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=**Creative Arts Projects by Richard Diesso, 4/10/92, Brookfield High School, Brookfield, CT 06804**=

Below are samples of various Creative Arts Projects that I have completed as part of my Humanities 11 and Humanities 10 courses at Brookfield High School. This is an expanded portfolio of my work that builds upon the one included in my recommendation from Mr. Eugene Newell. In order to best demonstrate my creative abilities as well as my analytical skills, I have included both pictures of the artwork as well as detailed explanations of my thought process. **While I worked incredibly hard and challenged myself to create aesthetically-pleasing works of art, please remember that I do not consider myself an artist, but rather a thinker.** The aspect of these projects that I am most proud of is the critical thinking involved. Enjoy!

** __How "Alternative" Music Represents the Characteristics and Attitudes of Americans__ ** The main idea represented by my project is that music, a creative art form, reveals detailed information about the culture in which it is created and enjoyed. Specifically, my project demonstrates how the "alternative" genre of music represents American qualities through a careful analysis of song lyrics. For the project, I selected ten sets of lyrics that were particularly representative of American culture. For each set of lyrics, I used Adobe Photoshop to digitally alter and combine all my own original photographs into master images symbolizing the lyrics. Additionally, I did a careful lyric analysis for each piece to assess which aspect of American culture was demonstrated by each set of lyrics. I took over 100 photographs and spent about 25 hours on this project. I believe it to be one of my greatest successes in school, both academically and artistically. Below are samples of the images I created and my lyric analysis.


 * "Audrey, Start the Revolution" - Anberlin**

In my lyric analysis, I determined that this passage demonstrates Americans' willingness to take risks, specifically those in relationships. In my opinion, this set of lyrics refers to risk-taking Americans who are not ashamed to be involved in controversial, atypical, relationships, including interracial, inter-religious, and homosexual relationships. Such Americans must be strong and willing to face adversity, as indicated by the song's reference to having "cards down and guns drawn."

I believe that this passage refers to the progressive nature of Americans. Americans are able to identify problems, and subsequently take positive steps in order to try and rectify them. America is definitely one of the most progressive nations, and I believe this set of lyrics demonstrates that. The author clearly makes reference to forgetting the past and moving forward through pain, typifying the American progressive spirit.
 * "There is No Mathematics to Love or Loss" - Anberlin**

** I determined this passage to represent the vengeful nature of Americans. America is notoriously violent and Americans have a tendency to hold grudges and seek revenge for wrongs committed against them.
 * "Timberwolves at New Jersey" - Taking Back Sunday

**  In my opinion, this passage represents the scornful nature of Americans. Americans have a tendency to be extremely outspoken and painfully critical of one another. Americans will not hesitate to assert themselves in a combative nature if their pride or well-being is at stake.
 * "Not Good Enough for Truth in Cliché" - Escape the Fate

I believe this passage highlights the idealistic nature of Americans. Just like the author, the average American tends to have an idealistic view of life. The 'American Dream' of fortune and prosperity that our country is based off of typifies this idealism.
 * "Hum Hallelujah" - Fall Out Boy **

__ ** Man's Ballooning Ego-The Connection Between Man and Animal ** __ The key idea behind my project is that despite humans' desires to elevate themselves to a superior level above animals, there still exist certain links between man and animal that will always bind them to the unsophisticated animal world. The hot air balloon symbolizes all of the advancements that human society has made that make them superior to the animals. These advancements include languages, science, music, cities, and education, among many others. In my opinion, humans attempt to use these successes to convince themselves that they are above animals. On the contrary, the sand bags weighing down the hot air balloon represent the common connections humans have with the barbaric animal world, symbolized by the sparring animals at the bottom. These connections include territoriality, the fight or flight response, reproduction, violence, and survival of the fittest. These sandbags ensure that humans' egos do not get too large and allow them to float away to spiritual superiority, represented by Jesus and the gates of Heaven at the top. I completed this project by drawing with pencil and colored pencils and drew it on four full-sized poster boards to represent the large scale of human pompousness.



Human advancements include mathematics, film, religion, politics, rational thinking, literature, careers, education, and justice.

Other human advancements include love, languages, science, music, cities, and economics.

Humans' connections to the animal world include reproduction and survival of the fittest. In the human world, those most fit for survival or success are people with money, intelligence, personable natures, and connections.

Humans' connections to animals include territoriality (symbolized by a map of Europe with the land clearly divided by borders), the fight or flight response (symbolized by a caution sign, a brain, a fist, and a bird in flight) and violence (symbolized by weapons).

Sparring animals represent the uncivilized animal world humans desperately try to avoid.

__** The Mind-Perception Connection **__ This project was completed during our unit on Epistemology and focused on humans' differing perceptions of the world. The key idea represented in my project is that there is a direct connection between the biological composition of the brain and perception. Specifically, I focused on abnormalities of the brain that result in mental illnesses. These mental illnesses alter a human's perception of the world. Using digital photography and Adobe Photoshop, I compared the average person's perception to that of a person with a specific mental illness. For the project, I used all of my own photographs. Below are some samples of my work.


 * Anorexia Nervosa **

In reality, people suffering from anorexia tend to be extremely thin. Using Adobe Photoshop, I digitally altered an image of myself to make my body appear emaciated.
 * Reality**

Due to their mental illness, people suffering from anorexia perceive themselves to be overweight. The blur added to the image is meant to symbolize the inaccurate, altered perception of reality that people with anorexia have.
 * Altered Perception**


 * Depression **


 * Reality**

People suffering from depression tend to be extremely sad and perceive positive occurrences in a negative light. Situations that would have once made them happy can seem uninteresting and dreary.
 * Altered Perception**

__** Sex Chromosomes and Their Genes **__ This project was completed during our comparative study of males and females. The main idea represented by my project is that the genes on the sex chromosomes encode for specific protein products that are only produced in males, are overproduced in females, or are present in equal numbers in both sexes. Similarly, there are certain traits that are generally exclusive to males, are exclusive to females, and are shared by both genders. I related the two by considering a hypothetical manner in which the genes on the sex chromosomes influence these gender-related character traits. For the project, I painted three different sets of sex chromosomes with authentic banding patterns. First, I painted an X and a Y chromosome and explored genes that are present only on males' Y chromosomes. Second, I painted two X chromosomes and explored genes that are over-expressed in females. Third, I painted an X and a Y chromosome to imaginatively explore hypothetical gene loci for various character traits that are stereotypically male, female, or shared by both genders.

**Male Sex Chromosomes** **(XY)** The genes marked on the Y chromosome are authentic genes exclusive to males that I discovered through research on a genetic database. These genes produce proteins that create male characteristics. The genes marked on the X chromosome are genes thought to be equally expressed in both males and females because of the fact that they are present on both the X and Y chromosomes. The black paint splatter in the background symbolizes the uncertainty that still surrounds the sex chromosomes and sexual differentiation.

**Female Sex Chromosomes (XX)** The genes marked on the right X chromosome are authentic genes that are believed to be over-expressed in females. The genes marked on the left X chromosome are believed to be expressed equally by both sexes.

**Hypothetical Comparison of Male and Female Character Traits (XY)** The gene loci that were previously marked with their authentic names and described in terms of their protein products are now expressed to represent human characteristics. This is just my imaginative explanation of how some traits are found predominantly in either males or females or are shared equally by both genders.

The genes over-expressed in females on the X chromosome have pictures painted on the left of the canvas to symbolically represent the female traits that these genes might cause. These stereotypically female traits include being fake/two-faced (symbolized by a drama mask), being good listeners (represented by an ear), having an abstract way of thinking (represented by a linear thought being twisted before leaving the brain), being emotional (symbolized by a heart), being sophisticated/mature (represented by the regal, jeweled ring), and being manipulative (represented by the two hands molding the ball).

The genes exclusive to males on the Y chromosome have pictures painted on the right of the canvas to symbolically represent the male traits that these genes might cause. These stereotypically male traits include being defensive (symbolized by a shield), being introverted (represented by a closed door), having linear/rational thoughts (represented by a straight line), being overly-sexual (represented by the apple, a symbol of sexual temptation), being immature (represented by an over-simplified, childish stick-figure painting), and being pompous (symbolized by the inflated balloon).

The genes on both the X and Y chromosomes that are shared by both males and females have pictures painted in the middle of the canvas to represent the characteristics shared by males and females. These shared traits include being explosive (symbolized by a fiery explosion), being territorial (represented by a piece of land clearly divided with boundaries), being competitive (symbolized by a trophy cup), and being indirect/confusing at times (symbolized by the curling, twisting line).

Thank you very much for looking at my artwork and reading through this project portfolio. I hope it helped you learn more about my creative, analytical abilities and gave you insight into the way my brain works.