Museums and Culture

It’s been a pretty eventful semester if I do say so myself.  From the first day of classes to today, my “final final” as I call it, I’ve jam-packed my schedule to fit in as many extracurricular activities as possible.  In this blog I want to concentrate on areas that I have not really focused on in the past.

One such example of a previously non-mentioned topic is my involvement with Queens College Hillel.  I wouldn’t consider myself a religious Jew of any sort – I haven’t been to temple in ages, and until coming to college, my family had stopped holding Shabbat on a regular basis.  And, prior to actually beginning my studies at QC my impression was that Hillel was an overall Orthodox bunch of students, I really had no desire to be involved.  The funny thing is, though, that apparently the Orthodox Jewish population on campus is only 1/4 of the entire Jewish population!  Anyway, my involvement all changed when I found out about a small grassroots, progressive Jewish movement taking form with the leadership of Alyssa Blumenthal – I would call her a mentor of mine.  With her help, I was introduced not only to progressive Judaism, but also Orthodoxy.

Men often hate each other because they fear each other; they fear each other because they don’t know each other; they don’t know each other because they cannot communicate; they cannot communicate because they are separated. -Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

CERRU, the Center for Ethnic, Racial, & Religious Understanding, hosted its first annual Innovation Exchange panel featuring eleven notable professionals in today’s progressing world.  The format for the exchange was, in honor of the date 12-12-12, a twelve minute lecture from each of these inspirational figures.  Topics discussed ranged from religion, economics, social, and cultural matters.

Here is a link to a youtube playlist of all of the speakers from this event!

All Queens College and CUNY students are urged to fill out teacher and course evaluation forms towards the end of every semester.  They are encouraged to do this with the bribe of $15 worth of Q-Bucks for printing and photocopying.  For me, however, I think it’s really important to let my professors know how I enjoyed or disliked a class, and how they might improve in the future.  That being said, I thought I’d do a brief public evaluation of the first class I ever stepped foot in my first semester of college – Introduction to Theatre Design with Professor Meghan Healey.

It is true, CERRU and the Macaulay Honors College were not able to get Jon Stewart to come to Queens College for a lecture.  But, they got the next best thing: Co-Executive Producer Steve Bodow, though the reason for that ability was probably due to the close connection between Bodow and one of our faculty members here at Queens, Katherine Profeta (also one of the seminar professors this semester for Macaulay’s Arts in NYC).  Steve Bodow was not always Co-Executive Producer.  He studied journalism and politics at Yale University, and later became involved with theatrical production as well as freelance journalism.  He applied to the Daily Show as a writer, and made his way up from there, recently receiving this high title.

I apologize for my delay in posting this blog.  So bear with me as I’m writing this more than a month after the fact.

The Godwin-Ternbach Museum and the Department of Comparative Literature sponsored Jue Loffelholz’s lecture on art, poetry, and nonsense.  From the title of the program, I had a preconceived notion that I would be going to a poetry reading.  I was in for a splendid surprise.  Loffelholz is more than a poet, and I would argue, he isn’t a poet at all.  But he isn’t an artist either.  I believe that he even said he’d rather not be categorized.  Loffelholz aims to make a statement – to be provocative in the most nonsensical sense.  He rejects the combination of politics and art – he is not anarchical and doesn’t aim to send any sort of political message through his works.  It was very difficult to hear Loffelholz at the lecture because he refused to use a microphone.  At first, I thought it was simply a mistake that there wasn’t any amplification.  But after conversing with Loffelholz, I learned that he didn’t use a microphone because, to paraphrase him, “that’s what politicians do”.  His rejection of conformity is extremely strong, and very present in his “art.”

-2012-
Election
Romney VS Obama 

Who I voted for is really not of large importance when it comes to today.  The more important issue is that today was my first experience when it comes to being a participating American citizen that is eligible to vote.  And to be quite honest, the new, exciting experience was quite a let down.

I remember being very little and going to E.M. Baker Elementary School in Great Neck with my mother or father.  I remember always being nervous – Am I allowed to go in with you?  Isn’t that illegal?  I was quite the proper child – still am!  I remember wanting to pull the lever to close the curtain, select the presidential and other candidates (usually not understanding how the entire process worked), and then finally try to open the curtain once again – but… I was too weak!  Probably still am.

Thanks to Professor Healey of Introduction to Theatre Design at Queens College, I know of a really quaint museum in NoHo: The Merchant’s House Museum.  “The Merchant’s House Museum is New York City’s only family home preserved intact — inside and out — from the 19th century. Built in 1832 just steps from Washington Square, this elegant red-brick and white-marble row house on East Fourth Street was home to a prosperous merchant family for almost 100 years” (Merchant’s House Museum).  Because I’m a crazed lover of the old, I decided I’d get a student membership to the museum and go to three events that they’re holding in one month (though I must cancel one of my reservations due to a prior obligation)!  The first of the three events was Chant Macabre, a vocal concert performed by the Bond Street Euterpean Singing Society.  Follow me on a journey back in time, a journey to a 19th century parlor filled with macabre music.

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Let’s fill our tummies before we go back in time!  I’m just going to put in a little plug here for the B Bar & Grill restaurant which is right across the street from the Merchant’s House Museum (along with many other eateries that I must try in the near future).  The floor plan of the restaurant is really spacious and there’s more than enough tables to go around.  They serve brunch, lunch, and dinner, along with drinks.  There were too many things on the menu I wanted to try (macaroni and cheese, a lamb burger, pizza, just to name a few), but I ended up tasting their Fish ‘n Chips.  I have a question, why are Fish ‘n Chips portions always so large?  Anyway, the food was delicious, and their french fries are to die for (like my little death joke there?)!  Definitely a recommended spot for food before any event at the museum.

The Museum of Modern Art is not my favorite museum in New York City.  It’s not my favorite museum, period.  But I had to go for my Arts in New York City seminar.  And I have to admit, I had a semi-enjoyable time there.  Look, a museum is a museum, and no matter what museum I might find myself in, something ends up interesting me.

What I went for: Photography

My seminar group decided that they wanted to focus on the photography exhibit – mainly New Photography 2012.  Of course, me being me, I chose images from the older collection of photography.  I found three interesting pieces – all interesting for different reasons.

Harrell Fletcher’s The American War (2005) was possibly the most disappointing series I have ever seen in a museum.  Yes, there is Rothko who tends to paint colored squares, and Pollock who thinks art is waving a loaded brush on a canvas.  And yes, I do have a problem looking at these modern artists with the same prestige as I look at Rembrandt.  But, at least they’re doing something.  Harrell Fletcher did absolutely nothing in this photography series.  He went to the Ho Chi Minh museum in Vietnam and simply took photos of the images on the wall.  What’s different between that and what I did on my trip to the MoMa?  I took photographs of the images I thought were interesting – but I’m not considering these photographs art!!!  This really infuriated me.  What is art coming to?  And this is one reason that the MoMa isn’t my favorite museum – too conceptual for my taste.

One of my favorite museums is the Nassau County Museum of Art.  Situated in a Roslyn mansion originally built by Lloyd Stephens Bryce, the museum holds various temporary exhibits while also housing the well known Tee Ridder Museum of doll houses and its many outdoor sculptures of modern and more traditional art.  The museum is right off of Northern Boulevard and is also a great place to stroll around – it has nature walks and vast grassy areas for picnicking and the like.  After several decades of existence, the Nassau County Museum of Art has been able to acquire art collections of well-renowned artists such as Tiffany, Richard Avedon, and Marc Chagall.

I had a very busy day planned out for today.  The original list went as follows:

Quidditch 10:00-12:00
Finkel, Finkel & Rutkowski 1:30-3:30
Habit 4:00-5:30
Broadway Flea Market 6:00-8:00

You must agree, that seems a little bit impossible.  And it was.  I didn’t have enough stamina or energy to get through the entire day.  And you have to realize, these events weren’t neighbors.  It would be downtown to uptown to downtown to midtown.  A little bit crazy!  So here’s the final schedule:

Quidditch 10:00-12:00
Lunch on Columbus Avenue 12:50-1:30
Finkel, Finkel & Rutkowski 1:30-3:30 (I ran a little late)
Columbus Avenue Street Fair 3:30-4:30