The Arts in NYC

Dongdaemun History and Culture Park, designed by Zaha Hadid

The picture speaks a thousand times the amount of words than the article that goes along with it.

Briefly going over the topic of the article, September and October both mark months of design festivals scattered all around Europe. Cities such as London, Amsterdam, Brussels, and Helsinki all host design fairs that introduce fresh ideas, bring back renowned designers, and host a series of exhibition that pertain to the theme of the fair (i.e. Dutch Design Double Program’s theme this year is “Redesign the World”)

Design, whether it be architectural design or graphic design, has always struck me as an art different than art which is literally painted on a canvas. The phrase “eye for design” really comes in handy when trying to separate the two arts. It’s based on how you organize; where certain objects are placed, the colors you choose, the techniques you use to portray your purpose in this piece. I have experimented with image editing software such as Photoshop for two years, and it’s taught me the importance of structure. Arranging each layer, setting a focal point for the piece using techniques such as a lighting source, making the text compliment the subject instead of overriding it, etc.

Culture Park (see picture above) is in its first phase of design, which is designed by architecture Zaha Hadid. The unique shaping and lighting of this work in progress already has me excited for what the final outcome will look like.

Structure and organization is something that I like to have in my life, so art such as graphic design or architecture is something I tend to lean towards. But how about everyone else? Do you see design as an art that requires structure? Do you prefer to see a certain amount of organization in the pieces that you view?

A photograph is sort of imprisoned reality, with its own light and shade, its own contours and depth. A dead moment preserved in amber. A paralyzed universe. Shadows of our world can be captured in photographic images, but Gerhard Richter’s ongoing series, Overpainted Photographs exposes and rectifies precisely what these images try so hard to hide: their literal and figurative two-dimensionality.

The photos themselves, like so many others, probably remind you of those that you yourself have taken; family vacations, pets, places, pots and vases… flat machine-documented slices of space and time. Richter’s paint slapped and slopped across the surfaces of these pictures takes these mundane little windows into the lives and eyes of others, and morphs them into studies of the beautiful destruction of the true-to-sight world.

Beautiful for the way these small abstract paintings seem anything but random as they both negate and enhance the images they obscure, with Richter’s colors and textures often finding energy and poetry in  the various scenes that the photos alone may have missed, as in the below Corvatsch. (If I did this HTML thing right there should be some text when you mouse-over pictures. Nope.)

Beautiful too for the way Richter’s overpainting reveals the hidden surface of photographs, like a fourth spatial dimension to the photograph’s attempt at a fully 3D scene. The paint also gives a sense of movement to the stillness of the images. Even the smallness of the works, standard 10 x 15 cm prints, contributes by lending a little sentiment-evoking fragility to each piece.

All in all, I think Gerhard Richter has produced some top-notch art here.
For more info see http://www.gerhard-richter.com/

– Alexa Lempel

Yesterday, I made my way into New York City to see Big Bambú: You Can’t, You Don’t, and You Won’t Stop. The exhibit is on display in The Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Roof Garden of The Metropolitan Museum of Art from April 27 to October 31. Its creators, Mike and Doug Starn, are twin brothers from New Jersey. They collaborate with rock climbers and other artists to continually construct the bamboo sculpture. To assemble, the team utilizes approximately 5,000 pieces of the plant that can measure up to 30 or 40 feet long. Each portion is held together by a piece of nylon rope, altogether measuring 50 miles. The structure’s foundation and walkways are all built in a wavelike shape that intends to accentuate the aesthetics of architecture. The constant rebirth of the art near the natural setting of Central Park gives the sculpture a living quality. The entire evolution will be available for viewing at the conclusion of the event.

Since I arrived before tickets were being sold, I explored my surroundings. The weather was cool but comfortable, so musicians were out performing under Central Park bridges while artists encouraged tourists to buy their works in the street. I moved on to observe other art in the Met, intending to excite myself for the final grand display that awaited me. There were rooms holding statues from ancient Greece and Rome, and others housing artifacts from Oceania. An exhibit of modern art was even showing a few works of Henri Matisse, such as “Laurette in a Green Robe, Black Background” and “The Young Sailor II.”

Finally, I was welcomed into a group of 15 people and we were off to hike through a magnificent maze of bamboo. The structure was enormous; according to the Starn brothers, it stands 50 feet high, 50 feet wide, and 100 feet long. I overheard mothers instructing their young children to not look down, but honestly, that was the best part. The interior walkways are about 20 to 40 feet above the Met’s Roof Garden, which offers an incredible view of Central Park and the rest of the surrounding city. Walking up so high on uneven grounds gave the impression of being on a wooden roller-coaster.

Our group was fortunate enough to even meet the Starn brothers! This made the artistic experience even more dynamic and interactive. The men had gentle faces, and seemed very down-to-earth. We had so many questions to ask, but they had to be on their way. Climbing over the structure’s pathways closed off to the public, they met with their team to relax, listen to classic rock, and discuss future plans.

I highly recommend you to attend this once-in-a-lifetime experience, if you haven’t done so already! To find out more about the exhibit and how to attend, click here.

One ground-view of the monument.

“This show has a lot to do with failure and potential, accident and intention, and time at its most minute and most infinite. It’s about how powerful a single simple gesture can be.”
–Dan Colen

A new exhibit at the Gagosian Gallery explores the role of chance in art. Artist Dan Colen uses unconventional methods to create his artwork, and uses simple materials such as confetti, chewing gum, grass, and bike ramps. I found this really interesting because it shows how simple, everyday materials can be used to create beautiful pieces of art. For example, one of Colen’s pieces is a canvas covered with different pieces of chewing gum. This made me think of the other posts on this blog that question whether certain paintings should actually be considered art. Although Colen’s pieces may not be as complex as a piece by Da Vinci or Van Gogh, they are still aesthetically pleasing. If the observer enjoys looking at a piece and it stimulates thought, then there is no question of its status as art.

Dan Colen’s artwork will be shown at the Gagosian Gallery through October 16.

One of Colen's pieces, made by dragging grass across a canvas

Asia Society has recently opened an exhibition displaying Yoshitomo Nara’s “Nobody’s Fool” and many of his early works, which is the first time contemporary art has taken over this museum. Yoshitomo Nara’s artwork has been exhibiting all around the world ever since the 1980’s, including Japan, Europe, and the United States.

Click here for an overview of “Nobody’s Fool”.

Yoshitomo Nara is an extremely unique artist because first of all, all of his artworks are of cartoon-ish animals (mainly dogs) and children who first appear to be “cute and cuddly” until weapons are seen in these characters’ hands sometimes along with various face expressions, from what seems to be heavy eyelids as a result from tiredness or undiluted hate. There are many different interpretations to the messages Nara wants to convey through his art. Some critics suggest that Nara is illustrating the childhood emotions and memories and their persistence through life, while it may be just the fact that innocent children are placed in a world full of violence. His artwork may also be a stem from his lonely childhood and love for rock music as many of his artworks have obvious connections to songs such as The Ramones’ “Blitzkrieg Bop”. Whatever the message is, he has attracted an audience because Nara has even earned himself a cult to follow him.

Yoshitomo Nara's "The Girl With the Knife in Her Hand"

Although Nara’s artwork may seem somewhat infantile, its message is much more powerful and stunning.

There is even an Iphone app that allows you to see an overview of Yoshitomo Nara’s “Nobody’s Fool” exhibition! Click here.

Find the NY Times article here.

It’s safe to say that Henry Darger was a hermit. He was a notoriously reclusive artist who is famous for a 15,145 paged (single-spaced, mind you) manuscript titled The Story of the Vivian Girls, in What is Known as the Realms of the Unreal, of the Glandeco-Angelinnian War Storm, Caused by the Child Slave Rebellion, which was discovered after his death. On top of that, he created several hundred drawings and watercolor paintings to accompany the story. Darger’s ability to sustain creativity with his isolated lifestyle is quite perplexing. Often times, environment has a great influence on inspiration and art. However, Darger channeled a changing environment with the walls of his room, which is displayed in the exhibition, “The Private Collection of Henry Darger.”Hundreds of artwork was applied to his one room bedroom apartment by a string, tack, or glue. He hung self-made collages that focused mainly on young girls and his Catholic faith.

One has a deeper perspective of Darger’s mysterious life through his “art collection.” The colleges are cut or ripped with purpose, each with a specific story, contrasting with the epic nature of the watercolor pieces. He must have stored hundreds of tales in his mind. It brings up this question,- if a recluse can have creativity despite a limited environment, do our surroundings really effect us? In turn, what is the determining factor for the differences in identical twins if not the environment? “The Private Collection of Henry Darger” is available at the American Folk Art Museum until October 24.

Source

Making art out of nature is nothing new, but it never ceases to be breath-taking. I read an article featuring an exhibit at Storm King Art Center–one of the world’s greatest sculpture parks. Storm King Art Center is located in the Hudson Valley about an hour north of New York City. It features collections of sculptures from as far back as 1945 to present day set in 500 acres of hills, fields, and woodlands.

The article focuses on a specific work called “Storm King Wavefield” by Maya Lin. Maya Lin’s works present new ways of looking at the environment. This particular exhibition consists of a series of grass-covered mounds meant to represent waves, and the way in which you approach the exhibition affects the way that you will perceive the art.  Recently, a New York Times photographer named Librado Romero took the time to check out Storm King Wavefield and captured some pretty incredible shots. It’s cool to think of art being literally sculpted from nature–something which is and was and always will be.

Here are Romero’s pictures.

I think that it’s really cool to see art in its natural form, something that doesn’t seem to have required much altering.  Maya Lin really “brings the sea to land” with her exhibition, which is something unique and creative.  What makes this exhibition really something special is the fact that it looks completely different in different light and seasons.  The sculpture was made, but the art is always changing.  It will never look exactly the same, which I found really interesting.  And this can be applied to every art form.  Live music will never be performed exactly the way it was in previous concerts.  A picture will look different depending on the person viewing it.  Dancers do not move in the exact same way at each and every performance.  Art is forever changing.

Here is the article.

Growing up in New York City is not something that I have personally experienced, but now it is something I can learn about through photographed documents of the lives of others. Starting in January, a dozen teens became a part of a program called Expanding the Walls at the Studio Museum in Harlem. They were given professional cameras and asked to document their lives growing up in New York City. This program ran for seven months and allowed teens from Harlem and other underserved neighborhoods to work with curators and educators from the museum.

The teenagers in this program were all encouraged to photograph the things that are most important to them, and after two months, the results already varied widely based on the different struggles these teens have faced growing up. Photographer James Van Der Zee had many photographs depicting Harlem in the 20th century and the teens used him as their study model so that they could “show their subjects with the same dignity and class as he did and to photograph them in their natural settings”.

The Studio Museum in Harlem located on West 125th Street, across from the Harlem State Office Building is open Wednesday through Sunday. I think it would be interesting to go and see the different types of photographs depicting the lifestyles and hardships these teens had to face growing up in New York City.
click here to see the article!

click here to see some pictures