Are You Really Looking?

I took this picture a few weeks ago now, after we talked about the idea of looking and what it really means to “see”.  This is the TCU sign and flower bed that is right by University Drive in front of Sadler Hall.  Most people, like myself, walk by this on a daily basis going to and from class.  Walking back to the BLUU after my 8 am, my friend made a comment about how the flowers were starting to grow in.  I asked her what she meant, because weren’t these the same flowers that had been here for the last couple of weeks?  Turns out, I walked by for a whole week without even realizing the flowers were changed by the university.

Before this, I would have considered myself a pretty observant person.  I am usually the one to notice a change in behavior or that creepy guy in the grocery store.  But I realized, I am really only looking at the things that I think I should be looking for.  We prioritize these images in our head, whether we know it or not.  We take in and process what our subconscious believes to be important to us and to our well being.

As a freshman, there are so many new things that are coming at me all the time; and it is impossible for us to truly see everything all the time.  So while my brain is deciding what is important for me to know, how much of this world am I missing?

~ Taylor Hurley

Texas Brunch

My little sister came to visit and stay with me recently. I decided on our last day we should go to Brewed for brunch. She wanted to get something that she couldn’t easily get in California, like acai bowls, so she ordered chicken and waffles. Even though this is my second year here, I still had not ventured to try it yet. The idea seems very strange to me and a little bit like a heart attack waiting to happen. Nonetheless, she ordered it and it was one of the tastier things I’ve had. I thought it was interesting that our two meals seemed very different to me, despite them both being breakfast items. The fried egg and arugula sandwich with sweet potato fries reminded me a little of home, whereas the chicken and waffles reminded me of Texas. We have read about brands and how they may have certain connotations and meanings attached to them and they may be different depending on the culture. I realized food can too, it can remind you of a certain time or place, even though you can find different kinds of food everywhere.

Side note: the chicken and waffles are delicious at Brewed and you should go try them!

-Hannah Cooper

A Flâneur’s Need to Breathe

This past weekend, I had an incredibly interesting experience at the BYX Island Party Concert in the Commons, featuring the band Need to Breathe.  The whole week prior, I had been hearing about this band, called “Need to Breathe.”  Before this event, I had never heard a note of their music, but being the college student I am, I decided to take advantage of the free entertainment.

When I arrived at the concert, I stood slightly swaying to the beat of the music, not knowing any of the words except for the bits and pieces of the chorus that I could pick up by the end of each track.  Members of the audience screamed while the lights flickered, held up their phone flashlights during the low ballad, and screamed the words at the band members, entranced by their presence.

Then I realized, I was a flâneur.  I was simply observing the spectacle around me, the lights and the concert-goers, and was taking all of my behavioral social cues by paying attention to those around me.  All the while, these avid fans were so engaged with the music that they had no clue that I was watching them instead of paying attention to the music.  The performers certainly didn’t know, my face was lost in the sea of all 500 students.

I learned from this experience that being a flâneur is not always a conscious decision.  We all are flâneurs almost all of the time, whether we know it or not, and whether we like it or not.  Being a flâneur is part of human nature, and is often how many people know how to act in situations that are new to them, much like this concert was to me.

– Megan Bowers

TCU’s most popular photographic location

I took this picture last week as I was walking through the commons after dinner. I felt very much like a flaneur for so creepily zooming in on these random people and having a picture of them on my phone.There was a fraternity and sorority victory formal that night and like always, frog fountain was the most popular spot on campus to take a picture. When taking this picture, I wondered why everyone HAD to take a picture by frog fountain, even though I’m guilty of this too. I mean yes frog fountain is one of TCU’s most iconic locations on campus, but is it really that great of a place to take a picture? The sun seems to always be in your eyes and when the wind blows, you get sprayed by the water, ruining all girl’s hours of effort on their hair and makeup. Yet for every formal, there’s a line across the back of the commons to get a picture in front of it. It’s so interesting to me that everyone feels like they need this cliche photo as if it is in order to prove something or to just feel like everyone else.

-Reilly Masterson

Too close for comfort?

During the “flaneur” activity as I was walking out of the building, I took this photo of a random guy studying.  I am so intrigued by this because of two reasons: I have no idea who this person is, and two, he had no idea that I even took this photo.  These thoughts mirror my interpretation of the flaneur exactly as I believe him to be a passerby taking in all the surroundings without being seen.  I also would include being slightly creepy to the description of the flaneur.  Therefore, I literally scare myself every time I look at this photo because in the back of my mind I wonder what this random student’s reaction would be: laughter, embarrassment, fear, judgement, maybe a mixture of all four?  Overall, this photo fires those emotions within me as I mastered the art of the unseen and mysterious, flaneur.

By Teal Weaver

What is actually “authentic”?

Last Thursday after all of my classes, I went to dinner with a friend and then made a stop at Trader Joe’s. As I walked through the store, I passed something that caught my eye. Pictured below, it was a jar of Trader José’s “Salsa Autentica”. After seeing this, I thought about our class discussion and authenticity. What makes this salsa “authentic”? It is produced by a company based in Pasadena, California, not Mexico. Is it the affordable price of $1.69 per 12 oz. jar? Is it because, instead of Trader Joe’s, it was called Trader José’s? I don’t have the answer but, these were some of the things that I was thinking.

    

I pair this with a photo of Friday night’s NEEDTOBREATHE concert. This made me think about another use of the word authentic. NEEDTOBREATHE is often described as “authentic, Southern-gospel rock and roll”. Again I pose the question of “what makes it authentic?” and again, I dont know the answer. Authenticity is such a hard concept to break down and understand. It’s so subjective to the audience and the context. One group may see NEEDTOBREATHE as the epitome of Southern-gospel rock and roll while others may think another group is. However, there is one thing that I do know about authenticity: it is a big selling point for companies.

Thanks for reading!

Caleb M. Fritz

Filtered Perception

I took this photo this week as I was studying. As a religion major, this photo accurately depicts most of my time– coffee and the Bible. But at the same time, I wondered about how I could change the perception of the picture I had taken. So, I used an app on my phone to apply a unique filter to the picture– one that was supposed to make it look hand drawn.

While the photo is still clearly identifiable as a Bible and a coffee mug, the sense that you get from the photo is still not 100% authentic. For instance, it might be assumed that the mug is purple because of TCU, but it could just as easily be black. Ultimately, photos can be tricky things that we must be careful when regarding as truth. Some things, no matter how small, may nonetheless be skewed or otherwise altered in some way.

Thanks for reading!

~~ Keanu Mendez

Collisions of Culture

This weekend, like a majority of other  TCU students, I attended the football game against SMU.  It was a beautiful night for a game and was very exciting to watch.  When I was tailgating and walking into the stadium, it was difficult not to notice the extreme separation of the SMU students from us as TCU students.  While many aspects of our visual culture are shared, such as Texas culture, sports, and the college-age years, it appeared as though the SMU students were making a conscious effort to distance themselves from the visual culture that they were currently experiencing.

On a similar note, last night I attended an orchestra concert as a requirement for one of my classes this semester.  I am not a music major and am frankly very unfamiliar with classical concerts.  The second photo was taken in the PepsiCo recital hall, which I had never stepped foot in before tonight.  While I have not attended TCU for very long yet, it struck me that I was just as much missing out on visual culture inside of the music building that the students from SMU were missing.  Even though I did not make a conscious decision not to explore the music department or buildings, I didn’t try very hard to seek out those things that are not in your common path of travel.  While the visual culture of football and greek life at TCU can often be overpowering, it is important to take initiative and seek other outlets of visual culture on your own.

-Cecilia Ryan

Hometown Pride

This is a picture of a t-shirt that my mom sent me in the mail the other day. I’m from Kansas City and it is a huge trend right now to wear KC shirts with designs that represent the city. I have a collection of shirts that show Kansas City pride and I love when people from KC talk to me about them. Inside the letters of K and C, there are all kinds of words that have significance to me and other people from Kansas City, but many people would not know what they mean. They are places all over the city and things that are popular.

This made me think about the article I read for my Critical Essay Analysis called There Are No Visual Media by W.J.T. Mitchell. He discusses how all media, even though it seems visual, actually is a mix of all different types of media. The KC shirt seems visual because it is just words on a shirt, but you have to know what each word means to understand the overall idea of the shirt. It is also part of my visual culture, because when I see these words, and picture all of the places listed, it reminds me of being at home.

-Maddy Lewing

A picture is worth a thousand words, but is it worth your life?

I open Facebook to check on friends, and I see that on the list of trending topics, one topic is “Selfies.” Underneath, it says “more people have died in picture-taking attempts than shark attacks.” Really? This is so shocking to me that attempting to take a picture could be fatal and even more fatal than swimming in the ocean.

It reminded me of my risk-taking, picture moment in Costa Rica. A smaller portion of our group was out on a night hike when we found a coral snake (which is poisonous). I continued filming, and I stood as close as possible to get a picture. Then, my professor called my name and told me that I was too close, and once I realized what he said, I thought, “yes, I am too close; what on Earth am I doing?” I backed up, and to this day, I regret that all I have is a blurry picture of the coral snake. I am thankful though that I am still alive.

Thank you so very much for reading my blog post! Please let me know what your most adventurous picture was of. Also, be careful while taking pictures. I never thought I would have to say that. Go Frogs!

Rachel Cartmell