Author Archives: Rebecca Litvak

Posts by Rebecca Litvak

Club 57

Posted on December 1, 2017 by Rebecca Litvak

One of the pieces that intrigued me (and probably many other people) in the Club 57 exhibit was the Cosmic Closet. It was a secluded room in the exhibit with two black curtain entrances and inside was a large collection of random things. Some things I took notice of were posters, toys hanging from the ceiling, and a few pieces of furniture. I can clearly recall a headless doll hanging in front of me. Everything was covered haphazardly in bright neon paint and there was some artificial light in the room to make the paint glow a bit. Even parts of the floor were neon, while others were mirrors. It was a very bright and surreal room, especially because other than the paint, nothing seems to connect the objects in the room to one overarching theme.

A big theme in Club 57 was the combination of different and alternative art forms to represent the scene change happening underground – literally. Below a Polish Church on 57th Street, people came there to experience new forms of expression and new ideas. The Cosmic Closet is an example of this because it combines random objects, light, and bright neon paint to make a very bright, surreal, and psychedelic form of sculpture. The objects with no correlation except the bright neon paint seems to represent the different kinds of people that would attend this club. They all have colorful personalities and open minds to new ideas, different ones from the “norm” above ground. The sculpture represents the purpose and the fun of the club and is itself a place where people can experience something new and exciting. The bright lights, or new ideas, give another dimension to the room, make the paint glow, and is what made Club 57 so intriguing to those who were looking for an exciting and different group of people.

M. Butterfly: A Madama Butterfly Adaptation

Posted on November 18, 2017 by Rebecca Litvak

The play M. Butterfly was a very thought-provoking and more modern take on Puccini’s opera, Madama Butterfly. I enjoyed the clever role reversal of the main roles and the commentary on Orientalism in the original work and in society as a whole. I thought that although the dialogue of the characters is light-hearted in many occasions, it also tackles serious topics. There were two things that impressed and challenged me about the play.

First off, the scenery, although pretty minimal, played a crucial role in the play. The backgrounds were made entirely out of giant mobile (I think metal) plates with backgrounds painted on them. There was very little furniture in each scene, like the one chair and bare lightbulb in the prison cell, or the desk and chair for Gallimard’s boss at the Embassy. But the best part comes near the end of the play, when Gallimard cuts the story and declares it over. All of the plates are rolled away and the bare stage itself is used as the background to the fourth-wall breaking scene. Gallimard doesn’t want to finish telling the audience what happened, but the rest of the characters, especially Song, want him to finish because it shows the truth of what Gallimard and Song went through. A bare stage was the perfect setting. The play used creativity in their settings for the play.

The nudity in the play was something that challenged me. One of the most important scenes in the play is when Song undresses in front of Gallimard to erase the feminine illusion he created. Since his facial structure didn’t stop Gallimard from believing Song was a woman, he had to show the most definitive evidence.This scene was another representation of the theme of revealing the whole truth because the characters themselves have to face it.

The Plaza Hotel: 2nd Visit

Posted on November 8, 2017 by Rebecca Litvak

Our group decided to do our project on the Plaza Hotel. One of the most prominent aspects of this hotel is the graceful and grand aesthetic of it. It’s not only seen in the architecture and interior art, but in the mannerisms  and dress of the employees and visitors. Everyone is well-dressed and put together no matter where they are in the hotel.

I chose this particular photo of one of the hallways is because it captures the attention to detail and beauty of every spect of the hotel. You have the beautiful artwork on the floor with its wavy and floral accents on a diamond-patterned background. You have the plants carefully arranged on the ledge in the background of the photo and in a vase next to it. Even the ledge has so me level of artistic detail carved into it. You have the mannequins displaying clothes in glass cases standing by the left wall. Finally, you have the two people walking down the hallway. One is dressed in a black suit with black shoes and a black hat, while the other is in a black shirt with a black jacket over it and black shoes.

Each part of this photo suggests how much effort each person contributes to the overall aesthetic of the place. The artists that paint the walls and floor make sure that each has an exquisite pattern. The people who set up the furniture and decorations of the place shows nature and industry in one hallway. The employees (although not in the photo) greet every person gracefully and politely and are well dressed in suits. Finally, the inhabitants follow along with their dress and behavior. Every part of this hotel contributes to one large image the hotel wants to show the city and anybody interested in it.

The Plaza Hotel Visit 1

Posted on October 24, 2017 by Rebecca Litvak

For our iMovie project, my group and I went to visit the Plaza Hotel. I’d never been there before, so I didn’t know what to expect. When I first went inside, I felt really out of place. In this hotel, presentation and luxury was everything. The walls and ceilings were adorned with beautiful, intricate designs; people were dressed very well, even if they weren’t attending the ball that was going on; and all the shops and food stands were organized and beautiful. Each part and each person of this building showed their status and elegance from first glance.

It was a community all to its own. This place was very social along wth being extravagant. You’d see people sitting near the shops or walking in the halls, talking to each other very freely.

You’d also see glass cases in the halls that showed kids’ outfits, perfumes, china, necklaces with what look to be glass charms, and so on. What it was for, I’m not sure. It seemed to be another show of luxury.

I also found interesting how there were different small food stores in one large hall selling different types of food. You had a doughnutery right next to a pasta shop and near them was a bar. People get to choose from a variety what they want and al sit in one hallway.

There was also a masquerade ball going on that day. You’d see people come into the hotel with glamorous dresses or suits and very beautiful, intricate masks. Everyone looked like royalty.

This is a very extravagant, luxe, and beautiful hotel with beautiful people who liked to present themselves well even if they were just going to a shop.

Buried Child ’96

Posted on October 10, 2017 by Rebecca Litvak

The 1996 production of Buried Child was a great performance of Sam Shephard’s original play. It helps to watch this play to truly see how the scene and environment were meant to look and feel and to see how the characters interact with one another. By just reading the play, different people can imagine the appearance and intonations of a character, but by watching it, you get to see how the director and screenwriter wanted us to see them.

First of all, the environment the play took place in really helped set the bleak and depressing mood of the play. Although the room is lit with artificial lighting, you could see that parts of the room were left dark.  Besides the couch chair and coffee table, I felt the room looked pretty large and almost empty. It felt like there was not much life left in the room. The play never moves from that room, either. This aura lasts throughout. It leaves the characters the potential to bring it to life, but they don’t.

The characters also were well portrayed and we can see who they are by observing their interactions with each other. Dodge and Halie’s conversation in the beginning of the play almost sounds like a shouting match, which is not good for Dodge, as we hear him coughing between lines. We can see that Halie is concerned about Dodge when she asks him if he wants to take a pill, but then she proceeds to yell from another room, forcing him to yell back and strain his voice. We can see how truly meek Tilden is whenever he speaks with Dodge or Shelley and when Bradley scares him off. Bradley acts like a bully when it benefits him, but starts whining when his leg gets taken away by Shelley. The characters are well-portrayed and give a good visualization of their personalities.

Pina Bausch’s “Cafe Muller” and “The Rite of Spring”

Posted on September 21, 2017 by Rebecca Litvak

Although both “Cafe Muller” and “The Rite of Spring” were both choreographed by Pina Bausch, they are very different pieces. “The Rite of Spring” is a more conventional piece with some experimenting in the style of the movements, while “Cafe Muller” is a wholly experimental piece.

Cafe Muller, to me, looked less like a dance and more of a living sculpture, like the “Threshold” performance at the High Line. Although the movements seemed to have a rhyme and reason behind them, they weren’t really set to any music or had much form in them. A lot of the movements seemed very erratic with some of the dancers flailing about on the floor on occasion. They make a heavy use of repetitive movements; enough to make me feel that it was part of, if not the, central message of the piece. There was not much music to the piece, and if there was, it didn’t seem to be a large component of it. To me, this piece felt like a collection of how people deal with bad situation. There’s one person who’s left to his/her devices, people that prioritize some people over others, some that try to bring back the past situation, and some that adapt to the situation so much their negative behavior becomes something they don’t think about anymore. The “sleepwalking” adds to this theme because it reminds us that this behavior is subconscious.

“The Rite of Spring” is a more “ballet-like” performance, where the movements were set to the music and they had more form. As a dancer, I was very impressed by how synchronized the 30 dancers on stage were on certain portions of the dance. The movements were definitely more harsh and aggressive than most ballet movements. To me “The Rite of Spring” seemed to be about ostracizing people based on something the person can’t control.

Breaking the “Threshold”

Posted on September 10, 2017 by Rebecca Litvak

     This is a photo of a performer from the show that took place at the High Line. In the show, named “Threshold”,  the performers moved around at a slow pace to different places of their stage. They were either huddled all together or separated into groups. This particular part of the show captured my attention and I took a picture of it. Although it is not the most professional-looking photograph, I think it captures the spirit of the High Line.

     The performer is sitting still in one position. You can see the legs of other performers on the ground to the right of him and the legs of the audience behind them. During the performance, the audience moved around the performers for their own reasons, while the performers keep the show going. His eyes are facing toward the camera (me), which is what struck me as interesting. He is looking at me, with his own thoughts most likely focused on sitting still to keep the show going as other people are taking photos of it. He knows what this performance signifies and is willing to show it to others. Meanwhile, the audience and the camera (me), live in a different world and set of thoughts, most likely trying to figure out what the performers already know. As his eyes stare into mine and the camera, he tries to communicate his thoughts to me.

     The bridge of thought that his eyes create between the performer and the audience is what I believe the High Line represents: a bridge between two worlds. The High Line: a man-made overpass with a railroad looking out at the city skyline mixed with plants and trees, the magic of mother nature. It is a peaceful place where nature and industry coexist and make each other beautiful.

Comments by Rebecca Litvak

"I agree that a piece like Cafe Muller was a bit more challenging than The Rite of Spring because the choreography wasn't set to music and was meant to be more interpretive and chaotic. I think with pieces like these, it'd be best to not try to analyze movements and why they were put in that order, but to try to feel the emotion the dancers want to convey. Especially with Cafe Muller, the piece didn't seem to be completely choreographed; it seemed to have a lot of parts that could vary, especially with some of the dancers' eyes closed."
--( posted on Sep 26, 2017, commenting on the post Two Fantastic Works of Art )
 
"Although your opinion about the High Line differs from mine, I like the approach you took with your interpretation. I like how you took an image of an advertisement above the overpass and construction surrounding it and dissected it to mean the High Line became more of a tourist attraction or an upperclass environment than a welcoming area that connects nature with industry. There is more manmade activity happening in the photo than natural. I like how you also bring an argument from the other side's perspective and remind the reader that the High Line is "for everyone to view"."
--( posted on Sep 10, 2017, commenting on the post Sept. 12th – The Highline )