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On the first day of Interdisciplinary Studies class, I was asked to write about my Bali Hai. I wrote about a song, Lateralus, that encourages drawing way outside the lines, embracing the random, trying something new; and ultimately exploring unclaimed territory. In retrospect, it feels like an epigraph to a semester of exploration and discovery, both as a writer of the arts and an artist. In addition to the broad spectrum of shows I saw with the class, I used the cultural passport project as an opportunity to try new forms of art, in particular modern art at the Metropolitan Museum and foreign film.
I selected my trip to the Jeff Koons exhibit on the roof of the Met as a starting point for this reflection because it captures the beginning of my development in relation to the arts. I set off to the Met, initially hoping to look at the impressionist art exhibit. The blurred details, beautiful colors, outlines of nature are so easy to relate to when I remove my eyeglasses. Monet did not just capture the world around us; he painted to world I see on a daily basis. But before I had a chance to reach that section of the museum, I saw a sign inviting me to see a giant glass balloon animal on the roof.
What began as purely experimental became an unexpectedly moving experience. It was the end of September, and still warm enough to get away with leaving the jacket at home. Surrounded by the foreign language of tourists, I looked at my reflection in the Koons’s “Coloring Book” and saw some of my dearest personal philosophies captured on painted stainless steel. There was no definite form, no harmony or balance – overlapping layers of pastels that reflected the New York City skyline, and me. The myriad of perspectives with which the same reality is perceived was embodied in this statue and I, for the first time since pre-school, could appreciate drawing way outside the lines. For the first time, I could appreciate asymmetry and the abstract.
At that point, I thought to change the focus of my trip to the Met. I sought out the Modern Art exhibit, looking for innovativeness, perhaps merely to be avant garde. I saw some pieces that showed great originality, but none had moved me as I had hoped. The seed was sewn, as they say, and I developed the urge to re-experience the feeling of connecting with something I could have never hoped to understand.
One might imagine that an independent foreign film might not be too great a step from a Hollywood flick, minus the special effects and recognizable plastic faces. Even on a basic level, however, the cinematic experience was completely different. The reason why I had never sat through a foreign film before was because I’d always reasoned that I don’t watch a film to read subtitles. Half of the details are bound to be lost in translation. Once again, quite unexpectedly, “I Served the King of England” turned out to be a pleasant surprise. On a thematic scale, the screenplay employed satire beautifully. It got you to laugh at prostitution, Nazism, and greed, and recognize how ridiculous it all is.
Similarly to Koons’s exhibit, this film left me with a new perspective, this time about greed. It mocked the fact that greed touches everyone, from a lowly waiter to rich investors to classy ladies, to a point that they bend down on all fours at the sound of coins hitting the pavement. Furthermore, wealth didn’t seem to change the protagonist, although it is a common saying that money changes people. This absurdist insight on human nature: that it’s laughable rather than terrible was most memorable at all because it’s so applicable to real life. A lyric from Lateralus suggests that over-thinking and overanalyzing withers our intuition and is overall detrimental to our beings. To think that you could just laugh off the adversities you face, to think that wealth and poverty are miserable in their own rights.
There is an old piece of advice that goes, “Write what you know,” and generally I’ve tried to follow its wisdom. This semester I was pushed into a variety of media I had never encountered before (partially by the Honors Program, partially on my own initiative). I realized that just because you don’t know something, doesn’t mean that you can’t write about it, it’s all the more reason to explore it. Embracing the random, the undiscovered, I just may go where no one’s been.
Mariya Morgaylo
Cover Statement:
I have lived in New York City for almost all of my life. Before taking this Arts in New York City Interdisciplinary Course, the city was just bright lights and an energetic source of entertainment. Diversity and culture came from music, food and the people themselves. But I failed to realize that this city possesses so much more. Art is all around us. The graffiti lining the subway walls, the sculptures in our parks, and the dancers on the sidewalks are all art in different forms. I have also been exposed to art forms beyond what I see in everyday life. On my own I ventured to museums such as the Modern Museum of Art and I’ve even gotten the chance to hear a presentation from a real Director.
Every time I sat down to write my cultural passports I was forced to look at my experiences in different ways. For the first time I was able to actually think about what art meant to me and contemplate the lessons I’ve learned from it. I would have never guessed that someone’s art could affect me in any way, but it did. I’ve learned so much from other people’s visions and outlooks throughout this semester. From now on whenever I visit a museum or watch a performance I will not only enjoy it visually but I will also take into consideration it’s meaning.
My portfolio is a gradual look on my progression as a person. Each cultural passport contains the knowledge I’ve learned from each event or artwork I have come across. I’ve not only learned to appreciate other people’s visions even if they are not the same as my own but also I’ve learned life lessons. This portfolio is very important to me because it is written proof that I am steadily developing intellectually and opening myself to new experiences.
Reflective Essay:
Two events stand out very clearly to me. It was difficult to figure out how they related to each other because one has to do with architecture and the other was a conversation with a film director. But what I realized is that these two, although completely unrelated in topics, both taught me a great deal about life. They made me aware of the conditions of our world and even just lessons on how to be a better me.
Tadashi Kawamata is the artist behind the Tree Huts at Madison Square Park. These tree huts struck me in an unimaginable way. While sitting and admiring Kawamatas’s work, a sense of nostalgia engulfed me. I remembered my childhood days and how much I wanted a tree house. These huts, in the middle of the city that never sleeps, provided a childhood aspect to it. Businessmen and women in their suits speed walk past Madison Square Park only stopping to grab lunch at the Shake Shack. Everyone has been forced to grownup so fast that their childhood is just a blur. For a few moments while waiting on line for lunch in the park, Kawamata has given us an escape from this world. We are allowed to delve into our hearts and memories and grasp the child in all of us. My view of the tree huts is one that represents innocence and purity. The tree huts provided a vision where life does not have to be industrialized to be fun. Fun can be simple and your imagination can offer you an experience more enjoyable than anything technology. Our society is forcing children to grow up too fast and we should realize that sometimes innocence is not such a bad thing. Kawamata’s work allowed for this realization to occur within me and I am grateful to him for that. To me the most meaningful of art is the ones you learn from.
The second event that I went to, I learned even more from. It was a common event at the Macaulay Building. A film director David Holbrooke was there to discuss with us the movies he had made and the ins and outs of the movie business. At the beginning Holbrooke showed us different works from different artists. While doing this he gave a commentary on the work and the meanings that the artists were trying to portray. At this point I was extremely bored. I thought, I could’ve just gone to a museum for this. But luckily for me Holbrooke then proceeded to show us clips from three documentaries that he directed. One of the films was about global warming and another was about religious fanaticism in America. Both films were surprisingly entertaining but the third film that he showed us was one I will never forget. It centered on an eccentric man, Speed Levitch, who gave New York City tours on the double-decker buses in NYC. Speed loved New York more than any one else. He knew everything about it and could tell you wonderful stories about every city block. But the part of Holbrooke’s presentation on this film that struck me the most was the story he told about Speed. Speed was a strange man to everyone around him. Even Holbrooke admitted that Speed was bizarre but what Holbrooke loved about him was his uniqueness. Speed had no home. He crashed at different peoples houses and lets life take him to where ever he should go. The problem with Speed is although he was in love with New York, in a way; New York did not love him back. He had suffered from many hardships because of the way people had treated him. They did not understand him therefore they ridiculed him. Holbrooke stated that people like Speed are the true artists of our time. His lesson was that people should not care too much about other people’s opinions but instead we should stay exactly they way we are. Holbrooke’s message spoke to me and led me to realize that I should not be hindered by criticism but instead try my hardest to be the best at what I do.
My portfolio as a whole is a reflection on the education that art provides. If some one were to read my portfolio I would want to encourage them to go out and not only view art but to also consider its message. It may not be flashing right in your face but its there hidden and waiting to be discovered.
Although I was born and raised in New York City, a place known internationally for its theater, film, dance, and other types of visual arts, I took for granted the resources I had around me. The only type of cultural performance I attended before my entrance into college was a Broadway production of Walt Disney’s The Lion King. I have never been interested in the arts because I did not consider myself a creative person. I have no artistic talent (I cannot even draw stick figures) or musical talent (I learned the piano for a few yeas and ultimately gave up because I did not make any progress). I stayed away from museums because they bored me. The only type of theater I would go to was a movie cinema. Taking this course, however, changed my perspective and broadened my horizons.
I have probably gone to more cultural events this term alone than all the previous years in my life. I experienced my first taste of dance and opera. This course also forced to me think about the performances on a much more intellectual level. Previously, I simply watched something and either enjoyed or disliked it. Never before have I been asked to judge the lighting, sounds, or director’s decisions. Never before have I been asked to think about why a performance conveyed particular emotions in me. My biggest accomplishment in this course is learning how to interpret and critique a piece of work creatively yet still manage to keep my own “voice.” I have made sure to show that voice in my Cultural Passport Portfolio reflective essay and cover statement because it not only shows what I am like as a writer, but a thinker as well. My voice allows people reading my work to connect with me on a personal level.
Attending shows both with the class and on my own has allowed me to develop a small but keen interest for the arts. I still cannot draw, nor can I play any musical instruments, but I would probably be interested in going to a museum or a theater performance for non-academic purposes. If there is one thing this course has taught me, it is that I should always be open to experience new things; something that I reject could potentially turn out to be life-changing. This Cultural Passport Portfolio marks the beginning of my appreciation for the arts in New York City.
Carissa Dech
Prior to this course, I never knew a theater world existed outside of Broadway. I did not know that Off-Broadway existed, let alone Off-off-Broadway. Unintentionally, I found myself focusing my monthly Cultural Passports on theater productions. From September to early October, I went to Broadway musicals such as A Tale of Two Cities and Legally Blond. From late October to November, I ventured outside the Broadway Box and explored Off-Broadway shows such as Fuerzabruta and Break Out. Besides the disparity in ticket prices and number of seats, Broadway and Off-Broadway did not prove to be much different for me. I go to performances to be entertained and I enjoyed most of the productions, with an exception of one of the above.
Although I had been told that in Fuerzabruta, the audience was part of the performance, I expected an event show with a plot. Needless to say, I was disappointed. It was very interactive – the cast members came down from their platforms and engaged themselves with the audience – but Fuerzabruta was simply not for me. I very much prefer watching actors perform completely separated from the viewers.
I felt that Fuerzabruta was not only pointless, but harmful to the environment. One of the skits involved Styrofoam and pieces of paper. After dancing on a platform for a few minutes, the actors proceeded to break up all the Styrofoam boxes, filled with pieces of paper, on stage. Because that was not enough, every few minutes, a block of paper would fall onto the actors’ heads and burst into little pieces everywhere. Then, the cast members left their platforms and hit some audience members with a few more Styrofoam boxes filled with paper.
After this, the DJ sprayed people with water as they danced. Many audience members screamed with enthusiasm; the wetter they got, the more excited they got. Even though I made sure to stay clear of the water, I also absorbed the music and started dancing with my friend. Despite the fact that I had an enjoyable time, I was annoyed after Fuerzabruta ended. There were tiny pieces of wet paper all over the floor. This show is performed many times a week and the wasted water and paper accumulates. Killing trees and using up our limited supply of water for entertainment purposes is not exactly my idea of fun.
Ironically, when I attended Break Out, I expected a show without a plot; I thought the production would consist of dancing. This time, I was wrong. The storyline consisted of a group of prisoners that run away from jail. They would also start break-dancing or beat-boxing spontaneously from time to time. Nonetheless, the set designs, and not the actors, were the aspects of the performance that entertained me the most.
A large book is seen on the stage before the show begins. Its cover is the same as the one belonging to the mysterious text that magically drops into the prison while the group is fixing a car. (Apparently, that is the task that one would do in jail.) Such a strange occurrence inspires the protagonists to escape and witness all the other wonders of the outside world.
On the first page, there is a rectangular cutout for the car that the group is working on. As the group runs off the stage, the pages turn and the backgrounds change. Now, there is a miniature maze that represents the tunnel that the group manages to dig through. To add a comedic effect, as well as to put everything to scale, the actors attach little stuffed bodies to their heads, which are the only parts of their body visible in this scene, to show how the group struggles to crawl out of prison. More pages turn to become a hospital and a church. The last page of the book is blank. Overhead projections are used to show the group members frolicking on the beach. I believe this was done to make the ending open to interpretation. It is never shown whether the protagonists were sent back to jail.
Fuertzbruta and Break Out are examples of productions in which the audience should expect the unexpected. They break from the tradition examples of theater. Although I know that there will still be performances I may attend and not enjoy, I am now more inclined to watch something I have never experienced before. From what I was told, there are performances that are even more obscure than Fuertzbruta. Now that I have seen both Broadway and Off-Broadway shows, it is time for me to explore the world of Off-off-Broadway.
Carissa Dech
Boris Kalendariov (Kalendarev)
“It often seems to me that the night is much more alive than the day.” This became the watchword of Vincent van Gogh, who would paint late into the night. It relates to me, in more ways than one. To me the night is when space comes alive. The vast and timeless universe, through billions of years of evolution, is still expanding. The chaotic explosions and collisions are constantly occurring. Yet every night the sky is painted as the day turns from light to darkness. This “painting” of the universe can be seen all around the world, illuminating even the darkest places. It is this “skyscape” that has influenced thousands of painters, scientists, mathematicians and second graders, as I once was, to prefer the life of the night to the day. It is this night that has influenced both van Gogh and me.
This semester I decided to explore Van Gogh and the Colors of the Night exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art and the Cosmic Collisions exhibition at the American Museum of Natural History’s Rose Center for Earth and Space. While both present art in vastly different ways, a commonality of subject and concept was evident. Moreover, my approach to understanding both of these shows was shaped by the passion behind the creators that had been included by the curators. This same passion for discovering these treasures lies in me.
I grew up fascinated by space starting in second grade, when I was always reading books about its history. At one point I remember wanting to become an astrophysicist. However, after many years of learning the ABC’s of outer space, my interests shifted into different fields. Nonetheless, my fascination with science remains and I indulge myself in this passion by going to different space exhibitions. Some exhibits portray events through texts and pictures and others that try to graphically, with the use of visual aids, depict and explain various periods of the eternal universe.
The exhibit at the Rose Center for Space and Earth was facilitated by the use of visual aids, taking me back to my elementary school days. Since then I learned that “time” as we know it began after the Big Bang. After billions of years of explosive collisions, galaxies and planets were formed. This evolution is depicted in Cosmic Collisions, a breathtaking half-hour film, narrated by the award-winning director and actor Robert Redford. The show provides hyper-realistic views of the night sky, from the beginning of time to now. This captivating theatrical show that depicts the beginning of time was not only meaningful to me but was also very entertaining.
Another treasure that I discovered this past year, which has had a tremendous impact upon me for its originality, was van Gogh’s art, specifically his masterpiece, Starry Night. Riding the subway one day during October, I saw an advertisement for the van Gogh exhibition at the MoMA. It hit me then that I learned about him in class so I decided to select it for my cultural passport. The exhibition was so popular that it required timed-entry tickets. Even after waiting two hours to get into the gallery, I had to fight my way through the crowds if I wanted to catch a close-up glimpse of some of van Gogh’s masterpieces.
I learned that van Gogh’s masterpieces did not come easily to him. Some would say that Van Gogh was a late bloomer, in the sense that Malcolm Gladwell uses the term in a recent essay on Cezanne, becoming better as he aged. Van Gogh decided to pursue a career in art only later in life, after unsuccessfully working as a clerk and art salesman. Through experimentation and diligent work he was able to become a master at painting landscapes, specifically night scenes. He had an intimate feeling for the night and like most artists he relied on the skills of observation for his work. But painting in the dark in the late 19th century had its difficulties. Nonetheless, he was able to fuse his passion for art and his fascination for the night and through seamlessly endless nights of combining his love for nature and the nocturnal landscapes, interweaving the images and color effects, he was able to successfully portray the paradoxical representation of night by light and color. His innovativeness allowed him to conquer the problem of depicting night.
Earlier I referred to how both of these discoveries had a commonality. It is interesting to note that van Gogh was influenced by the lights of the night. What are the lights of the night? The moon and stars. If we look at the Big Bang theory, we understand that the collisions from billions of years ago helped create the moon and the millions of stars that illuminate the night, which with out would have not influenced van Gogh or an elementary school kid.
Van Gogh realized there was more to the night than meets the eye and he was able to portray this hidden beauty on canvas. Scientists from the last few centuries realized there was more to night and were able to discover its beginning. From Galileo’s telescope to Einstein’s theory of relativity, through years of analyzing data and satellite images, scientists were able to develop the Big Bang theory. This was then condensed and simplified for the everyday person to watch and understand. The commonality that both van Gogh and the hundreds of scientists shared was their intellectual curiosity. They had a hunger that they needed to satisfy and were able to do so through their work. Through their sense that something more was there, the invisible gained its representation.
I grew up with a passion for science and was able to allow room for the passion of art to develop. Van Gogh’s exhibits portraying the Starry Night helped this development as I found my passion in science in his artwork and was able to relate to it. These exhibitions satisfied my hunger and have also have developed my intellectual curiosity, which like the universe, continues to expand.
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