STUDENT LED DISCUSSION in class October 26, 2010.
Groups are:
LITERARY (3-4 students): Jen, Melissa, Judy, Jonathan
MUSIC (2-3 students): Jeannie, Luka
THEATRICAL PRODUCTION (2-3 students): Kerishma, Danielle
ADMINISTRATIVE (2 students): Abby, Victoria
FREUD (2-3 students): Alden, Desmond, Tom
For those students wanting to learn more about William Kentridge*:
ART21 PRESENTS FIRST ONE-ARTIST DOCUMENTARY
“William Kentridge: Anything Is Possible,” Art21’s first feature to focus on a single artist, will premier on PBS October 21 at 10 PM EST. The documentary will give viewers an intimate look into the mind and creative process of the South African artist, internationally acclaimed for his charcoal drawings, animations, video installations, shadow plays, mechanical puppets, tapestries, sculptures, live performance pieces and operas. Visit http://www.pbs.org/art21/specials/anythingispossible/ for more details.
*Extra credit possibility – contact me via email if interested.
Every year Macaulay Honors College students in Seminar 1: The Arts in New York City take photographs for a cross-campus exhibit. This year we welcome our partner campuses from the University of Nevada, Reno, the University of Indianapolis, and Finger Lakes Community College, Canandaigua, NY.
All students must take photographs on Monday, October 11 (at any time during that 24-hour period). The exhibit consists of four parts.
1) Taking the Picture(s) Barron Rachman, the photographer who lectured to the class reminded me to tell you that you should make sure that your cameras is set on the highest MegaPixel count and that the image quality is set to “high” or “large” or “superfine”. That is usually the language around these quality issues. Also when you look in the camera menu you should find these topics under “Image Quality”…….that is usually where it is.
2) Bringing 3-4 pictures to CLASS on October 12 –on a flash drive. We will discuss your photos and choose 1 to submit to the exhibit.
3) You will upload your chosen picture to the online Gallery between October 12- October 18. See instructions below.
4) Macaulay will print your pictures for inclusion in a display curated by a group of classmates and a professional photographer.
Here is the general information for the Snapshot Day 2010 event:
Instructions for uploading your image to the online gallery can be found here:
http://macaulay.cuny.edu/it/content/instructions-snapshot-2010
I am interested in two types of responses from you: 1) what was your favorite artwork and why? and 2) which work(s) were successful in terms of their “site specificity?” Granted all the Arts for Transit works were created or designed for their specific site (this is the definition of “site specific” ) but some were more successful in terms of their being integrated with the site: the station/the location/neighborhood. Please REPLY
Below is the updated list of artworks we saw on the tour.
I wanted to give you more information on the two artists/projects I mentioned in class yesterday: Vito Acconci and Lawrence Weiner. Those of you interested in getting more information, please research further. Feel free to add to your e-portfolio.
Related to our discussion of public/private space and peformance as a genre:
Vito Acconci, Following Piece, 1969 (you can Google image) Following Piece is one of Acconci’s early works. The underlying idea was to select a person from the passers-by who were by chance walking by and to follow the person until he or she disappeared into a private place where Acconci could not enter. The act of following could last a few minutes, if the person then got into a car, or four or five hours, if the person went to a cinema or restaurant. Acconci carried out this performance everyday for a month. And he typed up an account of each pursuit, sending it each time to a different member of the art community.
Related to our discussion of public art and “mapping” the city (like the MOMO tag discussed in NY Times article). A work of Weiner’s text art was in the “Haunted” show.
Lawrence Weiner, NYC Manhole Covers, 2000 (www.publicartfund.org) New Yorkers, whose night sky is often too bright to see the stars, must look down instead of up to get their bearings. Artist Lawrence Weiner, having grown up in the Bronx and a long-time West Village resident, pays homage to this ritual of looking down, watching feet hit the pavement, avoiding construction zones, curbs and debris, to arrive at a destination. Weiner’s project is based on the very materiality of New York, iron immersed in asphalt. The text refers to the grid of the city, “in direct line with another and the next.” And to the asphalt surface of the street as merely a barrier between sky scrapers, brownstones and sidewalks, and subways, underground parking garages and basements. It also refers to the odd democracy of the New York City. While a city of vast extremes, the rich and poor, powerful and disenfranchised still all wait for the same “don’t walk” signs to change when crossing the street. Standing on line, riding the subway, walking down the street, New Yorkers are always “in direct line with another and the next.”
Colin McCann, Let the Great World Spin (novel by Hunter faculty) The novel takes place in NYC during the days/weeks in August 1974 when Phillippe Petit walked between the World Trade Center Towers. I read quotes where the tightrope walk was described by 2 characters: that by walking there he made the city art and himself a monument (aka a work of art). PLEASE RESPOND. Do you agree?
I am curious how many of you collect things. Please let the class know what you have collected and why?
Please use the “comment” section (below) for your responses.
This is an experiment to make sure you are all checking the blog. These are not graded but I expect a response from each student.
Upcoming Common Events. Attendance at these events is mandatory. Mark your calendars!
Oct 6: Meet the Artist with David Ellis @ Macaulay
October 11: Snapshot NYC day
Dec 12: Snapshot NYC 2010 Exhibition Day
