Author: zzakande

This was a very interesting and intimate event. When I first walked in I was met with different stands either selling or displaying different cultural items. Each table has a unique sense to them and it was interesting to speak to the people at these tables.

I was late to the event, however, I knew I was walking into something very intimate from the beginning. There were multiple types of instruments on stage. Multiple from different African cultures, one of which I recognized as the talking drums. It was amazing how well these instruments could be transformed into multiple sounds and have multiple purposes in the totality of the performance.

I felt as if the show could’ve been more successful with more coverage of it. It was obvious not many people knew about it, considering I had only found out that night. It was breathtaking to watch the performers play their instruments and have beautiful sounds come out of it.

I myself play some instruments and I remember the feeling I would experience on stage while playing. It was an amazing feeling being able to hear everything but still feel serene. It was like a room that is so silent you could hear your own heart beating. It’s an out of body experience and I definitely felt that through the experience this night.

The play reading was very insightful and awesome to watch. However, I feel that if the circumstances were different I would’ve enjoyed it more. I was exhausted from a long day and commute after the play so I wasn’t really up to watching it. I was already dreading my journey home so it was hard to focus during the play.

However, there are some parts that really stuck out to me. I found it extremely interesting how the play played out. The character development was something that showed to be really important throughout the play. The way the characters opinions and views changed truly shows how experiences change you.

I find that just going through the motions doesn’t necessarily always work out for people and that the only was to truly grow is to feel everything as you go through it. Making mistakes and not always clear path for how life is supposed to work. The characters in the play were at times not sure what they were doing or how they were supposed to do things. When they were on their journey originally there were concepts that were not agreed with, however overtime those ideals changed. He came to realize that certain things weren’t always so  black and white and how everything affects everyone differently. I think this is a powerful story and lesson about something that comes very hard to people.

To be truly accepting of everything regardless of your own personal beliefs is a powerful trait someone can have. It helps them form better connections with people because it breaks the former prejudices someone may have before they begin to manifest. I think the messages the play was trying to get across were extremely powerful in which they were relatable in everyday  human life.

This event was definitely unexpected. I walked in just before it started and I was very unsure of what the performance would entail.

The first thing I noticed during the show was the lighting. The lighting in the show was very particular and meaningful. The shadows that the dancers created were regulated as well as the light reflected perfectly over the dancers clothing and skin. The light accentuated the way the dancers sort of glowed on stage and I found it very entrancing. I wish I would’ve been a little more emotionally ready for the show considering I was really sick and I found it hard to enjoy at times. However, I am glad I went because I really enjoyed the experience. I used to dance myself and I found it awesome to see how far people could progress in their dancing careers.

Dancing requires the whole body include your emotions. You could tell that the dancers really enjoyed what they were doing by the facial expressions and by their energy onstage. It was great to witness that in person because the dancers radiated their emotions they were dancing to show. I do however wish like Avenue Q we were able to speak to the artists after the show because I feel it would’ve given more insight to the reasons behind their performances. I would’ve really liked to understand the stories they were telling better. This talk with them would’ve allowed me to understand further than just watching. I would’ve been able to understand their backgrounds and their choices and what led them to their decisions and how they ended up in the show.

Overall, it was amazing to watch and it made me wish I watched more of that kind.

Prior to meeting him, I have never heard of him and I don’t think I probably ever would’ve. I’m glad I did. Meeting him reminded me of how you shouldn’t have expectations of people before meeting them. He is nothing that was expected of him and he was everything more. It was interesting to see how diverse of an artist Stremme was. From being apart of the underground movement, to being a poet, to a tattoo artist, it shows how someone can life can really be a roller coaster.

Stremme’s approach at telling  us about his life was very straightforward and telling. Him being a professor was also extremely unexpected also. I think a lot of artists are teachers in different ways because there is a lot to learn from art and their artists.

I thought it was really interesting how he had those magazines he’d made since he was younger. It was really cool to see the progression of  which his ideas and art grew over time. Stremme seemed to be very passionate about his art and his impact. He had a major impact on me and his words about not letting the underground movement fade resonated in it.

It made me think about many previous underground movements that I’ve learned about and how they’ve played out over time. It was very interesting to think about how he was able to develop many aspects of his adult life from his childhood. He was always an artist and he seemed to always understand the importance of being one. When he shared his stories from his younger years about how he was able to print and distribute his work it enlightened me on how one should be able to fighting to get your message across and never giving up.

Avenue Q was extremely interesting to watch. It was very interesting to see how the actors really took on the characters they played. I think watching a timeless play like Avenue Q really puts problems I think all different types of people are going through in perspective. Its awesome to experience not being the only one going through something I felt no one would understand.

Its humbling realizing that you’re not the only person going through things and that someone out there can relate. Avenue Q was broad in its representation and it was highly effective in lightening my mood while also reassuring me that things will eventually be fine.

Lauren seemed to have developed a personal connection with Simon and Garfunkel. It was interesting to witness how she had genuinely wanted the best for these artists she had presented about. Often when people present, it’s easy to see if they actually care about what they are presenting. I thought this was very easy to tell with Lauren.

The story about how Simon and Garfunkel had met was interesting because of the way it happened. I believe that they had went to school together and one had sought the other out after seeing them perform. This is shocking but it leads me to question if they had any idea of the things they could create before becoming acquainted with one another.

We always see circumstances where people magically find each other and in result impact the world when they join. Do these people ever have any idea of what they’re doing while they do? It’s a very interesting topic to ponder because in cases like Simon and Garfunkel where one just thought the other was cool, who knew what they’d become?

The order of events in which Lauren presented was also very appealing because from the very start i was interested. I had never heard of Simon and Garfunkel and her detail in her powerpoint was eye catching. It suited the vibes Simon and Garfunkel also. It was very welcoming and the way Lauren ended it with the video showing their current situation really helped me understand the intensity of it.

Its heartbreaking to hear how they are no longer in contact after all they did together and created. But like Lauren, I’m hoping they find peace with each other.

Going to the Whitney was something I had always wanted to do. Learning that it was one of our options for the independent trip there was no choice in my going there. It was definitely a struggle in getting there, as any commute to the city is for me, but it was I knew would be worth it. In high school I was a museum junkie and I would always try to go to museums that interested me. Im glad I can still keep my love for visiting them here.

Walking into the Whitney, despite all the construction, I was bombarded with a million emotions. I felt mad that I would have to leave early in order to make it to class on time. I also felt dissatisfied with how much construction there was going on because I wanted to see it all. The outside of the Whitney is extremely gorgeous and breath taking. Its amazing to look at the neighborhood of somewhere and feel like you belong there. I was eager to visit as many exhibits as I could and also ready to text all my friends and begin planning  my return  trip.

I wanted to be able to go to the Untitled Cafe despite my time crunch and decided to get a coffee for the first time. Americano’s were not my thing but the Whitney made it seem so much better than it was. I marveled at everything I saw and it was surely a memorable experience. Overall, the Whitney is a place I must see again on my own time. Hopefully, I will be able to experience it as a whole as all museums should be experienced and I will have even more things to remember about its wonderfulness.

 

Being at the Brooklyn museum was a bit overwhelming for me. Most of the time when visit museums I am with friends who have similar interests as me which means tend to steer towards the same pieces of art. Being in a group with students whose interest I wasn’t necessarily sure of was different. Also, being given a task while at the museum was hard because I couldn’t differentiate between doing the task and just viewing the museum for myself.

When I go to museums I mostly create my own timeline for myself. I visit exhibits I come across and I don’t spend a lot of time in exhibits that don’t catch my eye immediately. I’m also a wanderer so I tend to end up very far away from my friends. it was hard to stop myself from doing this while at the museum because I was so used to doing this.  I had to remember to stick with my group while they were looking at something even though I might not have necessarily found it interesting. This changed the way I experienced the museum because i had to experience it through others and not for myself.

My group and I had found ourselves leaning towards the charcoal paintings more due their impact on the eye. We understood that  the artist had a reason for picking charcoal as the medium as opposed to something else and we saw this as the basis of our interpretation of the art. It was also interesting to view images from different angles at different distances away. One painting in particular had a window frame on top of it that was to noticeable until we got closer to it.  It was amazing to witness this because it gave further depth to the art.

When looking at art sometimes I forget that art can be the reflection of a certain time period it was created in. This fact occurred to me when we approached the first paintings we looked at. Many involved religious views or ideals that reflect the heavy influence religion had on art during that time. We also witnessed how things like religious art isn’t specific to certain areas of the world. Ancient Egyptian art and European art don’t necessarily represent the same religions or belief systems, but they have religion as a concept in common.

I do wish that I had more time to let my mind guide me while I was there rather than follow each other. I would’ve liked to see all the exhibits and visit all the floors the museum had to offer.

 

Upon arriving at the NAWA exhibit I was shocked by the exclusiveness of it. I expected something much different than was there. Although shocked, I was not disappointed. The atmosphere alone of the exhibit was something I connected with being that it wasn’t just a regular museum. I wondered about placement and why certain paintings were where they were and what message artists wanted to convey.

The piece ‘the night the moon ate the stars’ by Virginia Mallon spoke to me because I had felt a connection to the way the girls face was portrayed. I interpreted the moon eating the stars as sucking the light out of the night, and in somewhat, the universe. It interested me how the girls face was drawn the same as the moon was represented and what this meant to the artist. I thought about it may not be what the actual girl was feeling but rather yet just a reflection of the night. It made me think about how we could take on the environment around us in many different ways. This includes reflecting off of people around us and their emotions, etc.

Lauren Davis’ ‘nude’ made it easy to fully interpret Ways of Seeing by John Berger when he writes about the portrayal of women in art. Its amazing to see how he is able to still identify something so present in Davis’ painting. The woman that was drawn reflected his ideal of the female nude being drawn for pleasure. The painting shows the woman draw as a object to look at and admire. The way she is drawn is appealing and flattering to her shape in which makes the art a nude of a woman rather than depicting her “nakedness.” It stuck out to me that the artist may have unknowingly done that because of the ingrained ‘drawing women nude” culture thats ingrained into society. I admired the painting for a while for technique but I still found the expression on the woman’s face intriguing also. Her expression was hard to interpret for me and I found myself constantly wandering back to her painting even after my waling through the exhibit.

Visiting the NAWA made me think about reoccurring themes throughout all the paintings I saw and how they all fit together to  form the exhibit. I was inspired by the fact that many of these paintings involved women, and often their expressions or body languages were not positive. The piece ‘Sandy’, by Janet Tsakis, was one of which I connected to because of the feeling that is so universal that was depicted. I enjoyed the NAWA exhibit because the kind of art it depicted was different than that of mainstream museums and left doors open for thought and reflecting per piece.