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

Floor With Laundry No. 3

Posted on September 20, 2015 by John Sorrentino

by: Samara Lugo, Maria Guarino, Monnique Johnson


We analyzed the description and intention of the piece. We discussed the position in which Sylvia placed the laundry, the color scheme, and the perspective of the painting. If we had more time the questions we would like to ask are why was the laundry on the floor? why only three pieces? Why did the artist only use the colors white, yellow, and brown? What kind of audience was this intended for?
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Air Jordon 2002

Posted on September 20, 2015 by John Sorrentino

by: Isaac Gordon, Ilana Blumenthal, Izabela Konopko


We spoke a lot about how the shoe reflected today’s culture and what people placed value on in this culture. This was shown in the colors of the shoes and particularly in the attachments and add-ons for the shoe. We also spoke about sneaker culture in general and about how shoes could show economic status.
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Nineteenth-century Houses by William L Hawkins

Posted on September 20, 2015 by John Sorrentino

by: Steven Zaslowsky, Eliana Alper, Talia Alper


Our group did a formal analysis of the painting. We discussed the aesthetic values of the painting, specifically the houses, roads, and fields. We also touched upon the historical background of the artist, including his life as a young child in Kentucky. Perhaps if we had more time, we would have discussed the light values in the painting, which used many bright colors.
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Brooklyn Museum Analysis Recorder 17

Posted on September 20, 2015 by John Sorrentino

by: Kevin Yieh, Heajin Joung, Jae Kim


As a group, we analyzed a variety of aspects of the painting. We analyzed the purpose, and time period of the painting. To add on, we analyzed the color scheme, patterns, and faces of the painting. We asked ourselves how the painting made us feel and what the author was trying to make its “audience” feel.
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Not At Home

Posted on September 20, 2015 by John Sorrentino

by: Noha Mohammed, Ayesha Schmitt, Kayla Herstic


At the museum, we focused on reading into the woman’s backstory through aspects such as colors, furniture, and social status. We discussed the role of a woman, the use of shades and lighting in order to create contrast, and hidden pieces throughout the painting. We would have liked to further discuss details in the room such as how we know there is a window because of the natural light but we never actually see the source. Also, there are multiple paintings within the painting that we never specifically analyzed.
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This is a story of Iago’s Mirror

Posted on September 20, 2015 by John Sorrentino

by: Ali Murji, Rishi Dutt, Collin Chipetine


We did a lot of historical analyzation of the work in relation to the time period in which the piece was constructed. We could have included more subject matter discussion through our examination of specific contrasts of texture in the piece. We would have liked to examine the artist’s purpose in creating the work if we were allotted more time.
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Web of Life by John Bigger

Posted on September 20, 2015 by John Sorrentino

by: Sarah Hwang and Stella Kang


We talked about the symbolism behind the images and representations of various types of wildlife, as well as the imagery that surrounded the human individuals in the piece. We also explored the symbolism of the color scheme throughout the painting and how it reflect the possible message that Bigger may have been trying to portray through his piece.
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Letitia Wilson Jordan

Posted on September 20, 2015 by John Sorrentino

by: Jennifer Chang & Abe Whitmeyer


We observed the physical aspects of the painting. Formal details such as lighting, expression, and context were analyzed. Although it was touched upon briefly, we did not go in depth into the fact that the subject caught the eye of the artist at a party, and how this shapes his perception of her, as well as how she is portrayed. If we had more time, we would have done more in-depth analyses for more paintings.
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Bad Seeds: Faile Exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum

Posted on September 20, 2015 by John Sorrentino

by: Lillian Mangialino and Nataliya Melnyk


We analyzed the subject matter of the painting and concluded that it’s a relevant piece of art regarding feminism and female empowerment from the 20th Century through today, as the piece was created in 2015. It’s a testament to the individuality and independence of women, and how a woman’s identity cannot be defined by society’s understanding of her at her time. We didn’t discuss the formal properties of the painting, but we noticed its visual effects; however, if we had more time, we would have discussed how the artist created those effects.
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Kiss Me and You’ll Kiss the ‘Lasses

Posted on September 20, 2015 by John Sorrentino

by: Nessim Azizo and Saul Esses


We analyzed the historical context and the images attention to detail. We also focused on the depth in the portrait and the playfullness of the lady. Lily Martin Spencer was able to create a portrait with great detail. However, we didn’t focus on the rarity of the fact that it was a woman painter.
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