The Politics of Art & Authenticity

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Thanks to Tom Seubert, I listened to him. SMARTEST THING I’VE DONE. I went to the Museum of Natural History at around 4:30 P.M. before I had to go to work and guess who got in for free? I DID. Lovely, plus I didn’t have a bunch of little kids running around at the Museum because of a class trip or anything. Lovely. Absolutely awesome. Kudos to Tom for the heads up!

Anyways, I constantly love dragging my friends along these culture events. I love opening their eyes to what is around NYC just as how this class opened my eyes too. I’ve been to the Museum of Natural History before in middle school for a class trip, but I took it as an opportunity to get out of school and have a day spent outside with friends. Of course, this experience was completely different. I literally took everything I saw and was completely in love with everything around me. I honestly love dinosaurs and every time I see the fossils all around me I imagine them coming alive and walking around the museum. My childhood imagination always comes alive when I’m around dinosaurs.

As a kid going to this museum, you just walk around and go “This is so boring, I want to go home, I want to eat, I don’t want to be here. Well at least I’m out of school.” But when you go through on your own time and actually go to see what’s at the museum, I think you appreciate things a lot more.

Plus the fact that there were no kids running around and my friend didn’t get a chance to make fun of the fact that elementary school kids are as tall as me since we didn’t see any made my day.

I recently visited MOCA: Museum of Chinese in America. I came along with all my line sisters from my sorority. I knew someone who worked there and they let us go in for free! It was very interesting to see pieces of art that reflect Chinese American culture. I was fascinated by the comic exhibit that not only had Chinese comic books but how Chinese characters were incorporated in to American comic books. There was also this book that showed the differences between different types of Asians, such as the difference between Chinese and Korean people. It was a great experience to learn more about Chinese culture!

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It’s located in Chinatown if anyone wants to visit!

Recently went to see Mamma Mia on Broadway. My aunt came all the  from Australia to visit New York. So of course we went sight seeing. I recently went to see Mamma Mia on Broadway. My aunt just wanted to experience a Broadway play. Going to see Mamma Mia was also my very first Broadway play. I thought it was ridiculously cheesy. But my aunt enjoyed every minute of it. She even sang along to the songs. It was nice to see my aunt and go toto see my first Broadway play.

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The costumes were on point and so was the singing. I enjoyed how each scene transitioned with the moving background. Everything was choreographed well and the everyone performed really well also. There was high energy coming from the cast and the audience. Everyone seemed really into the play, maybe it was because majority of the audience was way older than me. Maybe that’s why they seemed to appreciate this play more since they listened to this music when they were my age. ABBA seemed to be a favorite amongst the older generation. I was familiar with the play because I saw the movie. I can say that the play was a hundred times better than the movie.

I  visited the  museum at the Fashion  Institute of Technology and I highly, highly recommend it. The current exhibition is titled “Fashion and Textile History” and though it’s on the small side, it gives a comprehensive overview of the ways in which fashion has evolved together with technology.
I now I have a completely different outlook on the fashion world.

High fashion is not just about coming up with the wackiest designs possible for people to wonder “Um…am I actually supposed to wear that?” Designing clothing is truly an art form, which both expresses the designer’s comments and observations of the world and showcases unbelievable talent. It’s not just about stitching a piece of cloth together. Throughout the years there have been remarkable innovations in the types of fabrics used and the methods used to create them. At FIT I saw dresses made of cellophane, paper, and even steel wool. Today, the latest fad is using materials that can conduct electricity so that the clothing can literally shine.

One thing that really stood out to me was a video of a fashion show by Alexander McQueen. He used his line to show how technology is affecting humanity. He had one model stand on a revolving foor, while robots sprayed her with paint. I just thought it provided a very powerful image, and it was amazing how Alexander McQueen was able to get his message across through the art of fashion, instead of more typical artistic mediums like writing or music.

My visit to the museum at FIT (The Fashion Institute of Technology) was eye-opening. It was more than the regular trip to the museum to look at pieces of art. The exhibits are interactive and the experience was very different. I never actually thought about the way clothing is made, and how fashion is a constantly changing market. But I realize now that technology really drives fashion! Have you ever thought of zig-zag prints as being a big deal? Well, that was one person’s innovative idea, which was then enabled by technology. One really interesting piece was a printed tie, and I read that the designer created the print on Photoshop. That’s just amazing! There was a dress from a textile made with 3D shapes. Yet another great innovation was a men’s drip-dry suit, so they can take a relaxing bath in their suit and then run off to work! (At least that’s what the accompanying video showed, though I’m still not sure of it’s exact use…) All these concepts were enabled by new technologies. It’s really great what technology can do, and how much it plays a role in our world. I really enjoyed my visit to FIT, and I’d definitely recommend the museum to anyone looking for somewhere that’s fun and interesting.

Visiting the New York Transit Museum was a truly rewarding experience! I strapped on my combat boots and went their with my best friend, Aaron Fung. The creativity and the way the museum was structured was truly brilliant! For example, the entrance to the museum looked like a real subway entrance. In fact, I got lost and couldn’t find the museum because I thought that the entrance was an actual subway entrance.

What I enjoyed most about the New York Transit Museum was the history of the subway system. I learned that the first subway system was in place in New York in the late eighteen hundreds. The subway system was mainly built by immigrants, and I found it fascinating how tunneling was used to connect the four boroughs by subway. The museum even had a interactive dynamite device that you could push down, and it would make an explosive noise! In addition to this, I got to move a wheelbarrow that weighted as much as the subway constructors would carry several times on a daily basis. I was surprised at the true strength that these men must have had.

The Museum also an interactive model that allowed you to see how solar power worked. I found this fascinating because in my English class I wrote a research report on solar power so I felt a connection to what I have learned in the class. In addition to this model, you could also generate mechanical energy by spinning a wheel. What was cool about this model was the fact that you could see the electricity move its way up the pole.

Another thing that I found fascinating about the New York Transit Museum is that it had old subway cars ranging from the early nineteenth century all the way up to recent times. What was unique about this subway cars is that some older models had cushioned seats or were more spacious. I liked how old advertisements could be seen in the subway cars. This made me think that I took a time machine back into the past, and I was actually there. I noticed that a lot of the products being advertised in these old subway cars do not exist currently. This can show that trends and products change over time. But what was really cool about this museum was the fact that it had old subway maps inside of the old subway cars. These maps allowed you to see the changes made on the subway system like trains being added or removed. Some stations and trains that used to exist currently do not exist today.

I also like seeing how the subway turnstiles have changed as well. Like in the early nineteenth century a ticket conductor would allow you into the subway, but now we just swipe our MTA card to enter the subway system. The subway turnstile system has been redisgned several times over the course of the subways history.

I have always been fascinated by the subway system and energy. This experience allowed me to strenghten my knowledge and allowed me to have great fun with my best friend. I cannot wait to go to the New York Transit Museum again to indulge in a fun, but educating experience. I loved seeing how things changed over time.

Image Source: http://www.mta.info/mta/museum/images/platform_Court.jpg

Visiting the Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art was a truly rewarding experience. The Museum has something that everyone of all ages can enjoy.

I particularly like the George Bellow Exhibit because it was a special exhibit that will only be in the Museum until February.

I tried taking pictures of Bellow’s beautiful paintings, but the guards stopped me. I learned that the Ashcan movement inspired Bellows to create these marvelous paintings. The Ashcan movement was inspired by the a group of eight painters that portrayed the realistic elements of poor neighborhoods in New York City.

My favorite painting by George Bellows was called “Morning Snow” and it was created in 1910 by using oil on canvas. What struck me was how Bellows incorporated New York City and the Hudson River into a mundane setting of snow and trees. The painting used horizontal and vertical rhythms that allow the viewer to imagine life during a freezing cold snow day. Some abstraction elements can be seen by Bellows using elevated vantage points and horizontal and vertical elements. What I loved most about this painting the was the beauty of it and how real it looked. I particularly liked it because I rarely got to see snow when I was growing up and I love the snow.

Another painting that I loved by Bellows was called “Polo at Lakewood” and this painting was also created in 1910 by George Bellows. This painting depicts a group of men playing polo. I learned in my history class that during this time period the masculinity of men was being challenged by women. Men played masculine sports like the Polo depicted in this painting. I could feel the essence of the time period just by looking at the painting, and this shows how authentic Bellow’s paintings truly were. I also learned that this painting refers to Teddy Roosevelt and his clan of Rough Riders that embraced masculinity. But what I truly loved the most about this painting was how brilliant the sky looks. It looks as it is almost going to rain and might portray that a dark future is ahead for masculinity.

I also  was enamored with the Egyptian art. I learned that art can take many forms, and that each culture has a different form of art. I loved seeing the ancient hieroglyphs and this reminded me of the Luxor casino in Las Vegas. This experience made me a little homesick, but it was worth it since I love ancient artifacts.

I also enjoyed looking at the Medieval art and armor. This art reminded me of my days of playing Runescape, a game that is set in the Medieval times. It reminded me of all my friends that used to play it and the different types of weapons and armor that we would use in battle.

I thought this experience truly enhanced my knowledge of art and history. I got to see amazing works of art that transformed me through several time periods. I cannot wait until I visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art again so I can strenghthen my knowledge and have fun!

Image Source: http://www.newyork-hq.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/metropolitan-museum-of-art-01.jpg

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This year in the beginning of December I saw Wicked the broadway play for the first time in my life. To say it was amazing, spectacular or fantastic would probably be an understatement. Let’s just say that I have been caught singing along to the Wicked CD in my grandmother’s car. I loved everything about the play from the special effects to the singing and the dancing. Everything was perfectly executed. But personally I’m not usually into musicals because I tend to get bored with the plot easily. I think that is what made this play so amazing for me-the plot.

Even though I had nightmares of the witch for years after first seeing the film, The Wizard of Oz is probably my favorite childhood movie, so once I heard that it was the backstory to The Wizard of Oz I was interested. Luckily for me the play did not disappoint and  I loved watching the drama unfold between Glinda the good and Elphaba, also known as, the wicked witch. It gave The Wizard of Oz context and I now viewed the film in an entirely different light. Not only did the backstory shed some interesting insight unto the entire story but it also enabled me to get offer my fear of the “wicked witch of the west.”

But aside from the plot, the singing was phenomenal, and as cliche as it is to say, I was blown away by their performance,especially of the song “Defying Gravity.” I actually was once on an elevator humming that song and I heard someone quietly singing the part where I left off. It was a girl around my age and ever since that experience I have vowed to marry her, obviously the wedding will wait until after I graduate.  In all seriousness though my entire experience of Broadway was extremely positive and it left me praying for a sequel.

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In the beginning of the semester our anthropology teacher forced us to go to the American Museum of Natural History and I really welcomed the occasion. Honestly it was because I though it would be a great opportunity to stare at the enormous blue whale exhibit. I could stare at that thing for hours. Unfortunately I found out that we were required to go to the human origins exhibit. I mean who cares about human origins when theres a giant whale hanging from the ceiling?! But a certain classmate of mine ahem… ahem… Jackie Diaz did not share my point of view and would not let me linger on the giant blue whale because apparently the museum was closing and we had to visit the exhibit.

As it turns out I enjoyed the human origins exhibit. It allowed me to realize that I know absolutely nothing about our origins. I had no idea where the first humans were discovered and from what species we evolved from because quite frankly I didn’t care. But my experience at the museum changed my view on where we come from and surprisingly enough it made me care. I found myself intrigued at when the first carvings showed up and when exactly we first appeared in world history. It was an extremely enlightening experience and it wasn’t all bad as I did get a couple of minutes to just stare at that giant blue whale.