Category Archives: Week 10

The Hotel Chelsea

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Located at 222 West 23rd street between 7th and 8th avenue, the Chelsea Hotel, commonly referred to as Hotel Chelsea, is located in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan. The history of the building dates back to its construction between 1883 and 1885, and it was one of the first apartment building complexes in New York. It eventually became a hotel, but allowed for long-term residents. It became famous for it was where poet Dylan Thomas had stayed prior to his death in November 1953, the site where author Charles Jackson committed suicide in 1968, and where reportedly Sid Vicious stabbed his girlfriend in 1978. The place was home to many artists, poets, musicians, and more during the 1960s and 1970s.

With regards to Just Kids, Hotel Chelsea was the site where Patti Smith had heard that had cheap rooms and that they can pay in art temporarily ahead of time (Smith 93). Inevitably, they got the smallest room in Hotel Chelsea, room 1017, as described by Smith (94-95). At Hotel Chelsea, Patti and Robert met many different people. The first person Robert met was Bruce Rudow, who took him under his wings. Others included hotel manager Stanley Bard, Sandy Daley, of who was describe as “the most influential person we met” (101), Matthew Reich etc. The Hotel Chelsea was a place of art and intellectual hub during this era, where famous people such as Bob Dylan, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix had stayed. A lot happened there.

Currently the hotel is under renovation, and is scheduled to reopen in 2015. In 1966 it was named one of the New York City landmarks and in 1977 it was put on the National Register of Historic Places.

 

~Christopher Chong

Subway Riders Can’t Miss This

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Without a doubt, the acronym “MTA” has a negative connotation do it.

Nonetheless, we all use it. In the recent years MTA has implemented a program called “Arts for Transit”, which displays any form of arts in the stations, in the trains, basically anywhere in the transit system.

I remember we read a poem in the beginning of the year called “Construction Site, Windy Night” (Pg 201 in Poems of New York). The thing that I most remembered from it was some sort of scaffolds, plastic sheets that was flying from the building. Today, as I was on the D train going back to the dorms, I notice a poem titled “Scaffolding” by Seamus Heaney (1939-2013). The poem went something like this:

Masons, when they start upon a building,
Are careful to test out the scaffolding;

Make sure that planks won’t slip at busy points,
Secure all ladders, tighten bolted joints.

And yet all this comes down when the job’s done
Showing off walls of sure and solid stone.

So if, my dear, there sometimes seems to be
Old bridges breaking between you and me

Never fear. We may let the scaffolds fall
Confident that we have built our wall.

This beginning of the poem is pretty straight forward. The first two stanzas pretty much depicts a mason’s job when they begin to build. However, the poem starts to change in the third stanza, when the speaker seems to be sad that the scaffolds are falling. This however exposes the beauty of the building when its done.

The fourth stanza is the highlight of the poem. The speaker speaks to someone he cares, someone he loves, most likely a mate, and it reveals that the relationship between the two may be “falling apart”. But he ends up with the fifth stanza, saying that whats behind that scaffold is something stronger, something more beautiful.

So next time you take a ride on the MTA, check out the arts and all the stuff you see just may very much surprise you! See if you can spot this poem as well! 🙂

~Christopher Chong

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/