100th Postcrossing card!

I received this card this morning, from Barbara of Munroe, Washington State. How nice that my 100th card should be of Puget Sound and the Olympic Mountains, of which we have such fond memories!

Pardon?

Having had a fair bit of spare time (and relative peace) over the last few days, I've made great headway into Block 1, including roughs of the first 2 TMA questions. I've learnt how to analyse a painting (sort of) and how to interpret a sonnet (although I might've got it completely wrong!) But, today, I spent doing the music intro. And I couldn't hear; I have no ear. But I worked hard on timbres and things and thought I'd got it. But they've given us a piece of music to write about which has the texture of a sheet of paper and I don't know what's chordal or what's syncopation (or what that is even). Where are the tambourines and the muted trumpets?

Oh well - it's interesting anyway - onwards to the philisophy!

Summertime ...

by Jackson Pollock (Jack the Dripper; alcoholic and depressive, who died in an 'alcohol-related' car crash, aged 44), 1948, which sits in the London Tate Gallery. This was my first lesson in A103, as it was the first TV programme on the first DVD (I probably should've started reading books first!). I've learnt that grey paint was dripped onto a canvas, which was then dripped more heavily onto by black paint - that bits were 'coloured in' with blue, purple, red - and that, finally some little splashes of greens and browns (to liken it to a landscape ...) were added. But, sorry, it's still complete garbage to me!

What have I done? Will I ever be able to understand art?

My materials arrived this morning. Several books, including a lovely thick book of paintings etc (including 'Summertime'), 18 CD-ROMs, 2 DVDs and the usual other bits and pieces, including the TMA booklet (there are 9 assignments - eek!) Also, arrived this morning, were the set reading books: "Wide Sargasso Sea", Jean Rhys, "Medea and Other Plays", Euripides - and "Pygmalion", Bernard Shaw. All are mercifully short - although I'm rather looking forward to reading about the mad woman in Mr Rochester's attic.

This is Pollock's painting of Moby Dick.