Yesterday, I attended Sneaker Con New York, a huge convention that is all about shoes of all types. Now one would think that this was probably a small event but would be wrong to believe so. There were so many people that I had to wait outside the Jacob Javit Center for about an hour before I was able to get in because of overcrowding. The line outside spanned about a half mile down West 40th Street. What made the wait outside even worse was that it was cold and raining. As bad as the wait outside was, I could confidently say that once I was inside, the experience was the complete opposite.
When I got in, I was greeted by the roaring noise of fellow sneaker-heads (term used for people who have a passion for shoes) buying and selling shoes and related accessories. As I walked around, I was able to see all the interesting booths created by vendors and displays of shoes that were not available for sale but rather strictly to be shown off.
One thing that truly struck me as interesting was all the custom art that was there. Some of the things I saw were shoes that were once completely white, painted on to portray somewhat of a skin print pattern and on the grey part on the upper, there is a few bolts of lightning. Another thing that I saw that was not related to shoes at all were these two paintings that were hanging on the racks of clothing that a vender was selling. I spoke to Myles, the artist who made these and he told me that the company was called Get A Real Dream. Unfortunately, he was really busy and I was unable to ask him a ton of questions about his work but I did really enjoy these pieces.
All in all, SneakerCon was all I hoped for and more. The high energy money-flowing atmosphere and just being surrounded by all kinds of shoes and artwork I have never seen before is the definition of my sanctuary.
Besides all the other great benefits from visiting my dad downtown at his office, there is one thing that I am very fortunate to be able to see. Every time I go to visit him, I always take a walk around the National 9.11 memorial. This memorial, for me, is unlike any other monument or memorial that I have ever visited because it is honoring and remembering a horrific thing that happened in my own city. I still remember where I was the moment that the planes crashed into the towers, and all the uncertainty and horror that filled the country, New York City, and my family. I remember the day like it was yesterday, I was in kindergarten and I was unexpectedly sent home. When I got home, I walk in to the sound of my mother crying in her room watching the television. After I was informed of what happened I too was beginning to feel very scared because my father worked in the building right next door and, because all the phone lines in the entire state were down, we couldn’t get in touch with him. This was definitely one of the scariest moments of my life. Thankfully he was ok but during the time from the towers being hit to my father opening the door to my house was pure terror.
Now when I go to the memorial, I remember that day from two different angles. I look at in the eyes of people like me and my mom who were worried about our family that was at the scene trying to get away, and I think of the people who were either trapped inside or the people who showed ultimate courage that went inside to help those trapped. Those people are the ones that I will forever have respect for.
For those who haven’t been to the memorial, what you get to see is the list of all the people who died that day. You are able to, like I do, read all the names one by one and pray for the families that lost their loved ones and honor all who died because of their services. There is two of them placed in the locations of the two towers that were hit.
This memorial is in my opinion the most powerful memorial in the world because besides for all the names, there is a waterfall on all four walls that drops water down and then another smaller waterfall in in the middle that seems to have no ending. From every angle you stand, you are unable to see the bottom of the second waterfall. This is very powerful in my eyes because it seems to just never end into the core of the earth. This uncertainty brings back the uncertainty I felt that very day.
This memorial hits the aspects of beauty, emotion, and brings back memories to all who visit, which in my mind is such a beautiful work of art.
On October 7th, my class and I took a trip over to the Rox Gallery in the Lower East Side to see artist Tom Smith’s exhibition “Heavenly Bodies”. I have been to other galleries on the Lower West Side before that were much larger than this one, and for much higher prices of art, but never to a smaller, more concentrated Lower East Side Gallery. This experience was exceptionally great because we got to meet and speak to Tom Smith himself. There is no better way to analyze a piece of art or any other work than talking to the creator of the piece. Tom Smith was very informative on how he made each painting and why he chose to place the paintings in the gallery the way that he did.
Mr. Smith said that it was a multi year project that was created in more than one location. Each painting was done based on a vision that he saw when was in a specific place. What was extremely interesting to me was because this project took several years, Smith was able to use the method of “progression” where he would create the same type creation using different styles to create it. For the first section of paintings, he cut little strips of 2 different paintings and glued them together creating a new form of the original idea. The next step Smith decided to add some 3D texture to his work by cutting half circle-shaped wood and putting that on it.
The third and final sequence of art was created to appear 3D by the way that it was painted. This art is essentially an optical illusion because the works that are actually 3D don’t appear 3D from far but as you get closer it became more clear. As opposed to the 3rd type where it appeared to be 3D from far and then when you looked closely it became obvious that it was actually just painted to appear that way.
All in all, my experience at the Rox Gallery was awesome. Being able to meet and speak to Tom Smith was a treat and because the art was not as expensive I was able to enjoy it more and dream more realistically about owning one of these fantastic pieces one day.
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.
This past weekend I was at the iconic Madison Square Garden to see the final stop of the “I Am Hardwell” tour, staring DJ Magazine’s #1 DJ Hardwell. The concert was five hours of energy filled EDM (Electronic Dance) music. This type of music is sometimes criticized as being pointless to go see live, because it is believed that is just as entertaining to put on a pair of headphones and listen to the same pre recorded music that is played at the concert.
However, after my first EDM concert this weekend, I totally disagree with that claim. When I was there in the beginning I wasn’t too sure what to expect. When Dannic was playing his set, he didn’t play too many songs with heavy bass drops, but music to get the crowd in the dancing mood for the main event. Once it was time for the headline act to come onto the stage, it was an experience like no other. One big theme of EDM and these concerts or rave type events is the idea of being one with the music and spirit. Before Hardwell actually came on the stage there was a long intro of a man talking about the universe and dreaming, which made the whole vibe of the even so surreal. After Hardwell came on the stage the crowd was going wild from the beginning to the end of his 3-hour set. Now as I said earlier, all of the music is prerecorded way before the concert date. Having said this, the role that the dj has is to run the energy of the crowd in a way that allows them to be engaged in the music at all times without tiring them out at the same time. They pick and choose songs that they seamlessly mix together with high and low energy levels throughout the night. Without mixing the music the way that Hardwell does so well, the music can become repetitive and boring after a while. What Hardwell does so well is mix the songs in a way that it seams that the beat is always changing but so smoothly that it is all just one big song.
After such a great experience, I can guarantee that I will be attending as many as time and money let me. If you are even slightly into this genre of music I definitely recommend going to one of these concerts, as I believe there is nothing like it. 
Last Thursday during my lengthy 4-hour gap between classes, I went down to meet my dad for lunch at his office. He works in the World Financial Center, which is conveniently located right next to the newly opened Freedom Tower. Each time I visit him, I am awed by the beauty of this large, spiraling building, along with the heart wrenching 9/11 memorial that seems to dig into the earth infinitely.
This day in particular was a special day because at my dads building there was an exhibit that was unlike any other that I’ve seen before. Upon taking the down escalator to the plaza, I was stopped in my tracks by a series of sculptures made out of cans of food.
After walking over to them, I realized that they were all part of a competition called Canstruction. In particular this was the 22nd Annual Canstruction NYC Design/Build Competition. This competition is run to raise awareness of the role the food banks play in communities all over the country. Canned food in particular is one of the most important things for food banks.
There were about a dozen sculptures of all different sizes and themes. I admire them because it looked like whoever made them spent a lot of time and hard work to make these perfect. Also taking what most people think is just a metal container that is used to store food and turning it into a piece of art is truly fascinating. The winners of the competition are decided by the public on their Facebook page as well as by 5 jurors who have the final say. Voting ended yesterday Thursday November 14th and the winner was Hungry to the Core, my personal favorite. Other than “Hungry to the Core”, other sculptures included a seal with a beach ball on its nose, an owl, and a thinking man.
This was definitely a great surprise for me to be able to see this as it was not there for long and was not the art I am used to seeing. I hope that next year I am able to see the new contestant’s sculptures as I am curious what else could be made out of cans of soup and sardines.
I am belatedly posting my poem that I had written on the day we met Mr. Saeed Jones. Mr. Jones’s encouragement along with hearing the poet himself inspired me to create my own poem. My poem, “The Shoe”, similarly follows the format of “The Blue Dress” by Saeed Jones.
a shoe is art,
is a shield
is an expression of individuality
is a gateway to adventure and shares all experiences that would be unattainable without them,
is a collectors item,
is a riot producer,
is a brainwasher,
is a murder-causer,
with its absence life wouldn’t be the same
Lines 6, 7, and 8 are similar in a sense that they have to do with the sneaker-head culture. I chose the words “riot producer”, “brainwasher” and “murder-causer” because in the past, people used to gather outside a shoe store starting the day before a release in order to get the chance to secure a pair. These gatherings would turn into riots due to people cutting other people and also the hype that is built around a shoe- similar to a door opening on Black Friday. This hype surrounding the shoes brainwash people into spending ridiculous amounts of money on them and cause them to waste their day away waiting on line. Specifically, the powerful word “murder” was used because on several accounts, people all over the world have been killed over the shoes on their feet. Usually in robberies people have died trying not to give in their prized possessions. This is not just a new thing that is happening. In 1989, Michael Thomas was found “strangled in the woods near his school by seventeen-year-old James David Martin”. Another example of similar occurrence is seen in December of 2012, when twenty-two year old Joshua Woods was shot and killed by three men in an attempted robbery. Shoes are not just the things that you wear everyday on your feet to get around, but they have formed a culture and can also be sold for profit. Wherever there is money involved, there is danger.
Upon entering the David Zwirner Gallery containing the Marcel Dzama exhibition, Une Danse des Bouffons, I was immediately drawn to one area. The gallery has standard white walls containing several pieces of art, but what stood out to me was a curious entryway with no indication of what it led to. It is guarded by mysterious beasts and covered by a bland curtain.
This entrance caught my eye because of the strange looking faces on the beasts, as well as the large vase acting as a sentry to the portal behind the drape. What are they guarding? The beasts and the vase are each holding an assortment of dark flowers. For some reason this is where my attention kept returning, even though it may not have been a piece that was for sale, it did seem like a focal point in the room. Each time I look at the picture of the beasts, their glaring eyes unsettle my brain and are almost hypnotic. The vase with its two sets of staring eyes appears to be keeping watch.
The blue flowers are and obnoxious addition to the piece, adding a sense of uniqueness to this installment. Dzama has two installments of this piece that are identical except for the color filter he uses, red and blue. In this case the blue represents good, rebirth, and lost love, in which the beasts and the vase appear to be protecting. These of which can be related to the film.
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