The Arts in New York City

Guidelines

            This project, whose oral part must be ready for early December (5^th  or 12^th, depending on its subject), is designed to give you the opportunity to present, in a creative fashion, a significant element or idea about art – an idea that has been inspired by our classes, by the critical readings, one of our event (or an event you have attended separately). This is your opportunity to talk about your responses to art as well as, for some of you, your own involvement in an art form. Be creative, think outside of the academic box!

            You will work in a group of three or four (exceptionally alone or in a pair), to present the results in class. Rachel Szeleky and I are eager to see you try out some of the new technologies at your disposal (short videos, power point presentations, photoshop etc). The presentation will be followed by a short analytical paper in which you present, each separately, a summary of the central ideas of the presentation and relate them to the course as a whole. 

            I will entertain, in discussion with a group, any subject you may propose. I will also ask each group to give me, by Wednesday 28th November, at the very latest, a broad written synopsis of your project/presentation specifying the technology you plan to use. Make sure to see me at least once, as a group or separately, to discuss your project and questions you may have.          

            Before you lauch your project, and as you are making the choice of the technology you want to use, you must have a conversation with Rachel, who can help you assess your needs, the resources needed, and also the time-frame for your project.

Rachel will available on Thursday Nov. 15 (12:00-2:00), and Friday 16^th (11:30-16:00), and then again after the Thanksgiving break. But we want to urge you to talk to her as early as possible. 

As you elaborate your project consider first

1) which art form you want to study (or work with, if the project is creative rather than analytical).

2) talk with friends in the class who have similar interests

3) Choose a topic

4) Decide what seems to be the best medium for your presentation, check with Rachel if this idea is workable at a technical level.

   Suggestion:   topics we have talked about

·        The medium of the work of art – art as form

·        The figure of the artist

·        Virtuosity and/or art

·        Modern forms/classical traditions

·         How art responds to or transforms cultural, social, or gender norms

·        The role of teaching and transmission in the arts

To give you some ideas

Report back on an art exhibit or a show you attended (for example Lulu)

Build a case, with visual examples, around the notion that fashion can be considered as an art

Take a walk around a neighborhood, analyze the art scene (street art, galleries, presence of museum), take pictures.

Do a web search, visit an exhibition. These are the talk of the town these days
     Kara Walker, at the Whitney

     The Age of Rembrandt, Metropolitan

     Georges Seurat: The Drawings at the Museum of

Talk to an artist or someone who is an artist or aspires to become one, prepare a short documentary or an interview

Pursue, in depth, research on an artwork, painting, dance/ballet, opera, or play that has particularly impressed you during the semester. Share your newly acquired expertise with the class.

tap into your own artistic self and present your own art work to the class, but remembering that our focus has been mainly on the body (painted, narrated in the form of poetry or fiction or film, dancing, singing, performing…) and comment on your project.

For each of these, consider that you probably find, in the course package, our books, the video materials on reserve, or in a discussion critical sources that will help you conceptualize your project and will give you tools for your analysis. At any stage, contact me for an appointment to discuss your ideas. My role, throughout, will be that of a consultant who can help you define your topic, suggest extra resources, or help you work out an issue or question.

A few words of clarification on essay question # 3, to help you decide if that should be your projet.

1. working on this essay commits you to making of working on this topic in three phrases

    a) viewing the new materials i.e. Swam Lake in its two versions. I have already made a pre-selection of scenes for you, but of course you are welcome to see the whole ballet, in either version.

    b) writing a paper on gender and dance, partly but NOT NECESSARILY fully based on this ballet. Consider adding materials from the performance at the Joyce, from the tape “Born to be Wild” and other discussions we have had about feminine/masculine role in gender. Given the time required fror a) you will naturally work on a more extended schedule, with a paper due late Nov.

    c) getting together with your other friends working on this subject. It might be best to view the DVDs together already, but that is not indispensable. However, I would expect you to work as a group, after you have written the paper towards a final project, to be presented in class, on this question.

  d) meeting with me, before you get under way, and before the final presentation. Here again, it would be ideal if I could see you as a group.

PLEASE E-mail me either individually or collectively if you are possibly interested or fully committed to working on this project.  We will find a time to meet to discuss it.

PS as specified today in class, writing a blog entry on the dance class at Alvin Ailey is optional, unless you were absent from the performance at the JOYCE theater, in which case it replaces the one you couldn’t do.

Dear students,

       Here are our arrangements for tomorrow’s dance class.

It starts at 1:30, at the

.

I will be waiting for you in front of the building at 1:15 pm, as we agreed.

If you are late (which, of course, we hope won’t happen), please explain that you are students at Macaulay Honors college, ask for direction for the studio, and also for the changing room – and just join in.

   It might be a good idea to bring a bottle of water, possibly a towel, while it would be a bad idea to come to the class with a full, heavy meal on your stomach or feeling absolutely starving!

Since there is no meeting room available at the school directly, we will take this opportunity, staying on the West side, to go the new Macaulay Honors building, at 35 West 67^th Street (between Columbus and Central Park West) to have a discussion there. So please, plan to make your way after the dance class, which will end around 2:50  to the address above.  Starting around 3:20 and for about an hour, we’ll talk first about this new experience, and then some more about the paper on dance and other practical matters.

I also want to signal that if you are interested, there is a performance at 7.00 pm the same evening at the

        I look forward to seeing you tomorrow.

                        Evelyne Ender    (cell number 617 817 6873, just in case)

• A suggestion for one extra group event (NOT FREE)

I received an announcement for what seems a very interesting performance of modern theatre, called BECKETT SHORTS at the New York Theatre Workshop, the performances start Dec. 5. One of the performers is Baryshnikov.

Cheaper tickets are available, at 20 dollars, and it would be easiest to get them for a Sunday performance. I cannot do Dec. 9, because I will be out of town for a conference, but I could do Dec. 16.

(note that this might be exam time for you)

Unfortunately I cannot Email the info I got to you, but I invite you to look for it on the website www.nytw.org

• We have spent all our money, and that means that I would have to ask you to commit to buying and paying for a ticket – while I handle the reservations.

Needless to say, we can also make very different plans i.e. a free artistic event (most likely an exhibit at a Museum or special collection) to be determined, or a social event, on the model of what I did last year – pizza in the Honors Lounge.

Can you please consider this option, discuss it among it each other, and let me know when we meet on Wednesday if that is a plan you would like me to put into place.

• DANCE

First, I need to get back to you early next week about the details of our Wednesday class at Alvin Ailey (the person in charge is absent for a few days) 

Then, here is some info about possibilities for seeing a ballet performance.

New York City Ballet is doing NUTCRACKER, as they always do. If we decide quickly, we might be able to secure tickets, for weekday performances on the following dates

NOV. 29  or   DECEMBER  4/5/6  or 11/12/13 performances. 20 dollars tickets (very high up) are sold out, but 30.00 dollar tickets are available.

Also, there is an OPENING NIGHT with a program of varied pieces (for details see www.nycballet.com), for which the tickets are a little over 30.00 dollars.

I am writing to find you if some of you are interested, I am thinking particularly of the few among you who could not make it to BALLET du GRAND THEATRE (for that small group, I will see if financial arrangements can be made to sponsor at least part of your ticket).  If you are interested PLEASE EMAIL ME with possible dates and impossibilities.

Tell me also if you would like “Nutcracker” or the Opening Night.

I also found out that between Jan. and April, New York City Ballet offers “working day tours” that enable you to watch an hour and a half of rehearsals of the company, the times are between, roughly 11:30 and 3:00. Visits need to be scheduled in advance. If some of you are interested, we can try to have organize a tour for late Jan. for example. I’ll ask you at the end of the semester.

          I look forward to hearing from  you.

                    EE

PS  Thank you for adding your signature to the blog, my thanks to Dalya, Cameron, and Laura, for sending me their comments via Email. I will try to post them in the right place, and will also enquire as to why your posts seem to land in a different place from expected.