The Arts in New York City

Here are the cultural passport sites

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The last place i thought i would find art is in the subway. I have been using the 74th Street – Roosevelt Avenue station for about the passed nine years. Nine years ago this subway was not in such a good condition. There were a lot of graffiti, broken down doors and dirty walls in the subway station. But over the passed four to six years, there have a lot of renovations done in that station. Part of these renovations included new stairs, more entrances, and other things. I had noticed the changes when I would go to the subway once in a while. A few days ago I was waiting for the 7 train for a long time due to a problem on the track and noticed some artworks on the glass wall of the platform. Instead of boring one colored walls, they decided to put in these glass walls. There were many different abstract designs done the glass. These designs consisted of simple shapes transformed and colored. This reminded me of the exhibit called recollections from the Hall of Science. I was amazed to find art in such a place as the 74th Street subway station. I did not even notice these till few days ago. So look at your local subway stations I bet you will notice new artwork and will be amazed by it.

I would have never thought I, a skeptic and cynic, could have deemed it “art.” I continuously challenge, fight and question the legitimacy of self-expression to be deemed as such. However, I found myself torn due to the sincere emotion it elicited. “It” was a pure and simple game of basketball being played in my neighborhood playground, in Parkchester. The event itself was not set on a grand stage, but the true meaning was below the surface. I saw one player dive to the floor and scrape his knee on the cold, hard concrete, leaving a slight gash. Amazingly, he simply got up and played as if nothing had happened. It was like the body in motion consumed with emotion. The muscles stretch and contort at the will of the controller, just so the team may preserve a single possession. Desire in it’s simplest and purest form; it was beautiful. I couldn’t help but remember a time not so long ago when I had just started to play the game. My skill level was poor at best but my effort had been unparalleled. I developed work ethic in this way until my other skills progressed. However, I never lost the urgency, and never will. I suppose I have expanded my definition of art, but I’m still not ready to accept “blank expression” into the category.

For my second blurb I visited the International Center of Photography, otherwise known as the ICP. At this museum they are currently featuring the work of photographer Robert Capa. Capa’s most famous photographs were of the Spanish Civil War which lasted from 1936 to 1939. In these photographs Capa showed the lives of ordinary people during war as well as the fighting, suffering and destruction that the war caused. While the first floor mostly focused on Capa’a work during the Spanish Civil War, the basement showed his work in all the other places that he traveled to capture the world around him though photography. The photographs shown were of Japan’s war with China in 1938, D-Day and the fall of Germany in 1945. These photographs also seemed very real and graphic. Besides Capa’s work, there were also clippings from the time period from magazines such as ‘Life’. These pictures also were successful in putting the audience in the shoes of the people who experienced this war. Overall I found that the exhibit was longer then I had previously expected, but worth the extra time that was spent there. If you want to see and in turn experience the past through the eyes of people who lived almost 70 years ago, theICP is worth checking out.

Right when I was about to step off from the street curb, a blazing yellow vehicle bearing sky-blue and pink decals raced past me. When I looked up, I saw that the streets lined up with several taxicabs that had the same colorful flower decals. Not knowing why there were all of a sudden flowers painted on taxis, I decided to research more about the reason for these newly designed taxis. Apparently, these flowery cabs are part of a temporary project called Garden in Transit. The Massey brothers, who founded an organization called Portraits of Hope, originally started this project. The intention was a sort of creative therapy for critically ill and disabled children. This event is to commemorate the 100th anniversary of New York’s first motorized taxi and lasts from September to December 2007. I think that the new design on the taxicabs is a nice change to the typical yellow hue taxi look. The yellow hue of the cabs already made the taxicabs stand out, but the flowers make it even more distinguished and noticeable among all the other vehicles on the streets. And the fact that the flowers were painted on by the sick children of the city makes the taxicab art even more beautiful. The reason for why a flower was chosen as the symbol to be painted on taxicabs was because it was the symbol of hope; hope for the children.

Anyone that rides New York’s subway has for certain seen the magnificent art forms of the transit system. They are located in subway stations, on platforms, and even inside trains at times. Like most New Yorkers, I simply pass them without giving a second’s thought. However, one afternoon, something struck me. A young musician was playing a cello, at the 51st Lexington Ave. station. What caught my attention was the fact that it was so majestic, yet soothing at the same time. I had to explore why this was so. The musician had an amplifier, but what really made the difference was the location of where he was playing. The arch-like shape of the tunnel reflected sound perfectly right back to me; making the notes sound more lively than ever before. This peace of mind would be short lived because of the oncoming trains, but once they left, harmony was reestablished. This short period brings us, New Yorkers, a moment of tranquility from our speedy life.

I used to exclude commercial movies from my definition of art. However, the movie ” Kingdom” totally changed my view on commercial movies. “Kingdom” is a story based on some real personal experiences. It mainly depicts how a group of four Americans eradicated the terrorists in Saudi Arab. If some people consider this is a political propaganda, then it must be the best propaganda I’ve ever seen. It depicts the political idea with out political dreadfulness. The vivid pictures of those victims’ eyes with fear, their tears… totally touched me. The end especially impressed me. The terrorist leader told his granddaughter before he got killed by the American police: ” We’ll kill all of them one day.” And at the beginning of the movie, the American police officer told his dead fellow’s wife: ” We’ll kill all of them.” The little girls’ eyes with hatred, and the American police officer’s eyes with hatred, I seem could never forget. The movie touches terrorism issue, yet it far goes beyond that issue. Is war and revenge really the solutions for terrorism? How will it affect the next generation. The first time, when thinking of the terrorists, I had a feeling beyond indignation. Compare to those popular fantasy American movies, I think that movie really touches the reality, and that is what I think the essence of art: no matter it’s expressed in an abstract way, or a concrete way, it should make people think, it should have life, instead of those pointless fantasies.

When I saw the performance of “Pamina Devi: A Cambodian Magic Flute” at The Joyce Theater, I couldn’t help but ask myself, “What would Mozart say about the Cambodian adaptation of his epochal opera ‘Die Zauberfloete/ The Magic Flute’?” Though this wasn’t out of disinclination towards the performance, it was a question that was adequate to ask oneself. For anyone who had an opportunity to see Mozart’s “Magic Flute”, differences and similarities were easy to depict and a slight preconception about what was going to be expected could inhibit one from truthfully enjoying the performance. A major difference was the fact that the Cambodian Magic Flute was solely performed through movements. Besides the rather “quote-like” surtitles above the ten musicians upstage, there were no spoken words at all. Dressed in absolutely stunning, traditional Cambodian costumes, the dancers performed traditional Cambodian movements, which are mainly focused in the hands and feet. Dances almost seemed like a sequence of striking poses that progressed very slowly from one to another. Though I found that “Pamina Devi” at The Joyce Theater was a captivating experience, I personally found it extremely difficult to stay focused during the 120 minute performance. The story that was told through the movements was very similar to Mozart’s original– the five main characters (Pamina, Tamino, Papageno, Papagena and the Queens of the Night) were all translated into Cambodian names- but it took deep focus and endurance to follow the story throughout. To fully immerse in this adaptation and not simply get carried away by the beauty of costumes and Cambodian tradition, one must have had a deep appreciation for movement and dance and the rather trained mind and etiquette of a frequent dance spectator.

Digital Art is relatively a new style of art. I embraced this new form of expression during the tech fair and it has gotten me excited. Garageband is an audio program that allows the user to manipulate sounds to form unique pieces of music. The program is remarkably simple to operate and overwhelming in its amount of content. With this program, the possibilities to express the musical ideas within ones mind are endless. One can modify existing forms of music or create their own with the keyboard style piano using this program. Combined with the program Audacity, where sound effects can be added to perfect any piece, a musician can create a piece worthy of radio play or create a piece perfect for accompanying a visual performance. Whatever the desired goal, these two programs will surely help you reach your target. Like a match made in Heaven, Audacity and Garageband not only complement one another but make each other better. One of the simplest programs to use out in the market, the category of Digital Art is greatly aided and enhanced by these simple yet efficient programs.

Located at 43rd street and Avenue of the Americas, the ICP (International Center of Photography) touched my heart deeply through it’s photographs. Containing no other forms of art other than photography and posters, the images that are presented are astounding and powerful. The current exhibitions were about war, which is a topic that is serious and touching. As I stared at the photographs, sadness settled into my heart as I saw blood pouring from a dead snipered soldier, a soldier being carried out in a stretcher, a soldier recently shot, and a mass grave of 46 Spaniards. Bravery is also presented as you see real soldiers heading toward war, an inevitable destiny for them, and their expression of bravery yet fear hidden behind it. Photography is such a powerful form of art where you can appreciate and witness what really happened in the past. Photographs allows us to know the true emotion of a certain event and those affected in the process.