Witch-slapped: Macbeth's fall from grace

Why do people who are not "evil" take the first step into evil? What, for instance, is involved in taking that first step "down the primrose path to the everlasting bonfire" (Macbeth, 2.3)? What are the consequences of the individual choosing evil (particularly the internal consequences)? Use examples from the text to support your opinion.

The most fitting thing to start off this blog post would in fact be a quote from The Dark Knight:

And during the subsequent fifteen minutes while I searched for other pictures, I came across this Urban Dictionary post (don't worry Ms. G, this one's school appropriate). It outlines three categories of possible first steps, which are:

Falling to the same corruption you sought to eliminate. (Anakin Skywalker from Star Wars, Lois Griffin from Family Guy) 

Prolonged exposure to evil, despite good intentions. (Frodo from Lord of the Rings, Ice King from Adventure Time)  

Narrow minded destruction in belief of a greater goal. (Harvey Dent from "The Dark Knight Rises")

Now, Macbeth falls into a strange combination of the last two categories. On one hand, he is sort of exposed to evil through the witches and then Lady Macbeth who eventually convince him to kill Duncan. And also he is destroyed because of the belief in a goal (to become king). However Macbeth is better suited in a new forth category which could be described as "Succumbs to temptation of power/money/ect" which would include a ton of modern characters. For Macbeth, that first step was the witches. They gave him the idea that started him on his path to villainy. Macbeth does suffer from these actions, which is seen through the comparison of Macbeth's brain and the castle. The hallucination of the dagger is one example of Macbeth's instability (2.1)

A dagger of the mind, a false creation,

Proceeding from the heat oppressed brain? 

I see thee yet, in form as palpable

As this which now I draw. 

Thou marshall'st me the way that I was going;

And such an instrument I was to use.

and the story about the horse eating the other horse is an example of the chaos inside the castle (2.4).

ROSS
       And Duncan's horses—a thing most strange and certain—
             Beauteous and swift, the minions of their race,
       Turn'd wild in nature, broke their stalls, flung out,
       Contending 'gainst obedience, as they would make
       War with mankind.
       Old Man
                                    'Tis said they eat each other.  

Some other characters who exemplify this quote include:
(Duh, he's the one who said it)

(Because running a meth lab is pretty evil, even if it's to support your family after you get diagnosed with cancer)

(You guys started out being one of the most innovative software companies, but somehow you can't design a phone that has a battery that lasts for more than a year?)

(This one is practically the perfect example:Dean dedicates his whole life to fighting demons only to become one)

(This one doesn't fit any of the categories, which necessitates the creation of a fifth "People who are forced into evil"-and yes that was a bit of a Wicked reference)

(I'll just leave this here because something tells me that everyone will have a different opinion on the problems of the US today)

#IBmakingart

The artwork I chose is Permutations Study #2 which was created by Leyla Cardenas in 2014. It was made by printing images onto demolition rubble. There isn't exactly a size, but it's generally a little taller than I am (so around 5 and a half feet) and it's probably around 6 feet wide. She is from Colombia, but this piece was made for the San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art (at least, that's what I can understand from these two websites, it's unclear if Permutations is the one for San Jose or if she will be creating one). She modeled the work after historic San Jose, however, due to the nature of the piece, it has a different assembly each time. For instance, here is the picture I took at CAM:

And here is the same piece assembled at the San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art:

Notice the difference in organization. At SJICA, there are distinct columns with areas of negative space in between, while the picture from CAM has a more disorganized feeling to it.

This piece is definitely abstract and non traditional. Using rubble as a canvas is a very interesting choice, especially considering that the buildings that are printed on the rubble are all older. The juxtaposition of different buildings also create an interesting harmony in the piece. The roof in the upper right part of the piece seem Italian or Japanese. There is a mixture of stone buildings that could be Greco-Roman (columns?) or more medieval/Gothic. Also in the lower right corner there is a sign that looks more British in design. This combination of the different architectural styles should not create a cohesive work, but this piece somehow makes them all seem like they work together. This is the core idea: the combination of past styles and ideas (represented by the buildings) jumbled together in an odd but connected way.

The artist has a really great grasp on using negative space and light (in this case shadows) to create emphasis in her work.The way the work was lighted was obviously very deliberate. The shadows create a more three dimensional feeling to this work and give value to the lighter columns and textures found in the piece. The composition is very versatile, and, as seen above, can change from exhibition to exhibition. The way the piece is organized obviously changes the negative space, but this space is used effectivley in both cases. It does have a feeling that something is missing (but not "the artist forgot something", more of a 'the artists purposely left this empty")

Also, the name is very interesting: Permutations #2. When you look up the definition of permutations, you get the act of permuting. That's not very helpful unless you know what permuting is. However, upon further research, I found out it meant "the act of changing" which makes a lot of sense. This art piece is about the past, but is also about the transition of the past to the future, which is evident from the fact that the art is printed on rubble.

Here is my sketch, which was honestly more difficult than this post (no offence Ms. Genesky, the prompt was very thought provoking) because of the negative space/shadows. So, to preface the sketch, I will leave this for you to contemplate:


And, without further ado, here is my sketch:

And, without further ado, here is my sketch:

(I should also note that I was focusing on the negative space, so I did not color the squares. Instead, I focused on placement and size)