2013 Arts in the City

Art is Withered

The vibrancy of the yellow alongside the lavender flowers struck my eye- I couldn’t help but snap a picture of it. You don’t see much beauty like that down in Brooklyn. Why can’t art expose itself in nature, too? And then, peeking out from the right you can see some brown deathly looking things. . .
Well, what on earth was this doing here? Yes, nonchalantly taking up space among all the beauty of the greens and flowers is this wilted, brown . . . thing. Of art in nature, there is not only life and beauty.

Art is… Movement

While walking up the High line, as I have done countless times before, I began to contemplate exactly how the art of the High line itself work on us. That is to say, how it’s purposeful construction and design of the space  affects those who go to experience it. I realized that part of the beauty of the High line was how it encouraged movement between spaces. Designed almost like more of a hallway than a park, it encourages one to take a self guided walking tour of Chelsea, from a space just high enough for you to enjoy the beautiful views, but low enough for you to still feel the energy of the city. Amongst all the movement I saw the picture of the family on the wall that has been the source of inspiration for many members of the class. Seeing that family, frozen in time, forever in the spot the artist wanted, made me think of how some art is meant to move and inspire movement, while other art celebrates stillness and the values that never change no matter how much one moves.

Art allows us to be free. Art gives us an escape, to show how we really feel. Allows us to be open and honest with our emotions. And sometimes what we are really feeling is not as pretty as we make it out to be.

Honesty is in art but like a lot of things in life art is structured and at times confining

Art is expressive…

In my opinion nothing in New York City, not even a corner, lacks expressiveness. This means that it was hard for me to find something that would depict the opposite of it. So it is why I chose “repressed” as the antonym for expressive. The second picture clearly shows how the cement track is acting as a barrier for the plant’s full development. As seen on the first picture, unfortunately, not everything that is expressive conveys a positive, happy, or joyful message. This flower is expressing exhaustion, indicating that its life cycle is culminating- and yet it managed to capture my full attention and steal my admiration. Its beauty entangled my words and thoughts. Despite it symbolizing the end of a life, to me, its wisdom and experience in this world radiated more beauty than ever before.

Art is… Intricate / Simple

Art is… intricate. This painting is extremely detailed, and created for the sake of it being “art”. The artist must have taken a long time painting this mural.

Art is… simple. This picture was taken by accident. There are simple shapes and similar colors, yet it is still interesting.

Art is…

Art is subtle

It may not seem like it, but this simple tree actually is art. During the construction of the highline, some planner had to stop and think about the placement of this tree, as well as hundreds of others. Careful thought and consideration was put into placing this tree and many others like it in places where they would be pleasing to visitors, but not distracting. In short, they had to be subtle. Granted, your definition of art may vary from mine, and, as a result, you may not agree that the tress is art. Regardless, given the careful planning of this tree, it deserves some recognition, as art or not.

Seen beside it is a piece that cannot be missed as you walk along the highline. The odd shapes and vibrant, varied color palette of this sculpture ensures that it will be easily visible from any angle and at any time of day. It is virtually impossible for this piece to blend into it’s surrounding, and it draws the eye almost immediately when  it’s in your line of sight.

Art is a Story

Deciding to continue my theme of “Art is a Story,” I took two pictures at the highline depicting this description of art. My first picture shows the main sitting area of the highline and shows families and friends sitting and discussing their lives, eating lunch or even just lounging. It made me realize the uncountable number of stories that each person sitting there had. All the conversations and all the laughs were witnessed by this bench showing why this piece of artwork has so many stories behind it. On the contrary, the second picture was a part of the park that was closed off to all visitors. The enclosed shrubbery lacks any sort of story behind it because it was closed off to the general public and not a single person was given the oppurtunity to give this area of the park any sort of story.

Art is Reflection

At first these images appear as obviously opposed, yet each reflects the other. The industrial windows are not purely functional—their rainbowed panes reflect a natural inspiration. Likewise, the snapdragons are not purely natural—but for the human minds that first erected the freight rail and those who sought to reclaim it for public use, this plant would not exist.

Art is Miniature

The first image depicts a miniature piece of art. Regardless of its size, this work of art is intricately detailed, with many colors and shapes combined together. The second image draws a contrast, since it depicts a massive building under construction. Although the building is not yet completed, it is still a work of art. Art comes in many shapes and sizes, and can be finished, or unfinished. Each piece of art is complex in its own way.

Art is Desire

The first picture depicts the basic desire of most artists: the desire to escape the world, even if it is just for a little bit.  In the end, we all look to the sky and have this hope we can fly and never look back at the earthly conflicts that drown us.  In contrast, the second picture shows the complete opposite of desire: apathy.  Even in repulsion, we have a desire to get away from the object of our disgust.  In apathy we have no desire to do anything.  So, in the contrast to craving the sky, the second picture depicts the desire for nothing and the concern for nothing at all.

Art Is . . . Tender

There is something tender about the girls, their faces, even their arms and bodies bowed.  The mural, on the other hand, stands in contrast–bold, garishly colored, harsh faces, the center one squashed.

Art is fanciful.

Art is fanciful, art is understated.

Bright color, a peak at the city, and eyes closed in a daydream. Fanciful.
Muted colors and organic textures. Arched branches. Understated.

ART IS PERSPECTIVE

Art is perspective. The meaning of art is always changing, depending on how you look at it. From a forwards perspective, we see the man holding a bullet shell, with a backdrop of buildings and the sky. From the back, however, we see people are added to the equation, some of them even inspecting this interesting sculpture as if it were from another world. We also see how details in the back are just as important as details in the front.

Art is ethereal

Though not a painting or drawing of any sort, the reflective mirror-like sheets surrounded by chocolate brown foil-like sheets on the side of this building seemed to fit what I call “ethereal”. It may not be heavenly, but it casts a delicate feel. It is as if I were to touch it or cast a powerful fan next to it, the sheets would simply fly away. This reflective piece of art is placed perpendicular to the Highline right below which is full of plants and all sort of vegetation. It is as if the park, while celebrating the out-of-the-ordinary and abstract, reminds us of the earthly and material world.

Art is History

Here, Goshka Macuga presents Colin Powell, a sculpture of the former Secretary of State during his 2003 United Nations speech on weapons of mass destruction. The sculpture is inspired by the replica of Pablo Picasso’s Guernica, the anti-war painting which usually hangs in the assembly, but was covered during Powell’s speech. Amazingly, this simple sculpture successfully captures a cross section of history. The contrasting artwork is modern art, a type of art not meant to tell about history, but about self expression.

Art is quirky

I took the first photo after asking for permission from the artist. He was sitting, barefoot, on a bench near his artwork. He was chatting with a young couple about his work and showing them all of his paints. I had been looking at his artwork for a while; it was all so colorful and provoking. I especially liked the box that said “I think outside” on it and the “A better world” sign. He greeted me with a big smile and said “Why hello there!” I asked if I could take a photo for a school project. He said “Sure, you can even take the picture for your mom!”

The second photo is of an apartment window with lace curtains and a fire escape in front of it. The apartment is dirty gray stone with black accents. It is beautiful (especially the contrast between the dirty outside and the delicate lace curtains), but it is also ordinary. It is commonplace. It is very different from the colorful photo of the artist.

Art is Quondam

Quondam: a word which here means ‘former,’ ‘one-time,’ or ‘erstwhile.’ The faded remnants of what once was, shadowed by new growth, remind us that even as the contemporaneous evanesces, life goes on.

Art is noisy

At first, the park confused me because it was filled with trees and all sorts of nature items and yet, we were overlooking the busy streets of New York City. Under me were the streets of New York City filled with cars and taxis polluting the highline with its noises; but right in front of me was the peaceful visage from the perfectly green grass of the highline. Just by staring at the grass, you could feel the peacefulness and lack of noise, but then you hear the traffic lights change and the car horns ensue.

Art is Preserved

Still thinking about the order in which these pictures should be placed, I realized that they might need to be reversed.  Being a New Yorker, seeing graffiti art and/or vandalism is almost natural.  It was until now that I realized that the grass and plants scattered around the High Line is an art form in and of itself.  It is an art that is preserved as opposed to the side of the building, in the second picture, that has not been preserved to its original state.  People took it upon themselves to decorate or vandalize, to each his own, the side of the building.  Although what they created on the building is some kind of an art form, they did not preserve the condition of the building like the well taken care of plants throughout the High Line.

Art is vulnerable

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Art is vulnerable. Yes, I was a mega-creep to get the first photo, but the couple’s public display of affection is the very definition of vulnerability. Not only are they vulnerable with each other in a relationship, but by showing their affection in public, they are vulnerable to the public and society as well. In contrast, the small cottage house is almost completely hidden by flora. It’s beauty is not readily apparent, it is masked instead.

Art is…

Walking around the city or taking a train to your next destination, more times than not you should have passed an ad for a small storage company with the words: “Raising a baby in a New York City apartment is like growing an oak tree in a thimble.” Well through that logic, seeing the outline of a family on the side of a building is almost juxtaposing the individualized nature that is the outline of New York City citizens, and most definitely out of place from the hustle and bustle of the city. Families need a little peace and quiet to raise their children.

http://parentsandthecity.files.wordpress.com/2013/08/thimble.jpg

Art is concealed

As I walked along the high line I was in truth more interested in the architecture than the art on the buildings. What struck me first was the large number of fences that lined the buildings on the sides of the High Line. Obviously they were meant for security and privacy, but they blocked the view of potentially wonderful buildings. The second thing that stuck me was that while some buildings were modern and seek the old buildings next to reminded me that the area was still being developed and that the area was a far cry from the design of Times Square.

Art Is…

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