The Politics of Art & Authenticity

My first impression of the performance was horror, resentment and discomfort.

I was never into contemporary dance. It always seemed too experimental. And yes, experimental this was. VERY.

The first act, POND, directed by Nora Chipaumire, consisted of students of various forms, shapes and colors. From the beginning, it defied my former concept that dancers are supposed to be in shape. Before, I had heard that dancers go through severe diet program and regimen to keep in shape to enhance the quality of the movement or performance. This performance however, the performer’s movements were not synchronized nor did they seemed to exercise each movement in a careful manner to reach perfection. In a nutshell, they were just trying hard. However, with the music, I did sense this was a depiction of the environment in the water. With various forms and movements. Realizing that I would have been seeing this with a prejudiced view especially comparing that to the strictness of the traditional dances, I tried to focus on the message they were trying to deliver than focusing on the details.

This is a scene from the movie “King and I”.
At one point in the POND, the performers make a similar gesture as this along with similar audio background. The striking resemblance made me almost think it as racist and unoriginal.
http://www.pccua.edu/performing%20arts/the_king_and_i.htm

The second act, LindenLeahMarthaScottCatherine by Juliette Mapp, seemed to have more structure than the first piece. It seemed to portray the relationship between people. I found it interesting to see how the four performers were trying to surpass one another while drawing circles. As if its suggesting that the small moment of competition we think we are having is in fact futile for if you see it in a larger sense, you are just going around in circles, no one better than the other just change of location. The circle also seemed to symbolize the repetitiveness in our lives. Later, after I read the choreographer’s biography was I able to confirm this idea for it states “Mapp’s work expresses her relationship to the people she makes work with and the historical and political conditions that frame her dance making” and further inquired  whether this could also be a reflection of the performers’ relationships and approaches the choreographer would have taken to incorporate it into the dance.

The third act was a complete enigma. All I realized was that there was a Korean girl who kept repeating the same movements over and over. I was not able to make any link between the title, performance and the music. Even more questionable was the reason why a performer had to tape the floor without incorporating to the dance. With the befuddlement, I moved on.

The last act was interesting. First it seemed like a bunch of people making random movements but looking deeply, they were using the light, the shades and movements in a very effective way. I found it intriguing that the color of the costumes seemed to depict the skin tone of the human race. But what was more fascinating was when I thought the people were just randomly dancing sparsely distributed throughout the stage, instead of focusing in the individuals, I looked up. Then I saw various forms of shades running dancing over each other, overlapping and creating a  whole new experience.

When the show was over, I realized not many people were left. Maybe they had the similar impression in the beginning and left thinking this wasn’t worth it. I think it is a hasty decision. The more you put more effort into understanding it you see and realize more. Of course, you can also exercise your thinking abilities with a book but you don’t get many chance to do it watching an enigmatic dance performance. I think it’s good as a once in a lifetime experience but not necessarily more. After the show, my brain was so tired of trying to hold back criticism and to make sense of the whole process. I could understand their intention to convey abstract and complicated concept into the dancing, but I guess they overestimated the patience of the audience.

From elementary to high school, going to art exhibits felt more of a obligation, or a summer assignment rather than something which I voluntarily do for the pure purpose of appreciating art. I would definitely take advantage of the opportunity and try obtaining information, but everything felt so superficial. Since then, I just thought I didn’t like art exhibits as much as the other art performances.

Although part of school activity, the museum experiences in Macaulay brought back my interest in the arts and gave me an opportunity to approach it in a new light and to really appreciate it as a art piece rather than an exam material that’s going to be on the test.

As opposed to the experience at the Brooklyn Museum, at MoMa, knowing that I would not have enough time to appreciate all the art pieces, I was busy taking photos. Trying to develop my own view and memory.

It was definitely an jaw dropping experience to see the actual sketch and the original of “The Scream” and several famous art pieces by van Gogh, Picasso, Kandinsky and Mondrian. However, due to the familiarity of the piece, (and possibly it was very crowded), I somehow did not feel very passionate in appreciating those pieces. Instead, my attention was turned towards their less famous works.

Also. What I found very amusing was how I could use my camera to shape the experience of a certain art work through seeing in different angles.

While I was having fun taking photos, I also realized how important it is to actually go to galleries to have a whole experience of the piece rather than thinking that one knows about the piece by just studying in textbooks. Anyways, I was so caught up by this “seeing it through different angle” I ended up taking more photos of the building itself than the actual art pieces.

See how the people standing in front of the picture are reflected in the art piece? (quite literally)

As I came out of the place, my endeavors did not stop. Yet I found this gem.

“A Book is a gateway to another world” –Anonymous

If I have enough time, I would definitely like to go once more and truly appreciate the pictures. But for now, I am satisfied in what I found as well.

There are times that I hate my short term memory, mainly when it lets me continue going to cultural events with Stevie. Every single event we’ve had thus far has resulted in me arriving late because of Stevie’s inability to manage her time. This may come as a shock to most of you but our journey the Museum of Natural History was no different. I suggested that we leave shortly after Freshman Seminar so that we had plenty of time before IDC. Stevie however had to complete an interview and we left at 12 instead. We then needed to stop by the Macaulay building so that she could pick up her video camera. I assume Stevie sensed my imminent angry rant and suggested that we stop for food…which was definitely a good choice for her sake. We then decided to walk to the museum through the rain and sleet until we reached the WRONG side of the building. Instead of simply strolling to the other side, Stevie thought we could get in through the planetarium. After stopping at multiple desks and standing in a few lines we encountered a man with a snide attitude for whom I almost had a few choice words. At long last we entered the museum from the correct entrance and I began to discover the dinosaurs all over again. Names, eating habits and habitats all came flooding back as I gazed at the skeletons of these million year old beasts.  It seemed strange to me that it had been so long that I had been to the Museum of Natural History since as a young child I knew nearly every dinosaur there was. This trip was a nice stroll down memory lane and although Stevie drives me crazy sometimes it was nice to have some company especially from someone that was a dinosaur nut like myself. Oh and Stevie Tyrannosaurus Rex is better than a triceratops…

I have always had an obsession with dinosaurs ever since I was a kid.  Every year my parents would take my brothers and me to the American Museum of Natural History to see the dinosaur exhibit.  After walking past the museum one day, I realized I had not been to the dinosaur exhibit in years and I felt it only right to go and see the magnificent creatures once again.

My good friend Brian (yes, Brian McIntyre who you all probably know sadly) decided to accompany me on this journey, because we both share a love of dinosaurs.  Now many of you might not know this, but whenever Brian accompanies me on cultural event trips something always seems to go wrong; whether it be lateness, going to the wrong place, or even losing people along the way.  So I was surprised that Brian would still have faith in me to go on a cultural outing and think that everything would go as planned.  Safe to say that didn’t happen.

After trekking in the sleet and rain crosstown and all the way uptown, we had finally made it to the museum.  I, thinking that it would be most convenient, decided to go through the nearest entrance to where we were walking.  This entrance was basically on the total opposite side of the area where we wanted to be.  Okay yes so I messed up a little bit, but I mean it’s one mistake right?

Well that one mistake turned into us waiting on a line for over ten minutes, to find out we were waiting on the wrong line.  And we later found out that the Museum of Natural History doesn’t accept our cultural passport (which was very upsetting).  So when Brian was about to give up and go back to class, I still had the determination to see the dinosaurs and convinced him to give me one last shot at getting the trip right.

We finally made it to the correct area to get our tickets and purchased them.  We were one step closer to seeing the dinosaurs! I was definitely more excited than Brian, and I looked like a five year old waiting in line to see Santa.  But when we arrived at the dinosaur exhibit I could see a smile slip across Brian’s face.  That was a good sign, because that meant he wasn’t going to kill me for messing up before.  I would be able to live another day!

http://www.linden78.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/new-york-museum-natural-history-dinosaurs-t-rex.jpg

So the dinosaur exhibit was just as I remembered it as a kid, down to every single room and dinosaur bone.  My favorite is still the triceratops.  I know it might not be very artistic, but I think I learned a lot through the entire time at the museum.  I realized that it is not just the exhibit, but the experience and memories that make the museum a cultural event.  It made me think back to the first day of classes when we all went to the Brooklyn Museum, and Dean Ann Kirschner spoke about what the museums meant to her family.  Each place held a specific memory to her family, such as her daughter’s first steps, and I realized that this was similar to my own family.

Each year we would celebrate my brother’s birthday by going to the Museum of Natural History.  Every year held its own special memory that I still look back on, and when I went to the museum today all of those memories came back.  The adventure at the museum was, in itself, a memory that I will remember for a long time and will be reminded of whenever I go back to see the dinosaur exhibit.  I learned that you can’t just go to a museum or cultural place on your own and expect to gain something from it.  You need to share the experience with others to create memories that will make you appreciate the exhibit, artwork, or anything else that you are viewing.  That is when you know you are making the most of a cultural event; when you become part of the event and make it your own.

So I thank Brian for journeying with me to the museum, where we got lost and waited on tons of lines for absolutely no reason (all due to my misunderstanding), and I thank him for not strangling me from the frustration of my mishaps.  I know his experience was probably more stressful and annoying, but it was thanks to that experience that I realized the importance and meaning behind cultural events.  And I really liked seeing the dinosaurs!

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2012/10/24/arts/artsspecial/24SCREAM/24SCREAM-jumbo.jpg

I love going to the MoMa. It is filled with amazing artwork and this time, the museum had Edvard Munch’s The Scream. The famous artwork was in my presence that day I visited the MoMa. In the artwork, it seemed like the person was in a nightmare. It reminds me of Home Alone, when Macaulay Culkin screams with his hands on his cheeks at the sight of a spider in his bathroom.  I could relate to this because my life has been so complex and overwhelmed with the immense amount of work that I have to do and all I want to do is scream and let all the stress evacuate my system. It is amazing how simple this painting is with the use of oil pastels, whose colors flow throughout the artwork.

I also got a chance to see MoMa’s New Photography 2012 that represented five artists and their distinct techniques in their art. There were only a couple out of those artists that stood out to me. In almost all of Michele Abeles work, she has bodies parts incorporated into her work, some of them weren’t rated PG. But we are all mature adults here! Birdhead used Black and White still-life photography. My favorite one would be this one. I think it was because the bike was incorporated into the photograph, which add more depth to the artwork.

Going to the MoMa to see these exhibits was an exciting experience. I love going to museums mainly because I get to spend my time  looking and appreciating  at beautiful and uniques pieces of art.

My overall experience of the Barnard Fall Project was unique. I, honestly, didn’t understand what was going on.I still am questioning what was going on in the dances. I constantly asked myself what was going on in the dance. There was constant movement. I am still wondering if there were trying to portray an animal or having a swimming competition.

I applaud the dancers at their great stamina. The area was a small stage and I got to see the sweat running down the performers faced. I respect the dancers to have confidence to parade around with those skin tight uniforms. They were able to move their bodies so swiftly and I know that I couldn’t be able to do that.

I only stayed for two skits of the performance. All that was going throughout my mind was, “WHAT IS GOING ON!” The second skit was more confusing because there were these girls whose names changed throughout the scene. One word I would use was weird. They had little lines but I didn’t know what they wanted to convey to the audience. Once they would march uniformly they would separate into completely chaos. It was as if they were having seizures while walking around.

I guess this modern art was too modern for me to grasp the point of these dances.

https://s3.amazonaws.com/ksr/projects/15092/photo-full.jpg?1289162895

http://www.rosemonttheatre.com/images/rccs/1.jpg

I love the holiday season and what a way to start the holidays off than by watching the Christmas Spectacular at Radio City Music Hall with your family. I had seen the performance when I was seven years-old and watching it again 11 years later was very different. Of course over the years, the musical changes to reflect the times, when I was young, the musical was more of a living homage to the great stories of Christmas. This year however was all about the new age of technology and the changing times, making the climax of the show an entire 3D musical number for the audience. This was strange for me since I remember the 3D being only a small part of the beginning of the show, not given its own musical number. There was the classic nativity scene with live animals and beautiful scenery, but the best part of the musical was simply the Rockette dance numbers. The march of the wooden soldiers was amazing to watch as well as all of the transitional dance numbers (like the one in the picture above). The iconic Christmas music and the wonderful lessons by Santa just filled the audience with happiness and holiday cheer. The only thing I like about winter is the holiday season and watching this musical just got me so excited for the upcoming holiday joy.

Credit To: http://www.nytimes.com/imagepages/2012/11/17/arts/17BARNARD.html

I guess I  wasn’t dancing right all my life. The modern dance routines of the Barnard Fall Project showed a very unique and different vision of dance. Although you could clearly see some ballet, and Caribbean and African influenced dances within the various routines, the way they moved and used the music was very different than anything I have ever seen. There were some parts that were very confusing, even though the dancers gave you hints as to what they were trying to portray, but I was still very confused. Some parts were simply funny to watch, even some of the other audience members laughed at what they saw because it looked silly. Then there were creepy moments like when the girls put their hair over their faces, reminding me of the movie the Grudge or the Ring. The last routine was fun to watch because it was so upbeat and there was a lot of organized movement, very different from the other routines. I especially liked when out of nowhere some hip-hop music started playing as the routine was finished, it was funny to hear some everyday modern music. The dancers danced well, they looked good as they danced and transitioned and did all of these strange routines, I simply didn’t understand what each routine was trying to say, which led me more to watching the dancers just dance and not really paying attention to what they were trying to show. I enjoyed it, just didn’t understand it.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/f/f4/The_Scream.jpg/220px-The_Scream.jpg

The Scream exhibit at MoMa is quite a sight. From the original draft of the famous painting to different visions of the meaning of the Scream, the exhibit held everything for original art enthusiasts. I enjoyed the different paintings and some of the sculptures that were shown in the connected rooms as well, especially the paintings of birds that were derived from photographs, these painting looked so real I actually took them for real photographs but they were drawings. Some of the other large paintings were quite beautiful, looking like huge flowers with lots of different colors and textures within the painting. Then we walked into the New Photography exhibit. I’m not sure how to describe the things that I saw, I think the best word would be strange, and even that’s a huge understatement. I saw many “modern” things that I would prefer not to describe or say for the sanctity of this blog. I understand that modern art is very progressive and “out there,” but this was just too much for me. I like the paintings and photographs that teach you something or show you some iconic scene in history, but photographs of pe…….sexual body parts, just aren’t my thing. I guess I’m just old school about my art. Every one has different tastes and opinions, my palate is just too sensitive for that kind of stuff.