The Politics of Art & Authenticity

Cindy Blackman Santana…

What can I say about her?

http://www.drummagazine.com/drumpedia/

I knew from a tabloid magazine that she is currently married to Carlos Santana… the best guitar player of all time. Not sure of what to expect and even though I’m at the Vertical Campus everyday, I had never been to the Performing Arts Center or even remotely had an inclination to take that elevator.

I don’t know. I’ve never been too much of a fan of drums. Meh. I know how prejudiced of me to hate the basis of music. Haha.

But as soon as she started playing, there was an energy that came about. She completely broke the stereotype. She wasn’t sitting there just banging on the drums, instead, it seemed like she was connected to it.

At times it seemed that she overtook the other people on stage. But in a sense that added to the  complexity of the performance. Santana, clearly hasn’t gained fame because of her famous husband.

I still can’t believe that I’m finished with my first semester of college. I can definitely say that I wasn’t prepared for some of my experiences and I didn’t think I would meet such unique people.  This class was by far my favorite.  From the first day I found out Professor Davis was a part of the Journalism department I knew that this would be a class to remember.  It catered to all my interests; writing, art, film, and blogging.  And I also learned so many other things while being in the class that I didn’t expect to.  I was opened to all types of art, but in different forms than I have ever seen them in the past.  If it weren’t for this class I probably would’ve never went to the public theatre, seen a crazy hipster dance performance, or watched crazy short films that made absolutely no sense to me.  But after having all of these experiences it has only made me go out of my comfort zone and explore more of these areas.  I have discovered more short films, watched tons of documentaries, read more blogs, and kept an open mind to other’s opinions.

The one thing that I really have to appreciate from this class were all the people I met.  It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that we had to best people in our IDC class.  The class dynamic was fantastic and I loved sharing all these amazing experiences with people who also shared a love of art, even if they didn’t realize it before.  Yes I will admit that I almost caused myself and others to be late to many of the events, but we still made it to all of them, and you will all probably remember me as the girl who causes everyone to be late.  But I will always remember this class and all the great friendships I’ve made because of it.  It is a little upsetting that next year we are all spread apart into different IDC classes, but I hope everyone remembers that first seminar class we took together and takes that great experience with them throughout the rest of their college lives.

So for anyone who reads this post:

Thanks for making my first semester one to remember. Also thanks for not thinking I’m too crazy.  Thank you to Professor Davis for being one of the best professors ever.  Thank you Brian for not killing me after all the times I’ve caused you stress.  Thanks to everyone who made me laugh and encouraged me to pursue my goals.

I wish you all the best with the rest of your college careers, and I hope that you will never forget this class.

Congrats guys! We made it through our first semester of college. (Don’t judge my awkward thumbs)

If I had to sum up my time in this class  in four words, they’d be: “Post comments on time.” If I had another four words, they’d be: “No really, don’t wait.”

I was terribly skeptical coming into “The Arts of New York City,” mostly because of the emotionally-scarring evening that was the “Night at the Brooklyn Museum.” Dear Macaulay, No. Just no. But then I thought better of it, and decided to go into the class with an open mind, and I was pretty excited when I learned about the events and artsy things we’d be doing. I think my inner-thoughts transcript went something like this that first class:

Lights go up. Cue me, scanning the syllabus.

Me: So this is basically a class where we watch movies and go to museums? I can work with th-OH MY GOD BROADWAY THIS IS GOI-

Suddenly, the course’s theme is announced: “The Politics of Art and Authenticity.” The lights go down to an ominous glow.

Me: No, this can’t be happening. WHAT DOES THAT EVEN MEAN? DON’T YOU DARE MAKE BROADWAY BORING FOR ME.

End Scene.

Looking back now, I’m realizing that the whole theme played a huge role in the events we experienced, and even in my choice of a final project. WASP was Andrea Arnold’s way to reach some catharsis of her own childhood through a visual medium. All the photographs we saw at MoMA brought new and striking perspectives to the objects that were photographed. The Barnard Fall Project just wanted to piss us all off with that tape. Katherine Vaz read an unfinished novel to us. Wild With Happy did the taboo and made us laugh at death. It was all original, and it was all risky. One false step for any of these projects and it would have been a disaster. And yet they all persevered–because it was their artistic integrity and insight on the line.

This course has helped me grow as an artist, in some awkward, understated way. I think the “politics” of art is unrelenting fearlessness, and the drive to bring honesty and purpose to the piece of work you wish to present. I hope that’s what I achieved with my final project: that I can’t be afraid to hide anything. After all, if I’m afraid to let people in on the whole truth in a classroom environment, how would I ever be able to achieve the same thing on a stage?

I could gush over this class forever, truly, and I probably would if I wasn’t busy starting my new schedule of doing nothing for a month. I had fun, and I learned. Success.

P.S. I still want to know what that tape was for.

People always see the drums as an instrument played by men, so I enjoy when a women stands up and breaks that stereotypical mold.  Cindy Blackman definitely proved that drumming is not only for men.  Her style and rhythmic movements were so unique and outstanding I couldn’t get over it.  Her confidence and passion for drummer were apparent, and it was also very impressive that she was the only woman in the trio.  And she was the drummer! That is a very rare sight to see, and I’m glad that I was able to view it.

There were times, though, when I thought that the songs were going on for a longer time than they should’ve.  I even think the bassist didn’t know when to finish some of the songs, but I know that is what happens when you do a lot of improv.  It was actually very impressive that Blackman had such control of the stage and performance.  She was in the zone and no one was going to take her out of it.

http://www.boldaslove.us/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/cindy-blackman.jpg

The rest of the trio was also very talented.  The pianist’s hands moved rapidly across the keyboard, and at times two keyboards at once.  I play the piano and I know the difficulty that goes into it, so I appreciated when I see a talented pianist perform.  When the pianist began to play on the grand piano I couldn’t take my eyes away.  The sound was so beautiful and he played it so well.  I might have actually been more impressed by the pianist than I was with Blackman.  If that pianist ever does a solo concert I will definitely be in the audience.

Overall, it was a great way to end the semester with a bang.  I was almost upset when leaving the auditorium, because I knew this was my last event with my IDC class, but it was one of the best!

My favorite class this semester had to be IDC.  It was one of the only classes I enjoyed attending considering it never put me to sleep and something interesting was always happening.  I remember my friend telling me, before the semester started, that IDC was a class where our professor took us to a couple art performances around New York City, but she made it sound like we were only going to one or two.  Despite sometimes being busy with work for other classes I was thrilled to be able to attend so many performances and exhibits, including my favorite opera Carmen.

Together, every performance or work of art we saw this semester had some sort of impact on my final project.  I feel that project summed up how I felt in the beginning, completely lost.  I got lost going to almost every class event, I never knew which train to take or which way to go.  At times I’d think I was lost when I was actually right in front of the theatre or museum.  Though going around the city in an Alice costume taught me two things.  First, though I already knew this, I don’t have to care about public opinion.  Second, never go to the Alice statue in Central Park dressed as Alice.

I’m really going to miss going to the fourth floor every Tuesday and Thursday.  The one thing I became sure of while taking this class is that beauty really is in the eye of the beholder.  While there were some performances that I enjoyed, such as the opera, there were some I didn’t quite like such as the Barnard Project.  However I’m sure there were those who found the opera boring and some who might have found the Barnard Project enjoyable.  Also, we survived.  We survived this class, the first semester, Sandy, and 2012.  This can only be a sign to keep going, that there will be other classes as fun as this one along the way.  Thank you Professor Davis.

There’s no other way to describe it. Cindy Blackman had a rythmic seizure as she drummed on her sparkling red drums, passionately striking her instrument during the enigmatic performance of the beloved Santana Trio. This entire show surprised me a lot, actually. Who knew that the usual spine and background of a song can successfully be the main melody? As a daughter of a drummer, I’ve listened to many percussion instruments from jam session to jam session but never have I heard such a classy, outrageous , and intricate way of playing. I was awestruck. For me, it was impossible to even think of sleeping or zoning out during the performance. Each song was slightly different and something about that was hypnotizing.

http://www.drummagazine.com/drumpedia/

I  also enjoyed how the other two musicians complimented her drumming even when I could tell from their facial expressions that they were winging a few measures or so. I guess it is true that passion is unpredictable. And one can tell that she was feeling the music. Her entire body moved! It was almost like a dance or a work-out.

The Santana Trio outdid themselves and every member deserves all the recognition and praise possible. Unfortunately, I don’t recall the names of the two accompanists.

This was one of my first dives into the world of jazz. I now realize that I am due for more exploring.

It’s sad to think that this will be my last post in this course but we had a good run. A surprisingly good run. Honestly at the beginning of this course I thought that it was going to be disaster. I thought “I’m not artsy and don’t know how to blog.” And yet I surprised myself despite all my doubts. Who knew I had feelings, emotions and opinions about art,music and dance. Also I was shocked that I put together a coherent five minute video. I didn’t even have a video camera!

Overall this class has helped me grow as an individual. I now respect the arts and no longer consider myself a stranger to museums and broadway plays. I also had a great time attending the events and becoming closer with everyone in the class. It was really an unbelievable opportunity, one that I will never take for granted.

To be perfectly honest, this was the only class was the only one that I looked forward to attending. Even though it was still a required class, Professor Davis presented the art forms, chose the shows, and assigned projects that were enjoyable. Also, this was the first time I experienced many of these art forms and I can say that I’m glad I did. The opera was something that I was unsure of initially but then figured I’d like it since I enjoy listening to music and when I finally saw Carmen it was better than I expected. Our class environment also played a prominent role in my enjoyment of the class. As the semester progressed the class became very comfortable with one another and this led to a few laughs to say the least. If there was one thing that was disappointing it would be that I won’t have the same thing next semester but…it was nice while it lasted.

Playing the drums was always something that I wanted to perfect. Banging pots and pans, tapping with pencils and drum solos on the steering wheel of my car are the closest I think I’ll ever get to being a famous drummer. So instead I’ve taken to watching various drummers and simply appreciating their talents. The performance put on by Cindy Blackman Santana was absolutely

incredible. Her drumming was superb and so were the base and piano players. But the one thing the truly resonated with me was her body language. As she banged away her closed eyes and flailing limbs showed her connection to the music. In my experience this is something that is apparent in most talented musicians because they are the ones that really feel the music. It is because of this that these musicians create the best music and are the most interesting to watch perform.

You can never go wrong with a musical performance so although this was the last event we attended as a class, it was the first time I wasn’t nervous about hating what I would see. Cindy Blackman is an amazing drummer to say the least. It was different to see such a talented woman playing an instrument generally associated with men. Aside from her obvious talent, I was amazed by how into the music she was. It seemed as though she was lost in her performance. I felt as though our presence was completely irrelevant to her; not because she didn’t care about her audience, but because she was so entranced by what she was doing. It really was an amazing thing to watch. She is by far the most passionate musician I have ever seen live. Generally you can tell that musicians love and enjoy what they are doing but Cindy Blackman took this passion to a whole new level. I’m not going to lie, I was having a mostly awful day, and all the drumming didn’t really help the crazy headache I had at the time, but the talent she displayed was impossible to deny. It was a great performance to end the semester with, and I’m glad that we were able to squeeze just one more cultural encounter in despite the hectic atmosphere we were living in.

http://www.boldaslove.us/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/cindy-blackman.jpg