- whitney

Art for the Community

whitney.porter — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 18:06:34 +0000

Thoughts about The House of the Dead Opera

whitney.porter — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 22:29:23 +0000

By class time on Wednesday, I had only read a portion of Dostoevsky's The House of the Dead. After reading this much of the novel, I was very interested to see how the story would transfer onto stage. It was very difficult to imagine how Janacek could possibly transform this story into an opera. The performance was not at all what I had anticipated based on my prior knowledge of the opera. In class, Professor Bergman mentioned that we might find ourselves waiting for the song to start, and I caught myself doing this just a few minutes into the performance.

Thinking More About the Meaning of Art

whitney.porter — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 02:07:39 +0000

Since my recent trips to the MoMA, I've been thinking a lot about previous class discussions regarding how "art" is defined. When I walked around the museum I saw everything from drawings to paintings to sculptures to furniture. It seems so hard to distinguish what is art and what is simply a functional accessory to everyday life. In an art class in high school we watched a video about design, and I remember listing to the teacher all the different forms of art.

Tim Burton Films at the MoMA

whitney.porter — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 03:24:14 +0000

Visit to the MoMA

whitney.porter — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 23:36:05 +0000

This was my first trip to the MoMA and I really enjoyed it! I'm sure that I could go back and see even more that I didn't notice my first time around, and I look forward to visiting again to view the Tim Burton exhibit.

Quartet: A Confusing Experience That I Can Appreciate

whitney.porter — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 01:59:37 +0000

Quartet left me so confused! I was completely captivated by the performance, but I had a really hard time understanding what was going on! I was under the impression that there would be only two actors playing different roles, and the presence of the three other characters kind of threw me off. The whole beginning scene was a little unsettling to me and the strange sound effects kind of scared me.

Poetry Reading at Macaulay

whitney.porter — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 17:33:37 +0000

Before attending the common event for Macaulay, I was a little unsure of how exciting a poetry reading would be. After hearing the first poem, though, I was reassured that this would be a good experience. Her style was unique, and although I didn't quite understand the message of everything she read, I was definitely captivated by her use of language as an art form. As the other poets stood at the podium and recited there work I was impressed and very moved at times, but I felt most moved by the final, Native American poet.

Wonderful Window Displays

whitney.porter — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 22:19:33 +0000

On Monday night I made my way to the Mac store on 57th and 5th. On my way there, I was simply blown away by all of the displays in the windows of the high end stores in the area.The one display that really stuck in my mind was the display in the windows of Bergdorf Goodman. There were three or four large windows with elaborate portrayals of common fairytale figures. I think my favorite was the window themed for "Princess and the Pea." An oversized mannequin was laying on top of a stack of wildly colored pillows.

Reflections on Carnegie Hall Visits

whitney.porter — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 20:36:35 +0000

I have to admit that our meeting with the artistic director of Carnegie Hall was not quite what I had hoped it would be. He didn't really give much insight as to what his role is at Carnegie Hall, and I felt like he spent more time promoting the venue than he did expressing his love for his job or his appreciation for the arts. It was interesting to hear about the amount of planning that goes into creating events like the Chinese Festival, but I think I would've liked a more personal perspective on what it is like to have a career in the art world.

How Artwork Blends into the City

whitney.porter — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 01:23:44 +0000