The Arts in New York City

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)

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.

In the cemetery that is Madison Square Park, one will find an abundance of naked trees scattered between black fencing. Faded and rusty bars imprison these tall unfortunate creatures who stand there frozen and stunned. A harsh wind blows and their scrawny branches quiver, their rattling slightly smothered by the howling gust. Little movement can be found for happy birds and friendly squirrels are hiding from the frosty cold that has immersed itself over everything. However, in the midst of this wintry grave, strong silver beings stand unrelentingly against biting winds. They glow like fire against the night lamps and warm eyes watering from the stinging chill.

“Enchanted” is basically a magic movie, it’s the No.1 ranking movie in the cinema now, as well as highly recommendated by New York Times and Wall Street Journal. Because of curiosity, I went to watch it on last Friday. I was actually kind of disappointed by it. The plot was both simple and cliched; a princess from magic world accidentally came to the human world and fell in love with an average man. Especially comparing with ” The Violin” I just watched also, I felt that the theme depicted in “Enchanted” is too trivial and naive.  Probably a deeper  theme in this movie is about trust because before the guy met the princess, he never trusted anyone. The princess made him start to trust people and to trust the world. He was deeply moved and attracted by the princess’ purity and innocence. Despite of the lack of originality and light theme, this movie, however, is the only one I’ve see that the audience spontaneously started clapping at the end of the movie. That just made me start wondering, what made the commercial movie achieve this that an artistic movie couldn’t? What is our ruler when measuring art? Does art still have any value if the audience feel hard to be emphasized? Or can we not call commercial movies arts since the audience really had a good time watching it, since they made the audience felt more relaxed and happier?

In a previous review, I wrote about how documentaries are artistic in the way it appeals to the emotions and feelings of an audience to inform them of a subject. In Al Gore’s documentary “An Inconvenient Truth,” Gore tries to use fear and guilt as a tactic. He informs the audience of the global warming situation and their role in it. Sometimes, he ends up being more preachy than necessary. This is especially annoying when he is hypocritical at times. For a guy who travels on jet planes quite frequently, he should not be admonishing others. It is still admirable on his part that he puts his effort in informing people of the situation.

A couple of weeks ago I went to the Neue Gallery on the Upper East Side. This was a new gallery that had been open for a couple of weeks when I went there. The gallery showed the art of Gustav Klimit. Klimit was a painter who lived in Vienna 100 years ago. He achieved his fame by making portraits of famous families in Vienna. The style that he used was borrowed from French painters of the time, like Monet. I find it hard to understand the meaning of the paintings, so I decided to go on a small tour of the gallery. The tour really was helpful. The guide eluded to other artists and other paintings. Probably at the begining of the semester I wouldn’t have been able to understand what she was talking about. Now I understood what was being said. This showed how far I have come this semester in my knowledge of art. However I felt like the only person under the age of 40 in the whole gallery. The Neue Gallery is a very interesting place to attend if one is an experienced art goer.

Having gone to the Met and MoMA for modern art, I decided to go to the Guggenheim Museum. The Guggenheim Museum was special, not only because it contained modern art, but also because the building itself is a form of modern art. Designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, it was meant to be organic art, or one with nature. Although the exterior was under renovation, the spiral design is well known throughout the world. On the inside, the spiral-like design is present again with a dome over the top. A striking issue I noticed was that there were no support beams holding the building up. Inside the museum, artworks from famous artists like Van Gogh and Picasso were present. The most interesting would be the “Word Arts” spread around the spiral hallways. It usually contained a short joke phrase such as, “My father was a drunk. The last I heard from him, he went to Canada to drink it dry.” The Guggenheim was definitely worth going because it combined some abstract art with modern art that was understandable.

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.

I was sitting one day flipping through the channel when I saw a feature on the Rockefeller Tree Lighting. There were many celebrities present such as Carrie Underwood and Nick Lachey who had sung their own versions of traditional Christmas carols. I had planned on going to see the lighting on that Wednesday, but I had other plans for that night. Instead, my friends and I decided to go this past weekend to see the Christmas tree. It was remarkable. The tree was gigantic, more than 50 feet tall. It wasn’t hard to find because the lighting on the tree lit the entire area up and guided us to it like the North Star. It was elaborately decorated with all sorts of ornaments, but also had the traditional ones such as the two turtledoves. If you are ever passing by, you should go see the tree for yourself, especially at night.

The dulcet melody of etudes from Chopin Op. 10 enthralled my ears when I was sitting in the audience at a professional pianist competition in the recital halls at NYU. I was infatuated by the mostly twenty-minute-long pieces each pianist performed in front of a panel of judges. My piano teacher had invited me to come see her participate at an annual competition held right near Washington Square. I was in awe when I saw her and the other competitors run their fingers so vigorously yet beautifully over the clavier. To me, it is absolutely captivating to see someone lay their hands on the keys and give meaning and emotions to simple black dots on fine-lined sheets of paper. This infatuation has been my motivation in continuing to play for almost eleven years. Sitting in the audience witnessing these heart-felt deliveries of such comprehensive pieces, I thought to myself that these pianists shouldn’t be perceived as “competitors” for they can merely compete in terms of technique. Instead, they should each be applauded as artists who are able to play marvelous music in their own, individual interpretation. In the end, a twenty-two-year-old pianist won whose excellent technique was undeniable. To me, he stood out among the others because of the refined tone he produced and his sensational delivery. I was truly inspired by these pianists; it provided reassurance once again that I want to always hone the skill of playing the piano.