Category Archives: Informal Chat

A place where we can informally chat with one another about art, New York, our first year, or ice cream. Note: Do not cross-post assignments here.

Simon Beck’s Snow Art

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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

Living on Long Island is…

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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. 😀

Cover Page

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It just occurred to me how much I appreciate the cover page of this blog; the picture of the boy reaching out for that spray seems to embody the fierce and daring passion of certain artists that we have encountered this semester. Graffiti is a CRIME (which I read as “giraffe is a crime” at first).

It reminds me of Petit paying the fine for trespassing or Da Ponte fleeing from his angry patrons…

Snapshot event

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I had gone to the New York Historical Society to see the photos the students took and to see my work in a museum to make me feel like an artist. When I went into the room full of photos, there were a lot of people in the small room and I did not really enjoy looking at the photos. Thus, I went to see adjacent exhibits. I liked the presentation of how Chinese people were discriminated against in the nineteenth century. It enhanced my knowledge on how they used to get the least favorable jobs and their poor lifestyles in America. However, I was not impressed with the holiday train exhibits as I was expecting because both were small and the trains were not moving or there were no tracks. Then I went back to the room with the photos because I knew there would be little people still there. Like the professor said, we remember the moments where we are alone the most. Because I was one of the few people there, I could take a look at all the photos without pushing past a crowd of people. I then began to try and figure out when and where a photo was taken. In addition, it seems that some photos were not taken in NYC. I remember one description said “A bird in Philly,” which suggests the person was in Philadelphia at the time. Also, one picture was taken on a sunny day when 10/13 was cloudy; it must have been taken on another day or somewhere else. I noticed that a few descriptions must have been mixed up as well because they did not match the photo they were supposed describe, while providing an accurate description of an adjacent photo. Luckily, everyone got the right message when they saw my photo, except my name was not on it. Instead it said “Unknown Author.” I want to be known.

I felt that I could concentrate on the art a lot more when there were less people around, so from my experience, it’s clear that art would be easier to learn about in a rural setting, not in NYC. At least the Macaulay seminar fulfills my liberal arts requirements, while adding some unique experiences. I guess this class is encouraging me to challenge human propensities. I say: “Challenge accepted.”

Charles Mingus

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When I had played in Jazz Band at my school I had encountered numerous Jazz musicians and styles, and no one had stood out as much as Charles Mingus.  His music is very upbeat and chaotic.  Check out some of his songs here (We played the latter two in class):

Cookies!

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I am bringing in some cookies tomorrow for everyone!  They’re sugar cookies with a trace of cinnamon.  Despite my bowl, you can obviously tell it is not pasta.

Ingredients:

Flour, Sugar, salt, butter, baking powder, cinnamon, and eggs.  They do not contain nuts so if you’re not allergic I hope you enjoy.

Coookies

Staten Island Technical High School SING

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For the four years before I had come here to CCNY, I was involved in my high school’s SING production.  SING is a completely student run play in which the school is divided into two teams and these teams must come up with a whole play that means the script, lyrics (as songs in modern culture are used and made into parodies), written music (notes for instruments), and sets are all made by students.  We were the musicians, the stage crewmen, the directors, the producers, the directors, the liaisons.  I myself had always played in the band, with my trumpet I followed my conductors from freshmen to senior year.  On Friday night on November 14th I had gone back to my old school to watch their performance and although no longer being part of the overall cast I could not help but get nostalgic.  It was a great 3 hours of singing, dancing, and memories.  On Saturday night the winner was announced and although I was not able to go to that performance I was able to catch some of my old band members after the show and join them for a dinner.  Are these plays nearly as well made as the great works of Pirandello or Shakespeare?  Of course not, but they having something more to them.  There was never just one writer, but a team working together.  It was great to be involved and it was great to be able to go back and see that everything is still going on as it always had.

How many of you were involved in a similar type of performance at your schools or even had the same program at your school?

SING

A Flashback to Petit (A Video-Game Story)

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So, this past week, one of my favorite videogame franchises, Assassin’s Creed, released the newest installment in the series: Assassin’s Creed Unity. I was understandably excited and, as soon as I sat down to play it, my first instinct was to explore the absolutely breath-taking rendition of Paris that the game was set in. These were some of the best graphics I had ever seen ever! Ubisoft, the franchise’s developer, is known for constructing the settings as close to real life as possible, using the actual blueprints.

A rendition of Notre Dame in Assassin's Creed: Unity.

A rendition of Notre Dame in Assassin’s Creed: Unity.

Now, as anyone familiar with Assassin’s Creed will know, the game involves a lot of climbing, clambering and parkour. As I was traversing the rooftops of Paris, I spotted a particularly high cathedral; only when I had gotten to the top of one of its two towers, did I realize that this was none other than the great Notre Dame cathedral itself! This virtual rendition had taken almost close to two years to construct and was one of the most accurate models in the entire game! As my character sat atop the tower, another thought raced across my mind: these two towers was one of the places that Phillipe Petit, on his wire-walking adventures, had crossed. Although I have never visited Paris, this beautiful rendition of Notre Dame had given me an entirely new perspective on one of Petit’s walks; there was an intense sensation of wonder to the entire moment and led me to appreciate not just the amazing hard work that the designers of the game had put into creating such a historical structure, but of the history that was attached to this building that we, the players, were allowed to experience.

New York Festival of Lights

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I really enjoy being from Brooklyn and representing this part of the New York City because sometimes Brooklyn gives a great show as well; especially DUMBO, which is essentially the center artistic expression in Brooklyn. As soon as I found out that the first New York Festival of Lights was happening at the tunnel under the Manhattan Bridge I was surely to attend this spectacle.

photo 1photo 2

 

On November 7th at 7PM I visited NYFOL. It was a completely free event, accompanied by a great DJ and a super interesting audience. Not too many people knew about this event and thus all the visitors were interested and knowledgeable.

I was mostly surprised by the fact that no where in this installation was thephoto 3 (1) artist(s) mentioned. Clearly someone had to create this masterpiece but the artist’s input was not recognized. Perhaps, the artist wanted his work to become of the people and he wanted the people to emphasize the work rather than him?The entire installation was very interactive and dependent on the audience rather than the artist; wherever one would stand, they would see the installation differently. Finally, viewers even got a chance to put input in the installation by signing a scratch board.

In general, this was a very interesting and enjoyable installation despite the fact that it was really cold that day. I am very proud of Brooklyn for staging such events!

-Angelika

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!

 

A Song From an Insomniac

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I couldn’t sleep at all tonight for some reason…

Although most people would hate this, I actually like the fact that I’m awake at this hour. I can do whatever I want and get myself in my own little world. Now nothing sets the tone without a little bit of music.

At this time of night, I feel that there is only a small selection of music one should choose from. The music that is chosen has to be light as it compliments the serenity of the night, but it really shouldn’t be anything that keeps you asleep.

Anyways, here is my example of one of those songs:

The Art of Montreal / Graffiti As Art Debate

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By some stroke of luck, I had the opportunity to visit Montreal last weekend. Although I spent a full 24 hours on buses to get there and back, the ride was worth it so that I could experience a new town, new culture, and see two of my best friends that go to school there.

I naturally couldn’t help but notice how radically different everything in the city was from what I know of in New York. One thing in particular was the street art. Everywhere I went, there were murals painted on buildings and pieces of graffiti everywhere. It seemed welcome rather than rejected. Honestly, I loved that these pieces were really all over the place. It added some extra character to the city and was a point that vastly contrasted against the typical New York mindset: graffiti is bad; it isn’t art and needs to be covered up rather than appreciated.

A mural seen on Rue St-Laurent in Montreal.

A mural seen on Rue St-Laurent in Montreal.

This point couldn’t be more clearly seen than in the tearing down of 5Pointz, an abandoned building in Long Island City (you can see it by Court Square on the 7 train!) that was often referred to as “the graffiti Mecca”. Graffiti artists from all over the world would come and tag the building, adding on their own piece to the murals. Recently, though, the building was painted over and torn down by the city so that co-ops could be built in the space.

Personally, I was always against the tearing down of 5Pointz and that’s why I particularly appreciated the street art in Montreal. Do you guys think that graffiti and unofficial street art should be considered art like everything else? Also, do you think that the building should have been torn down?

 

A view of the partially torn down 5Pointz "graffiti Mecca" from the 7 train.

A view of the partially torn down 5Pointz “graffiti Mecca” from the 7 train.

Carnegie and Me

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I don’t know if it is just me, but I am really looking forward to the upcoming performance at Carnegie Hall.

Carnegie Hall is known for its prestigious nature in the classical music and performance world. I’ve never actually been there before, but as a pianist, I know that it is a place where all musicians strive to be and play one day.

Carnegie Hall was named after Andrew Carnegie, the steel guy who’s worth billions in the turn of the 20th century. He was a philanthropist who in turned gave money to build buildings like Carnegie Hall, raise money for universities like Carnegie Mellon University, and much more.

Fingers cross for this Thursday! Looking forward to it!

 

~Christopher Chong

I was a dancer on the A train today

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When I was riding the A train from 125th Street to 59th Street leaving City College, a person was dancing, while another man was playing music, singing, and commenting on the man’s dancing. At first I was listening to my iPod, and the dancer looked like he was doing really weird movements. I decided to turn off my music because I noticed that the rest passengers were really enjoying the performance. I thought that his dance moves were still peculiar while listening to his music, however the audience was probably impressed by his enjoyment of dancing. He even tried to get one of the female passengers to dance with him, but none of the ladies were willing. Then he tried to get anyone to dance with him and asked me to dance. Since I am not good at saying “no” to people and since I love to dance, I agreed to dance. I did not mind dancing in front of people, but I was not comfortable dancing and holding hands with another man. Nonetheless, I believe that I had a unique commute, and the dancer and singer/commentator did collect a lot of money in the subway car. It’s not bad to have a job dancing on the subway, especially if you can get a person of the opposite sex to dance with you (if you can’t you have to improvise). I wonder why no women perform in the subway.

La Casa Azul: A Place of Creativity

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The La Casa Azul Bookstore is a Hispanic bookstore in East Harlem that started 2 years ago. It is the only bookstore in East Harlem and the only Hispanic bookstore in NYC. It was inspired by Frida Kahlo’s home in Mexico. It’s really a creative space that mainly sells books written by Latino and Afro-latino writers. It features book clubs, book readings, open mics, dance classes, cooking classes, exhibits, and a lot more. The current exhibit “A Ribbon Around A Bomb: Who Am I Being + Becoming In This Space” portrays photographs of young women in the day and age, with their personal reflections of what makes them the lively and brilliant women that they are. All reflections started with “I am powerful because…”

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one of the photographs from the “Ribbon Around A Bomb” exhibit

This place is such a rarity. I was amazed to find it in the first place. I love the individuality and flair it has as a book store. It gives a platform to voices that aren’t heard often. It’s just a beautiful, bright place.

Sunsets

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I hope that you all enjoyed your Fall For Dance performance last week! I’m sorry that I didn’t get to go with you all, but I’m looking forward to hearing about what you guys thought about your night.

Meanwhile, I spent the weekend on a lake in Pennsylvania for my cousin’s wedding. I took a picture of the sunset the last night I was there because it reminded me of the conversation that we were having last class about these wonders of nature and how we can possibly describe them to other people. I’m not sure if I would be able to accurately describe what this sight was like, but hopefully the photo speaks for itself.

Cold day for the Pulaski Day Parade

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I was at the Pulaski Day Parade yesterday like all Polish people from New Jersey and New York. (The reason I mention New Jersey first is because almost all of the floats were from New Jersey.) It was rather cold on that day, and I only had a Polish t-shirt and shorts on. Luckily, my friend let me borrow his sweat shirt. I think that the pretty Ms. Polonias must have been really cold in their dresses in the parade.

Meant to Live – Switchfoot Concert @ Columbia University hosted by Pulse

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This past thursday night, after receiving a guaranteed ticket (from the CCNY Intervarsity) to an already free concert featuring Switchfoot, I made an impulse decision to finish my English 210 paper within 2 and a half hours so that I could attend this concert. After finishing class at around 4 pm, I sat myself down in my dorm room and got to work on my paper. Luckily, I finished my paper and submitted it literally 5 minutes before I had to leave for the concert. And man, was I glad that I did.

Now here comes the good part after the hard work. Upon arriving in front of Lerner Hall at Columbia University with the Intervarsity group, my eyes immediately saw the enormous line (those who didn’t have tickets) that stood awaiting to get in. For those who did have tickets (mostly Columbia students and intervarsity groups) were able to enter straight in without a wait. To my surprise not too many people actually obtained tickets, which meant we were able to get pretty decent seats. The concert opened with the Colton Dixon band (I’ve never heard of them before then, but they’re pretty good) and then Switchfoot came on afterwards. In comparison to classical music and the music played at the opera, it is much, much different. But both were really good in their own aspects and style. So, what would have been a regular and boring night, had I not went out to the concert, turned into a great night with new friends, good fellowship, and late night pizza. Also, who doesn’t love free concerts in NYC?