Value of Art in Society Essay Example for Free

Value of Art in Society Essay Art is a very powerful means of expressing ones self, and it can be viewed either very positively or very negatively. Art has a way of bringing people together by portraying an idea that everyone can relate to. It has the ability to have a big impact on society, but its just a matter of getting people appreciate the value of it. (Lawrence 1). Suzanne Lacy created a chart of artists roles to show you the different steps an artist can take from being private or public. There is the artist as an experiencer, the artist as a reporter, and artist as an analyst, and the artist as an activist. As Suzzanne Lacy puts it, Artists as reporters represent their world. Artists as experiencers give tangible form to their feelings about the world. Artists as analysts look beyond the immediate to reveal hidden universal truths. And artists as activists help us see the world in new ways. (Sayre 66). The activists even expect their work to impact the world. They believe they can affect the world and change it for the better. (Sayre 66). In 1967, when the NEA, National Endowment for the Arts, was created, artists could finally express their art in a way for people to value art for arts sake. What this meant was people could finally look at art and value it for its beauty as an aesthetic object. Not all art has to be practical or functional. Some art is just meant to be seen, and meant to be pleasing to look at. As soon as people could embrace the idea of valuing art for arts sake and appreciating it, then art could start to enhance their social life. The NEA figured that if people enjoyed looking at public art, then having public art in itself enrich peoples lives. It would give them something beautiful to look at, and at least make their town more interesting. (Sayre 71-72). Public arts are not always perceived to be positive. There are many artistic pieces that have been shunned and looked down upon by the public. Many large sculptures have been negatively looked at by the public eye, such as Carl Andres Stone Field Sculpture, and Richard Serras Tilted Arc. When the Stone Field Sculpture was first put up there were protesters, and a lot people felt that it was a waste of their money and time. But after it was up, and people started to see it for what it was, they actually started to enjoy it. Andre believed his piece to be not only aesthetically pleasing, but also intellectually compelling. (Sayre 72-73. ) I feel that society could potentially be moved positively by art if they would allow themselves to appreciate it, and from there, take action. The awareness that comes from art will only lead to a better society if the people take action based on the ideas they discover in art. (Lawrence 1). WORKS CITED Lawrence, Joyce. Art in Society. 2002. Accessed 8 Jan. 2006. Sayre, Henry M. A World of Art. New Jersey: Pearson Education. 2004

The Thematic Significance Of The Floral Images In Wide Sargasso Sea. :: essays research papers

Wide Sargasso Sea is the story of Antoinette Cosway, a Creole heiress who grew up in the West Indies on a decaying plantation. When she comes of age she is married off to an Englishman, and he takes her away from the only place she has known--a house with a garden where "the paths were overgrown and a smell of dead flowers mixed with the fresh living smell. Underneath the tree ferns, tall as forest tree ferns, the light was green. Orchids flourished out of reach or for some reason not to be touched."(p.16). Floral Images are central to the theme in the novel Wide Sargasso Sea. They are present throughout the entire novel and also have an effect on the atmosphere. There are several examples. The first and most prominent floral image in the novel is of the garden at Coulibri, "But it had gone wild. The paths were overgrown and a smell of dead flowers mixed with the fresh living smell." (p.16). Antoinette describes the garden as being full of life but now everything is dead, this symbolizes something that is beautiful but gone back or is not going to last long. The garden is also compared to the garden of Eden, "Our garden was large and beautiful as that garden in the Bible-the tree of life grew there"(p.16). When she refers to the "tree of life growing there" it is as though she is looking back and relating to the former slave owners. She also says "The scent was very sweet and strong. I never went near it."(p.16). This excerpt is symbolizing her constant fear to ever be close to giving love. Another floral image is that of pink roses, "There where two pink roses†¦touched it the petals dropped."(p.72), "have all beautiful things sad destinies."(p.72). These quotes are referring that Antoinette is beautiful like her mother but look at their destinies. Another image is that of a falling flower, "One morning a small flower fell†¦looked like snow.

South Africa Brewers Ltd.

By now it has become the second largest brewer by volume in the world. South Africa Breweries (SAB) has been in business for a century. The change in the political system in 1990 in South Africa, through the dissolution of apartheid, paved endless opportunities. In 1994, SAB was invited to participate in joint ventures with Tanzania, Zambia, Mozambique, Angloa to revitalize brewing industry – brewing 49 out of every 50 beers consumed in South Africa. They practically killed competition. (McQuade 2004) In 1993, SAB expanded to Hungary and bought Dreher which opened the doors to Europe because it subsequently established operations in Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Russia, Czech Republic. In the 90’s SAB likewise entered into operations in China. In 1999, it got itself listed back in the London Stock Exchange to raise capital for expansion. SAB expanded to Central America in 2001 – thus, that year saw SAB as the 5th largest brewer in the world and the fastest growing from 1996 to 2000 with brewing operations in 21 countries and an output of 77m hectoliters of beer. McQuade 2004) 1998 strategy was to maximize its 100 years of brewing experience in South Africa and develop beer markets in emerging economies by investing significantly in its core business. So, it commenced brewing operations in 5 African counties, 3 Chinese provinces, 4 Eastern European countries since 1995. Therefore, SAB continued to develop South Africa; invest for growth in the international business; pur sue incremental growth. Therefore since its global expansion in 1994 the trend in sales and profits grew steadily upward. SAB categorically indicted in 2002 that emerging markets is its forte. Finally in July 2002, SAB successfully acquired Miller Breweing Co. the 2nd biggest brewer in U. S. A. by paying Philip Morris US$3. 6 billion in stock of the merged company and SAB assumed the US$2 billion debt of Miller. (McQuade 2004) This merger was decried by some analysts because the rationalization of strong growth business is not true but it is just that SAB wants Miller as a mature cash cow. And the merger in totality is losing market share. True enough – the share dropped to 18. % in 2003 in London trading. So, aggressive reforms were adopted – considering they unknowingly awakened to the truth that Miller is such a badly managed company the dragged SAB with it. (McQuade 2004) 2004 Strategic Posiiton: By end 2003, the rest of the African markets gave 3. 2% growth. In China, the organic growth was 5. 7%. In India, the first full 2003 operation returned a breakeven. The home base market South Africa saw mixed fortunes as consumer spending became erratic. The seesaw of growth and downturn average 4% per annum. The North American US market went down 3. 7% from acquisition with its core brands losing market share. In Europe, exceptional profit growth showed 39%. Restructuring of the Central American business had to be undertaken due to depressed performance. SAB opted to continue the conversion of the company into a marketing focused enterprise with a strong portfolio of relevant brands in the region. (McQuade 2004) Therefore, SAB Miller opted that from 2004, they will adopt the following strategies to grow shareholder value thru: 1) driving volume and productivity ) optimizing and expanding existing positions through acquisitions 3) seeking value added opportunities to enhance position as a global brewer 4) growing brands in the international premium beer segment (McQuade 2004) Long Term Effect: From the result of 11% share growth for the financial year ending March 2003, there is still a big room to maneuver operational efficiency; strengthen regional brands and market positions; pursue ac quisitive growth; pursue real value for shareholders. Brand management will a crucial focus through an the intensified role of a Group Marketing Director. SAB believes that there are real opportunities to increase sales in growing international premium brands. (McQuade 2004) SAB is confident of its strong national and regional brands principally based on the mainstream segments of the market. The challenge further requires invigorating the said brands to sustainable health and position. With a all its brands stable and well positioned, SAB envision to sustain their continued growth befitting their prime position and prestige in the world’s brewing industry. (McQuade 2004) Recommendation: It is indeed a crystal clear given that South Africa Breweries Ltd and its century old experience and its established brands and prestige stands solid – in its base operations, South Africa and the African Continent. Its global venture in the decade of the 90’s still favored them with the opportunities. They savored the rewards from those first steps. It still saw a sustainable trend until it acquired Miller U. S. A. There are some hidden waves in its other global, emerging ventures in the sense that they only saw sustained growth in Europe and the African markets. China, India, Central America and U. S. A North America gave them the initial years of 2003, 2004 as dicey. True enough, it reckoned revitalizing brand management to be their stronghold focus. However, SAB and SAB Miller never mentioned anything in detail about inherent people management and operational management insights that will need a thorough study. What the case study reflected is that SAB brings in their technical and operational expertise into an acquired emerging market facility. They presumably likewise brought in â€Å"South African professionals† to handle management of an entirely foreign operation in an entirely foreign land. The first and foremost consideration in global business is the profound cultural analysis of â€Å"where one is stepping its foot in†. The story goes that St. Agustine consulted St. Ambrose during his visit in Milan in 387 AD as to whether he should fast on a Saturday or a Sunday – the famous saying was born: â€Å"when in Rome, do as the Romans do†. And knowing â€Å"how to do things the Roman way† will require thorough information and analysis and initial trial and error practice. Adopting and adapting to the local temperament and conditions is not just a matter of the ABC or 123 of their laws but more so of their norms and values. Managing share values of a company and brand strategy is beyond the arithmetic of the exercise. It is also appreciating that the workforce that will contribute to such share values and premium brand strategy require a most personalized and inherent approach.

Reparations For Slavery Slavery - 1218 Words

Reparations for Slavery? Harriet Tubman once said, â€Å"Now I ve been free, I know what a dreadful condition slavery is. I have seen hundreds of escaped slaves, but I never saw one who was willing to go back and be a slave.† What is a reparation? A reparation is the making of amends for a wrong one has done, by paying money to or otherwise helping those who have been wronged. The biggest question of time is should African Americans receive payments for slavery? Many people would say yes with no hesitation, but to a surprise many people would also say no. As a young black female, people think you should be for reparations for slavery, but that isn’t the case. Yes, slavery affected a lot of African Americans, but a for decedents of†¦show more content†¦No amount of money could nearly make up for 150 years of beatings, mistreatments, rape, torture and death. Today’s problems happen because of ignorance, and sometime out of pure hate. Yes, slavery plays a factor in it, but it is not the main factor in why there are so much wrong in the world. For the U.S government to pay for slavery when there is so much more wrong doing that occurred is just plain out unfair. Syria isn’t being bombed because slavery happened. Black men and women are not dropping out of school because slavery happened. People are not homeless and hungry because slavery happened. Too often people use slavery as an excuse to what is happening today. So, what is the real reason for reparations? Many people may question why blacks need payments for slavery when slavery was over 150 years ago. There were about 12.5 million slaves, which means the number of descendant’s doubles. To pay people for slavery, the government would need to find each descendant and begin paying them. The bigger question is which descendant would the pay, and how many would you pay as well as for how long. According to https://townhall.com, â€Å"it s impossible to compensate the people who were hurt by the cruel and oppressive practice of slavery.† The article then goes on to explain the mixed heritageShow MoreRelatedU.s. Slavery Reparations972 Words   |  4 Pagesï » ¿ Should African Americans Receive Reparations? Racism and hate have played a major role in United States history. These words have been the fuel behind slavery, inhuman treatment, and genocides. The Kosovo, Native Americans, Japanese, and African Americans are some of the prominent races that have been affected by racism and hate. The U.S. have given reparations to the victims of Kosovo, Native American, and Japanese, but no reparation have been given to African Americans. ForRead MoreSlavery Reparations Essay1591 Words   |  7 PagesNobody questions the fact that slavery has been the cause of pain for many people and families. What is in question is how to mend this pain. 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