Art is Where You Find It

One of the best kept secrets of Baruch are the art galleries that the school has. I had recently gone to the “Recasting the Figure in Photography” show at the Sidney Mishkin Gallery. Though the room itself was unadorned, the photos on display provided great insight into the art of photography and its evolution as an art-form. From the black and white “Alabama Cotton Tenant Farmer Wife” that exemplified the troubles of the Great Depression to a modern photograph of a furry monster hiding behind tall sharp stalks of grass. One particularly memorable photograph was one of a child soldier who had been abducted into the army. The soldier was a young girl whose chest had been branded “RUF” standing for Revolutionary United Front; she was essentially a sex slave to the generals of this army. The exhibit was definitely worth investing an afternoon to, and I consider it an experience in terms of exposure to the evolution of photography and also connecting at a human level.

The Sidney Mishkin Gallery is located at 135 East 22 Street and currently features “Independent Visions/Feminist Perspectives” and I would recommend everyone just take some time out and check the gallery out (It’s literally about 2 minutes away from the VC building!).

Okay, so maybe November 22nd’s YouTube Live premiere isn’t exactly an in-person event — but I sure was looking forward to it like it was. YouTube Live brought together famous musical acts (Katy Perry, Joe Satriani), a few amateur musicians who gained near-celebrity status on the popular video community (S.Korean guitarist Funtwo), popular comedy segments (including the loved-hated Charlie the Unicorn), and tons of other random famous bits (Will It Blend, Chad Vader) — all in just a lackluster 90 minutes. While Katy Perry gave a fantastic opening to the event, it quickly turned into a mind-numbing assault of “the best of YouTube”. Without any specific focus, the event turned into a mish-mosh of mediocre randomness, and about halfway I was tempted to just log on to Good Ol’ Regular YouTube to find videos that I actually like. The only thing that kept me going was the lure of “YouTube + Live + International = A Chance to See International [YouTube] Celebrities Live!!” — which never happened, either, because there was only a San Francisco (read: American) and a Tokyo event (which lied; it wasn’t even live, despite the title, “Youtube Live“) Overall, the YouTube managed to turn an amazing idea into another boring ol’ American internet TV experience, when with a little more money, a little more direction, and a little more actual international live performances could have made the experience so much more worth it.

The “Van Gogh and the Colors of the Night” exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art draws viewers into a world of bight, yellow stars set against dark, blue skies. Van Gogh’s goal was to portray the bright light effects with different color combinations. He does this very effectively in his paintings of nature and outdoor night scenes. His artwork successfully conveys such strong feelings of tranquility. One painting portrays ambiguous structures that may represent buildings in the background with lights illuminating a calm sea, while another piece contains colorful swirls to represent the clouds and stars. It appears that Van Gogh experiments more with color variety to portray details of the evening sky and night scenes rather than focus on the greater details of earthly life, such as the houses and buildings. The fact that he does not paint all objects in sharp details adds to the effect of peace and reality during the nighttime. Not everything can be seen clearly during the night; the houses and buildings may look like nothing but specks compared to the bright glares of the stars and lights.

Cooper-Hewitt houses an amazing collection of finely-detailed watercolor paintings. Its Thaw Collection displays paintings from popular Nineteenth Century locations, mostly different rooms of palaces. The artists’ effort is expressed through the realistic lightings and the great detail of every part of the room. Each painting draws me in; I can almost feel the cushion of the chair and the cracks on the table. The overall picture expresses simplicity and serenity; nothing dramatic is occurring. Yet, when the massive amount of details surface, all the paintings are actually complex. Therefore, ambiguous feelings of the artists’ intentions develop. It makes me wonder whether the details intend to make the viewer focus or feel tranquility while imagining himself in the setting. Each small stroke of the brush plays an important part in the painting. Not only do the details contribute to the masterpiece as a whole, they contribute to the observer’s feelings while he studies it.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art houses one of the largest and most prestigious art collections. In order to visit all of the exhibits at the Met, a lot of time will be needed; therefore, I decided to only focus on the Asian art collections. Asian art is know for its emphasis on fine detail and intricate patterns relating to nature. Pottery and ceramic artifacts are an important element of Asian culture; therefore, it is no surprise that the exhibit was abundant with it. Some artifacts made of porcelain had images of flowers and farmers cultivating rice fields. This symbolizes the role that nature has in Asian countries because they were mainly agricultural societies in the past and many are still in the present. There was even a tiny square garden with rocks and bonsai trees inside, showing the connection with nature. The Asian art exhibit was informational and helped me connect with my culture.