Portia Placino
teaching, blogging and researching on art and culture, viewing the world through the camera's eyes, continually contemplating on the world of aesthetics and art theory and expressing it in art criticism and discourse…
About
This blog is the extension of my classroom and of myself. I teach art, aesthetics and art history. I study, research, write and blog various aspects of the art world–real or theoretical. I look at the world through my camera’s eyes and share such views to those who care to look. I hope you, who stumbled into this blog, would stop being a passive voyeur and engage in art criticism and discourse with me and the public…
Some of the articles here are theoretical papers that I have submitted for graduate classes. Though they may be longer than is recommended for a typical blog, I want to release writings online that are detailed and comprehensive. I have some entries that are written precisely for this blog and is of more reasonable length. There are also lectures and Powerpoint presentations prepared by me or my students that are available here. Some photographs that I have taken are also presented.
I may have been using this blog for more than two years, but I still think of myself as starting out. During the early days, the blog was just a repository of lectures, Powerpoint presentations and records that are made available for students. A couple of months ago, I decided to make it into something more. Now, I finally have my own domain, and hopefully more chances to engage people into art criticism and discourse.
Why a rose?
Umberto Eco’s The Name of the Rose is one of my favorite novels. Later on, I found out that Umberto Eco also write books on aesthetics and semiotics, theoretical books and journals, novels and criticisms in popular newspapers and media. He became my inspiration. I read in his Travels in Hyperreality on how it is part of his duties and responsibilities to respond to social and political issues and write for newspapers and popular magazines. He finds it natural to go from one channel to another and sees no conflict in it. He is an academic but is not restricted to the academe. Though I may not be as great as Umberto Eco, he is my inspiration in my writings and in the production of writings. I refuse to be restricted, thus, I turn to the blogosphere to reach a wider audience and write about various topics.
Inspirations:
James Elkins’ website: http://jameselkins.com/
Umberto Eco’s website: http://umbertoeco.com/en/
2 Comments on “About”
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Real and Theoretical: Portia’s Art Blog
This blog is the extension of my classroom and of myself. I teach art, aesthetics and art history. I study, research, write and blog various aspects of the art world--real or theoretical. I look at the world through my camera's eyes and share such views to those who care to look. I hope you, who stumbled into this blog, would stop being a passive voyeur and engage in art criticism and discourse with me and the public...
Hi there! I am nominating you for One Lovely Blog Award. You have a very good blog and I want others to know about you!
Carla
Oh my, thank you so much! I really am just trying to get a message out there. It makes me happy to meet people like you who appreciates what I write
That sounds exciting.