Does Aura Exist in Digital Art Ever since Walter Benjamin published his essay "The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction," scholars have debated whether mechanically reproduced art can have "aura" as Benjamin discussed this concept. The debate has now included digital art and cybernetic systems, but the question has remained the same. Can a work of art not produced by human hands, but by a machine have the same quality or atmosphere as conventional works? Referring to Benjamin's own definitions regarding " ... read more>>   The Image in Front of the Mirror In pursuit for the true meaning entailed in Freud's attempts to comprehend human cognition, Jacques Lacan elaborates in Ecrits on the relationship between the signifier and the signified as a method of asserting reality, while challenging the reader to seek the meaningful question that needs to be answered. "Who am I?" Using more or less the Socrates methodology of an imaginary dialog between the reader and himself, Lacan enters the world of reality using as his tools the algorithms of met ... read more>>   The Aura of Films From the masterpieces of Charlie Chaplin to last year's mind-blowing blockbuster of "Sky Captain & The World of Tomorrow," the film industry seems to have fully realized what technology advancements can be created in relation to ticket sales, while studios straggle to manage and reinvent themselves by allowing the consumer market to explore new entertainment paths. Interrelating art, technology, and mass society, mix to uncover the entertainmen ... read more>>

Was Apprentice a Cultural Outcome of Post-Modernism Among many things, Donald Trump is a successful businessman and an extremely wealthy individual. Donald Trump is perceived by the mass public as a true corporate King. The question is who are all these people that competed so fiercely against each other during the hour that the Apprentice show was broadcasted and why did they strive to prove their skills so as to secure their position in his empire? One might support that they are the products of America's powerful media networks, the glad ... read more>> Postmodernism and Architecture What is postmodernism? Are the postmodern characteristics still apparent in contemporary architectural design? According to scholars, "Postmodernism, by definition resists definition". If postmodernism is then difficult to be defined, on what principles can one judge if postmodernism in architecture is in still emerging? Postmodernism in its regional/vernacular forms reflects neighborhood culture. Some argue that postmodernism is a reaction to the forces of "creative destruction." Bu ... read more>> Clerks II Garners Decent Respect Clerks II is a film that was directed by the comedic mastermind Kevin Smith. Responsible for creating a host of irresponsible adolescent comedies over the past decade, Smith has shown his remarkable sense of humor to the world time and time again with his realistic yet kooky characters. Clerks II is no exception to the rule. Picking up where the original Clerks film left off, the film focuses on Randall and Dante, the employees of the Quik Stop convenience store and main characters in the first ... read more>> Abstract Art Nonrepresentational or nonobjective art is not an invention of the twentieth century. A number of cultures, like the Islamic and Jewish, have developed over the centuries a high standard of decorative or non-figurative art forms. Today, abstract art is generally understood to be the form of art that does not depict objects in the natural world, but instead uses shapes and colors in a nonrepresentational or subjective way. According to art experts, in its purest form in Western art, an abstract a ... read more>> Vincent Van Gogh The Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh has produced some of the world’s most popular, most beloved and most expensive paintings. Despite his great success, he was also known as a tortured, lonely artist who many felt was mad or at least on the verge of insanity. It is a testament to his immense talent that today, a century after he has died, the world still remembers Vincent Van Gogh.Of course, we have to acknowledge the fact that not everyone who remembers Van Gogh does so entirely because of ... read more>> Finding Fashionable Plus-sized Clothing Fashionable plus-sized clothing is in high demand, as more and more plus-sized women look to follow fashionable trends.  However, there is a tendency for clothing retailers and manufacturers to cater for only smaller sizes in fashionable items, which can cause major problems for plus size women buying clothes.  It seems strange, given there is a market for plus sized clothes in store, that many retailers simply refuse to supply anything over medium sizes.Finding plus-sized clothing whi ... read more>>