Monthly Archives: November 2014

Waste Land

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An image from “Avenida Brasil”at Jardim Gramacho

I was initially introduced to Jardim Gramacho through a Brazilian soap opera Avenida Brazil. It was through this telenovela and through Waste Land that I discovered the human input at the dumpster. One would think that this is an atrocious, pitiful job to have; it is a shame for all of Rio de Janeiro. However, I was amazed by how much pride the pecadores take in their input at the dumpster. The pecadores are proud to be helping their city and the environment. It seems that by recycling the garbage the pecadores cannot possibly improve the situation very much, but in reality they are responsible for most of the rubbish from Rio de Janeiro and surrounding areas. As the elderly pecador said, “99 is not 100” and by joining in this common effort to recycle, each of the individuals matters.

Vik Muniz emphasized the importance of each individual at the dumpster through his portraits. These portraits were a collective job, just like the dumpster. They reflect the human input at the dumpster and in art. Often when looking at an art piece one forgets the human input involved. However, Vik Muniz highlighted the importance of every individual in the process of making art. I marvel at how he said that “I didn’t do it, we did it!” Art is a collective job; it involves the artist(s), the subject and the audience.

Vik’s work at Jardim Gramacho is remarkable in every way and his input in the lives of the people is wonderful. He is a true artist and a true idol because not only did he create a wonderful work of art, he changed lives with his pieces. I believe that the highest reward of any artist is that his/her work makes a CHANGE. In this manner, Muniz is a complete artist and I am very proud that artists like Vik exist during our time period.

This movie moved me very much because I realized that any job is a noble job, whether it is sorting garbage or creating art. One must always accept their importance as an individual in the world and further they can accomplish wonderful things!

P.S. I really hope that the man whose portrait was sold in London will further become the president of Brazil because I certainly loathe the current corrupt presidency in the nation.

-Angelika

MoMA PS1 Reactions (Joshua)

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On the outside, the museum looks like a nondescript building–four walls of concrete surround the exhibit buildings. One wall has a set of glass doors set into it. These doors are welcoming and stretch from the floor to the ceiling — grand doors.

Inside, we obtained our tickets (which through Macaulay’s partnership were less $5 than the student price, i.e., $0) and walked through another set of doors that lead to a central open plaza.

There is a dome named after the German car brand Volkswagen. There are four dumpsters past that dome, labeled with stenciled words reading “THROW AWAY YOUR ART” — one of the current exhibitions in the museum. I wonder…

Behind those dumpsters is the main building. Once inside, we realize the largeness of the Zero Tolerance exhibit. It took up most of the first floor.

There were many interesting and unique videos and photographs in the museum. They ranged from Russian lesbian women kissing female police officers as protest to a Romanian music video made to show the corruption of the country. It made us aware of what change is going on in the world around us.

There were reenactments of famous battles, Islamic protests, and a video screening which seemed to be the centerpiece of the exhibit. This screening featured hoodlums, rapping to the camera over a rock soundtrack. It spoke of the misunderstandings between police/government and these people who live in a dismal state and became hoodlums.

This exhibit underscored the tension between government and its people; it emphasized the failure of government.

Group Joshua, Adrian, and Kevin

The Waste Land

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By far, the best and most eye-opening documentary screening we’ve had thus far. This was not just about the amazing art that was made, this was about the people. Behind each work of art, there was a human being. Each of them had a unique character, personality, and a story behind each portrait. It was amazing to see how each of their lives were changed even though the conditions they were in didn’t necessarily change. One of the most important lessons that Vik Muniz wanted to accomplish with this project was for each of the individuals to see the work of art and to not think to themselves that, “Wow, Vik Muniz did this”, but rather, “Wow, we did this…I did this.” Vik wanted them to realize that this was all done through their hard work and created with their hands. I thought that that was really powerful. It was also extremely humbling to see how Vik became so involved with each of the people he worked with. All in all, it’s amazing to see how even art made of garbage can have the potential to change someone’s life in so many ways.

Thinking Back to Week 1

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If you think back all the way to week one of classes I  remember the huge discussion on chefs and bakers being artists.  Quite honestly I still feel that they should deserve this title and I feel that Majakaur’s post who can create art somewhat helps support why.  In his post he mentions that “only those who are artistically skilled enough to incur change, cause disruption, or gain precedence (politically, socially or even economically) can create influential art.”  If you think about some of the greatest works of art they are all able to invoke great emotions through the combination of sensory stimuli.  Exquisite food products do just this, they invoke great smells, tastes, sights, feelings, and even sounds.  Just look at the picture attached.  These pastries have an amazing bright color and I am sure also can invoke great smells and other stimuli.  Those that create these products have to hone a lot of skills and must have great precision especially in baking.  The skills necessary in baking and cooking must be at least comparable to the skills required to drawing a great work of art.  Also the chefs and bakers that are most able to hone their skills are able to gain precedence over others as they get hired by more prestigious restaurants or bakeries.  For instance just look at Hell’s kitchen or any other shows about different amateur cooks, and then compare their cooking to that of professionals.  In this disparity of skill set and the creations that are being produced these people should all be considered artists.  As a baker myself I am personally attached to this idea and would love to hear feedback from anyone else on whether or not chefs and bakers should be considered artists.  

By the way, I really do intend on bringing in cookies to Monday’s class if Professor Drabik allows!

And finally on another note, there was a major shift in culture after tea and coffee started to gain popularity throughout Europe and the Middle East.  I remembered learning this years ago in global history about how this adoption of drinks actually had larger impacts than one might think.  Usually people of all classes would have met, consuming alcohol which as many know can cloud judgement.  After the introduction of tea and coffee many people of upper classes began meeting in local tea and coffee houses, and with the lack of intoxication they discussed many important political, social and philosophical topics.  The influence of these houses was considered to be a large factor in the start of the Enlightenment.

Check out this link: http://www.stephenhicks.org/2010/01/18/coffee-and-the-enlightenment/

 

Who Can Create Art?

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I believe that the film Wasteland answers an important question that was brought up in class: “Who can actually create art?” Of course there is the stereotypical answer that anybody can create art. However, I believe that question can be refined to focus on the creation of influential and lasting art. I believe that the answer to that question comes down to artistic privilege. In other words, only those who are artistically skilled enough to incur change, cause disruption, or gain precedence (politically, socially or even economically) can create influential art. I believe that is the reason why certain pieces of public art are cherished over others. This is why childish graffiti is painted over by the city and why The Charging Bull is still standing. It is also why Vik Muniz’s art, portraying the catadores, became globally famous.

Muniz said something that stood out to me. He claimed that he reached a point in his career where he’d like to give back to his roots. The only way he knew how to do that was through his art. This statement depicts his great understanding of art and the artistic process. He realizes that he has the ability to cause social change via his own artwork. By depicting the catadores in an unconventional piece of art, portraying them via the same garbage that makes up their livelihoods, Muniz was able to make them known worldwide. Muniz himself commented on the extent of his artistic skill and privilege. He notes that he wants to focus on a modern twist on art, and break away from the contemporary, depicting his confidence in his skill.

It Piles Up!

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I did a little research to see where the trash from New York City goes. Most of our trash is sent to landfills in Virginia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, as well as upstate New York. But they can and often do go as far as Ohio and South Carolina and points further west and south as well. It costs New York City $300 million each year to dispose of this waste. So next time when you throw something out, think about this. Maybe, just maybe, that material you are trying to throw out can be use in many crazy different ways, like how Vik created art.

Source:

  1. http://www.nytimes.com/video/nyregion/100000003131953/where-does-our-trash-go.html (3:13 to 3:24)
  2. http://nyc.sierraclub.org/2012/08/new-york-city-trash-where-does-it-all-go/

 

~Christopher Chong

P.S. The Fresh Kills landfill in Staten Island closed in 2001, and is now on its way to become a new park.

 

99 is not 100

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Ahh yes, something my father would always say to me.

The Waste Land was probably one of the best documentary films I’ve watch. Little did I know that the host of the 2014 FIFA World Cup has such a background to it. And little did anyone in our class know either! Vik is a truly talented man for being able to create art out of garbage, something we wouldn’t expect. In fact, his art is probably one of the most moving thing some people have ever seen. For the catadores, some of them realize who they are for the first time (I think it was Suelem). My favorite character was perhaps the elderly Valter, of whom kept reminding everyone that 99 is not 100, and that 1 single soda can can make a difference. There was one thing I was wondering. Was Vik trying to expose the complete other side of the spectrum, of people who work in dumps to raise global awareness? Or was he just trying to create art from an angle that rarely people expect? Nonetheless, Vik was able to be part of the catadores, and was able to put himself as equal then to stand over and authorize the process. This reminds me of a show in Britain called Art Attack (not from Canada as I said in our meeting after watching the film). At one point during the show, the host would take random items and create a piece of art from it, similar to what Vik did.

 

~Christopher Chong

 

Reaction to The Waste Land

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One of the most unique documentaries I have ever watched. This documentary was exposing a huge part of life in the world that I have never been aware of. Whenever I throw out anything, I never give it a second thought about where this is going, who is dealing with my trash, or who is making money off of it. At first, I saw the movie in disgust because of all the trash, and I did not understand why people would go through such hard conditions to pick up dirty things for a living. However, as the documentary went on, I realized how desperate those people are and all they want to do is to support themselves and their family.

It was really interesting to show the world that dirty things can come together to create something beautiful. My favorite part of the documentary was when they gave the picture that was made of garbage to the pickers and they felt proud of it. One of the workers said that she used to be embarrassed about how she was a picker and she did not wanted others to know, but now she proudly tells them that she was a picker and that was the reason why she was part of the famous portrait.

Waste Land

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I had no idea what to expect going into this film, but this was a pleasant surprise, as it went beyond the works of art by Vik. What made this documentary so entertaining and powerful were the relationships formed between Vik, Fabio and the pickers. Early on in the film, it seemed as though Vik was only going to Rio de Janeiro to accomplish a new challenge, but once he was there, it was clear that that was not the main reason he went there. Instead, Vik and Fabio formed strong relationships with many of these people and then went out of their way to help improve their current situation. During the early interviews with pickers, they seemed very happy and content with working in the garbage, once they had gotten used to it. However, as the film progressed, it became clear that they dreaded their job and wished to never have to return. I was initially very skeptical of how the association would use the money from the portraits because Erika’s intro mentioned that their jobs were taken away soon after; however, they actually put that money to great use. They not only set up programs to help young kids, so they would not end up in a similar situation, but also created training programs for their workers when they found out they would soon be losing their jobs.

Carnegie Hall: The Power Behind Music

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Being a former trumpet player, I found much of the first piece of music rather boring.  It just lacked the brass sound that I love.  The second and third pieces fully brought out the crisp brass sound and even highlighted the strength of the sound.  I recall one of the best parts of playing any piece is to be able to gradually play louder and louder, allowing the music to grow in intensity and fill up a room.  It invigorates you with power and makes you feel unstoppable.  Although I no longer play, the pieces brought back the memories of the days I played.

Another thing I had noted was the immensity of the chorus.  We had once talked about the ability of the human voice to completely fill the room when we had gone to the opera, but the chorus at Carnegie composed of at least 50 different people was deafening loud.  There is such great power to the human voice.  It was clearly the dominating sound throughout the final piece (of course the translations also made the song paint a clearer picture of what the song is showing).  It might just be my youth drawing me to the loudness of the brass and chorus but I usually always associate loudness with power (sometimes jubilee and celebration) in a piece of music.

I had also found it very interesting that one of the pieces we had heard was at one point lost for 200 years and was found only days before the composer’s works were being collected to be made into a book.  Coincidence or not?

 

A special song for this “kindness week”

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I’ve just read the missive from “Division of Student Affairs” that Nov. 10th – 14th is celebrated as “World Kindness Week.” Never mind that this kind week is defined a bit short (10th-14th?), we welcome kindness whenever we find it, right?

So here is a special song, in two versions (Lou Reed by himself & then with a full cast of top characters). Have your own perfect day!

 

Pulitzer Fountain – Anthony Cacchione and Elyssa Sur

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The Pulitzer Fountain is located in Grand Army Plaza, at the edge of Central Park. The Fountain is named after Joseph Pulitzer, who donated $50,000 for the creation of this impressive monument. The entire piece is 22 feet high, including the larger than life-size sculpture of the Roman goddess, Pomona, on top.

The fountain’s location is actually something that the architect and sculptor worked very hard to accomplish. While it was always intended to be in Grand Army Plaza, they made it symmetrical with this monument inside, but in order to do this, they had to move the William Tecumseh Sherman monument 16 feet West, in order to line it up with the Pulitzer Fountain. By doing this, they were able to line up the two most significant monuments of Grand Army Plaza.

As you can see from the photograph, there are 6 basins that hold water in this fountain. This complex design requires a constant and intricate flow of water. That is exactly what this monument gives us, as you can hear the water cascade down to each level. The powerful flow of water results in a beautiful waterfall from the sixth basin, which sits high above the rest, down to the fifth basin. The water then flows down each level by spouts that get larger and more elaborate as the water flows to the next level.

On top of the 6 basins of the fountain, stands the sculpture of the Roman goddess, Pomona. This bronze sculpture displays Pomona carrying a basket of fruits, which refers to her being the goddess of fruitful abundance. Looking at Pomona’s pose in the statue, it appears she is in a state of motion, as she is turning her head back to the right while also lifting her left leg. It looks as if she is turning to look at something behind her, but it is unclear what she could be looking at. Regardless of what she is looking back towards, the movement in this sculpture connects with the rest of the monument, as the entire piece of art has a sense of constant motion about it. Pomona is stuck in a state of motion, while the fountain constantly has water flowing from one basin to the next.

The sculpture’s presence is what brings the entire piece together. As we mentioned above, Pomona is the Roman goddess of fruitful abundance and this sense of abundance is carried, not only throughout the rest of the monument, but also throughout the surrounding area. The fountain, with its 6 basins of increasing size and detail, certainly displays an incredible level of abundance. However, the surrounding area emanates a similar level of wealth, as the Plaza Hotel and General Motors Building are both located around Grand Army Plaza.

This fountain was built in 1916 with the “City Beautiful Movement” in mind. The “City Beautiful Movement” began at the end of the 19th Century, as cities began to become overcrowded. In an attempt to deal with the poor city infrastructures, poverty, corruption and prostitution, this movement began. It involved a systematic planning and beautification of cities. Supporters of the movement believed that well designed buildings and public monuments would help keep the urban populations under control. They also argued that public art with classical style and technique would improve the aesthetic tastes of the urban populations. One of the main components of this movement was creating sculptures that would improve the morals of people by portraying uplifting and inspiring subject matter. This monument certainly accomplishes that, as it provides a feeling of wealth to anyone that gazes upon it.

Ruminating on shipwrecks and art

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During the class’s discussion today, the wheels in my head screeched into motion as everyone thought about the line from Lorca’s poem (“as if they had just escaped a shipwreck of blood.”)

I seem to be surrounded by shipwrecks lately! The poet I work on in my own research uses them poignantly in his poems (notably in “A Throw of the Dice Will Never Abolish

Vernet

Vernet

Chance,” and “Stilled beneath the Oppressive Cloud”). At our concert outing to Carnegie Hall, Tchaikovsky’s The Tempest (inspired, of course, by the Shakespeare play of the same name) involves a fantastic shipwreck whose turbulent booms and crashes vibrated our seats. And now, beloved Lorca closes his dawn with that image (which seems to fittingly correspond to the light of dawn as many of you brought up).

Though in all these things, and especially the Lorca poem, I come back to a Moroccan writer, Tahar Ben Jelloun, who used the word in perhaps one of the most powerful contexts I’ve encountered. Writing about under-served and neglected youth in French suburbs (comparable to “inner-city” youth of American inner cities), he speaks of “the shipwreck of their destiny,” to hit home the catastrophic plight (in France) of their immigrant parents.

I find myself wondering if Lorca intended some sort of social commentary about the shipwrecked lives of these people in the mire of New York, as well.

 

Art for Art’s Sake?

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I was looking for something to post in this new “Thoughts on Art” category, and my mind drifted to the bohemian cause célèbre from the 19th century of Art for Art’s Sake, engaged by notables such as Théophile Gautier and our very own Edgar Allan Poe.  I stumbled upon this Ted talk on art that I thought might prove thought provoking (though it does drag at moments, I think DeVlieg brings us some interesting conclusions).

Mary Ann DeVlieg brings up a deceptively simple question in her talk to drive home her point: (I paraphrase) If art is such a non-issue, an unimportant question, why are artists censored, persecuted, and shunned in so many instances even today?

 

Some of the artists she cites in her talk:
Robert Rauschenberg
John Cage
The Wooster Group

123rd Street Rap

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In amazing brevity Willie Perdomo is capable of illustrating this street from Spanish Harlem from the perspective of an observant and knowledgeable outsider. His use of alliteration (bullets bounce, stoop steps, bells bong) adds to the rhythm of the rap as well as quickens the pace of poem as a whole in company with the shorts stanzas. This quickened pace adds to the message of the poem in relation to having to grow up quickly in setting such as 123rd St. From the diction of the poem readers can pick up on a sense of roughness in relation to the neighborhood and fiscal struggles for the speaker. Lines such as “Sun that don’t shine”, “Trees that won’t grow”, and “Wind that won’t blow” also give off a sense of hopelessness.

This poem heavily relates to a section I recently studied in Anthropology on drug-dealing in Spanish Harlem and the social consequences/causes of this. In many ways Perdomo is trying to convey the fact that these children grow up surrounded by violence and drug-dealing and as they come of age they are struck with this internal moral conflict (“And I can’t tell what’s wrong from what’s right”). Many times stereotyping and prejudice bar these individuals from the inner city from attaining respectable jobs or being respected in the workplace which then forces them towards illegal means of income just to stay afloat. This relentless cycle traps many children, such as the ones Perdomo describes in his poem. Therefore, people are left with the question of if the illegal means of earning money which they are accustomed to or the discriminatory and degrading positions they acquire in the work force are correct. What outsiders many times fail to see is that this a social issue in which the victims are wrongly being blamed in a sense for partaking in this illegal activity, which in reality they are being forced into by societal pressures around them.

The Cabdriver’s Smile

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The initial description of the cabdriver portrays him as a tough, stern New Yorker. The speaker’s brief and matter-of-fact statements describing the situation give off a very unemotional tone as he analyzes this man. This poem is greatly a commentary on human connections and the simplicity of our relationships with people we encounter daily. Everyday we come across hundreds of people especially in a populous city such as New York. As a cabdriver you come in contact with a variety of people but are only with them from point A to point B and in reality how much do you actually get to know about the majority of those people or moreso how much effort are the majority of passengers putting in to get to know their cabdriver, sadly very little. Though the cabdriver may seem cold in his interactions with the other friendly cabdriver as well as the speaker/passenger, I think he is just aware of the sad fact that so many people are too self-concerned much of the time to get to know the people around them; in that we are limiting our own opportunities for human connection. It is very easy to feel lost and insignificant in the large group of people which constitute the population of NYC. Even interactions like that of the cabdriver who “bows like a king” may seem somewhat false and the fact that he is being aligned with a king give off the sense that his actions are self-righteous and he acts as though he is superior. And the brief glimpse of a smile which the speaker sees on the mouth of the cabdriver conveys a small ember of hope that there are still members of society who see him as more than just a mode of transportation and dehumanize him in such a way, that there is still genuine compassion left in humanity.

Orchestra at Carnegie Hall

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Although I am not a huge fan of classical music, the Orchestra of St. Luke’s was enjoyable. What struck me as the most interesting was the movement, which flowed through every aspect of the orchestra. You could trace it from the movements of the conductor which varied based on the emotion conveyed, to each individual moving with passion while playing their intruments, to each section of the orchestra as a whole, and was tied together by the movement of the music which flowed through the hall. I found myself not only listening to the music but also watching each group of instruments move with the music, in a way, from these movement I could deduce the emotion which the music conveyed without even really listening. At parts where the music would become militant I could tell by the vigorous movement of the conductor in unison with the violent stabs of violinist’s bows into the air almost like an army of soldiers saluting or when it was sad I could see the slowness and gentleness in the orchestra’s movements it was really interesting. I also was not expecting to see another opera but the last performance was great and the storyline was amazing, although I did get a bit lost while trying to read the translations. It was through and through a good experience and the hall was very beautiful.IMG_7992

BAM Harvey

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When I approached BAM Harvey expecting to see “Six Characters in Search of an Author” I was firstly struck by the modernity and light emitted from the building which set it apart from the surrounding neighborhood. I told the woman at the Box Office that my professor had left me a ticket for the play under the name Drabik and this is where things got a bit confusing. The woman handed me a ticket and said hurry they may not let you in then kindly escorted me to a door and said “once it starts you can’t leave because it’s a live recording”. As the door closed behind me and I turned around I immediately saw a small room with a band set up, many cameras, and about 8 people seated (none of them my classmates). So I awkwardly sat down and realized “oh shoot this is not the right show”. I ended up watching a live recording of a small podcast called B-Side and got a free performance from a small Brooklyn-based indie band called Empyrean Atlas. I actually really enjoyed their music although their interviews and stage presence were at times painfully awkward. The band was composed of a drummer, a bassist, and three guitars and the lead-man also switched to a saxophone for a few songs. The music was entirely instrumental and ranged from slow ambient to more upbeat afro-pop influenced sound. Overall, after I overcame my panic at the fact that I had sat through the completely wrong performance I sort of laughed at the ridiculousness of the situation and was appreciative of the fact that I found a new band to listen to. Here is a link to the show if anyone is interested: http://vimeo.com/110581319 And a link to Empyrean Atlas’s bandcamp: http://empyreanatlas.bandcamp.com