This week in NYTimes Arts, 8/29 & 8/31
So, what have you found of interest in the NYTimes Arts section this week? Add your comments to this post.
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21 comments
Hea Jung Yang
My favorite article today was about the salsa/dance clubs. I had always wanted to learn dances like salsa and tango, so in college I was going to start. I was really excited to see the article and it gave me information on where to go to experience the dances so I really enjoyed it. Anyone want to check out the dance places with me?
As for the article about the previews of the Broadway shows, I would like to go see one, not one of the early ones but one of the later ones. In high school, for the SING productions I would always see two and the later ones were always better.
The facebook movie sounds interesting. I did not know it was made by a Harvard student, I wonder how the movie will turn out to be.
Sophia Ling
My favorite articles from the Arts section this week are the ones about the Olympic games in the television section and the one about the Hamlet play performed outdoors in the theater section. I feel that the big advertisers did a good job at promoting cross-cultural exchange between America and China. The advertiser that I kept on seeing over and over again while watching the Olympic games on TV this summer on the NBC channel was Coca-Cola. I thought it was really cute in one particular advertisement where the birds created a structure that resembled the Bird’s Nest stadium in Beijing from straws. There’s also the advertisement where cultural exchange is evident since both the Chinese and Americans drink Coca-Cola. Yao Ming says cheers in English while an American basketball player says cheers in Chinese. Besides Coca-Cola, the other big advertisers display the best scenery and arts of China, which ranges from pandas to its natural beauty. I think it’s cool that the Hamlet play is now performed outdoors for the enjoyment of its viewers. Nothing can compare to the natural scenery the park provides for Hamlet’s scenes. I remember when I read the play last year in high school and we watched the movie. My English teacher passed around a newspaper clipping about the outdoor play, but at the time no one was interested in it. I think I want to go see the Hamlet play outdoors one day!
In this week’s NYTimes Art section, one of my favorite articles is the one about “The Grizzly Man Dairies”. The article is a review of this new series that basically follows the wild life of bears through the eyes of the grizzly bear expert Timothy Treadwell. It is amusing to read that he actually named the bears he observed but at the same time horrifying to read that one of the cubs was eaten by its siblings and its mother. I think it is truly fascinating how Treadwell blends in to the bears’ lifestyle and interacts with them because the article actually mentioned how he intervenes in the bears’ war just because this other bear was harassing two of his favorite bears. It is a bit crazy to be so involved with these wild animals and yet at the same time, it is surely impressive to have the patience and understanding to work with them.
Other than this article, I couldn’t help but comment on this other article where readers described the places they’ve been to during the summer. One person described the Pratt Institute Sculpture Park in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn as very relaxing and attractive due to its 25-acre area full of contemporary artworks. She was commenting on various sculptures and was trying to relate to different scenarios. She even checked out the dumpster and was questioning whether or not it is art since it is in the setting this “artful” park. This reminds me of the class discussion we had of what is considered art? It is interesting how anything can be view as art just because of the context it is placed in.
In the article “Be an Old Master, for 10 Guineas” the paragraph about how the painters could not recreate Venetian Art caught my attention. In class we talked about what was considered art. The culture of a time period probably decides what art in their time is. Maybe in some cases the artists of a certain time period cannot recreate the style of the pasts artists’ and this leads to the style being outdated. The artists would then move on to a different style using new inventions.discoveries and this becomes the popular art style of that time period.
The article “Revisiting Coen Country for Odd Men” talked about how two brothers worked together to make films. I thought it would be nice to work together like that with family. It would bring them much closer and it would be great because they knew what each other was talking about when they talked about work. But I also wondered what they would do when they did not agree on something and fought.
I have always wanted to see an opera and a ballet and the two that were discussed in today’s paper were interesting. The ballet “The Red Shoes” seems dramatic. When I think of ballets I mainly think about the dance part but really the plot makes me want to see a ballet. Also the “spot” thing in ballet was interesting because I had heard about it before. It actually lessens the dizziness when you are twirling.
“The Bonesetter’s Daughter” really seems interesting. I had seen Chinese acrobats and dancers on TV and thought they were really graceful when they were flying across the stage. Again, when I thought of operas I thought about the singing part of it but the plot in “The Bonesetter’s Daughter” seems unique. Dragons are mystical creatures and I do not know a lot about them so I expect the opera to be a fun experience for me.
While reading the article about the young chess player, I kept thinking wow he is young! I remembered my chess set I used to play with when I was younger. I had really enjoyed playing with it but now I could barely remember the rules!
I found the article “What I Did this Summer. And You Can, Too.” really interesting. After reading this article I wished I had paid more attention to art events in the summer or just leisurely activities that were different. The article mentioned the Pratt Institute Sculpture Park and described some of her favorite artworks like the Fiber Glass Head by Philip Grausman and a tree that looks like it’s changing into a big pencil. I really would like to go after hearing about it. during the summer I only went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art but I wished I had went to this sculpture park instead because I have went to the Met so many times. Another interesting section within the article was about Queens and their tasty food! I absolutely LOVE food that is CHEAP! I was getting really hungry from reading about the tacos that were only $2 and the cuban sandwich with coffee for ONLY $5.50! The writer sampled food all the way from 61st to 90st in Queens on a weekend evening. I think the all the food they ate was than eating out at a restaurant for dinner. I definitely would like to go to La Flor and try their molasses cookies for $2 and order from taco stands! I’ve never seen a taco stand before so it’ll definitely be an eye opener for me. The author also talked about corn cakes topped with choclo or salty farmer’s cheese which he considered the best part of the trip. Hopefully before summer ends I can go the sculpture park or a mini food adventure as well.
Sophia Ling
I found the “Theater Festival Presents New Voices from a New Ireland” really interesting. It is about how 13 plays written by Irish writers will be performed in New York City. I think it is a great idea since many of the greatest plays were written by European authors. Examples are the Greek tragedies and comedies. The presentation of these Irish plays will greatly add to the cultural diversity in New York City. People would be able to understand Irish culture and values better.
Another article that I find interesting is the “Chinese Extravaganza Uses Valley as a Backdrop” article. It is about a martial-arts performance in a valley. This like the other extravagant performances during the opening ceremony in the Olympic Games reveals a lot of Chinese culture. What I enjoy most about these splendid performances is the accuracy of how all the performers do actions at the same exact time. This is what makes the performances truly dazzling to their audience members. The one thing that I learned from this article is that the performers in the Olympic Games all have martial arts backgrounds.
Li Tan
One very interesting article in the Times today was the one concerning the new teen show, 90210. Shows that relate to the teenage life catches our attention and makes us realize how young they actually are. To think that there are people our age on television, entertaining so many people in the world is very impressive. Simply by watching the show, you can’t really tell whether the cast has problems with each other or the script itself. The article gave mini-interviews to each of the cast members to tell us what they felt. I was surprised that some actors actually wanted to quit the job, while others would raise arguments based on their salaries and…make-up? Haha. I am one person that’s very interested in movies and shows. Reading about a show that’s trying to rise to the top really gave a sense of competition in these actors.
Another interesting article was the one concerning the young chess player. It’s very impressive to learn that a teenager, not much younger than me, would be so into chess. I simply don’t have the patience to play that game, and to think that he is joining tournaments and stuff to be the best, is amazing. Some people consider him “abnormal,” but I think he’s pretty impressive.
The Arts section surprised me with an article about Barack Obama. I was thinking, “am I in the wrong section?” But then I remember the class discussion and how people said politics was also Art. The art of trying to manipulate people etc. Either way, I thought seeing this article already made me curious, then when I read it, it was simply the same as the front pages of the Times. A little disappointing, but I did realize some Times people consider politics art too. As of now, I still can’t decide on whether it is Art of not.
In “Bits of Paper, Scraps of Cloth and Photographs of Photographs,” I was impressed on how anything can be turned to art. Not only is it astonishing, I think it’s beautiful. So many different forms of art are included. One of my favorite is collaging. Sometimes I make collages on my free time too, but only of pictures that I have taken, rather than scraps of paper from magazines or anything like that. From this article, I learned what Appropriation Art is.
Other articles I read didn’t catch my interest, like “Revisiting Coen Country for Odd Men” and “Two of a Kind.” I found them very boring and I didn’t really learn anything. In addition, I think “Two of a Kind” ruined the book, if anyone was planning to read it. Other than that, I started to like reading the Times, not only for Art, but for other stuff as well.
Sorry there was typo in my entry. One of the sentence I meant to write ” I think the all the food they ate was CHEAPER than eating out at a restaurant for dinner
Your comments are very interesting to me, thank you for that. When I read your comments, it made me think back to the articles and ideas you discussed and see them in a new or different light.
As for myself, I thought the article about the chess player was an odd one for the ‘Arts’ section. It seemed more like an article for ‘sports’ or ‘science’. But then it doesn’t really fit there, either. It reminded me of how the boundaries of all of these forms of culture can be quite blurry. And how the question of what is art is being answered in different ways all the time by various players, including the media.
I enjoyed the article “Be an Old Master, for 10 Guineas”. It gave me insight to how the world of painting operated in that place in history. It was a very peculiar world, I thought, with its hoaxes mixed up with talent, as well as with marketing. Then that made me think that today’s painting world might not really be so different!
Probably I learned the most from the article “At a Celebration of Shakespeare, Some Rare Shaw”, as I found the reviewer’s descriptions and analysis quite clear and detailed. I got a sense of how the various aspects of the theatrical production are evaluated (everything from acting to stage design to lighting to the history of the venue, etc etc).
Well I look forward to reading more comments as everyone chimes in.
One article I enjoyed was “Layers to Comment on Layers of Imagery”, a review about of the Met’s newest exhibits, “Photography on Photography: Reflections on the Medium Since 1960”. I actually saw the exhibit myself when I took a trip to the Met about two weeks ago, and at the time I passed through the exhibit rather quickly, and didn’t really pay attention to the works. I assumed they were just pieces of “modern art” that I wouldn’t “understand”. However, the Times article gave a short summary of the history of each piece, and included some information on the background and intent of the photographer, information that made it a lot easier to interpret each photograph. After reading the article and reviewing some of the pieces online, I had a much greater understanding of the meaning behind each photograph, as I discovered that the artists were all simply employing the same medium in different ways, whether they were recording history, experimenting with various developing techniques, or simply having fun.
Another article I found interesting was “To Remember Beijing, Indelibly”, an article about the resurgence of tattooing in China, a practice once considered “low-class”, but that is now a popular art form. Back in ancient times, tattoos were used to mark criminals and convicts, but now the practice is another medium through which people can express themselves. It is always interesting to see how art can be both valued and unappreciated in different times, and it proves that art is always subject to the constantly changing values of society.
Finally, “Protesters Beseech the Gods at the Acropolis” also caught my attention, about Greek pagans protesting the construction of a new museum at the base of the Parthenon—they wanted to prevent the removal of some marble works from the Parthenon. It reminded me of a news article I read about a month ago, about a man in Berlin who stormed into a newly opened Madame Tussauds and ripped off the head of a wax Hitler. Art is a medium capable of exciting the most extreme of emotions, motivating people to either protect works that they value, or to sometimes destroy pieces they personally do not believe should have ever been created.
In the Sunday New York Times I found the article “Operatic Cargo of Tragic Love, Unloaded on a Brooklyn Pier” interesting because the performance is staged in the Red Hook Dock in Brooklyn. In the background you would see Governors Island and the Manhattan Skyline. Also the opera itself is called Tales of Hoffman and the setting is place in a German Tavern on the docks so it makes the performance seem even more realistic by actually performing at the dock. In other plays or operas everything is probably always the same, when you get to a specific scene the scenery will change and the lights will come on at the exact point of a line or gesture. However, this is different because there’s not much special lighting effects or complete change of sceneries. In the article Judith Barnes also comments saying even though the performance is the same every time the sky is different. I think the different changes in the sky probably give a specific scene a different feel each time making it very unique. Do you think we could ever fit this into the class events?
8/29/08
I recently read the article entitled “Pros and Cons of Broadway Previews” and found it to be rather interesting. Essentially, the author, A Ms. Anita Gates, analyzes the entire premise of attending a Broadway show preview.
What I liked most about Ms. Gates’ article was the hook opening. When I took Journalism class in my senior year of high school, my teacher taught us how to write a theatrical review, and the different types of leads the author has available to him in doing so. Gates hooks the reader in, teasing him with the possibility of a review of A Tale of Two Cities. She however then diverges from the conventional pattern of writing a theater review to the overall premise of her article, weighing the benefits and detriments of seeing a Broadway preview before the actual show is finalized.
I myself haven’t been to an astounding number of Broadway shows, though I have seen a few. I was unfamiliar with the concept of the “preview’ prior to reading the article. However, being the frugal person that I am, I will now take into account the face that a preview ticket is, overall, much more economically priced than a ticket for a finalized show. I will however, be wary of the fact that between the time previews begin and the show actually is finalized, many astounding and impacting changes can be made (in terms of dialogue, actors, and the deletion of entire songs.)
Overall, I found the article to be more informative than entertaining. Ms. Gates makes it her business to list some of the organizations through which buying tickets to a Broadway preview would be possible. I’ve never seen a Broadway preview, but now I just might thanks to the helpful and insightful criticism of Ms. Anita Gates.
8/31/08
“Revisiting Coen Country for Odd Men” is a unique article which both delves deep into the collective careers of brothers Joel and Ethan Coen while at the same time critically reviewing their latest film, “Burn After Reading.”
The Coen brothers, as the article describes, have a long history in American cinema. They however most recently came into the collective public eye with their 2007 critically lauded hit “No Country For Old Men.” I’d like to say that I saw this aforementioned film and I was somewhat less than pleased. I’m a huge fan of cinema, and I’d like to think that while I’m watching a film, my brain is subconsciously picking apart the characters and the plot development. One of my favorite movies is “Pulp Fiction,” which has such an intricate storyline and characters that are very deep, emotionally. “No Country For Old Men” just didn’t have it for me, it was rather bland and simple and way too straightforward to deserve such high praise.
In any case, the Coen brothers are releasing their latest film in less than two weeks, and it promises to contain more of the same witty satirical humor that the critics seem to love about their movies. I, for one, really enjoyed watching Frances McDormand portray that police offer in Fargo. I don’t think, however, that “No Country For Old Men” followed the same formula that had worked so well for the pair in the past.
The article describes the brothers as being lighthearted, easy going, and juvenile in a most spectacular way. I can see how these characteristics transcend the little bond these two have formed and filtered into their films.
I like the combination of George Clooney and Brad Pitt again, as the pair has combined already to make three “Ocean” films. The two definitely have an on-screen chemistry that I’m sure will once again be present in Burn After Reading. I can only hope that the Coen brothers have created a film that is more like “Fargo” and less like “No Country For Old Men.”
Just a few notes here…
Regarding the production of ‘Tales of Hoffman’ on the Brooklyn Pier – unfortunately we don’t have the budget to attend that as a class. However if you’re like to attend that as one of your eight outside events (or just for fun) please feel free to do so. It looks like the tix are $35. See the Vertical Players Repertory website for more information.
Also, I’m working on the ‘Free Events’ section of the blog (see the link at the top of the page). I’m posting information about upcoming free events that look interesting. That area of the blog is definitely a work-in-progress, and I would appreciate you letting me know of any events you come across that should be listed there.
By Wednesday you will be able to make posts directly to the blog yourselves and that will be a great way to share information, as well.
-Zoe
In the Sunday’s section for the Arts, I found an article on one of my favorite TV shows while growing up. When I read the title, “When Teenage Angst Had Its Own ZIP Code”, I knew right away what the article was about: Beverly Hills, 90210. My favorite show I said goodbye to 8 years ago.
I found this article to be fitting, since the premiere of the new and modern “90210” is this Tuesday. The article shows me the perspective of the show from the point of view of the actors and producers who worked on it for 10 years. They talked about the auditions for the show to the drama during the show on set and off to the new “90210”.
I chose this article not only because it brings back childhood memories, although i was a bit too young to be watching it then, but also I never viewed Television as part of the Arts. I forgot the hard work and creativity put behind all the shows and seasons. My only question is, “Is the new “90210” just a hype?”
When I was looking at the list of articles in the Sunday’s times, the article “When Teenage Angst Had Its Own Zip Code” grabbed my attention. I assumed it was going to be about the new 90210 series and it turned out I was correct.
Within reading the first paragraph of the article, they give away a spoiler of the series. Well since I haven’t watched the past 90210, I have no clue which characters these are but it leaves me to wonder why the would write that in the article. What if a person who was looking forward to watching 90210 read this article and was upset about reading that spoiler. Did the New York Times expect everyone to have already watched the old 90210?
Here I am on my computer with my television on and another commercial about 90210 comes on saying that it is the most anticipated event of the summer. It must have been a hell of a show for them to remake it with the same plot but different characters. So maybe I will put it on my playlist to watch for this fall.
I read an article from Friday’s Art section titled “Funny Farm”. The article appealed to me because it was related to architecture. I have always found architecture to be one of the more practical forms of art out there because buildings are constantly lived in, and, of course, once a painting has been painted, it needs some sort of building to be placed in.
This particular article dealt with a farmhouse that was built by Roy McMakin. The house was built for a couple that enjoyed other art done by Mr. McMakin. Roy built the house with a few interesting features that I found quite fascinating.
The picture of the house on the front page of the article shows half of the top floor of the house being held up by what first looked like a lone steel beam. After further reading the article and looking at the slideshow link on the New York Times’ website, I found out that half of the second floor was in fact held up by a thin steel frame. Seeing this reminded me a lot about the trip I took to Georgia over the summer with my family. A lot of the houses there had this same sort of style, however with one big difference. All of the houses that I saw in Georgia with this design had makeshift garages under the second floor of the house, whereas Roy McMakin put a dining room area in place of the garage, making better use of the space and shade then for a couple of old vehicles.
The other thing I found interesting about the house were the windows. I must admit, I have never really found windows very interesting, and when I first read about windows in the article, I was not really turned on by them. It was not until I looked at the slideshow that I noticed how interesting and unique the windows on this house were. McMakin built the windows into the corner edges of the house, and had the windows actually wrap around the corners. I can’t really say that I remember ever seeing something like this in any buildings prior to this, although I may have and just never noticed it before. This time, at least, I noticed it and found the design very appealing and interesting.
To be able to incorporate such weak pieces into the core parts of a house, and end up with a stable structure is quite impressive, and shows true expertise in perfectly combining art with practicality and usability.
It is always interesting to see how a piece of art can change so many people’s lives. In the Sunday article Love and Dance: Two Obsessions, One Classic Film, it talks about the film “The Red Shoes” that brought the ballet sensation throughout America. Although it wasn’t popular back when it was first introduced in Britain, it did capture a lot of attention once it was seen by audiences in America. What is captivating about this film is that it shows how a woman’s choice between career success and married love can affect her life and how she struggles for what she wants in whatever she situation she chose to be in. Through the article, I learned that the film is about Vicky, the main character, who basically cannot stop dancing. She lives for dancing; her life is ballet. Yet after meeting her love, she retreats to her lover until the impresario urges her back to dance in “The Red Shoes”. Though she loves dancing, she realized she cannot lose her lover, who left her due to the fact that he thinks she cares more about the show than about him. In the end, she eventually died for love. It is very tragic indeed yet it bought me so many thoughts and pondering. What would I do if I was in Vicky’s shoes? Would I have done the same as she? As I read more into the plot of this film, the more I wanted to watch this film. Maybe I’ll actually rent it and watch it one day.
(Although this article is published on Sat, I still want to comment on it because the film it reviewed on captured my attention more than most of the other articles published on Sunday.)
This editorial appeared in Tuesday’s paper: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/02/opinion/02tue4.html, and it, too, reminded me of our class conversation, perhaps because it was describing a the US Open as an example of a kind of performance in which the various people present were all having very different experiences of the same event. I thought this sentence, “Who are the experts in the meaning of this place?”, at the end of the first paragraph, was particularly provocative.
Also, the way that the editorial was constructed reminded me of Corey’s comment on using a ‘hook’ to draw the reader’s attention at the beginning of the essay.
An article called “A Young Scientist at Work to Inspire Kids’ Curiosity ” caught my attention as I was browsing through the Times leisurely. I had grown on PBS science shows like Bill Nye the Science Guy and Nova every once in a while. What made this show so interesting to me was that it was going in a different direction than the realistic shows that I had grown up watching was the 3D animation, and it was aimed specifically at small children. The show is animated through digital puppetry, to appeal particularly to kids and keep their attention.
I believe this is a segue into a new generation of educational programming. With Mr. Rogers being taken off the air (only airing once a week as opposed to five times a week), this show better deliver. The first episode, although simplistic, is a great first step in engaging a child’s mind through demonstration of basic charts.
While Nina Genzlinger (the author) is very critical of this show, I believe that this show is a step in the right direction. To nurture a child’s curiosity early on will allow the mind to burgeon.
Finally I got this screename to work!
On August 29th, an article called “So You Think You Can’t Salsa?” caught my eyes. Although I cannot dance well, I’ve always loved dancing. Watching dancers make swift and beautiful movements is breathtaking.
The first paragraph of the article starts off by describing the fifth-floor dance studio in Chelsea as the scene from the movie “Dirty Dancing.” This definitely triggered by interest even more because my favorite movie is “Dirty Dancing 2,” which shows how two main characters, living in Cuba, fall in love through dancing. The movie portrays the Latino dance as fun, lively, and passionate.
Something about salsa never fails to fascinate me- perhaps it’s the lively music or the flattering dresses worn by dancers. The complex steps are admirable, however, the chemistry between two dancers- that is a jewel which makes salsa very attractive. This article describes many people who are also in love with those aspects of salsa. I truly think salsa is a beautiful dance. It requires optimism, sassiness, chemistry, and a huge love for dance.
I was excited to read this article to find out that there were informative websites and addresses in the end. Maybe, I can start attending classes to learn how to swing with the rhythm!
“Physical fixations and psychological obsessions meet as one.” That is a striking sentence from an article which I read on august 31st on The NY Times. That sentence sums up all the reasons why I envy professional dancers. The peak of the dance is when the dancer’s mental and physical desires are fulfilled. The viewers can definitely tell that the dancer is loving every second of her or his life. It’s mesmerizing to watch someone move with such passion.
This article is about ballet, another form of dance which is quiet opposite of salsa- which I read about in an article on Friday. Ballet is very structured and elegant. Salsa, on the other hand, is free-spirited and energetic. I never would have guessed that the ballet sensation in America started with a movie “The Red Shoes”, which caused the same effect in its own country, Britain, after its success in America. The article goes on with describing the movie in detail. The main character gets trapped between two most important parts of her life: family and ballet.
After reading this article, I realized something interesting: I noticed where my perception of ballet came from. All this time, I imagined ballet as a destroyer of a dancer’s feet and a creator of jealousy between ballerinas in struggle to reach the top. I never received optimistic image of ballet in my head. The sensation of ballet came from this movie. This later created more movies with similar stories. Without even realizing, I grew up with media showing me movies which showed the desperation of beautiful ballerinas. More than anything, this article gave me an epiphany of how much media played a part in my life.
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