as much controversial, but well-thought artwork as she can. For example, to show her personality, Didion included O'keeffe's quote that, "...I don't always paint flower's. A flower touches almost everyone's heart. A red hill doesn't touch everyone's heart." This is an excellent example on how her artwork was very unique, and standing out compared to most paintings. Since most artists would try and paint the "flower" to appeal to all, O'keeffe would be the minority, who would paint the "Red Hill" which would be the outcast.
Another example of her style of work is her painting "Cows Skull: "Red, White, and Blue". Basically, she painted a red and white striped cow with a blue head, representing an "American painting". "I thought of the city men I had been seeing in the East...they talked so often of writing the Great American Novel-the Great American Play-the Great American Poetry" O'keeffe thought as she was drawing the cow's head. The final result is a wacky, laughable painting to most people in which in reality has a greater meaning. These were just a few of the examples that set O'keeffe apart from her fellow artists, that made her a board figure in Chicago and the world.
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