Chris Burden, Shakira and Jack Kerouac - Research Paper Example

How Did Chris Burden, Shakira And Jack Kerouac Influence Society? Table of Contents I. Introduction 3 II. Discussion on Chris Burden, Shakira and Jack Kerouac 4 III. Chris Burden 5 IV. Shakira 6 V. Jack Kerouac 7 VI. Influences of Chris Burden, Shakira and Jack Kerouac on the Society 8 VII. Conclusion 9 VIII. Citations 10 I. Introduction Popular music and art have been often termed to have a great impact on the society by influencing a huge number of audiences. The influences developed by popular music and art on the society were not only observable in the early centuries, but is also quite apparent in the 21st century. In this regard, the role played by popular music singers, lyricists, and dancers become quite significant (Inglis, “The Beatles, Popular Music and Society: A Thousand Voices”). With this concern, the paper will focus on the social influences of Chris Burden, Shakira and Jack Kerouac, who are recognized to be few of the most popular personalities, belonging to different spheres of the society. The paper will intend to provide a brief description of the three personalities with due consideration to their time and society. The discussion of the paper will further emphasize on the professional career of the three personalities to conclude on the influences develop by them on the society. II. Discussion on Chris Burden, Shakira and Jack Kerouac Chris Burden was born in 1946 and achieved an international recognition in 1970s as a West Coast body artist and a performer of conceptual arts. Chris Burden was also recognized as a controversial figure as a participant in the Conceptual Art movement and influenced his audiences by getting himself shot, crucified, electrocuted and almost drowned. These were again used in his videos during 1974 which significantly influenced the society (Electronic Arts Intermix, “Chris Burden”). Shakira was born in 1977 in Colombia. Until the beginning of the 21st century, she gained recognition as the most famous female international crossovers in representing Latin pops. After her recognition in the international music industry, she was stated as one of the most influencing popular singer, dancer and lyricist. She also sang the theme song of FIFA World Cup in 2010 which was again a hit (A&E Television Networks, “Shakira Biography”). Jack Kerouac was born on 1922 and was recognized as a novelist in the early 1940s. The author travelled in many places including San Francisco, California, Mexico, North Carolina and other states which inspired him to write novels based on the social lives of the people of those regions. This in turn influenced the society quite strongly. Jack Kerouac died in 1969 when his age was only 47 years in Saint Petersburg, because of a hemorrhage in his abdomen (Dittman, “Jack Kerouac: A Biography”). III. Chris Burden Chris Burden was a well-known conceptual body artist. The rise of this famous personality can be identified in the beginning of 1970s and played a vital role in the Conceptual Art movement. Most of activities were particularly aimed at testing the verge of pain that he could tolerate. Few of his most daring activities included getting himself shot by one of his friend and locked in a locker for long five days in the year 1971. In 1974, he let himself be transfixed in a crucifix style over a Volkswagen Beetle. He also let himself electrocuted and almost drowned in his performances in the later years. His performances and daring activities often rewarded him with ‘relics’, such as the nails he had used in transfixing his body in a crucifix style (Molesworth & Et. Al., “Work Ethic”). Chris Burden’s performances were mostly documented photographically without motions. The photographic presentation of Chris Burden’s work was further accompanied by written scripts which acted as a descriptive extension to the photographs. However, after he realized that flat black and white picture were ineffective to create an impact on the society and reward him the recognition of an artist, he focused on documenting his performance on television. In his later part of his career, he focused on television documentaries, such as Garcon in 1976, Working Artist in 1975 and Honest Labour in 1979. With his performance in Honest Labour, Chris Burden tended to provide a significant message to the society with an example of digging a ditch regarding the labor or effort provided by humans and its usefulness to serve the society (Molesworth & Et. Al., “Work Ethic”). IV. Shakira Shakira is not only known for her singing voice and skills to compose lyrics, but is also recognized for her giving to the society and her concerns regarding the social issues. Shakira’s career begun in 2001 with the release of her first English album “Laundry Service” which led to her first single album to release in 2005, titled as “La Tortura”. After gaining fame in the Latin American and British culture, Shakira focused on her crossovers. Her first crossover, i.e. “Hips Don’t Lie” was an addition to her another English album. “Oral Fixation, Vol. 2” was recorded to be an all time hit in the international music industry (Billboard, “With ‘She Wolf’ Shakira Transforms in a Global Stage”). From her young age, Shakira showed talent in music composition and singing as well. Today, she not only sings her song but also produces them. Apart from being one of the successful and apparently one of the most famous female singing voices, Shakira has always been praised for her charity concerns. In many instances, she had been observed providing grants to the educational systems of different countries and assisting poor children to gain the advantages of proper education. She has also been quite concerned about the health hazards faced by children and women in different parts of the world. It is in this context that she founded Pies Descalzos (Barefoot) Foundation in Colombia, when she was only 18 and had just started with her singing profession. In order to create an impact on the society and on the government she also founded an advocacy group, ALAS with the purpose to enhance early childhood education and health development programs in American continent (Billboard, “With ‘She Wolf’ Shakira Transforms in a Global Stage”). V. Jack Kerouac Jack Kerouac was one of the famous novelists of the 20th century, who believed in writing on his experiences. Born in Massachusetts in 1922, Jack Kerouac was observed to be quite intelligent. As a student, Jack Kerouac was rewarded with a football scholarship in Colombia University. However, as he was interested in navy, he decided to drop out of school and join the US Merchant Marine. After he realized that the discipline exercised in navy was excruciating for him, he decided to come back to New York and finally concentrated on writing novels. His first novel, “On the Road” was characterized as one of the most influencing novels of the age, depicting the writer’s experiences with embellishments rather than fictions (Dittman, “Jack Kerouac: A Biography”). For the sake of art and literature, the novelist decided to give up his middle-class American lifestyle and focus on gathering knowledge about different ethnic cultures of America. Notably, his novel, “On the Road” spontaneously narrated the experiences and desires of an African American as a minority race and as the predecessor of white hipster of the 1950s. His other writings, “The Town and the City”, “The Railroad Earth”, “The Subterraneans”, “San Francisco Blues” and others were also stated to focus on the ethnic cultures of American continent and his personal experiences which he had gathered by travelling in diverse parts of the country. In his writing in “Big Sur”, he further depicts his experiences elaborating the various aspects of the then society which certainly had a strong and long-lasting effect on the American society (Dittman, “Jack Kerouac: A Biography”). VI. Influences of Chris Burden, Shakira and Jack Kerouac on the Society Being few of the most famous and controversial public figures, these personalities can be observed to have a considerable impact on the society they belonged and served. For instance, the performance of Chris Burden, replicated the nature of human beings to tolerate physical pain for the achievement of their desires. The influences that Chris Burden had on the society can be apparently illustrated with reference to his performance in “Honest Labor”. In the documentary, he presented the core values of the society in treating the usefulness of hard labor to accomplish the determined goal and the ability of most of the white collared and blue collared workers of the then society (Molesworth & Et. Al., “Work Ethic”). Shakira, both as a modern music artist and as a socially responsible person, also has a considerable influence on the society. As a global figure, Shakira has gained a significant impact on the cultures of different societies, especially in the American society. Her influences on the society are also enhanced by her participation in charitable workings with prime concern to the early childhood development and the role of governments in facilitating education along with health awareness programs in the continent (Billboard, “With ‘She Wolf’ Shakira Transforms in a Global Stage”). On the similar context, with the spontaneous description of the experiences earned by the minority races in American society, Jack Kerouac was able to create an impact on the society’s values regarding the ethnic citizenship. His works also influenced the mechanic lifestyles exercised by the society during the period (Dittman, “Jack Kerouac: A Biography”). VII. Conclusion With reference to the above discussion it can be stated that famous personalities, such as Chris Burden, Shakira and Jack Kerouac have often influenced the socio-cultural beliefs and values of a country. In the modern day context, with the assistance of technological interventions and globalization, the impact has in fact exceeded the national boundaries and are tending to influence the societies and cultures all around the world. The fact can evidently be witnessed in the case of Shakira. Notably, the time period and professional mechanisms play a crucial role in fortifying the influences created by the famous personalities. For instance, the influence that Shakira has on the world society is much stronger than that of Chris Burden and Jack Kerouac. It is worth mentioning that these social figures should consider their influence on the society with significance in documenting their performance. VIII. Citations A&E Television Networks. “Shakira Biography”. May 19, 2011. Biography, 2011. Billboard. With ‘She Wolf’ Shakira Transforms in a Global Stage Nielsen Business Media, Inc, 2009. Dittman, Micheal J. Jack Kerouac: A Biography Greenwood Publishing Group, 2004. Electronic Arts Intermix. “Chris Burden”. May 19, 2011. Chris Burden Works, 2011. Inglis, Ian. The Beatles, Popular Music and Society: A Thousand Voices Palgrave Macmillan, 2000. Molesworth, Helen Anne. & Et. Al. Work Ethic Penn State Press, 2003. Read More