Arts in New York City: Becoming a Native

How many native New Yorkers have ever been to the Empire State building? The Opera? Or even Central Park? People live in New York City their entire lives, yet they have never really explored or seen the city in which they live. The goal of my curriculum in the Arts of New York City Seminar is to reintroduce the students to New York City by visiting some popular destinations that most students have never been to, like the Metropolitan Opera, Broadway, and The Highline, while also visiting some smaller venues that show off the culture and workings of New York City in particular. Each venue is different, and meant to introduce a different aspect of art and teach the students to think critically and analyze the world around them. Each specific venue is related to a question connecting to art and the course, and I hope throughout the semester we will use all the different venues to answer our questions from different lenses. The semester is split into three different sections. The first section introduces art in the form of accessibility, diversity, and location, by visiting Grand Central, The Highline, and Central Park. In the second section of the semester, we will visit landmark art venues in New York City: The Metropolitan Opera, Broadway, and a Philharmonic. While visiting these landmarks, we will discuss how different art forms of the same original piece add or detract from the story. Finally, we will spend the final part of the semester visiting different communities in New York City and seeing how they use art to express themselves. In doing this, we will visit a small café and a late-night show. By the end of the semester, my hope is to have 19 native New Yorkers who think critically and know their city through the art it has to offer.

SECTION ONE: Art in the City

1. How is New York City accessed?

Destination: Grand Central Terminal, 42^nd Street between Lexington and Park

Date: Thursday, February 8^th, 5-7 pm

Cost: Free

Readings: Grand Central Website (be sure to check out how much a train ticket costs), Architecture in New York

Blog: Post a summary of how much it would cost you to get from your house to Grand Central (Due Thursday at noon)

Grand Central Terminal is a world of its own, and covering 2 avenues and 2 streets it is a must see. On one hand, Grand Central is a way to introduce the students to the architecture of New York City. Throughout the tour of Grand Central, the students will be exposed to the older architecture of thebuilding as they see the walls, ceiling, curved arches and stones littering the building. Additionally, they will have the opportunity to see how companies (like Apple) can turn an unexpected space into a modern store. On the other hand, Grand Central is a transportation hub of the city, and at a peak hour (notice the time we are going), there are upwards of 150,000 people coming on and off the trains. This gives the students the opportunity to see the different types of people that come to New York and think critically about how available New York City is to everyone.

 

2. Equality and diversity in New York City?

Destination: The Highline, Entrance at 34^th St and 11^th Ave

Date: Anytime between February 9-21

Cost: Free

Readings: Highline Neighborhood, Disney World on the Hudson, Highline Website

Blog: Post a picture of something you see as a division between social-classes and explain why that picture represents this idea (Due Feb 21)

This venue is intended to introduce the class divisions evident amongst the landscape and neighborhoods of New York City. While walking the highline, I want to students to start noticing the obvious differences between the meat-packing district neighborhood this used to be to the expensive, artsy neighborhood it has become. Who used to live in the area, versus who lives there now? Has The Highline impacted this change at all? What is the cost of art in this specific destination? And again, this stop is meant to bring about the question of who has access to this kind of art?

 

3. What is the cost of art?

Destination: Central Park, Enter at East 72^nd and 5^th Avenue

Date: Wednesday, February 21 during class time (we will walk together from QC)

Cost: Free

Readings: enjoy a week off from readings

Blog: Post a picture of you in the park (due Wednesday night)

I can fairly confidently bet that half the class has never been to Central Park (beyond driving through the crossings) and I therefore hope to change that. Central Park comprises nearly 850 acres of prime real estate in Manhattan and is essentially just a park. Playing off last week’s trip to The Highline, the students will once again look to see who comes to the park. Is it different than last week’s crowd? Why? Also, why would the City of New York find it worthwhile to reserve so much land as a park and not sell it for million and millions of dollars? Finally, the students will be able to see street art, an essential part of the art and culture of New York. Students will be exposed to caricature drawings, people playing instruments, mimes, and maybe even a magician or two. I hope to discuss these performers and what they add to the city.

 

SECTION TWO: How do different types of art tell a different story?

4. From Movie to Broadway

Destination: The Phantom of the Opera on Broadway, Majestic Theater

Date: Tuesday, March 6 at 6 pm (please arrived by 5:30)

Cost: $29 a person

Readings: Watch the movie version on Netflix, Amazon Prime, YouTube, rent it from the library…

Blog: Post a picture of something that reminded you of this show (due Thursday night after the show)

Broadway Shows are perhaps the number one activity when it comes to viewing the arts in New York City. Tourists from all over the world have gone to New York Broadway shows, yet many students have never been. In becoming real natives of New York, we must see a real Broadway show. I specifically chose The Phantom of the Opera to lead into the discussion of using different art forms to tell the same story. How does Broadway differ from the movie version? Why is it better or worse? What does it add or take away from the original plot?

5. From iPhone speakers to Live (and symphony to movie?)

Destination: Erioca Symphony in Lincoln Center’s Philharmonic, David Geffen Hall

Date: Wednesday, April 4^th, 7:30 pm

Cost: $35

Readings: Listen to the symphony, Philharmonics Website, Erioca Movie (just quickly skim through it)

Blog: Post a voice note of you making music (be creative, it does not need to be with regular instruments!). Due Wednesday at noon

While this is perhaps less popular than an Opera or Broadway Show, it is equally as important to visit. The Philharmonic gives the students a taste of what music used to sounds like, before the invention of electric and pop music. Additionally, the students are able to hear the music live and feel the music reverberate throughout the building. I purposely chose a symphony by Beethoven as he is a composer many students have heard about and will maybe even recognize some stylistic elements. In 2003, a made-for-TV film was made called Erioca which featured this symphony in its entirety. This gives us the opportunity to not only discuss the differences between iPhone music and live music, but also what the movie adds to the symphony. Again, the main questions being asked here are what are the differences between the different ways of listening to music? Why? Was it better or worse?

6. From book to movie to Opera

Destination: Cendrillon in Lincoln Center (follow directions from last trip)

Date: Thursday, April 12^th at 8:00

Cost: $27 (from separate funds)

Readings: Met Website, Opera Protocol, and remind yourself what the Cinderella story is about (watch the movie, read the book, ask your little sister)

Blog: Post 3 questions to the blog that you would like to ask an Opera singer (due Thursday at noon)

The Metropolitan Opera is a staple of New York City art, and we therefore must visit it. I specifically chose Cendrillon as it is based on Cinderella and we can therefore (once again) discuss the different formats. Also, we are going the opening night of this Opera, and I therefore hope it the dramatics of it will meet people’s expectations. I hope this night gives the students a taste of what expensive art means, and, going back on themes discussed in the first part of the semester, a taste of who comes to the opera. Before the show, we will have backstage access to the stage set where we will meet with the artistic creator of the set who will speak to us about what that process looks like. Additionally, we will meet with the Opera singers themselves who will explain to us what the training process is like to become an Opera singer. The students will also have the opportunity to ask questions to the singers themselves. The questions of this venue relate again to using Opera to tell a story we all know and love and how it adds or detracts from the plot. On a broader scale, how does Opera differ from regular Broadway?

 

SECTION THREE: The nitty gritty culture of New York City

7. What makes New York City a melting pot?

Destination: Nuyorican Poets Café, 236 East 3^rd Street

Date: Wednesday, April 18^th at 9 pm (I know it is a little late but you can leave early)

Cost: $10

Readings: Café Website, Read some blog posts from Seminar 2 about diversity in New York

Blog: Write a poem about what you think makes New York diverse (due Wednesday at noon)

Nuyorican Poets Café is a small cafe located in lower Manhattan. The café uses different forms of visual arts, music and poetry to exhibit the life of many immigrant Puerto Ricans in America. We will be attending the Wednesday night Poetry Slam hosted by Jive Poetic. I think this is an important venue to visit because it uses art to describe the difficult lives of many immigrants in America. As many Macaulay students are children of immigrants or even immigrants themselves, it is important to not only recognize but praise their hardships. Going to this Café is a perfect way to interactively learn about history throughout multimedia arts. While here, I hope to discuss what attracts people to New York City, why people choose to live here, and what they hope to accomplish. I hope this venue opens the conversations about acceptance and working hard to achieve one’s dreams.

 

8. What are the different communities in New York City?

Destination: Any neighborhood in New York City (Chinatown, Little Italy, Harlem…if it is not one of these options, please email me beforehand to approve the neighborhood)

Date: Anytime until Wednesday, May 2, but I will cancel class on Wednesday, April 25^th to give everyone an opportunity to go

Cost: free

Readings: Chinatown, Little Italy, Harlem

Blog: Take 3 pictures of 3 different pieces of art (can be any form of art) that you think describes this community (due Wednesday, May 2 at noon). Also, what questions do you think should be posed about this trip? Post 2 to the blog.

On your own or in groups I want everyone to choose a neighborhood in New York City to explore. While there, everyone should be on the lookout for art in different forms. The point of this activity is twofold: first, it will allow the students to continue analyzing the different neighborhoods in New York City and see the people that make up this wonderful city; secondly, the students will hopefully start recognizing art on their own and be creative in what they view as art. I hope this activity will show the students that art can be anything and everywhere and does not to be restricted to a museum or Broadway show. While in these different neighborhoods, I hope the students will think critically on their own and start asking their own questions.

9. What is American culture?

Destination: The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Ed Sullivan Theater

Date: TBA (tickets are not yet open for the Spring)

Cost: Free

Reading: Popularity of Talk Shows, Millennials and Talk Shows

Blog: Write a paragraph explaining what American culture looks like to you (due by noon on the day of the show)

For our last trip together, I chose an activity that will hopefully be fun and still (somewhat) educational. Ever since the creation of the TV, talk shows have been gaining more and more popularity. While some debate today if they are on the decline, they are still incredibly famous and a staple of American culture. I hope this destination open the conversation about what American, and specifically New York culture is and how people use different art forms to express their culture. The Late Show is an opportunity for the student to get a sneak peek into American culture, while at the same having a fun night out. Following last week’s trip, the Late Show is meant to continue the discussion of how art is used to define culture and the connection between them. I hope the students will think critically about the show and why they think it is so popular in America.

 

TOTAL COST: $74

 

Syllabus:

50%–blog posts

25%–final assignment

25%–class participation and attendance

 

Final Assignment: Where do you come from? What is your background? Using any art form, explain your culture and how you fit into the melting pot of New York City.