User Profile

Amanda. Chicago. Art History. City girl. Francophone.

I'm a junior art history/political science double major, with a minor in French (?). I love seeing the ways I can connect my poli sci studies to art, and, if you know me, I like to add a French spin on it all.

I'm especially interested in American art, particularly of the 19th century, and the intersection of art and politics throughout the history of art, though I'm mostly interested in visual representations of postmodern (after 1945-ish..., to be more specific) art and political upheaval.

Aside from school, I volunteer teaching art to little kids. That's always a blast; they've become perceptive little children this year. I hope I've had something to do with that. This year I'm going to head the volunteer program, so I'll be a lot busier with the program than I was last year.

Ah, music. I love music. My absolute favorite artists are Idina Menzel and Bernadette Peters, both of whom I could listen to non-stop for days (and I do!). I tend to like them not only for their incredible talent but for personality - they seem like genuinely nice people.

I have a thing for the Goo Goo Dolls - Johnny Rzeznik is just amazing all around - a great songwriter with a fabulous voice who's very attractive to boot! I share this fangirl-ness with my Mom, who is probably a bigger fan than I am.

I adore live theater. The first show I saw was Aida, and I've been hooked ever since.

I've actually never been to a concert that wasn't classical in nature. I need to rectify that, I think, but I couldn't get Goo Goo Dolls tix when they came here...

I love movies, especially old, 1940s films. My favorite actress ever is Katharine Hepburn. If you haven't read her memoir Me, you really should. It's a fascinating account of an exceptional woman's life. And I think that Rex Harrison is incredibly sexy - watch The Ghost and Mrs Muir if you don't believe me.

And I shop. Obsessively. But only in stores; I don't do the online thing. In general, I buy bags, bags, and more bags. And lots of shoes to go with my bags. Clothing is incidental :P, but generally I like it of the Banana Republic variety, mostly because they use a palette of variations on the same three colors: black, white, and beige/brown.

Politically, I'm (very!) liberal, read The New York Times obsessively, and like good, old-fashioned debates.

I'm a die-hard Vanity Fair fan, and I read ArtReview and ArtForum obsessively. I spend a fortune on art mags alone.

I'm an incurable techie. My iPod video is my best friend - can you say "portable Johnny Rzeznik" and "portable Project Runway"? I thought so. Now I'll just screencap some Johnny Depp, and then I'll be good to go.


Five Influential Books
that have shaped the way I look at the world

1. The Odyssey, Homer.
 This is my favorite book; I reread it frequently. When I was young I loved the idea that Odysseus persevered and finally succeeded in his efforts to get home.

2. Night, Elie Wiesel.
 This is the book that inspired me to add the poli sci major. It's horrifying, disturbing, and all the more frightening because it's real. My interest in international politics is in part because I'd like to at least play a part in ensuring that something like the Holocaust never happens again. I watched the recent Oprah special with Professor Wiesel, and spent the whole hour in tears. If you haven't read the book, do read it. It should be required reading for everyone. I think I've read it only three times, mostly because though it's incredibly powerful, I cry at the drop of hat - but you'll never forget the images and raw emotions Wiesel evokes.

3. The Second Sex, Simone de Beauvoir.
 This is one of the earliest feminist documents, published in 1945 (1947?). It might be a bit dated to modern readers, but you must appreciate Beauvoir's radicalism and what she accomplished for women everywhere.

4. Huis Clos (No Exit>, Jean-Paul Sartre.
 "L'enfer, c'est les Autres." ("Hell is others.") It's another haunting book that just remains in your memory after you've read it. You can't quite shake the story of Garcin, Ines and Estelle, and the hell they create for themselves, alone with their memories. Their hell might be anywhere, at any time - there aren't any flames or devils.

5. Camera Lucida, Roland Barthes.
  You ostensibly read this book to learn about Barthes' theories of how we look at photographs - what draws us in, etc. In the end, you are left with a lyrical, moving account of why the photograph is such a powerful medium as well.

Honorable Mentions: The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana, Umberto Eco; La chute (The Fall), Albert Camus; The Brothers Karamazov, in particular The Grand Inquisitor, Fyodor Dostoyevksy; Immortality, Milan Kundera.

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