The Politics of Art & Authenticity

Beginning what was soon to be called “The Most Stressful Week I’ve Ever Had Since The Week Right Before,” I was just a tad put-off by the fact that I had to stay at school until 9 on a Monday right the last week of classes. To listen to drums for an hour and a half. Right after a business final. Eugh.

But you know what? I only let that bother me for nine or so hours, because I realized the symbolism (or cymbal-ism, *insert exasperated groan here*) behind it all was the perfect way to round out our first semester of college. With a bang…literally.

I’ve never been to a performance where all I did was sit and listen to people play music, and since my only real “concert experience” was Madonna, it was a radical departure from the jumping around and screaming I assumed happened almost every time someone brought music to a stage. The performance was lyric-less, and without any “thrills”, but it was anything but stagnant. I really felt like I could sit back and get into the music, which was both relaxing and energizing at the same time.

Cindy Blackman Santana: Being a badass in all the best ways.

The Cindy Blackman Santana Trio is composed of–or was composed of, this time–a trio of musicians who exhibited a glorious mastery over a series of difficult instruments. Everyone came to see Cindy Blackman Santana turn a simple drum set into an epic center of musical genius, but she was aided by two other skilled musicians (and yes, I’m kicking myself for not being able to find their names, because they really do deserve the recognition) that alternated between the piano and synthesizer, and the guitar and a very intimidating-looking bass.

The pieces they performed were wonderful, and if the trance-like state the guy next to be was in for the entire performance is any indication, then I feel right when I say what happened on that state was powerful and spiritual as well. What really got me though, was the intensity of the musicians, and the focus they put into their instruments and into the music as a whole. Watching Cindy close her eyes and just feel the beat of the drums was crazy. She wasn’t a musician, she was the music. The highlight? That glimpse I got of Cindy and the guitarist locking focus on one another as they played. You could see the passion and dedication actually manifesting itself in their stares – and it’s that kind of intensity that brought the music to life. It was surreal. I had chills.

Go. See. Listen. Experience.

Photo Credit

The libretto version of Carmen shared several similarities and a couple differences with the Opera version. A major difference between the two versions is that the Opera version was composed by Georges Bizet, while the libretto version was written by Burton D. Fisher and translated by Giacomo Puccini.

I enjoyed the Opera version a lot better because you could actually visualize whats going on in the play, and you could hear professional Opera music that sounded beautiful. Eventhough my class mates did a wonderful job of performing the play, I enjoyed sitting in the Opera and enjoying the experience that comes with it. Reading the libretto version of Carmen in class helped me understand the Opera version though. I was glad that we discussed and read Carmen, or I would have not been able to understand the performance to its full potential.

When I was at the Opera, I didn’t realize so many people would be on stage and that the actors could project their entire voice so well throughout the building. I think the building was built in a special way inorder to carry the sound throughout the building so it could bless everyone’s ears.

But besides the expensive refreshments, the Opera version was more tailored to experience the authenticity of the play than the libretto version of Carmen. The reason for this is you could actually see the actors pouring their soul into singing and acting. While in the libretto version, you could just hear your classmate’s voices, and you could not hear the passionate beautiful singing. A part of the experience was sitting in the chairs and playing with the onscreen translator. Its hard to experience the Opera without sitting in the chairs, seeing the stage, and mingling with fellow Opera patrons. The difference between reading the libretto in class and viewing in in the Opera house is sort of like the difference between watching a movie at home and watching it in the movie theater. You are missing out on the experience and ambiance of your surrounding.

The plot was basically the same between the two. There were four acts, the characters names were the same, and Carmen dies at the end. But something that the libretto was missing is that you could actually visualize what was going on and have the Opera music to accompany it. It was tragic that Carmen lead two different men on, but she was ultimately killed by her lover Don Jose for her deed.

I wholeheartedly enjoyed the Opera and I thought it was an amazing experience that everyone should enjoy at least once. I am glad I went in my Politics of Art & Authenticity class because I would have probably never went if it wasn’t for this class. I plan on going to the Opera in the future to indulge in this truly amazing experience.

Image Source: http://www.friendsofthemiller.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/1983_-_Augusta_Opera_Carmen_21.jpg

Cindy Blackman Santana & Friends performance was, in short, OVERWHELMING and PARADIGM SHIFTING.
As I was listening, it almost got to the point it hurt and I wanted to get out. On my way coming home, I wondered why.

http://www.allaboutjazz.com/photos/profile/cindyblackman2008.jpg

Quite honestly, I say I am a fan of jazz music but when I heard that the performance mainly features the drums, I quickly lost interest. I always felt the drums were merely a way to relieve stress, something one would attempt to do without much sophisticated training or effort. It seemed natural for the drums to always stay in the back consistently assisting the melody. Maybe sometimes it may change its dynamics or patterns, but not to the point it may stand out. Because, that’s the way it has been. That is the way I feel most comfortable listening.

Cindy Blackman Satana & Friends’ performance, however, stood against my prejudiced beliefs and thoughts. As the name of the group suggests, Cindy Blackman Santana truly was the star of the show. Her artistic drum rolling soon triumphed over other instruments as if to symbolize our changing society. At some points I simply could not believe what was happening in front of my eyes as I saw her indulged in her own world of rhythm and music, hitting away the drums and cymbals NONSTOP. Thinking of all the pain enduring process from her hands to the arms and to her entire system, I couldn’t help but pay my respects to her performance. It was magnificent especially the energy she portrayed through her drumming while maintaining the sophistication of the dynamics and rhythmic structure.

To this day I thought I was an eclectic listener. However, Cindy Blackman Santana & Friends helped me realize how subjected view I used to have. I was prejudiced and had distinct preferences like any other. I almost felt guilty not being able to enjoy the process as fully as the significance it had but now I realize. Maybe the whole process was painful because it was a phase shifting moment for me — A moment of realization.

For my birthday, my mother took me, my little sister, and my older brother to see My Name is Asher Lev in the Westside Theater.

It was incredible.

The story is about a young Jewish boy who cannot suppress his need to draw. Despite his strictly religious and over-bearing father, Asher Lev paints. His family and community cannot understand him, but the head of the Hassidic community to which he belongs, the Lubavitcher Rebbe, sends Asher to study by an artist, a Mr. Kahn, whose only religion is art.

Here, Asher is exposed to nude women, crucifixions, and bounds of religious confliction. He remains religious at heart, but his mind is smashed open by his new studies.

Only when he paints his mother on a crucifix, and himself reaching for her, is Asher ostracized from his community and sent to live in Paris.

The play was so emotional, it was almost uncomfortably personal. The whole thing took place in one room, and there were only three actors. I never saw so much depth in such a tiny breadth.

I loved My Name is Asher Lev. It is a story of confliction.

What can you do when being true to yourself means turning your back on where you came from?

Where can you turn when you turned your back on everyone who cares about you?

Who can you cry to when you have made everyone else cry?

What should you do if you need to do the wrong thing??

Asher Lev cannot be a “whore to his work.” He cannot stifle the image in his art because it is who he is, and “a true artist must be faithful only to his art.”

The questions that this play challenges are real and prevalent issues, even more so now than they were in the 1920s when the story was written.

There is just so much to say about it, Everyone should see this masterful interpretation of Chaim Potok’s finest work of art.

I think it’s so interesting how the Museum of Jewish Heritage, which obviously is supposed to speak about Jewish Heritage, is a Holocaust museum. How Jewish history and heritage is so marked by the Holocaust. I decided to go to this museum because I had to fulfill one of my cutltural passport requirements, and I haven’t been to this museum in a few years, so I thought it would be a meaningful place to go to. The museum is comprised of 3 levels: Jewish life in Europe before the Holocaust, The Holocaust, and Jewish life post-Holocaust. I’ve always liked history, and the Holocaust is one era that particularly haunts me and that I have examined time and time again. I have taken many classes about the Holocaust, read many books, memoirs, and stories about the Holocaust, visited many Holocaust museums in New York, Washington D.C., and Israel, and I even went to Poland to visit the concentration camps. Each time, I always try to imagine myself as one of those Jews dragged off by the Nazis, and as much as I’ve come close, it still doesn’t feel real – it still just seems like a movie. When I visited the museum, I looked at all the artifacts that hold the traces of the vibrant, thriving Jewish life in Europe. I saw pictures of all kinds of Jews – religious, rabbis, secular, completely assimilated Jews, Jews that didn’t even know they were Jewish. All of them were living their normal lives until suddenly their lives would be changed, never to be the same, as the Nazis came and began to impose laws that would eventually lead to the downfall of European Jewry. There are pictures and documentaries showing the Nazis destroying all kinds of Jewish institutions, burning Jewish books, deporting Jews to ghettos and concentration camps, and of course, Jews being burned in the ovens. This is all hard to handle, and it cannot be processed fully, definitely not by someone that has grown up in New York in the twenty-first century, someone who cannot even begin to imagine the perils of war, someone like myself. On the third floor, my favorite floor, there are pictures of the liberations and the new State of Israel, a home for the Jewish people, a place where Jews are guaranteed a place to live and be safe and be surrounded by friends and family. A promise that the Holocaust will never happen again.

As I looked at all the remnants, the artifacts, the facts and figures, and see the few things that survived, that outlived all the people who perished in war, it’s hard to have faith that the Jewish people live on. But as I walk around the museum and see other Jews there who are mourning the destruction and working hard to make a life for themselves here, I know there are Jews today who are flourishing and contributing members to society. And I know that something lives on. Overall I had a great, thought-provoking and meaningful experience at the Museum of Jewish Heritage. Anyone who loves culture, religion, and themes of hope can appreciate this museum.

I wanted to comment right after watching the performance while it was still fresh in my mind, but for some reason my Macaulay Eportfolios page decided to block me out the past few days, but I have been able to be really reflective on everything we saw this past semester, including the last drummer event, and my newfound appreciation of art I gained from this class. Although the kind of music we heard wasn’t exactly my taste, I gained a lot of respect for Cindy Blackman.

I once heard the quote “Music expresses that which cannot be put into words and that which cannot remain silent.” I kept thinking of that quote while watching Blackman’s performance. I felt that Blackman put so much heart into her performance, that she was telling a story that couldn’t be put into words or letters or pages, but a story that just had to be felt. I was mesmerized watching her play – you could just tell that she really felt her music. Even more than that, it seemed like she was one with the music – what I think is the mark of a true musician. In today’s day and age, when you can just turn on the radio and hear the same pop songs being played over and over again, I think that overall, as a society, we have lost a level of sophistication in music. Today stars are created over a short time period and people can become what is known as “You-tube sensations.” But Blackman’s performance simply blew me away. She played so well and the drumsticks just became a huge blur in front of my eyes. I could feel the intensity and heat and passion, and so could everyone else in the room. Blackman is not just someone that put a few videos online to show off her talents; she is not merely a fad that will fade over time. She truly earned her position of greatness.

I think the best way to learn something is by example. Growing up, when I had teachers that were passionate about their subject and truly loved teaching, that made me love the subject. When I saw that my teachers were teaching something important to them, that subject also became important to me. Seeing the expression on Blackman’s face while she played – you could just see the creativity and planning and dedication and everything Blackman puts into her work. You could see how vital music is to Blackman, and in turn, it becomes important to the viewer as well.

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I thought the Cindy Blackman Santana was an amazing drummer. She showed raw power and passion in her performance. She constantly had her eyes closed because she knew what she was doing. She closely listened to the music rather than looking at which part of the drums to hit. I thought the pianist and the guitarist were just going along with her beat and trying to compliment it. Sometimes I felt that the drums were very overpowering and it drowned out the music from the rest of the instruments. I applaud her stamina. I understand that it would take a lot of energy from banging on the drums in a fast and frequent motion. She would go so fast that you could barely see her drumsticks. Now Cindy Blackman Santana is the perfect example of a strong and intense woman. She is able to master an instrument that is usually dominated by men and yet have this sensitive feminine touch to her work. This is the last event that my IDC class has offered and it has definitely been memorable. The musical event was the cherry on top to an amazing semester filled with the opera, plays, dance and films.

I was expecting more of Rock music than Jazz music when I heard that we were going to see a drummer, but I got to hear a music genre that I rarely listen to. Cindy Blackman is a female drummer that has performed with Lenny Kravitz. It was truly interesting to see a female drummer since being a drummer is mainly a male dominated profession. She plays better than most male drummers and this is part of the reason why she has toured the world with many popular music groups.

She is a great Jazz and Rock musician. Blackman plays with so much passion that it is difficult not to enjoy the experience and feel her emotions. You could practically feel her soul going into the music. She closes her eyes and passionately hits the drums to create an amazing sound of euphony.

This was a breath taking experience to see live Jazz music that was moving. It changed the way I perceive past and modern music. I truly enjoyed going to this concert and look forward to listening to Blackman in the future. I plan on listening to more Jazz music in the future as well. I am thankful for this truly wonderful experience.

Image Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e9/Cindy_Blackman_.jpg/220px-Cindy_Blackman_.jpg

I really didn’t know what to expect when I heard we were going to see Cindy Blackman Santana, a jazz drummer. I mean, I’ve seen and heard drums played but I just couldn’t imagine why we’d go specifically for it. I was wonderfully surprised. I really enjoyed the concert.

I watched Cindy Blackman intently while she was playing the drums. When she played, it was as if she was transformed into a different world. Everything about her was drumming. Her facial expressions, her hands, her legs, her whole being was part of the drumming experience. It was amazing to watch. I was shocked at how long she could go on without needing a break.

The fact that it was a trio was a bit awkward, I think, because the drums totally overpowered the other two. Perhaps it would have been better if they had more of a part, or maybe even none at all, which would change it from a trio to a solo.

Besides for that, I really enjoyed it! I imagine it is years of training and experience to get where she is today. Blackman is truly talented!

Cindy Blackman is amazing. She is so open, so free.. watching her play felt like an extremely intimate experience.

Really, it might sound crazy, but what is intimacy? I think it is baring your soul; intimacy is turning yourself inside out and hoping for the best. It is about putting your heart on your sleeve and hoping no-one crushes it. It is about closing your eyes, hitting those drums, and being sure that you are safe in doing so. Nobody will hurt you, nobody will yell out in hatred, because you are that beautiful, you are so good.

Cindy Blackman closes her eyes and hits those drums. She is safe in her actions because she loves what she does, and she knows she is good. Her confidence protects her.

When she plays, she plays from her heart. I felt her passion in my bones, and watching her face proved to me that her passion was genuine. She is real, honest, inspiring, and exhilarating.