The Arts in New York City » Syed Hassan

Syed Hassan’s Final Podcast

admin — Sun, 23 Dec 2007 16:19:35 +0000

The Architecture of the Guggenheim

syed hassan — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 16:16:02 +0000

When I visited the Guggenheim Museum this past weekend, I was astounded by the architecture of the building. I have never seen the Guggenheim Museum before, so I have expected it to look like any ordinary classical museum. I expected it to have columns and a grand staircase in front like the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Contrary to my expectations, the Guggenheim Museum is a circular building with a modernistic appearance. The building looks like it has circular bands projecting out from a central, vertical base. I learned that this is a style called cantilevering. The inside of the museum has ramps that circle from the top to the bottom. I learned that the museum’s architect meant for visitors to start at the top of the museum and walk down while looking at the artworks hung along the ramps. I found the architecture of the Guggenheim Museum to be more beautiful than the artworks inside the museum.

Syed Hassan’s Podcast Review

admin — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 20:25:21 +0000

The Art of Begging

syed hassan — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 17:36:25 +0000

Sitting on the N train, heading towards Penn station, I was surprised as a beggar came my way. What caught me off guard was the grace and sincerity in his voice. He began by saying that he’d accept anything that anyone could give him. But his next line brought a smile to my face. He said that if you couldn’t give him anything, he’d instead accept a smile as he walked by. Hearing that, I didn’t care if he really was a Vietnam veteran or if his house got burned or if his family got robbed at the motel they were staying in. Just because he brought that smile on my face, I was ready to give him whatever I could afford. This made me think he was probably one of the most successful beggars out there. I began to look at begging as an art, since it required the manipulation of words and emotions. I now see begging as a competition, a competition to win my money.

NONE OF THE ABOVE

syed hassan — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 18:25:26 +0000

Located in Theater Row, the Lion theatre is the home to an up and coming Off-Broadway production known as None of the Above. The play featuring Halley Feiffer (Jamie) and Adam Green (Clark) is an insightful look into the life of a spoiled socialite looking for the illusive 2400 on the SAT’s. One however, is left scratching his head wondering why this play focuses on such a particular issue that limits itself only to the teenage audience. The final product however, does an incredible job in its portrayal of the blemished teenager and her unsuspecting struggles.
The play begins in Jamie’s outlandishly pink room. Anxiously waiting for her drug dealer, Jamie is surprised when Clark begins to knock on her door. Clark is a grad student hired, by Jamie’s father, to tutor her for the SAT’s. Clark’s resumé proves to be an impressive one as all his past students received perfect scores on the exam. After an initial assessment, Clarke concludes that Jamie has potential to do well on this exam even though her knowledge of basic grammar and math are horrendous; he does however, notice that her knowledge of business is extraordinary. The audience is then given background on Jamie’s situation with her parents, her drug problems, and financial situation. The rich white teenage stereotype is greatly dispelled as Jamie proves that she’s as clever as any other New Yorker.
The play takes a turn as Clarke reveals his true reason for tutoring Jamie while also revealing to her his gambling problem. The next couple of scenes however are neglected of proper time as the play starts a mad rush to the finish line, like the ending of any Harry Potter movie. Key plot topics are introduced unexpectedly and thrown away just as fast as they were introduced. The acting also declines as the play progresses. Jamie loses her instinctive prowess and begins to act out of character, contrary to the role required by the script. One could almost think that Halley began to read from a script of a high school comedy. The play ended on a high note as Jamie, for once, proves to her parents that she is more than just a dumb spoiled teen as she winds up in Princeton and saves Clark from the grave he dug for himself.
The play seemed like a tale of two halves. The beginning seemed flawless and brought great expectation for the rest of the play. The second half disappointed but the attitude of the first half prolonged throughout the play. The music added an energetic pace and feeling to the play after every scene, with songs ranging from Avril Lavigne’s “Girlfriend” to Feist’s “1 2 3 4”. Overall, the good outweighed the bad and this is a must see for any teen who knows of the pressures of the SAT and of life.

Digital Art

syed hassan — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 04:28:18 +0000

Digital Art is relatively a new style of art. I embraced this new form of expression during the tech fair and it has gotten me excited. Garageband is an audio program that allows the user to manipulate sounds to form unique pieces of music. The program is remarkably simple to operate and overwhelming in its amount of content. With this program, the possibilities to express the musical ideas within ones mind are endless. One can modify existing forms of music or create their own with the keyboard style piano using this program. Combined with the program Audacity, where sound effects can be added to perfect any piece, a musician can create a piece worthy of radio play or create a piece perfect for accompanying a visual performance. Whatever the desired goal, these two programs will surely help you reach your target. Like a match made in Heaven, Audacity and Garageband not only complement one another but make each other better. One of the simplest programs to use out in the market, the category of Digital Art is greatly aided and enhanced by these simple yet efficient programs.

When you’re tired you gotta sleep

syed hassan — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 21:12:03 +0000

Dont judge a piece by its looks

syed hassan — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 21:06:43 +0000

The Big Bang

syed hassan — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 15:38:48 +0000

As I looked through out the halls of the Museum of Natural History, I seemed possessed by the kid in me. Dinosaur bones, space shows, and giant planets all clouded my head with fascination. In one exhibit lay a piece of the largest meteorite to hit the US, while in another room a display showed the figures of animals that lived during the Ice Age like the Willy Mammoths and Saber tooth Tigers. Another room was dimly lit as it displayed precious stones from around the world including emeralds and diamonds. The evolution of man was easily outlined in another gallery; it talked of DNA replication and detailed the major organs of the heart with such precision. However as I kept exploring, I kept thinking that the stuff displayed here should be interactive, viewers should be able to touch and feel the artifacts they see. The touching would help make the artifact what it once was, a regular piece that populated the Earth. So I posed the question should scientific galleries let the viewer employ their five senses when viewing works?

In the museum I caught a show in the Hayden planetarium about the Cosmos and its infinite bounds. It showed of the early sun and the early planets and of their journey to their present states. Robert Redford’s voice echoed through the dome as he described comets and the Milky Way. He journeyed out of the universe to show us our ultimate doom, as universes will eventually collide with each other to form an even greater entity. This was a model piece for the museum. It allowed to viewer to see and hear the stars and skies as done by others out in the sky and in the labs. It proved to be very interactive and thus allowed me to form my own thoughts on the matter from what I felt and heard.

The fourth floor brought back memories of the Magic School Bus and of old episodes of Arthur. It contained DINOSAURS. The Dino’s were divided between Saurischian and Ornithischian types. The Saurischain gallery presented the archetypal layout for the viewing of the fiercest dinosaur of its time, the T-Rex. The fossils of the giant beast were arranged so that they’d immediately catch the eye of the viewer, while the background helped promote the T-Rex centerpiece. The Ornithischian gallery on the other hand seemed more open and presented many different types of fossils including those of the Tricerotops and the Stegosaurus. The dino’s were a great site for the eyes, but their display left a lot for the imagination. Actually how sharp were its teeth? How tough were its bones? How sharp were its nails? All these questions popped into my mind when I saw the great T-Rex on display. But touching wasn’t allowed and rightfully so. Human curiosity is a wonderful thing but it can also lead to destruction, so interactivity wasn’t ideal in this case. Perhaps however a gallery or section where fossils could be touched or viewed up close might be the solution?

It is quite understandable why a Museum would block off its art and make it only viewable. But some art needs to be viewed differently. Some art needs two senses to be viewed properly or perhaps even all five, especially scientific art. So I do understand the predicament museums such as the American Museum of Natural History and the MET face when dealing with artifacts, but why not set aside non-significant pieces and make them interactive for the public. Are all the thousands of gems displayed in the Hall of Gems so valuable that only a few cannot be spared so they can serve as instruments for viewers to form their own opinions of such gems. Why can’t one touch the tooth of a T-Rex to get an idea of whether his/her kitchen knife is sharper? One learns by experiencing life through the five senses. That should be the same way one explores art.

The Greatest Museum of them all

Daniel Panit — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 17:36:15 +0000

I was walking out of the Long Island Railroad station at 34 street after listening to an underground musician playing his windpipes and I started to wonder. Why are people from all over the world attracted to the city of New York? Is it because of the tall buildings or because of the shiny lights. Maybe it’s the shopping and the landmarks. Or perhaps the reason lies within the infatuation people have with museums. Museums appeal to a persons ambitions as well as his/her curiosities. As a result, people from all over the globe visit NYC, since it’s the biggest museum in the world. Whether it be the famous sites like the Empire State building and the MET or the art found in everyday places like Madison Square Park (with it’s metal trees) and the subway (with the break dancers). NYC is in itself a museum. Next time out, don’t just take public transportation rather, walk around and discover the street performer in Penn station or the unique displays in SOHO or Chinatown. Even check out the local scene in Grand Central or 42nd street for talented street performers, because talent isn’t only present in famous people. So enjoy the world’s art show before you start having to pay for it.