So right before we started walking to English class, Joanna and I got to see this person perform. It’s pretty cool how it happened right at our campus at the plaza. When I first saw him, I had no idea what was happening but the first thing that caught my attention was his outfit. It was quite interesting; as you can tell from the video, he cut out pieces of milk cartons and connected them with strings in a way that when he wore the costume, he sort of looked like a robot, which was his goal since he was doing a robot dance. I never took a big interest in robot dances, but his outfit was just so catchy. Hope some of you guys got to see it live; it was definitely worth my five minutes before class haha.
Ya Snooze Ya Lose
Over the weekend, New York was given a wake up call. British artist Banksy set up a pop up art stall in Central Park. His booth advertised 100% authentic original art by Banksy and like the “snobby” New Yorkers we are, most of us ignored it, passing it off another knock off. Because of the environment it was staged in — a random sidewalk, it was easy to overlook because it most likely reminded most New Yorkers of the pop up stalls that littered the streets of lower Manhattan, Canal street and Soho where vendors sold a lot of fake products.
This reminded me of the time when Joshua Bell played the violin in a crowded metro station in DC. He did this as a social experiment to see how people would perceive talent and beauty given the environment it is placed in. The aim of this experiment was: “in a commonplace environment at an inappropriate hour: Do we perceive beauty? Do we stop to appreciate it? Do we recognize the talent in an unexpected context?”
So, in the case of Banksy selling his art on the street, do we only recognize his art as great when it’s in a clean white gallery and ignore it if it’s just sitting there on the street?
The Starry Night at 5 Pointz
When I went to 5 Pointz, I saw this wonderful work of graffiti. I really like the original painting; Vincent van Gogh used oil on canvas to make this painting and I thought it was interesting how someone decided to use graffiti to imitate this painting. It was really cool because I only got to see the painting online, and when I went to 5 pointz, I was able to see it cover a whole wall, even though the two pieces of art are not exactly the same. Comparing the painting with this graffiti art, we see that the artist was trying to imitate the brush strokes that van Gogh made, which is why we see the streaks so clearly. The artist also drew Vincent van Gogh and a bunch of letters on the wall, but I couldn’t quite decipher and undertstand what the letters say. All I could read from the pictures were “Panic xmen….” Perhaps that is what the artist(s) go by. Anyways, I just really liked how this combines modern graffiti art with post-impressionist art.
Rox Gallery Review
When I first walked into Rox Gallery, I was pleasantly surprised with how small it was. I prefer small art exhibitions because I feel that I can spend as much time as I want looking at one image since there’s not too many of them. The gallery had a hip and modern atmosphere, which is perfect for New York. The walls were such a crisp white; it was almost like you could smell the paint drying. The images on the ground floor were diverse, yet they were all tied together. The placement of the photographs was strategically planned to evoke an emotion from the viewer.
The Andy Warhol piece paired with the flower gave the harsh image of a man filled with attitude a delicate touch. Andy Warhol is portraying a woman and he has a determined look on his face. Whether he’s determined to be seen as a woman or just determined to be seen, his eyes seem to invade the privacy of the viewer. It looked like he’s staring me straight in the eye and made me feel uncomfortable. Then, I saw the beautiful white flower with a soft orange center next to him. I lingered on both images. It occurred to me that I was getting the wrong first impression. The appearance of Andy was for aesthetic reasons; it grabbed attention like the beauty of a white flower. But on the inside was a burning passion that took some time to see like the flaming orange center of the flower. Passion for art, life, and doing what he loved.
(image from: http://roxnyc.com/exhibitions/exhibition-images/)
The lower floor of the gallery had images with hidden meanings. Tom Smith’s exhibition “Delusions” was all abstract art and I had to find my own meaning in it. Watching the video “Humidity’s jag” by William Rahilly was an experience in itself. The theme of the video was a domesticated woman who lived a boring life and after drinking a lot of wine, transformed into a superhero. It fed into that one fantasy that everybody has of quitting their daily routine and doing what they really want to. A golden retriever is an all American dog that many people have and it symbolized an average life in the video. When she killed the dog, she also killed the uneventful life she used to live. The abstract presentation of the video intends for the viewers to create the symbolism in the video themselves. Everybody sees things differently but they all get the same central message. The scenes that stand out the most to the viewer are probably the ones most relatable.
“Humidity’s Jag” reminded me of a video my friend showed me during my junior year of high school. The video is called “Don’t Hug Me I’m Scared” and here is the link to it. The video is shocking and is completely ridiculous the first time you watch it, but there’s a brilliant hidden meaning to it. We watch television as children and are more influenced by it than we understand. Watching too much television ruins our ideas and negatively influences our imagination. We learn to think in those terms instead of our own. This video is so abstract that it’s almost distracting from the central point. However, its colors and “trippy” sounds keep us watching just like they kept us watching “Humidity’s Jag”. The creators of both videos found an intriguing way to get an important message across; don’t be influenced by television and think for yourself.
ITF updated office hours!
Hey everyone, I will not be at Baruch before our class tomorrow. If you need to see me, email me and we can set up appointments for this Wednesday. My best email is: karamary@gmail.com. I can gchat tomorrow late afternoon as well–jest let me know. Hope you’re all making progress, I’m excited to see your work!
On the prowl for memories, museumgoers resort to snapshots
In this article in the Washington Post, Anne Midgette writes about the current state of museumgoers and it’s certainly worth reading. We can all relate and easily fall into her observations. She notes that museumgoers do not do much except go to the museum and take photos of the artwork. Few stop to analyze the works of art. They basically just replicate it on their phones and cameras. This really had me thinking. This is my habit. I just take photos of photos and pictures. (Of course, that is becoming less true of taking this class.) If we think about this ac, it’s very useless because all of these photos are on the internet. A simple Google search can bring you to the paintings of Monet. These are likely better than any photo you would have taken anyways. If you want a replicated image, you have the internet. If you go to the museum, go and enjoy the fact the real one is right there, right in front of you.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/museums/on-the-prowl-for-memories-museumgoers-resort-to-snapshots/2013/10/03/051d5924-2790-11e3-b3e9-d97fb087acd6_story.html
Janet K. Ruttenberg NYT Article
When we went to galleries and collections, we were looking at pieces of art that are displayed and meant to be sold or is meant to benefit the owner financially. As surprising as it may seem, there are artists who make art because they want to and do not sell even when the art is highly regarded.
Janet K. Ruttenberg is one of these artists. In the article below, Lisa W. Foderaro writes about this amazing painter. Ruttenberg has painted beautiful pictures of Central Park, in Central Park, but has never sold a single one of those paintings. Now, at the age of 82, she is allowing her 17 paintings to be displayed in a show called “Picturing Central Park,” at the Museum of the City of New York City.
I find it amazing that Ruttenberg has the patience to create this large paintings and to not have a large show for them until now. She painted for the sake of painting and it certainly worth seeing. I wonder how the paintings were kept in such good condition since she painted them on grass and stepped on it.
It’s an interesting read:
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/13/nyregion/the-painter-janet-ruttenberg-likens-the-sheep-meadow-to-a-cathedral.html?_r=0
Art in Times Square
We have all seen the performances in subways stations. Whether or not we want to, we just can’t help but at least glance at the performers or pay attention to the performance for a minute. Sometimes you will find it to be a nuisance, but other times, you will be fascinated.
A few weeks ago, I witnessed a performer in the Times Square train station. I honestly do not know what type of music or instruments he was playing, but it was captivating. It is a unique sound you don’t hear anywhere else. It’s somewhat energetic and sure to keep you awake. It sounds like a foreign dance song or a song at a festival. One thing I noticed was that almost everyone who walked by stopped for a few seconds just to stare. IT seemed to brighten up some of the people’s days. This music is certainly something worth listening to and trying to figure out its origins. However, it wasn’t only the music that caught my attention though.
His choice of location was almost perfect. He was surrounded by several works of art. One work behind him seemed to show normal New Yorkers walking by. Many seem slightly rushed. Some of the people in the artwork look as if they were also watching him perform. The picture on the wall seemed to mimic the people in real life, rushing to go somewhere but still sopping to stare at the man and his performance. In the wall across from him, there is a work depicting the recording of some sort of show. They are entering the subway station in this picture. One idea we can gather from this image is that there are shows worth seeing and recording in the subway stations, such as this. It might have been the music or it could have been the pictures, but these two combined certainly caught my eye. I wonder if the man thought about his location in terms of his surroundings before setting his act up.
It’s interesting to me that we can see art in New York City in real life, while also standing in front of something depicting the arts in New York City.
What do you think about subway performances, or this performance and his location? Do you think it was on purpose?
Times Square Performance
Art work in Times Square
It’s Cool on the Internet, but Amazing in Person
We all see cool things people have done, on the internet. We never can be sure who did it, if it is credible, where to find it, or if it is even possible. In particular, I am talking about works of art made out of post-its. I did believe it was possible, but I never saw it in person. Whenever I see a photo of one, I wish I could actually see it in person because it just seems so awesome. My wish came true this past weekend. Near Brooklyn Bridge Park, I saw an image of Pac-Man made out of post-its.
It’s Pac-Man!
The fact that it is looks exactly the same as something you would find on the internet just makes the act of seeing it much better. Seeing something like this on the internet will not be enough anymore now that I know I saw something like this in person.
Is there a meaning behind this masterpiece? Likely not, but we can probably assume that someone in this office is a Pac-Man fan!
Do you ever see things on the internet you just want to see in real life?
Even the Smallest Works of Art can have a Purpose
While walking around in Downtown Brooklyn, I came across this interesting work wrapped around a tree. At first, I thought it was just something made out of legos, but it was so interesting that I gave it a closer inspection. After a couple of minutes, I realized it is more than just something built out of legos and wrapped around a tree! Do you see it? There’s a message. It takes a while to decode.
Can you decode the message?
Perhaps it was built as just a joke, but maybe it wasn’t. Regardless, the message is pretty funny and it is something everyone should consider. “PEE N DIE,” is what the artist wants to tell you. Pee on the tree and you will die. What can we gather from this? People and animals should consider the well being of trees. Try and not harm them with acidic fluids. Passing art like this is easy to ignore. It is always an accomplishment when you actually stop and notice something like this. If you ever see something that seems out of place, take a minute and decode it! Any piece of art can having meaning such as this one.
