The Arts in New York City

Waiting for the Arts of Japan guide tour, I wondered if I would find anything of interest. The Arts of Japan section of the MET was located within the Chinese gallery. One exhibit that stood out was located in a small hallway towards the end of the tour. There were many woodblock paintings, by Toshusai Sharaku, lined the small golden walls. The pieces were created by tracing a pattern onto a woodblock and then carving out a relief, slathering with ink and imprinted onto a sheet of paper. The pieces capture the naturalness of human emotion. Many of the faces are distorted and unflattering in order to create expressions, emotions and realism on psychological levels. Sharaku used actual actors from a traditional Japanese theater to portray these characters. I found these images to be very interesting and I liked how they expressed the many feelings that the humans can portray. There are many sides to humans that are not pretty and it is hard to hide that. I like the way Sharaku portrayed these images all together to show the many expressions side by side.

Art serves not only as eye candy but also to make political statements, much like what Dan Perjovschi did with Projects 85. Clearly not focusing on aesthetics, the hand-drawn stick figures were scrawled across the massive wall in the atrium of the Museum of Modern Art. Not only were they amusing, but it reflected American values and issues. For example, in one part, there were pictures of “unsafe things,” including airplanes and envelopes. In another, the perfect flight passenger was naked. There were also references to pop culture so even children can relate, such as a line of people listening to iPods. This just goes to show that art is not just a pretty picture but can be a medium to get news of current events across to the public as well.

After having my fill of paintings in museums such as the MoMA, the Guggenheim and the Met, I felt it was time for me to see some more pictures, but… in motion. Movies and TV programs are the everyday means of displaying the arts of motion pictures. But how does it all work? To answer this question one must venture into the heart of Queens and head to the Museum of the Moving Image located in Astoria. Residing across the street from the famed Kauffman Studios, the Museum of the Moving Image’s goal is to advance the appreciation of the art, history, technique and technology involved in film, television, and digital media. The museum offers some great exhibits such as “Behind the Screen” in which I got to see the various aspects of movie making like the production and marketing of the movies. I was also happy to find that the museum had its own theater. I managed to sit in on one of the shows, which was a classic episode of Captain America. What I found the most interesting, being a sports fan, was the replica of a sports broadcasting station. In it, there are several screens all showing different images of a sporting event. The exhibit simulates how a producer must decide on which screens to show, for how long he must show them and when he must show them. This place was great and, if you like movies and TV you will love the Museum of the Moving Image.

The trip to the Guggenheim museum certainly enriches my experience of the exploration of modern art. I have a chance to observe many paintings painted by great artists in person rather than reading from books; it helps me to appreciate and understand these paintings better. There is one painting called composition 8, by Vasily Kandinsky, struck me and lasted in my mind for a longer time than many others paintings did. I actually learned about this painting in my art class in China several years ago, and it was a bit exciting to finally see it in person. Kandinsky emphasizes on geometric forms in this painting to establish a universal aesthetic language and to expand his own pictorial vocabulary. His belief in the expressive content of abstract forms is clearly indicated in Composition 8. The colorful, interactive geometric forms create a pulsating surface that is alternately dynamic and calm, aggressive and quiet. The importance of circles in this painting is the synthesis of the greatest oppositions. It combines the concentric and the eccentric in a single form and in equilibrium. Kandinsky suggests that everything in the world exists in balance and harmony.

What makes a gangster? Is it T.I. and his recent arrest on gun charges? Is it 50 Cent getting shot nine times? No it is not. They may call themselves gangsters but I recently saw a movie that showed me otherwise. American Gangster starring Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe showed me what a true gangster is. It is a historical fiction movie that shows us the life of the historic mob boss Frank Lucas. Denzel correctly captures the ruthlessness and reckless abandon for others yet he still humanizes Frank Lucas. I don’t want to ruin the movie but despite showing me the mind of a gangster, I was also brought back to a time I could not experience otherwise: Harlem in the 1970s. Overall the movie was long-winded but I enjoyed this two-and-a-half hour epic.

Tuesday, the windy afternoon, I rushed to the International Center of Photography on 43^rd Street planning to have a last minute glimpse of it before it closed, so I could at least have something to write on the IDC paper. However, it was that less than an hour look-around that redefined my definition of Photography. Photography, draws a line between art and life, and that line is truth. (more…)

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…)