The topic that I have chosen is one we have talked about often in class, which is the philosophy of humanism. I want to talk about the development of body image in parallel to this philosophy, and how it correlates to both the progression and regression of artwork in the timeline of ancient Greece and Rome into the Renaissance and Baroque epochs.
For my final project I am choosing to explore the differences between Ancient artwork. The different sculptures and pieces of artwork in The Metropolitan Museum stood out to me.
My final project topic is on religious alterpieces and I want to explain their religious significance through their symbolic presentation.
The topic I chose for the final project is about the role of women in the ancient world. I decided to choose this topic because I want to explore and learn how different civilizations have portrayed women in art.
Image 1
Title: Giza, Family of Tourists
Artist: Antonio Beato
Date: 19th Century
Museum: Met Museum
Image 2
Title: Sphinx et la Pyramide de Chephren
Artist: Antonio Beato
Date: not determined
Museum: Met Museum
Image 3
Title: Pyramids at Giza
Artist: Antonio Beato
Date: late 19th Century
Museum: Met Museum
Image 4 
Title: Pyramid at Saqqara
Artist: Antonio Beato
Date: late 19th Century
Museum: Met Museum
Image 5
Title: Study of a Pyramid
Artist: Jacques Louis David
Date: not determined
Museum: Met Museum
Image 6 
Title: The Temple of Dendur
Artist: not determined
Date: 10 BC
Museum: Met Museum
Each of these works of art are Egyptian themed and more specifically, they focus on Egyptian Pyramids, which is what I created for the creative part of this project, the Pyramid of Giza. Several of these artworks depict the Pyramid of Giza in a detailed way with a family of tourists and an image of the pyramid from afar to show the surroundings. The others are the Temple of Dendur, a sketch of a Pyramid, and two other well known pyramids Sphinx et la Pyramide de Chephren and Pyramid at Saqqara. All these images show the details of Egypts pyramids and helps me highlight their dimensions, color and surroundings.
Thesis/Argument:
Egyptian pyramids are well known for their massive structures, such as the Pyramid of Giza, one of the only structures to remain intact, and it identifies well with my topic and the works of arts I have chosen due to it being one of the oldest and largest of Egypt’s pyramids in the Giza Pyramid complex.
My topic is Egyptian Pyramids, more specifically, the Pyramid of Giza. For this project, I chose to create a version of the famous Pyramid.
The topic I’m choosing for the final project is about realism. I’m going to do a paper proposal format. I decided to do realism because I want to see the different ways artists portray this topic. Also, it would be nice to see the background behind why the artist chose to do this specific artwork.
My topic for the final project is on Bodys Isek Kingelez’s “City of Dreams.”
I chose this as my topic because his artwork is not only inspiring for architectural purposes but also gives contemporary society headway in constructing the future for later generations. Kingelez’s artwork allows young generations to have limitless dreams.
Pedagogy and Power: What is the banking model to Friere? Who does it empower or disempower, and at whose expense? Do you have any experience with this model? If so, describe an encounter that you have had with the banking model and reflect on it, both positives and negatives.
Paolo Freire insists on a “Banking Model of education” as a way to criticize the education system. Teachers are those who oppress students and exploit their power. Students are seen as empty vessels, containers even, through the “art of depositing,” we are filled with information. Teachers inherently have this robotic system of depositing and repeating. This cycle, Paolo Friere says, is not how it should be. Ideally, there would be more cognition and dialogue exchanged and even a mutual, fair relationship. Cognitive objects should not be held hostage in the oppressors possession.
The Banking model disempowers students and their potentials to reach certain heights that would otherwise not be known and empowers teachers at the students expense. It seems that the public school education system follows the banking model described by Friere and this is the experience I have had growing up. Teachers have the general idea of inputting information into students and have them regurgitate it with no creative room to spare. It seems as if it is a very black and white, right or wrong, yes or no type of teaching and there isn’t a lot of gray area allowed. Not all teachers teach this way and for that I am grateful. In theory, it sounds good to process information in this deposited form but in practice, there should be many other factors considered. All students learn differently, there shouldn’t be a uniform learning style; one size does not fit all.
My experience at the Met Museum was fantastic. I have been to the Met Museum a few times when I was younger, but I was glad I went again because on this trip, I had a better understanding of art, which led me to better evaluate artwork. Everything was spacious. There were many people there who were fascinated by the artwork as was I and there was so much to see that I would definitely make another trip to the Museum as soon as I can. 
One Renaissance Art that stood out to me the most was named Scenes from the Story of the Argonauts. The artist is Jacopo del Sellaio and he created the painting in 1465. The painting illustrates Jason retrieving the Golden Fleece on his horse consulting with Hercules and Orpheus. The Golden Fleece was guarded as Orpheus tries to make the dragon sleep.
One Baroque artwork that stood out to me was the painting made in 1632 named Robert Rich, Second Earl of Warwick. Anthony Van Dyck, made this painting with oil canvas of a Puritan sailor of fortune who dressed like a Aristocrat.
These exceptionally well done artworks highlight the differences between Renaissance and Baroque art. Renaissance art, born in Italy, contained the themes of philosophical and theological, where in the painting, Hercules and Orpheus were present. Hercules is a Roman god and hero as Orpheus is a hero with superhuman music skills. The painting also told a story and acquired knowledge. Baroque art focuses on a religious motif and insists of emotion and movement and in the oil canvas, the Puritan sailor can be seen with a smile on his face and focusing his body weight on one leg more than the other, standing with a specific position. Artwork in the Baroque era was also influenced by the Roman Catholic Church, the divide between Protestants and Roman Catholics, and religion ties into who the artwork was about, which was Robert Rich. The Baroque artwork has more emotion than the Renaissance one and there is more of a stillness in the way Robert Rich was painted than of those in the other painting.
