I’ve never seen a real opera, so I’m not sure what I was going to expect since I had seen different varieties of what it’s like on t.v, but it seemed that the word opera is usually preceded by Italian, but this was not the case. To be honest, an Italian opera would have been difficult for me to understand and in that scenario I would only be hearing their singing rather than following a story line. I never expected for an opera to be a comedy. It just didn’t seem like it would ever go together until I saw it for myself. It was difficult for me to really follow the story, but the moniters helped tremendously. I really enjoyed the scenery but I was confused at some times as to how they fit with the story, like the floating house. Other than that, it was definitely a new experience for me, one of many to come.

My post is about the snapshot photo we were supposed to take on October 11. I frequently take the ferry since it’s the only way I know of to get to Manhattan from Staten Island. On the ferry, I often see tourists, more than anywhere else. When I think of the ferry, I think of photos. So it seemed to be the best place to take a photo since everyone else thinks so. I chose this photo (which I put below) because it was supposed to be about NY and the most “NY” place I know of is NYC. I decided to combine the two… and that’s how this photo came about. The reason I love this photo is probably the sky. The way it looks like a  ” storm is brewing”. To me the best photographs are the ones that incorporate nature or even architectural components. I personally dislike pictures of people or faces (I don’t mean to offend anyone). So, having all those components in this photograph just made it so much better, the sky, the water, the boats and most importantly, NYC.

Taken from a ferry perspective

Right when I entered the ICP, I began to look around, moving from photograph to photograph trying to locate the “perfect” one. The one that captured my attention and was the most unusual of all the others. I’m not sure if I even found this photograph or if one even exists because the word “perfect” is different from one person to another. As I walked around looking at the photographs, I noticed that some of them didn’t seem like the type I would have expected to find in the ICP. They seemed plain almost, like one that you could find anywhere. I was surprised at that because I had thought all the photographs there would be a “masterpiece”, ones that you could never imagine taking yourself. I doubt that everyone thought the same photograph was plain, to some they probably had the opposite effect. They made them think, almost mesmerizing the viewer. Still, other photographs really caught my eye. One that almost immediately comes to mind is the Chandelier, Springfield, PA. This photograph seemed so unusual to me. It was a normal photograph of the sky, but in the middle a chandelier was emerging. I began to wonder how the photographer could have taken such a picture or even why he took it? Even now, this photograph is still in my mind and I am still unsure as to the purpose of it. It might actually have been the goal of the photographer to make us ponder this photograph or to let us decide what it’s purpose is. I’m not sure if all of you felt the same way about this photograph and I highly doubt it. I added it below, ENJOY!

I’m not sure if we were supposed to post about yesterday, but here it goes. To be completely honest, I didn’t expect to like jazz and therefore I already had a disliking towards jazz despite hearing it. As I was walking into the Julliard School, I was thinking of everything else I could of been doing, of anything but this. When I sat down and started hearing all the different songs, however, I must say it wasn’t what I had expected. The music seemed to come together but at the same time you could distinguish the different types of instrument sounds.I didn’t even realize that their music had developed from stories out of their own lives until Frank Kimbrough was discussing the story behind “Little Jordan.” Just like artists draw inspiration from their own lives, musicians draw, or play if you will, inspiration from their own lives. In reality, art and music are not so different; they are two ways to express yourself(like two sides of the same coin) and it is up to us to translate that based o our own views. Music simply makes us “hear” rather than “see” what the artist/musician is trying to portray. This was definitely an opportunity that I would not have experienced without Macaulay Honors and I’m sure it won’t be the last.

Hi, I’m making a post about my view towards art and the Brooklyn museum. To me, art, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder. What I mean by that is that it’s the viewers of art that really make it art. For instance, an abstract work of art can bring about different opinions as to what the artist was trying to portray and it’s these different opinions that make it art. What some people might not see as appealing or worthy of being art might not be the same to someone else.

I guess the reason I feel this way kind of showed during my trip to the Brooklyn Museum. Honestly, I wasn’t sure I would enjoy the Brooklyn Museum especially since I haven’t gone to a museum or years and so I had a dislike of museums for that reason. When I got to the museum I was worried that I would be staring at a work of art with nothing in my mind except “What’s the point of this?”, but I’m glad to say that wasn’t at all what happened. When I got into my group, we started out looking at the Ancient Egyptian Exhibit. There we saw all kinds of art…even stuff I wouldn’t have considered art like a chair. Not only that but I also was able to have a conversation about these different works of art that didn’t just involve saying what I see. I actually thought about the reasons behind the painting and why it looked the way it did. I didn’t even think I could look at art from different perspectives but what a surprise. I’m definitely glad I went that day and despite how I could barely walk towards the end, I would probably go again. I look forward to what’s in store for next week.