When I decided to go to the “Making a Home: Japanese Contemporary Artists in New York” exhibition presented by the Japan Society, I expected to see calligraphy or traditional paintings of bamboos and misty mountains. What I got instead caught me by surprise; contemporary Japanese art was so different – vibrant, bold, and daring. It was a positive change from the same old ink on rice paper formula of past generations. (more…)
I have seen all sorts of advertisements for The Phantom of the Opera for as long as I can remember. When I was young, I used to be frightened by the show’s renowned, mysterious image of the white mask and rose against a black background. After watching the movie version of The Phantom of the Opera (2004) and falling in love with some of the songs, I had wanted to see the Broadway show live and up close. Well, I did get to see it live, but not exactly up close. Sitting in the rear mezzanine section of the theater, I could barely make out the performers’ faces. Nonetheless, The Phantom of the Opera was a thrilling performance with hauntingly beautiful music, stirringly seductive scenes, and unforgettably remarkable sets. (more…)
The Phantom of the Opera is a marvelous play shown at the Majestic Theater in the Broadway Box. This show has been the longest running show in Broadway history. I watched the movie before and since I enjoyed it very much, I decided to see the play itself. I heard from others that the show was even more beautiful than the movie, and after watching the play, I see that they stand correct. The show is astounding and amazing to see. A large part of this opinion comes from the fact that the actors are right in front of you, unlike in the movie where the actors filmed it on some Hollywood set. Broadway shows, such as The Phantom of the Opera, are wonderful due to the audience’s feel of the actors’ true feelings while acting the play. (more…)
The most common medium for art and communication, in this day and age, is mass media. Media in the form of newspapers, television, and films might be considered by some elitist artists as far too commercial to be real art. However, there are some forms of media that can be artistic in nature and form. One such form is the documentary. Documentaries are artistic in the way that it tells a story, expresses the feelings and sentiments of its subjects and the filmmaker, and informs people.
There are dozens of magazines devoted to fashion; Elle, Vogue, and Harper’s Bazaar, just to name a few. Each magazine is filled back-to-back with advertisements displaying gorgeous people in gorgeous outfits. To me, the garments that covered these people were just clothes, not art. That was why I was a little bit surprised when my friend attending the Fashion Institute of Technology asked if I would like to go visit the museum at her school. (more…)
Not knowing what to expect from my visit to the Museum of Natural History made my experience very peculiar. I was actually uncertain on whether I was going to find some form of art at the museum or not, since I have not been there for the last three years, and I barely recollect anything from my past visits. However, I decided to go for it since I had nothing to lose, except for some time. As I went from one floor of the museum into another, I realized that I had uncovered a unique form of art – one in which realism, created out of artificial objects and materials, is highly appreciated. (more…)
I will admit that although I love watching plays and Broadway shows, I do not get too excited about the newer, or more unknown shows. If given the choice between a popular Broadway show such as “Wicked”, or a less popular one called, “The Farnsworth Invention”, I would shyly prefer to see the first. It also upsets me when a performance doesn’t contain any music or songs because I feel that music plays a large part in telling the story of most Broadway shows. However, I was proven very wrong this past weekend after seeing a less popular Broadway show called the “Farnsworth Invention”. A friend of mine surprised me with tickets to this performance and after telling me its title, I wasn’t too eager to watch it. However, during the show I quickly learned that just because it wasn’t advertised on subways and buses everywhere and just because it wasn’t a musical, doesn’t mean that “The Farnsworth Invention” was an amateur show to be taken lightly. This performance exceeded my expectations and has motivated me to check out other Broadway and off- Broadway shows that are not so common on the streets. (more…)
Searching for an event that would make up for the Sigrid Nunez Reading at the Newman Conference Center at Baruch on Tuesday, I quickly realized that I had not look too far. Macaulay’s common events can actually be very beneficial besides contradictory observations many students had made after the first event. I was lucky to have met a guy that over the last two months has become a dear friend of mine: Sean.
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It was an amazing and new experience for me to see a Hispanic fable, Blind Mouth Singing, to be performed on stage by Asian Americans. Surprisingly, it went well. The professional acting kept the originality of the text, and enhanced the theme behind the fable. The play pulled me into the world of a rural Latino village in Cuba, where a series of struggle for personal identity and self-worthiness were presented. The conservative “Mother of the Late Afternoon” rejects to changes, and rules her family with strictness, designed to thwart her boy’s hopes and dreams. Her two sons, Gordi, an irrational and rebellious rough rouge, and Reiderico, a sensitive, gentle, caring gay boy who is too logical and ends up retreating into his own world by talking to his alter-ego who lives at the bottom of the well, attempt to survive in the stifling boredom of the house. It is interestingly enough to see different personalities direct each character to go onto different life paths at the end. Blind Mouth Singing provides the audiences with a rich atmosphere and an open space in which one relates to his or her own experiences and starts to explore the inner self.
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.
