Author Archives: Stella Chin

Don Giovanni

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Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was a composer who changed the world of music dramatically. One of his most famous operas, Don Giovanni was a pleasure to see, even though it was very long. After reading the libretto, and after viewing the opera in real life, I can say that I feel that Don Giovanni was a perfect blend of a tragedy and a comedy. A tragedy in literature is defined as a a “literary and particularly a dramatic presentation of serious actions in which the chief character has a disastrous fate.” This means that a protagonist will have a characteristic that causes his/her downfall. Don Giovanni is a tragedy in a sense that Don Giovanni’s womanizing ways caused his downfall.
Don Giovanni can also be considered a comedy because of Leporello. He was the main comedic character and I found it extremely funny during his song about all the women Don Giovanni played.

As said during class, there was a class difference shown in the libretto. It was pointed out that all the higher class characters contained “Don/Donna” in front of their name, such as Don Giovanni, Donna Anna, Dona Elvira, and Don Octavio. All the lower class characters did not contain anything, such as Leporello, Zerlina and Masseto. We also talked about how the nobility had a right over their slaves and that could have represented a class difference as well.

I felt that the music really enhanced the  story. I believe Mozart created something that did not become the story, but helped guide the story. During the “funny” parts, the music was extremely light and melodious and for me, it helped create an atmosphere that enhanced the way the story moved. The scene with the Commendatore at the end was extremely dramatic and dark, and the music reflected that as well. There was never a time where I felt that the music told the story; to me the music helped create an atmosphere which guided the plot.

Don  Giovanni was the first opera I saw in my life. Although the opera was long and there were times when I wanted to just close my eyes, I thought it was extremely interesting. I also believe that reading the libretto before viewing the opera really helped. I was able to anticipate what was going to happen and I was able to fully understand the story. Don Giovanni was different from the other performances we watched, which mostly revolved around dance. In dance, the movement to the music told a story and in the opera, the music helped to enhance the story.  The other performances were also very contemporary and unique and a classic like Don Giovanni was a great contrast to that. My two favorite shows we’ve seen this semester were Don Giovanni and Fall for Dance. In comparing all the performances I’ve seen, I think that I enjoy watching shows that are less contemporary and more classic and standard even though I enjoyed having the experience of viewing all of them.

Caretaker Study

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For my caretaker study, I chose to do my mom as my realistic pose. My mom is someone who I am entirely grateful for. She is someone who is caring and someone who is willing to do anything for her children. For the realistic pose, I chose a pose that my mom does every time she talks on the phone with her friends or relatives. Whether she’s sitting or standing, she would aways have an arm across her chest while talking into her cellphone. I found it amusing that most people said that the pose was for someone in their twenties because when you first look at it, it does seem like its for a younger person. My mom is someone who loves talking with others, although she does hide things when she talks which the arm across her chest can symbolize.

For my abstract pose, I decided to do one of my sixteen year old sister. My sister plays a big role in my life and she is someone who I can tell everything to. She is someone who tends hides who she truly is when she is with people she is just meeting. She can be shy, but once you get to know her, she can be very energetic and lively. As someone guessed, the front facing of the feet is her trying to get out of her shell, but cannot fully, as represented by the hiding behind the arms.

Blog A- Pina Bausch

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Pina Bausch and her choreography for “… como el musguito en la piedra, ay si, si, si …” (Like moss on a stone) was truly intriguing. The dancers moved with fluidity and their movements looked nearly effortless. The Spanish music as well as the projection of settings during the second half helped bring out liveliness of the piece. The musicality, the costuming and the lighting all stitched the show together. The moments of comedy inserted into the show helped relieve some tension.

Pina Bausch’s choreography has some elements of Post Modern Dance, but I would not consider it Post Modern dance. Post Modern Dance is a 20th century dance movement that focuses on the natural movement of the body. In Pina Bausch’s choreography, this can be clearly seen. The dancers move with fluidity that every movement seems easy and effortless. Usually Post Modern Dances are minimalistic and this can be seen in the setting of this piece (a white stage), however Bausch’s choreography also differs greatly from the elements of Post Modern Dance. In Post Modern Dance, everything is minimalistic (the costumes, the setting, the dance, the music), however in Bausch’s choreography this was not the case. Musicality played a big role in this piece and I believe that the piece was performed for the audience and not for the dancers. Bausch’s use of music and costumes as part of the overall picture of the dance makes me believe that Bausch’s choreography is not that of Post Modern Dance.

Snapshot Day

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When I first heard about Snapshot day, I wanted to do something that represented New York city as a whole. I wanted to capture the bright lights, the fast-paced movement and the diversity that could only be found in New York. I wanted to use the composition rules that we learned in class to give the photograph a depth and an idea of New York City. This however did not turn out to be the case. On Snapshot day, I almost forgot that it was Snapshot day. When I did remember, it was pretty late and I was going out to eat with some friends. At first I decided to take a picture of food, but when I looked around the restaurant, I found an idea. At the restaurant, there were lanterns hanging from the ceiling, all with the characters “寿司”(sushi) and a red sticker with more characters on it that I do know know the meaning of. I found the contrast between the bright lantern against the dark ceiling interesting and decided to take a picture of it.

Compositionally, this photograph satisfies the rule of diagonals. The lines of the ceiling help create a depth to the picture. The asymmetry of the lanterns also help give a depth to the photograph as well. The focus of only one of the lanterns makes this photograph interesting.  The photograph aslo follows the rule of thirds. I like how the brightness of the lights contrasts against the dark ceiling, and moderately dark setting of the restaurant. I also like how the redness of the sticker on the lantern stands out compared to the dark characters and white light of the lantern.

The next time I try to take photographs, I will try to remember all the compositional rules to help me make the picture an interesting one.

RoseAnne Spradlin ” Beginning of Something”

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There is no such thing as a bad view at the New York Live Arts center where RoseAnne Spradlin showcased her choreography “Beginning of Something”. As soon as the audience members walk in, they are faced with a pretty peculiar sight. The room is dimly lit and surrounded by different mirrors. The stage is bare, except for one lone figure, a nude dancer sitting on the edge of the left side of the stage playing the guitar. For many, like me, this was a huge bewilderment, especially because it was the first contemporary dance piece I have ever seen.

As soon as the performance started, three more dancers came on stage, each with different garments. The guitar-playing dancer was covered with beads, while the other dancers were covered with fur, a thin cloth hanging at the waist and black undergarments. As the show progressed, these women began to rid themselves of their clothing. Their movements were powerful yet vulnerable. There were times when the women would be stomping and walking with confidence as if they were models on a runway, but there were also moments when these women would fall to the ground, shaking and expressing fear.

I believe that this dance is titled the “Beginning of Something”  because of the radicalness of the choreography. I believe that RoseAnne Spradlin is the”beginning” of “something” new in dance. Her choreography is something new that broadens the term “dance”. I believe she wanted to show the different sides to human nature as well in this piece. All humans have a confident side, as well as a vulnerable one.  These women went through a collection of emotions in the one hour time period they performed. There were times when they were confident with their bodies, while there were other times when they were self-conscience. RoseAnne Spradlin’s piece was very unconventional and is the “beginning of something” new in the dance community.

Dance Review- “Dido and Aeneas”

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“The Dual Powers of Woman, in Muted Force or Frenzied Abandon” is a dance review that was written by Alistar Macaulay and published in the New York Times on August 23rd, 2012. The review was about the choreography of 1989 version of Henry Purcell’s opera “Dido and Aeneas” by Mark Morris.

Stella Chin

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Hi! My name is Stella Chin and I grew up in Queens, New York. I am the eldest child of three. I have a sister who’s two years younger and a brother who’s three years younger. I have never owned any TV game console, so as a child I loved to read, swim and play the piano.I enjoy listening to all types of music and taking pictures with my camera.

I am a Burmese American and I know how to speak Burmese, English and a little bit of Spanish (took Spanish all 4 years of high school). People would usually describe me as a quiet person who’s always smiling.

To me, art is the expression of oneself. Art can be anything as long as the artist is creating something that they want to express. Art can sometimes confuse me because the way I perceive things may differ from the ways others perceive things. There would be times when I would just stare at a pice of art and think ‘I dont get it’, but that’s what makes art unique. There is no universal way to perceive art and create art which is why I find art fascinating.

Self Portrait – Meira

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Meira’s self portrait started off with an accurate depiction of her nervousness when performing in front of others. She stood up there and could not stop laughing, while her face turned bright red. I, like most of the class thought that her self portrait was just going to be her depiction of her nervousness, but that was not the case. After a couple of seconds of laughter, Meira finally got the courage to start her performance.

Meira started to sing and dance around the whole room, using up all the space she could. This exemplified her courageousness and her love of performing. She herself thought that her portrait was embarrassing, however for me, her performance showed off her bravery and her love of the stage. Having interviewed Meira, I found out that she loves to sing and dance, even though she states that she doesn’t do them very well. Her self portait also portrayed her as real to the audience because, who doesn’t get nervous singing and dancing in front of people? Throughout the whole performance, her smile never disappeared and her genuine aspects shone.

I believe that looking through a camera lens takes away from the performance. Throughout the entire performance I was only focused on making sure that the lens followed Meira while she performed instead of really focusing on all the aspects of her performance. After re-watching the video, I was able to fully see how well Meira used the stage and how well prepared her performance was.

Blog A

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Discuss how you feel one can apply the concepts presented by Berger in looking at the Modern Art exhibition at MOMA?

John Berger’s “Ways of Seeing” is a detailed look on how people view art. In this book, Berger discusses the different perspectives of art based on time period. He compares the perspectives of the past to the perspectives of the present and states that the change in these perspectives had to do with the “reproduction” of many paintings. Paintings in the past were viewed and prized highly because back then, paintings were the only way to capture an image. Most of the time, only the elite and high class could view it. In modern times however, new developments such as the camera made it so that paintings weren’t the only way view and capture an image.

The invention of the camera allowed for the reproduction of paintings. In the past, only the elite could view paintings, and now, anyone can see a painting which changes the way people view that painting. Reproductions of paitnings such as The Starry Night (Vincent van Gogh), Mona Lisa (Leonardo Da Vinci) andWater Lilies (Claude Monet) can be viewed anywhere, such as postcards, posters etc.

As I went to the Modern Museum of Art and viewed the paintings, there were times when i thought, “wow how is this considered art?” Berger’s book however, made me realize that I come from a different era than most of the artists and that back then, people had different views and values. Berger believes that reproductions sometimes makes a painting lose its value because it is appears everywhere, however I have seen reproductions many times and seeing paintings such as Van Gogh’s The Starry Night and Monet’s Water Lilies in real life still left me awe struck.

-Stella Chin