Category — Christian

Urban Bush women, the scales of Memory, is a very symbolic dance performance. The name can be a little confusing because “bush women” would imply an emphasis on nature, but urban gives us the mental image of city life. This confusion that I had when I read the title was the same level of confusion that I had during the performance. Throughout the entirety of the performance I had trouble understanding what, if anything, was going on. The dancing was very entertaining but it was hard to appreciate it when the symbolic meanings were completely lost on me. [Read more →]

The life Jeanette Striano led was one that was always interesting, never boring, and more often than not crazy. Her days of rebellion occurred during the 1940’s. My mother Arlene Iezzi is Jeanette’s daughter and she is the keeper of the legends about my grandmother’s colorful past. To hear my mother tell the stories is to actually be there. The world that my grandmother lived in during her youth was one that was in a constant state of flux. There was a real disparity between the traditions of the old and the styles of the new. My grandmother, while proud of her heritage, openly embraced the chaos that was 1940’s Brooklyn. Her mother Angelina, however, had other ideas about what constituted a young lady and that led to some of the most infamous stories regarding my grandmother. [Read more →]

The exhibit Art and Love in Renaissance Italy made me feel as though I was walking into an art gallery in Florence itself. Recently the MET has been showing this exhibit which gives the viewer insight into the old customs and traditions in Italy a few hundred years ago. I found it to be quite enlightening as it taught me things about my ancient heritage that I did not know. I have found a new appreciation for renaissance art as well as for the people of this time period.     [Read more →]

Samuel Freedman, the author of Who She Was, was kind enough to grace my class with his presence and his wisdom. I was very excited o meet him because I was anxious to supply a face to the name that I knew very well. His book regarding his mother’s life was very powerful and contained many deep feelings within its pages. It was compiled with a good deal of comprehensive research an analysis of the era in which his mother lived. This thorough analysis gives anyone who reads the book a very clear idea of who Mr. Freedman’s mother was and the factors that made her this way. [Read more →]

As I prepared to undertake my street photography project, I found myself wondering about what topic I should choose. After much thought and conversation with others I decided to try and document the vast amount of forced advertising in New York City. I chose to focus on the posters that are plastered on walls and construction sites throughout Manhattan. I really wanted to show that the posters assault those who walk the streets of New York City with their size and their repetitious nature. [Read more →]

My collage shows some of the defining moments of Roger Federer’s career. Roger has already established himself as one of the best tennis players to ever live. While his career is far from over, there have already been defining moments along his champion’s path. In my collage I have chosen four specific moments to chronicle his career. [Read more →]

The lights dim, the stage is set, and suddenly the audience is thrust into the mid-1940’s. There is a palpable sense of tension as the audience comes to the understanding that what s being portrayed is the nerve center of the project behind the creation of the atomic bomb. The voices of the scientist sing out as they describe the science behind the creation of this terrible device. As they finish their discourse on molecular structure, the story becomes real and personal. We are shown the high-stakes world of radical science, where any new development equals a possible new weapon to be used to wage war. Morals and ethics [Read more →]

I was very excited to have a chance to meet Jeffrey Mermelstein. I had never met a professional photographer before and the people who have this as their career have always fascinated me. I knew that he was very proficient in his field and I was glad to meet someone who has been a photographer for some time and knew all of the ins and outs of the job. His photos were very entertaining as were his stories. [Read more →]

The reading by Francine Prose was very beneficial for an aspiring writer like myself. She read her own short story and provided enlightening comments. Her relaxed demeanor struck me as she discussed the arduous task of writing a novel. I was also interested in the calm demeanor with which she read her work.  I tried to take cues from her poise as she spoke her own short story aloud because she seamlessly told the story and made me feel as though I was reading the work instead of simply listening to it. It seems to me that being able to do that is harder than it looks because you have to use your voice to transport the reader, rather than trusting the written text to do it for you. [Read more →]

Upon entering the theater to see Waltz with Bashir, I was very unsure as to what I should expect. I knew that it was an animated film but not much more than that. As the lights went dim and the first scene began the audience is thrust into a state of terror as a pack of rabid dogs tear across the screen. This sudden entrance into a particular scene is typical of this movie as it chronicles a man’s search for his lost memories regarding the war in Lebanon that he was involved in. The story is told in a somewhat abstract fashion as it continuously jumps from the narrator’s life as an older man to his memories from the war as a young soldier. [Read more →]