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

Wolf Within

Posted on September 20, 2015 by John Sorrentino

by: Yigal Adhami, A.J. Chico


We did any types of analysis. We discussed how we felt that the sculpture was a metaphor for corporate America and how corporations are evil. We also thought that the sculpture represented the man wanting to go back to his common roots. We did not do an analysis on historical aspects. We focused more on the present tense. If more time was available, we could’ve dove into the historical aspect of the sculpture. We may have uncovered more information and opinions about the piece of art.
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Engraved Whale Tooth

Posted on September 20, 2015 by John Sorrentino

by: Briana Belfer, Baila Schochet, Jenny Shin


We looked at how the piece was created using formal analysis and gauging it by looking at the medium itself (the tooth) and the engravings on it. We further used historical context to understand the artist’s purpose in creating this figure and under which circumstances it was created. It seemed to resemble primitive “cave man” art but was in fact produced in the early 20th century. We didn’t know the subject matter so we tried to fill in the blanks by using our formal analysis and historical context skills. If we had more time, we would have liked to discover and touch on the artist’s purpose in creating the figure.
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Horse statue temple

Posted on September 20, 2015 by John Sorrentino

by: Rachel Hia and Patriece Ausili


We described the statue and the temple walls. We discussed the different materials used in the artwork. We didn’t talk about the time period or story told or how it made us feel.

We would have liked more time in the sneaker exhibit and game room.
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FAILE: Temple

Posted on September 20, 2015 by John Sorrentino

by: Joelle Tirado, Jenna Tipaldo, Jared Cox, Patriece Ausil, Rachel Mia, Schlomo Khlar, Genie Gorbonosov, Geraldine Perral


Our group used primarily a content analysis of ‘The Temple’ art piece. We did not do a formal or historical content fully though we did mention in our discussion the elements of the work and reflected on it being created in 21st century. If we had more time, we might given a deeper analysis of the art.
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Life-Death Figure

Posted on September 20, 2015 by John Sorrentino

by: Arjun Lala, Vincent Yu, Ming You, Brandon Tai, Reaz Rahman


The analysis we focused on was formal analysis. We described features that stood out. For example we talked about the holes in the figures which represent emptiness. We also talked about the crown on the figure which could represent loyalty. We emphasized the juxtaposition of life and death with the living figure on the front and the skeleton on the back. A type of analysis that we could have had more of was historical.
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Fallen Bierstadt

Posted on September 20, 2015 by John Sorrentino

by: Abraham Chabbott, Yosef Cohen, Ryan Yip


We did formal and historical content analysis. We did not do content analysis fully. I wish we had time to learn about the materials of the painting and to have been more descriptive.
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Family Group by Frederick Spencer

Posted on September 20, 2015 by John Sorrentino

by: Casey Sniffin, Laura James


We did formal analysis of the color scheme, and contrast of environments within the painting. We also discussed the subject matter concerning the family dynamic and in how the child was reading to his brother. We talked about how the painting made us feel, but we didn’t discuss the historical context of the painting or why it was painted. Given more time, we would talk more deeply about all three aspects of art analysis, especially the historical context.
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Obama Force 1s

Posted on September 20, 2015 by John Sorrentino

by: Laurence Sulner, Dominik Makocki, Vaughn Titus, Lucien Formichella


Few exhibits can truly capture the essence of popular culture as the Brooklyn Museum’s “Sneaker Culture.” Sneaker culture is often shunned by the mainstream museum community for a perceived lack of “importance.” However, the Obama Air Force Ones transcend this barrier by combining sneaker culture with broader social issues, namely the progression of society in overcoming racism.
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Young Woman Overtaken by a Storm – Chevalier Féréol de Bonnemaison

Posted on September 20, 2015 by John Sorrentino

by: Becky Cheung & Annie Pan


We mostly analyzed the physical aspects of the painting. We described what we saw and possible conditions that would have allowed the woman to end up in that situation. We also had a bit of historical analysis on the woman in the painting. The woman was caught in the middle of the French Revolution, a time of war and turmoil. The expression and her body language show the terror and chaos that must have erupted during that time. Our group didn’t analyze the type of paints and style of painting because none of us really had background knowledge on painting. If there was more time, I would have liked to see in the perspective of the woman in the picture.
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Brooklyn Museum Faile Temple

Posted on September 20, 2015 by John Sorrentino

by: Nureen Ahammed, Syeda Wahid


This exhibit was subjected to descriptive analysis, due to the large amount of observational details, and historical analysis, due to the juxtaposition of ancient and modern cultures. If we had additional time, we would have discussed our personal interpretations of the piece, and it’s potential message to the modern-day political machine.
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