Keith Aldrich A.

Lambino
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Art Appreciation

1. What art form/artwork has changed something in your life? Why account for the
experience.
Art is a very versatile form of creativity that people has based on their own
perspective and emotion that they want their art to convey to spectators. Each and every
form of art can have varying meaning depending on the person who saw the art piece
and they can feel different kinds of feelings like sadness, joy, excitement and many. One
piece of art that has changed my life is ‘The Potato Eaters’ by Vincent Van Gogh.
“The Potato Eaters” is an oil painting that has been created by Vincent Van Gogh
in April 1885 to prove he was on his way to becoming a good figure painter. The painting
had to depict the harsh reality of country life, so he gave the peasants coarse faces and
bony, working hands. He wanted to show in this way that they ‘have tilled the earth
themselves with these hands they are putting in the dish, that they have thus honestly
earned their food’.
The first time that I saw this art work was when I was in my Art class in high
school and my teacher showed us different kinds of art works and “The Potato Eaters” is
one of them. When I first saw the painting, I just ignored it because I didn’t know how to
appreciate art at the time, but when I saw it again while browsing, It told me that life is
hard and that everything is not for free, that It should be gained by yourself in order to
appreciate the things you have in life. After that, I started to appreciate all the hard work
that my parents did in order to put food on the table. I also understood Vincent’s
hardship in order to become a popular artist.
Whenever I feel that I am about to give up, I always remember this art work of
Vincent to give me courage and bravery to face these challenges and to pursue my
dream in order to return my parent’s blood and sweat while raising us. I wanted to
achieve my dreams so that I can help my parents to take care of them when they are old
like how they showed us their love and care when are still a child. I also wanted to help
my siblings especially our youngest in order for him to achieve his dreams as well.
Overall, Vincent’s “The Potato Eaters” has made a huge impact in my life. It
taught me to give importance to every little thing that I have, and to give importance to
my parents hard work. His art work really works wonders and that it can help us connect
with other people through a simple piece of art. This proves that Vincent Van Gogh’s
masterpiece can help give people inspiration and realization of what happens around us
and to not ignore the littel things that we have.

2. Does art always have a function? Why? Support your response. Provide your own
example.

Art doesn’t always necessarily have a function. There are many forms of art that
provides a practical purpose, such as architecture and and internal design, and there are
also many art forms that serves only for aesthetic and emotional experience.

One of the functions of art is to convey the author’s emotion through his artwork,
to give ideas that cannot be said simply through words. Art can be used to pique the
Keith Aldrich A. Lambino
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spectators interest and to give an inspiration to people who are facing challenges in life.
The emotional function of an art can be seen from poetry, literature and music to
painting, sculpture and more complexed form of art.

One example of art that doesn’t necessarily have a function is music. Yes, music
can indeed serve practical purpose such as providing entertainment or setting the mood
in movies or tv shows, there are many kinds of art that solely exist to give entertainment
and expressing emotions or a different atmosphere.

3. If an art ceased to have a function, will it remain an art? Why?

Yes, an art can still remain as an art even if it ceases to have a function. The
value of art is not determined by its practical usefulness, but rather by its ability to evoke
emotions from people. In other words, art can exist for its own sake, as an expression of
creativity and human imagination.
In fact, many works of art throughout history have been created solely for the
purpose of expressing emotions or ideas without any pratical function. Examples include
abstract paintings, sculptures and conceptual art pieces.
Overall, Art is not solely defined by its functionality but also by its aesthetic,
emotional, and cultural value. When an artwork loses its function, it may still hold
significance as a representation of the artist's creativity, skill, and expression.
Keith Aldrich A. Lambino
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In 1892, Scottish scientist Sir James Dewar invented the vacuum

flask. Through his work in cryogenics, he identified a need to keep a
chemical placed in a flask at a stable temperature. To do this,
Dewar placed a glass bottle in another larger glass bottle, and
evacuated the air between the two bottle walls. In doing so, Dewar
created a partial vacuum to keep the temperature of the contents
stable. Hiring a professional glass blower to make a sturdier flask
led to the commercial manufacture of the “Dewar Flask” in 1898.
In 1903, Reinhold Burger (Dewar’s glass blower) and his business
partner Albert Aschenbrenner were manufacturers of scientific glass
devices. While producing flasks for Dewar, they crafted a domestic vacuum flask with a
protective metal casing and secured a patent for it.
In 1904, Burger and Aschenbrenner hosted a competition to name the vacuum bottle. A
Munich resident submitted the word ‘Thermos’ derived from the Greek word Thérmē
meaning ‘heat’ and Thermos GmbH was formed.
In 1907, Thermos GmbH sold the Thermos trademark rights to three independent
companies: The American Thermos Bottle Company, US; Thermos Limited, UK; and
Canadian Thermos Bottle Co. Ltd. Canada. The three Thermos
companies operated independently of each other, yet developed
the Thermos vacuum flask into a widely sought after product
that was taken on many famous expeditions, including: Lt E.H.
Schackelton's trip to the South Pole; Lt Robert E. Peary's trip to
the Arctic; Colonel Roosevelt's expedition to Mombassa and into
the heart of the African Congo with Richard Harding Davis. It
even became airborne when the Wright Brothers took it up in
their airplane and Count Zepplin carried it up in his air balloon.
In 1909, Thermos was praised around the world for its revolutionary design, Thermos
won the ‘Grand Prize Award’ at the Alaska Yukon Pacific Exposition and went on to be
honoured at seven more world expositions.
In 1911, Thermos Limited, located in England produced the first
machine-made glass filler, a critical industrial breakthrough for
speeding up production. In automating this glass blowing process,
Thermos became a world leader in glass vacuum technology and
manufacturing.
In 1912, The popularity of Thermos products grew tremendously – so
much so that The American Thermos Bottle Company had to move to
a new site in Norwich, CT to increase output.
In 1925, Thermos Bottle Co. merged with the Icy-Hot Bottle Co. of
Cincinnati Ohio, also a vacuum bottle company established in the early 1900s.
Keith Aldrich A. Lambino
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In 1928, Advancements led to new uses for vacuum-insulated technology. Notable

products were the insulated cabinets for ice cream and frozen fish, in demand until
mechanical refrigeration became available in the 1930’s.
In 1931, Thermos Limited almost shut down because of the war, operating not as a
manufacturer but as an assembler of imported products. Production restarted in 1931
and a metal canister factory was opened in Leyton in 1932.
In 1939, When World War II broke out, virtually all of the capacity at Thermos Limited
was changed over to requirements of the British military forces. Every time a thousand
bombers went out on a raid 10,000 - 12,000 Thermos vacuum flasks went with them.
In 1951, Thermos acquired the Plastene Corporation of Indiana, giving Thermos two
injection moulding facilities in the US and greater expertise in this emerging technology.
In 1953, Improving on their lunch kits, Thermos released the first fully lithographed steel
lunch box with the image of Roy Rogers, which sold over 2,000,000 units in the first
year.
In 1957, Thermos brand products, known almost universally now, had
been used for plasma and insulin transit, as well as being utilised in
various instruments measuring electric power, rate of climb in airplanes,
detection of oil deposits and weather reporting.
In 1960, Thermos merged with the King-Seeley Corporation, thus entering
the tent, camp stove, and lantern field.
In 1966, Thermos introduced the world to their first stainless steel vacuum
bottle.
In 1971,The Queen’s Award to industry was presented to Thermos Limited, UK for
exporting over 50% of their production to over 100 different companies.
In 1985, Successfully introduced onto the market was the Thermos Coffee Butler, a
vacuum-insulated glass carafe, becoming one of the top household products in North
America that year.
 In 1996, In 1996 the UK Thermos plant moved from Brentwood to a new site in
Thetford, adjacent to the glass plant.
In 2002, The high-performance IceBound line of soft coolers is introduced. Made with
exclusive IsoTec™ multi-layered insulation and a leak-proof interior lining.
In 2004, Thermos celebrated 100 years of designing and developing vacuum insulated
products. Thermos introduced the FUNtainer® line of kids insulated products.
In 2014, Thermos Parent companies acquire alfi GmbH, 100-year old German company
specialising in premium carafes.
Keith Aldrich A. Lambino
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 In 2017, Thermos LLC acquires Lifefactory Inc., leader in glass hydration and baby
products featuring silicone sleeves.