Last week, I took my first ever trip to the Guggenheim Museum to see “Time Temple”, an installation by Wang Jianwei. This was, by far, my favorite experience at a museum ever in my life. It was not the installation that I loved, but the architecture of the building itself.
To start, I’ve always had an interest for interesting architecture and the Guggenheim definitely sparked that interest once again. The strange shape that the building had that was designed by the famous architect Frank Lloyd Wright was a great touch to the surrounding, block-like, high-rise buildings. Another thing that was interesting about the architecture that was noted by our amazing tour guide Rafael is that the Guggenheim has very few windows so the art is the major focus rather than the outside world distracting its guests. Another thing that was noticed was that all the windows were facing Central Park and all of its natural beauty.
Another thing about the building that was interesting to me was the way that the floor was laid out. One thing that is special about the layout was that there is not stairs that take you to the next floor but rather a spiraling floor that seems to not have an incline or decline. It is interesting because it allows you to continue walking all the way up the museum without stopping to take the elevator or stairs. Another thing that was discussed with Rafael was that this continuous open layout that allowed you to see nearly the entire museum anywhere you were was so you could see a “preview” of what was to come.
It was quite interesting the way that this museum was designed, as there are none other like it. Frank Lloyd Wright created a true piece of art that now houses both permanent and temporary installations that draw people to come and see them from all around the world.
Cornell University Campus
Last weekend, I went to visit my friend who is attending Cornell University. During my stay on the campus, it was impossible not to notice the extraordinary architecture for which the university is known, such as the physical science building, and the McGraw tower, which was designed by William Henry Miller and currently serves as Cornell’s most prominent landmark. As seen in this picture, it is a highly impressive structure, and in real life, it is even more remarkable.
McGraw Tower
Cornell’s Physical Science Building
However, Cornell does not only have amazing architectural structures, but also amazing dance teams. On one of the days, my friend and I went to watch a dance show that was put up by the numerous dance teams that the university has. The dance was performed in Bailey Hall, which is also a beautiful building that was perfectly appropriate for this performance.
From the very first moment, I was really impressed with the number of people that came to see the show. No seats were left empty, and as seen in the picture below, there are MANY seats in Bailey Hall!
Bailey Hall- Outside View
Bailey Hall- Inside View
Once the show began, I was captivated by the costumes that each group of dancers had. Each set of costumes matched the theme and mood of the dance, and it was evident that much effort was put into them.
There were different types of dances performed, such as belly dancing, hip-hop, contemporary, Latin, ballroom, Indian, and tap dancing among others. The dancers were very talented, though I especially noticed a few particular dancers. These dancers were so talented to the extent that they were able to not just dance for the sake of dancing, but also to become actors and get into the character that the dance was supposed to represent.
As we have also seen in the contemporary dance show Complexions, dance is a form of art that appeals to its audience with no words, and sometimes even with no music. Body language can be so powerful that it can tell us a whole story through the portrayal of emotions and different types of movements. Undoubtedly, the dancers of Cornell were able to do just that!
Unfortunately, we weren’t allowed to take videos, but I was able to take a few pictures, though their quality is not the best.
Belly Dancing
Belly Dancing
Hip-Hop
Indian Dancing
Salsa/Latin dancing
Latin dancing
It is needleless to say that I had really enjoyed watching this two-hour dance performance!
This was my favorite outing to have gone to since the start of this class. Its so sad that its ending already I’m used to being in class with the same people the entire school year not just half of it. Its alright because these memories stay with us for years. My tour guide was very helpful by offering us answers like, “I don’t know either”, “it could very well be”. This may not seem like the answer you were looking for but it was really inspirational. The fact that it was completely up to our representation of what made it the art that was exhibited. We were also told that Jianwei did not come into the museum with pre made pieces of art rather, he created it there tirelessly around the room itself. He even incorporated certain details like the blue line that went through the room into his art work. The yellow and green painting there was a microscopic representation of a cell with very geometric shapes, it struck me that this artist is actually very well educated and meticulous about his art projects. I also asked why he had rubber placed on some of the pieces of wood when others didn’t. I came to a conclusion that it was the blend between nature and artificiality much like the guggenheim itself. Its meant to adapt by blending in with its surroundings. It can be argued that this is the same reason why he places steel coiled on some of the wood, and rubber underneath some of the wood. It doesn’t matter where the pieces are arranged but how they blend into the environment. Overall, it was a really inspiring idea to me, i might be wrong but no one can claim to know
The little desolate theater known as the Joyce Theater managed to get me to walk through the howling bitter cold wind, just to watch a cliche ballet. It was completely worth it. It was engaging, fun, elaborate and sensational. The dancers physique was graceful and sturdy. I myself enjoy going to the gym as often as i can. However, the kind of flexibility and muscle that these performers had to acquire is truly inspirational. While i am on the topic of physical attributes, the odd thing about this display was how often the dancers changed their body’s direction. It gave the audience views from all orientations. It wasn’t one conformed performance that one can see every christmas season. No it was free and contemporary and that was what i think people wanted to see now. The underlying engager during the performance was the music. It started slow and naturally graceful and ended up reaching an upbeat, fast and aggressive tone that was very empowering helping deliver the message of the dance theme. The emotional experience is exacerbated by the music and the performers wanted you to feel the theme in all of its rawness. Its not enough to just focus on the show but on the performers movements and emotions as well. When the audience feels the same emotions that the dancer does, then the dancer can rest knowing the audience has felt the theme.
Overall, this was an unforgettable experience that i will have no regrets for walking through the bitter cold to watch. I plan on returning to watch more modern ballet.
The Guggenheim Museum was definitely a very new and unique experience. The building itself was astonishing because it really allows one to get insights into many prospectives all at the same time. Standing in one spot and being able to see many things from that one position really is an eye-opener.
I imagine Wang Jianwei had a similar experience in the museum. He said himself how the structure of the Guggenheim inspired much of his exhibition. The set of four paintings that depicted different “stills” as time went on is one way I feel Jianwei used the Guggenheim. Just like the Guggenheim, the paintings were all part of one another. As our tour guide astutely pointed out, in order to get the whole picture, one would have had to walk back and forth to take all four paintings in. Plus, each painting depended on the ones that came before or after. Just like this, the Guggenheim also requires people to walk back and forth, up the ramps, in order to get the whole picture of the museum. All of the “floors” are connected and provide unique views for the individual.
Another interesting fact about the exhibition was the fact that Wang Jianwei testifies that each piece can be taken for themselves and still “make sense”. For me, that held very true; so much so that I actually felt like I “understood”—however little or much I actually did—the pieces more separate rather than all together. Each piece separately meant more to me than the whole exhibition.
The video installation inspired by Kafka’s Metamorphosis was very…ambiguous. All of the events were relatively easy to understand, but I didn’t really understand the reason of making it 50 minutes long when it could have easily been explained in a lot less. The theme of time did poke through, though, so I do think this video installation was very much a part of the whole exhibition.
All in all, I’m glad to have experienced yet another “adventure” of sorts, getting to know the city I live in. The Guggenheim Museum is definitely a place to go as a tourist attraction and for a casual, yet enriching visit.
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