The Arts in New York City

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As I walked through the 9/11 exhibit in the NY Historical Society, I saw the different perspectives of the tragic event through the powerful medium of photography. The exhibit reminded me of the Snapshot of NYC Common Event we had attended earlier. Although we had all taken pictures of NYC on the same day, the perspectives varied, as did the content of the photos. The photographs in the 9/11 exhibit expressed the mixed range of emotions and reactions to the tragic event: sadness, frustration, disbelief, solidarity, vengeance (one photograph said “Nuke them all”), a calling for peace. The whole human range of emotions is very expansive and the medium of photography portrays these emotions very well. I would recommend a visit to this exhibit to those interested in commemorating those lost on that tragic day.

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    Conceptual artist Roxy Paine took ideas about nature and industrialization to create steel trees and a steel rock, artworks housed in the museum called Madison Square Park. The tension between nature and industrialization were obvious in Paine’s works: the real trees and rocks surrounding the artificial trees and artificial rock; the material used to make the artworks, steel, which is made from natural raw materials but becomes steel through a man-made process. The artist sought to contrast nature and industrialization in his works, a theme we are all familiar with in this city. The whole city can be seen as a museum, with its many parks and trees and its many skyscrapers as artworks depicting this tension between nature and man. This tension is everywhere around us: when we walk on a sidewalk with trees on the side, when we are in Central Park and we look up to see skyscrapers in the backdrop, or when we admire the blue sky, lost in a daydream only to come back to our city life. Although Paine did an admirable job in portraying the tension between nature and man, the audience did not have to look any further for this tension than in their everyday life as a New Yorker.

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…)

LOWE EAST SIDE- Saddie Bening showcased her side work as a musician in her art exhibit titled “Form of a Waterfall.” Bening was known for her works with “play/pause” audio works which were audio snippets from various musical genres put together to create wild fluctuations in tone. The focus of the exhibit were her colored pencil on Davey Board drawings consisting of simple solid colored shapes that were almost touching. These drawings were accompanied by music the artist created which were playing from a vinyl record. In addition, the exhibit featured a sketchy black and white video of a hand sketching lines with a pencil. My initial impression was that this exhibit was pointless. Thankfully, the exhibit was salvaged–the artist was on the premises to explain the works. According to the artist, she chose simple materials in order to invoke a vintage and more childlike feeling to the exhibit. She mentioned the drawings were meant to look like an arcade. Although I did admit that the drawings did have a video-game quality to them, I felt that her main points would have been incomprehensible if it were not for her help. To make it worse, she added that gender identity was also a theme in the exhibit which I totally did not understand. Unfortunately, Saddie Bening’s “Form of a Waterfall” was only an engaging experience with the artist and not the art itself.

In America, Halloween is seen as a day of mischief, fright, and fun. Children, teens, and adults alike take part in this scary tradition on October 31. We all have an urge to behave badly whether it be pulling silly pranks or dressing more provocatively than usual because we are free from ourselves under the guise of a costume. We are allowed to be someone else for a day, a welcome relief from our everyday lives. Most of all we associate Halloween with terror and fright (not to mention candy). The MF Gallery’s Fiftth Annual Halloween Art show on the Lowest East Side was an attempt to articulate the essence of Halloween through art. My visit to the Halloween Art Show was the quintessential Halloween experience: full of terror, and fun (unfortunately minus the candy). (more…)

QUEENS CENTRAL LIBRARY- The exhibit titled “Preserving Our Cultural Heritage: Newly Conserved Work from the Queens Library’s Holdings in the Index of American Design” featured watercolor depictions of dresses and house ware from the American colonial period to the 19th c. The watercolor paintings featured in the exhibit were part of the Federal Art Project (FAP) of the Works Progress Administration (WPA) of the Great Depression. The project employed 1000 artists over a span of 6 years who created over 18,000 watercolor paintings. The project was started to create much needed jobs and also to serve the growing public need for information on American design at the time. The exhibit displayed watercolor paintings of rather mundane and ordinary objects of pre-19th century life- quilt spreads, napkins, dresses, and chairs. Expecting an artistic experience, coming to this exhibit was a waste of time. If the government was really concerned about preserving the ways of American pre-19th c. life, they should have preserved the actual quilt spreads, napkins, dresses, and chairs of the time, not produce watercolor paintings of them. I don’t have a problem with the government trying to boost the economy with jobs through the FAP but I don’t think ordinary watercolor paintings like these can be considered art. These paintings cannot be appreciated for their aesthetics (almost anyone could have painted these). Rather, these paintings can only be appreciated for their historical significance.

My visit to the King Manor Museum, history right in the backyard of Jamaica, Queens was a surprisingly enjoyable and informative experience. It shed light on the oddities of late 18^th century high class American culture as well as the significant works of one man’s post-American Revolution political career, Senator Rufus King. (more…)