I visited the Taglialatella Galleries, which is just a short walk from The High Line, on 24th Street a while ago. Because we visited galleries before, I knew that this gallery welcomed visitors and was a place where artwork is sold.
Inside the gallery, everyone was busy with their own job; some were unwrapping paintings to put up and others were answering the endless ringing phones. However, the atmosphere was comfortable and friendly. Walking in, visitors are greeted with attention-grabbing pieces by artists of the pop movement including Andy Warhol, Mr. Brainwash, Keith Haring, Russell Young, and Banksy.
From this gallery, I discovered Mr. Brainwash, a pseudonym for Thierry Guetta, a street artist whose name I never heard of before, but discovered I love. My favorite piece by him is Chaplin and Mickey, which features a collection of icons together. First, we see Mickey Mouse and Charlie Chaplin in the center, but looking closely we can see in the background Mr. Brainwash includes Campbell Soup cans and a face of a famous woman, who I still can’t figure out who because we can’t see the whole face. I also love the different colors of splattered paint that I think made the painting even more unique.
Another painting I love by Mr. Brainwash is Broadway, which was being sold for almost $2,000 unframed! It is a mostly black and white picture that is altered by the artist. He adds a cutout of a man with a shopping cart in the middle of the street and a quote in color on the side of a truck. The quote he adds is, “Those who don’t believe in magic will never find it,” a quote that stayed with me even after leaving the gallery.
I discovered my interest in pop art through visiting this gallery and now I am able to recognize artists, like Keith Haring, whose work I now see everywhere.
I was looking on internet this past and found this youtube channel that mostly uploads videos showing the making of custom weapons. These weapons are chosen by the comment section and are often weapons from movies, video games, or other fictional genres. I really enjoyed the videos not just because they fulfill that fanboy need in me but also because the videos go into some detail about how the weapons are mades and forged. There are two main series on the channel, Man at Arms and Reforged, both of which makes different types of custom weapons. It is sort of difficult to see the making of weapons as an art form, but when you see the amount of work that goes into the process, the art in their weapons becomes very clear.
The first time I’ve been to the Joyce Theater was in 6th grade and it hasn’t changed much since then. The Joyce Theater is very intimate compared to the Metropolitan, where we saw Carmen. I believe this is extremely fitting for contemporary ballet because it allows us to really embrace the dance. One detail that was different from my experience now and the one I had 7 years ago were our seats. I had the pleasure of sitting in the middle rows in my first experience and I must admit, I enjoyed the performance more then. The angle that I was able to see the stage had a slight affect on the way I felt about the performance. At one point, I was so uncomfortable in the position I was in that I couldn’t even look at the stage. Nonetheless, I thought the performance was brilliant.
Complexions is a well renowned piece and I truly believe it was worth my while. One thing I’ve learned about watching dance over the years is that this is an art form whose purpose can vary. With dance, many pieces tell a story while others are just choreographed to appreciate movement. Contemporary dance in general strains the body physically in a way that combines elements of modern, jazz, and ballet. For example, in the last section, the dancers were on pointe but also bending their bodies in a way that ballet doesn’t allow. The combination of the intimate theater and the performance being contemporary ballet made me appreciate the effort it takes to put on such an amazing show. I would like to acknowledge the parts of the show that I used to take for granted such as the lighting, the backdrop and the performers themselves. The lighting and the backdrop really set the mood in each section. At one point the backdrop was completely black which made the stage seem endless once the smoke was fully set on stage. I felt like they were dancing before entering dark cave with so much unknown. My favorite lighting was the red lights that accentuated the party and intimate feel of the section in the last piece. Lastly, the performers were absolutely incredible. I know or a fact, I cannot do any of the moves they made look so smooth. I can only imagine the hours and weeks of practice this must’ve taken to prepare for opening night.
This massive compilation of random garbage peas, garbage fish eggs and most of all garbage foam made no sense to me and added to my frustration towards the art world. Now that i can reflect on my journey through the art scene, i can undoubtedly say that i have a new found appreciation and perspective to view art. Just the other day after our last IDC class, i went to the library to meet up with some friends. However, the library was so packed we ended up sitting in those little telephone rooms that have video art on the TV. It happened to be that on Tuesday the artist for the video was going through each floor with a little group. They walked in on us watching some really funny videos and decided to ask us what we thought about the art. While my friends were thinking of some BS they can say. I jumped right into the question and started giving my perspective about the artificial world vs natural creations.
Now to connect this all back to Pea Roe Foam, i have the perspective i was missing. The dada form of art is another statement by the artist to get us thinking about the meaningless material in our lives. Its one thing being told this and another finally coming to terms with this myself. The useless products we saw in that gallery was all an effort of non stop labor to allow us to find the meaning of the art. The art is a compilation of the garbage we throw ut after we finished using it. Why should we throw it out? Well we shouldn’t because throw a bit of glue on it and someone will buy it apparently. But actually, the dada art is supposed to be as unspecific as possible so that the viewer comes to terms with it. I am so glad to have gained a new found respect for art, i feel much more sophisticated going into a conversation about art now and i feel like i am a baby specialist in the market.
Taking a walk in October across 67th street, I looked up to see an odd, geometric figure. I wanted to know more. As I walked by, I was able to snap a picture so I can look at it later.
As it turns out, the sculpture was one of seven, displayed on Park Ave between 52nd and 67th streets. They were created by Ewerdt Hilgemann, a German-born artist. The series on Park was called “Moments in a Stream,” and range from 8 to 20 feet. The particular sculpture I saw was closer to 20 feet.
The most amazing thing about these sculptures is that they are imploded. A unique vacuuming process causes the implosion. To Hilgemann, the implosion represents the inward spiral of energy to reach the core and mystery of matter, the ultimate beauty of creation.
What strikes me about the sculptures is that they play with the idea of perfection. A perfect geometric figure becomes imperfect, as its straight edges are tarnished. There seems to be chaos in the art, but there is a clear order and precision as to how Hilgemann imploded the works.
Overall, I was impressed by the sculptures. They seemed out of place on Park Avenue, certainly not an empty avenue. However, while they stuck out like a sore thumb in their time on Park, they seemed right at home at the same time.
The art made me more aware of my surroundings towards the beginning of the semester, showing me that art can literally be anywhere in New York, you just have to open your eyes and look.
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.
Recent Comments