The Arts in New York City » Ravendra Persaud

Ravendra Persaud’s Final Podcast

admin — Sun, 23 Dec 2007 16:04:40 +0000

Ancient Moderns

Ravendra — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 13:58:25 +0000

Draw closer the controller, its “x” to start
Sit down, it’s the conclusion of your part
So wes about to step into the ring
Put up all defenses cause here comes the sting
You put out those weak rhymes for all to see
But listen up, cause you aint got nothing on me g
Been spittin rhymes since I was about yay high
And ima continue till the day I die
You think you can see, but you’re blind to it all
Step out of your comfort zone and you’re bound to fall
Ima bout to educate you in some verse
Think those clothes, that hair makes it better,
na that jus makes it worse
Givin in to a society, artificial and untrue
Never think bout the reason for what you do
Is that any way to live a life?
Everyday cuttin deeper with that infected knife
Government got you blinded to the strife
Everyday overseas, violence takin somebody’s child, somebody’s wife
But hol up cause I’m not tryin to offend
It’s not a message of hate but of hope I send
Friends, Romans, countrymen lend me your ears
So that I may rid you of those infernal fears
Everyday we feel like a cog in the gears
Unite as a generation as we dry the tears
I think its about time that you resigned
The psychophilosopher takin you on a journey of the mind
Must rid myself of the visions of the gore
Ima about to take flight, about to soar
Allow me to show you to the door
Quote the Raven, NEVER MORE

(Yes, you are on Ravendra’s part of the blog, and yes it is kind of a rap, feel free to comment!!! lol)

None of The Above

Ravendra — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 04:45:47 +0000

Being a college freshman, one would think I would like nothing better than to forget about the dreaded SAT’s. This charming story resulting in the pairing of a young girl and her SAT tutor, is a far cry from ridiculous films, such as The Perfect Score, that have used the test as a theme. It fuses the elements of comedy, drama, and teenage angst into a perfect storm, resulting in a play that will appeal to a wide range of viewers (especially the large teenage audience). The concept is modern, and Broadway has been crying out for one of its kind. You become swept into the seemingly futile situation of the tutor, Clark. Contracted to get Jamie a perfect score on the SATs so that her father, whom he is indebted to, will cancel his debt and pay his graduate school costs, you truly sympathize with the character. The happy ending seems all but impossible when Jamie receives a 2390 on the exam. Clark seems as if he will remain in debt and Jamie will have to live without the man she has grown to love. You experience relief, along with the rest of the audience, as Jamie finds the loophole in the contract that gives life back to Clark. The contract having been written when the old SAT was instated abided by those standards. That being said, under those policies, a 2390 was considered a perfect score. Perfection, we see, is not a matter of a number, or other objective criteria. It is what we interpret, what we see. Any situation can be deemed “perfect,” if we are willing to let it be.

Outside The MET

Ravendra — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 19:31:27 +0000

I can still remember the street performers I encountered outside the MET after seeing the newly renovated Greek and Roman wing. They had immense personality with their cultural and racial jokes that got a rise out of the crowd. They were very acrobatic and generating suspense and anticipation with their music and commentary. Furthermore, they asked for volunteers from the crowd and they were readily available. They had a break dancing exhibition right in the middle of the sidewalk as they cleared the area. The balance and speed was truly amazing. I will never forget the finale as one performer jumped through the open legs of another doing a handstand and over three volunteers. I hope to see them on my next visit to the MET and encourage future visitors to keep an eye out should they be in the area.

Ravendra Persaud’s Podcast Review

admin — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 20:18:59 +0000

Museum of The Moving Image

Ravendra — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 17:58:52 +0000

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Star Wars, The Cosby Show and Mrs. Doubtfire. Yes, I did say Mrs. Doubtfire. This museum simply overcame me with a sense of nostalgia. It appeals to people of all ages through media covering many eras of American culture and even has the coveted interactive component. You can listen to the soundtracks of the classics such as Casablanca and Raiders of The Lost Ark. The actors and actresses also share their experiences and mindset with you through recordings that walk you through scenes. A mini model of a temple houses a screening area, one of the main attractions of the museum. Freddy Kruger’s hand and a model of Yoda are also some of the more attractive components. Another is the most massive collection of Star Trek and Star Wars memorabilia I have ever found. I recommend this museum to children and adults of all ages and any connoisseur of truly amazing media.

Making a Home: Japanese Contemporary Artists in New York

Ravendra — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 18:26:54 +0000

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.
The first piece you encounter is Body Waves by Nubuho Nagasawa. This installation consists of a lawn chair made of a synthetic, almost fiber-optic material, as well as an oversized hourglass, and an umbilical cord. When you sit in the chair, you hear waves crashing, the sound pattern somehow generated by your movement. The hourglass is meant to depict the passage of time, and the artificial material combined with natural sounds seems to represent a perhaps serene coexistence of technology and the environment. The umbilical cord can represent both the conception of life and the imminent separation of mother and child. This piece proved to be a sign of things to come in its exploration of duality and singularity through time and other dimensions.
In A Euro Lover by Aya Uekawa a woman with traditional Japanese features is shown, clad in European garments. This seems to imply a blending and even merging of Japanese and European cultures. There is an almost underlying theme that this is an evolution or positive and natural progression. Noriko Shinohara seems to have a very different impression of cultural fusion, judging by his drawings of a character called “Cutie.” This name seems almost mockingly American. On one side of the drawings Cutie is depicted to have many pressures, complexes and fears in stereotypical American culture, including peer pressure. Captions are written on the drawings to narrate the situations. There is almost no setting and there is a general lack of detail. The strokes seem almost angry and forced. On the obverse, however, a calmer, traditional Japanese culture is depicted using the same character and much less words if any. The character here wears a kimono and is shown in nature-oriented scenery. The strokes are more delicate, almost lyrical. We then transition from blatant cultural references to more, singular, and abstract concepts.
“Loss.” Hiroshi Sunairi explores this theme in his installation consisting of sculptures depicting a dismembered white elephant. The white elephant is said to have “benevolent connotations in Buddhist iconography.” The captions speak of the September eleventh attacks on the World Trade Center, suggesting not only a loss of life but of peace and good will. Furthermore, the presentation shows the discordant implications of such actions on a society. Despite the massive physical damage, the psychological effects were, without a doubt, significant.
Globalization, cultural fusion, and the resistance and acceptance of the growing themes, live on in today’s society. It is only through the exploration of their evolution that we can hope to understand, and adapt to their societal implications and perhaps bridge the gap between nations.

Cultural Passport Listing

Ravendra — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 20:47:44 +0000

Here are the cultural passport sites

MANHATTAN

*American Folk Art Museum
45 W 53rd Street
New York, NY 10019
212-265-1040
www.folkartmuseum.org
Admission: Free

*Americas Society
680 Park Ave
New York, NY 10021
212-249-8950
www.americas-society.org
Admission: Free to exhibitions and literature programs; 8 free tickets per concert (reservations required)

*The Asia Society and Museum
725 Park Ave
New York, NY 10021
212-517-ASIA
www.asiasociety.org
Admission: Free

*Cooper-Hewitt: National Design Museum
2 East 91st Street
New York, NY
212-849-8309
www.cooperhewitt.org
Admission: Free

*The Frick Collection
1 East 70th Street
New York, NY 10021
212-288-0700
www.frick.org
Admission: Free

*International Center of Photography
1114 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10036
212-857-0000
www.icp.org
Admission: Free

*The Jewish Museum
1109 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10128
212-423-3200
www.thejewishmuseum.org
Admission: Free

*Museum of Chinese in the Americas
70 Mulberry Street, 2nd floor
(at Bayard Street)
Phone: (212) 619-4785
www.moca-nyc.org
Admission: Free

*Museum of the City of New York
12220 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10029
212-534-1672
www.mcny.org
Admission: Free; member prices for ticketed events

*Museum of Jewish Heritage-A Living Memorial to the Holocaust
36 Battery Place
New York, NY 10280
646-437-4200
www.mjhnyc.org
Admission: Free

*Museum of Modern Art
11 West 53rd Street
(between Fifth Avenue and Avenue of the Americas)
Phone: (212) 708-9400
www.moma.org
Admission: Free

*Museum of the Moving Image
3601 35th Avenue
Astoria, New York 11106
718-784-4520
www.movingimage.org
Admission: Free

*Museum of Arts and Design
40 West 53rd
New York, NY 10019
www.madmuseum.org
Admission: Free

*New-York Historical Society
2 West 77th Street
New York, NY
212-873-3400
www.nyhistory.org
Admission: Free

*Rubin Museum of Art
150 West 17th Street (at 7th Ave)
New York, NY 10011
212-620-6000
www.rmanyc.org
Admission: Free admission and audio guide

*SoHo Repertory Theatre
46 Walker Street
(between Church and Broadway)
Phone: (212) 868-4444
www.sohorep.org
Student Discount $7 tickets, day of performance, pending availability

*Soloman R. Guggenheim Museum
1071 Fifth Ave
New York, NY 10128
212-423-3500
www.guggenheim.org
Admission: Free

*South Street Seaport Museum
12 Fulton Street
New York, NY
212-748-8600
www.southstreetseaport.org
Admission: Free

*Theater for the New City
155 First Ave
New York, NY
212-254-1109
www.theaterforthenewcity.net
Admission: $5 ticket

*The Whitney Museum of Art
945 Madison Ave
New York, NY 10021
1 (800) WHITNEY or (212) 570-3676
www.whitney.org
Admission: Free

*Yangtze Repertory Theatre of America, Inc.
Dance productions at Flushing Town Hall in Queens
Drama productions at Theater for the New City, 155 Fifth Ave, New York, NY
914-914-7575
www.yangtze-rep-theatre.org
Admission: $10 ticket (50% off general admission)

BROOKLYN

*Brooklyn Arts Exchange (BAX)
421 Fifth Ave
Brooklyn, NY 11215
718-832-0018
www.bax.org
Student Discount: $8 tickets

*Brooklyn Botanical Garden
1000 Washington Ave
Brooklyn, NY 11225
718-623-7200
www.bbg.org
Admission: Free; non-transferable

*The Brooklyn Museum
200 Eastern Parkway
Brooklyn, NY 11234
718-638-5000
www.brooklynmusuem.org
Admission: Free

*Bronx Museum of the Arts
1040 Grand Concourse
(at 165th Street)
Bronx
Phone: (718) 681-6000
www.bronxmuseum.org
Admission: Free

*New York Botanical Garden
200 Street @ Kazimiroff Blvd
Bronx, NY
718-817-8595
www.nybg.org
Admission: Free

QUEENS

*New York Hall of Science
47-01 111th Street
Queens, NY 11368-2950
718-699-0005
www.nyscience.org
Admission: Free

The Most Unexpected of Memories

Ravendra — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 18:20:37 +0000

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.

Dreamgirl

Ravendra — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 21:16:50 +0000