The Art of Stardoll

The blogosphere. A word I like to use for this vast, pixelated, space that is used to show off creativity at is highest. With it's mix of writing along with the visual representations such as graphics, the blogosphere is daily accumulating with our talents that we cannot make renown in real life.
However, some people decide to rather, erm, beg to differ?

Click to have your heart filled with lovely words
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Meet Samantha.Stardoll, the girl who preached her heart and brain out over what she thought of constant creativity on Stardoll in the comments section of the MDM Exclusive: Victory & Klaus S/S 2013 collection.
Although she makes her points in a much more harsher fashion, it makes me think a bit. Like how 'every body' is treating Stardoll as if it's the real deal. Then I come to realize that in reality, we all don't. Do you think we could instantly pop in fashion lines and magazines in the regular fashion industry? I don't think so.
I feel like the Stardoll blogosphere holds something dear and unique to us all. Like I said before, it holds up a base for creativity when we don't feel like getting our 'ass[es] of[f] the computer' and 'exercising with real friends' (although I'm not sure what Samantha.Stardoll means by 'real' friends...are our Stardoll friends plastic?)

I think as long as we're not consumed whole by our Stardollian doings, having magazines and clothing lines are fine. But there is also another type of 'imagination' running around Stardoll. If you managed to pick out 'Fake Gossip' from your busy heads: You've nailed it.
Fake Gossip has always put me on the fence. I've always thought of it as rather uninteresting, or having no point. One day, however, I caught myself reading these fake gossip posts (Klaus Gossips). I felt like I'd wasted my time reading on 'Kasia going missing' or 'Deidra kidnapped!' but there was still a trace of a smile on my face. All of these composings reminded me of a collection of short stories, short yet quick to the point and amusing. I find this a sort of stimulus for our imagination, but not in the right place. Anyhoo, Klaus Gossips also has created a group of 'countries' that have their own little snappy names.
'Dolly Northica'
'Starwaii'
'Las Dollars'
Those are the modified names for Antarctica, Hawaii, and Las Vegas. They certainly bring a sort of amusement to us, seeing these 'countries' that are cleverly named. Then the looming cloud comes back over, asking us:
"What really IS the point?"
Well, according to me the answer is: There really is no point. Stardoll Projects like such are just ways to pass the time. Sounds a lot less grand than what most of you would have expected, but I guess that is how it goes. I respect every Magazine editor, every writer, every graphic designer. Pretty much everyone who is affiliated with the art of our blogosphere. Not only have they created something to pass time with, but they've created a whole new outlet for those who want to do something new.

To each their own, we can say.

So, to Samantha.Stardoll: next time you feel like inflating your thoughts with excessive capitalizations and unnecessary language (*cough* retarded *cough*) try to seek multiple vantage points. Thanks.

What are your opinions on user-made 'Projects'?

Time to Face the Music

First off, I need to apologize. I realize I have not really written much and lately I have been kinda MIA. I started my sophomore year about a month ago and it has not been too friendly. Anyways, onto my topic for today. 

All throughout history, art has been a major part of expression and society. It was the way people communicated, progressed, and made statements. Today, we study and learn about art throughout history and the world. How it changed people and religion, how it mattered, and how heavily people depended on it. Artists not only demonstrate their ideals, they also would push society into new eras. They managed to be sarcastic, slap largely political figures in the face, and inspire revolutions.

Some styles of art (like Mannerism, for example) were heavily symbolic. They reflected the problems and world powers at that current time and revealed the issues and hypocrisy in religion and government.

(Tintoretto, Presentation of the Virgin, Right)

Baroque art was often a sarcastic slap in the face to society 

and the classes. It was a free-spirit kind of art and architecture. Each piece not only had different messages, they also were made with different techniques. 

(Fra Andrea Pozzo, The Entrance of St. Ignatius into Paradise, Above)

A style following Baroque art is Rococo, a very care-free art. It left behind the heavy meaning of Baroque and Mannerism and depicted the simple and luxurious life of the wealthy. Although it had the similar swift brush strokes and light color pallet of Baroque, its meaning was very different.  

(Jean-Honore Fragonard, The Swing, Right)

These arts are only a few among the countless styles of art in the past centuries. Today, people realize that art is not just in the painted form. Today, it is a very broad term covering from paintings to sculptures, literature to architecture, photography to music, dancing to fashion. Art is a form of self expression. What was so very influential a mere 200 years ago is near meaningless now to the vast crowd? What today has replaced the painted messages? Two things come to the top of my mind. What are those you may ask? Music and fashion. Years ago, fashion was a way to state your class and music was a lovely pass-time. Other than the welfare of your social standing, nothing relied heavily on those two things. Nowadays though, they are the easiest and most influential ways to reach society. What then floods our ears today when we turn on our radio?

Look at today's pop artists. Normal dinner-table topics, singers that everyone knows about. Who do you think of? Lady Gaga? Justin Beiber? Nicki Minaj? Taylor Swift? Kanye West? There are artists in each genre that have a different effect on its listeners. Different artists that are vastly know (not all liked, but known). Think now of the topics that are sung about 99.9% of the time. What do you think of? I know what I am always hearing then sing about is individuality, your girlfriend/boyfriend, your tragic break up, or sex. Each song is a different variation of the same old topics. Rather repetitive really. Now yes, each person is in a way talented, I will give them that. Today though we have no originality. Nothing new. Instead we have songs that promote sex, drugs, and alcohol.

Has music always been like this? Lord, no! Think back just in the last fifty years! Music has gone down at a drastic rate. Without annotating each and every meaningful song, let's sum it up and think of some individual artists or bands, ones that made an impact and in their own way inspired revolutions for the decade? Just a few that come to my mind are The Beatles, Queen, Elvis Presley. Now, I know you can probably think of dozens more, those are just three I can think of off the top of my head. Each decade is known for its fashion, the world at the time, and music. Music was a large influence and moved society to do great things. Today, what has our music pushed us to do? What will our decade be remembered for? Other than pregnant 13-year-old's, idiotic governmental debates, and the crime-and-violence rate rising each and every day, we don't have much to show for ourselves.

Now, I know this post may seem long and somewhat meaningless but it was a topic that has been on my mind. I am currently studying Art History (a subject I recommend to all High School and College students) and I have stayed up many nights, had countless debates with family and friends about this. Now, I decided to come here and pose the same questions to you all that have wondered many times.

What do you think influences society and individuals today? 

How have people been effected in the past by art and music? 

Has it affected you personally in any way? 

And finally, what do you think our current generation will be able to provide to future generations? What contributions have we made?

And now I draw this long post to a close and bid you all adieu.

Sara♥♥

Quote of the day

"Society exists only as a mental concept; in the real world there are only individuals."

- Oscar Wilde

Do you agree or disagree? Should we be more pro-society? Or should we assess situations based on our own individual benefit?

Love,

Maggie