The Arts in New York City » Oscar Meza

Oscar Meza’s Final Podcast

admin — Sun, 23 Dec 2007 16:03:17 +0000

Words

syed hassan — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 17:54:34 +0000

As I was in philosophy class the other day, I realized how the use of words in this subject allowed me to justify a new perspective. Words, in their own intricate way, can be positioned so that when seen and read, provide rhythm. If music can be seen as art, so can words. Also, its philosophical explanation allows images to be constructed for clear justification. An example would be the explanation of metaphysical freedom. This type of freedom involves choice pathology, which involves the explanation and drawing of choice incentives and choice outcomes. Several paths are drawn to allow the subject to understand what choices they have. As I stared at the paths, I began to realize how what I do is an outcome of an artistic form of action. Paths are drawn in my life all the time, basically stating that what I do comes from art.

Oscar Meza’s Podcast Review

admin — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 20:17:18 +0000

The Art Of Soccer

oscarmez — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 02:54:00 +0000

Throughout my week, while doing several hobbies, I realized something. This realization was apparently something that has been existant in my justified true beliefs. As several of my homies and I headed toward the park, I consciously acquired retained knowledge of the first day of IDC class where we discussed how soccer can be seen as an art. As my friends and I started playing, we played using deceptive tricks. As I began to stare at the way the players moved with the ball, it almost looked as if the players were dancing with the ball. The rhythmic movement of the feet was seen almost as if it was coordinated. Whenever I got the ball, this notion was set upon me. The ball was my girlfriend; as I moved my feet, she gently followed my step and danced with me throughout the field. Soccer can be made fancy and rhythmic if you put a little effort to see it as an art.

The Phantom of the Opera

oscarmez — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 01:40:43 +0000

The Phantom of the Opera is a marvelous play shown at the Majestic Theater in the Broadway Box. This show has been the longest running show in Broadway history. I watched the movie before and since I enjoyed it very much, I decided to see the play itself. I heard from others that the show was even more beautiful than the movie, and after watching the play, I see that they stand correct. The show is astounding and amazing to see. A large part of this opinion comes from the fact that the actors are right in front of you, unlike in the movie where the actors filmed it on some Hollywood set. Broadway shows, such as The Phantom of the Opera, are wonderful due to the audience’s feel of the actors’ true feelings while acting the play.

The Phantom of the Opera was based on a novel by Gaston Leroux, which tells the story of a deformed man living in the caverns of a famous Opera house in Paris trying to get a young girl’s love; even if it means through violent ways. Its making into a musical is legendary in that the storyline runs smoothly with the author’s original story. The songs are a crucial part to understanding the tone and feeling of the musical. The feeling they emit are just so passionate and touching to the heart because you feel either happiness or pity for the characters singing. The music, composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber, is genius in its coherence with the songs. An example is “The Music of the Night,” which contains tender lyrics accompanied by passionate music. Just hearing the song made me feel the love between the Phantom and Christine. The feeling I got when I saw the same song in the movie was nowhere near to that which I felt when I heard it in the Majestic Theater. I am unable to put into words the sensation you get when such concordant tones make their way into your ear.

The music was marvelous, but the musical would not be complete in its spectacular-ness without visual effects. Before the musical started, if you look at the set, it just looks like any other set; plain. As the show started and went on in its glamour, I was surprised to see how advanced and theatrical the set was. Sparks flew, fire rose from the floor, a stairways appeared below the floor, the top pathway kept on coming down to simulate tunnels leading to the cavern, lights rose from the floor, fog appeared from the floor, a rowboat was led to and from the stage and a huge gate to simulate the Phantom’s chamber appeared from the top of the set. I admit that the fire and spark effects where a little too bright but it added drama and theatricality to the play. The Phantom’s chamber was astounding since it was dark and all that was giving light to the set were the scattered candles. The set contributed to the play’s overall tone as it made the surroundings in accordance with the plot.

The musical is unique, and in my opinion, better than the movie. The audience feels the actors’ feelings as they play the character in the musical. There is a certain tone the actors emit each and every single time they perform. The movie is recorded with just one tone and repeated over and over again every time you watch the movie; the feeling does not change. Just knowing the actors are right in front of you helps in making it beautiful. I felt even more pity for the Phantom since as you follow through; you feel what the Phantom feels. You feel pity for him as you know he’s never felt love his whole life and finally when he gets a chance to, his heart is broken as another steals his true love. Such a life can bring a tear to your eye as it did to the Phantom. This feeling also comes partly from making the audience part of the play. The audience would sometimes play the audience of the Opera Populaire, which is the setting of the musical. Being part of the musical made the audience feel what was truly going on as if they were there themselves.

The Phantom of the Opera was a musical that was truly awe-inspiring and moving. The use of the music and the set was very crucial as it made the musical a wonder to see. The feel of the show is just breathtaking and there is no comparison of the movie to the show. This musical is highly recommended for everyone regardless if you know the story or not.

ICP yo

oscarmez — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 03:45:13 +0000

Located at 43rd street and Avenue of the Americas, the ICP (International Center of Photography) touched my heart deeply through it’s photographs. Containing no other forms of art other than photography and posters, the images that are presented are astounding and powerful. The current exhibitions were about war, which is a topic that is serious and touching. As I stared at the photographs, sadness settled into my heart as I saw blood pouring from a dead snipered soldier, a soldier being carried out in a stretcher, a soldier recently shot, and a mass grave of 46 Spaniards. Bravery is also presented as you see real soldiers heading toward war, an inevitable destiny for them, and their expression of bravery yet fear hidden behind it. Photography is such a powerful form of art where you can appreciate and witness what really happened in the past. Photographs allows us to know the true emotion of a certain event and those affected in the process.

The non-smoking smoker

oscarmez — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 21:11:05 +0000

Guggenheim-awesome museum!

oscarmez — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 02:36:45 +0000

Art that is very interesting to a person and pleasing to the eye is very rare to find. The Guggenheim museum, located in East 89th Street and 5th Avenue, provides such art. This museum contains art from movements such as Post-Impressionist, Expressionist and Surrealist movements, which is more recent art dating close to the late 19th century to early 20th century. Due to construction, only about 3 exhibits were open so the number of paintings was limited but it was enough to be satisfied. The art of the Guggenheim museum allows a viewer to relate to the painting while at the same time enjoy the painting for what the painter intended it to be.
The art in the Guggenheim is very powerful and basically the best art I have seen in my life. Solomon’s Gift is an exhibition in the museum that contains art from famous painters such as Marc Chagall and Henri Rousseau. A very interesting painting that caught my eye as I was looking through the exhibition was Paris Through the Window by Marc Chagall. Even though this painting was very abstract, one wanted to know what was going on in Paris at the time that Chagall painted it. One got the impression that Paris was very weird and different than America, but to the painter, Paris was a beautiful city full of pleasures. The painting by Rousseau, Artillerymen, can be seen as portrait when one looks at it, but it is not. This painting is very powerful as it is very gloomy and serious. It was just Rousseau’s way of depicting modern times, very serious. The painter and viewer can connect in a way of one’s first perception of a certain subject.
Another exhibition I saw was the Thannhauser Collection, which contained some of the best paintings I have ever seen. Artists included in this collection are Picasso and Van Gogh. Van Gogh’s painting Landscape with Snow was very touching. Once you look at it, you can put yourself in the painting as if you were there. It’s very lonely yet beautiful due to then natural surroundings. I felt a kind of weird relaxation and a chill when I looked at this painting. The viewer can relate to the painter in this case because both see the painting as lonely and gloomy. The most captive and amazing painting that I saw in this gallery as well as these two exhibitions was Le Moulin de la Galette by Pablo Picasso. This painting is very alive as you can see people in some sort of festivity. When you look at this painting, you want to join the party because it is very different from today’s parties yet it seems to have the same amount of delight. If you ever pass by this collection, I recommend you take a look at this painting.
The Guggenheim is a museum to be appreciated by today’s world. Some of the best paintings are situated here and it won’t be a waste of your time. The art here is interesting and it relates to the viewer, so you won’t get bored trying to determine its true meaning.

The Paley Center for Media

oscarmez — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 01:53:56 +0000

The Paley Center for Media is a museum that contains 5 floors, as well as a concourse level, filled with theaters, screening rooms, galleries, and a radio listening room that contain a variety of shows that occurred throughout the twentienth century. Even though my first expectation of the museum was to see the world’s oldest radio and other things, seeing shows and commercials of other generations was classic as one could experience the change of the world around us throughout the years. Radio shows were very interesting since one could pick whatever they wanted to listen to from the museum’s large collection. According to me, the most interesting section of the museum was the Edward and Patricia McLaughlin Library where one could browse through over 120,000 programs and commercials that appeared in television as well as radio. Whoever is interested in a lost generation, this museum is strongly recommended.

The Frick Collection

oscarmez — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 18:50:51 +0000

The Frick Collection is a museum situated in East 70th St. just a few steps away from 5th Ave. This museum has various galleries containing paintings, sculptures and several antiques. The art is not contemporary but from dates around the 1400’s-1800’s. In the entrance there is a guy who provides you with a free audio tour if you want one. The audio tour is a handheld device similar to a phone that allows you to input the number placed next to the art you are looking at and after pressing play, the device will tell you some history of the painting as well as the description. The audio tour was really helpful in noticing the painter’s perspective and hidden features of the painting that are significant.
The paintings in The Frick Collection were mostly by European painters and a few by American painters. The paintings were awesome and very interesting. There is one painting that was very memorable named The Sermon on The Mount in which Jesus was standing on top of Mount Tabor surrounded by the 12 apostles while addressing the people below. It was memorable due to the artistic representation of the geography that surrounded them. It was very beautiful, solitary, and peaceful in a way. The audio tour makes the painting even more interesting because it helps you understand what is going on and the significance of certain aspects of it.
The sculptures in the museum were very cool. They all had striking poses and interesting stories behind them. I remember one that was very powerful. It was called Hercules and The Hydra. It was a sculpture of Hercules when he was battling the deadly Hydra. The Hydra was biting Hercules but he still rose above it. The audio tour provided a short telling of the mythical fight. Some of the sculptures are naked and very detailed in appreciation of the human body. The antiques were very fancy and interesting. There was a table that by pressing some buttons, the table surface changed shape to support candles and for writing.
There is a room in the museum called the Garden Court to which in my opinion is the most calm and beautiful room I have seen indoors. It consists of a semi-transparent window roof, plants around the interior square, sculptures, and a fountain in the middle. It is a great spot to stop by and talk to your friends while admiring the room. The room can also be considered a work of art because it also had a history and description like all the other works of art in the museum.
This collection contains works of art that are better than some kept at other museums. The collection may be smaller than one would imagine but its only 5 dollars for students and it’s worth it in the end. The audio tour is a very helpful and a smart idea that other museums should take into consideration. I strongly recommend this collection for anyone who is interested in antiques, in early forms of art or just art in general.