The Arts in New York City

After reading the title for this blog post, I’m sure that many of you who will end up reading this are thinking, “What the heck is she talking about?”  Well, the title is exactly what I’m talking about.  Imagine walking around all day in New York City–one of the busiest cities in the entire world with your top off in public.  Or rather, how would you feel if you were walking around the city and you saw a woman just chilling with her breasts hanging out?  Now, that’s definitely got to be something to get people talking.

Recently, I was watching the Tyra Show where Tyra Banks interviewed a special guest, Jordan Matter.  Jordan Matter spent over six years photographing over one hundred women in New York City with their tops off.  When Tyra first introduced him, I automatically assumed that he had to be smoking hot to get a hundred women to go topless for him, but soon found out that these women all volunteered to do this.  They ranged in ages as young as twenty-one to women who were old enough to be our great-grandmothers. The women all came from different backgrounds with different professions, education, and races, but one thing they all had in common–they wanted to empower other women.

Some of these women were having body image issues, some of them had breast cancer, and some of them just allowed him to take the pictures for the heck of it.  Jordan Matter wanted these women to feel a sense of “self-acceptance,” courage and pride while they were being shot half-naked, which is legal in New York.

Tyra had some of these women come to her show to share their stories.  One woman who was photographed with her daughter, who was eighteen at the time, suffered from a mild form of breast cancer and so in order to commemorate those who died from breast cancer and those who are still suffering from it, she wanted to do this.  However, she was unable to do it alone and so her daughter knew how much it meant to her and finally gave in to volunteer with her mother.  Another woman talked about being overweight ever since she was a little girl going through puberty.  She had been mocked and teased because of her weight and so she joined Matter’s movement to prove to everyone that she is comfortable with who she is.

I feel that this is the most moving form of art that I’ve seen in a while.  Nowadays, women are complaining about how fat they are, their cellulite, their crooked noses, and small breasts, but Matter wants to empower women and make them feel good-flaws and all.  Even women as beautiful as Kim Kardashian are using Botox because they aren’t comfortable in their own skin, but Matter wants to show us that this can be avoided by simply loving yourself.

Matter also shares his motive behind creating this book of photographs, which is his wife.  His wife has had body image issues ever since he was dating her and he wanted to show her how beautiful he thought she was.  He says that it killed him every time he saw his wife putting herself down and he wanted all women in the world to embrace themselves.  (He even got his wife to participate)

Matter’s artwork has been featured on the Tyra Show, on NBC news, and many other talk shows because it has caused social uproar.  Many people do not condone of these women being naked and don’t see the deeper meaning behind them taking their tops off.  However in my opinion, Matter chose the perfect medium to get his point across.

Women all over the world, no matter what race, size, shape, class, should all feel powerful and beautiful.

Sometimes I wish I could time travel.  There are certain time periods in the history of the world I wish I could just sit in on. I may have learned everything about the era of Louis XIV, from what he ate to what he wore to what his lavish homes looked like, but imagine actually being able to sit on one of his gold encrusted chairs and be present in that actual time. It would be utterly enchanting. Though I cant actually time travel, watching certain movies brings me pretty close to my dream of defying time.

The reason why Taxi Driver spoke to me so directly was because it was an ideal example of how the perfect combination of the right time, the right script, and the right actors, can completely transport an audience to a different realm. In the New York Times review of the movie, published February 8, 1976, Vincent Canby wrote, “The steam billowing up around the manhole cover in the street is a dead giveaway. Manhattan is a thin cement lid over the entrance to hell, and the lid is full of cracks. Hookers, hustlers, pimps, pushers, frauds, and freaks—they’re all at large. They form a busy, faceless, unrepentant society that knows a secret litany. On a hot summer night the cement lid becomes a nonstop harangue written in neon: walk, stop, go, come, drink, eat, try, enjoy. Enjoy? That’s the biggest laugh. Only the faceless ones—the human garbage—could enjoy it.”

Scorsese revealed New York for what it was in the 70s. There was no Hollywood gloss over in Taxi Driver; it was a nuanced and stripped view of the city for what it was.  For someone like me who was not born until 1991, it was an intimate view of a version of New York I never will have a chance to experience.  I knew I was literally in a different time when I saw the area of the city infested with porn and hookers, a place that claimed to be Times Square. The wardrobe was symbolic of Scorsese’s message, an example of social hierarchies and standards that he wanted to highlight. It was the wardrobe of the upper class versus the lower class and the hookers and pimps and taxi drivers.  To me, watching this movie in 2010, it was also a model of the styles of the times.

Yet this critique of New York society in the 70s cannot only be attributed to the director. What’s interesting about movies as an art form is that they are so multidimensional.  A movie is different artists working in unison to create something greater than themselves. Yet each artist will also contribute something unique, in this case his own interpretation of the script and New York City. Unlike a Van Gogh painting, where the audience can stand in front of the picture, and see what one single man created. Movies are easily accessible reels of history and social critique that defy time and place. They are a view into the minds of many talented artists trying to get their ideas out into the public. They might be fixated on one time, but I can watch Taxi Driver today and learn from it and enjoy it. Every year that passes, gives the movie another level of depth. The people and the wardrobe may be stuck in the 70s, but Taxi Driver really defies time.

At the end of the New York Times review, it lists the main artists that took part in the collaborate effort of the movie.

“Directed by Martin Scorsese; written by Paul Schrader; director of photography, Michael Chapman; edited by Marcia Lucas, Tom Rolf, and Melvin Shapiro; music by Bernard Herrmann;  art designer, Charles Rosen; produced by Michael Phillips and Julia Phillips; released by Columbia Pictures. Running time: 112 minutes.

With: Robert De Niro (Travis Bickle), Cybill Shepherd (Betsy), Jodie Foster (Iris), Harvey Keitel (Sport), Peter Boyle (Wizard), Leonard Harris (Charles Palantine), Albert Brooks (Tom), and Martin Scorsese (Passenger).”

It so interesting to take a step back from a tunneled view of what a movie is, the director, the movie star, and realize that is so much more than that. Every person listed had an idea and a personal view of how to portray the characters and convey a certain society in this movie. The final effort is an amalgamation of these personal views. For movies, it cannot be said that they are an example of the artist as a social critique. Movies are many artists coming together as many social critics.  That’s what really makes movies magical.

Work Cited

Canby, Vincent. “Taxi Driver.” The New York Times 8 Feb. 1976: 1o Oct. 2010:

(http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=EE05E7DF173DA22CAB484CC2B6799A8C6896.)

To choose an artwork that spoke to me at this age is far too early. I haven’t had the chance to experience a lot of life’s gifts yet nor have I gone and explored the world around me. There are so many books that I haven’t read yet, and I still haven’t finished my own personal list.  But there is one artist that has affected me deeply: Epik High.

I was introduced to Epik High when I was in high school. That was the time when my mind was opened up to the world because of my friends. They helped me question things because before high school I accepted everything as it was. I did not question. But now, because of them, I question a lot. They showed me so many different cultures and religions that I never knew before. I was in my own little world where nothing reached out to me. Then they let me listen to Epik High.

I was drawn into this new world of music and words. I’ve never really liked rap before, but Epik High showed me that there is more that just the surface of a genre, a song, a book, a rhythm, a language, a culture a person, a life. Everything goes deeper. As you go deeper, the more questions that arise. They became my “Question to all Answers.”

Yes, the songs are in Korean, but that doesn’t stop them from affecting the world. There will always be translators to translate their meaning. Their dreams, my dreams, will not be stopped. They helped me see even more clearly. In a way, they are philosophical yet inspiring me to new heights. The connections they make with life, love, death, humans, government, and religion astound me.

Before Epik High, I would not be able to see the connections of different aspects of life, but now I do. Everything has become easier as they’ve become my inspiration to exceed my limitations and keep my dreams alive. Although I am not a writer, I’ll still keep the pen alive. It’s a sword, as they say.

My life perspectives have changed because of them. I question the ethics and morals of peoples’ actions. I ask myself, “How much are we willing to risk for just one thing?” What has made our lives so insignificant? Is there a higher purpose for that? People have ruined their lives for things that can and will be replaced. “Why can’t we accept the blame we created?” Humans are too fearful of the consequences of their actions, myself included. Then there is love. Nothing is as it seems. There’s always something deeper yet it can be as simple as an umbrella.  Then this umbrella can turn into a boundary that keeps people apart. “Why are there walls?” “Why do people keep to themselves?” Is there more pleasure with others or by ourselves? “Where does one receive the greatest happiness?” There are so many questions that run through my mind that it sometimes becomes black and tireless (Epik High). It is then that I stop and realize that all these questions may never have concrete answers. I need to keep reality by my side, but with its grim parts I have to see the light within them. To keep on moving and living is a piece of my goal.

But what they’ve really taught me is that within the complexities of life comes the simplest of life’s pleasures. It is with this thought that I have come to live by. It is what I believe others have seen through their pieces. It may be raining, but there will always be an umbrella over us, a rainbow to shine. With yin comes yang, and the flow of life continues. As I realize my lack of experience, Epik High has given me most of theirs and I have come to received them as my own.

“Teach the controversy.” A battle cry that rallied hundreds of people against the teaching of evolution in public schools, a societal taboo.

The clashing opinions over this issue raised heated debate in the year 2002.

Eight years later. The tension is still there.

For what reason do these people quarrel and bicker? What sustains their hostility among each other for so long? How is it even possible to disagree that long?

On a molecular level aren’t we genetically predisposed to be different from one another? Wouldn’t it make sense if our opinions differed from one another as well?

Why can’t we all just get along?

It’s really hard for me to believe that people could argue for years. I find it difficult to stay angry with someone for longer than a day. But again, this is just my opinion.

In reality, life is filled with controversy. Many of us choose to take a neutral stance, like me, but others fight strongly for what they believe in. It’s not uncommon for people to impose their beliefs on others; I mean it happens all the time in history. So what happens when people intentionally direct attention to certain issues, like what should be taught in school?

One writer, Adam Rapp, decides to do exactly that. Not only does he explicitly address the problem of censorship in schools, but he also simulates the consequences associated with these controversial decisions. Adam Rapp was the only “artist” that we studied that left a very clear voice resonating within my head. He was not only a writer but a social critic that used literature as his medium to raise awareness.

Censorship of taboo material in schools is actually quite common. As we see in “The Metal Children” written by Adam Rapp, some people take it to the extremes. The result of their behavior is what most people are afraid of. We have the conservatives and the radicals, and it is very uncommon for them to compromise.

In the novel we examine the disastrous effects one book can have on a community. It is unimaginable to think that little girls would react in such a way all because of a book ban. The string of events that occurred was so nonsensical that I don’t think it could happen ever, not even in a million years.

Vera was definitely not a visionary. She had to be on crack or something.

The reason Adam Rapp really connected with me was because of the issue he was presenting and the way he presented it. The story wasn’t pretty but it got the job done. By exaggerating the consequences of book censorship, I kind of got the feeling that adults really shouldn’t meddle with what their kids read. I mean they’re going to learn about these issues sooner or later. Why stop them and risk revolution?

Adam Rapp. Social Critic. Writer. One hell of an imagination ♥

A few weeks ago, the entertainment news (which is pretty much the only news I read), was buzzing with the story of Kate Perry’s “inappropriate” outfit on Sesame Street.  Parents were outraged with Perry’s outfit, which they claimed was too revealing and too inappropriate for younger kids.  PBS promptly pulled Perry’s segment with Elmo off the airwaves.

When I read this article, I also read other people’s comments on the article.  Most people were upset that other parents actually got so upset over such a small issue.  This got me thinking that these days, the smallest things can set people off.  You can say the wrong word or wear the wrong outfit and all of a sudden, you will find a pack of animals lashing out at you, attacking you from all sides.  People always find some reason to say that some form of artistic expression, or any type of expression for that matter, is too “inappropriate” and somehow dangerous for their kids.  I think that this is what attracted me so much to “The Metal Children”.

While reading this play, it was fascinating to see all the parents’ reactions to the banned book because their reactions were so over-the-top.  The parents’ reactions were actually not that far off from how people in the real world react today to things that they deem “inappropriate”.  Some of the most popular books in our culture today- Harry Potter and Twilight, for example- have faced opposition from parents who call these books “inappropriate”.  Now no one has gone far enough to purchase all these books and lock them up, as the parents did in “The Metal Children”.  However, such stories get me thinking, ‘What are all these parents so afraid of?’  ‘Is the content of these books really so terrible?’

In “The Metal Children”, the parents are outraged against all the racy content in the book and the way that it “glorifies” teenage pregnancy.  I thought that this topic was a great way to connect to our world today and to get people to think.  Teenage pregnancy is of course, an issue in our society today and not something that you can shield kids from ever knowing about.  The way that the parents react to this issue being discussed in the book, however, gets you to think ‘How much can you protect your kids from today’?  Parents today always raise arms whenever the slightest inappropriate behavior is displayed or whenever the truth is discussed through some form of artistic expression.  However, I don’t think that people can shield their kids forever.  In our world, it’s just too easy to have kids exposed to certain racy content.  The media and the school can expose kids to things that parents might not want their kids to know about.  In “The Metal Children”,, for example, the book that was banned was going to be read in school.  This made me think that because kids can’t really be protected from certain information, instead of focusing on shielding kids, parents should focus on telling kids how to take care of themselves when they find out this information.  In “The Metal Children”, for example, the parents were all so busy trying to keep the book banned that they didn’t even listen to their children.  The teenagers, such as Vera, ended up taking charge and starting their own society and getting pregnant.  This made me think of the consequences that can arise when someone tries to control a child’s knowledge too much.  You can intend to protect them, but push them to rebel instead.

“The Metal Children” was an interesting play to read because of all the drama and controversial content in it.  I questioned the characters’ actions, such as when Vera seduced Tobin, and I wondered who was right and who was wrong.  Were the parents wrong for trying so passionately to protect their kids, or should the racy book never have been assigned at all?  “The Metal Children” got me thinking and questioning and talking and if a play can manage to do all three, then it is well worth reading.

Just this morning I was listing out the classes I am taking this semester to someone I know, when she stopped me to ask exactly what the Arts in New York City class is. I explained to her the main premise of the course, sharing with her the performances I’ve seen, and the museums I’ve visited. An artist herself, she was intrigued with the philosophy of the program, and thought I was especially lucky to have had the opportunity to see a performance at the Metropolitan Opera.

Today was another adventurous day for me, and for that I have HNRS 125 to thank. In order to complete a requirement for the class (visiting the Metropolitan Museum of Art) and to take full advantage of the other establishments of the Upper East Side (Bloomingdale’s), I took a total of three trains and two buses. Of course, I must say, it was well worth the effort in the end. But now I’m just getting off topic.

Back to the task at hand…

When I first read the assignment for the blog, my first thought was to write about Beirut Rocks, the third play from Theater Day of orientation. In our society, many of us view conflicts between countries from only one point of view. Each time I read or hear about the Israeli Palestinian Conflict, it is from the same perspective, but it was interesting to be exposed to the other side’s point of view.

However, after much more deliberation, I decided another piece of art this semester had a greater influence on me.

Let me preface my choice, and reasons for it, with a small anecdote. In my high school, just outside of the library of the school, is a small display where, periodically, the librarians create exhibits for the students in the school related to reading and books. One display, from freshman year, really struck me. It was a history and listing of banned books. Up until that point, I viewed the library as a haven of books, in which authors were free to speak their minds and readers were free to listen. I never realized that there is an authority out there, monitoring books that are published and distributed to the public, nor do I believe that any such authority should exist. For this reason, of all of the art we have been exposed to this semester, The Metal Children had the most significant impact on me.

I agree completely and whole-heartedly with Vera and the other high school girls. Their teacher chose to have the class read the novel for a reason, and the parents should be a little less involved with what is taught in the classroom. The issues addressed in the novel are challenges that teenage girls face each day, and for this reason, they should learn about it in school, along with ways to prevent and deal with such problems.

There is proof that the reading of the novel was important to the students – they were willing to take drastic action to prevent the banning of the novel. Vera respected Tobin for his willingness to take risks in his writing, and although he did not write the novel with the intention of helping these girls, he assisted them in allowing their voices to be heard. I personally believe that had this book not been banned, these girls would not have            started this mission – they would have continued to lead the normal lives they were living. When parents and schools place too many restrictions on kids, they rebel to claim their independence. The response to the novel was the epitome of this theory.

Overall, The Metal Children was a well-written play, and if given the option, I would definitely watch a performance of it. The clash between the banning of books and freedom of the press is an ongoing debate that is illuminated in this great work of art.

Now, this class from the start has been an intense learning experience. When I heard I had to take Arts in the City, I thought to myself, what the hell kind of honors requirement is that? It sounds too fun for honors. So although it’s been fun, it’s taught me a how to look past the superficial facts into what is behind the thoughts and motions of actors and the reasoning for the choice of such simplistic things as colors and clothes.

Taxi Driver. Sounds boring, right? Well that’s what some people thought the first time they watched it. But not me. I thought it was the sad and interesting tale of this man, Travis, who has lost everything he wants. He blew his chance with the girl he wanted, and because of this, turned a negative eye on life in general. Throughout the movie, the scenery is dreary and bleak, with the exception of Betsy and the voter’s office area, which is always bright, usually red. Travis tried to make himself less depressing when visiting this office by wearing a red jacket over his drab clothes. Now, personally, I never would’ve noticed this if it hadn’t been brought up in class.

Whereas I wouldn’t say this movie was life-changing, it definitely impacted me emotionally. Watching the movie, my heart tore for Travis when Betsy turned him away. Even though I thought it was hilarious that he tried to take her to a porno movie as a date, the poor guy didn’t know any better. After being turned down, he turned to a life of crime- buying guns and attempting assassinations…This seems a little extreme, but Travis had an almost childlike mentality about these types of things, throwing a sort of “tantrum” when he didn’t get his way. This movie taught me a lot about people’s mentality, and how people react to disappointment, rage and jealousy.

As a social critic, Travis is a prime example. He absolutely DESPISES society and all that it stands for. To him, society represents the love he lost, the brutal reality of prostitution and pimps, and the disgustingly boring lifestyle of a cab driver living in the city. Every chance he gets, he battles society. Whether it’s in the attempted assassination of a political figure, or the actual assassination of a pimp, he fights to the death…literally. I mean, Travis was always a loner. He finally tried to come out of his shell when he attempted a relationship with Betsy. But in his naive state of mind, he took her to an inappropriate movie, and ruined his chance. Because of this, he becomes even more bitter, and tries to kill Palantine, to whom he believes he lost Betsy. Despite his foiled attempt, he moves on to Iris’ pimp, Sport, and ends victoriously, and unexpectedly as a hero.

Travis acts rashly and emotionally, going with his feelings, and not caring about the consequences. He figured that since society was so horrible, and his life was destroyed already, how much worse could it get? So he buys some guns and heads out with plans to kill-plans to do what he thinks is right…even if he could end up in jail for it. His fury over the police’s unconcerned attitudes towards the prostitution rings caused him to take matters into his own hands.

Although his case is extremely rare-people don’t exactly go around buying guns and planning assassinations all the time because a girl turned them down-this movie shed light on the idiosyncrasies that all people have. This movie made me think about other people’s and even my own reactions to society and the people in society.