The darkness is suffocating in its intensity. One can hear the distant rumble of approaching carriages. A flash of lightning illuminates the wounded soldier. He braces himself against a jagged tree branch, his eyes wide and bright as he searches the shadows for his captors, shuddering in fear at the thought of his imminent death.
“Spy” is the theatrical adaptation of James Fenimore Cooper’s 1821 thriller of the same name, an action-packed play about the American Revolution and the colonists’ fight for independence. Gripping from start to finish, the production tells a captivating story of death and love, of friendship and betrayal. The actors are passionate and sincere, melodramatic without being overly histrionic. The stage setup is effective as well, as the technical staff makes the most out of a limited set—lighting plays a vital role in creating a different mood for each scene. Combine all these aspects together, and you get the perfect backdrop for a thrilling performance.
“Spy” actually opens with a lively song that belies the dramatic seriousness of the play’s subject—the characters prance around and sing about the Revolution, of Patriots and Loyalists, providing some background information on the historical context of the piece. The performance takes a darker turn in the first scene, as we are taken to the headquarters of the British forces, a messy camp setting complete with bloodied corpses laid out on stretchers.
So begins a two-hour masterpiece of convoluted plot lines, of double meanings and undercover operations. The play centers on the character of Harvey Birch, a spy working to sabotage the British army’s plan to attack the Continental Army with a surprise sweep. Interweaving plot lines include the story of Birch’s fleeting romance with a Loyalist girl and his betrayal of his boyhood friend, who chose to side with the British.
The performances are touching and real. The audience can visibly feel Birch’s anger when he finds that the British have ransacked his father’s house and taken his gold, and Louisa’s tears are real when she finds that Birch has left her, forever this time, to go on another dangerous mission into enemy territory. The supporting actors are more than adequate—the drunken barmaid is ludicrous and endearing at the same time, and one can actually see the spit flying out of the British captain’s mouth when he makes one of his many pompous addresses.
The production isn’t completely flawless. Some of the fighting scenes drag on for a little bit longer than necessary—five straight minutes of men chasing each other around with wooden sticks is more than enough for one scene. In addition, some of the plot twists are so complicated that it becomes easy for the audience to get lost, to forget who is on which side, although that may have been my own fault because in the middle of the performance I suddenly became seized with the urge to count the number of buttons on each soldier’s coat.
All in all, I left the theater satisfied and intrigued, motivated to brush up on my rusting knowledge of American history. The performance was riveting and engaging, and the technical managers did an incredible job with the sound and lighting (I jumped when I heard the gunshot sounds). “Spy” was accurate and attentive to historical detail, successful in its attempt to make exciting the generally onerous subject of the American Revolution.

There I was sitting center of the third row. I was so close that I could see the sweat on the performers. I could see the lines of intensity on their faces. Crisp and sharp or flowing and smooth moves flooded the stage. I felt as if I was sitting, watching the MTV show, America’s Best Dance Crew (ABDC). However without the 10-week wait for the best crew. All I had to do was wait until the end of the day to find out New Jersey’s best dance crew.

The battle, also known as the PRIDE Dance Competition, took place at Rutgers University in the Nicholas Music Center. PRIDE is a hip-hop dance competition hosted by two student organizations at Rutgers University. It was filled with excited and anxious friends and fans. Signs with “I love so-and-so” or “U ROCK _____” were all held up high in the air. Lights, digital cameras and action, the performance started promptly at 7 PM.

For four hours, seven of the best dance crews in the tri-state area, or mostly Jersey and New York came onstage to show Rutgers what moves they had or didn’t have. Like the show ABDC, there were groups who clearly had potential to be the best and others who simply did not bring it to the table. Groups such as Phunktions Hip Hop Dance Company and SERCisCompany danced circles around ones such as Project D and iTop.

Dancing to a remake Baby Bash and Flo Rida, Phunktions Hip Hop Dance Company’s performance was not only exciting to watch but also it was inspiring for people who lack the skills to dance such as myself. They moved as if it was natural like breathing. There was never a moment of monotonous or tedious moves. It was creative and original: the crowd’s favorite.

RAPS Dance Troupe, the first victim to go up after an amazing performance, proved themselves to be stronger than they looked. With a simple look, white and blue tees and black sweat pants, RAPS’ dance moves were much more intricate than their outfits. Performing to a mix consisting of more songs than the members in the crew, RAPS managed to keep most of our attention.

The next two groups were neither great nor terrible to be remembered. Performing to typical, overused songs, BamBoom and Hip Hop Theory Evolution, escaped to the trash bin of my memory. I had to refer back to the show’s program to recall their names.

SERCisCompany grabbed the audience’s attention back towards the stage when they started with literally a BAM. They were perhaps the only rivaling team for the Phunktions Hip Hop Dance Company. Similar to their counterpart, SERCisCompany never lost the audience’s attention. They knew how to keep the keep their performance entertaining.

There’s a saying: “save the best for last.” However that wasn’t the case at this show. Project D and iTop just did not impress not only me but also the rest of the crowd. Some of the members in Project D failed to remember the routine. There were many in iTop who lacked enthusiasm and it showed while they danced.

By the fourth hour, it was quite clear who the final two teams were that would be up for the grand title of best dance crew. The crowd waited anxiously as the judges tallied the results. After an exhausting night of half excitement and half disappointment Phunktions Hip Hop Dance Company left Rutgers U. with the title of best dance crew, until next year when the new and old crews gather once again to fight for that title.

Inner Lid from a Cassone with Venus Reclining on Pillows portrays the full, curvy shape of the goddess of beauty, Venus, lying down on the ground with a nude Cupid tugging on her with a rope. The playfulness involved in the tugging of the rope suggests the solicitation of affection from the angel. All this suggests how love is a form of art because it takes time and effort to the woman over. Venus and Cupid portrays another nude pair except this time they are holding a flower wreath in between them. This may suggests that Cupid has successfully won over her love since Venus is holding her hand out to his.

Childbirth Tray depicts a room scene of nurses along with the birth of a new baby in the world. Although the Renaissance is a period of slight deviation from the strict religious life of the Dark Ages, the scene depicts a nun in the corner. This shows that religion and family are still two important ideals during this period. The bending positions of the women emphasize nurture and care and the focus on the new generation. From the medieval ages, it would have been difficult to portray such a wonderful, peaceful family scene since the people would have to worry about saving their own skins first from the widespread chaos.

The Ring With Names is made from gold and diamond. It appears to be a very expensive wedding gift from its looks. This just shows the power of the rising wealthy class in Renaissance Italy and its ability to enjoy such luxuries. For the first time, people loved freely; marraiges did not occur because it was socially accepted that everyone should eventually get married by a certain age but they happened because of the true love that exists between certain individuals. This ring may be an important piece because it suggests that people were willing to invest a lot in their weddings since a wedding is a once in a lifetime event.

Renaissance Italy was the beginning of a period of great abundance and cultural achievements where the idea of love was perceived open-mindedly. The exhibition successfully preserves the history of the various art forms during this time period.

Is time passing too fast for you? Slow down by taking a look at the Foley Gallery—you will not be disappointed. Martin’s Klimas’ collection of “Flowers” currently decorates the walls of the tiny room in Chelsea. Each photograph consists of gorgeous flowers standing in collapsing vases. Klimas’ goal is to capture time and movement through beauty, something unseen to the human eye. Time just moves too rapidly sometimes and it takes effort to capture and embrace the infinitesimal seconds of our lives. However, through Klimas’ photographs, viewers learn to appreciate these fleeting moments and integrate our own experiences of rapid changes in our daily lives.

Each of Martin Klimas’ nine photographs in the Foley Gallery focuses on a flower vase on the brink of collapse. Because we fail to appreciate everything in front of us, we don’t realize that one moment something can be solid and compact, but shattered the next. Martin Klimas integrates the course of all nature in just one photograph. The upper part of the vase symbolizes its past, the flowers as the present, and the bottom as its future. The explosive, yet graceful transformation helps the viewer realize how instantaneous change can be. Even the flower seems unaware of the situation that its in—it continues to maintain its upright position as its supporter falls.

Appreciation of the present is an important part of Klimas’ life. Aside from his flower exhibition, he had a past exhibit called “Temporary Sculptures” in 2007. Instead of vases, ceramic toy figurines were dropped and the sound of impact triggers his camera to capture each moment once. The one shot theme symbolizes the limited chances and opportunities we have in life. Therefore, time should never be taken for granted.

The vibrant colors Klimas chooses for each background enhances the focus of the picture. The darker shade of either the flower or the vase’s color in the setting helps the viewer focus not only on the center itself, but on the picture as a whole. By looking at it this way, each element of time is thrown at the observer simultaneously.  However, this promotes ambiguous feelings. The colors chosen gives the viewer a sense of serenity and relaxation, but so much is happening that it starts to confuse the viewer. Nevertheless, thinking on a more superficial level, the photographs are interesting to look at.

Though the Foley Gallery consisted of only nine photos, Martin Klimas took plenty more. His devotion to time and movement impresses me and makes this exhibit even more fascinating. His gallery is very unique—I have never heard of an artist capturing a theme this way and it is interesting to be introduced to it. My trip to the Foley Gallery made me love each photograph and hope to one day appreciate time as much as Klimas does.

November 21, 2008 has been labeled a special day in the hearts of countless fan-girls.

Thousands of author Stephenie Meyer’s die-hard fans were ecstatic to finally see the film adaptation of her Twilight Series. A series of extraordinary events occur in the life of an ostensibly ordinary girl; what’s most captivating to viewers is the fact that they are able relate to her experiences. Twilight incorporates the essential themes of the novel, resulting in a sensational piece of cinema. It enhances the attraction to its audience through its careful casting and its approach to target a broader audience.

The cast for the movie is a crucial component to its success. Devoted fans had high expectations as to who would play Edward Cullen, a vampire that is breathtaking in every way possible. The role eventually fell on Robert Pattinson, who, in my opinion, was no doubt the best candidate. Not only does his physical appearance fit the exact description of the character of Edward, he is also able to juxtapose the intensity of being a vampire and the loneliness of being an immortal. Kirsten Stewart is also an excellent choice for the role of Bella Swan. Bella was described in the novel as a seemingly typical girl, yet she is extremely beautiful in her own special ways and especially in Edward’s eyes. What contributed most to the success of the movie was the great chemistry the two actors conveyed that effectively brought about the desires of the ill-fated lovers in the book. The audience is able to feel the forbidden love they personify.

One of the biggest problems for most movie-goers faithful to the novel is that the director is unable to carry out the entire plot of the book in the limited time allotted. She is then forced to cut out parts of the plot that are very crucial to the overall idea. Director Catherine Hardwicke realized the importance of staying true to the book. All the important scenes were either kept nearly the same or given minor adjustments. With this factor, audiences were able to understand the character and plot development throughout the film. Fans are assuredly not disappointed.

The producers of the film did not want to restrict its audience to just young females but to the male audiences as well. With this in mind, they emphasized the scene in which the Cullen family plays a vampire-style baseball game in an open field under a thunderous sky. Furthermore, the producers left a strong impression on the audiences with the exhilarating fighting scene where Edward attacks James in revenge for the suffering he has caused Bella. By highlighting these exciting scenes, male audiences are able to enjoy the action aspect of the movie.

Twilight is an incredible film. Although I feel that the movie is still nowhere as good as the book, it is no doubt an excellent production. It is successful primarily because of all the factors it takes into consideration that satisfy both Twilight fans as well as those who are completely unfamiliar with the book series. I highly recommend this movie, for it will surely capture everyone’s interest with all of its remarkable elements.

Columbus Circle⎯home of the tourists, swindlers, and major retailers our city knows so well.  Located on the southwestern most corner of Central Park, the circle is almost always packed with visitors.  However, not all people go to this traffic-prone circle for the overly priced shops and restaurants; some people visit this New York City hub for its art appeal.  If you do visit Columbus Circle and look toward the towering Time Warner Center, you can see a building out of the corner of your left eye.  Past the perpetual commotion, inflated price tags, and flashy lights of the Circle’s shops, there lies a quiet museum with the most riveting artwork in the city. The museum utilizes the same ingenuity the shops use in their promotions, but with a tad bit more eloquence.  Innovation is essential for the success of any organization in New York, and is the foremost characteristic of the Museum of Arts and Design.

The MAD was not always located where it is today.  Since its start, the museum has grown in both size and popularity.  Before September 2008, it was located in a “small” 4-floor building on 53rd street.  After expanding its collection beyond what its walls could hold, the museum was forced to move to its bigger 12-floor location on Columbus Circle, right off the corner of 8th avenue.  Still the museum had trouble fitting their artwork.  The designers used their familiarity with innovation to solve their problem, optimize their space, and surprise their visitors; at the bottom of each stairwell was a miniature and very unexpected art exhibit.  Even more inventive and startling were the drawers under each display case.  Each drawer could be pulled out to reveal another work of art, thus adding about 100 additional pieces that, without creativity, would have otherwise not been able to fit on display.

The new location at the heart of New York City is perfect for several reasons.  Here the museum can employ technology while still harnessing New York City culture.  The corners of each floor are furnished with Macintosh desktops⎯each fully equipped to browse the Internet for everything related to the museum.  In-between the Mac’s, there are interactive touch-screen televisions on which you can view every single art piece located on that floor.  The screens allow you to see the entire collection, zoom in on a certain piece and read a brief, yet extremely informative description of the selected artwork.  Moving to the new building gave the MAD extra space and new technology.

Even more imaginative than the museum itself were the exhibitions on display.  Far surpassing any other exhibition⎯in both creativity and floor space⎯was the “Second Lives: Remixing the Ordinary” exhibit located on the 5th and 6th floors.  The title of the exhibit says it all; each piece is made of ordinary materials put together to form a completely new object with an entirely new purpose.  In one piece, an artist formed a life-sized pyramid out of plastic spoons and rubber bands.  Another artist sewed the tags of hundreds of shirts into a giant picture of a woman sewing.  In my personal favorite piece, an artist took different colored spools of thread and aligned them to form a very blurry and inverted “Mona Lisa”.  After looking through a glass globe in the middle of the floor, the inverted “Mona Lisa” flipped and the picture became clear.  In essence, it transformed an ordinary collection of thread into one of the world’s most highly regarded portraits.  Each piece was deep, but simple enough to conceptualize without any excessively profound thinking.  By using this creative style, the museum further appeals to its movement toward modernization.

The Museum of Arts and Design is the unbeknownst core of Columbus Circle.  Distracted by the Columbus Circle shops, many people often look past the museum⎯they don’t know what they’re missing out on.  The MAD encompasses all of the same culture and innovation that makes New York the lucrative City that it is today.   In every corner of the museum there lies something new⎯from Macintosh desktops to Mona Lisa replicas⎯making it the best and most innovative museum in the City.

Everyday ordinary objects are turned into works of art, giving them a “Second Life”, as the title of an exhibit at the Museum of Arts and Design states. The innovative designs show the creative artwork held, making it a valuable experience if one wishes to view unique artwork. A common result is the production of uniquely styled furniture. These are scattered throughout the museum and particularly caught my attention because of the creative way they transformed the intended purpose of an item into something else. In a society in which natural resources are used to produce objects that are then thrown away, recycling and reusing materials helps our environment.

One such furniture is Johnny Swing’s “Quarter Lounge”, made from hundreds of quarters and stainless steel. When I first saw it, I wondered how a lounge made from quarters would be able to hold and support a person. Upon closer inspection, there is a stainless steel foundation that provides the backbone and structure of the art piece. The quarters, some more traditional with the bald eagle on the back and others being newer state quarters, are positioned in such a way that gaps were prevalent on the surface. However, the texture is smooth and it looks like a comfortable piece of furniture to use. The artist includes a double meaning, which is the relationship between art and commerce. Currency is designed and can be considered as artwork, but many people do not view it as such. The manufacturing of a lounge makes it easier to view quarters as artwork.

Willie Cole’s “Loveseat” is an eye-catching couch because of the bright colors that appeal to the senses. It is made from heels and other material used to reinforce the shoes. It is probably uncomfortable if one were to sit on it because the seat consists of the shoe tips pointing upwards. The artist’s intended meaning is to show a woman’s fetish with objects. On the front of the couch, the sole of the shoes protrude, signaling a woman’s tendency to require protection and to be territorial.

The last of these pieces of furniture is Tom Price’s “Meltdown Chair.” It is produced from white pipes that were placed closely together with one end heated and melted. The shape formed from the melted pipes sticking and eventually cooling together is in the form of a chair seat. The non-altered ends of the pipes are still visible, sticking out of the base of the chair.

All of these pieces of furniture are out of ordinary and show the many uses of everyday objects. These original designs make the Museum of Arts and Design an exceptional setting to view more modernized pieces of artwork.

The movie takes place in Spain during 1944. The Civil War was nearing to an end and fascist regime was acquiring its power. The young heroine named Ofelia, who recently experienced a death of her father, moves to an old mill located in the peaceful countryside owned by her pregnant mother’s new man, Captain Vidal. The surrounding forest is full of mysterious signs: carved aged stones and partially buried, diminishing structures that indicate a Christian belief. What occurs in this place, however, is anything but pleasant. The fascist Captain is ruthless and callous in hunting down the last members of rebels hidden in the woods. As Vidal’s head housekeeper Mercedes and doctor secretly help the resistance, Ofelia also refuses to conform to Vidal’s myopic worldviews.

Ofelia’s fantasy, or second reality, begins as Ofelia tries to cope with her cruel reality. At midnight a mantis like fairy awakes Ofelia and leads her into an ancient labyrinth nearby, where she meets Pan. In order to reclaim her title of princess of a magical underworld, Ofelia is subjected to a three tasks set by Pan. These tasks are no simple tasks as they include confronting a giant greedy toad, the terrifying Pale Man (a child-devouring ogre that holds his eyes in the palms of his hands), and the sacrifice of an innocent blood. Despite the challenges, this enchanting world of fairies offers Ofelia an escape from the oppression of her sadistic stepfather.

Ofelia, unlike any other young heroine, is not marked by extreme goodness. Instead, she foils other characters as her stubborn and independent mind, high ideals and straight morality results in rebellion against her mother Carmen’s absolute passivity as well as brutality of Captain Vidal. Ofelia also embraces Mercedes, who later becomes a motherly figure after Carmen’s death during labor, as her bravery is illustrated.

The imaginative world of Ofelia and the realities of Spain form an interesting parallel with each other, as the transitions from reality to fantasy are beguiling. Although these two settings are significantly different, they are ideologically opposing ways of telling the same story: a story of tyranny, endless resistance, and the struggle between good and evil. All of Ofelia’s heroic acts, facing fictitious monsters, and forbidden feast reflect what is happening around her. Whether the second reality of Pan is a complete fantasy or not is not explicitly clarified by del Toro as he allows the imaginations of the viewers decide the final conclusion. In result, the ending can be both utterly tragic and victorious at the same time.

What makes Pan’s Labyrinth an exquisite fairytale more than a mere motion picture is the delicate balance of innocent imaginative thoughts with the knowledge of absence in absolute happy endings.

The Museum of Arts and Designs is a ginormous (Yes, I made up a word, because it was big!) place located in the heart of Manhattan. Hearing rumors about how interesting and how great the museum is, my friends, my crew, and I decided to give it a visit. How was the museum, you ask? Hmm… let me ask you something first. One often chooses a museum to enjoy his stay there and look at different kinds of art works that may be appealing to them. Did you ever experience a time where you went to a museum having high expectations for it to be amazing, but then you enter to find that the museum lacks intricacy and is very boring? And then you find yourself so angry that you want to throw a rock (or something) at the museum and just want to break the art pieces because it shows a lack of effort and because you feel that even you yourself could have created such pieces? Well, this wasn’t one of those times. This museum was AMAAZING!!

Starting from the 7th floor down, we encountered fascinating pieces of artwork. There was a sculpture made of glass entitled, “Beasty Dreams,” by Robert Willson. The glass was shaped as a beast, and inside the beast were men and women. However, they were colored differently: some men were white, and some were red, some women were white, and some were red. Because the mouth of the Beast was red, it can be assumed that the beast, (which represented the dream) ate people. As we see some people experiencing something different in their own dreams, we also see some people drowning, some people dying, and some people having a regular dream. Although it cannot be clearly seen through our eyes, we can imagine when trying to relate the colors and positions of the people to a dream. And down the elevator we go; to the 6th floor.

Hair combs? Hair? C-d Records? Clothing tags? What a brilliant idea! Each artist uses a different piece of prop to create his or her own artwork. Korean sculptor Jean Shin creates a sound wave with LP’s and Records. He bends the records and LP and glues them together to make a tidal wave shape. This is called the “sound wave.” Likewise, Clothing tags are used to create a picture of a young woman doing cheap labor. She could not afford supplies, so instead, she used the tags from the clothing factory for which she was working and created a picture of her working conditions (possibly a self-portrait). Deciding to get some exercise, we walk down the stairs instead of the elevator to find ourselves looking at similar styled works.

Books were ripped to shape out three men. Puzzles were put together to create two men, and white and black hair to show a self-portrait of two sides of emotions. Having spent hours on just two floors, we decide to speed up our pace and decide to stop only if a work is appealing to all of us. We go down to the 4th floor to see 9,273 spoons banded together by 3,091 rubber bands; one rubber band to connect three spoons. This was created to last for a limited amount of time. Rubber bands, over time, snap. Knowing this, the artist Jill Townsley created a pyramid foreseeing its death. To the artist, this masterpiece is not completed until it collapses: Art in death.

Tired and restless, we ride the elevator to the first floor, where we had begun our journey. A museum worth visiting, a place where your eyes will grow, and a place where the light will stop shining, the Museum of Arts and Design is the place to go. Because the visit was so great, two acquaintances of mine decided to adventure on this journey again: twice in one week. Don’t forget to go, and I guarantee, you will not be the one who will want to break the art pieces and throw rocks at the museum.

New Bamboo Podcast

Everyone knows what bamboo is – you know, that tall, green, leafy rigid stalk plant that is almost weed-like in how fast it grows. When I think of bamboo, the first three things that come to my mind are China, panda bears, and my failed 2nd grade plant experiment (which totally wasn’t my fault). My association of bamboo with art pretty much extended only to those Chinese ink paintings of bamboo forests, and maybe bamboo flutes at a stretch. It’s certainly no surprise, then, that the exhibit “New Bamboo” at the Japan Society gallery completely blew away all my expectations of what “bamboo art” could be.

To sum up the event, “New Bamboo” is an exhibit entirely devoted to Japanese bamboo as a medium for some of the most complex sculptures you will probably ever see. The show features works from 23 artists who took traditional techniques, applied their own contemporary approach, and created these (more than 90) new and wholly unique works that are, without a doubt, among the most dynamic and intricate I have ever encountered.

While my mind has a hard time comprehending the fact that these works came from traditional basket-making skills and techniques, it certainly is no stretch of the imagination to see how. The sculptures demonstrate probably every traditional technique you could think of using – some are lacquered, others steam-bent, woven, extruded, caned, ropy; one can only be astounded by the ingenuity that went into manipulating this versatile and often underappreciated material.

Of course, if you’re expecting to walk into the exhibit to find a contemporary bamboo David, you will surely be in for a big surprise. Like a great deal of modern art, and sculpture in particular, the twisted, arching forms of many of the works bear little resemblance to biological figures, and probably wouldn’t make the cut as practical objects – though there is certainly a clear organic quality to every piece. For example, one piece, Matsumoto Hafu’s Outsize flower basket, possesses a shape that seems to resemble a hollow ball of yarn, rather than what you’d think a flower basket would be. It looks almost as if the artist took bamboo belts and simply wrapped them into a ball-like shape. A few pieces – such as Honma Kazuki’s Breath – also reminded me more of mathematics and swirling computer-generated fractals, rather than traditional art pieces. Still others reminded me of everyday things, like Homna Hideaki’s Knot III— which really does look like he took a bamboo mat and tied it into a knot – and Rolling Shape II, which looks exactly like a kind of shape that you’d find in a bag of Fritos.

With the fluidity of the forms of the pieces on display, it’s easy for any viewer to forget that shaping this medium is no mean feat. I myself often forgot that these shapes weren’t just carved out of a block, but had to be meticulously shaped and carefully manipulated to become what it is. What looks like a simple curve can in fact take a great deal of time and effort to create. Although I’ve never had to work with bamboo in particular before, I know from experience that it’s anything but easy to steam a piece of wood to bend it and make a curve – it’s all too easy to snap right in half without the right timing and techniques. I can only imagine the painstaking effort put into the pieces in “New Bamboo” – but it’s certainly a breathtaking effort you can’t help but appreciate.