This week in NYTimes Arts, 10/31-11/2
What have you found of interest in the NYTimes Arts section? Remember, save a copy of your comments on your own computer. The blog appears stable at this point but it is better to be safe than sorry, or so they say. And, Happy Halloween.
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“Museum as Romantic Comedy” was an intriguing article. Museums = good, romantic comedies = good (well it depends, I guess); it’s mathematically bound to being awesome. The “theanyspacewhatever” exhibit is a collaborative work between ten, starving or not, artists whose goals is to turn the Guggenheim into transitional stages of romance. Starting with a bridal-white movie marquee and ending wit a revolving hotel room, the exhibit has all the little kicks, jokes, and the “stuff” in between. Throughout the museum, scattered words and phrases on the walls, along with artsy artifacts, serves as the sentimental objects to reach “relational aesthetics,” which can be described as a rogue’s art, temporarily suspending the expected norms and conventions of museum art. I look forward to visiting the Guggenheim again (my blurb right now is offline, but my last experience there wasn’t…amazing), and scoping for the little nooks and crannies around the museum.
“A Forgotten Baroque Painter, Shown Free of Rembrandt’s Shadow ” was also a fascinating article about the painter Jan Lievens (1607-1674) who was a year younger than Rembrandt, and learned under the same instructor, yet is virtually unknown today. Most humans have a fascination with child prodigies, and I am no exception; Lievens began his career at 12, and a few examples of Lieven’s early work is shown in the article, all of which are amazing. For a man of prodigious talents, but overcasted by his fellow student, I think that the exhibit will be great for people to appreciate Lievens, even if he won’t ever reach Rembrandt’s height in popularity.
In Friday’s New York Times, I found a review about the new movies, “Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father.” It is a shame that I can’t see it this weekend (midterms next week! ☹) because this film seems like it’s going to be very interesting. The story line revolves around a psychotic mother who killed her ex-boyfriend after they conceived a son. The ex-boyfriend’s best friend makes a scrapbook for Zachary so he could see what his father was like. While all that is going on, Zachary’s grandparents fight with his mother for custody, but she manages to get released from prison under the justification that, “she had killed the one person she wanted dead.” Afterward, the reviewer suggests that the psychotic mother kills again, but doesn’t drop the slightest hint as to who gets killed. The movie sounds like something I would enjoy, and the review added an extra bit of suspense without spoiling the ending.
Being a business student, one of the the things I desire is money. How are cooks supposed to make money by publishing their books with their own special recipes when all of them are posted on the internet? “It’s almost impossible!”, I think. Never mind. I may have been wrong from the start. “…Rachael Ray, kitchen queens who post thousands of recipes online and yet remain top-selling cookbook writers.” In this article, “A Plan to Sell Cookbooks: Give Away Recipes Online “, it talks about Cook’s and how posting their recipes on the internet will actually make them less prone to lack of selling of books. This is because they will become more well known through the Internet. After reading this article, it gives me some hope that the internet might actually be helping some people in sales. However, I am still a bit skeptical to the fact that if the internet were to not exist, the sales of cookbooks, or even books in general, would increase, because there will be no other way to attain the information.
Coming from a man whose art is stems from combining forms of nature, you would not expect there to be much objection to his art. In spite of his work, Andy must face the common obstacles artists must contend with as well as some opposition from ignorant environmentalists.
In Sunday’s New York Times, I found the article, “Work Stands Out Before It Blends In,” to be very interesting. Andy Goldsworthy spends his time building spires by combining old trees until it looks like the trunk of a giant tree. In most cases, spires would only be seen on the tops of churches. However, Andy builds his spires in the middle of forests without any base below the spire. As an artist, Andy has always been interested in spires: especially when you cannot see the base. He found that it in some way a baseless spire represents the spire “drawing form and life and movement from the ground below.”
The idea behind Mr. Goldsworthy’s work is that the spires will not be everlasting. He builds them with trees in a forest that are ailing, but in time, the spires will be engulfed by the forest around them as the trees grow big and strong. If he can get past the environmentalists’’ protests his work will be able to flourish, but only to wither away as the forest rejuvenates.
In Friday’s NYT, I read “Museum as Romantic Comedy”. I like romantic comedies and was excited to see that a museum had something like it. I found it funny how the show started and many people left. The set of the show looks really unusual. It spirals up and I have not seen something like it before.
The title of “Pigs, Worms and Pink in the Atrium at MoMA” caught my eye because it combined pigs, worms and pink. I found it interesting that the lighting is like the iris of the eye. The museum has sophisticated technology that will project different images around the room. It seems great because it will be a relaxing experience.
In Sunday’s NYT, I read “Tapped Out?”. I have always found it really amazing how art pieces can cost so much. I understand that people really want it because it is a famous painting or was painted by someone famous, but I wonder how they can buy such expensive pieces. Also I have always wondered in others could paint exactly like a famous painter. If they had been in the same era, wouldn’t they be able to replicate a painting? Or is one person really talented that their painting cannot be replicated. If two paintings are exactly the same, the name of the artist who painted it decides the price, the more famous he is the more the painting is worth. Sometimes, I feel bad for those who can paint but since they are not famous, their painting is worth almost nothing.
I thought it was interesting for Peter Morgan, screenwriter, and playwright, to change an interview with Nixon into a movie. In “The Interview That Was a Play Becomes a Film,” Morgan describes how the movie came about and will be open to public on December 5. Personally, I think this only has one advantage, in that it can educate people about the history and what Nixon’s presidency was like. Since he was such an interesting president, with the scandal and everything, it would be interesting to watch how he defends himself. This movie will be based on a real interview with Nixon dating back to 1977, so there will be no significant changes. Though I think the movie may help educate, I don’t think people would actually go out and watch it, if they didn’t have to. Such a short interview would probably not reach it to an interesting movie, but maybe a documentary. I wonder what Morgan thinks of all the disadvantages in making this movie because he put in so much work in finding actors, editing, etc. Either way, I think when the movie does come out, it’ll probably have pretty bad results. If someone was flipping through the channels and it was playing, though, maybe they’ll stay on the channel for another 10 minutes.
I was interested in the article “Lost in Space, Facing Horror’s Greatest Hits” in the Friday New York Times Art Section. Personally, I cannot stand watching any kind of horror films nor can I play any sorts of scary video games. However, this article captured my attention. It talks about the latest video game from Electronic Arts “Dead Space”. The reviewer complimented on how this game is almost perfect. The overall plot is just like any other scary zombies video games, but what is so good about this one is the pacing of the horror experience. The E.A. producers did a good job in measuring the level of tension and fear as the player play the game. The balance of dramatic and graphic scenes is also very important in brining the best fear to the players. The reviewer wrote that “these pacing decisions are more art than science.” I agree with his evaluation. After all, if it weren’t for this important aspect, all kinds of scary video games would end up all boring and dull. The art of making video games–who knew there were so much to making a good video games other than coming up with the best plot and best graphics?
Like Leila, I also read “The Interview That Was a Play Becomes a Film”. However, I disagree with Leila’s comment that the film will not attract many viewers. I saw the trailer of the movie in theaters and it did seem sort of interesting; but that is what trailers are meant to do. This film about the interview between Frost and Nixon will surely attract the same audience that viewed the movie “W” that talked about the life of George W. Bush. I did not like the movie “W”, and I admit that I slept through half of it; therefore, I will probably not watch “Frost / Nixon”. From the article, I learned that Frost paid Nixon $1 million to participate in the interview. From what I remember in the trailer, there was a scene in which the actor playing Nixon got angry because of the questions that were being asked to him. The acting was believable, which will probably attract more viewers.
The talk with filmmaker David Holbrooke on October 7 at the Macaulay Honors Center was one of the most fascinating events I’ve attended. David Holbrooke is a one-of-a-kind filmmaker that is willing to listen to anybody as long as he or she has something interesting to say. I really appreciate his open-mindedness and all the documentaries he made through this aspect. He directed the documentary “Hard as Nails” which explores a very controversial Catholic young minister, Justin Fatica, who is very intense about his beliefs. Holbrooke admits that he did not agree with Fatica’s ideas at all yet he is willing to understand and help demonstrate this unique perspective to the public. Holbrooke produced “Live from Shiva’s Dance Floor”, which features underground tour guide “Speed” Levitch on what to do with Ground Zero. He expresses how he was affected by the way Speed acts and views the world. It further supports the fact that he wishes the world can listen and understand what these people are trying to convey through their unique way of expressing their feelings. couldn’t help but feel the same way because although most of these people are conveyed as weirdoes, I believe that the ways they think are very crucial in shaping our society. After all, everyone has his or her individual voice that should be allow to be heard in order to better the society.
I was very fascinated by the film “The Way Things Go”. It is amazing how every piece of work in the film fits together to cause a chain of reaction that lead from one thing to another. What I like the most about this film is that it uses everyday objects and brings out the most of it. Although it gets kind of repetitive and annoying as the film goes on, it never failed to stun me how precise each object contacts each other to make the process go on.
The “Honda Cog Commercial” brought out the main theme in “The Way Things Go” and was very effective in promoting the Honda car. I love how modern and sleek the commercial is and how all the objects are parts of the Honda. Since in “The Way Things Go”, the film makers used actual objects, it is more convincing and much more unique than the animation used in the Honda commercial.
Although the Honda commercial was very pretty and easy-on-the-eye, I actually prefer “The Way Things Go” because it is unbelievable how everything in the film works out perfectly for an entire 30 minute. Of course, like what Corey and Chang suggested, there might be some outside influences upon the actual process. However, I am still very impressed by the overall outcome since there is no way the film makers were able to fix every movement to its precision every single time in the process.
I was interested in the article “Lost in Space, Facing Horror’s Greatest Hits” in the Friday New York Times Art Section. Personally, I cannot stand watching any kind of horror films nor can I play any sorts of scary video games. However, this article captured my attention. It talks about the latest video game from Electronic Arts “Dead Space”. The reviewer complimented on how this game is almost perfect. The overall plot is just like any other scary zombies video games, but what is so good about this one is the pacing of the horror experience. The E.A. producers did a good job in measuring the level of tension and fear as the player play the game. The balance of dramatic and graphic scenes is also very important in brining the best fear to the players. The reviewer wrote that “these pacing decisions are more art than science.” I agree with his evaluation. After all, if it weren’t for this important aspect, all kinds of scary video games would end up all boring and dull. The art of making video games–who knew there were so much to making a good video games other than coming up with the best plot and best graphics?
As a crazy “Twilight” fan myself, I am of course very interested in the “Love and Pain and the Teenage Vampire Thing” article in the Sunday NYT Art section. It talks about bringing Twilight series by Stephanie Meyer to the big screen. I am very extremely excited for the movie to come out on Nov 21. I am relieve that the director of the film, Catherine Hardwicke, decided to focus more on the story instead of following the original script she receive which she said was “very, very different from the book.” I like how the reviewer connects the movie to adolescence where it is the stage of “life and death”, because the Twilight series itself is matter of life and death. I remember reading the books myself, and to me, that was already kind of a life-and-death experience for me as I throw myself into Bella Swan’s (main character of the book) world. Every sentence I read was breathtaking and every chapter I finish ends with the desire of wanting to know what is going to happen next. I dearly hope that the movie will come out as good as I had imagined it. The main cast so far was pretty acceptable to me; I just hope that they are able to bring out the essence of the characters of the books as they play out the roles in the movie.
I also read the article “Tapped Out?”, which really caught my eye only because it was featured so prominently on the NYTimes Art section online. With the global economic crisis, one thing that people don’t really think about is how the art world is also affected — like other assets such as real estate, the art business has also suffered greatly. The article really prompted me to think about a lot of things — namely how ludicrously expensive art is. I mean, if you think about it, is it really necessary to sell a painting for tens of millions of dollars? Sure, it’s a part of history, and sure, it’s one-of-a-kind, and sure, art DOES have a lot of meaning and importance in society. But realistically, what does the art do? Collectors would be willing to spend tremendous amounts of money on these pieces — one piece the article mentions is going on sale for $60 million. $60 million! In times like these, I just feel like that kind of money could be put to much better use, with all the thousands of people losing their jobs and struggling to make ends meet in this crazy world.
On a lighter note, with the election just a few days away, I also read the article “The Best Buttons of 2008, in One Man’s Opinion” — which, yes, was not in the Art section, but in many ways it had a lot to do with art. When I was reading it, I was thinking mostly about our earlier discussion of the Honda Cog commercial and how we define “commercial art”. I had no idea of — and never really thought about — the history of political buttons and their designs, and in reality, they really art kind of like a form of commercial art — or “political swag” and “politics of personality”. Buttons aren’t only showing who you support — but an effort to sell your candidate, as well. Looking at the buttons that were featured, I really saw some of them in a new light thanks to our discussion.
From the Friday NYT I thought the “One-Ring Show Sings Many Different Tunes” to ne interesting because it basically talked about the circus and the music they had. Then the author went into detail about the different tricks by individual performers. I thought it was interesting because I ALWAYS wanted to go the circus unfortunately I never got to go as a young child. I always hear about the clowns terrifying little kids, but now that I’m no longer a small child I probably won’t get scared. I can definitely tell that the author really enjoyed the show because he did nothing but praise the amazing performance of the circus team. I also didn’t know that they had circus shows in the winter! I only thought it was in like spring. Perhaps I will go buy myself a ticket to the circus finally.
In the Sunday NYT, “A Museum With No Exhibits, but Plenty of Ideas” stood out to me. This article talked about about Filip Noterdaeme who built a stand outside of the new Bowery Museum and the Bowery Homeless Shelter. He called this art, Homeless Museum of Art and he sits there everyday. I’m just so amazed by the many unique things people do to express their art. This man also has random strangers sit with him and talk about their lives. He mentions a black guy who said he used to want to be an artist but his mother said because he was black he didn’t stand a chance. I felt bad for the black man whose dreams were crushed by his mother. The man pointed to a pumpkin and said he used to be able to draw well and then Mr. Noterdaeme got him a sketchbook, set of color pencils, and a letter of encourage. I thought that was such a kind thing to do. Mr. Noterdaeme also collects money from his little stand to donate to the homeless shelter. From one little stand he’s trying to make a difference in this world!
“Professors’ Liberalism Contagious? Maybe Not” is an extremely interesting article about a series of studies that have recently concluded that professors have virtually no impact on the ideologies and political inclinations of their students. For ages, universities and schools have maintained that teachers should remain neutral and conservative when teaching, and should not impose their own views on students. But research has shown that it is actually very hard to influence anybody over the age of 15, and that the changes in political opinion that do occur are usually attributable to changes in general trends among a certain age group. The article contends, however, that while it is good that teachers aren’t negatively affecting their students, the problems remains that social democratic ideas dominate universities, or ideas that “play down the importance of the individual and promote government intervention”. Students aren’t given enough politics-related classes (ex: civic education) in schools, and so are not being given as complete of an education as they deserve. For a long while now, schools have been trying to avoid dealing with political affairs on campus, and it is having a negative effect on students, as they are entering the real world without adequate knowledge of civic issues.
So I don’t know to what degree video games constitute “art,” but this Friday’s New York Times featured a review of a newly released video game entitled “Dead Space” that I found rather interesting.
I think perhaps what I liked most about it, what aspect of it I personally found to be most intriguing, is the author’s opening rhetorical question–“When did fear become fun”? I’d like to call the author of the article out a bit here. Such a rhetorical question has not only been posed countless times before and been answered in much more clever ways than with a review of a video game, it also lacks the prestigious air of professionalism that I, personally, associate with the the New York Times. Perhaps they should consider hiring better writers.
That being said, the article as a whole sounds like it was written by the comic-book-guy from the Simpsons. In general, I feel that a video game review in the New York Times is out of place–the newspaper is for erudite scholars such as myself to become better informed about worldly events. To what demographic do the editors wish to appeal? Why is there such a difference in the style of writing between a video game review and a review of a theatrical performance?
Again, overlooking all of these factors, I read the review with yet another chip on my shoulder–I detest video games. The author speaks so adoringly about the game, “a 10-16 hour adrenaline shot” that he nearly makes me sick.
I was once again miffed by the fact that the author elected to allude to Edgar Allan Poe, Stephen King, A Christmas Carol and Hamlet. It seems disgusting that this “author” has the audacity to compare Hamlet and a video game in the same light–for this, he should be tarred and feathered.
All in all, this detestable article convinced me that I could win a Pulitzer writing for the New York Times if they keep this man on their staff.
I found an interesting movie review called “A Provocative Story of Loss.” What triggered my interest was the issue of a murderer roaming around the street. Is it really safe to let the murderers go? How can one person be justified in killing someone else? These questions lead to a corrupted Canadian justice system shown in the movie.
In this movie, Shirley Turner, Andrew’s mentally unstable, Canadian-born ex-girlfriend, shoots Andrew Bagby, a doctor doing his residency, to death. She fled to the U.S. with a baby in her womb. Despite the efforts of Andrew’s parents to protect their grandson from his ex-murderer mother, Shirley was freed on bail pending extradition.
This is an important issue in our society also. The horrifying story of mentally unstable patient slaying his psychiatrist, in the United States, lingers in my mind. Is it really okay for one to kill someone because that person was the “one person [he/]she wanted dead?” For people like that to not go to jail and live in any neighborhood is certainly a risk that no one would ever like to take.
There is no doubt that I love to cook and bake. When I saw the article “A Plan to Sell Cookbooks: Give Away Recipes Online,” I had to read it because I, myself, also get most of my recipes online. The negative effect of widespread of the Internet on the publishing business is not surprising. This, however, will not stop publisher from printing many cookbooks. Personally I favor the actual DVD’s of all the seasons of popular cook shows.
What this article suggests, which I think is interesting, is the possible positive effect of the Internet on marketing and selling the cookbooks. The more people see the recipe online and its source, this article believes that, more books are going to be sold. Just like Joe, I agree that even though the Internet has a great potential to help, more books would’ve been sold if there were no internet at all.
This guy is either really funny, or really stupid. “Comedian Resigns From BBC After Prank” is about Russell Brand resigning after he and his co-host Jonathan Ross left lewd messages on Andrew Sachs’ answering machine. Did he not know that he would be condemned for this? Although there is a possibility he may gain some type of fame for having the guts to do so and will gain more fame if what he left as messages were funny. Comedians may not take some of their jobs seriously, and everyone should be cautious on how to handle them. Comedians are comedians for entertainment purposes. He did the right thing, however, by taking full responsibility.
My best friend and I had a conversation over the weekend about the presidential election. While we were debating some issues, she pointed out that my previous conservatism is almost completely gone, arguing that I’d become much more liberal since I entered college.
So the article that caught my eye was “Professors’ Liberalism Contagious? Maybe Not.” The article claims that professors have virtually no impact upon students’ mentalities. However, I know that I have been changed by some of my philosophy professor’s arguments regarding certain issues, so I’m not sure if this is entirely true. I once shared similar beliefs with my parents but as of this year, I’ve noticed that I have in fact become much more left-wing. I guess it’s just me…
I also read “Tapped Out?” Like Hea Jung, I never understood why anyone would spend so much money on a work of art. With $60 million, you could probably go buy an island! This article talks about the impact of the financial crisis on the art world. Many people wouldn’t consider this to be so important, considering all the issues this country is facing. However, imagine all the artists who won’t be making adequate income if even the wealthiest have to start cutting back.
Oh! All along, I thought Sotheby’s was a clothing store… Thanks to this article, I now know that it’s an art gallery!
In the Friday Times I read “One-Ring Show Sings Many Different Tunes.” All different forms of music are found at the Big Apple Circus at Lincoln Center. I went to the Big Apple Circus once before when I was younger and I bought the pennant, which is still hanging on my wall. My first thought at that time was it’s amazing how they train the animals to perform such amazing movements. The coordination of all the animals performing certain actions at the same time added to the spectacle. I knew it was not possible to train the animals in such a way within a short period of time, but I thought that I could train my dog like that when I do get one. Two years later I did get a Yorkshire terrier named Toby. He is the exact opposite of what I expected. He is so rambunctious that he does whatever he wants although he is still obedient. He still is like that to this day. His unique personality is what I really appreciate about him.
At the circus I often neglect the performances of people while I am often drawn to the animals as I mentioned earlier. But their performances should be noteworthy as well. Performers Sarah Schwarz, Zhu Zhengzhen, and An Nan give spectacular performances on the wire with actions such as skipping, bouncing, and jumping. I have always wondered how long it takes them to train to obtain this level of expertise. I know for sure it takes more than balance because it also takes feel to be able to progress along the wire without looking down at their feet. I am really compelled by the author’s review to go and see the circus again because everything is so animated and amazing that it brings joy to both children and adults alike. The author never gave a single negative comment about the show at all.
Another article I read is “Quasimodo Swings Into Action Across a Gray Paris Sky.” It is about the retelling of the Victor Hugo novel “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” at the New Victory Theater. The live actors and different puppet designs add to the uniqueness and effectiveness of the show. The show conveys a sense of darkness and mysteriousness to represent the transition of the Middle Ages to the Renaissance. I really appreciate the European classics, but I have never read this particular novel. I enjoy learning about the European Middle Ages and how the explosion of the Renaissance changed all previous forms of architecture. I find myself exploring the secrets of every ancient civilization on a deeper level because it is just so fascinating to learn about the past.
In the Sunday Times I read “Tapped Out?” It is amazing how people would auction to buy pieces of art for amounts in the millions. Art is just a luxury, so with the financial situation I do not think people would have the urge to go and purchase such expensive pieces of art if they are not necessities. Marc Porter is right and sellers should definitely lower their prices; they have to understand that with this present situation people do not have the money to spend on these pieces of art. Even prices of oil have fallen. Although oil prices rocketed at one point, people would still pay for it because it is a necessary item. I agree with Diane of how detrimental the current situation is to the income of artists since even the wealthy do not have the luxury to pay millions of dollars anymore for art.
“A Simple Life Doesn’t Mean A Slow One” is an intriguing review of composer Gyorgy Kurtag’s latest work, entitled “Kafka Fragments.”
The show, which features soprano Dawn Upshaw and was directed by the lauded Peter Sellars, brings to life the writings of Kafka’s diaries. Being a huge fan of Kafka’s writing myself, I am delighted to hear that his brilliance is once again being glorified, personified by elegant vocal performances.
I was immediately taken aback by the author’s description of the piece. “You could experience [it] like Pop Rocks candy exploding in your mouth: an instant of sweetness or tartness followed by a spiky, tingling sensation,” he says. In essence, the author has taken the somewhat intricate and complex nature of the work and related it to terms that simple-minded readers such as myself may understand. His metaphor is somewhat larger than life.
One of my major beefs with the review is that it delves way too deep into the background of creating the work. I typically search for a review of the work’s content when I read the New York Times–i’d prefer to hear about the production phase of a performance in a preview.
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