Art History Basics on Performance Art 1960s-Present

The term Performance Art got its start in the 1960s in the United States. It was originally used to describe any live artistic event that included poets, musicians, filmmakers, etc. - in addition to visual artists. If you werent around during the 1960s, you missed a vast array of Happenings, Events and Fluxus concerts, to name just a few of the descriptive words that were used. Its worth noting that, even though were referencing the 1960s here, there were earlier precedents for Performance Art. The live performances of the Dadaists, in particular, meshed poetry and the visual arts. The German Bauhaus, founded in 1919, included a theater workshop to explore relationships between space, sound, and light. The Black Mountain College (founded [in the United States] by Bauhaus instructors exiled by the Nazi Party), continued incorporating theatrical studies with the visual arts - a good 20 years before the 1960s Happenings happened. You may also have heard of Beatniks - stereotypically: cigarette-smoking, sunglasses and black-beret-wearing, poetry-spouting coffeehouse frequenters of the late 1950s and early 1960s. Though the term hadnt yet been coined, all of these were forerunners of Performance Art. The Development of Performance Art By 1970, Performance Art was a global term, and its definition a bit more specific. Performance Art meant that it was live, and it was art, not theater. Performance Art also meant that it was art that could not be bought, sold or traded as a commodity. Actually, the latter sentence is of major importance. Performance artists saw (and see) the movement as a means of taking their art directly to a public forum, thus completely eliminating the need for galleries, agents, brokers, tax accountants and any other aspect of capitalism. Its a sort of social commentary on the purity of art, you see. In addition to visual artists, poets, musicians, and filmmakers, Performance Art in the 1970s now encompassed dance (song and dance, yes, but dont forget its not theater). Sometimes all of the above will be included in a performance piece (you just never know). Since Performance Art is live, no two performances are ever exactly the same. The 1970s also saw the heyday of Body Art (an offshoot of Performance Art), which began in the 1960s. In Body Art, the artists own flesh (or the flesh of others) is the canvas. Body Art can range from covering volunteers with blue paint and then having them writhe on a canvas, to self-mutilation in front of an audience. (Body Art is often disturbing, as you may well imagine.) Additionally, the 1970s saw the rise of the autobiography being incorporated into a performance piece. This kind of story-telling is much more entertaining to most people than, say, seeing someone shot with a gun. (This actually happened, in a Body Art piece, in Venice, California, in 1971.) The autobiographical pieces are also a great platform for presenting ones views on social causes or issues. Since the beginning of the 1980s, Performance Art has increasingly incorporated technological media into pieces - mainly because we have acquired exponential amounts of new technology. Recently, in fact, an 80s pop musician made the news for Performance Art pieces which use a Microsoft ® PowerPoint presentation as the crux of the performance. Where Performance Art goes from here is only a matter of combining technology and imagination. In other words, there are no foreseeable boundaries for Performance Art. What Are the Characteristics of Performance Art? Performance Art is live.Performance Art has no rules or guidelines. It is art because the artist says it is art. It is experimental.Performance Art is not for sale. It may, however, sell admission tickets and film rights.Performance Art may be comprised of painting or sculpture (or both), dialogue, poetry, music, dance, opera, film footage, turned on television sets, laser lights, live animals and fire. Or all of the above. There are as many variables as there are artists.Performance Art is a legitimate artistic movement. It has longevity (some performance artists, in fact, have rather large bodies of work) and is a degreed course of study in many post-secondary institutions.Dada, Futurism, the Bauhaus and the Black Mountain College all inspired and helped pave the way for Performance Art.Performance Art is closely related to Conceptual Art. Both Fluxus and Body Art are types of Performance Art.Performance Art may be entertaining, amusing, shocking or horrifying. No matter which adje ctive applies, it is meant to be memorable. Source: Rosalee Goldberg: Performance Art: Developments from the 1960s, The Grove Dictionary of Art Online, (Oxford University Press) http://www.oxfordartonline.com/public/

Technology Has Exceeded Our Humanity - 1807 Words

The most daunting threat to human civilization no longer consists of nature or acts of war, but rather the very ideas and innovations that are often conjured up by engineers. â€Å"It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has exceeded our humanity.† – Albert Einstein. Technological advancements in the medical, industrial, and agricultural industries have expanded the carrying capacity of the earth several times over as well as lengthened the average lifespan for human beings. However, as technology advances to improve life, it also begins to create opportunities for misapplications that could allow the quality of life to regress. A major focus of recent technological innovations has been the creation of new artificially intelligent systems. For the most part, these are algorithms used to resolve minor problems in which critical thinking is required and a human interaction is just an expendable luxury. These softwares are relatively non-life threatening for humans. Nonetheless, technologies do have the ability to impact much of an individual’s life in the sense that, in the modern day, electronic servers largely hold a person’s net worth. The real danger from these artificially intelligent algorithms becomes apparent when they are coupled with hardware components. This sci-fi fiction thriller theme cast in the next century is already being realized. Artificial intelligence ranges from voice recognitions, to autopilot features, to critical defense systems. WithShow MoreRelatedTechnology Has Exceeded Our Humanity1511 Words   |  7 PagesTechnological Terror Famous mathematician, Albert Einstein once said, â€Å"It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has exceeded our humanity.† What Einstein is trying to say is that what had once made us human has vanquished into thin air with the growth of technology in our society today. The Earth is constantly in motion and so is the human race. From the beginning of our history and even our prehistory, the human race has evolved and changed the world they had been given. All they had wasRead More Effects of Technology on People Essay1182 Words   |  5 PagesDoes technology affect people or do people affect technology? Technology affects every aspect of our lives, we all use it every day with little thought. People take it for granted, sometimes knowing little about what brought that technology into existence. At the same time older generations have a hard time adopting the new technologies and continue to favor technology they are accustomed. The idea of technology is as old as the human race. To understand technology; first we need a common definitionRead MoreThe Is A New Day796 Words   |  4 Pagesdesire for automated existence, has sunk into the decadence of comfort. Alive with consumption, humanity inhabits a pushbutton technotopic paradise revolving around the InterFace. 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The making of steam engine, the usage of fossil fuel and the creation of chlorofluorocarbon are all technologies which has benefited us greatly and are continuing to do so, but likeRead MoreHuman Population And Its Impact On The Environment921 Words   |  4 Pa gespopulations of species are limited to a specific number, called its carrying capacity, which refers to the ability of an ecosystem to support their needs. Once a population grows to the point where it extends past the limit, the environment no longer has the capacity to support them and individuals must die to stabilize the population. Humans are no exception to this rule, as their populations are constrained by such density dependent factors as the availability of food, land, and other resources. GrowthRead MoreWall-E versus Feed on Society1223 Words   |  5 Pagesâ€Å"Technological progress has merely provided us with more efficient means for going backwards† (â€Å"Brainy Quotes† 1). While this epitomizes modern time, it also represents M.T. Anderson’s Feed and Pixar’s Wall-E. Feed is a book about a dystopian society influenced by a device, called â€Å"feed†, implanted in the brains of the citizens. The author describes a group of regular teenagers that venture to the moon for a spring break vacation of partying and going â€Å"in mal†. The main character, Titus, falls forRead MoreWall-E versus Feed Essay1212 Words   |  5 Pagesâ€Å"Technological progress has merely provided us with more efficient means for going backwards† (â€Å"Brainy Quotes† 1). While this epitomizes modern time, it also represents M.T. Anderson’s Feed and Pixar’s Wall-E. Feed is a book about a dystopian society influenced by a device, called â€Å"feed†, implanted in the brains of the citizens. The author describes a group of regular teenagers that venture to the moon for a spring break vacation of partying and going â€Å"in mal†. The main character, Titus, falls forRead MoreThe Flight From Conversation By Sherry Turkle1103 Words   |  5 PagesAlbert Einstein once said, †It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has exceeded our humanity†(Einstein). Everyday, techno logy is advancing at a rapid pace, improving many lives and making things more convenient. For instance, in Japan, robots have been created by researchers at the University of Tokyo to assist home chores. Although technology has made our lives better, we have lost an important part of our self: the skills necessary for human communication. In her essay, â€Å"The FlightRead MoreEssay on Impact of Technology on Society941 Words   |  4 PagesTechnology is continuously developing and has begun creating shortcuts for the American society. As a society we need to find a balance between our technological use and our everyday life. In my opinion, society has become too dependent on technology. The more advanced technology becomes, the more it seems to be gaining control over our lives. Even though technology is offering society many beneficial qualities; it also is causing many negative effects to occur. Technology is affecting society sociallyRead More Pollution and Environment Essay - We Must Find a Balance Between Man and Nature1630 Words   |  7 PagesIt seems that many citizens today mistake nature for a pure, untainted essence that humanity has not corrupted. Even worse, these people go through incredible lengths to seek its revitalizing touch when they lack an overall perception of nature. Though nature is not the quintessence that many believe, it is nonetheless valuable to humans. For me, nature is any part of the world not directly controlled by humanity. Two concepts regarding nature frequently arise. The refined view from the prosperous

Supply chain management in Starbucks and its impact on company performance Free Essays

INTRODUCTION – BACKGROUND: Supply chain management has become a hot topic over the past twenty years. Before getting into the details, we need to define what supply chain management is. Even though it has been suggested that there is little agreement on a definition for supply chain management (Burgess et al, 2006), one definition we could use could be the systemic, strategic coordination of the traditional business functions and the tactics across these business functions within a particular company and across businesses within the supply chain, for the purposes of improving the long-term performance of the individual companies and the supply chain as a whole (Mentzer et al. We will write a custom essay sample on Supply chain management in Starbucks and its impact on company performance or any similar topic only for you Order Now , 2001, p. 18). Companies now understand the importance of supply chain management better than the previous decades. In starbucks for example, with the increase of operational costs followed by the shrink of sales, they put into action a supply chain strategy in order to reduce their costs and maintain their competiveness in the market. An effective supply chain management could impact on the organisation’s financial performance: profitability, liquidity, and productivity or asset utilization (Christopher, 1998). A real difference â€Å"through the customer value that is created by superior service† (Christopher and Peck, 2003, p. 46) could also be generated from a successful supply chain management. To get to that nice cup of starbucks coffee, it takes a smooth run of the supply chain to make that happen. The main reason is the fact that the journey from bean in South American or African farm to a cup in a starbucks coffee shop is a paved with obstacles. Coffee and other related commodities are to be successfully supplied from different parts of the world and conveyed to the 16,700 starbucks coffee shops, which are visited by around 50 million clients in 51 countries every week. However in 2008, faced with the increasing costs of its functioning, the decrease of its revenues, and when the costs of its American supply chain department went from $750 million to over $825 million, they started realising that the company’s supply chain management as a whole was not effectively carrying its mission. One reason could be the high tempo at which starbucks was opening branches all around the world with their supply chain finding it hard to keep up with that pace. According to Peter D. Gibbons, who is starbucks executive vice president of global supply chain operations, the company’s growth has been so fast and in a short period of time that even the supply chain basic ground rules were not set up. The direct result of that neglects the increase of the costs of the supply chain operations in general. To get the link between costs and performance here back in perfect synchronisation, many areas have to be looked at. According to Porter (1980), the two basic competitive approaches are cost advantage and differentiation. A well led reducing costs plan create costs advantages, while a better level of customization and service tend to boost the profitability. One of the problems with starbucks supply chain was the delivery time. This latter could be solved with a better standard of services through well-organized order capture, by making sure that the different ingredients or materials are always available etc†¦ Supply chain management produces differentiation â€Å"through the customer value that is created by superior service† (Christopher and Peck, 2003, p. 46). And on top of that, there is a strong relation between increased levels of service and increases in sales volume and customer maintenance (Parasuraman et al, 2004). This would just prove that an effective progress on the supply chain would have a direct effect on cutting costs with still a good customer service. Such initiati ve is meant to diminish the business cost tariffs which would positively impact on the profitability of the company. An initiative like this would incorporate: Reducing inventory holding costs through improved inventory management (Stapleton et al, 2002) Identifying and eliminating non-value adding supply chain activities (Hines and Rich, 1997) and the different costs related to them. The inventory aspect of the supply chain management is really crucial. A significant reduction of the inventory would improve asset effectiveness and exploitation. Fewer inventories also means less functioning costs related to doing inventory. Basically, a decrease in inventory positively impacts on the cash-to-cash cycle therefore more liquidity (Christopher and Ryals, 1999; Farris and Hutchison, 2002). LITERATURE REVIEW: Previous work exists on the tie between supply chain and the performance of a company (Christopher and Ryals, 1999). However, businesses are said to be sourcing around 75 % of the value of therir services and goods from the supply chain (Trent, 2004). Others researches based on the effects of amelioration in the supply on the financial sidehave shown that in the short term, when we have a high level of inventory, this would have no direct negative impact on the price-to-book ratio. However in the long run it could get to a reduced stock market value (Chen etal, 2005). In the retail industry for example, a connection between the floor space and inventory show better operating stores are the ones with a higher inventory turn per unit area (Raman and Gaur, 2005). It is important to find the right amount of stock to have; because too much stock is as bad as too little stock as they both affect the business performance. Businesses with low (not lowest) levels of inventory would be more likely to have a good long-term stock market performance (Chen et al, 2005); but it could also be due to better inventory management strategies. Even if business performance is evaluated by market and financial criteria, a short-term approach of the supply chain management objectives would improve the efficiency and diminish the lead time and level of inventory; while on the other hand, a long term approach of supply chain management objectives would raise market share (Koh et al.2007). business performance is is affected through supply chain management through different elements such as : lead time, inventory turnover, product return, sales level, cost reduction and meeting customers’ expectations (Petrovic-Lazarevic et al. 2007)’ Lead time: time elapsed from the moment the customer makes an order and when it is completely satisfied (Chan 2001). Businesses are under pressure to reduce their manufacturing lead time. Shorter lead time means that firms will be able to swiftly react to changing market demands (Wadhwa et al., 2005; Chan and Qi, 2003). Inventory turnover: this measures the speed with which goods move through and are replenished by the sytem (Sahay and Mohan2003). Product return: to capture the market and keep the customers satisfied, it is crucial for a business to have good quality products (Chan and Kumar 2007). Sales level: this indicator help showing whether the business has a good market share or not. Cost reduction: in (Fawcett et al. 2008) it is clearly shown that a well operated supply chain will considerably help reduce costs. Meeting customers’ requirements: at the end of the day, this is what the business is for. It is all about satisfying the clients and going beyond its expectations. As ( Huang et al 2002) mentioned, development in the supply chain management leads to a better response to customer expectations. Innovation performance: a good supply chain management network allows businesses to share information both internally and externally. This help improving the company performance. There are other works that also show the relationship between supply chain management and an organizational performance (Petrovic-Lazarevic et al., 2007). Others researches based their study on almost 200 firms realised that supply chain management could lead to competitive advantage and at the same time ameliorate the business performance (Li et al. 2006). RESEARCH OBJECTIVES AND RESEARCH QUESTIONS: This project proposes to prove the importance and benefit of supply chain management within starbucks organisation and the vital role it plays for any business performance. Emphasis will be on the period from October 2007 onwards, since this is the period during which starbucks’ sales started going down, and its supply chain costs rose. Particularly, concentration will be on the following questions: What is starbucks supply chain management policy What is starbucks corporate social responsibility What are their coffee purchasing and supply chain practices What is the effectiveness of Starbucks operational strategies How does their supply chain management affect their expansion strategy RESEARCH AND DESIGN: The methodology which will be used here in order to cover the research objectives will for the most part be based on qualitative research through semi-structured interviews so that i will still be able to come up with questions during the interviews. If well led, these interviews could also help me collecting specific information needed to answer the research objectives. There will also be use of quantitative methods, which will be presented through charts and diagrams. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Primary data will be collected from interviews while secondary data will be collected from published documents on supply chain management, measurement of company performance from responsible and respected publishers such as supply chain digest, world trade logistics journal, supply demand chain executive, logistic quarterly, 3PL wire, DC velocity. Data will also be collected from the university of Westminster database system. Demands for interviews are being arranged. If accepted, they will be likely to last for an hour and will probably be conducted in July 2011. Data will be analysed through the use of grounded theory. That will help verifying the hypothesis and identify the potential policies being implemented to easily solve them. Data will also be analysed through the process of going through and reading the data. PRELIMINARY INDICATION OF RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: Expected results as suggested in the literature review are anticipated to show the importance and positive effect of supply chain management for Starbucks Company. TIME SCALE: Between the submission of the proposal and the submission of the project, i will arrange to meet up with my supervisor at least 4 times per month until the end of October. The project should be finished by the end of November when i will submit it. REFERENCE: How to cite Supply chain management in Starbucks and its impact on company performance, Essay examples

Industrial Grinders Case free essay sample

G’s large quantity of steel rings are on hand and the substantial inventory of special steel for their manufacture. And this steel as inventory can’t be sold. I. G had manufactured industrial machines for sale in numerous countries for nearly 70 years. It means it has market to sale rings no matter whether it is steel or plastic ring. These rings could be supplied for their own machines too. In general the plants were allowed considerable leeway in administering their own affairs. Bridgeman has right to make market strategy in time. During slack periods, company has a policy of employing excess labor on various make-work projects rather than laying the men off. At that time, the salary is at about 70% of regular wages. Low labor cost will decrease the cost of production. There are a lot of steel rings on hand and can’t be sold. The total book value of these inventories exceeded ,000. We will write a custom essay sample on Industrial Grinders Case or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Large inventory means less liquid cash. Maybe it influences operation in the future. Now I. G only has steel rings and these rings have higher cost than plastic rings. Also the lives of steel rings are shorter than plastic rings. I. G’s competitor Henri Poulenc has already started selling plastic rings at the same price as steel rings. And if I. G makes plastic rings, it can start selling only after 4 months so by then Henri Poulenc will take over more market shares. The competitiveness of I. G is very weak now. The ring innovation is an opportunity for I. G, but also a kind of threat. When instead of steel rings, plastic ring I. G starts using it gives I. G a chance to reform. It could cut down the cost and improve the quality of rings. If I. G switches from steel rings to plastic rings successfully, it could expand business and get more profits because of low cost, so it’s an opportunity. However, the competitor had plastic rings in advance than I. G, so it’s threaten for I. G. Competitor could use this advantage to get more business. It maybe threat to I. G’s operation and profits. In the early 1970, Japanese manufacturers had successfully entered the field with low priced spare parts. Other companies also had appeared with low quality and lower price machines. The competition would become more intense. More competitors share one market, so each supplier needs to improve competitiveness. It’s a new challenge. After analyzing internal and external situation of I. G, we can say that I. G has strong operational capacity. However, the core problem is what to be done about the steel inventory. I. G should start developing plastic rings as soon as possible and start using those. Because the core of competition is production, even though steel ring still has its value now, the plastic ring will substitute for it sooner or later. The strong competitor of I. G is Henri Poulenc. It has already introduced plastic rings. Only if I. G produces plastic ring in time it can compete with Henri Poulenc and stop them from grasping more market share. In addition, plastic ring has lower cost and longer life than steel ring. The Table A shows the cost of 100 plastic rings is $66. 60, but 100 steel rings cost $263. 88. Obviously, if they sale at the same price, 100 plastic rings will get $197. 25 more profit than steel rings. However, Anders Ericsson, the development engineer, estimated that the plastic rings could be produced by mid-September, so before mid-September, I. G has to sell steel rings on hand. Fortunately, Henri Poulenc was said to be selling the plastic ring at about the same price as the I. G steel ring, so I. G wouldn’t get strong shock from Henri Poulenc. Of course, Henri Poulenc will get higher profit, but only analyzing from the price, I. G and Henri Poulenc are in the same position, so it depends on demanders’ preference which kind of rings they like. And I. G could sell the steel rings in different markets, which are not covered, by plastic rings of Henri Poulenc. It avoids direct conflict. Steel inventory is a big weakness of I. G, so it’s a good time to consume a large amount of steel. Assuming the sales continued at the current rate of 690 rings per week before mid-September, it would consume 19400 steel rings. During the slack time, I. G could ask labors to convert the steel inventory into rings to satisfy the supply amount before mid-September, because at that time, the labor cost will be about 70% of regular wages so that decreases the cost to produce steel rings. Those steel rings only need to satisfy the supply amounts for 4 months using, because after mid-September, plastic ring will be used instead of steel. If there are more steel rings converted than demanded, I. G will pay for labour cost from their pocket. It will waste resources, time and money. So nothing definite can be said about the steel inventory.