Poems

Rhyme IV

-Gustavo Adolfo Becquer [trans: Juan F. Medrano]

Do not say that, exhausted of its treasure,
there is lack of subject matter to silence poetry;
we may not have poets; but
there will always be poetry.

As long as the kiss ignites the heart with
waves of light,
as long as the sun dresses the torn clouds
with fire and gold,
as long the air carries perfumes and
harmonies in its lap,
as long there is spring in the world,
There will be poetry!

As long as science does not discover
the origins of life,
and in the sea or in the heaven there is an abyss
that cannot be calculated;
as long as the always advancing humanity
does not know where it’s heading;
as long as there is a mystery for man,
There will be poetry!

As long as we feel that the soul rejoices,
without the lips laughing;
as long as we can cry without the tears
blurring our vision;
as long as the heart and the brain
continue struggling;
as long as there is hope and remembrances,
There will be poetry!

As long as there are eyes that reflect
the eyes that look at them,
as long as the lip responds sighing
to the lip that sighs,
as long as two confused souls can
in a kiss feel themselves,
as long as there is a beautiful woman,
There will be poetry!

——————————————————————————————————————

Simon Beck’s Snow Art

Now is the season that allows snow to fall. In France, Simon Beck uses a fresh blanket of snow as his canvas. The art he produces is very unique. He just walks on top of a frozen lake covered in snow and his footprints look like a nice pattern in the snow from above. The pattern looks simple, but it takes a very long time to make. Since I have a short intension span, I find this kind of patience breathtaking. Here is the URL to see this guy’s works: http://www.weather.com/travel/news/incredible-snow-art-created-foot-photos-20131212

Of The Artist’s Struggle

Over the past few weeks, having finished “Just Kids” and having Daniel Kelly and Tara Sabharwal, practicing artists, in our classroom, I realized that a common theme to all artist’s lives is that of struggle. Artists, initially at least, struggle to have a solid financial foundation. In their passion to practice their craft, many artists sacrifice security and luxury for a meager existence, all for their art. Of course, I’m exaggerating a bit, as this is clearly not true of all artists. But there is the question of making their craft pay for their living, as being an artist isn’t a stable source of income, especially if you are young and unknown.

At this point, we’re all pretty familiar with Patti and Robert’s struggles as up and coming artists. They had to work a variety of side jobs in order to make the minimum amount of  money they needed to make the rent. Often they ate little and spent money very frugally. Daniel Kelly, when he was speaking to us, made note of the large number of weddings that he had to play at to be financially secure. Tara Sabharwal told us about residencies, which many artists use to have a safe financial backing while they pursue their passion and eventually succeed. There is no denying that an artist’s life is full of struggles, for money and for the freedom to do what they truly want. So why do they pursue it?

Again, drawing from “Just Kids” and our visitors, one can clearly see that, despite their struggles, artists are dedicated and passionate about what they do. Their craft makes them happy. Patti and Robert were dedicated to their art throughout all their struggles and continued to create art during those times. They never gave up on their art to pursue a more stable career. They did what they loved. When Daniel and Tara spoke to us, it was evident that they were truly in love with what they did. It is everyone’s dream to make money doing what they love and artists, I believe, have accomplished this.

Living on Long Island is…

Like a sanctuary.
The place where I can always come back to,
The place where countless memories flood in,
As I set foot within this place.

Anything beyond this place,
This long island,
Is like a whole new world,
Beyond my wildest dreams.

But people tell me it’s dangerous out there,
Rampant with chaos, injustice, and disorder.
People fighting just to survive each day;
How can anyone live like that?

Deep down I know,
That my Dad is out there somewhere,
Fighting for his life and country,
Fighting for his family.

And one day I’ll fight alongside him,
We’ll fight together,
Protect each other.
Yeah, that’s what we’ll do.

But for now,
I think I’ll stay here on this long island,
My sanctuary,
The place I call home.

– Pun
I know this is extremely out of the blue, but this is a poem I wrote a while back in english class in high school. I think it can be interpreted in many different ways depending on the background of the reader. I’m curious to know what kind of thoughts this might instill for you guys, so feel free to let me know! It’s perfectly okay if you don’t like it, no hard feelings. 😀

Tara Sabharwal & Daniel Kelly Visit

Delayed thoughts!

I’m really glad we had the opportunity to be able to grab a glimpse behind these two artist’s lives. It was really interesting hearing about their stories and how Ms. Sabharwal came to be the artist she is today, and how Mr. Kelly came to be the musician he is today.

In Mr. Kelly’s visit, I really enjoyed seeing how he got himself involved with a community he’s not necessarily familiar with, and allowed himself to not only learn from all kinds of people from different cultures, but also to create original music with them and incorporate their individual stories. I thought it was interesting and awesome to see how he experimented with incorporating voice recordings into his music as well as playing with musicians who played instruments that are completely different from the piano itself in order to develop this new type of sound and music.

In Ms. Sabharwal’s visit, I really enjoyed being able to see and hear how she had the opportunity to earn residencies within different countries and how even to this day, she is still learning different styles of painting and still incorporating new methods and mastering old ones. Like I said in class, I think the idea of having a residency is absolutely amazing and being able to have the opportunity to do that I think is such a blessing and I can’t even begin to imagine all the things you’d be able to see, experience, and learn. I also thought it was funny how Ms. Sabharwal described her painting process, and how once she decides to use certain colors, she begins to see those colors in everything, wherever she goes.

All in all, it was a pleasure meeting the two of them and hearing their stories and insights. Thanks for taking the time to come out and talk to us, and I wish you two the best as you both continue to pursue your passions!

For the Best Of! Page

Hey everyone, so I think for the Best Of! Page, everyone needs to submit their own personal favorite during the course.  So hopefully over the weekend everyone can submit their own personal favorites onto the blog with a brief description of why you liked them.  Then me, Lucius, and Adrian will take your responses and do something with them to display the overall results of the Best Of! Page.  Just follow Adrian’s example on the blog.

 

“Best of…” – various options

This actually emerged during some earlier discussion  in class regarding options for the website. I don’t remember who – Manjekar? Sharouk?Justin?… – but someone suggested for everyone to complete the sentence “The best of the Arts in New York for me  was/is…”

Everyone could just choose a specific moment which they really enjoyed, or something new they discovered – in the city or about the arts, or their favorite outing as a class, or which performance they remember the most, or what they liked about poems or about having working artists visiting the class, or… Some would write something serious, some not-so-serious, anything goes. All responses should short.  We might get quite an interesting mixture of “best impressions.”

Once you have the responses you need to organize them –  put them together as a string of responses? A long list?  A kind of collage? Perhaps accompanied by a slide show? Add music? Add your comments? Add beautiful aroma? O.K., I am kidding …  (We have lots of goodies on the blog – e. g. all the students’ photos for the “Public Art” assignment. Perhaps you could use some of these riches.)

Right now three people volunteered to organize & coordinate this part:  Adrian, Lucius & Kevin. Good. That’s already serious manpower. Of course you can still add a couple more colleagues to help you conceptualize it or to perform specific tasks. You might want to consult Chris too.

As far as I am concerned, anything you decide is fine with me. Just do something nice.

 

Reaction to Just Kids: Patti and Robert’s Relationship

While reading Just Kids, I was particularly enthralled by Patti and Robert’s friendship. I think, more than anything else, I admire it. Even though they weren’t lovers in the traditional sense, I think that most people spend their lives trying to find a connection with another person like the one Patti and Robert share. The best part of the book, to me, was how raw their friendship was and simply how the two relied on each other so much that they seemed to be two halves of one whole. Without each other, they would not have blossomed into the artists or the people that they had ended up to be. I think that the mutual dependence that they had on each other, paired with their fierce loyalty to each other against all odds, is a pretty beautiful thing.

Class Portrait

Hey everyone!

So I’ve come up with an idea for the class portrait!

We would shoot two group photos:

The first – everyone will do an artsy pose that comes to mind when they think of art (be as creative as you possibly can)

And the second – everyone will be holding a piece of construction paper listing one word that describes art, one word that describes the city, and one word that describes them – just to cover the whole arts, nyc, and me title of the class

Either Manjekar or I will provide the construction paper & Sharpies (unless someone already has some at home they’d be willing to bring)

Hopefully, we were thinking that we could get the portraits done on Friday around 1pm down at Riverside Park. Could everyone just comment and let me know if that would be a good day and time. If anyone has any other suggestions for the portraits, write that in the comments as well. But remember, we really have a short amount of time to get this done.

Hope you’ll all be excited to do it though!

Just Kids

There were rarely any parts of the book that I felt were boring or slow. Every chapter or page had an adventure in it. I really enjoyed reading about Patti Smith’s adventures as a growing artist. She left the comfort of her stable life with her parents to pursue what she wanted to do. She was able to meet so many influential artists that inspired her to do things she never would have done, like writing lyrics or singing. Originally Patti Smith wanted to be a poet but as she met more and more artists, they encouraged her to write lyrics, sing, and act. All of these experiences would not have been possible if she stayed with her parents and lived a sheltered and stable life.

Much of the focus of this book was about Robert Mapplethorpe so there aren’t as many details about Patti’s personal life away from Robert. Nevertheless, Patti really captured Robert’s personality and personal conflicts without commenting on them and making them judgmental. She was able to write about Robert and have the readers understand Robert’s ups and downs. Their unorthodox relationship worked so well and smoothly, which came as a huge surprise because I thought the ending would have ended with both of them filled with regrets. Patti comes off as a really understanding friend while Robert seems a bit lost and needs Patti’s support, which she willingly gives. Even until the end when Patti already had a family she would still take care of Robert, really demonstrating the strong bonds they have with each other, and the promises they made.

Just Kids differences between Patti and Me

This book tells the story of Patti Smith’s process of becoming an artist. Like Kevin mentioned in class, I’m glad I’m not going to be an artist. Smith does not provide a good example for us college students because she dropped out of college and decided not to be a teacher, her initial goal. When I found out she did this, I thought she made a big mistake. I know college will help me pursue and gain experience to have a good job, so that my future can be secure. Smith overall seems to be completely different from me.

Throughout the book, Smith believes that her emotions are the most important, while I claim that cerebral thinking is paramount in people’s lives. In addition, Smith barely mentions her children. In fact, she neglected to talk about them so much that I did not associate her with having any kids until someone said she doesn’t talk about them in the novel. I plan on making my children a priority in my adult life. I plan to look out for my kids to make sure they have a successful future like me.

FINAL PROJECT UPDATE

Hello all.

I have emailed Chris about permission to edit the projects page.
We will hopefully be able to edit the page soon.

EDIT: Read the most recent email from Chris. Join the page soon!

The categories for this project are as follows:

  • Home Page
  • Class Portrait (a photograph and/or word portrait of the class)
  • Best of “Arts in New York City”
  • Worst of “Arts in New York City”
  • Our Exhibitions
  • Our Performances
  • Our Individual Responses

Let’s get this done!

My Reaction to Tara Subharwal

I was quite interested by Tara Subharwal’s story of her life. I find it fascinating that she was allowed to have so many opportunities to travel to and fro from one country to another. After hearing of that fact, the first thought that came through my mind was that she is really lucky being able to express her art so freely.

Speaking of her art, I find it amusing that she has a “go with the flow” sort of style while painting. Going to art school in India may have influenced her art style in the sense that I think she had enough of copying art, but instead wanted to just make it. Although her paintings aren’t the type of art I prefer, I found it mind boggling to try to piece it together.

One of the big things I wanted to ask her was how could she even afford everything or where her income was. That type of question did seem too personal so I kept quiet. I really do regret not asking her though as it’s still on my mind.

Tara Sabharwal’s Visit Reaction

Tara Sabharwal’s visit was contrasting to the previous guest. Instead of videos and music, she talked about painting along with many visuals for support. She passed around the books, and while I was looking through the artwork, I was fascinated. I remember the book in which she drew the same artwork, however with distinctive colors for each drawing. It explicitly showed the effect of color in the painting, and Tara Sabharwal, specially said she spends a great deal of her time trying to make the color that she wants to use to portray her image. In other words, it was a memorable experience to have an actual painter talk about her own paintings and have a live description of what was going through her mind and what her intentions were in drawing such product.

“The Cut-Outs” Reaction

Henri Matisse’s exhibit “The Cut-Outs” was mostly impressive to me because of its testament to the human spirit. In the exhibit, there was a short video featured that shows how Matisse designed his cutout pieces. Despite his age, illness, and other limitations, Matisse managed to design extravagant pieces and instruct a partner in physically putting it all together. The exhibit stuck with me because of Matisse’s sheer determination. Not only did he manage to work through any and all of his limitations, but he also progressed as an artist on an extravagant scale. By the late 50s, his pieces were spanning entire walls and, in a few cases, entire rooms. It left me seriously considering the extent to which artists go in order to create. I was always led to believe that there is a certain romanticism in sacrificing for your art. However, there is also a necessary determination that, despite all odds, you will pour yourself into your work. After this exhibit of Matisse’s final projects, I now believe that this determination is what separates mediocre art from true masterpieces.

Tail! Spin! Reaction

The political satire Tail!Spin! was much more lighthearted than the other shows we saw, although it was just as clever and eye opening. The genius of the performance comes in the script, entirely put together with quotes from disgraced politicians throughout our country. The actors easily manage to make fun of representatives such as Anthony Weiner, Mark Sanford, Larry Craig, and Mark Foley all while using the politician’s own speeches, tweets, text messages, and interviews. I really couldn’t believe what I was watching, as the comedy was so jarring simply because the politicians did not need much help in making themselves look like fools. However, the perfect juxtaposition of their promises to the public and the things that they say, tweet, and text in private left me questioning whether all of our politicians are this disparate between their supposed policies and their actual beliefs. For the most part, I appreciated Tail!Spin! because of its entertainment factor. However, the reason that it works so well is because the politicians portrayed are ultimately making fun of themselves, and that idea makes me pretty scared for our political system.

Disgraced Reaction

Ayad Akhtar’s Pulitzer Prize winning play Disgraced opens up one of the most significant questions that can be discussed in our current society: to what extent are we truly an open and accepting culture? As the show specifically deals with Islamophobia in New York City, it toys with the ideas of underlying resentment toward Muslims and general xenophobia in one of the world’s most progressive societies. The show particularly stuck with me because of the more radical ideas that it presented, many of which are both anti-American and anti-Muslim. I left that night vastly disgusted with the points of view presented and could not imagine why someone would create a play to spread such viewpoints. However, the show left me thinking. I realize now that such radical ideas were included purposefully; they were not meant to be agreeable, but rather to present to the audience underlying issues in our own society and make us question our own beliefs and ideals. I loved Disgraced for more than just its depth of characters and enthralling storyline, but for the conversation it opened up which our society desperately needs to have.

“Harlem” by Langston Hughes

This poem is on page 67 of our handy dandy “Poems of New York” book. The poem is written by the Langston Hughes and it goes like this:

What happens to a dream deferred?

Does it dry up

like a raisin in the sun?

Or fester like a sore—

And then run?

Does it stink like rotten meat?

Or crust and sugar over—

like a syrupy sweet?

Maybe it just sags

like a heavy load.

     Or does it explode?

I saw this poem and immediately recognized the first three lines of the poems. They are famous phrases that I immediately associate with Langston Hughes (as well as the “Life ain’t no crystal stairs” from Hughes’ “Mother to Son”). In the poem, Hughes is questioning what happens to a person’s dreams when it is halted. Hughes is talking about the progress of African-Americans, which is subject to White oppression in the early 20th century. In my 10th grade English class, I remember seeing Lorraine Hansberry’s film “A Raisin in the Sun”, which obtain its name from this poem. The film focuses around the lives of a black family in Chicago who strives to get rich, but their “dream is deferred”. The poem is short, crisp and to the point, yet powerful and has a deep meaning behind it, which I think makes it a good poem to go over in class.

 

~Christopher Chong

“Return of the Native” by Amiri Baraka

I tried to find the poem online but for some reason it’s not popping up, so feel free to look in Poems of New York, pages 152-153, for the poem.

I absolutely love this poem. Amiri Baraka, a famous black poet of the 1960s, write this poem centered around Harlem, the hub of black life at the time. He imagines a life in a place like Harlem that’s meant only for black people and brings a sense of communal joy. He ironically describes Harlem as “vicious” and “violent” and “transforming,” yet somehow beautiful. He dreams that in this world Harlem sees only sunny skies, never rain, as a symbol of the warmth that fills that place. He imagines that they will have everything they need in this world, including love for themselves. There will be a sense of joy that they thrive among themselves and will be comforted by familiarity. In the poem, I feel like he skillfully juxtaposes this dream world to the reality of the 1960s.

This poem adds to what Harlem meant for so many Black Americans at that time – it stood as a vision of a better future. Living in The Towers near campus right now, I feel grateful to be in a community that meant so much to a people. However, standing in this present that this poem looks toward creates deep sorrow for what has happened to Harlem and this vision, especially amid the recent tragedies in America. It never fails to amaze me how art can open the door to social critique.