Instead, I had to find my own art. So, when I looked around Madison Square Garden, I was in awe that I was in the self-proclaimed “world’s most famous arena.” It was crazy to sit so close to the court that I see on TV. It was also crazy considering I was sitting in seats about 30 times the price I paid for. However, the most artistic thing that night was the chants. These were not chants cheering on the team. Instead, they were a chorus of raucous boos. My favorite chant that night was in the final minutes of the game when the crowd was finally able to get the famed “Fire Isiah” chant in unison. Although I had refrained from the chant before, I had to join in. Overall, I enjoyed the game but I do not think I will be attending a Knicks game anytime soon.

One school, from Roslyn, really caught my eye as they created a whole skit that. Roslyn had won second place in all of New York last year, so it was not a surprise that they had such an enjoyable performance. It played off of a woman trying to get through her morning exercise. Each song would record her struggles and triumphs as she went through her early routine. Finally, as she races to get to work, the upshot is welcomed with a jubilant ending. However, it was noted that this performance was an expensive one for them. They had about six different types of exercise equipment, all of which looked new. Money seemed to have fueled their creativity. Nevertheless, I was definitely treated to an unique performance.
Overall the quality of the performers was about average. The festival was not a competition, so it was not imperative that each school’s performance be perfect. However, Newsday did come to tape the event for TV coverage for an obscure local channel. There was at least some pressure to succeed. To sum it up, the children performing treated marching band like a well-liked hobby.
My opinion of marching band seems to have changed from this past performance. No longer do I associate it with the torturous hell that I had do endure years ago. It is now a graceful performance that I now see as an art. If anyone is looking to go to a cultural event, try a marching band performance. It is a lot more than you would expect.

Coming in I expected this experience to be different. The galleries and museums I had recently attended were contemporary works. They were a microcosm of a part of society and contained a hidden meaning or an abstract piece that only meant what it was. Also, I am currently taking an Art History class but this visit was the first where I was able to view the Renaissance art that I have been studying in class.

I was here for one purpose and one purpose only, to view the famed Lehman Collection. Unfortunately, as I walked to the starting location of the tour I passed many works of art. I realized I would miss out on so much. I had a limited amount of time; I had only allotted myself enough time to view what I needed for class. Alas, as I passed work after work I knew I could come back another time.
Going on this tour I was finally able to view Renaissance art with my own two eyes. There is only so much one can learn from a textbook. The problem with a textbook is primarily color and size. Colors are often illuminated or slightly different from the actual work of art. Pictures in the textbooks are constrained because it is not practical to create a 5×5 foot textbook.

For example, Petrus Christus’ A Goldsmith in His Shop, a work that was at both in the Lehman Collection and in my textbook, enlightened my understanding of Renaissance art. I was able to see the attention to detail that Northern painters were known for. The bumps on the coral, the patterns on the woman’s dress, and even the grain on the wood was all there. It seemed as realistic as the best graphics a video game could produce.

The attention to size also boosts one’s perspective on a painting. For example, Bernaert van Orley’s The Last Supper tapestry was enormous. I could imagine the painstaking labor it took to complete the tapestry as my tour guide explained that commissions like this one usually took upwards to about a decade to complete.

Overall, like last time, my experience was positive and enlightening. However, I do have some advice. First, taking notes takes your attention away from the overall beauty of a piece. You are unable to focus on the art if you are trying to paraphrase the last sentence your tour guide said. Next, a guided tour is not always a good thing. Your tour guide is sometimes limited to only what they have been taught to say. If you bring up a possible viewpoint, your idea may be put aside. Also, in my case, my tour guide seemed perturbed that I was taking notes. Finally, go to the Met. It is such an immense museum that you will find art that interests you.

As I walked toward the subway for some reason the steel tree catches my eye. I would walk by these trees every morning with no reaction, so why now? It hit me. This was art. After some reading I found out the three steel structures are named: Conjoined, Defunct, and Erratic. These pieces of art made by Roxy Paine were made to juxtapose industrialization and nature.

Conjoined is a combination of two trees where it is hard to tell where one tree begins and the other tree ends. I saw a struggle between the two trees. To me, this struggle is a microcosm of maintaining the balance between the natural and the synthetic.

Defunct is a single tree that is undergoing the process of decomposition while also providing food for the fungus that has started to grow. It shows the relationship of life and death. How in order to create man-made structures you must disrupt nature.

In geology, an erratic rock is one that bears little or no relationship to its underlying environment. Erratic calls upon the scientific definition. The fractured surface of the boulder made it look exotic. Once you add that it is located at a park in New York City, you can definitely tell that this object was not from here.

So what did I learn from this experience? Art is everywhere, you just have to pay attention and look up. If you have some time just walk through Madison Square Park, it is only two blocks from Baruch and free. Who knows? You might even enjoy it.