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Abstract art brings out a lot of different emotions in its viewers. Most onlookers, upon first glance of any abstract art exhibit, exclaim their frustration or anger at the art, because they cannot decipher its meaning, which is often hidden within the layers of a painting or the curves of a sculpture. Yet, as abstract art is viewed more and more often, it is absorbed inside the mind of the art critic and offers a satisfying though elusive feeling of comprehension. (more…)
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With the holidays quickly approaching, it is not unusual to see hordes and masses of New Yorkers and tourists bombarding the stores of Manhattan and roaming the streets and alleys searching for a sale, if not a bargain. It is easy to understand the challenges that a person may face as he or she searches for that unique gift for that person who “has everything”. Yet, as I was walking along the various streets and cross sections of the city, I couldn’t help but notice that while everyone was searching for individuality, their attempts were hopelessly futile, because it slowly became apparent that there really was no unique gift, or unique anything anymore. (more…)
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It is a hot summer day. Two small boys run carelessly through the cool narrow alleyways of 1964’s Vietnam. And the reason for their laughter? They have just caught a small tadpole and have stored it in one of their mother’s old copper cooking pots. Two weeks later, their mother finds the deceased animal; the scolding ensues.
One of the two small mischievous brothers depicted in the anecdote above was my father, Paul Chen. He was born on June 13th 1959 to an already large family. His parents, Tong Chen and Lipp Chen, had already had three children before him. By the end of the decade, they would have four more children, for a total of eight, four girls and four boys. To me, this meant four aunts and three uncles, all distinctly different, with their own set points of views and opinions. (more…)
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Alfred and his wife Shirin today
His name is Alfred Kamali. He migrated to the United States from Iran in 1975 at the age of sixteen without any of his parents or siblings. He was young, inexperienced, and could not speak a word of English. Deciding to move to America was a very difficult and challenging decision to make but a simple one nevertheless. It was the decision he had to make in the United States that would be so complicated. (more…)
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Today, technology is integrated into almost all aspects of people’s lives. Imagine a life without a cell phone, Ipod, computer, and the greatest advancement in this century, the Internet. The Internet is an easily accessible gateway to infinite amounts of information. Because of the fast-paced lifestyles that people have today, accessing the Internet anywhere at any time is very important. Technologies, such as wireless communications, and devices, such as blackberries and laptops, make this possible. Wires are no longer being used. Everything is becoming wireless thanks to technologies like Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. (more…)
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Toro’s photograph of a woman training for the war
Capa’s photograph that appeared in Life magazine
Capa’s photograph “Death of a Loyalist Militiaman”
The International Center of Photography held an exhibit based on the theme of war photographs. It mainly included the work of Gerda Taro and Robert Capa and there was a smaller exhibit of Francesc Torres’ war photographs. Taro and Capa were close friends who had worked together and taken pictures of the Spanish Civil War. The photos they had taken were all in black and white and done manually. The photos were highly commended for exposing the realities of war through close photography of the war. (more…)
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Though she spoke to her audience at Baruch with a humbleness and modesty that came naturally and genuinely, Angela Brown has a lot to boast about. Raised in Indianapolis, Indiana, her upbringing seemed far away from the world of opera. Immersed in Baptist Gospel culture from childhood, she was always in love with music, but tended to turn away from opera, which she dismissed as Eurocentric and difficult to relate to. But when her education at Oakwood
College required her to take courses in opera, her love affair with this unlikely genre began.
From then on, Angela began her ascent to greatness in the realm of opera. Insisting that “Opera took to me, I didn’t take to it,” Angela Brown became absorbed in the passion and intensity of the art. Her persistence and dedication led her to audition seven times for a spot on the prestigious Metropolitan Opera National Council before finally landing one of the ten highly coveted positions on the council in 1997. Through hard times as a struggling artist, Angela continued to pursue her passion, and now, as the title character of Aida, she has achieved her vision.
Angela Brown’s charisma was apparent during her talk at Baruch College. If anyone possesses that enviable “it-factor,” it is this woman. However, it was also apparent that Brown’s true strength and uniqueness comes not only from her bubbly personality, but more importantly, from her courage to follow her dreams and do what makes her happy.
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As revealing as a novel can be, hearing Nunez read her work out loud is even more so like a window into the inner workings of her mind. Inflection and pace give new meaning to seemingly simple statements. A previously read passage takes on whole new tones as Nunez’s voice adds life and new meaning to the language on print. But what is perhaps most intriguing is Nunez’s familiarity and trust in her own words. As the audience at Baruch College listened intently, Nunez read with a steadiness and fondness that emphasized how natural these thoughts were to her, even when transferred on paper. Her eyes seldom cast down on her manuscript for more than a second, and there was not a single syllable she stumbled over. The digressions and stream-of-consciousness type writing of her novels translated beautifully when read aloud, and lost the sometimes tiresome effect they can have on a reader, almost as though Nunez was better suited to be a storyteller of the vocal medium. She described later that her writing process is generally unplanned, and follows an “organic pull,” in which, like life, she doesn’t know exactly what is going to happen next. In the form of a novel, this free thought process can be a little exhausting, but when read out loud, by the woman who understands it best; it reflects a growth and compounding of thoughts that is so characteristic of real life.
Similarly, Nunez’s answers to the audience’s questions emphasized the organic, unplanned nature of her writing, and also suggested the level of vulnerability she felt because of it. Her answers during the Q&A were decidedly unrehearsed, but also noticeably evasive. This is understandable because of the large amount of autobiographical content, or at least inspiration, which is such an integral part of her writing. In a sense, despite how original each Nunez character is, all of her novels reflect a certain aspect of her own life, simply because of the inspiration she takes from her experiences. In this sense, probing into Nunez’s writing was a bit like probing into her past, and when the audience got too personal, Nunez drew the line by restating time after time that while personal experience does play a part in her writing, she is separate from her characters and their stories do not necessarily reflect hers. Though early on in the discussion, she lovingly and openly discussed the “feeling of appreciation” she felt for the real life “characters” of her past, and the new sense of identity she takes on when she develops a character, she gradually became more and more protective of her imagined characters. Perhaps it was because of this protective nature as well as a defense against the vulnerability of allowing such intimacy with her readers that many members of the Baruch audience were slightly disappointed with her discussion. However, she did reveal many personal aspects of her life, to the entertainment and enjoyment of her fans.
Opening up to any one, even on an individual level, is a feat that is often intimidating to even the most approachable person. To imagine sharing your most well developed thoughts and imaginings with an immense number of readers or an entire room of people is difficult; however, Nunez, as a writer and reader, successfully allows strangers into her life, while still maintaining a level of privacy and mystique that perhaps enhances the poetic nature of her writing.
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