Category: BLOG POST 8

New York City as we know it, is a city that is full of culture, history, and diversity. Known as the capital of the world, some of the most influential aspects of this city often go unappreciated. The vibrant diversity of the city and its surroundings are abundant, from the busy financial district of Wall Street, to the calming nature trails located in Central Park, to even the vast beaches of Staten Island. Studded not only with skyscrapers but also vibrant neighborhoods, New York is definitely a wonder that deserves appreciation and needs to be reflected through different angles. With this project, we want to portray the inner workings of New York by showing people a different side of New York. Times Square and the Statue of Liberty are familiar to viewers across the globe, but as New Yorkers, there is much more to the city than just these landmarks.

In order to fully capture the essence of the city, we plan to focus on the different types of architecture present, nature in parks and other recreational sites, as well as street photography, capturing the people and the street environment. At its core, New York City is a culmination of all the people that live here. Everything around the city reflects our lifestyles and the things that we value. This was the inspiration for using an unconventional approach of taking photos of New York from various different mediums to accurately represent “Life Through the Eyes of New York”. We plan on using three different mediums; instant film, professional camera, and cell phone camera; to look at the city through different “lenses”.

We intend to use the instant film to capture moments regarding the people of New York City. We want to photograph human moments because we feel that these are the most powerful in terms of capturing the essence of everyday New York. It’s the core of everything in the city, and so we felt it important to allocate a portion of our project for this purpose. We feel that an instant camera would be appropriate for this purpose because they are designed to capture unreplicatable moments and snapshot them. The goal is to capture as many as what Henri Cartier-Bresson describes as “decisive moments” as possible.

The professional, EOS 70D Canon Camera, will be used to take pictures with the power to influence and connect. Since this camera allows us to take photos of optimal quality, we can highlight certain details in our photos and somewhat dictate what the viewer’s impression of the photo will be. We plan on each of these photos having a clearly-defined punctum that tells our viewers something meaningful, and we can achieve this through multiple takes and photo editing. 

Lastly, the photos taken by the iPhone7 plus will capture raw, unedited moments in the city. The subjects are the scenic views that are typically underappreciated. It includes the architecture and nature that cannot be found elsewhere. This is to help our viewers appreciate New York City as a work of art. While we want our viewers to see the city through the lenses of native New Yorkers, we also want them to make their own interpretations, even if they’ve never been to some parts of the city before.

Collectively, we hope these images make up a holistic view of New York and our audience takes a multifaceted approach to it. We hope that our viewers will become more aware of all aspects of the city and have a greater appreciation for its diversity and associate New York with this, as opposed to the perception of it being a “luxury” city. We believe this is especially important today, at a time when our country is becoming increasingly polarized. We strongly believe that photography is a powerful means to foster unity among us because it captures the essence of humanity. Hopefully by showing every one of the city’s different sides, we can increase awareness of the people we live around and foster greater understanding among ourselves.

Beyond this, we want our viewers to appreciate the beauty of the city, beyond the tourist attractions that first come to mind. Being as large as it is, New York City has a large variety of different neighborhoods and locations that all have something aesthetic to offer. One thing that we’ve all learned from this class is that the city is a perfect art canvas, with forms of creative expression all around us. For those that didn’t have the privilege to take IDC, we wanted to share a little of our experience in the class by showcasing some of the art we saw around the city.

Through my project ‘Binding the Spirit of New York’, I want to draw attention to the underlying spirit and energy that runs through New York and makes the city what it is. I want my project to not only focus on the superficial aspects of living in New York––the sights, locations, sounds––but the feelings and emotions that these superficial aspects illicit in native New Yorkers. I chose the medium of bookbinding to display the concept of my project because I love to read, and I’ve always felt that the best books are the ones whose contents make you feel something. That’s what I want my book to do; I want its contents to make my audience feel love for the city.

The book will be filled with collages of different mediums, like poems, articles, prose, and photographs. My book will be a melting pot of different forms of artistic expression, much like the city itself. Then variety in the content of the book will help to serve the purpose of embodying the spirit of New York and emulating what makes New York so unique in comparison to other cities. The collage aspect, I hope, will be reminiscent of, a sort of, New York authenticity. When people look at my book, I want them to get a taste of New York. I want them to find in it what I think makes New York what it is.

I also feel that my project is fitting when it comes to the way in which I am going to display it. Making a book and filling it with words and images that embrace and embody New York, is very true to New York in and of itself. Some of the greatest artists, writers, poets, and musicians came out of New York, so to base my project around making a book and filling it with photos and words about New York, stays true to that identity. I feel as though many people when they think of New York, think of Times Square and Wall, but never consider the more artistic, less touristy and finance-oriented side of the city. That’s what I want my book to reveal. I want viewers to gain a deeper love and appreciation for New York City. I want my book to truly capture the essential spirit of New York that makes it so special.

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).

Our Podcast’s Central Concept: Defining The Arts and New York City 

Our project is centered around New York City. More specifically, paisley and I chose to look at Washington Square Park for an inquiry of how art and New York City define one another. Thus, we propose “Washington Square Art”, an auditory project that focuses on the perspective of New Yorkers in relation to art. New York City is known for its artistic expression, serving as a cultural mecca. This leaves us with the driving question of how New York City defines art and how art defines New York City. We plan to make a podcast, recording the responses of New Yorkers and artists selling their work in Washington Square Park, to then analyze their different viewpoints. Paisley and I will be discussing the driving idea behind this project; that New York has a unique relationship with art. 

The Relationship of Our Podcast to Defining the Arts and New York City 

The material form of this project is a podcast which will discuss the role of art in its relation to New York City. The concept of the definitions of what art means to this city specifically highlights its relationship to the material form of the podcast. The podcast is a mix of a production of art and an analysis of art, presenting recordings of the interviews as well as our own take on the idea. Our podcast will allow us to explore the different realms of answers that we will be presented with. It gives an auditory break down of the different perspectives, whether coming from someone buying art, selling art, or just existing with the art. The podcast embodies this central idea in that it is creating another perspective. New York has so many different lifestyles and ideas. The presentation of a podcast with the element of these different perspectives leads us to a collective definition that is inspired by our own encounters. 

Communicating the Definitions of the Arts and New York City to the Audience 

We hope to communicate our ideas through the medium of podcasting. Kat and I will be guiding listeners through the experience we had of answering our thesis questions: How does New York City inform how people define art? How does art inform how people define New York City? First, we will introduce these questions and how IDC engendered them. Then, we will discuss the conversations we had with artists and viewers of art about these questions. Depending on what snippets we collect from people on the street, we will also be including the recordings of the conversations we had. Throughout the podcast, we will be talking about how these conversations, as well as what we have learned from class, have helped us answer these questions. We will then be concluding the podcast with our actual answers, or more specifically our definitions for art in terms of New York City and New York City in terms of art. The reason we chose podcasting as our medium is that answering this question, or defining these things, necessitates a conversation between New Yorkers, including those who are just residents and also those who are artists. Thus, a podcast properly conveys how people’s definitions may differ and it is the amalgamation of everyone’s experiences with the arts and New York City that allows us to answer these questions. 

The Audience’s Takeaways from the Podcast and the Definitions 

This first Macaulay Honors College seminar is literally called the Arts in New York City, a class in which we have learned about various art forms interacting with New York City. Through our exposure to the arts as we explore and learn about the city, we began to understand how interconnected the two things are. In other words, New York City would not be what it is without the arts and the arts in New York City would not be what they are without being centered in this spectacular city. Without this course, we are not entirely sure we would have understood the symbiotic relationship between the two. Thus, this podcast is meant to inform others about what we have learned. After encountering our podcast, we hope people will better understand this relationship and also continue to appreciate how each one has bettered the other. Hopefully, listening to this podcast will make listeners think about how the arts has informed their experiences in New York City as well as how New York City has informed their experiences with the arts. 

Our Inspiration for Washington Square Art

Meeting an artist at Washington Square Park inspired us to create this podcast.

Our group believes the best title for our project would be “Water Pollution of New York” because not only does it highlight the central theme of all the works, but also the main concept around which the whole project revolves. 

We want our project to focus on the issue of water pollution in New York. We believe water pollution is an often overlooked form of pollution and that not enough attention is given to it. In fact, it is even sometimes ignored. The main form of water pollution we would like to focus on in our project is plastic and through the art piece show its effects on the water, wildlife, and the environment of New York. New York is submerged under tons of plastic that is consumed by people. From plastic bags to plastic bottles, the pollution grows each day. The problem is so severe that the state wants to ban the usage of plastic bags. A major portion of this plastic ends up in the waters of New York which is the issue that we want to address; we want to encourage New Yorkers, specifically our generation, to be cautious of the use of plastic. The consequences are detrimental to our environment and the water that we later consume. 

The way our group is thinking of showing our art project and the central problem we are conveying, is by surrounding various works of art all around one big central piece. The central piece would be the Staten Island Ferry, which will be about 24in by 6in by 6in, and will, for the most part, be made out of cardboard. Resting on top of the ferry, will be an endangered bird species that has been affected by plastic in New York City waters and will also be made out of polyester clay, a form of plastic. The bird will also have plastic attached to it, as to show that it is affected by plastic in the water. Birds are strangled by plastic; to them, the plastic smells and looks like food. Moreover, it is easy for them to have access to it as the plastic floats on the water. Our goal is to depict the threat that plastic has not only on the birds, but also on the wildlife in the New York waters. Additionally, enclosing the boat will be a pool of water made out of cardboard and cotton balls, which will include actual plastic bottles. These bottles will have poems and photographs inside of them. The photographs will be illustrating a physical representation of water pollution, which will show plastic bottles and waste in our waters. The poems in particular will be written by our group in either a Walt Whitman style or as erasure poems. We will construct these poems in various ways such as printing them, pasting them to construction paper, or hand writing poems. These poems will focus on the theme of water pollution in NYC and the causes, effects, and the solution to this problem. To tie this all together we will have a sign, a form of political art, acting as the motivation for our generation to save the waters and our environment from pollution. The sign will grab the attention of our audience, gaining their interest to further explore our project. This exploration will lead them to the realization and acknowledgement of the water pollution that we are facing. 

 The Staten Island Ferry in our project will represent New York City as a whole; although it is not the most general interpretation and most commonly used site to describe New York City, the audience will understand what we are trying to embody. Furthermore, the bird on top of the ferry will most likely entice the audience as it is a mimesis of an animal and through seeing plastic parts surrounding and attached to the bird, they will interpret it as the bird being harmed and hurt by the plastic. The water, containing the plastic bottles, is the projects most literal and authentic representation of the central theme, water pollution, and will be a clear symbol of the high amounts of plastic in the New York City water. Adding on, we would like the project to be very interactive so the water bottles will not actually be attached to the water. The bottles could be picked up and we encourage the viewer to look inside them and take out either the poem or photograph inside them. Through the person taking out the poems and photographs, he or she is now more connected to the project. Furthermore, we believe that the best way for a person to see and learn about our central issue is if they could physically interact with it and that’s what we hope to accomplish with the plastic bottles.

In summary, we hope that onlookers will be drawn in by the unique shape of our STEAM project: a ferry clad with various kinds of artforms within a blue cotton-ball ocean. The biggest object, which is also the centerpiece of our project, is sure to be the first thing the people are curious about, along with our sign of course. Once they examine the intricacies of the ferry, we want them to inspect how the other aspects, such as the wildlife on top and the plastic bottles below, of the larger project play a role in weaving the altogether larger message that we are pushing for, to not only inform the people about the infamous air pollutants of the grandiose New York City, but also the pollution that exists beneath the depths of the murky water. 

The main goal we want to achieve through this project is helping the audience get a deeper understanding of the issue of water pollution and the effects it has on the actual water itself, the environment, and the wildlife of New York City. Furthermore, we hope to inform them about the harm plastic really has on water. Overall, we want to leave the audience more acquainted with the issue and make them think next time about recycling their water bottles. Also, maybe even inspire them to help clean up trash when they see it in the water.

Our project’s central concept is revolved around relationships within the city. It is these everyday lives of New Yorkers that shapes the poems itself. We want to bring attention to these New Yorkers that come and go to look at those around them and interact. These poems are about the idea of love in the city, the idea of love that changes the lives of people, and the idea of love that shape societal interactions. In a busy city, human interactions are rare. You barely see people take a moment to stop and look around themselves. Everyone just rushes to work and get to wherever they had plans for. When love is involved, however, the people begin to feel, invoke emotional responses and looking for responses. They take the time to think, think about the environment, and think about the people that are on the streets of the city. The poems within our project will focus on expressing these ideas and the theme of love and social interactions. These poems will describe how love comes to life in the city.

The wooden box symbolized unboxed memories, hidden feelings, and the unknown. Love, a complex emotion, is full of mystery. The thrill of falling in love is just like the thrill of opening up the unknown box, not knowing what’s going to happen. The act of searching for someone you love in the city is like flipping through endless poems trying to find the perfect one. The idea of a box relates to the city because it shows how people are trapped in their own state of mind. People are trapped inside their own schedule. The cravings on the box will be the engraved memories of love, the drawings will be what visually aids the reader and the poems are what the reader relates to.

When viewers first see our project, their eyes will land upon the cover. This cover will either be engraved or painted, immediately catching their attention. Our cover is a wooden box; it is very different and unusual, which will hopefully make people want to pick it up, feel it, open it, and see what it’s about. Their fingers will run across the title, our names on the bottom, and near the lock of the box. Once they open this box, there will be a big drawing of New York City. It will be a general drawing, and beneath this drawing will be our packet of poems. They will be able to flip through these poems like a book, touch our writing, and feel the burnt, brown paper that adds to our vintage look. Each poem will be different; even though there is an overall theme of love, some poems are intimate and sentimental while others are more general about love in the city. They will hopefully read through some of these poems, some longer and more descriptive while others are shorter and more open to interpretation. After they are done looking through the packet, they will put it back in the box and lock it up.

Our overall theme in these poems is love: love for the city, love for a significant other, and love for a stranger. The goal of our project is to invoke an emotional response in the viewer. It is meant to make them think of a time where they experienced this type of love and make them nostalgic. It is meant to bring back memories or even provide them with goals for the future where they will search for this specific type of mysterious love. It is meant to help them see the world differently where everyone is going through different experiences and hardships, but one thing that unites us all is love. Love keeps us grounded, love gives us something to look forward to, but love can also be painful. We are hoping that our viewers walk away with the thought in their minds that love gives us life, but it can also take away our lives. Love is almost like a drug wherein the beginning gives you a pleasant high, but once it is taken away from you or it hurts you, you can experience excruciating withdrawal symptoms or even death. But it is high that makes it all worth it.

6th Ave, West 55th Street

Concept, Thesis, & Claim

By 2030, the effects of climate change will be irreversible. Coastlines across the world will be devastated by the rise in seawater due to the melting polar caps. The increasing temperatures globally will metaphorically and literally set our Earth on fire. New York City will be at the front lines during this event. Our project will show the effects on global warming in an artistic manner to inspire the community to get involved and try to reverse out mistakes. Currently, our politicians are increasingly complacent and ignore the gravity of global warming. Recently, our president, Donald Trump, has withdrawn the United States from the Paris accord as well as rolled back countless of Obama Era environmental protections from the coal industry to clean water initiatives. This project is centered around claiming that our world needs saving and the people of our country need to take charge in order to prevent impending doom.

We hope that our piece inspires action from our audience. If our leadership does not take the right steps to preserve the planet and humanity, we cannot sit by complacently. There are ways every person can get involved; to help keep this planet going for generations to come. Whether that action is protest, volunteering, entrepreneurship, it doesn’t matter as long as it is a conscience effort, a collective effort, to solve this issue. We cannot solve this issue of climate change alone, and hopefully our project can show the dire situation and convince our audience to go out and make change, or at least spread the message of conservation. Climate change can only be combated with global cooperation, we hope our project, “Earth on Fire”, can aid in fostering this cooperation.

Breakdown of the Use & Need of Certain Materials

For our project we will be transforming two lanterns into globes. The first globe will mimic the Earth in present time. It will also be set on fire in a safe and controlled environment. This will be done to represent what’s occurring all over the world. The world is warming up exponentially and in some cases burning. Forest fires dominate the news today and multiple peer reviewed research papers show the drastic increase in temperature are the cause. The burning of the first globe will be recorded and will be available for viewing at our table during the STEAM festival. The second globe will mimic the projections of how the Earth will look like if climate change continues.. Projections by NASA and industry related researchers will be used to create an accurate representation of how the Earth may very well look like in the foreseeable future.

Future of the Earth – Source: Forbes Magazine

Lastly, an erasure poem will be created to view climate change through a political lens. The statement by President Trump on the Paris Climate Accord will be contorted to show the repercussions of pulling out of the accord in the first place. Though this is the main thing we hope to represent, it may change as new ideas come to mind. All the objects used in the project will embody the world and will expose climate change for what it really is, a threat to the future of the planet and the next generation. All the pieces of the project put together show the effects of climate change in a tangible way. The transformation of the Earth is shown via the globes and the repercussions of pulling out of accords that fight climate change are shown via the erasure poem. We hope that the complexity of climate change being explained through art and poetry, will offer the audience a better perspective on this serious issue. We also hope that our message will be heard loud and clear!

Relationship Between the Art Work & the Audience

Our purpose for this project is for the viewers to be aware of the severity of climate change. The viewers would have an intimate visual interaction with our lanterns and our erasure poem. We hope that they will be first attracted to our destroyed lantern so that they can automatically compare it with the original, and undamaged lantern. This comparison allows the viewers to comprehend the damage of climate change and what it had done to our planet. Additionally, with our erasure poem, we hope to escalate the visual effects. Our poem is an erasure poem of the infamous Trump’s Paris Peace Accord Speech, in which he withdrew the United States from the international climate change treaty and subsequently led to many countries criticizing the US for it. Our plan is to erase parts of the speech by burning the edges and putting it with the burned lantern. The charred paper signifies the rise of global temperatures and also the destruction caused by the disasters of climate change. We hope that the viewers would look at the burned artwork, and automatically think of chaos and destruction while also fear the effects of climate change. The two lanterns represent a healthy earth and an earth destroyed by climate change. Through the visual differences, the viewers would then digest the harsh reality of what climate change has done to our planet.