The Arts in NYC Fall 2012

Hi guys! This is the blog that I mentioned in class:

http://www.scoutingny.com/

And this is the post I was talking about — with the drowning man art installation.

http://www.scoutingny.com/?p=615

Super cool!

Also, check out this dude. Hanksy  — a la Banksy and Tom Hanks. I usually see his stuff around SoHo, so keep an eye out the next time you go shopping around there.

http://tomhanksy.tumblr.com/

– damla

Aida. Oh Aida.

I always thought that operas are just boring. So, I tried to think of ways to stay awake during Aida. Surprising, I enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would. Maybe because I was already familiar with the Aida theme, I knew what kind of music they are going to play when Radames expresses his hope to be the captain and I recognized the jealousy theme, I sat there wide awake and excited.

However, by the second act, I became a little bored. It was different from what Jake showed us. Plus, it was not as dramatic as I expected it to be. So, I sat there only looking forward to the part when Aida’s father told her that she is no longer his daughter. I wanted to see all those emotions, but it was alright. Maybe because we are so far from the stage, nothing seemed to be that dramatic.

Honestly, I like Amneris a lot more than Aida. She deserves better. If the roles were switched as Amneris being Aida’s slave, I think Aida would have been the typical evil princess.

Thanks to Jake, I now know what recitative and aria are. I can now brag about it to my friends when we reunite at Christmas gathering. Overall, I am glad that I got a chance to experience the Opera. I would like to go opera again, but I probably won’t until I can afford the better seats.

Over the weekend I went to the Chelsea Piers exhibits with a couple of my friends and walked through the many galleries there. One of the exhibits really stood out to me. “Badges” by Lin Tianmiao consisted of enlarged embroidered sewing circles that hung from the ceiling. Each circle had one word that a woman may be called sewed onto it in Chinese and English. Among the words were “foxy,” “career girl,” “bimbo,” “armcandy,” and “honey sweetheart.” They were all oriented different ways and turned as you walked through them. In addition to this, there was a recording that played of a strange voice saying all the words that appeared around us.

I think Tianmiao was trying to make a statement about the labels placed on women in todays day and age. She seems like an artist who gets her inspiration from challenges women face and also her Chinese culture. The recording added an eerie feeling to the work, which was kind of cool. The overall exhibit was fun and different, while also making a powerful statement. Her style is unique and has a common “thread;” she uses a lot of embroidery in her work, maybe to emphasize the theme of women even more. I looked up Lin Tianmiao briefly and I found that she uses thread in her work a lot, something she learned from her grandmother. She makes a lot of statements about women in Chinese culture, and even uses her own image in her work. Her roots are clearly a big influence in her art. She also sculptures bones often in her exhibits, and accompanies visual works with recordings. I would like to see more of Lin Tianmiao’s art in the future to see how the themes she uses carries over to the different ideas she has.

I have to say, I was really excited to see Aida. Now that I feel more comfortable frequenting museums and art installations, I was kind of hoping that the opera would become more accessible to me too. And it did, but it was kind of alienating in a way?

I walked in with a few people and we immediately got dirty looks from other attendees — and that kind of put me off from the start. I felt really out of place? I like to think of myself as a social chameleon of sorts, because it’s really easy for me to adopt certain habits and practices in order to fit in. But in this case, I felt more compelled to accentuate my differences as a means of showing up the competition, per se.

Anyway, obvious class differences aside, I thought it was a moderately enjoyable experience. I really regret not bringing food, though. (And God knows that I didn’t want to shell out $14 for a sandwich the size of my palm.)

Amneris easily outshone Aida in terms of acting and singing. When one of the supporting characters trumps the lead…well, that’s not exactly a good thing.

Amneris, though manipulative, was a strong and passionate and fiery about her love. She was everything Aida wasn’t.

And that brings me to my next point, which is that I really dislike Aida as a character. For a protagonist, she sure is weak-willed. ! How am I supposed to believe that she loves Radames and Ethopia with such burning intensity when she refuses to act upon anything? She only tricked Radames at her father’s behest — and she wasn’t even happy about it. Her actions are the extension of other people’s desires, and I was really annoyed with her passivity.

I also thought the choreography was a little out of sync.

I’m coming off a little too critical here, aren’t I? Well, I loved the costumes. I loved the antsy horses. And most of all, I love the orchestrated music. I’ve had Aida’s signature theme stuck in my head all week.

I’d quite like to go to an opera again — maybe I’ll go see Carmen? I’m glad I know what to expect, and I know now to painstakingly deconstruct the libretto beforehand.

– damla

My attitude towards operas in general is somewhat indifferent; I never really found them interesting and even after seeing Aida I still feel the same way. There is just something that irks me about going to the opera, sitting there for about 4 hours and listening to a play in another language, let alone the fact that the whole plot is relayed through singing.

Walking into The Met I was taken by how big the theater was, it was monstrous. The stage basically reached the ceiling, which Nate touched during one of the intermissions. The structures that were on stage for the play were massive and beautifully structured as well. I really have never seen stagecraft quite like that.

I must admit that the talent the opera singers displayed was unbelievable, apart from their acting which isn’t the very best.  Some of the notes they hit were very impressive, and took me by surprise. Their ability to hold those notes was just as remarkable. It was really interesting listening to them and seeing how most of the music accompanied the opera singer, besides the recitatives.

Overall, I thought the opera was pretty good. The second act almost put me to sleep because it was so drawn out but I survived it (unlike some other classmates). The story line was a classic tragedy, which I’m not a huge fan of because the endings are predictable. It was neat to hear the Aida theme song and Ameris’ jealousy theme song since I already knew what it sounded like prior to the opera.  My favorite part of the opera was Act II with the dancing scene. For some reason, this part of the Act really grabbed my attention and I stayed awake for this whole part. All in all, the opera was what I expected it to be and I don’t see myself revisiting one anytime soon.

P.S – I found out what Aida stands for just in case you guys didn’t know.

After a good meal of Korean grilled Barbeque in K-town, I headed down to Lincoln Center via 1 train. As I walked up the stairs out of the subway station, I got lost. The area was filled with grandeur buildings that I was unsure which was the Lincoln Center. So I had to ask random people my way to the opera house. When I finally got to the location, I was overwhelmed with luxurious interior and architectures.

After I got my ticket, I headed to my seat. I was kind of disappointed to be in all the way back since we had such great seats at Complexions. The first act, in my opinion, was very tedious. I couldn’t help myself and fell a sleep to be honest. However, after the first intermission, I was on the edge of my seat. I was pleased to experience the grand scale of the opera.

Act 2,3, and 4 were much more interesting. These latter acts were grander in a manner, emotional, and attention grabbing. I liked the very last part where Amneris is emotionally doomed. She expressed her inner conflict between her love and hatred towards Radames very well.

Overall, Opera was a new and classy experience for me. I loved the settings and the scales of the opera. Even though I thought it was very lengthy as the performers repeated the same verses over and over, I really enjoyed it and look forward to watch another one in future.

A number of weeks ago, I traveled all the way uptown, to the Guggenheim, or the “Googy” as my grandmother calls it, to view Picasso Black and White. Surprisingly, this was my first visit to the museum and boy was I mesmerized. Even before entering the famed, spiral-like building, I was blown away. The architecture of the building mixed with the location-across from Central Park on a perfect Fall Sunday made my visit to the museum an incredible one.

After meeting my grandmother at the lobby of the museum, we both headed to the counter for our free tickets-mine being from our ever so amazing cultural passport, and hers because she has some fancy subscription of some sort to all the classy places in the City. It was recommended that we start from the bottom up, so off we went.

Wow were we in for a treat. The museum was masked in black and white. Not a single color to be scene which is shocking for an art museum. What I love most about the  Guggenheim is its focus on a core exhibition-how the museum transforms to revolve around one temporary exhibit, pushing the permanent collections to the side and letting the temporary exhibition shine in all its glory. Well, Picasso Black and White surely did shine! The massive paintings lined the walls of the entire museum making us feel like we were residing in Picasso’s personal studio. Over 50 (I’d say) drawing and paintings took over the space, making us live and breathe Picasso. We were amazed at  the size and stature of the work, the impeccable curatorial skills that went into the show, and the ambiance of the building.

Yet, as we neared the third floor, things seemed to get old. Many of the Picasso’s seemed repetitive-how many pictures of women’s breast can the guy have drawn? How many different variations of the same head was he able to come up with? Even worse, all the works were in black and white. Although the air was crisp and it was a sunny day out, one couldn’t help but feel dark and gloomy after spending an hour surrounded by shades of grey. (No, not 50 shades of grey, few shades of stark white and dreary grey)

All in all, I am happy with my visit to the Guggenheim and am excited to go back. It was an afternoon well spent with my grandmother and definitely a learning experience. I admire how the Guggenheim focuses on what exhibit-made it easy and enjoyable for the viewer and museum goer, however given the large space of the museum, a shorter exhibit would’ve done it just as well for me.

I wasn’t sure what to expect when we went to see Aida. I always thought that operas were long and dreadfully boring, from the opinion of others. However, I neither had any knowledge nor ever attended an opera, so I couldn’t have an opinion of my own.

Thankfully, Jake came to class and taught us the styles and techniques of operas, which would make it easier for us to understand what was going on in Aida. He showed us parts of previous Aida performances and explained which parts of Aida were the big pivotal points of the plot. For example, he showed us Amneris’s jealousy scene, which I immediately recognized in the Monday night performance. If it wasn’t for Jake, I would’ve missed and not understood a big part of Aida.

At the end of the opera, I was relieved that it was finally over. I didn’t enjoy Aida as much as I thought I would. The storyline was actually interesting and full of drama, and would probably make a good movie. But the singing, acting, and prolonged scenes made it seem like it was moving very slow. Even the horses wanted to get off the stage because they felt bored. I couldn’t really see the faces of the actors, but I’m told that their faces were as blank as their acting. Some scenes, such as the scene where Aida and her father fight over whose side she should pick, weren’t dramatic enough. Others seemed to last a lot longer than they should have.

The set, however, was beautifully done. Of course, Lincoln Theatre is known for being beautiful, but I was really surprised by the quality and extravagance of the set and the costumes. If the acting was as good as the setting, this would’ve been a perfect opera. The singing was also very good, but I would expect any star in an opera to be a good singer.

Overall, the opera was definitely an interesting new experience. I really liked the setting, costumes, storyline, and singing, but the acting and length of the show took away from the experience overall. I think that sometime in the near future, I will go to a different opera and see if I have a better experience than this one.

I saw my first opera during sophomore or junior year of high school, when I went to see Don Giovanni. That being said, I had some pre-conceived notions about the Met and the entire idea of an opera. In all honesty, I was expecting a very long performance, somewhat boring classical music, and very dramatic acting coming from the singers. Although I wasn’t impressed the first time I went to Lincoln Center, I was still excited about seeing an opera as a college student.

One thing that stood out to me was that I was wrong to expect tedious classical music. Aida turned out to be a marvelously written musical piece, and the orchestra was possibly my favorite aspect of Monday night, because the dramatic and, at times, powerful music was enough to keep me awake throughout the whole show, surprisingly (along with the Red Bull I brought). Another thing I enjoyed about Monday night was the stage the setting. Although we were basically in the last few rows (the height gave me vertigo every time I got up and made the mistake of looking down), the effort to make the stage look beautiful was apparent, and very cleverly done. It was definitely a grand opera. The costumes were amazing and went along with the stage design perfectly.

Of course, there were several things that bothered me. As a grand opera, it is expected to see a lot of decorations and people (back up singers?) on stage, but at times I thought it was over-done. Act II, when the victorious Egyptians are welcomed back and present their success to the pharaoh, is an example of this. Were the horses really necessary? Granted, they were probably some of the most interesting participants in Aida that night, but they seemed not to be used to being in the position they were in that night. I started feeling a bit nervous that the horses would kick or bite the people next to them. It was obvious that the two men were nervous too; after all, horses are not meant to be on stage. Overall, I thought the first half was more interesting than the second, as the second seemed to drag on for too long. As other people have noted, Aida took way too long to die, and the death of her and Radames wasn’t very dramatized. I always associate opera with dramatic ends, and Aida lacked it. The last thing that bothered me was the choice of actors, in particular Aida and her father. I find it hard to believe that they could not find a Black female soprano singer, and a Black male baritone… The spray tans were really bad.

I think I might have expected too much of Aida. The videos Jake showed us in class made me want to see some things done differently. Overall, I thought the actors lacked chemistry, some acts took too long, and there could have been a better choice of performers. It was not all that bad in general, but I think I would need some time to get used to operas.

I was excited to go to the Lincoln Center for the first time. I had never been to an opera before, and I liked how we had the opportunity to attend one. I know that opera is not for everyone. My moms good friend attends ALL the time and enjoys every second of it. Her husband on the other hands HATES them. In fact during the end of one opera it took forever for the protagonist to die so he got up out of his seat and screamed “Can you die already?” (true story by the way) I figured I’d just have to attend an opera to make my own judgement.

From the second I saw the beautiful fountain in the front of Lincoln Center, I knew that the inside would just have to be extravagant. The red carpets and classy chandeliers created a rich environment. When we got to our seats in the family circle I was a little disappointed that we were indeed all the way in the back. However, we still had a view so it wasn’t too bad. I was excited for the opera, yet I was anticipating the dread of having to sit through such as long performance.

Aida went by faster than I thought it would. Intermissions were too long though- they made the performance drag on. I was blown away by the intricate set. It was absolutely magnificent! The singing and acting however is a different story… Aida fell short of my expectations. I had high hopes of her after watching the video clips of “Aida” in class. I didn’t find myself feeling her pain and anguish. It was hard to identify with her because she didn’t succeed in connecting with the audience. She didn’t give a vigorous performance. She needed more oomph in her. The same is true of Ramades. He had the same facial expression on the whole time. The most disappointing part though was when Aida was forced to make the decision of betraying her love or betraying  her country. Aida’s father was not as angry as he should have been and Aida didn’t fall to pieces and go through an emotional collapse. Her literal collapse to the ground was a bit pathetic, and her singing during this part was not any better. On the other hand, Amneris was phenomenal. I was able to feel how jealous and angry she was. She sang and acted passionately. Aside from Amneris’ performance I was really impressed with the dancers during the victory scene.

As I mentioned earlier, the opera went by faster than I thought, but the last scene dragged on. It took forever for Aida to die. I can’t just blame this opera for that though, I hear that the death scenes always take forever. I think opera’s need to be modernized a little bit, where certain scenes get to the point a little quicker.

Musicals and singing were never my thing and the fact that I sat through a performance of people just singing means something positive. Overall the opera was okay. I wish Aida gave a better performance. But I do feel a lot more cultured after watching Aida. Now I can say I have attended an opera.

I’m really glad Jake came into our class. I knew absolutely nothing about operas before his visit. It was nice to learn about the structure of an opera and what goes into it. I’m glad I was able to understand how an opera works as well as the story line of Aida. That definitely helped me appreciate the opera more.
-Eleni