The STEAM festival was a great opportunity for all of the Macaulay students from all different campuses to meet up and share their work. It was interesting to see and learn about the projects assigned to all of the different Macaulay classes. I also had a lot of fun sharing my own work and I loved seeing how genuinely interested everyone was in hearing what my group members and I had to say. I also appreciated talking to the upperclassmen about their projects. I was also able to discuss with them what is yet to come in my Macaulay career. I think this event was very successful and should be repeated next year.
Author: Michelle Bernstein
Rauschenberg at the MOMA
Seeing Robert Rauschenberg’s work at the MOMA was an unusual experience. When one goes to a museum in the city, he or she does not necessarily expect to find a full-size taxidermy goat standing in the middle of the room, but Rauschenberg made that happen. The goat is also wearing a tire, which adds more mystery to this piece of art. The goat’s face was covered in splatters of paint and the goat was standing on a large platform made of wood. We learned about this piece by Rauschenberg and we discussed it in class, but seeing it in real life was just a different experience. His work was very innovative and in some of his pieces he allowed for his audience to become a part of the art by placing mirrors.
The World Is Sound: The Rubin Museum
The Rubin Museum was an interesting experience in that it focused on sound, the art of sound. Just traveling from floor to floor in that museum, one could experience the exhibition “The World is Sound.” I had a hard time believing that as I was traveling from floor to floor up the spiral staircase in the museum that the different sounds that I was hearing were actually being emitted from one source. When I first entered the museum I was in this frantic mood because I thought I was going to be late so I ran from the train station; however, as I was exploring the museum and was really just trying to focus on the sounds, I became very calm and zen. I especially enjoyed sitting in the ‘OM’ room. It was very soothing and an unusual setting because all that was required in that room was to listen to human voices pronouncing the word “OM.”
Our tour guide was amazing. She knew so much information and was very enthusiastic when she was teaching and explaining things. My favorite moment was when she asked the class which gender in Buddhism represents wisdom and compassion. The class unanimously agreed that males represent wisdom while women represent compassion. Our tour guide chuckled and said that it is actually the other way around. Women represent wisdom, while men represent compassion. I had this ineffable feeling go through my body when I heard this. To learn that the stereotype of men and women did not comply with the laws of Buddhism was a nice change because in all my history classes in high school it was always women who were portrayed as weak and emotional, while men were seen as brave and intellectuals.
Turandot: Costumes
The costumes were unbelievable. They were ranging from sparkling and dazzling to monochromatic, gray, and mundane. The costumes were brilliantly designed to reflect the different characters and the different socioeconomic conditions of the people in Turandot. In the first act, the commoners took control of the stage. They were all wearing a shade of gray. At one point in the play, they all gathered up in the front of the stage and began making jerking movements. As they were moving, their different shades of gray costumes gave the illusion that they were just one big wave of grayness. Their mundane attire not only represented their low social status, but also demonstrated how the rich regard the people of the lower class. They viewed them as nothing. The rich, on the other hand, were all wearing gorgeous costumes. Turandot’s headpiece was just mouth dropping and so extravagant. Her costume was well designed to represent her high social status.
The Gestures of Torch Song
A gesture is a movement that involves a part of the body or the whole body and conveys a point. Gestures add a lot to a performance. They add so much meaning, character, life, and can convey so much about an individual. This was especially the case in the play Torch Song, which is currently playing on off-broadway. The facial features and movements of each of the six characters, Arnold, Ed, Alan, Laurel, David, and Arnold’s mother reflected their true nature.
Arnold was a man who was just looking for love and respect. His inability to find that from people who are so close to him, like his mom, made him a fairly unstable character during his young adulthood. His gestures were very sporadic, random, and wild. He always made jokes to hide his misery and unhappiness.
Ed was trying to create a “normal” life for himself, which consisted of hiding the fact that he is gay by marrying a woman and eventually starting a family with her. Ed previously had an intimate relationship with Arnold, but since this was against the “norm,” he quickly ended it to run off to a woman. Ed was a very smooth and flirtatious guy and that was seen through his gestures. He talked with people with charming eyes and was very touchy.
Alan was a young guy that Arnold first started dating for sex, but then grew to love. Alan was very young and this, too, was portrayed by his gestures. He seemed puzzled and confused most of the time, and had trouble understanding social cues.
Laurel was a woman whose heart has been broken one too many times. All she ever wanted was to get married and start a family. She just wanted to make Ed happy so that he would one day ask her the big question. Knowing the Ed’s previous lover was Arnold, Laurel mimicked Arnold in his actions so that Ed would love her. She over-exaggerated everything and tried making jokes and movements similar to that of Arnold.
David was a high-school student that was adopted by Arnold. David was very touchy, curious, and not afraid to enter into someone’s personal space. These gestures of his demonstrate his lack of a “normal” childhood.
Arnold’s mother was very old school. She was not too liberal. She had a strict code of rules which she believed one must follow to have a successful and purposeful life. Her strict manner was seen through her rigid movement.
All the actors in this play did a really good job with bringing their characters to life. Their gestures allowed the audience to learn so much more about the people in the play and made the play seem very real-life.
Review: Fall For Dance At City Center
I have no other word, but to say, “Wow!” about the Fall For Dance performances at City Center. From the theater, to the lights, from the live music, to the lack of music, from the uniform costumes, to the different costumes, everything was just so beautiful and impressive. I was especially taken aback by Vincent Sekwati Koko Mantsoe’s dance piece. His entire solo consisted of him rendering the quick and arbitrary movements of a wild bird. His arm gestures and sporadic movements of his head captured the essence of a bird. The first half of his piece had no music, except for his whistling and his forefoot bones hitting the stage. The mood he set through the sounds he made with his own body made me feel as though I was in the jungle and watching a wild animal. As I was watching his choreography, I was drawing the different patterns that I was observing and his body movement. If one were to look at my sketches without prior knowledge of what I was observing, he or she would most probably guess a bird because of the wide and bird-like wingspans I repeatedly drew. His ability to capture the movement of a bird all in one dance was just mouth-dropping and impressive.
