Op Art

Op art "Optical art is a method of painting concerning the interaction between illusion and picture plane, between understanding and seeing." Op art works are abstract, with many of the better known pieces made in only black and white. When the viewer looks at them, the impression is given of movement, hidden images, flashing and vibration, patterns, or alternatively, of swelling or warping.

Op art is derived from the constructivist practices of the Bauhaus. The Bauhaus was founded by Walter Gropius, stressed the relationship of form and function within a framework of analysis and rationality. Students there were taught to focus on the overall design, in order to present unified works. 

The term first appeared in print in Time Magazine in October 1964, though works which might now be described as "op art" had been produced for several years previously. 

         

Op Art Works

Op art is a perceptual experience related to how vision functions. It is a dynamic visual art, stemming from a discordant figure-ground relationship that causes the two planes to be in a tense and contradictory juxtaposition. It is created in two primary ways. The first, and best method, is the creation of effects through the use of pattern and line. Often these paintings are the black and white, or otherwise grisaille. Second, is the lines create after-images of certain colors due to how the retina recieves and processes light.

Source: 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Op_art 

Lauren Bray

 

Mary Quant: Fashion Designer

Mary Quant was one of the most famous fashion designers of the 1960s; her best-known creation was the mini-skirt.
Quant opened the London boutique, Bazaar, in 1955. Her first best-sellers were small white plastic collars to brighten up black dresses or sweaters. These sold for the equivalent of 30 cents each. Blackstretch stockings were also a popular item.
Quant attempted to find new and interesting items for the shop, but as a buyer, she wasn't satisfied with the range of clothes available to her. And so she decided to design and manufacture her own.
Some of her early experimental designs included balloon style dresses and knickerbockers. Large spots and checks were mixed. She designed the first range of coordinates in England with items such as sleeveless dresses featuring unusual color combinations.
By 1963 she was exporting her fashions to the U.S.-the focus was on "mix and match" separates, coats, boots, stockings and accessories and began mass-producing. The Mary Quant brand was born.
In 1964, the first mini-skirts arrived in New York. By now, the "mod look" was taking hold worldwide. Mary Quant became the major fashion force outside of Paris, she was THE designer of the mid-60s. Besides the mini-skirt, Quant is often credited with creating the colored and patterned tights that were worn with the mini.
Among her numerous designs were vinyl boots, dresses with strong colors and striking geometric designs, the extremely short micro-mini, plastic raincoats, white, knee-high, lace-up boots, tight, skinny sweaters in stripes and bold checks.
She also said that “Suddenly every girl with a hope of getting away with it is aiming to look not only under voting age, but under the age of consent.”
In the late 60s, Quant launched the short-lived fad of hot pants, which was her last big fashion design. In the 1970s and ‘80s, she concentrated on household goods and makeup, but she will always be known for her innovative, designing style that helped define the 1960s.

1939: "The Greatest Year in Film History"

Film historians and movie buffs often look back on 1939 as "the greatest year in film history". This particular year saw the release of an unusually large number of exceptional movies, many of which have been honored as all-time classics.

The most popular of them include the following:

Gone with the Wind:It is a stunning Civil War panoramic story of the transformed lives of leading families as the Southern aristocracy crumbles and the South is defeated. From the stories of the lives of a number of memorable characters including a pampered, spoiled, headstrong beautiful young woman Scarlett O'Hara (Vivien Leigh), a dashing cavalier Rhett Butler (Clark Gable), a loyal black slave Mammy (Hattie McDaniel), Scarlett's saintly cousin Melanie Hamilton (Olivia de Havilland), and the ineffectual character of Ashley Wilkes (Leslie Howard), the story is told through great spectacle, romance, despair, conflict and travail. With a terrific, lyrical musical score by one of the greatest film composers of all time, Max Steiner.

The Wizard of Oz:

A farm girl Dorothy (Judy Garland) from Kansas (in sepia-tone) is transported with her dog Toto in a twister to the magical fantasy land of Oz (in Technicolor). There she meets delightfully colorful characters including the Wicked Witch of the West (Margaret Hamilton) and three companions - the Scarecrow (Ray Bolger), the Tin Man (Jack Haley), and the Cowardly Lion (Bert Lahr). With them she sets off on the yellow brick road to seek the Wizard's (Frank Morgan) help to get home. The Wizard grants all of their wishes when they subdue the Witch. In the land of Oz, she discovers that things aren't always better somewhere else. With the well-known theme song, "Over the Rainbow."

Of Mice and Men:

A bittersweet, tragic story of two ranch hands traveling together in California's Salinas Valley. Two migrant field workers, Lenny (Lon Chaney, Jr.) a large, physically-strong but dim-witted individual with a great passion for soft furry things, and George (Burgess Meredith), Lenny's protector, only want to live peacefully on their own small ranch. But Lenny's innocence, feeble-mindedness, his clumsy misuse of his physical strength, and finally a brutal set of circumstances kills their dream.

Mr Smith Goes to Washington:

One of Frank Capra's time-honored classic comedy/dramas about the triumph of the ordinary man over the corrupt political elite, restoring faith in democracy. An idealistic, naive Boy Rangers leader Jefferson Smith (James Stewart) is drafted by his state's governor to the Senate in Washington as a freshman senator to complete the remaining term of a dead Senator. The corrupt "political machine," led by his state's senior Senator Joseph Paine (Claude Rains) believes he will easily be controllable, but when Jefferson discovers the land-scam plans of his supporters, he becomes stubbornly determined to not forsake his dreams and to do what's right against the corrupt, greedy forces running his state. With the support of his secretary Saunders (Jean Arthur), he delivers a powerful, rousing and passionate filibuster on the Senate floor in the final climactic moments

The Hunchback of Notre Dame:

A hideously deformed, grotesque, outcast hunchback Quasimodo (Charles Laughton) lives as the bell-ringer in the towers of Notre Dame's Cathedral. The hunchback is scorned by an angry mob one day, but is shown pity and kindness by a beautiful Gypsy dancer girl, Esmeralda (Maureen O'Hara). He develops a tragic fondness for the girl, and rescues her from being hanged in the public square for being a witch, taking her back into the bell tower and claiming sanctuary.

The Nineteenth Amendment & Women's Rights

The Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibits each state and the federal government from denying any citizen the right to vote because of that citizen's sex. It was ratified on August 18, 1920.

It states that:

"The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.
Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation."

The fight for women's suffrage represents one of the most main struggles of women, because denying them representation in government gave a very clear message that they were second class citizens. Women's suffrage has become a very popular compaign over the past 250 years. However, it did take a very long time to work its way up the list to become a dominant issue.

In the First World War large numbers of women started becoming laborers. They discovered that their work outside the home was now valued. Meanwhile, large numbers of men were killed and wounded in battle.

In the years between the wars, women continued to fight discrimination and opposition to women's rights.

The Second World War was extremely liberating for women, since most working-age men were away from their homes and jobs. Large numbers of women contributed to life aside from homemaking as a result of the educational and employment opportunities that opened to them. The popular icon Rosie the Riveter became a symbol for a generation of working women!

The Beatles

The Beatles were an English rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. They became the most successful and most critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. The group consisted of John Lennon (guitar, vocals), Paul McCartney (bass guitar, vocals), George Harrison (lead guitar, vocals) and Ringo Starr (drums, vocals). There genres ranged from folk rock to psychedelic pop to also incorporating classical rock into their music. The Beatles built their reputation in Liverpool and Hamburg clubs all over a 3yr period from 1960 in the UK.

The Beatles achieved UK mainstream success in late 1963 with their first single "Love Me Do" and gained popularity through the UK and internationally. They toured until 1966, then went back into the studio where they then broke up in 1970. Each then found success in an independent musical career. McCartney and Starr remained active; Lennon was shot and killed in 1980, and Harrison died of cancer in 2001. 

The bands earliest influences include Elvis Presley, Little Richard and Chuck Berry, whose songs they covered more than often in their shows. Other influences include Buddy Holly, Eddie Cochran, Carl Perkins, Roy Orbinson, Bob Dylan, Frank Zappa, The Byrds and The Beach Boys.

Some Awards the Beatles recieved were the song Let it Be won the 1971 Academy Award for Best Original Song Score.  They have also received seven Grammy Awards and 15 Ivor Novello Awards. They have also been awarded 6 diamond albums, as well as 24 multi-platinum ablums, 39 platinum ablums and 45 gold albums in the United States. The Beatles were also into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988.

Lauren Bray

Source:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Beatles#Legacy

I Love Lucy, 1951

I Love Lucy is an American Sitcom starring Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, Vivian Vance and William Frawley. The black and white episodes ran from October 15, 1951 to April 1, 1960 on CBS. The I Love Lucy show was the most watched show in the United States in four of its six seasons, and was the first to end its run at the top of the ratings. The Andy Griffin Show and Seinfeld was matched with the I Love Lucy Show. The I Love Lucy Show won five Emmy Awards and recieved numerous nominations.

The set was placed in New York City, I Love Lucy centers on Lucy Ricardo(Lucille Ball) and her singer husband Ricky Ricardo (Desi Arnaz), along with their friends/landlord Fred Mertz (William Frawley) and Ethel Mertz (Vivian Vance). Lucy's character is someone naive and ambitious, with an overactive imagination and a knack for getting herself into trouble. She is primarily obsessed with joining her husband in show business. Lucy's husband, is an upcoming Cuban American singer and bandleader. He is very patient, but when he is exasperated, he often reverts to Spanish and even literally spanked Lucy for her mischief on one occasion.

One memorable episode called, "Lucy Does a TV Commerical": Lucy is hired to act as the "Vitameatavegamin girl" in a TV commerical, to promote a health tonic contains healthy amounts of vitamins, meats, vegetables, mineralsl- an a less than healthy dose of 23% alcohol. Lucy becomes progressively drunker throughout the rehearsal, but gamely keeps on pitching the product, eventually leading to completely flubbed live performance for "this stuff".

Some of its Emmy awards are for best actress( Lucille Ball), Most outstanding comedian, Best situation Comedy.

Source:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Love_Lucy

http://www.tvland.com/shows/lucy/

Lauren Bray

Dick Tracy

Dick Tracy is a long-running comic strip featuring a popular and familiar character in American pop culture. Dick Tracy is a hard-hitting, fast shooting, and supremely intelligent police detective who has matched his wits with variety of colorful villains, many based on real-life gangsters. This comic strip was created by cartoonist Chester Gould, the Dick Tracy strip made deput apperance on October 4, 1931-1977. Chester introduced the violent comic strips which reflected the violence of 1930s in Chicago.  He kept up with and studied the best fighting/detective techniques, forensic science, advanced gadgetry.

The history of Dick Tracy is that he proposed to a girl named Tess Trueheart. After returning home , they walked in on the middle of a robbery. Interrupted they shoot Tess' father Emil and kidnaps Tess. Dick wants justice done, so he swiftly in the police force, and nine days later was appointed to the plainsclothes detective division. After rescuing Tess, he continues with his new career.

The strip's villain  are arguably the strongest appeal to the story. Gould most favor villain is Flattop Jones, a freelance hitman with a large head as flat as an aircraft carriar's flight deck. Flattop was hired to murder Tracy, and he came within hair's breadth of accomplishing that before deciding to first blackmail his employers for more money. This proved to be a fatal mistake since it gave Tracy time to signal for help, and he eventually defeated his assassin in a spectacular fight scene even as the police were storming the hideout. When Flattop was eventually killed, fans went into morning.

In later years, Dick Tracy made film debut in 1937, a Republic Pictures movie serial starring

Ralph Byrd.

Lauren Bray

Source:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dick_Tracy

http://www.internationalhero.co.uk/d/diktracy.htm