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.”