The Arts in New York City

…for bringing all the food and making the class a party. It took me a while to figure out that you meant to eat all of that food during the class! It was a tricky treat you put together!

-Zoe

MIDTOWN MANHATTAN- Japan Society’s exhibit titled Making a Home: Japanese Contemporary Artists in New York showcased the artwork of 33 contemporary Japanese artists who emigrated to NYC from Japan. One of the themes the exhibit dealt with was the theme of identity; the artists had two separate identities to reconcile, as Japanese and a New Yorker. The exhibit was a very intriguing look at the artist’s relationship with their former homeland, Japan. (more…)

One definition of culture characterizes it as the beliefs, customs, practices, and social behavior of a particular nation or people. Truthfully, it is a fallacy to attempt to create any single term to express such complex and subjective concepts as a collective. However, we do it for the purpose of standardization. Is this the right road to take, or do we risk the danger of oversimplification? Through various mediums, including paintings, photographs and installations, the exhibition, ‘Making a Home: Japanese Contemporary Artists in New York,” explores the ideological components of both Japanese and American culture and attempts to distinguish between their divisive and harmonious features. (more…)

Located in Theater Row, the Lion theatre is the home to an up and coming Off-Broadway production known as None of the Above. The play featuring Halley Feiffer (Jamie) and Adam Green (Clark) is an insightful look into the life of a spoiled socialite looking for the illusive 2400 on the SAT’s. One however, is left scratching his head wondering why this play focuses on such a particular issue that limits itself only to the teenage audience. The final product however, does an incredible job in its portrayal of the blemished teenager and her unsuspecting struggles. (more…)

As the “tkts”- booth on Times Square is popular among both New Yorkers and tourists for making a good bargain on Broadway-tickets, there is one musical we never see displayed on the screen: “Wicked”. After its debut in 2003, “Wicked” is still known to be the most sought-after musical on Broadway. Besides “Premium Seats”, tickets to see this musical – praised as being “The best show in town!” and “A must-see!”- are sold out months in advance. Surprisingly, I good lucky and got two tickets after waiting for two hours on the ticket-return-line, tickets that had been cancelled by someone and were then sold back to the public. I thought I knew what was going to expect me since I was very familiar with the music, but “Wicked” exceeded my expectations by far! “Wicked” is everything we imagine when we think of a “Broadway Musical”: extravagant costumes, mesmerizing songs, lavishing sets and dramatic effects. The spectacular coups de theatre combined with breath-taking music and vocal performances engaged the audience in such a way that I could have never imagined. (more…)

When the latest games or hottest gadgets are unveiled, one term comes to mind; Japan. Over the past few years, Japan has been the source of eye-popping envy throughout the world. Every time there is a new hype, it is always connected to Japan in one form or shape. I wondered, is everything from Japan that attractive? This leads me to the Japanese section of The Metropolitan Museum of Art. I had high expectations of Japanese productions; even if it is old, I believe there are bound to be inspiring.
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If I told you that you were going to something that had music, acting, and dance, your first thought would probably be that you are going to a Broadway show. In fact, you would be wrong. This past week I attended all of that, for a measly five dollars. If you are still confused, I am not surprised.
What I went to was a (more…)

Remembering our awesome class trip to Chelsea to tour a number of galleries intriguing to our curating minds, I decide to pay the galleries another visit.  Ambling around the area, I notice the couple of studios that we visited, but peering through the glass walls, they seem to be exhibiting the same displays.  So I move on, eventually stopping myself at a quaint little entrance on the corner of W20th Street and 11th Avenue.  What immediately draws my attention is its pink and red-brown colored building in a gray and desolate street.  Upon exploring the venue, I find that it creates a very comfortable gallery to enjoy various canvas works and paintings. (more…)

Before my visit to the International Center of Photography, I disliked black-and-white photographs. Since photographs were records of life, which was interesting, exciting, and full of variety, they ought to be colorful to reflect the nature of life. I also thought the black-and-white photographs were not powerful because of the lack of variety of colors. When I arrived in the International Center of Photography and learned the exhibitions mostly consisted of black-and-white photographs, I was disappointed. However, I was pleased by the photographs that depicted the varied aspects of the Spanish Civil War and showed people’s genuine feelings, and my personal view of black-and-white photographs changed after I saw the exhibition, “This Is War! Robert Capa at Work.”

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The last gallery tour I attended at the Metropolitan Museum of Art has left a huge impression on me.  I went back for another visit on October 26, Friday.  This time I attended a gallery talk called Hinduism: In the Realm of Gods and Goddesses.  The guide’s name was Marie-Hélène Weill.  The gallery talk was much more different than the gallery tour I had been to a few weeks ago.  Rather than being very informative about the sculptures in the galleries, she told many stories about the Hindu gods and goddesses, which were very interesting.  (more…)