And I quote:
“so according to wikipedia: The Lower East Side is perhaps best known as having once been a center of Jewish culture,” Nicki IMed me last week before our “blog day out,” informing me of the research she did.
“Oh…it is? Good to know,” I thought. Slight backfire that the Jewish girl didn’t know that “best-known” fact about the blog group she was placed into? Perhaps. Did it matter? Not at all. The experience was all the more worthwhile and interesting.
We met up at Union Square and decided to work our way from there, down the avenues and down the streets. For the first time in a long time (probably since the summer), I was walking the streets of Manhattan slowly, in no rush, and just enjoying everything there was to take in. The store windows, the architecture of the buildings, the smells, the sky…It served as a great reminder to me of why the tourists love it here so much. When you’re not in a rush the city has so much beauty to take in, an Eden. (Of course, when it’s 8:45 AM and the bus hasn’t show up for 15 minutes [three ‘Not in Service’ buses have, though] and you’re running late to class, it sure is an inferno).
I’m not architecture pro, but I’ve always thought “those people” who talk about it are pretty cool, so I pretended to be that person as we walked around. “This church is built in the style of Gothic architecture, isn’t it?” I asked. “There are pillars, though, so isn’t that Roman?” “Greco-Roman?”, another suggestion. The Lower East Side had plenty of this style to observe and analyze, a particular feature of the neighborhood that I think makes it unique. I definitely was not seeing this style in the middle of Midtown. And whatever the style was nominally, I was taking notice. Taking notice, paying attention: actions I don’t normally partake in while walking through the streets of the city.
I’d say our interviews got progressively better as we went along. Our first few didn’t give us that much to work with, but as we continued questioning people, our answers got better and better. The security guard of the New School (10th st and 5th avenue) told us about another division of the school (Parsons) specifically designed for art, and about an art gallery not too far from where we were with a lobby open to the public. I completely understood what we he was talking about when he said that, because that was another key feature of the neighborhood I noticed when walking around. Many ground levels of buildings were lobbies were open for public viewing, even at times when the galleries of those buildings were not. It was like a voice was luring you in: open lobby…come in…come in…come look. We peeked as we passed by a few, and also wished we had gone exploring during the day, when the lobbies were open. Nevertheless; the window viewing was nice.
As we rounded a corner on our small journey, I was struck by the Starbucks coffee on the corner of the street. “OH MY GOSH I KNOW THIS STARBUCKS–I’VE BEEN HERE BEFORE. OH! OH! THIS IS WHERE BLUE MAN GROUP IS!!!” I shouted in exclamation. First of all, I finally got a perspective as to where I was located; no longer was I just walking in exploration. Secondly, Blue Man Group is perhaps the greatest off-Broadway show ever, and for me, the epitome of art.
No words necessary, no subtitles to explain the show, no post-show analysis trying to dissect the meaning behind it all. Just a straightforward show with incredible music, creative visual artwork, and great fun. The perfect blend of art for its own sake, and art for entertainment’s sake. Frankly, I’ve seen Blue Man Group three times before, and that’s proof that it’s a fabulous show. Furthermore, the time I enjoyed it the most was the third time; in other words, it only gets better and better. While we have been discussing a lot of visual art and theatrical art in this course, I’d like to stress here the significance of music as an art form. The music of BMG does it for me; I’m dancing in my seat, the beats reverberating within me, and I walk out of the show with the music stuck in my head. Just like the blue men don’t need to say a word, so does their music need not have words; the music is enough to have an effect on me that this form of art has meaning. If it moves me, I’d consider it powerful.
Hey Nicki
The Blue Man Group backstage crew worker was our final interviewee, and we unanimously decided he was the best one we got. He summarized our trip pretty well, telling us about the many galleries the Lower East Side has to offer, in contrast with Soho. The street art walking down the Bowery, other uncommissioned street art, street performers who perform around big concentrations of people (such things such as human robots, beatboxers, etc.). Specifically, he told us about one guy he’s seen in the area who only plays the bass, but “can play the bass for basically any song” and creates an entire performance out of it; sometimes other instrument players join him and an entire band is formed. Can you get any more artsy than that? And again, it’s the music that speaks to peoples’ souls. It’s inescapable, and there is a different style for every person, just like the visual art and architecture we saw that night. There is so much to see and appreciate on the Lower East Side that I was both aware and unaware of, and my admiration and respect is heightened.
Besides for that, I really want to hear this bass guy play. Maybe I’ll join in the music too.
