On my way to the train station last Friday, I saw a small group of people starting to gather around a small stage. I decided to go take a look at what was happening and realized that a group of people was singing. As I got closer I realized they were singing about Xbox One, which surprised me so I decided to stay to listen to the full song.
Because I didn’t see any signs around, except one that said “23 Days of Flatiron Cheer,” I didn’t really know what I was watching, except a group of people singing. However, after I went home, I searched for it and learned that what I watched was a musical improv performed by the People’s Improv Theater (the PIT), which is located right on 24th Street! While I heard of improv comedy shows, I have never heard of musical improv before. This amazed me because it didn’t sound like improvisation to me at all.
This event is part of the 23 Days of Flatiron Cheer, an annual holiday celebration that brings 23 days of holiday-themed events to the Flatiron neighborhood. There are live performances, art displays, kids story time, fun traditions like the “ugly sweater” contest, and more. This event goes on until December 24th, so you should definitely stop by if you have time after class!
The Guggenheim is an art itself. The building, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, was originally built as a temple for spirit. The magnificent design of a ramp going up in a spiral was also carefully designed to hide the artworks above from guests on the ground floor. It was designed so that visitors can take the elevator to the top and enjoy the artworks while making their way down the ramp.
Viewers entering the exhibition, Wang Jianwei: Time Temple, are greeted with a quote from the artist, “I think revolution happens when you distrust anything in its current state, including yourself.”
The different carved sculptures each have an individual uniqueness in its shape. Wang Jianwei also adds an additional piece to some like a touch of blue, yellow, or black paint, gold brass, and a layer of black rubber. The colors of the different mediums of artwork all match each other and include mostly just yellow, blue, and black. Each of these pieces of art can function as individual artworks as well as a group when they are together.
In the large paneled painting, there are people seated at a table while on one side someone stood and on the other, a man sitting. They all seemed to be observing what the lady on the other end was holding, like in show and tell. The most unique part of the paint is the yellow diagonal lines coming down from the top right corner of every panel. To me, it seemed like light was coming into the painting. Our tour guide explained that yellow is the “in between” color as it is the middle in a traffic light. I think Wang Jianwei wanted us to stop and think about this moment where we don’t have to stop or go, but at this transitional phase in between.
This thought provoking exhibit shows Wang Jianwei’s complex ideas that he is trying to express and I really enjoyed it.
Often when we walk around New York City, we inevitably encounter graffiti. I don’t know how you guys view graffiti, but I was always taught that graffiti was bad- it was vandalism, spray painting the sides of buildings with racial slurs and derogatory remarks. A couple of months ago, I went to the Museum of the City of New York, and saw an exhibit on graffiti, City As A Canvas. Wondering why such graphic art was being displayed in a museum, I checked it out, and what I saw was amazing. Graffiti art wasn’t vandalism-it was art. It was a way for street artists to make their art public when they were too poor to afford putting it in a museum or gallery. One of the most prominent graffiti artists was Martin Wong, and the exhibit was focused on his work. He created many interesting works using spray paint.I realized after this that I shouldn’t judge something simply because of what someone else says, but to make my decisions on how I want to see something. Now, I look at graffiti in a different light- instead of vandalism, it is art. 
There was a Macaulay Snapshot event in the New York Historical Society on November 23rd. We went there to see snapshots that other Macaulay kids had taken and the pieces that Macaulay students had curated out of the pictures sent in. After the event, I was wandering around and saw a sight for the Chinese American: Exclusion/Inclusion exhibit. I decided to go in and check it out because I was already there and why not?
I thought this exhibit was wonderfully curated since it was so easy to follow but at the same time was very engaging and interesting. It starts out with the first Chinese who immigrated to America and goes on to talk about those who are Chinese American. One part of the exhibit that stood out was a graphic novel type piece that told the story of a woman’s family, her mother and father had immigrated from China and she had been born there. It talked about the struggles of growing up Chinese in America and immigration issues.
I think my favorite part about this exhibit was the table that showed the immigration interview, as the picture show above. It was actually set up in a way where it was as if you were witnessing this boys trial in his journey immigrating. The trial starts and you hear the, what I assume is guard or lawyer, asking the boy for his name and information. A projection pointed at the desk allows you to see his file open up, and the written notes that the officer would have taken, to be seen by the visitors of the exhibit. You then hear him speak as well as a witness. I thought the way they set this up was incredibly smart since I actually felt like I was there.
I have been interning at the Museum of Art and Design in Columbus Circle since the summer of 2013. On November 3rd, there was an opening reception for their new exhibit New Territories. This was an exhibit focused on Latin American artist and explores a number of key ideas such as upcycling, blending digital and traditional works and the reclamation of personal and public spaces.
Since it was the opening reception, it was full of not only the artists that had created these wonderful pieces but other people who have a big role in the art community. Since all of the artists were Latin Americans, some of them did not speak English but since I speak Spanish it was a nice way to connect myself to the artist and differentiate myself from the masses.
I was also with the other interns so it wasn’t intimidating, especially because i’ve been interning for a while now, I already know most of the employees there and the security guards so I actually felt quite confident in comparison to the other guests even if I wasn’t necessarily one of the “important” guests. It was a nice experience to have since a I got to see a lot of pieces in real life that I otherwise wouldn’t have had the opportunity to see.
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