terms and conditions (of being a Macaulay student)
Lately I’ve been thinking an awful lot about what it means to be a Macaulay student.
We all know the major perks — the stipend to study abroad, the free Macbook, and the obviously the scholarship that covers four years of our undergraduate tuition. But surely there’s more to it than that.
I’ll be honest, the idea of taking an art-oriented seminar made me extremely nervous at first. I’ve never really had a strong tie to the arts — and in fact I avoided museums until I absolutely had to go the Met for project in high school. And even then, I still felt a bit alienated by the whole experience. I sat and stared at the The Death of Socrates (1787) for an entire hour, trying to make sense of it. The kid next to me – who was doing a similar project – kept trying to talk to me about the painter’s use of orange and the composition of light. But it was a fairly one-sided conversation, considering I didn’t say anything other than “Yeah, totally!”
Anyway, what I’m trying to get at is that I’ve had a lifelong aversion to art, museums, and artistic discussions. I realize that I’m coming off as a bit melodramatic, but it’s just — I don’t like feeling stupid. I like to understand things, but looking at art always makes me feel like I’m missing something.
But, I am willing to be cautiously optimistic for the sake of being a good Macaulay student.
Okay, that got pretty ramble-y pretty quick. So let me cut to the chase here.
Last Friday, I took part in an art installation called Terms and Conditions. The artist himself, Kenneth Pietrobono invited our small class plus a number of others to invade The High Line for a couple of hours.
I’d never been to the High Line before, so I was excited. It’s gorgeous, by the way, and if you’ve never been you should totally go while the weather’s still nice. (But if you’re planning on eating there, I suggest you pack a picnic from home, ’cause the food is crazy expensive. But I digress.)
Kenneth set up home base at 14th, so we met him there.
He gave us shirts that had economic/business terms on them. (Mine, for example, said “OPPORTUNITY COST” on it.) He also gave us a stack of his cards, and encouraged us to interact with the crowds.
I ended up meeting up with a handful of kids from our class, and we wandered around in a large group for awhile before splitting up into threes.
While walking around, I took note of all the architectural contrast outside of the park itself. I saw a lot of modern buildings — all glass and steel and clean edges. But I also saw a lot of rustic-looking brick buildings, so I guess you could say that those were a lot more classic in their structures.
Most of the people who noticed our shirts didn’t approach us. Rather, they stared at us as we walked by or took pictures. Those that did come up to and ask us about it, however, were given a card and and a brief explanation. Everyone we spoke to seemed really interested and intrigued by the central idea. And even though I have a tendency towards introversion, it was really cool to talk to so many people. I found that I really enjoyed being a part of something so interactive.
My personal favorite interaction was taking a picture with these two dudes and their stuffed dog. (It’s not as weird as it sounds.) These two guys were carrying a medium-sized stuff dog with them, and taking pictures with it. Naturally, we went up to them and took a picture with it too. So that was fun.
We met Kenneth to return the shirts a little while after the sun set.
All in all, it was a really enjoyable experience! Kenneth, if you’re reading this, thanks for letting us be a part of it. The interactive nature of your project made me less anxious about my progression into the world of art. And by the way, I went back and watched all of that Karen Finley video you recommended and it really clicked for me. She’s wicked cool, and I wish you the best in your future endeavors.
So as Macaulay students, we’re supposed to have strong foundations in art and the humanities and we’re supposed to be in sync with all the goings-on in the city. I think, now, that I can probably do that with little to no trepidation. It almost seems kind of…fun? And totally not scary. I am totally down to discuss power structures, any time.
In fact, maybe I’ll go back to the Met and talk to someone about The Death of Socrates this weekend.
Onwards and upwards, guys!
P.S. Sorry about the Instagram filters on all the pictures. I couldn’t resist.
P.P.S. Uh, I have no idea how to format this post so it doesn’t look totally weird. Sorry!
– damla
Posted: September 12th, 2012 under Terms and Conditions.
Comment from smohamed7
Time September 13, 2012 at 3:08 am
I think you touched on so many of the emotions associated with feeling like one lacks “cultural capital” (i.e. ignorant/dumb, self-conscious, etc). My own wariness regarding IDC 1000H also came from the fact that this entire seminar course would be focusing on an aspect of society that I truly felt like I had no connection to. While I have become accustomed to hearing people casually toss around the names of artists – from Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo to Andy Warhol and the like of today – I acknowledge that I do not know much about these artists and what makes them so special, even revered, by the masses. I do not feel like I can “appreciate art” because of the distance I have to it. Moreover, I do not know if this distance is because of internal or structural oppression: Do I not openly and actively approach art because I feel like it is something beyond my intelligence or of relevance to my life or is this a manifestation of how class and power structures hinder me from “realizing my full potential.” Without delving too much into a long discussion, I would like to comment that perhaps these feelings we have for art and its accessibility are the result of accepting an “ideology of class” which anthropologist Richard H. Robbins defines as “a belief that the division of society into classes is both natural and right.” Robbins points out that “through its control of educational institutions and mass communications media, [the ruling class] may convince people who don’t have an education that they are unworthy of being members of the ruling class, while at the same time making education so expensive that only the rich can afford it … members of the lower class come to believe that their position in society is as it should be” (Robbins). While I am fortunate enough to have the opportunity to complete higher education, I certainly hold the belief that art – whether it be opera pieces or classical paintings – is not meant for the “regular people” like me. Why do we think this about ourselves? After all, wasn’t it regular people, albeit with a special skill, wealthy men and women recognized and then hired to make these great works of art? What does this disconnection some of us have towards art indicate about power structure? Somethings to think about throughout the semester …
P.S. Citation below.
Robbins, Richard. “The Cultural Construction of Social Hierarchy.” Cultural Anthropology: A Problem-Based Approach. Fifth, revised ed. Belmont: Cengage Learning, 2008. 256. Print.
Comment from smohamed7
Time September 13, 2012 at 3:19 am
P.P.S. These photographs are stunning – particularly the first two and the second to last one of the colorful art piece. The angles, depth, and shadows add such beauty to the photographs and really encourage one to look at everything in these images (all of the surroundings). They added to the honesty and fun of your post!
Comment from Kenneth Pietrobono
Time September 19, 2012 at 4:33 am
Glad you could make it out! And excited that Karen’s video clicked for you =)
Kenneth