Amanda Ewerth

COMM 250

April 15, 2016

Extra Credit Paper

Clouds

On Thursday, March 31^st I attended the Lecture: Do Clouds Have Meaning? On the Relation Between Media and Nature, presented by Professor John Peters.  One of the first statements Professor Peters said was “Our lives are like the sky. Our consonants are the stars, and our vowels the planets.” I thought this was a very fascinating way of explaining a topic such as the sky.  He used the sky as a transition into the topic of clouds and their effect on us. He questioned the audience how we should interpret the sky and if we have in the past (and present) have looked TOO much into it. It is irresistible to not think of a meaning of something or incorporate creativity into it.  Idolatry is when you connect and relate something alive and an inanimate object. Such using clouds in art to symbolize power or victory.

            Clouds have been used in art for centuries. Modern paintings had more of a focus on the perspective of the scene in the painting. Artists always tend to love painting clouds. They obey a different kind of logic. Clouds were the first ever idea of abstract art. Romantics absolutely love the idea and look of clouds. But many argue that clouds are not supposed to have meaning at all.

            Looking at a picture from the moon looking at Earth, we appear to be the only planet that consists of water, land, and life. But we are also a planet full of clouds. Clouds are seen as media by its symbolism. As you can gather from the examples above, clouds have many different meanings throughout the ages.