Awakenings

Debbie Apsan
IDC 9125

In sociology there is a lesson about social deviants. These people are observed to have been acting differently from the norms of society. They are labeled “deviants” and after having been thrown out of “normal” society, form their own. Once this newly formed society becomes larger, the deviants start to gain political power, and eventually become accepted in society. This story is also true about abstract artists that emerged around the 1940’s. These artists strayed from the accepted path of classic art, and although their artwork was not embraced right away, it certainly, after time, became a new genre of art known as “abstract expressionism”. Interestingly, as the years continued, the paintings had more abstract figures, and soon just looked modern with no figures to begin with. It is up to the audience to discover the meaning behind the paintings. (more…)

Willem de Kooning (American, born in the Netherlands, 1904–1997)
Attic, 1949

The exhibition “Abstract Expressionism and Other Modern Works” at the Metropolitan Museum of Art showcases the works of artists such as Willem De Kooning, Claes Oldenburg, and Jack Tworkov.  Abstract expressionism was an art movement that featured surreal and non-traditional works. The exhibition shows many forms of abstract expressionism including the painting “Nijinsky” by Franz Kline, the sculpture “Firebird” by Theodore Roszak, and even Alexander Calder’s mobile “Four Directions.”  “Abstract Expressionism and Other Modern Works” is an excellent exhibition that emphasizes the limitlessness of abstract expressionism.  The creative structures and vibrant colors of “Abstract Expressionism and Other Modern Works” make the exhibition aesthetically pleasing as well as intellectually stimulating.    (more…)

Everyone gathered together in a room in the Vertical Campus at Baruch College, eagerly anticipating the arrival of the guest speaker Samuel Freedman who would speak about his book Who She Was, a memoir written about his mother. When the well- known author and head of the Columbia School of Journalism walked into the room, everyone suddenly became quiet. Finally able to put a face to his name, the class sat and pondered about the delicate and appealing comments their guest would give to some of the very personal and intriguing questions they had prepared to ask him. Silently, they also wondered if Freedman would be totally and completely honest with them, or if he will dodge the questions if he felt they were just a little too personal. (more…)

When I started out my photography project I had no theme set in mind, so I began wandering around the city, taking random pictures of random things, when it came to me. It’s the people that makes NYC so special, but not just the people alone, all living things in it.

Some of these pictures were not put in the slideshow but are some of my favorites from this adventure into the city.

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Robert Capa
American soldier landing on Omaha Beach, D-day, June 1944

The exhibitions “Gerda Taro” and “This Is War! Robert Capa at Work,” displayed at the International Center of Photography show the photographs of two war photographers whose work would ultimately cost them their lives and leave an invaluable account of some of the darkest moments in history.  Working partners as well as romantic partners, Gerda Taro, born in Stuttgart, Germany in 1910, and Robert Capa, born in Budapest, Hungary in 1913, created photographs that captured the physical and emotional aspects of war.  The two exhibits help viewers find a connection between the war photographer and his or her dangerous pursuit of the photographs that have the power to evoke thought and sway minds.   (more…)

Lewis Hine was a single child born on September 26, 1874 in Wisconsin. Hine’s mentor was Frank A. Manny who encourage Hine to educate himself to become a teacher and to take photographs of his surroundings. Additionally, when Manny was appointed principal of the Ethical Culture School in New York, he invited Hine to accompany him. In New York City Hine studied at Columbia University and New York University, getting married in 1904 to Sara Ann Rich and having one child, Corydon Lewis.

Lewis Hine began to use a camera in 1903 in order to record activities at the Ethical Cultural School. However, Hine’s attention would turn to the immigrants that entered New York City through Ellis Island. He would photograph them as they entered New York City as well as their living and working conditions. Hine focused on illustrating the shocking conditions of child labor; he would smuggle his camera into factories as well as into mines to photograph and interview the children that work there. The photos became art and Hine would come to define a good photograph as “a reproduction of impressions made upon the photographer which he desires to repeat to others.”

Following WWI, the American Red Cross selected Hine to photograph the organization’s relief efforts. Afterwards, he was also selected to record the construction of the Empire State building. Yet, his works from these two experiences and from later projects did not compare to his earlier child labor photographs. Lewis Hine died on November 3, 1940.

Becoming a street photographer for the Street Photography Project was an entirely different and eye-opening experience for me.  I walked the streets of New York City with many themes in mind.  I shot plenty of photographs and was surprised by the abundance of subjects that New York City has to offer.  The experience of traveling around New York City and taking photographs was very liberating.  I was able to see New York City from a photographer’s point of view, appreciating the value of the surrounding objects and situations. Taking a photograph is like capturing a unique object or an unforgettable moment in time.  The satisfaction that follows taking a photograph stems from the feeling that one has obtained something rare and of great value.  As the feelings of liberation and satisfaction drove me to take even more photos, I noticed that others around me were having similar, positive experiences.  They were smiling, laughing, and searching for the best angle for taking their photographs.  At this moment, I realized that these people were enjoying New York City just as I was.  They were enthusiastically trying to capture landmarks and moments.  They seemed to connect to their subjects, whether the subject was another person or an object.  After witnessing these people take photographs, I concluded that we were all street photographers in some way.  I felt a oneness with them and the city and I decided on my theme.   My photographs would reflect how New York City, with all of its sights and happenings, elicits our inner photographer.  I took pictures of others taking photographs and in doing so, began to remind myself of the greatness of New York City.          (more…)

Travelling to the Metropolitan Museum of Art was not a difficult journey; but exploring the huge structure to find the Modern Art exhibit containing Abstract Expressionism and other modern works was no easy task. We had to pass through Ancient Greece, Rome and Africa just to make it there; one wrong turn and one might have ended up in the medieval times. After numerous glances at the map and quick examination of the sculptures before us, we were finally able to find the Modern Art exhibits.

“What is this?,” or “that’s not art,” were a few remarks that simply could not be ignored when we saw the abstract expressionists works. Despite some demeaning remarks by some viewers, the work of the Abstract Expressionists stood erect and profound. This was the type of criticism that these art works faced when they  first appeared; it was nothing new.

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“Opera took to me, I didn’t take to it” remarked acclaimed soprano Angela Brown during an animated and warm talk with Baruch students. The current star of Metropolitan Opera’s Aida, Ms. Brown recounted her humble beginnings at Oakwood College, a religious and historically black institution in her hometown of Indianapolis, Indiana. Having shown no signs of initial interest, she had studied opera music to fulfill college requirements but as fate surely intervened she fell headfirst into this least likely of musical genres.

It was perfectly natural that Angela Brown, who delighted friends with a gospel voice and sang in her grandfather’s choir by the age of 5, would veer towards a musical career. However, no one expected that career to be in opera, especially Ms. Brown herself. Growing up listening to the music of Luther Van Dross rather than Pavarotti and skeptical of what she deemed a Eurocentric genre, Angela Brown had to give herself permission before she could embrace her apparent gift. With a glowing smile, she tells students that it was then that she was finally on the path to “catching up with (her) vision.”

After studying with Romanian soprano Virginia Zeani, Angela Brown attended auditions for a young artists program held by the Metropolitan Opera National Council, and found herself in the midst of rival talent competing for 10 coveted spots. After falling short of the nation’s top ten for six years, Angela Brown finally triumphed in 1997 on what she called her “lucky seventh” try. Yet, it is apparent that Ms. Brown’s success is the product of her relentless persistence and faith. Undeterred by the disappointment of placing in the regional and district levels, Angela Brown knew that her turn had not yet come and she remained in the competition year after year until it did.

That sense of purpose and patience followed Angela Brown to New York City, where she slept on the floor of a Queens boardinghouse and raked its front yard, albeit, in four inch heels. Yet, her discomforts paid off when after covering for the role of Aida for several seasons she was given the part in 2004 to the acclaim of the New York Times whose headline read, “An Aida at Last.” Angela Brown continues to inspire audiences as the Verdi soprano that graces the stage of New York’s grand opera house.

With a younger generation of opera singers, some of whom are undoubtedly on their own paths toward realizing their visions, at her heel, Angela Brown recognizes that her musical career is not without an expiration date. Ms. Brown expresses a desire to one day expand her personal project “Opera from a Sister’s Point-of-View”, which demystifies the genre that had once intimidated her. With her down-to-earth sense of humor, Angela Brown jokes that she would also love a movie role as “somebody’s mama.” If that is the next phase of her vision, then audiences should soon expect to see Angela Brown in theaters.

On the evening of November 5^th, the Metropolitan Opera presented its 1, 102^nd performance of Giuseppe Verdi’s classic Aida. Yet, for a class of first time opera goers it could have been the premiere as everything from the splendid auditorium to the vast stage exuded a sense of unparalleled grandeur.

In the epic terms of traditional opera, the production recreated a masterpiece on stage that peaked and fell with the emotions of unrequited love and fatherland pride. The “Egyptian sound” of Verdi’s imagination was brought to life by conductor Kazushi Ono and set the sonic landscape to this grand drama.

In the opening scenes tenor Franco Farina as Radames delivered the famous aria “Celeste Aida” to polite applause from a knowing audience. Yet, eager students could not contain their impatience for the appearance of Angela Brown, the star of Aida. When Ms. Brown finally graced the stage in an extravagant gown and a voluminous up-do she could hardly pass for a slave, but no one disapproved. While only viewers sitting near the stage or watching through binoculars saw the expression of unharnessed emotion on Angela Brown’s face, the full auditorium enjoyed the voice of the great Verdi soprano.

Aida reached its pinnacle during the victory celebration of the second act where a three-tiered golden throne, as in a movie scene from Cleopatra, towered above a procession of five horses, a mass of shackled slaves and a troupe of dancing ballerinas. The vastness of the opera was also felt in the impetuous choir that accompanied Angela Brown in “Ritorna vincitor” and in the fury of Amneris who swept the stage advancing towards her rival Aida in a spellbinding duet “Fu la sorte dell’armi.” The sense of anxiety and jealousy transcended the language barrier of opera and reverberated in the acoustical halls of the opera house.

Although tension dominated the performance, some of Aida’s most memorable scenes were those that punctuated the escalating drama. The temple ritual at the conclusion of Act I, for example, featured chanting priestesses adorned in golden headdresses and gliding in eerie symmetry to a melody that seemed to be coming from an unknown depth. Delicate scenes such as Aida’s aria at the bank of the Nile, beautifully recreated in hues of blue were as powerful as the trumpets of the earlier victory scene.

It is startling that this nineteenth century drama stretched beyond realistic proportions could whisk away modern skepticism in its visual and auditory splendor. Aida arguably evoked the same sense of awe in our young class it did in the audience of the world premiere in Cairo in 1871.