• The Aesthetic Fantasy of Consumerism: Shopaholics as seen in the media

    The Aesthetic Fantasy of Consumerism: Shopaholics as seen in the media

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    Imagine working your typical 9-5 and finally getting your check by the end of the month. After paying your bills and groceries, there is something, almost like self-care, in going into a shop just because the mannequin had something you really liked. Maybe a pair of shoes that are perfect for special occasions or a…

  • Histerical Metaphor: The Use of Anthropomorphism in Political Satire

    Histerical Metaphor: The Use of Anthropomorphism in Political Satire

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    Political satire comes in many shapes and forms. It’s one of those sides of humor where the author’s bias is most noticeable compared to others. One of the ways creatives have found to make political satire more comprehensible and easier to digest is through anthropomorphism. Anthropomorphism refers to the attribution of human characteristics to non-human…

  • What’s for tea time? Maite Alberdi’s intimate storytelling

    What’s for tea time? Maite Alberdi’s intimate storytelling

    What’s the essence of good storytelling? Academically speaking it’s a combination of plot, characters, conflict, and resolutions. However, a certain Chilean documentarist would say that there has to be a soul linked to the intimate, profound observations one can catch in the everydayness of often overlooked subjects. Maite Alberdi Maite Alberdi is a film director,…

  • Video games CAN be Art: a medium where art can flourish

    Video games CAN be Art: a medium where art can flourish

    The discussion surrounding video games as a form of art is ongoing, with many arguing for the validity of this connection. Gamers and advocates for the medium strive to defend the idea that video games can be considered art against the skepticism of traditional art connoisseurs. To cite Roger Ebert’s claims:  “No one in or…

  • Tarot as a Work of Art: A Journey Through Iconography

    Tarot as a Work of Art: A Journey Through Iconography

    Want to know what’s coming in your near future? What feelings does he have for you? Why is your present the way it seems? Tarot might have some answers. Divination tools are nothing new, for thousands of years the human race has tried to discover what’s coming, and, as a tarot reader myself I have…

  • From Patronage to Sponsorship: A Historical Look at Art Funding and Brand Partnerships

    From Patronage to Sponsorship: A Historical Look at Art Funding and Brand Partnerships

    Art and artists have been around since the dawn of humanity, from cave paintings to fertility sculptures that have added value to material culture all over the world. But just as artists have been there for mankind, support has been necessary to maintain the pursuit of these arts. Patronage and sponsorship, defined as the practice…

  • The World in a Wardrobe: Glocality of Fashion in the 20th Century

    The World in a Wardrobe: Glocality of Fashion in the 20th Century

    Thinking about fashion in the current year is inevitably thinking at a glocal scale. The interconnected world allows us to obtain and often repurpose material culture from around the world in order to adapt to our local needs as consumers.  When I see my closet, I usually encounter thrifted pieces that come from Germany or…

  • A Voice from Beyond: Women, Society, and Magical Realism in “The Shrouded Woman”

    A Voice from Beyond: Women, Society, and Magical Realism in “The Shrouded Woman”

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    Claude Monet, Camille Monet on her deathbed, 1879 The Shrouded Woman is a novel by Chilean author María Luisa Bombal, first published in 1938. This classic work exemplifies the genre of magical realism, which blends fantastical elements with a realistic narrative, creating a dreamlike yet grounded portrayal of events. In magical realism, the extraordinary is…