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Author: Jordyn Green
The Fabric of America exhibit at the Flomenhaft Gallery had many exquisite pieces of art, but I found the most attention grabbing artwork to be Roger Shimomura’s American vs. Disney Stereotypes. Shimomura, a Japanese Immigrant, uses this painting as an outlet for the discrimination he encountered during World War 2 when Japanese Americans were sent to internment camps. This painting is phenomenal in the way that it is relatable to all, not just Japanese Americans, because it features stereotypes of all races.
At first glance, this painting appears to be a happy, lively cartoon drawing. Familiar cartoon characters from Disney movies like Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck are depicted using bright colors and are highly animated. I smiled when first viewing this painting because I was familiar with these characters and it looked like a fun, upbeat painting. A closer look reveals this painting is anything but happy with the realization that every character is stereotypically depicted. The Native American characters have skin that is colored a bright red and are depicted either smoking peace pipes or wearing feathered headpieces. The black characters are depicted with afros, big lips, and eating watermelon. The Asian woman has bright yellow skin.
After noticing the racist depictions of the characters, my attention was drawn to the center of the picture. The center figure is an Asian man that appears white in skin tone. He has a nervous look on his face and is cowering in fear due to all the stereotypes that are surrounding him. I remember thinking that the man must be Shimomura, and he must have felt so scared in the internment camps when all Japanese were viewed as stereotypically dangerous following the bombing of Pearl Harbor. The real genius in this painting is that Shimomura was able to take a personal experience, and present it in a way that is familiar and personally appealing to people of all races, while still making the connection to his own life clear.
Carnegie Hall captures all attention just from its red carpets, gold accents on the walls, and elaborate architecture. Just stepping inside filled me with wonder and awe. Then, when Anne-Sophie Mutter entered the stage in her bright yellow gown, all eyes were on her and that’s where they remained throughout the whole performance.
Hearing Anne- Sophie Mutter and her students play Vivaldi’s Four Seasons at Carnegie Hall was truly a remarkable experience. I had never heard a live instrumental performance before, and the way Anne- Sophie Mutter and her students played their string instruments was extraordinary. I felt as if I could get lost in the music. Each season seemed to tell a story that feels as if it captures the time of year that it is trying to express. Summer was calm and happy while winter began fast then turned joyful when the music was describing the holiday season. I was amazed at the power of live classical music, especially how music composed centuries ago is still relevant and beautiful today.
The whole performance was fascinating, including the two encores that were very much wanted by the audience. I had little experience with classical music in my life, but this performance opened me up to the wonders of classical music.
Attending Brooklyn College’s Open Mic was a truly remarkable experience. It is one thing to hear renowned writers perform but seeing your peers perform poetry, songs, scenes, and monologues is something unique and rewarding. It was amazing to see the amount of talent that students in Brooklyn College possess and how each performer was completely open about their feelings and lives in their presentations. No one held back and every performer gave their presentation their best effort. No one judged anyone for their honesty and the atmosphere was really relaxed and inviting. A performance that really struck me was a performer who performed a song. The lyrics were so honest and he was a really talented singer. Another fascinating performance was a girl who sang a song about little red riding hood. She had a really unique interpretation of the fairy tale. A lot of the poetry was really well written; it was surprising that students could write so well. I truly enjoyed my experience at Open Mic.
Martin Luther King was a civil rights activist during the 1960’s, a time where America was ridden with racism and prejudice, that most people considered moral and normal. African Americans were not treated the same as white people, and were discriminated against in all aspects of life including job attainment and even service when eating in a restaurant. King was an African American man who attempted to call attention to this inequality and tried to bring about change by organizing peaceful protests and rallies. Unlike other civil rights activists at the time, King did not support violent protests. Many people are familiar with King’s famous “I Have A Dream” speech, which he delivered on August 28, 1963. It advocated a world in which people of all races could coexist peacefully and equally. Unfortunately, the racial tension in America was extreme and there was a lot of opposition to King’s views. King was assassinated on April 4th, 1968 by James Earl Ray, who happened to be an escaped fugitive. Riots broke out in over 100 U.S. cities after his assassination, and many civil rights activists became disillusioned with the fight for civil rights after King’s death and others felt that if this was the result of nonviolent protests, that protestors should resort to violence. King’s efforts played a major role in he passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which enforced the 14th amendment right to equal protection under the law and forbade discrimination.
King’s assassination was important to Patti Smith, because after King’s death, riots broke out, mostly in big cities like New York where Patti lived. The struggle for equality was a major influence in the lives of people in the 60’s like Patti, and King’s death was shocking and influenced more people to join the fight for civil rights for all.
The staging in the Magic Flute opera was both elaborative and unconventional. The opera began with a completely blue background while the orchestra was playing and serving as the focal point of attention. The blu background became increasingly more illuminated to reveal a geometric pattern of triangles, that lifted and gave way to a glass like platform with a circular apparatus behind it. Through this apparatus, shadows of fish were shown. Blue light was shining during the serpent battle, which gave the illusion that the scenery was underwater. After this scene, the lighting shifted to a green tint and the same backdrop that looked like the ocean in the previous scene now looked like grass and trees. The scenery had transformed from an underwater environment to the wilderness. Finally, in a following scene, the lighting darkened to dark grayish-blue and the same glass platform and scenery now appeared to be the middle of the night. What had appeared to be trees in the last scene, now looked like clouds. At the closing of the opera, there were statues on stage with fire in them. These statues evoked feelings of fear, danger, excitement and surprise. In the scenes where Sarastro was present, the background was very bright, illuminated well, and suns were painted on the backdrop. The people in these scenes, who appeared to be Sarastro’s followers, stood in very geometrically perfect lines which showed order in the kingdom, Sarastro’s great power, and Sarastro’s connection to the gods through the images of the sun. It was amazing how the Magic Flute used the same backdrops and set ups for many scenes, but when one thing like lighting was changed, a totally different feeling was evoked.
The Vuyami African Dance performed at Fall For Dance was very engaging and exhibited a lot of talent from the dancers. The dance consisted of a lot of full body movements in which the dancer’s bodies appeared to be popping and pulsating. A lot of arm waving and spinning was also used. This attention grabbing choreography appeared to follow the music that was being played in the background. The music, which featured a lot of drum use and sounded very traditionally tribal, was slow paced at the beginning of the performance, but increased in speed as the dance went on. When the music was slow, there was less movement from the dancers but the movement was more intense, like the popping movements. When the music was faster faced, there were more of the spinning and wild arm movements. The dancers were wearing shirts with long ends, so when the dancers spun their shirts would also spin, adding to chaotic and wild feel the dance gave off. Within the chaotic choreography, there was order, which was very interesting and exciting. The dancers would constantly change places with each other and spin in opposite directions from the dancers next to them, which shows teamwork and planned actions. From watching the dance performance, the story line that the dancers were making an offering to a God was not very clear to me, but the dance in itself was exciting despite the obscure story line. The most intriguing part of the performance was during the final moments of the dance when the music was fast paced but all the dancers except for one were completely still. They seemed to be counteracting the music, which was the only time the dancers really conveyed emotion. Having never been to a dance performance before, I never thought myself a fan of dance and was a little unsure of what to expect from the Vuyami performance. I found myself happily surprised when the dance turned out to be engaging, fun, and a little wild.
The acting in the play “The Valley of Astonishment” was extremely original and attention grabbing. Only three actors played all of the roles in the play. The same actor played multiple roles like the man who played Sammy’s employer also played her doctor and show organizer. The actors effectively displayed emotion through their facial expressions along with changes in their voice’s tone and loudness during the play. For example, when Sammy was told by the doctors that she had a gift, her face looked very surprised and her voice loudened. In addition, Body language and movement played a huge role in how the actors played their parts. For example, when Sammy got excited, she stood up and moved her arms around a lot. In addition, when Sammy could not forget the numbers from all the shows she performed she moved her hands as if she was writing the numbers down even though there was no paper there and she didn’t have a writing tool. Finally, the man who overcame his paralysis used movement effectively when he was demonstrating how he made himself able to walk by moving his legs as if they were really paralyzed. Also, the actors would walk to the back of the stage when switching characters, which allowed the actors to really portray a role switch. Silence and standing still was also a very powerful tool the actors used, especially at the end of the play when Sammy was asking the doctors if they wanted her brain and the doctors remained still and silent, emphasizing the horror of mental exploitation.
Art is Unadorned
Art is Decorative
