New York City allows for a spectrum of lifestyles to dwell within its boundaries. It offers the startling life of wealth and luxury, as well as the horrendous life of poverty and struggle. In addition to its cultural and socioeconomic acceptance, the city is home to the finest of arts and creativity. An individual living in New York City without having acknowledged the city’s unique persona, or taken advantage of its rich cultural diversity and arts, is a man deprived indeed. I must confess that I walked into Arts of NYC as a partially deprived person. Although I understood that the city’s diverse ethnic nature allowed one to taste the world, I was completely ignorant towards the spectacular artworks and the numerous forms that the city takes. Had I not been given this class, specifically matched with this certain professor, I would’ve stayed oblivious to a world worth serious acknowledgement and appraisal.
From what I understood and took away from this course, I believe this class was designed to not only allow students to engage with the creative artworks of New York City, but to understand the exceptionality of the city through contrasting roles that it plays for its people. I’m reminded of an image of a keen eye looking at NYC through a magnifying class. This class resembles this image so well, in that we looked at NYC with a naked eye when we considered the city as an icon through the eyes of people, and then we took a magnifying look to get to the streets of the city and learn about its highs and lows.
Uptown and Downtown was the first theme in this course. It touched the extremely important topic of socioeconomics in NYC, and portrayed societal classes in relationship to their moral values. This theme had so much to say about the character of NYC and its ability to house a wide range of people. As a student, I came to conscious realization of the opposite worlds that manage to make a living in this city. It is as if the city was constructed in a way to fit in every class, culture, and ethnicity. Woody Allen in Manhattan was a fairly wealthy man whose concerns were his delicate reputation or an under aged girlfriend. God of Carnage portrayed the questionable values of New Yorker parents who thoughtlessly argued about a minuscule issue. In extreme contrast, we meet with morality deprived characters in In Arabia We’d All Be Kings, where unemployment and poverty are the social norms and robbery and drugs are the alternatives. I stepped out of this section of the class realizing that NYC does “justice” to societal classes in providing space for all of them. Societal class and economy in return, drive the lifestyle and concerns of the individual. Accepting such a diverse range of people, it is no surprise that NYC breathes life into every kind of lifestyle.
City of Immigrants-by the title of the theme, this was just any other section that talked about the magnetic nature of NYC and its strong immigrant attraction. Not knowing the experience of an immigrant, this theme didn’t touch me deeply or grasp my interest. To my surprise, this section of the course was designed carefully and effectively that it managed to shift my world and change my viewpoint. Enjoying a class is one thing, but walking out of a class with a new perspective is astounding. I am only indebted to Professor Healey for using such wise judgment and selecting the artworks that she did. Maria Full of Grace gave me the chills and taught me the horrors of immigrants. Yellow Face and Asuncion gave me some laughs and left me wondering about the complications of races and ethnicities in NYC. In America took me from the eyes of a tourist and the beautiful views of Times Square to the eyes of an immigrant and a shabby conflict-infested building. Finally, Carlo’s story in Intringulis outright questioned by beliefs and opinions and forced me to see a viewpoint I never considered. I have always been a rule following nerd who couldn’t bear the thought of surpassing borders illegally. It is a crime, after all. Carlo opened me up to an illegal immigrant’s side of the story. Opportunities in America meant too much for illegal immigrants to let go of. The crime they committed by entering this country illegally was more than just compensated by the burden and pain they faced everyday. Had I considered that for a single minute before? I would still prefer that the rules be followed today, I can’t help it. However, I must agree that I understand an illegal immigrant’s drive to be here. The City of Immigrants just had to be my favorite theme. It seemed the most truthful as well, not because I haven’t faced the dreams/nightmares or wealth/poverty of the city, but because I’ve seen cultural diversity and the inability of immigrants to fit in. This theme related to students like myself in a more personal way because my parents too are immigrants.
City of Dreams or Urban Nightmare-NYC is still the city of my dreams. I can walk the streets of Manhattan everyday and still dream of going there like I’ve never gone before. It might be the lights, the beauty, or the atmosphere that draws me in. I honestly can’t even tell. Our neighborhood blog only proved my love the city. I mean come on, name one other city that has Little Italy, Chinatown, a Lower East Side, Greenwich Village, and SoHo in it! E.B. White is so true in saying that each NYC neighborhood is so complete and has its own life. The artworks, foods, and atmosphere of each neighborhood was extremely different and pleasing than the other. In my bubble of NYC dreams and wonders, I never even thought this place could be a nightmare for many. It was obviously a nightmare for the struggling immigrants, but artworks such as Kindness, inhabited, and The Mercy Seat showed me other horrors of NYC too. 9/11 was the greatest horrors to have struck New York City. Surprisingly, the city still flourished and maintained its dreamy image. Why then wouldn’t NYC be the topic of a conversation, the title of an artwork, or the focus of a college course? The city has so much to learn and experience from.
I leave this course with a sincere gratitude towards Macaulay Honors College for giving me the opportunity to view my city with a different lens, and Professor Healey for helping me construct the lens through which I saw NYC and its artworks. It might just be a couple of months and a single semester, but this course has changed me. My opinions and critical analyses of ideas and artworks are more thoughtful and confident. I don’t change my mind about disliking an artwork because someone famous finds it valuable and beautiful. I don’t judge books and movies solely on the story they’re portraying. I judge art with a heavier consideration on its theme, message, colors, costumes, set design, and historical context. Had I been assigned a different Professor for this course, I would’ve continued to ignore the costumes and sets of movies and performances. Today however, it has become second nature for me to not only notice those things, but to question the symbolism behind every action of the character. Just yesterday I was watching an Indian movie where a heart broken girl walks away from his beloved’s girlfriend by giving her a red scarf. I was completely confused by this move, and didn’t understand why she would care to give away her red scarf when she was busy crying over the one she loved. Normally I wouldn’t care and would consider this move to be happening “just because”, but because Professor Healey would pinpoint things and question them, and so, it became habit for me to do it too. It was only later in the movie did I learn that although the girl was heartbroken herself, she gave away the red scarf to congratulate her beloved’s girlfriend on starting a new married life. The girl’s move did have a point! This is only one example of many that I come across now that I have completed the Art in NYC course. I look deeper into the different images and portrayals of NYC too, and try to figure out whether a certain neighborhood has been gentrified. Overall, whether it’s for NYC or its arts, the most valuable thing I have gotten from this course is a keen eye. With this eye I can see, think, judge and analyze so much more than I ever used to.
For all of this, thank you Professor Healey. Your class did make a difference.
