“The Brooklyn Bridge: Variation on an Old Theme” (Joseph Stella)

“The Brooklyn Bridge: Variation on an Old Theme” is a painting created by Joseph Stella.  Completed in 1939, it was painted by Stella using futuristic style and techniques to emphasize the bridge’s innovative architectural design.  The painting is one of Stella’s most iconic works and symbolizes the progress and modernism of the city.  What I find appealing about the painting is its use of colors, shades and three-dimensional shapes that give it its very futuristic look.  It also looks somewhat similar to stained glass and features three levels behind the bridge, perhaps why it is considered to contain religious allusions.

2) “The Oxbow View” (Thomas Cole)

“The Oxbow View” is a painting that was created by Thomas Cole.  Painted in 1836, the painting glorifies the natural beauty of the landscape that it depicts.  This was a common style used by Cole and other painters of the Hudson River School who painted landscapes that romanticized New York’s Hudson River Valley and other places of wilderness.  I find this work appealing because I am from the Hudson Valley and can relate to region’s beauty and magnificence.  I like the way that Cole juxtaposes the more rugged look of the woods and the dark clouds with the more tamed and peaceful look of the river, the fields, and light sky on the other side.

3)“Winter, Fifth Avenue” (Alfred Stieglitz)

“Winter, Fifth Avenue” is a photograph taken by Alfred Stieglitz.  Taken in 1892, the photograph depicts horse-drawn carriages riding through snow covered Fifth Avenue in Manhattan.  Many of Alfred Stieglitz’s photographs such as this one focused on natural effects like snow in order to create an impressionist-like quality.  What I find appealing about the photograph is its simplicity and how the snow just seems to block all of the buildings out of view to focus on the people riding in the carriages.  I also like the photograph’s historical aspect in seeing how much Fifth Avenue has changed from then to now.

4) “Penn Station” (Berenice Abbott)

“Penn Station” is a photograph that was taken by Berenice Abbott.  Featured in Changing New York, Abbott’s 1940 publication that included 302 pictures of New York City and buildings throughout the city, “Penn Station” presents the architectural beauty of the original Penn Station.  The photograph is taken in Abbott’s straight style and without any manipulation or use of special effects.  I find this simple photograph appealing because it captures the beauty of the station’s structural design.  I also like how the contrast between the sunlight and the darkness of the metal beams create a natural effect that highlights the station’s magnificence and grandeur.

 

5) “Wall Street” (Paul Strand)

“Wall Street” is a photograph that was taken by Paul Strand.  Taken in 1915, the photograph depicts workers walking past the J.P. Morgan & Co. building on Wall Street.  Like many of Strand’s photographs, “Wall Street” combines reality and abstraction.  The bleakness of this photograph was most likely meant as a criticism of Wall Street and capitalism, considering that Strands was heavily influenced by socialism and social inequalities.  What I find appealing about this photograph is its focus and emphasis on rectangular shaped openings.  The contrast of colors highlights the enormous sizes of these openings, especially compared to the much smaller people walking on the street below.

6) “Lodgers in a Bayard Street Tenement, Five Cents a Spot” (Jacob Riis)

“Lodgers in a Bayard Street Tenement, Five Cents a Spot” is a photograph that was taken by Jacob Riis.  Taken in 1889 and featured in Riis’s How the Other Half Lives, the photograph depicts the filthiness, over crowdedness, and despair of New York City’s tenements.  As a muckraker, Jacob Riis sought to expose the horrendous and unsanitary living conditions of the tenements to the public in order to generate reform.  What I find appealing about the photograph is how it captures the harsh reality of social injustices that are taking place in the city.  This photograph generates a very effective emotional impact on its audience and really emphasizes the problem it is trying to make the audience aware of.

7) “Cotton Tail” (Duke Ellington)

“Cotton Tail” is a song that was composed by the legendary musician Duke Ellington.  Composed in 1940, “Cotton Tail” is one of Ellington’s most popular works and helped bring him to fame.  The song captures the spirit of jazz, which Duke Ellington was an integral part.  What I find appealing about “Cotton Tail” is the song’s lively rhythm and uplifting mood.  I especially like the saxophone part that extends throughout the song and keeps the song moving when the other parts stop.  The song very much reflects the liveliness and emotion of jazz music in general which Duke Ellington helped to popularize.

8) Symphonic Dances from West Side Story (Leonard Bernstein)

The Symphonic Dances from West Side Story were composed by Leonard Bernstein.  After working with Jerome Robbins, Arthur Laurents, and Stephen Sondheim to create the musical, the music from West Side Story became Bernstein’s most well-known work.  Having to adapt the music for all of the dance that was involved in the musical, Bernstein composed the music with influence from different classical, jazz, and popular styles that he was familiar with.  I find this music appealing because of how well its rhythm and style fits with the actions within the musical itself.  Having seen West Side Story, I feel that Bernstein’s music really helps to capture the energy and emotion of the musical, and the music itself plays a huge role in making the musical the success that it is.

9) “One note Samba” (Ella Fitzgerald)

Ella Fitzgerald, the “Queen of Jazz,” did a famous scat singing performance of the song “One note Samba.”  Having been inspired by the quick rhythmic type of jazz known as Bebop, Ella Fitzgerald experimented with this genre of music in a revolutionary way.  Instead of using instruments, Fitzgerald used her voice to create the lively sounds.  Fitzgerald’s performance of “One note Samba” is a famous example of how she accomplished this through scatting: improvisation with melodies instead of words.  What I find so appealing about this performance is the innovativeness of Ella Fitzgerald’s voice and her ability to perform an entire song simply through sounds and not words.  I like her performance of the song for its great creativity and liveliness through the rhythm.

10) “Rhapsody in Blue” (George Gershwin)

 “Rhapsody in Blue” was composed in 1924 by the great musical composer George Gershwin.  “Rhapsody in Blue” was a huge success, and it turned Gershwin into a star.  The song was a revolutionary piece of music that combined jazz rhythms and blues melodies within the classical framework for the first time successfully.  What I find appealing about the song is its lively rhythm along with its old-fashioned, classical touch.  I can certainly notice aspects of jazz and blues in addition to some ragtime as well.  The song is a great fusion of old and new music styles from the time period when it was written.