Art & Authenticy

In class, we discussed how Danzy Senna’s family would get fingers pointed at them or questioned for her shockingly different appearance from her father. I knew the Senna family was open-minded but she just continued to surprise us. Her sister, marrying a Pakistani British man, like my Mr. England, was a nice shocker. Danzy Senna speaks of her life as if it’s not a big deal. I thought, “If she and her sister can follow their hearts and marry who they wanted to, I can too.” Growing up being instilled with values such as “don’t talk to boys” or “learn how to cook and clean for your in-laws” (something Abushale would agree with), I was always afraid of falling in love. Fortunately or unfortunately, I have. Danzy Senna’s beautiful memoir confirmed for me that love has no boundaries and steered me in the right direction: to follow my heart and its desires. I’m even considering writing a story about Mr. England, no matter what the end result is for us. The triumphs, the upheavals, and the tears that I’ve gone through may just be what some other young girl might want to hear – a story of hope. Senna being able to talk about her family on an open platform like she did that night, was amazing. I’m pretty open about my love life, but I always have to “think “ of the right answer. As her first nonfiction piece, I think she’s done an amazing job and this is just from a mere glimpse of the memoir. “Where Did You Sleep Last Night” is spoken about in this article.

Fela!

Rating: 5 stars

Reasons:

Ben Brantley was surprised when he saw no one swaying their hips or jumping up and down on the street after the audience left the “Fela!” On Broadway Performance. Well, I would like to tell Brandtley that he was watching “Fela!” on the wrong date because I was dancing all the way home after watching the musical. (This is a bit of an exaggeration.)

Brantley, like many other critics, gave “Fela!” a great rating, and compliments. Even though Brandtley did not think that Mr. Ngaujah, who plays Fela Kuti, has a strong “musical presence,” but still appraised him for being a “lucid story teller.” I, however, do not agree with Brandtley on this point. I believe that Mr. Ngaujah’s performance greatly resembles that of Fela Kuti when he performed at the Shrine in Haiti.

Side note: so last week, I saw the Fela! cast performing on the Stephen Colbert show and I thought I was in love. You should check it out at the Colbert Nation website.

The title makes no sense.  It’s okay, because neither does the actual play.

Continue Reading »

Truth be told, when I saw the ad on the subway for the Whitney Museum’s exhibit of Georgia O’Keefe, her name sounded very vaguely familiar. It wasn’t until I saw her pieces in person did I realize I had seen her paintings and watercolors before. As an artist, I consider her somewhat of an anomaly, being so well-known for her paintings of flowers as well as skulls. While I think its interesting that she focused on those two objects, I don’t see the connection. I don’t think this is an exhibit that would appeal to everyone, but for the art enthusiast, it is worth checking out.

While at the MET doing research for an english paper, I ran across Vermeers “The Milkmaid.” This exhibit featured 36 paintings to put “The Milkmaid” into historical context.  Before this I had never heard of Vermeer but the main attraction was easily recognizable. I chose to view this painting instead of going to a show because I thought it would be good to mix it up, the entire semester we have focused on shows and new and more innovative exhibits, I felt like we forget the beauty that still exists in traditional arts.  After seeing the painting I did a little bit of research, and I was surprised to find that this was created in a time when milkmaids were often represented as lovers. It is interesting to think of this painting in this time period, but I do not see anything overtly (or subtly) sexual about this. Either way,  like  Salome by Regnault, it is deceptively simple with a understated beauty not found today; it is definitely worth stopping by to see this piece in person.

I had such high expectations for the Fall for Dance Festival because the people in the cover of the Play Bill looked so energetic and passionate but boy was I wrong. Continue Reading »

The Cat Above and The Mouse Below

An opera, in particular The Barber of Seville, seemed like something that I wouldn’t be able to connect with, but little did I know I knew most of the songs before I had ever heard of the Opera. The Barber of Seville was a good choice to introduce us to the opera because so many of its songs are so well known, appearing in cartoons like Tom and Jerry, Bugs Bunny, and the Simpsons. Another thing that stood out about it was its bawdy and low humor comedy, which was unexpected for “The Met,” a place whose very name carries weight and prestige. The only inconvenience was the (ridiculously) overpriced food, and having to stay out so late on a school night. Overall it was interesting, but it could have been better planned.

As I walked into the Paley Media Center, located on W.52nd Street, I knew this was exactly what media was all about. Filled with television screens, magazine advertisements, and movies screening in various corners of the center, media was all over the place.

Comparing three different countries’ news shows was most eye opening for me. On Zee TV (India’s television network), the news reporters were glamorously dressed up. News topics covered current events – mostly on the Bollywood scene. Where was the news? Not in Zee TV’s news program. Seeing the channel made me realize how beautified everything is in India and how much Indians worshipped actors and actresses. It put me off, seeing how I regarded many Indian men and women to be sophisticated and more reliable news sources than our FOX News or ABC News. As I looked online to research Zee TV, I realized the Zee branch has other channels: Zee Gold, Zee Cafe, Zee Trendz, Zee Sports, Zee Cinema, and Zee Smile. All of these channels are for entertainment purposes, not for informational ones. I’d rather stick to CNN – yes, it still shows footage of Michael Jackson’s death, but I do hear about worldwide events and not just Britney Spears!!

Do you want to check Zee TV out for yourself? Click here.

Her memoir had a nostalgic tone, but it was different from most memoirs. Most of the blogs talk about how Danzy Senna tries to find herself, but I think by that time she had already found herself. She just didn’t know how to place herself in the midst of both worlds. I actually found it touching. I could relate to the same experience. No, I’m not from a bi-racial family, but I still have two identities. I’m Chinese-American.

It doesn’t sound too special or strange, but when I was growing up I found that I could fit into either groups too much. I didn’t have too many Chinese friends because I didn’t like their choice in music or their taste in clothes. I didn’t have too many “American” friends because of our different points-of-view. So I was really sympathetic of her feelings for her surroundings. It was nice that someone else can share a similar story.

Considering this was the first dance performance I have ever seen, to say I was surprised is an understatement. I was absolutely disappointed with “Les Biches,” the first performance. I could not figure out the story line at all, if there was any, and the dancing was sloppy and unsynchronized. After that rocky beginning, I knew it could only get better and began to enjoy the rest of the show; the second performance -“Afternoon of a Faun,” created by Vaslav Nijinsky – was my absolute favorite. While I did not completely understand its representation of the relationship between the ego and id, the chemistry between the two dancers was captivation. The dance was unexpectedly contemporary and abstract; it was a pleasant surprise to learn that it was originally composed in 1912. It stood out the most because Mark Dendey, the choreographer paying homage to Nijinsky, changed the original piece from a man and a woman dancing to two men dancing. This was a beautiful, modern day interpretation of the work.