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Cultural Passport Portfolio: Cover Statement
I think that my Cultural Passport Portfolio is limited in the sense that it only features two of the many articles and reviews that I wrote during the IDC Arts in New York City course. It would be nice if the Portfolio encompassed more than just two, because I feel like I have developed considerably as a critical writer. All works considered, my Portfolio is like a time capsule for me, where my progress as a writer from early September right up to this statement is documented. But, more importantly than developments as a writer, the Portfolio chronicles my development as a patron of New York arts.
Nonetheless, I think that my two chosen Cultural Passports, I Served the King of England and Break Out, are two excellent examples of how I’ve changed because of this class as a whole. Both were useful in teaching or reinforcing some type of lessons for me. On the simplest level, I Served the King of England was important because it exemplified the importance of giving new things a chance, as this was my first time seeing an independent film. Break Out, on the other hand, allowed me to see a different, laid back and comedic side of New York for my first time. My writing was appropriately jovial as well. Through the varying types of performances we’ve seen in this class, I’ve learned to adapt my writing depending on what it is I’m writing about, such as a play, gallery, concert, one man show, dance presentation, or even an opera.
I’ve noticed that about the only thing that has remained throughout my reviews and responses is a general positive approach to the performances. I don’t know if it’s because I’m a generally optimistic person or if I was lucky enough to see good show after good show, but my reviews followed a trend of satisfactory responses. I think, as an open-minded person, I found it easy and natural to like and enjoy most of the performances. Also, having been on stage many times in high school, I can honestly say that I appreciate what actors and performers go through.
Apart from improvements in writing, this course, and the freedom of choice granted by the Cultural Passport assignment, has been so helpful in increasing my appreciation of the arts. From the successes I’ve enjoyed with my choices to see I Served the King of England and Break Out, I feel much more inclined to continue taking advantage of New York arts and culture on my own, which is the main point of my Portfolio.
New York City offers numerous forms of entertainment and cultural opportunities, which explains the flocks of tourists visiting annually. Living here, studying here, and working here, I ashamedly admit that I seldom take advantage of these opportunities. Before this course allowed me to discover New York City further, I rarely looked up and was unaware of the splendor surrounding me. Reflecting back, I realize that throughout my journeys, I toured museums I often passed by but hardly glanced at. The Cultural Passport provided me with the perfect opportunity to explore what I had been missing for some time.
For the September and October Cultural Passports, I visited historical museums, which taught me about my neighborhood and this country. The King Manor Museum informed me about Jamaica, Queens while the National Museum of the American Indian provided me with information about America’s history. Whether it was shopping at Jamaica Avenue, seeing a movie, or borrowing books from the Central Library, I always passed by the King Manor Museum. Surrounded by King Park, it looks displaced among the shopping stores and small businesses of Jamaica Avenue due to its colonial style structure. Furthermore, Jamaica is notorious for its drugs, violence, and bootlegged products- a museum is very unexpected in this instance and aroused my curiosity.
The National Museum of the American Indian is located in a better region, Battery Park, where the ferries to Ellis Island and Statue of Liberty are available. Although the latter focus on immigrants, the Museum focuses on America’s indigenous people. While working in Battery Park during the summer, I would rush past the Museum to and from work. I was focused solely on being punctual or returning home, ignoring the tourists gawking at the Museum. One evening, some Native American elders, musicians and dancers were performing and blocked the route to the subway station. After failed attempts at pushing through the crowd, I decided to watch and see what the fuss was about. The show was absolutely spectacular and left me breathless. While the elders chanted and beat drums, dancers wearing colorful headdresses and costumes performed energetically. Although I became fascinated by Indian culture, I never got the opportunity to visit the Museum and explore my interest. Through using the Cultural Passport, I satisfied my curiosity about the National Museum of the American Indian and the King Manor Museum.
Although I had learned about Native Americans in school, reading about them and personally seeing their culture are very different things. In contrast, I never learned about Queens or its neighborhoods during school and was completely blind to the borough’s history. At the King Manor Museum, I discovered that Rufus King- New York’s first U.S. senator and a framer of the Constitution- had lived and worked there. This was mind-blowing because I never expected a prominent figure to have resided in Jamaica, which currently breeds drug dealers and gangsters. Furthermore, I discovered that Jamaica was formerly a village, with dirt roads, horses, and buggies, and present-day Jamaica Avenue was actually Fulton Street. It is still connected to Fulton Street, Manhattan today. My experiences at the King Manor Museum provided me with a positive perspective on Jamaica and I felt enriched learning about my neighborhood.
At the Museum of the American Indian, I enhanced my previous knowledge about Native American lifestyles by visiting two exhibitions- “Identity by Design” and “Beauty Surrounds Us.” Both exhibits were dedicated to preserving and celebrating Indian traditions. “Identity by Design” displayed women’s dresses, created with intricate patterns, beadwork, and unusual materials like elk teeth. “Beauty Surrounds Us” focused on different aspects of Indian culture, including recreation and pastimes, instruments and household tools. These exhibitions expressed Native Americans’ pride about their unique heritage and taught me more than any textbook previously had.
After visiting the King Manor Museum and the National Museum of the American Indian, I felt relieved having satisfied my curiosity. It was great slowing down and enjoying the cultural opportunities New York City offers. I could finally appreciate my surroundings, which I never a second thought before. My explorations taught me the importance of understanding the background of your nation and your own neighborhood. The people and their contributions may surprise and inspire you.
-Ramandeep Singh
This semester, I visited the King Manor Museum and the National Museum of the American Indian for my Cultural Passport journeys. This collection reflects my interest in history, which probably developed during my internship at The Museum of Jewish Heritage-A Living Memorial to the Holocaust. I like discovering new facts and ideas, especially outside the classroom and textbooks. Visiting historical museums allowed me to explore subjects without rigid boundaries and my enjoyment was reflected across my writing.
My writing depends upon my thinking and view of the subject matter. If the topic is boring, my writing suffers because my disinterest is obvious. I become careless about grammar and the content, jotting down anything that comes to mind. For several of my high school and college courses, I wrote research papers, droning on fact after fact and keeping my personal feelings separate. Usually, the research topics were assigned and even if I disliked them, I was powerless to change them. However, when papers were assigned about subjects I passionately liked or disliked, my writing improved and became more focused. By using the Cultural Passport, I could explore cultural institutions of my choosing and disclose personal feelings and express my thoughts. Rather than staying neutral, I could select a side and explore it further.
Initially, it was difficult to break away from my research-paper mode. I was used to being told which topic to write about and the format to write it in. Now, suddenly, there was this freedom to choose and I struggled to figure out the topic and tone of my writing. I wondered what would happen if I disliked what I saw. Was criticism acceptable or should I hold back, staying positive throughout? In this situation, I learned not to restrain criticism and clarify why I disliked certain artifacts. However, since my journeys involved museums I found interesting, my writing turned out mostly positive anyways.
I explored the King Manor Museum and the National Museum of the American Indian because despite walking past them quite often, I rarely glanced up. During my visits, I paid greater attention to artifacts and their detail to provide better descriptions in my writing. It helped me appreciate the artistry and history behind the artifacts, and gain new perspectives. Through my journeys, I developed a better understanding of New York City’s history and improved my descriptive and reflective writing.
-Ramandeep Singh
Throughout the last five years I have done art, acting, creative writing, design, photography, dance; and as a result I have considered myself an undeclared artist. Undeclared because amateur scribbles in a notebook move no one. I wrote for the Arts section of my school newspaper for two years and I don’t think I wrote a single article that the reader could connect to. Mundane writing is a waste of time, so I stopped and assumed I would never again have to write about something I knew nothing of. The extent of my art trickled to nothing but doodles along margins.
When I was asked to write about the arts again, my first instinct was to write about paintings, an old favorite of mine. But even in the Metropolitan Museum, I was compelled to look at exhibits I had not seen before, namely of modern art; and this small step of trying something new, embracing the unfamiliar, began to change my attitude. I became eager to try new things, and more importantly, understand the motive behind them. This portfolio marks my first attempt to write about modern art, foreign film and comedy. It holds the details that stood out to me, trifles that a reader might find appreciation for: white-gloved hands, bejeweled groping the floor for loose change, changing the personal insecurity of a performer into foreign fear, a foreign perspective of what I had considered home. These are just snippets from the creative views I produced as a result.
My writing has become a lot more focused, I picked details that stood out to me and attempted to bring them to life rather than providing an impersonal, comprehensive account of an event. I began to see writing about the arts as an art in itself, it is a reflection of my experience and my attempt to articulate it the best I can. I suppose I still worry about whether a reader will get anything from my responses, but as I continue to pursue the arts, I’m sure my voice as a writer will gain resonance.
Mariya Morgaylo
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
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