The Arts in New York City

“And then Sylvia, I was like ‘Oh no he didn’t!’”—I remember whispering to my friend as we were sitting in the BAM theater waiting for Taming of the Shrew to begin. Not having seen a female Katherine any where near the stage, I assumed the Propeller Co. was having some last minute troubles with their female lead so I just resumed the conversation with my friend. Boy was I in oblivious shock! I honestly could not accept, for the entire first 15 minutes of Taming of the Shrew, the fact that no actress of the female sex was going to appear on stage. However, once the play got into its flow, I became so caught up in the story itself that I forgot all about my initial shock and dismay at not seeing real women play the female roles on-stage. I can honestly say that I felt a somewhat similar shock during certain pique scenes of Spring Awakening, because I never imagined that a musical would go that far and stray so much from the typical G-rated musical that I was used to; as did the Propeller Co. in their transgender productions of Taming of the Shrew and Twelfth Night.
The research I did on the popularity of transgender roles in the performing arts, combined with discussions we had about transgression in the CHC class, have both helped me make better sense of this unique art experience. I now enjoy receiving such shocks from the performing arts because I think it makes the performance all the more memorable and I really develop an appreciation for the entire troupe for not being afraid to go against the canons of performing a typical Broadway or off-Broadway performance. I found this extreme quote by Nick Zedd in the book Cinema of Transgression Manifesto: “We propose that all film schools be blown up and all boring films never be made again.”—even though Zedd is referring to transgressive films being better than boring films, I can totally see this phrase being applied to transgressive theater—mostly because I have been exposed to so many venues of transgressive theater and art, that even though it has shocked me at first, it has also kept me enthralled all the more ever since. Having seen the unique transgender performance of Taming of the Shrew and the quite shockingly unique musical, Spring Awakening, I am truly proud to say that I have learned to value transgressive themes in all of the performing arts.
-Marianna Davydova

Studying the origins of ballet and capoeira led to many surprising findings in both fields. Ballet is such a popular form of dance that I thought I knew more than enough about it. However, in terms of its origins, my assumptions were completely wrong. Ballet is seen as the epitome of grace and all things feminine when in fact, it originated through the prim and proper attitudes of 16th century swordsmen and court officials. Swordsmanship is usually not considered the most graceful of sports but out of it came the foundations of ballet. This knowledge was a sort of disappointment to me and changed the way I began to view ballet performances. In all of my dance papers I have spoken of how ballet embodies femininity, grace, and beauty that is usually associated with women. Now when I watch, I appreciate the technicality more. I’ve lost the connection in terms of its emotional value; I simply notice the jumps and leg technique and think, “Oh, yes I can see some masculine qualities in that technique”. The delicacy attributed to women seems forced to me now because I know its true roots. However, as said by George Borodin, “Ballet is not technique but a way of expression that comes more closely to the inner language of man than any other”. My greater insight into ballet has shown me that the dance is not about conveying feminine qualities of delicacy and grace, but about conveying the ‘inner language’ of all men.

Capoeira was a complete new discovery to me and all the aspects of it that I learned drew me closer to the dance. Prof. Ender spoke in class in terms of what makes capoeira a dance and not a martial art. Once again, its origins reveal the answer. It is a dance brought forth by the desire of freedom. In my opinion, it is more heartfelt than ballet because it seemed to evolve out of a feeling and then become rules, while ballet seemed to have been a set of rules to which emotion was later added. Capoeira basically involves attempts to sweep, kick, and headbutt another while trying to avoid being hit yourself. In most capoeira dances however, there is few contact with the intent of hurting the other participant. They are not opponents, they are merely actors in a scene of their past. I too wondered if capoeira was merely a martial art but seeing the emotion involved in it, the kind of emotion I felt I lost in ballet, made the dance easier to relate to. I could now see the frustration of enslavement in the dancers and how they try to convey it without being harmed. Its a beautiful dance, one that one in which learning its origins is not optional for comprehension.

“Depending on who is doing the talking,” writes NY Times Fashion & Style columnist Guy Trebay, “fashion is bourgeois, girly, unfeminist, conformist, elitist, frivolous, anti-intellectual and a cultural stepchild barely worth the attention paid to even the most minor arts.” It is a subject so patently superficial that most people overlook it as anything other than an indulgence, a luxury. But most people forget that they are saying something about themselves every time they get dressed. Whether you choose to wear cute boots and patterned tights or a baggy college sweatshirt with some jeans, you are making the conscious decision to present yourself to the world in that attire. No one is exempt from the art of dressing.

I understand that the idea that fashion is art can be somewhat controversial and obscure. But I also think one of the best arguments supporting this conviction comes from the understanding that clothing wasn’t always art; instead, clothing “evolved” into an art form, into fashion. Clothing is obviously necessary to human existence. It shelters our bodies from the elements and protects us everyday from the harsh sun and winter cold. As time progressed, clothes evolved from mere utilitarian uniforms and took on more meaning: clothes, in some instances, protect a sense of modesty; they are “civilizing masks,” as the French novelist Colette believed, symbolic of religious beliefs, family affiliations, age, and community status. Clothes are ideas that communicate something about the wearers and are, as such, tools to analyze culture, history, and politics. Most recently, clothing has become the primary tool to embellish the body it, to enhance and glorify its beauty and disguise its flaws. This facet of its usage is what is most closely associated with fashion, but there is no clear point at which clothing becomes art. What’s more important, though, is that fashion applies the distinctive characteristics of art to what was once mere body coverings.

The reality is that, through our dress, we communicate something about ourselves that is deeper than what is on the surface. Using color, line, form, texture, and the like, we have the opportunity to express our thoughts, our values, and our feelings just the way an artist does on a canvas. We are using something tangible to express something that is intangible: is that not what art is? Today’s fashions, it seems, use these elements to communicate what our society values and what most people are, consequently, eager to achieve: youth, wealth, beauty, and power. Our current emphasis on these values, however, should not take away from fashion as art; it is an ever-evolving social commentary and outlet for human creativity.

To all those critics who deride fashion as bourgeois, girly, unfeminist, conformist, elitist, frivolous, and anti-intellectual, Mr. Trebay has some words of advice: “Admit it. You love it. It matters.” I have no doubt that fashion will continue to remain one of the most culturally potent avenues for expression in this age and all those to come.
– Gia

It is important to credit music as an art form as much as one would credit a painting or an opera.  This semester, we’ve studied visual art, dance, and opera, observing the techniques and media used within each art form.  Looking at paintings, I took note of the uses of color, depth, and medium, and how each of these aspects were used to evoke a variety of emotions in each individual viewer.  Watching and participating in dance, I realized how the motion of the body and the body itself could be manipulated to produce a certain message.  In Le Nozze di Figaro, the actors, singers, and stage crew members all joined forces to create one masterpiece.  In several of these art forms, music played a key role in the production.  However, we never studied music as an art form.  My final project was dedicated to the ability of music to complement other art forms, but also to act as an art form itself.  Like painters, musicians employ several techniques to enhance their creations and productions.  Among these techniques are tone, mood, harmony, legato, and staccato.  A tone is simply the quality of the sound of a certain notes or pitches.  Different pitches evoke different moods.  A musician may play a scale in a certain mood.  This denotes the use of a specific set of notes.  Different notes can be combined to produce harmony.  When a musician plays a note lengthily and in a relaxed manner, he is playing that note legato.  When a musician plays a note shortly and sharply, he is playing that note staccato.  Musicians use these techniques frequently to create a variety of emotions and reactions.  As displayed in my presentation, different techniques can even stimulate different interpretations of other art forms.  In the painting portraying soldiers executing several civilians, music played a key role in framing one’s perception of the painting.  When listening to a symphony of percussion, one will view the painting from the perception of the soldier.  This makes the painting an illustration of an execution.  When listening to the dramatized brass music, one will view the painting from the perception of the civilians.  This makes the painting an illustration of murder and injustice.  Music can be used to form fixed perceptions and emotions in listeners and audiences, both alone and in conjunction with other art forms.

Louis

Everyone has heard the dusty adage: beauty is pain. It often comes up when the cosmetic habits of women, such as waxing and tweezing, are discussed.

A stronger instance of suffering for an aesthetic sake is the ancient Chinese practice of binding women’s feet. Little, dainty feet were considered a sign of wealth and beauty, and so, from the 10th to the early 20th century, the feet of little Chinese girls were bound. Their normal foot growth was impeded. Their toes and feet would break, become disformed and later become a source of pain and infection. Yet the practice was carried out for over 1000 years.

And while the field of orthodontics does have justification in aligning bites and jaws, the process is painful, and braces are often used for purely cosmetic reasons. I, along with 2/3 of the teenage population, have firsthand experience with the woes of braces. I often cried myself to sleep, with terrible, horrible, throbbing pains in teeth and gums. I hated every second of having that metal in my mouth. I did not think I would survive the multiple-year long process of orthodontification. But I did. And my teeth are perfect. It was, doubtless, worth the pain. In fact, due to what I endured, I appreciate my correctly aligned teeth even more.

In that way, I can understand the allure of the tattoo. Though choosing to permanently ink something into one’s skin is far from my comprehension, given that the decision is made, I can relate to the idea of pleasure through pain. Once you feel strongly enough about something, you are willing, or even hoping to earn it with pain. You feel that you need to give in order to get. An interesting point made by one of the artists we interviewed is that often, things that you remember from childhood were traumatic or painful; they scarred you in a way and earned their keep in your mind.

The pain of getting a tattoo is an essential part of the process, according to most patrons. It weeds out many, though certainly not all, of the capricious tattoo decisions. People still get silly, vapid “trinket” tattoos, but those who want the real ink, the real art, know what they are in for, hold their breath and bear the pain.

And so, we can once again invoke the time-worn phrase: beauty is pain.
–Jaimie

True art is never just decoration; it forces upon us a feeling of some sort, whether it be a sense of wonder or sadness. The creators of the store windows hope to make us fall in love with a certain fantasy and hope to achieve this fantasy by purchasing whatever they choose to sell. However, I think the art in neighborhoods is much more interesting to analyze because it gives us a window into the lives of those that live there.

Keeping with the ideas of Freud and that art is our attempt at redefining (or possibly avoiding) reality, I chose to comment about the picture of the red fence made out of scraps of metal. It is the only burst of color in a seemingly grey world. The metal is bent in a looping fashion, which creates a Dr. Seuss-like feel. It seems as though it is the embodiment of a childhood fantasy that the artist longs to return to. (An even closer look reveals a figure of Pacman in the bottom left corner.) It has elements of the old fence in it, but it is contorted in such a way that it no longer looks like a fence at all. It seems as though the “artistic” part of the fence is longing to break free of the rest of it, but of course it cannot. The top of the fence seems to be budding off the rest of the fence, as a biological cell does after a new cell is created. The center of the part budding off is reminiscent of a cell nucleus, the master of the cell. The fence is sandwiched between two towering buildings; it is created in such a way that it seems as though the left side of the fence is attempting to climb up the wall. This represents a sort of social frustration with the current condition, along with the fact that the cylindrical shapes look much like garbage cans.

The aspect of childhood and the image of a biological cell represent new life- a new life in which the next generation can break free of social constraints. The fence attempting to climb up the wall represents the artist’s hope that the future generations will try to do the same; they will hopefully climb the wall of adversity and find the light overshadowed by their current condition. The color red, a pivotal color to employ, provides a stark contrast between the washed-out walls of the buildings surrounding the fence. It symbolizes the blood of youth that is alive and vibrant, while the color of the walls surrounding the fence represents the washed-out lethargy that comes with age and adversity.

It is important that the old fence is beneath the new part of it because this reflects the fact that the new generation must use what the previous had learned in order to build off of its wisdom. As Newton said, “If I have seen father than others it is because I have stood on the shoulders of giants.” The artist hopes that the new generation will use the knowledge of the past to aid in the reform of the future. This artist has certainly left his or her mark on the city through this piece; it is both visually appealing and rich with meaning. It may be that I am simply projecting my views onto this work, but one look reveals that this piece cries out to be understood.

- Simone Caccamo

Graffiti is one of the most pervasive art forms throughout New York City.  Not only is it an original and creative form of self-expression, it decorates walls, buildings and the like, that otherwise would be ordinary looking (at best) or even ugly.

More than simply decorative self-expression, however, graffiti is an art form.  The picture taken of a wall with men’s faces on it, made to look like mugshots, is a prime example.  The expressions on the men’s faces are varied, and quite communicative; they range from impish smiles to hardcore stares to shameful looks to evil grins of guilty pleasure.  The colors are also quite expressive; the entire mural is done in black and white, with red accents throughout that serve to keep the viewer’s eye traveling as well as make each “criminal” stand out.  The red also adds to the “badass” look; it is the color of blood in dramatic stark contrast with the bare black and white shades that constitute the rest of the wall.

There is a stamp that reads “The Usual Suspects” along the wall, that gives one the impression that the people pictured in the graffiti mural are perhaps real people, a group of friends (or perhaps more like partners in crime) who choose to represent themselves by artfully putting their faces up in public.  Perhaps this is a signature of sorts, or a hidden admission to something.  Perhaps it is the work of a collection of artists, who painted themselves the way they look, or wish they looked, up on a wall, or perhaps it is the work of one artist painting the people around him.  No one will know, though, because part of the art of graffiti is that people never sign it; a person or group’s “tag” will assuredly be found somewhere in the work, but only those in the know will be able to trace it to its owner(s).

This is the beauty of graffiti; self-expression, beautifying something otherwise plain or ugly, in one’s own personal way.  Because it is not legal, it has yet to be commodified, and so there are no boundaries or restrictions on what a person can do to a wall or the side of a building.  Graffiti, though usually unappreciated, is everywhere, and hopefully others will agree and see the beauty and true art in it.

Picasso’s “Guernica” currently resides in Madrid, but it has traveled to many regions of the world over its lifetime. Where it calls “home,” however, is immaterial – it is a work that transcends locations and time, for it is applicable to every place and every age.
It started out as a reaction to a specific event during the Spanish Civil war in the 1940s. It was a source of nationalist pride, but its significance is transferable to any situation. It eventually was sent to the Unites States where it was used in campaigns to raise money and aid for Spanish refugees. When “Guernica” was kept at the MOMA during the 70s, it was the site of numerous anti-war vigils. Its display of the terrors of war is equally significant now, in light of the events in Afghanistan and Iraq. The pained and tortured faces are just as easily seen as being Iraqi as they are Basque.
Who “owns” “Guernica”? Where is its message most powerful? The answer is everyone owns “Guernica”, and everywhere is where its message is most powerful. Its message, the horrors and injustices of violence and war, is universal. People of every race and nationality, of every period of time, of every religion, and victims of any injustice can find their faces in the work. Art at its finest is not applicable or powerful only under specific circumstances – it can be experienced fully, with all its vitality and power, sublimity and awesomeness, wherever it is found, provided it truly taps into what makes us human. That is why “Guernica” has endured as one of the world’s greatest works – it has no affiliation - political, ethnic, ideological or religious - except with justice and humanity.
~Christina Marinelli

Dear students,

     Rachel and I very much enjoyed your final presentations. I will send to each group, as soon as they are ready, the comments that she and I prepared.

         Meanwhile, I am sending to each of you, through Blackboard (that is, your Hunter address), a question that I would like you to answer in a comment of about 20-30 lines. The idea is to give you a chance to develop (or sometimes sum up) an idea that was part of your project and deserved some further consideration.

        We gave an overall grade to each presentation, your individual comment, if very good, will raise the grade by a third of a point (e.g. a B+ will become an A-).

        These comments are due, without fail, on Wednesday 19^th December, at noon.

            With my best wishes for these next few days of hard work.

                                                                       EE

Dear students,

      We will be meeting earlier than usual tomorrow Wednesday, with a CLASS STARTING EARLY  IN ROOM  N 506 (fully equipped with the technology you need, but not available after 5.20).

       PLEASE readjust your own schedules accordingly. I need you in class at 2:10 pm (shifting back one hour). I understand the complications but given the number of presentations we have and the shortage of room at Hunter, it was our only solution.

      Please spread the word, starting with your group!

       Our pizza party will start earlier, at 5.45, as planned in the Honors Lounge. Unfortunately, however, our budget cannot cover more than pizza. I suggest then that our vegetarian in the class get together to bring food to your liking, for your group. I will bring some fruit…

     If you cannot make it for 2:10, please be sure to let me know by Email tonight. Your presence is required, and only work commitments are a valid excuse or family responsibilities.

     Rachel and I look forward to discovering your projects tomorrow.

                With my best regards,

                          Evelyne Ender