Art & Authenticy

It’s really quite a shame that huge exhibits overshadow the smaller galleries in the MoMA.  These smaller exhibits are like the middle children of Modern Art.

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Barber of Serville

Rating: 3 stars

Reasons:

I love Italian food, Italian scenery, and Italian language, but I’m not sure if Italian Opera can go under my definition of love. My policy in deciding whether I like or dislike something is to give it a chance, so I went to the the MET and gave Barber of Serville our first chance at love. Continue Reading »

Considering none of us actually wanted to hear an author read his own works . . . or any works for that matter, I’m happy we had to see Joseph O’Conner. After I read the except, I didn’t expect anything that would actually keep me awake but his readings were actually A-mazing. His easy-going nature and pizzazz (yes I said pizzazz) were so enthralling, I was sad to see it end. He was unlike any author I would have imagined . His passion for writing easily came through, it was easy to see why he was so good. The highlight of the event was easily the reading of his new poem to New York at the end. I’m still waiting for the emailed version of it Provost Mccarthy promised to send out…

Youtube Video “Like” from Joseph O’Conner as recommended by Baruch Provost James Mccarthy

The ICP exhibit was . . . an interesting experience. It was unlike any other museum I’ve been to, not only because it consisted entirely of photographs, but because it was held in such an intimate space. Among the beautiful pictures dedicated to African American women and Brazilian fashion, it was Alice O’Malley’s piece that stood out. Her photos were of men and women who blurred traditional gender lines. As a big supporter of the LGBTI (Lesbian, Gay, BiSexual, Transgender, Intersexed) community, I thought the idea was beautiful as well as the photography. Deceptively simple, the photos still had so much character. I wish there were more people that understand that genders are fluid creations of societal expectations, and were more open-minded to the sexes crossing gender lines.

Where Did You Sleep Last Night?, as performed by Leadbelly

Being anything that isn’t white in America is hard enough, but being mixed is 10 times harder. Danzy Senna is the daughter of a black man and a white woman, and has lived her life in an infinite struggle to just live her life without having to answer questions about race. Her new book Where Did You Sleep Last Night follows her therapeutic journey to discover her black Southern roots and unravel the mystery that seems to encompass her father. While this sounds like a great story –and on paper it is– in person Senna did not make much of an impact. She lacked the charisma expected from good public speakers and seemed to barely connect to the audience. Despite her lackluster personality, I would still recommend her books to anyone looking for an interesting read. I actually look forward to reading Caucasia.

Painted by Regnault, Salomé is a depiction of an unnamed female figure in the Bible that is often considered a dangerous seductress. The daughter of Herod Antipas – governor of Judea – she is infamous for the execution of John the Baptist, which the dagger and silver platter on her lap serve as a reference to. Most interestingly, this painting was originally of an African woman. Then Regnault expanded the painting at the bottom and the right and decided to use an Italian model. Out of all the paintings at the Met, this one spoke to me for its tranquility. Using oil paint, he created a beautiful, natural, dreamy colors. It resonates like an intimate picture of a lover despite Regnault’s juxtaposition of femininity and violence.

Loie Fuller singlehandedly brought together traditional skirt dance with multicolored lighting to create what became a world sensation know as the serpentine dance. A dance that was truly inventive for its time.

Jodie Sperling –founder of New York’s own Time Lapse Dance Company that reinvents classic genres of dance with contemporary influences– held this Seminar to speak about Loie Fuller, a dance pioneer in her day, despite the obstacles in her life, and hundreds of impersonators. While it was interesting to see artistic interpretations of Loie Fuller, it would have been better to see the original artist. On the bright side, listening to Sperling speak was more thought-provoking than I thought it would be. She showed me that dance is always evolving, but at the same time, timeless.

Meet the Artist “Materializing the Ephemeral: The Art of Loie Fuller with Jodie Sperling”

     Wasp is 23 minutes long, so there’s no way it can have any substance, why bother. These are my thoughts as I am introduced to this movie. I have never been one for short films, I always felt that you can never get the full effect and meaning of a film if it’s “short.” I always compared short films to watching one episode of a popular TV show only to have them take it off the air.

    However these 23 minutes were filled with education, judgment, sympathy, relation, and honest entertainment. Andrea could have dragged this movie out for another hour but there was no need. She successfully depicted Zoë as an unfit mother with her messy house and irresponsibility yet raised sympathy and understanding that Zoë is stuck in the single mother struggle while the father get a free pass. Very powerful short film, a pleasant suprise for a skeptic.

     To be completely honest I don’t know what I expected from Michelangelo’s first painting, and I was soon to find out as I walked in and a large sign directed me to it. I guess I was almost purposely expecting the opposite of what you would think; this large grand feat of paint. In doing so I was correct at first glance. It was a small oil painting of what appeared to be intertwining demons surrounding St. Anthony.

    The colors in this painting tell me that St. Anthony is the “victim” in this painting. The vibrant reds and greens seem to portray so much power, and St. Anthony is a faded shade of black. What caught my eye was the fact that Michelangelo painting a very calm face on St Anthony. To me this means two things, that it represents that no matter what power anything has you can always persevere, and be mentally sound. Also I felt it showed a touch of comfort from Michelangelo that a Saint will resist all evil, because if a saint cant how can he?

    I was fooled I expected the opposite and at first glace that is what I got but as with most great art, after careful study, I discovered a great intricate painting.

On the magical evening of October 27th, I saw a performance of “The Barber of Seville,” an opera, or rather, a fairy tale, that was too good to be true. The story line was unreal to me, a 21st Century audience, as it was composed in the 18th Century. The setting is Seville, a “beautiful city and something of a mythical Neverland,” which seems very dreamy to me. The way Figaro manages to keep entering the house despite its security makes me chuckle because it is too fictitious. It even reminds me of Disney productions where there is one evil character, Bartolo, who in the end succumbs to the protagonist, Count Almaviva, and a wise man, Figaro, who seems to know everything and anything. The huge female behinds created by the costumes produces a comical effect but is very “Disney;” they reminded me of the fairy grandma in Cinderella.

Seville