Demoiselles d' Avignon is a painting that features five females in the nude. Each one is in a different position and all meet your gaze directly if you stare into the painting. It's an uneasy confrontation that engages the viewer like we discussed in class. Their bodies are very angular and strong, but nonetheless still feminine. It would have never occurred to me that these women were prostitutes from a brothel. I thought it was a bold painting celebrating the strength of women in their bare and natural state. The confrontation that can come across as uneasy is really effective here.

The Alexander String Quartet's performance began with a sweet sounding introduction. I've always admired violins for their ability to produce music that can sound sweet yet powerful. The performance was a nice reminder. The classical music they played was calming. The soft notes were floating through my ears. They were so sweet in fact that I would love to listen it on the train during stressful morning rush hours and whenever I just needed to cool my head. I pictured a scene from a disney movie, one in which all the magical creatures of the forest would come running.

This past Friday, my friend invited me to attend an event called Asia Night at her school, Fordham University. The event was organized by APAC (the Asian Pacific American Coalition). My friend was the opening act, so I was even more excited about seeing the performance. The night was filled with awesome vocal and dance performances by students and professional singers and dancers. It was a great evening.

Seeing the Quartett was definitly a one-of-a-kind experience. The BAM Harvey Theater bred a new kind of atmosphere. The building was faded, but it added to the theatrical sense. Being seated high up, we were able to witness everything pretty clearly. I had a hard time trying to see who was speaking though. The subtitles that were put on the tv screen did help alot.

I'm looking forward to seeing The Hard Nut in class. After reading "Irony and Sincerity," I have high hopes for Mark Morris's production of the classic Nutcracker ballet. The reading addresses the meaning behind The Hard Nut and how Morris attempted to combine the classics with popular culture. Morris was an unconventional rebel artist, and I admire his thoughts and visions that put his play in motion. His beliefs and ideas about the "common human fate" are provocative.