Category Archives: Responses

Guided responses to course readings and screenings

“The Argument Resumed, Or, Up Through Tribeca” by Thomas Disch

Posted on by
Reply

Disch’s poem speaks to the fact that some of the best moments in life involve little things. These events are often brief, yet they can still have a significant effect on your day. One of the most important points of this poem is that these beautiful moments must be brief and fleeting, otherwise, there will be no reason to long for the event to repeat itself. Not to make this about sports, but what, an example that comes to mind is the way that the media treated Derek Jeter this season, as it was his final season. Many outlets, including Gatorade, made exceptions to policies in order to honor Jeter. If these companies did this every time a player retired, it would not be special or significant. However, it was a very meaningful gesture because it does not happen very often. This is certainly not the best example for everyone, but it was something that came to mind for me. I’m sure we each have experiences like this that are brief, but still have a impact on us.

“The Owl and the Lightning” by Martin Espada

Posted on by
Reply

I believe it was Chloe that raised the question of what the significance of the cat and owl was. The main point of this poem is certainly related to religion and how God is a mystery. However, as Professor Drabik pointed out recently, poets do everything deliberately, so the choice for a cat and an owl was no accident. The differences between a cat and an owl are pretty clear, as a cat is domesticated and often bound by rules imposed by its owner and an owl is free, only bound by the laws of nature. In the poem, we see the cat trying to defy the laws of the projects and then fall to its death, whereas, the owl survives and thrives, as it seemingly conjures up a bold of lightning. The owl seems similar to God because he is not bound by the laws of others, and has a mysterious power that others do not. Whereas, the cat is similar to humans, as it is bound by the rules of others and eventually dies, often trying to overcome these limitations.

Wasteland Reaction

Posted on by
1

In the beginning of the film, I was expecting the photographer to go to a looked-down-apon place where people use illegal drugs and have terrible working conditions. However, when I saw people saying that they are proud of their jobs, I was surprised. They seemed like regular people living close to poverty. The “wasteland” had quite a number of happy people. It was no challenge for the photographer to entice them to make art. It was cool how recyclable materials were turned int a photo. When the photos went to an auction, I thought the auctioneer was going to say 10 pounds, but he continued to say 10,000 pounds. I guess the photographer went all the way to England to make a good profit, and it got the workers in the “wasteland” excited. Like Professor Drabik said, there are such crazy people that do these crazy things and luckily we have crazy people who give us the opportunity to find out about these crazy events.

Macaulay seminar requires concentration

Posted on by
Reply

To understand the art we are looking at, it is important to concentrate (i.e. there is a lot trying to be conveyed through every word of the poems about NYC). However, the city is an environment that makes people naturally concentrate less on one thing and want to get as many things done as possible. Whereas, rural areas cause people to focus on one task and complete it from beginning to end and encourage people to feel emotions more readily than an urban environment. I find it ironic that we are supposed to look for meaning in art in NYC, a huge urban area making it difficult to concentrate. This kind of course would suit a college located in a rural environment.

Scientifically, we are all going through a struggle against nature to focus on tasks in a place meant for feeling rushed. Why does Macaulay present this challenge to us?

Wasteland Reaction

Posted on by
1

When I first heard the name of the documentary “Wasteland” I was initially was expecting the film to somehow relate to the poem by T.S. Eliot “The Wasteland”. I was surprised to find out that the film was actually centered on a man who makes art out of recyclable waste. This documentary was by far one of the most emotionally charged and eye-opening films we have watched this year. Firstly, I felt extremely humbled by the fact that many of these catadores take such pride and enjoy what they are doing, sorting through trash, when there are people who grumble at throwing a trash bag down the trash shoot. Also, the lives of each catadore displayed the resilience and strength behind each of these individuals and their journey at times had me near tears of sadness and joy. Furthermore, Vik Muniz’s artistic concept with this project was not only beautiful, but the effect he had on the people he chose to involve was equally beautiful. I really respected him for making the art a collaborative effort and not treating the catadores as charity cases. It was amazing to see Muniz fuse his passion of artistic expression with a humanitarian impact. By just allowing these individuals to participate in his project he not only gave each of them a huge boost to their self-esteems and pride, but also gave them the financial stability they needed. Muniz truly helped to transform their lives and influenced them to strive for more in their lives while still carrying pride for their career as a catadore.

On “The Argument Resumed; Or, Up Through Tribeca”

Posted on by
Reply

Everything comes to an end. The ideas of limitations and absoluteness, infinity and ephemeralness, have been questioned since the time of the Ancient Greeks.  These opposing ideas mainly appeared through the focuses on immortality and mortality; life and death. Some believed that beauty was truly immortal. Things such as art, love, and even blood lines (mainly considering royalty) were considered beautiful and grand because they existed longer than a lifetime. Philosophers such as Socrates have supported this idea. Socrates viewed love as humanity’s attempt to achieve immortality, a feat that overcomes physical impossibilities.

The opposing idea, which the poem appears to follow, is that beauty is fleeting. It can only exist in limited periods of time. Many poets and romanticists, such as William Shakespeare believed in this idea. In his sonnets, Shakespeare discussed that death, in fact, makes life greater because it (death) ends it (life). Because life is limited by death, one must make their best of it, and enjoy what is has to offer. Without death, life loses it beauty, and becomes dry and sorrowful.

The idea of memory, however, treads the line between the differing views on infinity or temporariness. A memory is something that can last a lifetime, or can persist through time if it is somehow recorded (a diary, biography, painting, etc.). The thing that is remembered, nonetheless, is stuck in time. It is finite. The poet of “The Argument Resumed” shows that beauty must be finite, that something beautiful can only exist temporarily, and that it can only be enjoyed momentarily because of its connection to memory. The key line from the latter half of the poem is “How shall it bear repeating?”. “It”, here, refers to any beautiful moment, event or thing. The poet uses basic logic to argue that if something beautiful lasts forever, how is it possible for humans to recall it multiple times? The poet discusses that true beauty and glory exists in bursts or short periods of time. It is possible for these short bursts to reinstate that sensation of magnificence any time in the future.

I cannot help but finding myself in agreement with the poet. If beautiful things were everlasting, how would we possibly enjoy anything else? How would it be possible to ever return to any singular, truly enjoyed and cherished piece of time?

Reaction to Just Kids (1-55)

Posted on by
1

Although the start of the book was quite slow for me, I can see what Ms. Drabik meant when she said that it would be hard to put down the book. The moment Patti got herself to New York, it instantly became an adventure that you really can’t stop reading.

My curiosity sparked when Patti met Saint as I really couldn’t understand how one can befriend a stranger so quickly. Then when she just re-named Bob to Robert, I was just confused how Robert/Bob accepted the name with no hesitation.

What really got my mind racing was how Patti just tossed away the waitress outfit that her mother gave her. It was a sign of hope from her mother, but Patti tossed it away. I can understand how it can be compared to flowers that have wilted, but like flowers, it can also be preserved and be kept.

I just can’t wait to read the rest of this!

Scribner’s Bookstore

Posted on by
2

Located at 597 Fifth Avenue, between 48th and 49th street in the heart of Manhattan, Scribner’s Bookstore is located inside the Charles Scribner’s Sons Building, right near the Rockefeller Center. The building was built in 1913 and designed by a guy name Ernest Flagg in a Beaux Arts-style exterior. Beaux Arts style architecture was a style of architecture that heavily influenced the United States during the turn of the 20th century. Some characteristics of Beaux Arts Style include flat roof, arched windows, arched and pediment doors, classical details, symmetry, sculptures, murals, etc. In Just Kids, Scribner’s Bookstore is significant because it was the place where Patti Smith got her job after being fired from being cashier because she didn’t charge a Chinese customer tax on an expensive Buddha. The job was referred from Janet Hamill, a friend she met from college. Smith described her job as a “dream job, working in the retail store of the prestigious publisher, home to writers like Hemingway and Fitzgerald, and their editor, the great Maxwell Perkins.” (Smith 55). Smith also felt very lucky to be working at “such a historic bookstore”, with a higher salary and being able to work with Janet (Smith 55). The bookstore announced its closure in 1988, and officially closed in 1989, ending the 76 years of business. Today, it is currently a Sephora cosmetics store, with the name of the building, “Charles Scribner’s Sons”, still written on the building itself.

 

~Christopher Chong

Up through Tribeca : Joshua’s Thoughts

Posted on by
Reply

Zings of beauty provide luster when luster is needed. Happiness when you are feeling a bit down. Intrigue when your job offers none.

These zings are fleeting so that they can be done again and still offer their impact.

One glows more than the rest and that is the soul? What of the rest? Have they no souls? Is the property of having a soul simply true for the brightest in the bunch? What of the rest? Maybe they have too dim of a soul to be considered by this poet…

This is an interesting poem, and one thing sticks hard in my mind: some things are fleeting so they don’t lose their effect.

Just Kids : Joshua’s Thoughts (p. 1-55)

Posted on by
Reply

Patti Smith paints her picture very descriptively. She paints her childhood of rote prayers taught to her by her mother, her experiences with Stephanie and her beautiful possessions, her experiences with being an outcast at school, Robert Mapplethorpe’s experiences, trying to find her way in New York City, and meeting Robert Mapplethorpe for the first time.

She had her first psychedelic experiences, it seems, when she was lying in bed with a fever, praying–she thought–to God. That’s interesting, because those first experiences seem to have shaped everything that came afterwards in her life.

Patti believes strongly in fate, or fatalism. That continues throughout her life, even until and after she meets Robert Mapplethorpe.

A Flashback to Petit (A Video-Game Story)

Posted on by
3

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.

Art From the Waste Land

Posted on by
Reply

The documentary “Waste Land” was enlightening. It showed a side to product consumption that I had never considered before. Moreso than anything, it showed an entire community of people whose very lifelines came from the landfill of Jardim Gramacho. The documentary followed Vik Muniz’s expedition to create art out of the landfill of Jardim Gramacho and how it impacted the people that lived there. My favorite part of the documentary had to be when Vik, along with the people, actually crafted the pieces of art using recyclable materials. It was an inspiring moment and left me awe-struck.

Another deeply fascinating part of the documentary was its portrayal of the people that made their livings off of picking recyclable materials. The portrait that is painted of this community shows a strong, proud group of people; they live a simple life and are satisfied with it. Vik postulates that this might come from denial and from not knowing any better. Regardless, it was a very heartfelt moment in the documentary when Tiao and his people were at the museum; their words, especially Irma’s, moved me.

“Waste Land” was an extremely enjoyable watch and was full of deep, emotional moments that truly appealed to the viewer. Loved it!

P.S: “99 is not 100!” should be a motto for the recycling movement!

Arthur Rimbaud

Posted on by
Reply

This is the picture that is often used for “Illuminations” which is a collection of poems by the poet referred as “Arthur Rimbaud” in Smith’s memoir.
Let me share one of his many prose-poems from “Illuminations.”

“Graceful son of Pan! Round your brow crowned with flowers and berries your eyes, precious spheres, move. Stained with brown lees, your cheeks are hollow. Your eye-teeth gleam. Your breast is a cithara, chords chime in your pale arms. Your pulse beats in that belly where a double sex sleeps. Walk, at night, gently moving that thigh, that other thigh and that left leg.”

Strong and mystical word choices with prophetic tone (meaning, it sounds like apostrophe or an excerpt from anathema/archaic sacred text).

123rd Street Rap

Posted on by
1

One of the most important things that I look at in a poem is structure. Willie Perdomo does a fantastic job in mimicking  the life on 123rd Street by the structure in the poem. The poem is a bit choppy and the lines are very short, perhaps reflecting the neighborhood and creating an eerie vibe of the street. The structure of the poem creates a bit of a disturbing, starting atmosphere in the poem. Clearly, the street was a filled with crime and violence which Perdomo represents by saying, “Automatic bullets bounce off stoop steps.”

As to the content of the poem, I initially argued that the poem reflects the hopelessness on the street and in the neighborhood as well. It seems that even the poet thinks this way. He says, “And I can’t tell what’s wrong fro what’s right.” But, I do not believe him anymore. By noticing the terrible situation itself, Perdomo knows what is wrong and what is right. Further, by writing this poem to express himself, Perdomo gives hope to this street. The hope lies in the poem itself.

-Angelika

Just Kids by Patti Smith

Posted on by
2

I read much further into the book than we were required because I could not get enough of Patti Smith’s frank and simple style of writing. She is very candid about her lifestyle with Robert and provides a glimpse into the life of an artist during the 1960’s. Smith shed light on an entirely different world for me: a world of rebellion, disorientation and yet artistic genius. I greatly admire her decisiveness in leaving her parents’ home, living a homeless life in NYC at the beginning and further confronting all her struggles with diligence. When she desired to go to Paris, she simply began saving up money and she flew out to Paris. This kind of reckless character trait is very important to her being. Often we have great dreams, but fear to pursue them; Patti Smith did not fear to pursue her dreams.

Another aspect of the book that I would like to emphasize is that the book is not about Robert as it may seem. He is a bit of a whimsical, lost “Kid.” I believe that the book is about Patti Smith finding herself in life and creating meaning for herself. For a long time, she tends to emphasize the genius in the Robert and in the book she highlights his importance and her subordination. Though, I believe that she is the pure artist in this book and that she is the outmost important character in the book. Perhaps I will get a better impression of Robert as I continue reading.

pattismith_paris_1969

My favorite picture of Patti Smith

-Angelika

The Waste Land

Posted on by
1

This documentary felt complete to me. Since it was a documentary the ending wasn’t planned, and could’ve gone any way that life wanted to take it.

Even though I wasn’t there for the beginning of the film, I was still able to see the transformations of the workers. Vik Muniz was able to change the lives of these people by allowing them to work for it and seeing the fruits of their labor. He knew about their life stories, and could just have easily raised money for them, instead he connected with them and used his talents as well as theirs to bring change. He gave them the hope and recognition by bringing their stories to light. The work the catadores did weren’t the ones that were greatly sought after but they still made money through their humble works. Vik was able to see them as equals even when the people of their own communities didn’t. When they would take the public transportation home, people would turn their noses up and look down on them because they smelled from a day’s worth of hard work. They all had the drive to do something better with their lives, but not through the easy way out. The catadores wanted a better lives for themselves and saw that they could accomplish something through hard work.

–Chloe Chai

New York Festival of Lights

Posted on by
4

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

Waste Land

Posted on by
1
lucinda_batata

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