Author: dylancampbell23

Flomenhaft

December 9, 2014 / dylancampbell23 / 0 Comments

When one thinks of America, the fusion of culture comes to mind- immigration and cultural diffusion. The Fabric of America art exhibit at the Flomenhaft Galley beautifully captures this essence of America’s underlying immigrant cultures. The gallery was seamlessly curated with a variety of works delicately placed to flow instead of clash from the works inspirations.

One colorfully executed story of not only immigration but the mingling of cultures within an individual was Siona Benjamin’s work, a fusion of her Jewish Heritage and Hindu/Muslim culture. Her utilization of layer painting of ornate and vibrant blues and oranges alongside gold flakes depict the mixture of cultures and a modern spin in an intricate and captivating form.

Most striking and memorable to my eye was her piece, Finding Home #68 “Lilith.” The contrasting cool and warm tones make the piece stand out against the white walls of Flomenhaft, but the actual image is thought provoking and leaves a lingering tone of eeriness. Benjamin’s work depicts Lilith, the female demon in many Jewish myths, an image of not only power but also rebellion. Lilith is depicted in a rich blue tone wearing a hijab surrounded by fire in a striped outfit reminiscent of prison. The blue tone leaves a connotation of confidence and power. The hijab reinforces the mingling of cultures once again. The fire evokes an eerie tone of fear and is another factor that depicts her power; while the prison outfit makes her appear locked into her surroundings as well as exemplifying her rebellion. It almost seems hell-like as if she were spending time in hell. She is watering plants grounded in roots of Fetuses. This, to me, exemplifies the woman’s role as caretaker, but this, I feel, depicts an evil twist that Lilith holds. The painting is finished with Hebrew letters at the bottom and a style reminiscent of Hindu paintings. The overall additions fuse cultures that Benjamin tries to enforce, and add a new more modern twist on Lilith in which she has a mix of power and ties. She, like a modern day woman is a powerful caretaker yet can be shunned for her dismissal of tradition and almost restricted by this new power limited to the confines of growing children. Overall, Benjamin also builds an image of diffusing cultures in modern society where cultures doesn’t have to be defined or separated but can fuse together to form one individual.

Carnegie Hall is the Art.

November 24, 2014 / dylancampbell23 / 0 Comments

Our trip to Carnegie Hall was an all around beautiful adventure from the music to the architecture, even down to the delicious mints that were supposed to keep coughs and sniffles at bay.

First and the main event of the show: Anne-Sophie Mutter and her orchestra of young musicians. Not only did she look beautiful her eye-catching yellow gown but sounded beautiful. Having never really listened to classical music, I was swept away by the elegance and my mind wandered as they played. I loved all the pieces, but André Previn’s piece stood out to me, I loved the change in notes that evoked a sense of passion. Though I had lower expectations because I hadn’t heard his name, I was truly captivated. I also loved the four seasons. I liked that the tones really related to the happiness or the chill of the seasons. Though I don’t know much about the structure of music, I know that it can kidnap your emotions and drag you away to everywhere and also a place in your mind where there is nothing, where your thoughts just wander. I was also amazed by the two encores that she played. I loved how she looked genuinely happy to be playing more, and I loved the first encore the best. I thought it was beautiful and flowy. Above all, I loved her smile and passionate gestures especially when she walked off at the end of the show with such confidence.

While I was drowning in the beauty of the music, I couldn’t help but be drawn to look up at the beautiful swirls and flowers carved into the building. I thought their swirling motions fit the flow of music and were aesthetically detailed and beautiful. The beauty of the building mingled and enhanced the beauty of the music.

I also loved to occasionally look at how the people around me took in the music. Did the sit back with eyes closed letting themselves drift or did they sit eagerly with head on hand admiring the movement of the players? Were they young or old? Dressed up or down? It made me wonder what is the proper way to listen, look and be. What I concluded is that this experience can be for everyone, there is no right or wrong way if you’re feeling the music and the beauty of Carnegie Hall.

Aside from the people around me, I also loved to watch the musicians and their variation of movement. They would move dramatically back and forth, jerk their arms, sway slightly all depending on the music. This movement drew me in because it captivated their passion for the music as well as the music itself. It astonished me to see how physical this all can be and what that movement says about the musician and the music.

Overall Carnegie Hall was beautiful and embodied its art.

Open Mic: Opens my eyes.

November 24, 2014 / dylancampbell23 / 0 Comments

When we gathered in the Woody Tanger Auditorium, I expected a stream of recited poetry and maybe a song or two, but as the show began and progressed I was stunned by the talent, passion and courage. Every poet and singer that took the stage was not only captivating and emotional but truly talented. I loved the musicians from the heart wrenching pain of the first performer to the eerie retelling of little red riding hood through song. Even the poets stole my attention from the girl who sewed her emotions, the boys’ stories on love/loss and the telling of the pain of interracial relationships. With each story I felt their emotions and theirs only. From performance to performance I was overwhelmed with a new emotion from happiness to sorrow and back. Something about the intricacy of their words spoken in the poets/ song writer’s voice is astounding.

Aside from how entertained and emotionally involved I was, I truly was shocked by the number of people brave enough to take the stage and pour their hearts out to us in such beautiful mediums, song and written word. I could never imagine speaking like that in front of others with such emotion. Their ability to speak of, accept and describe their emotions makes me feel that these artists are heightened, that they understand and accept themselves on a new level. Their courage and acceptance of their emotion is what I respect. I loved the range in style, the range in age and range in mediums, but I also loved their shared courage.

From the show I not only learned the emotion of spoken word but I gained a respect for it. Spoken word connects people, connects their emotions and helps them understand each other, and it all takes the bravery of one emotionally comfortable person.

Janis Joplin

October 29, 2014 / dylancampbell23 / 0 Comments

Janis Joplin was not only a female singer in the 1960’s but an icon that influenced music, fashion, women and the overall mark of the 60’s on American culture. Her website describes her as “She claimed the blues, soul, gospel, country and rock with unquestionable authority and verve, fearlessly inhabiting psychedelic guitar jams, back-porch roots and everything in between.” (http://www.janisjoplin.com/janis.php#sthash.d8gH6Oxl.dpuf) Her fluid mix of genres and edgy, psychedelic and passionate performances alongside her unique sense of style , later marked “rock mama” (mix of flower child style, extravagance, burlesque, and odd accessories ex. “granny” glasses”) drew audiences to her.

She came to her fame in the late 60’s as the lead in Big Brother in the Holding Company but later on found a new fame in solo work.

She was the main attraction for Big Brother in the Holding Company and landed them a record deal and fame with her performance at Monterey Pop Festival in which she empressed the audience and music community alike. The song “Piece of my Heart” hit number one and soon after she broke free and landed huge performances like Woodstock. Fame grew into the 1970’s

Famous Songs:

“Down on Me“, “Summertime“, “Piece of My Heart“, “Ball ‘n’ Chain“, “Maybe“, “To Love Somebody“, “Kozmic Blues“, “Work Me, Lord“, “Cry Baby“, “Mercedes Benz“, “Me and Bobby McGee“. (challenge bc country)

Back up Bands:

Kozmic Blues Band and The Full Tilt Boogie Band.

Performed with bands like:

Grateful Dead; Jimi Hendrix

Role Models:

Bessie Smith, Lead Belly and Big Mama Thornton

Effect On Culture:

-One of the first women in rock SOMETHING NEW

White and singing Jazz

oozed confidence and paved this for women
pushed for freedom of expression (hippie movement)
Joplin brought the voice of the outcast to San Francisco’s protest culture, says biographer Echols.”Janis in some sense was the great unrecognized protest singer of the 1960s,” she says. “No, Janis was not singing explicit protest songs. But in her voice, what people heard was somebody who was refusing the status quo.” (http://www.npr.org/2010/06/07/127483124/janis-joplin-the-queen-of-rock)
Death influence the view of drugs.

Some Contemporary Dance

October 21, 2014 / dylancampbell23 / 0 Comments

At Fall for Dance the NY Dance Company performed a unique contemporary dance that, though some found it befuddling, left the idea that it must mean more. The piece was a long and seemingly drawn out performance filled with a cranking and repetitive beat. The performers utilized choreography that seemed almost unplanned, sloppy and repetitive filled with unfinished leaps and clumsy basic moves. The performers were not at all in sync and their only interaction was their random crashing into each other or the mimicking of the same moves but never truly interacting. All of this combined into a chaotic blob of emotionless dancers dancers that moved across the stage.

The yellowish lighting and shadows alongside their yellow, tan and dull silver costumes added a dull and mundane tone to the chaos.

Overall the performance seemed confusing and mundane, but I believe that was the point. Maybe the choreographer wanted to depict that life is filled with mundane actions exemplified in the dull movement and color/ music.

Additionally, I feel he revealed that even though we all do these same mundane things, seen in their similar movements, we don’t acknowledge each other, seen in the bumping into each other without acknowledgement. ) Lastly, the longevity of the piece may reflect the longevity of life. So, though the piece was a little odd it held an interesting underlying meaning.

Staging in Magic Flute

October 16, 2014 / dylancampbell23 / 0 Comments

The Staging in Magic Flute was not only captivating but an important role in the running of the opera. The Staging was centered around a large cube structure that provided different settings. The cube would slowly turn to provide a new stage for the performers to work off of while its transparency allowed the lights to change its appearance. The movement added to the fluidity of the scenery while the changing of lighting made the set customizable and appearance always different. Alongside the large cube structure was a moveable staircase that Papageno used several times throughout the play. The staircase added another sense of fluidity while also adding another set to work with and allowing movement for Papageno. the sets higher structure added tone as well as additional scenery. The Queen of the Night was always on a higher playform emphasizing her power and the platform was later used for Papageno to climb and in the final test. The set wasn’t only functional but aesthetically pleasing with its basis in geometric shapes. The shapes added structure without emphasizing one place too much allowing the terrain and meaning of the set to change. They also emphasized one of the main themes of the opera order and unity. The use of triangles represents structure, like Sarastro’s kingdom and costume, while the circle revealed unity. Lastly the geometric over curtain added a gorgeous cover to look at while the show was not on and added to the overall aesthetic of the show.

Story behind Valley of Astonishment

October 15, 2014 / dylancampbell23 / 0 Comments

Valley of Astonishment is mainly the story of a woman, Sammi, coming to understand that she is different after being diagnosed with Synesthesia, a disorder in which she mixes senses. The doctors tell her she is a phenomenon, and she goes from a girl with a great memory working as journalist to an act in a show reciting long lists of memorized numbers and words. As the play develops the audience finds out Sammi’s “trick” behind her memory- she places the words on imaginary “streets” leading from her childhood home. Though her memory started as a seemingly never ending, supernatural entity we find that as Sammi does more shows she first runs out of street space. The doctors then tell her to try something different such as reciting numbers that she writes on an imaginary blackboard. Despite this idea, the space there begins to run out, and she begins to struggle with forgetting. She agonizes over her overwhelmed memory and battles the lists- writing them down and then burning them to erase them from her memory. Sammi learns that you are only capable of forgetting what you want to forget. Sammi lastly steps away from the memory shows that overwhelmed her brain and decides to give her brain to science. The play ends with the doctors’ lingering silence to her offer.

Throughout the play there are references to the phoenix who accepts his death perhaps symbolizing how one should accept themselves- event he bizarre or the flaws. Similarly, there are many references to controlling the body. For example their side plots characters like the paraplegic controls his movements with sight, or the painter executes his Synesthesia in his work all while Sammi controls her memory. The play also follows the fear of being rejected. This is depicted when Sammi goes to the doctor and keeps repeating how she is normal or how the painter is afraid to reveal his Synesthesia because of his prior rejection from his friend. Lastly, the idea that the brain can’t be understood is introduced. For example, how the less emotional doctor questions if the brain can ever be understood fully as more than just neurons, and then in the end the doctors don’t accept her brain when she offers it to science which may signify they feel they have abused her and that they don’t believe it can ever be understood.