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I think as you guys all allude to it, I think Daniel’s work is unique, and although it may be something that we’re not all familiar with, I believe it’s the uniqueness that makes it special and makes him stand out. And I really appreciate his efforts and help to include the blind so that even those who are blind can make an impact and contribution to society. I remember asking Daniel how the blind can ever know for sure whether their intended vision is ever replicated, and Daniel gave me a satisfying answer that more important than how close the final product is from the blind’s original plan is the fact that visitors to these gallery often marvel and tell the blinds how much they appreciated their work and how they’re fascinated at their envisioning.
It is interesting what you share Christopher. What’s special about art, and I believe it’s not restricted only to visual arts, is its ability to evoke feelings and emotions and a mood. And I think one challenge as an artist themselves is to share and convey a mood on their mind through their artwork, though the audience can potentially interpret it differently. This definitely applies to music as well, where Daniel shared how the techniques he plays can often help him shape a mood for the audience. The use of major keys and many notes and fast tempo often conveys an upbeat mood, whereas the use of minor keys and a slower tempo can convey a somber mood.
I encountered this challenge when Leonidas and I planned to make a song for our project. New York is just so diverse and there are infinitely many direction to come to capture an active and alive and upbeat mood. Some suggestions I learned from a friend of mine about how to capture a upbeat feeling and more energy is to play a melody that contains bigger leaps in the notes. For those who are musicians and perhaps into music theory, you may also know there are modal scales and different modes apparently create different moods. (For example, mixolydian is often jazzy)
Cristian, yeah, I relate to you in some ways too. I also never thought too much about abstract art and sometimes it is confusing and I don’t understand it to appreciate it. But there’s something about Ursula’s sculpture that is appealing. I’m not sure if it’s the pattern, or the way she arranges the wood, or just its monumental size. I’m also fascinated at her ability and instinct to come up with these shapes, especially when these structures are massive.
Wow, you googled the name of one of her works in Polish. Thank you for sharing with us what it meant. I think she was being serious when she mentioned that she wouldn’t give too much away about her artwork through her title. She definitely wants her audience to be free to interpret her abstract art, which may change based on different people, different experiences/contexts, different times.
Chalmers, yes, it was definitely sad that we couldn’t see Ursula in person or even see her artworks in person. Personally, I felt very cool to watch Ursula on documentary the night before, and then she pops up in our class and has an intimate conversation with each one of us, and I found it very cool to converse with someone who has a lot of experience, especially since she’s gone through a lot of events (Nazi-occupied Poland, immigrating into the U.S., hardships with her father, Plainville Connecticut, seeing Times Square in the 1970s). Nevertheless, I still wish we could see her in person.
But another thing that struck me about her structures was how close they have been, yet I didn’t know about it. Many of her sculptures used to be in New York City, with some being in Madison Square Park and another in Barclay Centers, and MoMA.
I’m glad Jane you got to see the sculpture in Barclays Center. It just comes to teach me to pay more attention to the artwork that is at our fingertips here in NYC, and make the most of it when we can.
I am so surprised and I can’t believe we share so many similar thoughts. First, watching the documentary, I also saw how much Ursula went through as a child, living in Nazi-occupied Poland and having to live under the harshness of her father. And I really wanted to ask this question, but we were limited on time, whether her childhood experiences and her experiences growing up influenced her as an artist. I know the documentary shared about how her career as an artwork proved her father wrong and showed that she was capable, and smart, and not lazy. But I wanted to know whether her time in Nazi-occupied Poland and her immigrating to the U.S. (that’s a big challenge/life event too) influenced her career as an artist. Perhaps, did it influence what she wanted to convey through her artwork, or even serve as a motivation.
It’s interesting that as I was watching the documentary, I also was drawn by a statement early in the movie, about how wood served as a protection for her in Nazi-occupied Poland between the inside and the outside world. I wonder whether that has an influence on her liking for cedar, besides the fact that cedar is easy to be cut by a circular saw. Wood, something she found a connection at such a young age, would remain something she stay connected to for the rest of her life.
Leondra, I definitely believe the time of a youth is prime time to gain inspiration (not saying later on they won’t), and I think many of us are all captured by her story of how she was inspired by a glass of water at such a young age. Often times, we take things for granted, things look so common and trite, and we often overlook things in our lives that can often give us the greatest inspirations, and artwork/writing based on these simple day-to-day things may surprise others and leave such a great impact, just like how her simple story surprised many of us!
Interesting Adams that you talked about Silhouettes. Silhouettes often show contrast because you have a dark figure on a typically lighter background. Speaking of contrast, I really like how Michael’s artwork demonstrates contrast, and not only in terms of lighting. I remember him having photos of structures stand in the grass with the blue sky in upstate New York, and just juxtaposing manmade things in nature is a form of juxtaposition. This is something I can learn in photography or any artwork, to juxtapose different subject matters.
Jane, the last part of your post I can also relate to. This part also stood out during Michael’s visit. I definitely agree with Michael that sometimes, iPhone is hindering one’s photography skill, (though I do have to say, iPhones today do take amazing photos with great quality) because it doesn’t give the person to explore the different options, experiment around as much as if they had a professional camera. Learning to adjust the lighting, and the various settings on a camera is very important and this is something I definitely need to learn, since I am interested in photography. After all, photography is a form of art, and as an artist, there is so many choices you need to make, and part of a photographer’s choices is the lighting, composition, perspective, and all these various settings.
I agree with you Jane. Tara was a wonderful guest, and it was very nice hearing her share her personal experiences, feelings, perspectives towards art. It’s interesting that you title your post “A Born Artist” and in many ways, she shared so much wonderful insight about art, despite not being the one who can draw perfect portraits at a young age. Like you, I was fascinated by how a simple thing like a glass water captured her and revealed her love for art at a young age. Tara’s conversation with us was pretty interesting as she provided some answers that were different from what I usually hear or read about artist. She was explaining how as an artist, there is the freedom of moving and working on different genre and styles as opposed to an artist only fixating on one style that we usually think of. And she even explained how the artists that we usually associate with one style, most likely also worked on many other styles in the background.
Cristian, nature is definitely an important part of humanity, especially the dependence humans have on its resources, like water, tree, food. It is disappointing how sometimes we take for granted and do not appreciate the true value of nature. Cristian it’s so nice to hear that you grow vegetables on your roof. I’m always in fond of gardening, and I believe gardening itself is a form of ecoart too, and actively leaving a good impact on the environment. As for me, our family also grows some vegetables indoors, I have a lemon tree that is finally growing after 5 years, and our family is fond of reusing cardboard from cartons to make containers and usable boxes, or even reusing aluminum foils in the home.
Kristen, I agree with you on so much of these points. Monika’s presentation was eye-opening to the use of art to communicate, raise awareness, and even call for change ecological concerns in the world. And even more than that, ecoart sometimes themselves are the change, as Monika mentioned, and that’s what makes them so amazing and powerful. Like the wheat field you mentioned, or the floating orchard on the barge, these are practical ways of both being artistically appealing, yet fulfilling a cause and making change through art. These forms of art are inspiring, and hopefully they inspire more to take steps in the form of art to address ecological concerns, even if they are small steps.
I agree with you Zara. I believe Frankie plays an important role in the movie despite not being physically there. Even crossing the border, we see how the family was still struggling in knowing how many children they have. There is definitely a void in the family, with Frankie gone and the family has to deal with this loss, which will have a perpetual impact on the family. Frankie has been and will always have a role in the family’s story. Frankie also impacts the family dynamics and relationships between Johnny and his wife as well as his daughters. Maybe that’s why Johnny is very close to his daughters and so supportive of them.
I see your point Adam and do think that Mateo does seem like an outsider. He is distant from others, feared and avoided by others. I like the line where you wrote, “when presented with the innocent, naive friendship of a child, his barriers are broken down and Mateo chooses to love.” It’s interesting to note the difference between the children’s acceptance and the adult’s reluctance of Mateo. But I’m glad that through the innocence of children, Mateo was able to have a meal with their family, engage in a conversation, and be accepted after being avoided for a long time.
The dramatic acting in various scenes was hilarious, yet helpful in portraying a hard working immigrant father who tries his hardest to support the needs of his family. For example, early in the movie, the showerhead was not working, and the father strives and tries his best turning the knob until finally, water comes out. The father and the daughters are so exuberant that he gives his daughters the tightest and most joyful hug. The daughters are super happy at the sight of having water to be able to take shower, that they plan to even stay in the showers the whole day. There was another scene that stood out to me, which was when the father went to buy an air conditioner and we see the dramatic acting of him dragging the air conditioner through the streets, interfering with traffic. This was shocking for me to see him walking against the traffic and I’m not sure if this would happen in real life, but I think it adds to the dramatic effects to show how the father will do all that he can, even risk his life and be obnoxious to others, to get what his family needs urgently. The father carries the air conditioner all the way up the stairs, having everyone move out of the way as he rushes into their apartment room and has the windows opened halfway to install the air conditioner. The cinematographic effects of portraying the father sweating and the father almost out of breath, shows how much he has toiled for the family on this hot and humid summer day. Similar to the time with the showers, the family is so exuberant and it is interesting to note that through these struggles that the family overcome, it brings the family together and closer as the father gives the daughters another warm and tight hug, full of happiness. The tedious labor to acquire things like shower and air conditioning that we may take for granted today and the great joy the family expresses when they have these commodities just comes to show how tough life was for this immigrant family, and how they were able to appreciate greatly even these common things we have today.
Yeah, your point is definitely true. I agree that Corrigan and Ciaran are literary foils in the novel. Ciaran often didn’t understand why Corrigan did certain things. Their values, morals, stories are different, but as you implied, I think foils such as Ciaran and Corrigan often complement each other and as you said by the end of the novel, Ciaran is transformed by his brother’s lifestyle and he’s able to see life through different lens.
