Hey Guys!

So I was just thinking about this class, and the assignments we have, especially the photojournal, and it really made me think of the movie “American Beauty”. There is this scene in the movie, (for those who have seen it you’ll know what I’m talking about), where the character Ricky Fitts shows a video he made of a simple plastic bag floating in the air and he speaks about his feelings when he made the video, “It was one of those days when it’s a minute away from snowing and there’s this electricity in the air, you can almost hear it. And this bag was, like, dancing with me. Like a little kid begging me to play with it. For fifteen minutes. And that’s the day I knew there was this entire life behind things, and… this incredibly benevolent force, that wanted me to know there was no reason to be afraid, ever. Video’s a poor excuse, I know. But it helps me remember… and I need to remember… Sometimes there’s so much beauty in the world I feel like I can’t take it, like my heart’s going to cave in.”

This is really one of my favorite movie quotes ever. So i just wanted to share that so that everyone will have something to keep in mind while they are creating their photojournals. There is really beauty everywhere!

Thanks for reading 🙂

-Elana

American Beauty. Dir. Sam Mendes. Perf. Kevin Spacey, Annette Bening, Thora Birch,

and Wes Bentley. Dreamworks, 1999. DVD. Dreamworks Video, 2000.

Welcome to Professor Healey’s “The Arts in New York City” course website.

Here students will blog weekly on assigned topics throughout the semester, create their photojournal projects, and comment on each others’ work.

Course Overview:

Seminar 1 explores the diverse arts in New York City. During the semester, students attend performances and exhibits of the current cultural season. In addition to the four genres (opera, dance, theater, and the visual arts) covered in all sections of the Seminar, faculty choose from a variety of textual, photographic, musical, and performance genres. Students tackle such questions as: What does each genre offer? How does each speak to us? How does art create, serve, and represent the people of the city and its diverse communities? Aesthetic appreciation is supported by social and historical investigations so that students are provided with opportunities for different kinds of engagement with art forms, including interpretation, analysis, and creative endeavors. The culminating event of the Seminar, Snapshot NYC, is an ongoing accumulation of photographs of student views of New York City.

In three units we will look at three specific personas that the artist may represent, and how the artist interacts with their community as a political and social voice, as well as how the artist preserves and reflects important social and cultural values and events to people outside of their own community. You will be asked to write and reflect on the work you see, as well as create your own original work that reflects your view of this particular cultural moment in New York City.
Course Syllabus

Scheduled Performance and Exhibition Dates