The Politics of Art & Authenticity

Of course, this picture does no justice and I’m missing people but I’ve met the greatest people in this class. And this is horrible picture of us, FAIL ATTEMPT.

Coming into this class on the first day of the semester, I was completely horrified. I am stuck in a class where I have to use my artistic talent, go to operas, be “cultural”. Practically be everything I’m not. I am a boring person. I like to sit in a lecture hall and take notes, I like to use powerpoint to make presentations.

This class went against everything that I did.

I never went to shows, broadway plays, to operas. I didn’t plan on it and I didn’t want to. But this class really opened my eyes to so much. I learned to actually like to use prezi rather than a boring old powerpoint presentation. I learned to actually be openminded about things like going to watch a documentary, going to weird dances (omg I am scared but really opened my eyes to what goes on in the world), and to actually go against what I normally do and do something outside of my comfort zone. I love it and I thank you so much.

The one thing that I will always love and remember about this class was going to watch that documentary and going to the New York Film Festival. Those were my favorite events and will forever LOVE. The documentary was just beautiful and it actually made me happy that I get to experience this class. The New York Film Festival was just amazing and I loved it.

Thanks to Professor Davis, I actually found something I’m good at. Expressing how I feel about things. Because of this blog, I was able to be completely honest. Honest about how I felt about events, or simply how I felt about the things I gained out of the events. Such as going to the Barnard Fall Project, people should just be open minded and the word modern can be interpreted loosely. The fact that I realized I rather read a book than have someone read it to me. The fact that I want to pursue music again. And that I can actually make a film production using Final Cut Pro and make still-motion pictures pretty nicely (Not perfect, but at least to my satisfaction).

This class actually made me realize, I’m not artistic, but I do have some creative things in this little noodle I have. Maybe I’m not the most cultured person in this world, but at least I’m more open to what is to come because of the opportunities I was given from this class.

This class has given great friends, great experiences, and the ability to put myself in a position that I am uncomfortable with and I was okay with it. Thank you Professor Davis.

This was my favorite class this semester. I looked forward to going to this class every Tuesday and Thursday. I was able to experience performances that I would have never experienced.Thank you, Professor Davis! I probably would have never imagine going to the opera or watching a modern dance performance. This class has opened my eyes to many different types of art and I am so happy it did. It made me appreciate all the talented people that put their soul into what they loved doing.

Going to these events have inspired my final project. I had fun taking the pictures for my stop motion. I just wish I had more time. I was planning to do a claymation but my art skills tell me otherwise. So I still with using Legos. I took multiple pictures and that was so time consuming. It really showed how patient I was with this project but their were moments of frustration when I had to redo a whole scene because I made a mistake on one picture. This was a lot of work but it did produce an enjoyable clip. I did have fun making this stop motion and it made me reflect on the love I have for my dog.

I’d like to thank my classmates that help me with this project. I am also happy that I got to experience it with my classmates. They made it so much more enjoyable. I’ve grown closer to most of them and they are a group of great people. This seminar was an amazing experience. I don’t think any other one can top it.

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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.

Why did this class have to end. This was by far my favorite class this semester and probably throughout my college career here in Baruch. The different art we have seen was amazing, especially the art of fellow students. The discussions we had were very thoughtful and interesting unlike most classes. And the friends I made were amazing and we had too much fun with all of our events and projects.

All I have to say about this class is thank you. Thank you to Professor Davis for coming up with the fun things we did in class and out of class and for the fun class discussions, thank you to my classmates for having fun with these events and projects and always finding a way to get things done, and thank you to art for being so vague and opinionated that I can say whatever I want and it’ll make sense.

Throughout the semester I have simply learned to keep my mind open. From that strange night at the museum on our first day of school I was afraid this is what Arts Seminar would be like. Then we saw a short film in class and I knew things were gonna be fun (I like watching movies in class). That first month of movies was great, every movie was eye-opening and strange, especially the animated short films. Then the opera came around. Oh the opera. I think every one knows how I felt about that. Our short time in dance was….interesting. I still don’t know how to swim, that show didn’t really help me.

An our final projects. From day one those projects were simply amazing. Every one was so good and inspiring and thoughtful and just amazing. I personally knew what I would make my project about from the first day of class. It was a big part of my life and easy to talk about for me. I honestly could make a full length movie about Sam, that short video didn’t capture everything there is to know about this cute kid. But I’m proud of my work and the way people saw it.

As I move on to the next semester I hope that I can get at least a sliver of the same enjoyment in this class in other classes. There were too many great things in this class and too many good memories. It feels like I’m Carmen being stabbed as the matador kills the bull. I’m dead and so is the exciting show that is this class. Thank you. *Applause* *Applause* (Encore Encore Bravo Bravo) 

Credit to: http://www.drummerworld.com/pics/drumpics24/cindyblackman.jpg

I generally like listening to music. Just not when it’s so loud it makes my head hurt. Cindy Blackman is definitely a good drummer, she’s passionate about her work and is able to drum amazingly. Her skills are amazing, how quickly she’s able to drum, the way her whole body works when she’s playing is a display of mastery. But the performance was a TRIO, not solo act of her best work. I enjoyed the pianist and bass player more than Blackman. The pianist was extremely skillful in the way he played, at one point he was playing two pianos at the same time. The bass player was great too. He was great with the upright base although I barely heard the base guitar. You could tell that this was their first real show together from the way the pianist and bassist kept looking at Cindy and trying to figure out what she was doing and what song she was playing. They did play well together and everyone had a little solo part that sounded good. Except for Cindy’s which was simply to loud. Overall she was great to look at she played because of her speed and movement, but her performance overpowered the trio.

What a semester. I didn’t really know what this class would entail – I thought we would just go to a bunch of art museums. But we saw short films and operas and plays and films and dances and it wasn’t really what I had thought of as art in the classical sense, but in the sense that artwork is art in the eye of the beholder – it is everywhere, enriching and enhancing our lives. I used to think art meant analyzing old paintings like the Mona Lisa and The Scream, painted hundreds of years ago by people that were born artistic, people that surpassed the normal levels of art and created new expectations and levels for artists. While that is all true, that isn’t solely what art is. Because art extends past a paintbrush and a canvas, and it covers movies, photography, music, drama, dance, literature, and more.

I never thought of myself as an artist, and I still don’t. But I can still admire and appreciate artwork and value it in my life. I got to see so many forms of art, think about them and reflect on them, read others’ reflections on them, and gain a new appreciation for art in New York City, and anywhere else in the world. Above all, I got to expand my horizons, which is the most important thing, and something to take away with me from this class and look forward to in other college classes.

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.

This semester, I have learned so much. Both from the positive experiences and the negative ones, (AKA getting my first B), I have gleaned a glimpse into improving my work and making myself better through it.

Creating a project is not just a school assignment. It is something of my creation, an artifact of my life, a semester’s worth of memories. A project is a testament to how much I know and my talents and my abilities to translate them into something amazing.

I have the power to translate skills and knowledge into something amazing.

But true power can only come from empowerment, and this class is what empowered me. With confidence in my own work, sometimes questioning where I went wrong, always learning from mistakes and achievements.

I can only hope that the classes I take in the future provide me with as much insight and self-growth, but I seriously doubt that.

Guys, thanks for everything.

See ya round.

It’s been a full semester! From short films to modern art to awkward dances to everything in between, I definitely feel like I’ve experienced art to its fullest extent. Well, maybe not the fullest… but something to that effect. I discovered a world of art to which I was never exposed. I learned that art is really what you make it. Art is a way to see and perceive everything around you. Everyone’s art is different. I say this because there were definitely things I saw that I wasn’t so fond of, while others were very enthusiastic, and there were some things I loved that others hated. Art is individualistic and personal. No one can give it and no one take it away.

With the video I made, I hoped to show that art is something unique and intimate. I didn’t have to look far to find art in my life. When you watch my video, you may just see blankets. Nevertheless, I see art. To me, those blankets represent that art is personal and distinctive. The blankets and the video are both pieces of art I cherish, though I am the artist of one, and my grandmother is the artist of the other.

Seeing different artists’ work made me realize that art is whatever the artist thinks it is. And you know what? No one can contest what you think is art. So be brave, be unique, and explore the art that you love best. It’s yours.