The Arts in New York City

Remembering our awesome class trip to Chelsea to tour a number of galleries intriguing to our curating minds, I decide to pay the galleries another visit.  Ambling around the area, I notice the couple of studios that we visited, but peering through the glass walls, they seem to be exhibiting the same displays.  So I move on, eventually stopping myself at a quaint little entrance on the corner of W20th Street and 11th Avenue.  What immediately draws my attention is its pink and red-brown colored building in a gray and desolate street.  Upon exploring the venue, I find that it creates a very comfortable gallery to enjoy various canvas works and paintings. Read the rest of this entry »

Before my visit to the International Center of Photography, I disliked black-and-white photographs. Since photographs were records of life, which was interesting, exciting, and full of variety, they ought to be colorful to reflect the nature of life. I also thought the black-and-white photographs were not powerful because of the lack of variety of colors. When I arrived in the International Center of Photography and learned the exhibitions mostly consisted of black-and-white photographs, I was disappointed. However, I was pleased by the photographs that depicted the varied aspects of the Spanish Civil War and showed people’s genuine feelings, and my personal view of black-and-white photographs changed after I saw the exhibition, “This Is War! Robert Capa at Work.”

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The last gallery tour I attended at the Metropolitan Museum of Art has left a huge impression on me.  I went back for another visit on October 26, Friday.  This time I attended a gallery talk called Hinduism: In the Realm of Gods and Goddesses.  The guide’s name was Marie-Hélène Weill.  The gallery talk was much more different than the gallery tour I had been to a few weeks ago.  Rather than being very informative about the sculptures in the galleries, she told many stories about the Hindu gods and goddesses, which were very interesting.  Read the rest of this entry »

The museum of Jewish Heritage is located in the Battery Park neighborhood of Manhattan. The museum is relatively new, only 10 years old, and looks very modern from the outside. I have been to this museum once before, at age 12, but I don’t remember my experience there very well. This museum was particularly attractive to me because of my Jewish background. In attending this exhibit, I expected to learn more my heritage and culture. The sections of the museum that were worth viewing were the ‘Jewish life’ section and the ‘Holocaust’ section. Read the rest of this entry »

When I was in elementary school, my favorite subject was science. It was simply remarkable the way that nature had its own rules as to how the world worked. However, as the years passed and as studying science in school revolved around grades, my interest slowly dropped. Instead, I found myself dabbling here and there in the arts, which seems to be on the other side of the spectrum. So when I waltzed into the Museum of Natural History with Eilene, Kenny and Siwen desperately trying to avoid the onslaught of rain, I never expected to find two of my great loves reunited.
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On an unexpected trip to the Museum of Natural History, I found myself wondering if I would find anything of interest. I am not a huge fan of history. As I wandered through the museum floors searching for something to grab my attention, I stumbled upon a dark room where many people were gathered. I had remembered this exact room on my many trips to the Museum of Natural History with my classmates. This time, however, the room seemed different. I had begun to appreciate in a different way. Instead of just viewing the piece, I felt like I was a part of it. Read the rest of this entry »

Being Chinese, I have always been interested in the art of nearby countries, such as Japan. I decided to learn more about Japanese art, one that I thought to be heavily influenced by Chinese art, for the third report, and see how it had been influenced by my culture. The best place I could have thought of is the Metropolitan Museum, since I learned so much about Spanish art during Renaissance period in it. Unsurprisingly, I did see a lot of similarities between Chinese art and Japanese art; interestingly enough, I even found a Chinese emperor appearing in one of the Japanese paintings. Nevertheless, I did find distinctiveness in Japanese art, deserving of attention for its uniqueness and delicacy, despite its Chinese’s influences. The trip enriched my understanding of Japanese art as well as my own culture. Read the rest of this entry »

In all these years, I had never been to the Guggenheim Museum in New York City. I was surprised to find out that it was conveniently located on Fifth Avenue and 89th Street in Manhattan. Recently the Guggenheim had been going through a renovation process that has made it a bit unattractive from the outside due to all the scaffolding. Those thoughts were quickly erased once I entered the museum and was wowed by a spiraling walkway – laden with various paintings – that leads all the way to the top of the museum. On my visit, I viewed the FOTO: Modernity in Central Europe, 1918 – 1945 exhibit that had begun October 12th. Personally, I love photography and I thought that this would be a very interesting exhibit to attend. The exhibit did not disappoint. It displayed through the modern art of photography (at the time) that the emerging artists of Central Europe during the First and Second World War were able to provide a social commentary through various images and styles captured by their shutters.
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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. Read the rest of this entry »

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. Read the rest of this entry »