The Arts in New York City

“Enchanted” is basically a magic movie, it’s the No.1 ranking movie in the cinema now, as well as highly recommendated by New York Times and Wall Street Journal. Because of curiosity, I went to watch it on last Friday. I was actually kind of disappointed by it. The plot was both simple and cliched; a princess from magic world accidentally came to the human world and fell in love with an average man. Especially comparing with ” The Violin” I just watched also, I felt that the theme depicted in “Enchanted” is too trivial and naive.  Probably a deeper  theme in this movie is about trust because before the guy met the princess, he never trusted anyone. The princess made him start to trust people and to trust the world. He was deeply moved and attracted by the princess’ purity and innocence. Despite of the lack of originality and light theme, this movie, however, is the only one I’ve see that the audience spontaneously started clapping at the end of the movie. That just made me start wondering, what made the commercial movie achieve this that an artistic movie couldn’t? What is our ruler when measuring art? Does art still have any value if the audience feel hard to be emphasized? Or can we not call commercial movies arts since the audience really had a good time watching it, since they made the audience felt more relaxed and happier?

Last weekend when I cleared up my drawer, I found red envelopes from last Chinese New Year. They are small envelopes, mostly three by five inches. The dominant color is red. Those envelopes were promotional items from various banks to Chinese customers. There are different pictures on it. I think those pictures on the envelopes are representative of Chinese traditional art. The figure on the third envelop in the first one is the god of treasury whom the Chinese people believe he is in charge all the money. On the third envelope in the second row, he is portrayed in a cartoon image. This image is very popular among young Chinese people. There is English text in the picture on the fourth envelope in the first row. It incorporates western element into Chinese art. I hope I will get envelopes with creative pictures and receive more money in this coming Chinese New Year.

In a previous review, I wrote about how documentaries are artistic in the way it appeals to the emotions and feelings of an audience to inform them of a subject. In Al Gore’s documentary “An Inconvenient Truth,” Gore tries to use fear and guilt as a tactic. He informs the audience of the global warming situation and their role in it. Sometimes, he ends up being more preachy than necessary. This is especially annoying when he is hypocritical at times. For a guy who travels on jet planes quite frequently, he should not be admonishing others. It is still admirable on his part that he puts his effort in informing people of the situation.

A couple of weeks ago I went to the Neue Gallery on the Upper East Side. This was a new gallery that had been open for a couple of weeks when I went there. The gallery showed the art of Gustav Klimit. Klimit was a painter who lived in Vienna 100 years ago. He achieved his fame by making portraits of famous families in Vienna. The style that he used was borrowed from French painters of the time, like Monet. I find it hard to understand the meaning of the paintings, so I decided to go on a small tour of the gallery. The tour really was helpful. The guide eluded to other artists and other paintings. Probably at the begining of the semester I wouldn’t have been able to understand what she was talking about. Now I understood what was being said. This showed how far I have come this semester in my knowledge of art. However I felt like the only person under the age of 40 in the whole gallery. The Neue Gallery is a very interesting place to attend if one is an experienced art goer.

Having gone to the Met and MoMA for modern art, I decided to go to the Guggenheim Museum. The Guggenheim Museum was special, not only because it contained modern art, but also because the building itself is a form of modern art. Designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, it was meant to be organic art, or one with nature. Although the exterior was under renovation, the spiral design is well known throughout the world. On the inside, the spiral-like design is present again with a dome over the top. A striking issue I noticed was that there were no support beams holding the building up. Inside the museum, artworks from famous artists like Van Gogh and Picasso were present. The most interesting would be the “Word Arts” spread around the spiral hallways. It usually contained a short joke phrase such as, “My father was a drunk. The last I heard from him, he went to Canada to drink it dry.” The Guggenheim was definitely worth going because it combined some abstract art with modern art that was understandable.

I can still remember the street performers I encountered outside the MET after seeing the newly renovated Greek and Roman wing.  They had immense personality with their cultural and racial jokes that got a rise out of the crowd. They were very acrobatic and generating suspense and anticipation with their music and commentary.  Furthermore, they asked for volunteers from the crowd and they were readily available.  They had a break dancing exhibition right in the middle of the sidewalk as they cleared the area.  The balance and speed was truly amazing.  I will never forget the finale as one performer jumped through the open legs of another doing a handstand and over three volunteers.  I hope to see them on my next visit to the MET and encourage future visitors to keep an eye out should they be in the area.

I was sitting one day flipping through the channel when I saw a feature on the Rockefeller Tree Lighting. There were many celebrities present such as Carrie Underwood and Nick Lachey who had sung their own versions of traditional Christmas carols. I had planned on going to see the lighting on that Wednesday, but I had other plans for that night. Instead, my friends and I decided to go this past weekend to see the Christmas tree. It was remarkable. The tree was gigantic, more than 50 feet tall. It wasn’t hard to find because the lighting on the tree lit the entire area up and guided us to it like the North Star. It was elaborately decorated with all sorts of ornaments, but also had the traditional ones such as the two turtledoves. If you are ever passing by, you should go see the tree for yourself, especially at night.

The dulcet melody of etudes from Chopin Op. 10 enthralled my ears when I was sitting in the audience at a professional pianist competition in the recital halls at NYU. I was infatuated by the mostly twenty-minute-long pieces each pianist performed in front of a panel of judges. My piano teacher had invited me to come see her participate at an annual competition held right near Washington Square. I was in awe when I saw her and the other competitors run their fingers so vigorously yet beautifully over the clavier. To me, it is absolutely captivating to see someone lay their hands on the keys and give meaning and emotions to simple black dots on fine-lined sheets of paper. This infatuation has been my motivation in continuing to play for almost eleven years. Sitting in the audience witnessing these heart-felt deliveries of such comprehensive pieces, I thought to myself that these pianists shouldn’t be perceived as “competitors” for they can merely compete in terms of technique. Instead, they should each be applauded as artists who are able to play marvelous music in their own, individual interpretation. In the end, a twenty-two-year-old pianist won whose excellent technique was undeniable. To me, he stood out among the others because of the refined tone he produced and his sensational delivery. I was truly inspired by these pianists; it provided reassurance once again that I want to always hone the skill of playing the piano.    

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.

On an ordinary late night, I truly witnessed the idea that “Art is where you find it” in the Union Square subway station. As I descended the stairs to the platform, I heard music being played. When I got to the bottom, I saw a man in his sixties playing the accordion. A couple in their twenties slow danced in the open space in front of the accordion player. They slowly spun around in a circle as they whispered in each other’s ears. People paused to stare at them, but they acted as if they were in their own little ballroom. Moment later, another young couple joined in. I could not believe what I saw. Although the music coming out of the accordion was not even pleasant to the ears, I began to think that it was romantic sounding. The scene that I witnessed that night was beautiful and confirmed that art can indeed be found anywhere.