Macaulay Honors College, Fall 2014
Community Arts presentation by Sheba Antony and Dylan Campbell
The Flomenhaft Gallery’s exhibit “Fabric of America” conveys people’s journeys to finding themselves and their homes, a journey that is paved by their experience coming to and living in America. The artwork of Siona Benjamin caught my interest. The vibrant jewel tone colors first drew me to the art. There was a blue-skinned female as a center figure in all her pieces of art. Learning of the artist’s Indian Jewish background, the chosen skin color of these central females offers ethnic neutrality, inviting viewers of all backgrounds to be the recipients of the artist’s message. The piece of art I chose to reflect on was written in golden letters on the bottom of the art itself as “Directions on how to wear an Indian Jewish Sari.” The blue-skinned female is directly in the center of this piece, clothed in a royal blue sari and is in the process of adjusting her skirt. The bottom of the skirt transforms into a system of blue roots. Beneath the roots is some Hebrew writing. From this imagery, I deducted that the woman proudly wears her Indian Jewish sari, a representation of her culture, and is deeply rooted in her faith and ideals. All around the woman are wispy white threads connecting to images of leaves, eyes, a sword, a rocket/missile, a goat, and a dragon. The complexity of all these images woven together mesmerized me and has had me searching for an answer. Perhaps they are images of the woman’s imagination or stories of her past. One thread stretches as an image of a plug reaching for an electrical outlet. Perhaps the woman is not “plugged in” to her full potential or “plugged in” to all that is happening around her. Above the woman’s head is a golden crescent moon to the left and another human figure on the right. A wispy white thread stretches into the image of a bird flying towards the moon, prompting me to wonder if the white imagery could be the woman’s dreams. The human figure on the right is clothed in some joker-like costume with some green wing-like structures and is grasping an item than looks like a mirror. The woman’s eyes are diverted from this figure, which might represent some evil or something she is avoiding. The message that I received from this artwork was that a woman should stand for and stand by her ideals and faith.
Anne-Sophie Mutter and the Mutter Virtuosi had a brilliant performance at Carnegie Hall. I loved the pieces performed. The Bach’s Concerto for Two Violins, Strings, and Continuo in D Minor and Vivaldi’s Four Seasons were beloved classics performed perfectly by Mutter and her virtuosi. In Bach’s Concerto, Mutter played with three different soloists and gave them their own moments to shine. Vivaldi’s Four Seasons was played with vivacity. The fast movements were shockingly impeccable. Andre Previn’s Concerto for Violin and String Orchestra offered a modern piece of music to enjoy. I was captivated by the energy and originality of piece, but I found the harpsichord interludes stark in comparison to the fullness of Mutter and her students. I loved how passionately Mutter and the students played. I was amazed by how incredibly talented the students were. Mutter had a way of captivating the audience with her soulful playing.
It is also known as the Chelsea Hotel or the Chelsea. It is a historic hotel built in New York City between 1883 to 1885. It is located at 222 West 23rd, Chelsea, Manhattan. It permitted long-term residencies until a recent change in policy. In 1966 it was designated as a New York City landmark.
Over the years, it has housed many famous residents. Many incidents with famous residents happened here. Some were mysterious and fatal, others simply romance inspiration for songs and literature. In the early 1960s, Arthur Miller wrote a piece titled “The Chelsea Effect” about life at The Chelsea in the early 1960s. Nancy Spungen, girlfriend of Sid Vicious of the Sex Pistols, was found stabbed to death on October 12, 1978. Valerie Solanas, a resident evicted after failing to pay rent, shot resident Andy Warhol in June of 1968 out of jealousy and lunacy. Patti Smith had moved out of the Chelsea in 1970 when she fell in love with playwright Sam Shepard who was residing in a seventh floor room of the Chelsea. Patti Smith also lived here with Robert Mappelthorpe for some time.
The Open Mic event was an excellent showcase of the writers, poets, and musicians of Brooklyn College. There were a variety of pieces and each person delivered his/her own piece in a unique way. The atmosphere of the room was welcoming and judgment free, allowing the performers to deliver their pieces from the heart. I enjoyed the upbeat “RoboCop” performance in which the performer animatedly conveyed the powerful message of police violence and racism. The energy of the performance caught everyone’s attention and drilled in the message of the piece. Another piece I enjoyed was the powerful reflection on death and remembering a lost loved one. The flow of the piece, beautifully chosen words, and heartfelt deliverance of the piece truly struck everyone with the power and emotion of its message.
In Stairway to Paradise, there were one female and eight male dancers. The male dancers wore uniform suit-like costumes consisting of a white shirt, silver vest, and black pants. The female dancer wore a figure skater-esque rhinestoned black leotard with short flowing black skirt and heeled shoes. The costumes gave a very theatrical look. The dancers did not utilize any props. The expression overall was theatrical, as expected by the choreographer’s background and as supported by all the elements of the performance. The music was the song “I’ll Build A Stairway to Paradise”, which set the showbiz theme. The use of recorded applause sounds reaffirmed the showbiz theme. It starts the performance and is used several times during the performance as well. A steady rhythm in standard time (meaning four beats per measure, and a beat has the value/length of a quarter note) allowed the dancers to work with a basic eight-count routine. The dancers conveyed a story of woman who was desired by other men. She gives each man a chance and they try for her heart but in the end she does not choose any of them. This performance was a structured jazz routine. The movement was very uniform, practiced, and precise. The dancers did use the entire stage but they used the center of the stage the most. The female dancer was the main dancer. Her flexibility, strength, and skill were highlighted in some impressive moves, such as when the men lifted her as she performed a split. The male dancers also used their entire bodies to dance. They, however, were not focused on as much as the female dancer and did not have any extreme moves. It was amazing to see the dancers portray the image of a staircase. The dancers made it look as though the female dancer was walking up a staircase as one male dancer passed her to the next and moved her. She walked from hand to hand, gaining as she moved from the stage floor to being lifted higher and higher. The precision and strength of the dancers were clear as the female dancer held herself straight as if it were effortless and the male dancers held her steady.
Throughout the opera, the strings and woodwinds played off of each other. They had sequences of call and answer. In these sections, the melody is either echoed or continued from one instrument section to the other. In some other sections, the string section would have the melody and the woodwind section would have a countermelody. In moments when the voice or voices were focused on, the orchestra would play chords in unison. When looking at these two sections individually, in the string section, the upper strings would carry the musical theme and the lower strings would play the chords that supported the theme. In the woodwind section, the woodwinds would also support the theme. The music of the magic flute was from this section.
Overall, the play utilizes minimal use of choreography. There are not many actions performed other than walking, sitting, and simple gestures. Movement is only used when necessary, such as to portray the task their characters are doing or convey more emotion. This minimal movement focuses the audience’s attention on the words spoken. There are two scenes, however, in which the choreography is very distinct compared to the other portions of the play: the painting scene and the burning of the paper scraps of Sammy Costas’ numbers scene. In the painting scene, a man with synesthesia demonstrates his exuberant and peculiar way of painting. The man is very emotional and passionate in the act of painting in this scene, as portrayed by the actor. The actor uses broad hand movements to demonstrate painting. He even gets on his hands and knees and moves all over the stage. He uses a brush prop and waves it everywhere. The scene gives off an almost whimsical feel with the large movements along with the changing colors of the stage floor. The scene gives deep insight into the mind of the synesthetic. In the burning of the paper scraps of Sammy Costas’ numbers scene, Sammy Costas is very emotional because her memory is inundated and breaking with the overwhelming quantities she has memorized. She is desperately trying to relieve the pain of her numerous memories by writing down the memorizations she made during her shows and burning the papers, hoping that this would erase those memorizations from her mind. Another actor dramatically burns the papers for her by getting on his hands and knees, taking out a lighter, and stretching slowly with the lit lighter from the ground and raising it above is head. The slow dramatic movements in this awkward stance make the scene very powerful. These movements convey the desperation of the characters and entrance the audience.
Art is silent.
Art is heard.
© 2024 2014 Arts in New York City
Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑
