Author Archives: John Sorrentino

About John Sorrentino

I am a PhD candidate in French Literature at the CUNY Graduate Center. I currently work as an instructional technology fellow at the Macaulay Honors College of CUNY.

Posts by John Sorrentino

Macaulay Night at the Museum

Posted on September 19, 2015 by John Sorrentino

by: Kacia Wilson & Piotr Marciniec


We namely analyzed the historical context of the work giving purpose and detail and also the colors chosen when creating the art work. We did not analyze artistic techniques nor reference other art works in our video. If we had more time, it would have been useful to add background information on the artists and compare it to their other works.
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Clouds Over the Black Sea

Posted on September 22, 2014 by John Sorrentino

by: Noor Fatima, Anniesa Baldeo, Cindy Win, Sayema Islam, Sirui Ma


The experience was beyond rewarding for all of us. Not only were we able to interpret art, but we also discovered new levels of creativity in ourselves. We also made friends!!!
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“Niagara” by Louis Remy Mignot

Posted on September 22, 2014 by John Sorrentino

by: Joshua Cutler, Tanvir Islam, Lily Lee, Alexandra Caruso, Jessica Castro


We saw the more political side of art because the painter ran away from America due to the Civil War and painted the Niagra Falls for its beauty. We were really intrigued by the fact that he painted the waterfall looking towards Canada rather than the US. Perhaps he was really angry or disappointed towards America.
Different people thought different things. Some people people thought about the political aspect and others looked at the aesthetic details like brush strokes and technique. At the end of the day we combined our perspectives and were amazed by how beautiful it was. And we were able to create a background story and history for the art work.
We dissected the painting and researched its meaning and history, while we made the video. And we used pictures that showed closeups of the specific portions we discussed and music that described how we felt.
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Family Group

Posted on September 22, 2014 by John Sorrentino

by: Lauren Schneider, Nicole Schneider, Dana Frenekel, Mikki Weinstein, Sarah Yammer


It was truly a wonderful experience. The art was really cool. We all got to learn from each other and learn how to discuss art.
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House of Parliament – Claude Monet

Posted on September 21, 2014 by John Sorrentino

by: Ben Hermus, Ishak Nobeo, Suim Sddiqui, Justin Roach, Noam Vaanunu, Martin Tang, Rayhanul Ibrahim


It was a rather enlightening experience. We were able to view art with multiple perspectives, which is an experience we individually had never had.
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The Sculptor

Posted on September 21, 2014 by John Sorrentino

by: Thamara Jean, Adam Hobbins, Gustavo Ramirez,


The experience was very interesting and enlightening. Talking about the art actually provided was a lot different from just walking from painting to painting without ever vocalizing what you see in the art piece. This experience made me realize the unlimited perspective one can take hen viewing a work of art. Each observer sees something different and interprets the art differently from the rest.
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The Outlier

Posted on September 21, 2014 by John Sorrentino

by: Suriah Iqbal, Thomas Odessa, Christopher Sorensen, Christopher Scarcella, Mohammed Arafa


The experience was initially stressful but we all gained a better appreciation of art, specifically Native American art history.
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Vasily Vereshchagin: Brooklyn Museum

Posted on September 21, 2014 by John Sorrentino

by: Ellianna Schwab, Irishvarsha Iyyadurai, Hadassah Stein, Victoria Maxham, Ariana Outar, Rachel Molloy


The Macaulay Night at the Museum event was a wonderful opportunity to exchange ideas and gain new perspective. It was exciting to make this artistic exploration especially with the added thrill of being there “after dark”. At first we were hesitant to vocalize our opinions, but before long everyone was enthusiastically expressing their views.We came to a better understanding of what constitutes art, learned what to look out for in a piece, and most importantly we had a great time.
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Avarice

Posted on September 21, 2014 by John Sorrentino

by: Kharene Gittens, Delsy Espinoza, Chaya Dembitzer, Rebecca Deustch, Phoebe Taylor-Vuolo

https://s3.amazonaws.com/mediaarts/Avarice-Small.mov

Visiting the Brooklyn Museum was very memorable for all of us. The exclusivity combined with the aura of the art made our first Macaulay common event worthwhile. On our exhibition, we were exposed to art in different eras and learned many new things. We realized that art is everywhere from the jars people used on their dining room tables in the 1800s to the oversized circular corn calendar from the Aztec era. Collectively, we learned a new appreciation of art. As we analyzed and discussed the art in front of us, we were exposed to different viewpoints and interpretations of both the description of the artists and other classmates. This experience matured the way we perceive art and made going to museums much more enjoyable.
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The Judgement

Posted on September 21, 2014 by John Sorrentino

by: Casey Goedtel, Krystal Au, Shateesh Bhugwansing, Briana Merritt, Haley Dobson, Emily McLane, Rageene Berry


We all thought that experience was eye-opening and educational. We enjoyed meeting new people through this activity and were shocked at how many perspectives can be given on one piece.
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