Author: Julia D

“Welcome Home” by Jack Levine

The artwork that I chose to analyze is titled “Welcome Home”. It was painted by American painter Jack Levine circa 1946. Jack Levine was best known for his satirical and comical representations of politicians, policemen, and other authoritative figures. The time period in which he created his greatest works was known as the period of social realism, and this was especially reflected in this work. The term social realism is used to describe pieces of work that bring attention to the socio-political struggles of the middle class in order to criticize the authority that causes these injustices. 

“Welcome Home” caught my eye particularly because of Levine’s cartoon painting style. In the piece, we are shown a glimpse of a dinner party from a bird’s eye view. Three men and a woman are seen dining, and each seems to be dissatisfied with what they are being served. The woman’s head is elongated, particularly to emphasize her puckered, unhappy demeanor, and the inflated, bald heads of the men compliment their bulging stomachs.

This painting is a great example of conceptual art. The foolish, glutenous way that Levine portrays the general in particular is meant to jab at the arrogance of US military generals. He is the only subject in this painting who has his napkin tucked into his collar, symbolizing his greed for more food. Furthermore, the painting’s message attempts to sympathize with working class Americans from the depiction of the waiter on the right side of the painting. The waiter does not hold as high of a distinction compared to the general and his fellow comrades; however, he is clearly doing his best to please the group with his services, but he is given no attention. This is likely to stir frustration within any viewer of this painting who can relate to the waiter’s circumstances. This is a mimesis of a dinner party scene, but Levine purposefully draws the figures in a comic-like fashion to belittle authority.

The material expression of Jack Levine’s message has the power to effectively communicate with the viewer. In particular, the way that Levine messily depicts the figures in dinner scene mirrors the grubby nature of a greedy eater. It makes the viewer feel disgusted at the general and his comrades, reflecting the emotions Levine wants to stir towards authority in general. Furthermore, Levine was purposeful when he painted the waiter; his full body is shown, as opposed to only the top halves of the guests, and he is dressed in an emerald green suit. We are drawn to the waiter because of the bright color of his garb and the wholeness of his figure, yet the guests are not. This portrays an underlying message of authority’s ignorance towards the working class and being narrowly focused on their own personal gain through the exploitation of others’ hard efforts..

This painting sparked a lot of controversy in the political world. The painting was originally shown in the American National Exhibition in Moscow in 1956. The event was meant to advertise the prosperity of the American people in the 1950s and flaunt American superiority to the Soviets in Moscow. However, the choice to enter this painting into the exhibition was a poor one; many attendees of the event had “records of affiliations with Communist fronts and causes” and the reputation of America was ridiculed. When Dwight D. Eisenhower interfered and regarded the painting as “lampoon more than art,” Edith Halpert, American art dealer, fought back, claiming that this painting merely ridiculed the image of arrogant, greedy generals, not America’s generals in particular. Interestingly enough, Halpert was born in Ukraine and was fluent in the Russian language, gaining her popularity in the Soviet Union. She used this and Levine’s painting to show the world that America is the land of the free because it allows its artists to create whatever work they want to, no matter what message it embodies. Thus, despite its rocky beginning, “Welcome Home” became an icon of American freedom.

The central concept of our project is to demonstrate how the many different neighborhoods in NYC are all connected by the subway system, Central Park, and museums. Despite having various ethnic, cultural, or economic differences, there are a number of things that unite these diverse enclaves. For example, the New York City Subway does not discriminate who can use it. It is used daily by the Upper East Side billionaires and the students commuting from the Baruch dorms. There is no luxury cabin or first class. Instead, everyone is exposed to the same delays, smells, and crowdedness. Another such place is Central Park. The park is surrounded by a few very different neighborhoods and it accepts everyone the same. The entry fee from Billionaire’s Row is the same as from Spanish Harlem – it’s free. At the same time, the park is everyone’s backyard. Many people like to jog, walk, bike, or even just get some quiet away from the busy streets of Manhattan. Lastly, the plethora of museums are also a major union for all of New Yorkers. Museums are enjoyed by many people and many are free or inexpensive.

Our material will portray the many different cultures, backgrounds, and lives of the people that live in New York City. The first layer of this will be erasure poems which will form the foundation of our project. For each enclave of the city, we will choose a poem that represents that areas culture, or was written by someone who lived in that particular area. This first step will provide our project with a solid base to work from. Our next step is to hide certain sections of the poem using significant landmarks from each enclave. Not only will this highlight the specific words we feel define each area of the city, but it will also add a physical element. Some examples include museums, famous buildings, and parks. What will ultimately tie the project together is the interconnectedness of the city and its major landmarks. While each enclave has a certain culture, they exist together to form New York City. It is our main goal to show how although the city seems so segregated, through the subways, museums, and parks, it truly is connected. 

 Our project will attempt to communicate and highlight this interconnectedness of New Yorkers, despite our cultural and social differences. The first piece of our project will be the poster board outline of Manhattan. Manhattan is an enclosed island, completely surrounded by water, and yet, so many different people call it home. The symbolism of Manhattan being cut off from the mainland depicts how New Yorkers are able to live harmoniously despite their different backgrounds and socioeconomic statuses. The next main component of our project will be the subway lines running from all these individual enclaves, intertwined like a spider web. As previously stated, New Yorkers can all emotionally relate to each other because of similar subway experiences, and it is also the physical network that links these neighborhoods together. The subway is a vital piece of the puzzle of New York, pumping people in and out of the city like veins in a living body. We will emphasize this by drawing out the subway lines and including the train symbols around various well-known subway stops. Lastly, the culture of each neighborhood is necessary to its uniqueness. On an island where people take the same mode of transportation and see the same tall skyscrapers and walk in the same (central) park, the ethnic differences of each enclave is what truly makes Manhattan a special place in New York City. We want to describe the importance of culture by using the map of Manhattan as a way to “erase” poems written from or about a particular neighborhood. This way, we would be able to communicate that the roots of Manhattan’s vibrant atmosphere lie way below even the subway stations and come from the arts that grew from the citizens of each enclave.

We hope the viewers of our project will be able to see, understand, and appreciate the existence of diverse neighborhoods throughout New York City and particularly Manhattan, since it is the borough we focus on in our project and is the heart of the city and the entire world. We expect our audience to first notice an abundance of color to differentiate the various ethnic enclaves, subway lines, and train symbols around Manhattan. Furthermore, our audience will see how each erasure poem relates directly to the neighborhood it is from and/or written about. Since our viewers are New Yorkers, we expect and truly hope that our message will resonate with them and that they will be able to relate it to their experience living in New York, after a prolonged encounter with the artwork. Perhaps they will remember, visualize, and ponder their relationship with the neighborhoods they have visited, trains and train stations they have been in, museums they have attended, and even their own ethnic enclave and how it relates to their family and culture. Most importantly, they will become conscious of the importance of cultural awareness and a feeling of community, because first and foremost, we are New Yorkers and we must support and care for each other.

This is a cut-out of our map of Manhattan (featuring Julia’s sock feet for size reference).

The Long Morn

Hearing the tiny motor sputter to life wakes me from my still-dreaming state

It reminds me of my long morn, my long journey, my long search for fish in their depths,

That I must take

For the ones back home, still sleeping, with their heads in the clouds, oblivious to reality

They don’t know that reality is cold and bleak, but I will never admit.

The still-darkness of the west blends with the calm waters it harbors,

But the sun – peeking out from the folds of the waves, wondering who is disturbing its slumber – reflects off the sea, painting it orange 

It is my road and mine alone

As my boat bobs along, it has no visible company

But bravely follows the blazing trail to my calling.

A feeling of fatigue overcomes me, but a gust of wind rattles me to my core, I shiver to pass the time, 

A feeling of solitude grows in me as my friend, my guide – the sun – climbs higher and disappears behind the boundless clouds,

A feeling of weakness hits me as I lift the anchor to throw it overboard, my sore arms reminded of every time I did for the past 20 years,

A feeling of doubt creeps into me, a familiar one, that I greet every day, as I think of my family that I do it all for.

But alas! A tug on the line! A struggle with the beast! And a catch for me!

Ah what joy a single fish brings!

I haul the stranger onto my boat, 

He not only brings the taste of company, but the celebration of triumph.

My long morn has just begun, but it is looking up.

Part One 

“Ultimately, what I am seeking in the photograph taken of me (the “intention” according to which I look at it) is Death: Death is the eidos of the Photograph. Hence, strangely, the only thing that I tolerate, that I like, that is familiar to me, when I am photographed, is the sound of the camera. For me, the Photographer’s organ is not his eye (which terrifies me) but his finger: what is linked to the trigger of the lens, to the metallic shifting of the plates (when the camera still has such things). I love these mechanical sounds in an almost voluptuous way, as if, in the Photograph, they were the very things – and the only thing – to which my desire clings, their abrupt click breaking through the mortiferous layer of the Pose. For me the noise of Time is not sad: I love bells, clocks, watches – and I recall that at first photographic implements were related to techniques of cabinetmaking and the machinery of precision: cameras, in short, were clocks for seeing, and perhaps in me someone very old still hears in the photographic mechanism the living sound of wood” (15).

This passage is intriguing, but a little confusing. Barthes claims that when a photograph is taken, the subject loses some of his or her essence and ultimately “dies” as an object. However, Barthes enjoys hearing the click of the camera, knowing that his image will be captured and his human soul will be lost in the resulting photograph. It is very counterintuitive in that he understands that the death of his mortal essence is a result of the clicking of the camera that he enjoys so much. Also, Barthes explains that he enjoys the sound of time passing, whether it is from the ticking of a watch or the ringing of bells. Is this passage trying to tell the reader something about Barthes’ mental state at the time?

Part Two

“The Photograph does not necessarily what what is no longer, but only and for certain what has been. This distinction is decisive. In front of a photograph, our consciousness does not necessarily take the nostalgic path of memory (how many photographs are outside of individual time), but for every photograph existing in the world, the path of certainty: the Photograph’s essence is to ratify what it represents. One day I received from a photographer a picture of myself which I could not remember being taken, for all my efforts; I inspected the tie, the sweater, to discover in what circumstances I had worn them; to no avail. And yet, because it was a photograph I could not deny that I had been there (even if I did not know where). This distortion between certainty and oblivion gave me a kind of vertigo, something of a “detective” anguish (the theme of Blow-Up was not far off); I went to the photographer’s show as to a police investigation, to learn at last what I no longer knew about myself” (85). 

This passage highlights the idea that the viewer of a photograph can learn something new about themselves when they are the subject of a photograph. For most, when viewers look at a photograph of an unknown subject, they can learn something about the time period that it was taken or about the lifestyle of the subject, and experience what Barthes coins as the “studium.” In this case, Barthes argues that the power of photographs is strong even if the viewer is looking at a photograph of him or herself, a subject that is obviously familiar. It is an automatic time machine that the viewer can use to discover things about themselves that they forgot or never knew before.

Discussion Questions

Roland Barthes died in 1980, 7 years before the popular graphics editor Photoshop was released. How would Roland Barthes react to the usage of such a program to alter photographs? Does Photoshop enhance or take away from the essence of the original photograph? 

Barthes discusses time in various parts of his writing. How does Time relate to the noeme? What is the noeme in your own words?

Barthes discusses in extensive detail the significance of the studium and punctum in a photograph. Do you think that these concepts can be applied to other works of art, like cinematography or literature? Use an example to support your answer.

This is a European painting by Vasily Vereshchagin titled A Resting Place of Prisoners that I saw during the Night at the Brooklyn Museum. The piece grabbed my attention with the waves of wind that pick up the snow and thrust it at the prisoners. Also, the title is contradictory with what is happening in the painting; Vereshchagin describes the prisoners as “resting” even though it must take a strong mentality and many layers of clothing to brave the piercing cold that is depicted.

Located on 25th Street, there were three galleries in particular that caught my attention with their distinct uses of gallery space: Gallery Henoch, the Amsterdam Whitney Gallery, and the Marlborough Gallery. All of these were traditional white cube gallery spaces, but the differences in lighting, organization of the artwork, and the unique floors and ceilings all fabricated a unique, independent experience of the pieces displayed.

To begin, the paintings in Gallery Henoch were displayed on conventional white walls, but the ceiling of the gallery was open, featuring the brick layout that the building was made of. Lining the high brick ceiling were silver beams connecting individual light bulbs that shone a spotlight on each separate painting. The contrast of the white walls and the deep brick made the space feel bigger and cozier, complementing the warm theme in all the pieces. The floor was a cream color, softer compared to the sharp white of the walls, and it had a glossy finish that, due to the spotlight, reflected the paintings hanging on the walls. Interestingly enough, many of the paintings depicted either bright lights, shining reflections, or even had a similar glossy coat over the canvases. In particular, Sunghee Jang’s Floor displayed a close-up of a waxed wooden floor with the light reflecting off of it. This painting, reflected on the gallery’s own glossy floor, added to the interaction of the piece because the viewer can view Floor from the canvas itself and the floor’s reflection, adding a new dimension to this gallery experience.

The glossy floor of Gallery Henoch creates new art through the reflections of the paintings.

“Floor” by Sunghee Jang

Amsterdam Gallery exhibited colorful, vibrant paintings on the backdrop of a standard white cube gallery space. There were secluded sections of the gallery dedicated to paintings of similar themes, some of which were different perspectives of the Eiffel Tower, portraits of famous celebrities made of music scores, and abstract thread paintings. The benefit of harboring corresponding works in an enclosed sector of the gallery in this way is the fixated attention and intimacy that it provides the viewer. The viewer can analyze and compare works of the same medium and theme without their attention being redirected by other pieces. For instance, the paintings of the Eiffel Tower by JS Renand were grouped together hanging on one wall. All of these rendered different viewpoints of the Eiffel Tower at different times of day. The viewer can experience the many atmospheres the Eiffel Tower creates before moving on to the next set of paintings. It is a strategy that immerses the viewer and makes them feel as if they are seeing the structure in person. Thus, the seclusion of similar paintings, as well as the plainness of the rest of the gallery, hones in the viewer’s focus to maximize their interaction with each set of pieces.

JS Renand’s Eiffel Tower exhibit

“Sparkling Eiffel Tower” by JS Renand

Lastly, Marlborough Gallery was able to transform the viewer’s experience with a particular piece of art through its position and physical display at the gallery. There were two main exhibits in the Marlborough Gallery: 100-Foot-Long Piece by Joe Zucker and A Requiem for Paul Lynde by Jim Krewson. The use of space of A Requiem for Paul Lynde was exceptionally interesting because the exhibit was hung from the ceiling by a string. The project was a wedding gown that had been painted with various neon watercolors layered with photos of people from mass media sources, perhaps questioning this new era of publicity. However, the gown itself was only part of the display; a light shone from the corner, casting a shadow of the slowly rotating dress on the opposite corner. The entire exhibit was tucked away in a small room at the end of the gallery, startling unsuspecting viewers that turn the corner to be confronted by such a dramatic piece. The eerie display of the hanging gown along with its slow spinning shadow creates a bold, almost frightening experience to viewers compared to if the gown was merely pinned to a white wall.

“A Requiem for Paul Lynde” by Jim Krewson

A light cast an eerie shadow of the dress onto the corner of the exhibit room.

On the whole, I had a different experience with all three galleries that I visited. Henoch Gallery was able to complement the reflective, illuminating paintings by using the glossy floor as another canvas to view the artworks from. The Amsterdam Whitney Gallery isolated pieces of the same theme, allowing the viewer to fully absorb the meaning behind each group of artworks. I enjoyed A Requiem for Paul Lynde in the Marlborough Gallery the most because of the ghostly, mysterious tone it emits throughout the entire space. The space of each gallery prompted a different reaction to the artwork it presented, keeping me on my toes and anticipating the next surprise.

About a year ago, the community of Glendale in Queens noticed a change in the appearance of their local mall, the Shops at Atlas Park. The exterior wall of the parking lot along Cooper Avenue was suddenly home to a 60-foot spray painting of a boy. Grey, static-like vertical and horizontal streaks of paint hug the outline of the boy’s scrawny figure. The boy’s big ears protrude from the sides of his equally unproportionally big head that seems to sag forward, as if it is too heavy for his neck to keep upright. In his right hand, he holds a bouquet of colorful balloons, red, blue, yellow, green, and orange, that compliment the different hues on the sweater he is wearing. Painted over the striped colored of his sweater is a white outline of the head of a child, with ears just as big as the boy’s. His black creased pants come up short on his long, stick-like legs that grow out of his colorful, clown-feet shoes. His eyes are two different colors, brown and green, and seem to gleam when looking out into the distance with anticipation. Freckles dot his nose and cheeks, and below, his mouth is curved into a smirk-like expression.

If I were to categorize this mural to fit one of Kwon’s paradigms, it would fall into both the “art in places” and “art as space” paradigms. The “art in places” paradigm suggests that the artwork is meant to disrupt the urban nature of the community by bringing a new and beautiful exhibit to unite the public. This is true of the mural; the bright colors stand out against the grey atmosphere of the urban area. It attracted the attention of many locals, who stopped by to take pictures to post on social media and share with others. It was able to bring the community together to admire the artwork because of its contrast against its colorless surroundings. 

It can also be categorized into the “art as space” paradigm. This lens describes the artwork to be “site-specific” and integrated to fit the space. This boy is painted on the outside of a parking garage outside of a mall, where children are likely to visit. It is an appropriate use of the space; it promotes the site and draws consumers in to shop. Furthermore, even though the public isn’t able to physically interact with the art, they are able to emotionally resonate with its message. This mural is meant to remind passerby of childhood innocence and mentally take them back to their times of juvenescence. The goofy, over-sized ears, a signature feature of the artist, and the clumsy shoes of the boy strike a familiar chord within the public, reminding them of the time when they had the same untroubled freedom as kids.

The artist, Sipros, signed his mural in black paint and, below that, added the crew of Brooklyn street artists that he is a member of, The Bushwick Collective. Atlas Park reached out to Sipros after a decision to use the blank wall as a canvas for a mural to attract shoppers. Sipros typically creates most of his work in Brooklyn, with his most popular murals being displayed in Bushwick. This is an interesting case in which the artist does not have personal ties to the neighborhood, but his artwork is still enjoyed by many, mostly due to the light, sweet message about childhood that it emanates.

The second exhibit of public art that I viewed is a sculpture that I remember visiting since I was a child. The Unisphere is located in a plaza in Flushing Meadows Corona Park, Queens. It was commissioned for the 1964-1965 World Fair and was designed by Gilmore D. Clarke. The American Bridge Company built and erected the structure for free, asking instead for their name and logo to be marketed on all of the fair’s products. During that time, the Unisphere celebrated the new era of space exploration and the achievement of an expanding universe.

The sculpture is a hollow representation of the globe and sits atop a three-pronged pedestal. The spherical structure is 140 feet tall and measures 120 feet in diameter. The shape of the globe is formed with steel rings that mimic longitude and latitude on a flat map, making the globe look like a rounded cage. Solid steel pieces in the shapes of the continents sit on the gridded sphere. The topography of each continent is depicted as well, with stacked layers of steel representing high mountainous regions. Encircling the globe are three thin orbital rings, each tracing a different route of the earliest satellites. The circular base of the pedestal features fountain water jets that were installed to create the illusion of movement, as the physical rotation of the sphere was deemed “impractical.” A cement ledge encloses the base of the structure. 

This work of public art is an example of both the “art as space” and “new genre public art” paradigms. The public is able to physically interact with the artwork. People can sit on the cement ledge and children are allowed to run through the fountains in the summertime. The sculpture and its surrounding elements are useful to the community and give the public the sense of social responsibility Kwon was referring to. Additionally, the Unisphere can be an example of “new genre public art.” The Unisphere is located in Queens, the most diverse borough in the world. The symbolic meaning behind the structure has changed throughout the decades; today, it represents the melting pot of culture that it calls home. When people come to visit the Unisphere, they can see where they came from and take part in the new celebration of diversity that it stands for.

Overall, both works of public art were erected for different audiences and contribute a different message to their respective communities. The mural of the boy was meant for the immediate public, the locals that pass by the mall during morning commutes, or shoppers going to the mall. It was built to brighten the Glendale community and distract from the busyness of an urban lifestyle. The Unisphere serves the opposite purpose; it reminds viewers of the mixed community that they live in and praises the multicultural coexistence of its site.

The lion that I have chosen is depicted on an oliphant, a hunting horn made from the tusk of an elephant that was blown to make signals during hunts. The oliphant dates back to the 12th century, and it is from southern Italy. During this time, the Normans, an ethnic group that surfaced in Normandy in northern France, were conquering the lands occupied by the Byzantine Empire. It was allegedly on display in a Benedictine monastery in Dijon, France, likely taken along with other artifacts as “spoils of war.” The oliphant is made from ivory and has two silver bands with small hoops that a strap likely threaded to make it easier to carry the horn. There is also a brown leather case that the oliphant was found with, and it is reportedly the only surviving relic to have been saved with its original case. The artist is unknown.

The artist carved rings confining different animals on to the oliphant. The rings are all connected with intertwining loops around the horn. Many different animals are depicted on the oliphant, such as llamas, antelope, rabbits, birds, and lions. The lion in particular is the only animal shown with two eyes: the artist only carves the profiles of the other animals. The lion’s eyes bulge out of his head, and, with crossed eyebrows, he is looking in the direction of a llama in the ring adjacent to his. The lion’s back legs are crouched, as if the ring is too small for him. The lion is also the only animal whose mouth is open. These characteristics all emphasize the lion’s predatory nature. His eyes stalk his prey and his legs are ready to pounce and mouth ready to bite, showing his bloodthirsty aggression. The head is as big as half of its body and is the main point of emphasis on the lion. The lion’s mane is carved as lines that are small compared to the lion’s massive shoulders. The tail appears to resemble a bird, with an eye and a beak-like tip. In general, the lion’s depiction is stylized, with the big eyes and large upper body cartoonishly emphasized. 

The lion’s ring loops to form the ring of the llama below him, and the llama’s ring is connected to that of the antelope next to it. This continuous link between all of the animals on the oliphant represents the natural connection between all animals in an environment. It suggests the flow of energy in nature and the dependence that all animals have on other organisms that they coexist with. Furthermore, it highlights the existing predator-prey relationship in all ecosystems. Overall, the lion is depicted as the most aggressive animal in nature among other species. As a viewer, I recognize the lion as a predator due to the depiction of the eyes and body, but the carving helps me understand the interconnectedness that all animals in nature embrace.