Author: A K

Why not?

In  perusing a form to replicate our understanding of the world around us why do we chose the sciences over the arts?  Are they different?  Maybe we can measure emotions and are unable to explain a mathematical theorem.  I could not ask you what is Art, but I can ask you why.

Art can describe personal, abstract and subjective things in our world. Science can explain the concrete and evident things in our world. Emotions, which are sometimes explained by art , are abstract. Everyone feels, describes and experiences an emotion a differently. Gravity, however, feels and has the same effects on everyone around the world. In order to understand the world, we need to view it objectively and in a language everyone will be able to understand and apply. This is where numbers, scientific theories and formulas come in. It is hard for art to replicate our understanding of the world because, as we have seen, art can be interpreted so many ways. Each person will come up with his own reaction, meaning for a work of art. Every person will drawn his own meaning from it. With science there are concrete answers. If you drop something in the lower portions of the atmosphere of the earth, it will fall with a rate of acceleration of 9.8 m/s^2. There is not many ways you can interpret that other than the fact that it simply is 9.8. We choose science because eventually science will yield answers, whereas art will continue to nebulous and open to interpretation. Art is a form of expression, a way to understand and show beauty, ideas and experiences. Science is a form on understanding the physical things in our lives.

Their purposes aside, each subject can have parts of the other. Science can become an art as one begins to theorize and play around with numbers and formulas. Symbols begin to represent different concepts in science, formulas are manipulated for their purposes. Working with science can be an art. In this same light, art can be scientific. Proportions in painting or ‘rules’ that make things more visually appealing to the eye. An artist can paint according to a special method, with special tools much like a scientist can reach an answer using a certain formula and tools (calculator, protractor, balance beam, chemicals).

In trying to describe our world, science is easier to understand and easier for many people o understand the same way. Art can be subjective, an unreliable narrator in our world. Science can offer definitive answers to questions that need to be answered.

Review of the Philharmonic Open Rehearsal

Being a fan of the Romeo and Juliet score by Prokofiev, my perception of the rehearsal is biased. Though the interruptions during the music did take away from the flow of some songs, I found the event still extremely enjoyable. I have never heard the New York Philharmonic and I have never heard the score played by a live orchestra. So when I heard my favorite selection from the score, “Montagues and Capulets”, I feel in love with it all over again. The sound of all the musical pieces was so crisp and so nuanced that every piece they played, with or without the interruptions, sounded beautiful.I was surprised by the range of the age of the musicians. They ranged from young to old, yet all seemed to play at a very high level. The length of the rehearsal might be good enough for the musicians, but for the listener it can start to seem way too long and make the listener inclined to sleep through a portion of it. If you enjoy classical music though, or enjoy the sound of instruments beautifully collaborating together, then this will be worth the length. The songs played were truly music to my ears.

I think going to the performance would be much more rewarding. You listen to a polished concert with no interruptions; however for someone who has never listened to the philharmonic before, can enjoy the music with the interruptions and wants cheaper tickets, this might be a good performance to attend.

You are Beautiful (to me).

How do we determine beauty in our culture?  Is it a necessary component in Art, in humans?

Standards for beauty change. They change based upon the types of images we are bombarded with in media and our views. The majority of opinios about something will come together to form beauty in culture, but it is each person’s own standards of beauty that matter. Different types of art forms exist so that each person can find some art that is beautiful to them. Some might think that modern art is beautiful, some might think that Michelangelo’s sculptures are. Of course if many people’s opinions match up, something can become classical beauty, or even a standard. During the Renaissance, curvaceous plump women were the standard of beauty. Some of our reasons for attraction to certain things are biological. The curvaceous woman was thought to be a good child bearer and a healthy woman. Thus this became the standard of beauty. In our present time, when working out and being skinnier is thought to be more healthy, thus slimmer women now seem to be the ones featured in magazines. Yet our standards of beauty can also be influenced by popular media icons like celebrities. Certain hairstyles, or body types, that look beautiful on them might seem attractive just because it is in the media.

I think beauty is not always necessary in art. Sometimes beauty might detract from the message of the piece or simply not belong. If an artwork is trying to depict dirt, grunge, dark moods or simply the ugly, then beauty would have no place. Personally, I prefer art that has beauty in it, whether it has a message or not, because artistic beauty can be an escape from the everyday scenes. Beauty will always be an important component in humans because from the beginning of time man has been attracted to some things, and repelled by others. We like shiny things,  we like beautiful landscapes, and we will always consider the face of the person we love as ‘beautiful’.

Punk Rock Exhibit

While I enjoyed the visit to the Punk Rock exhibit at the MoMa, it was not something I would go to again. The exhibit seemed out of place and chaotic, over-packed and confusing. As we have talked about it in class, the exhibit itself belongs not in the pristine white walls of MoMa, but rather in a grungy place that would give the exhibit a more appropriate atmosphere. Even though the exhibition space was orderly, the exhibit itself confused me. I felt bombarded with music, headphones, videos, photographs, newspapers, clippings, art and collages from all sides.  I could not focus on one piece alone. The music was a good, and essential part of the exhibit, because how can one display a certain musical movement without giving the visitor an idea of what the style sounded like? Also, some of the things displayed had too much detail or information in them, like the large collage or the newspaper clippings posted together. While they were interesting pieces, I either found myself looking at the collage as a whole and not reading into the details or getting lost in trying to read or look at every photo and article in the collage. The end result of the latter is that I ended up looking at only 1/10 of the piece, was no longer interested in reading anything else, and never saw the overall picture of the collage. Maybe the chaos and bombardment of various elements in the exhibit was meant to represent the music itself, but this was not my kind of exhibit. While it was informative, I prefer MoMa’s other exhibits to this one.

In Pursuit of Truth

1. When viewing a work of art, or listening to one, can we see

the truth?  Can we feel it?

Art may or may not represent truth. Even if it does represent ‘truth’, it represents the maker’s truth. For so many things in our lives, there is no one definitive truth. Math and science represent facts and truth; however,  some scientific theories might end up not being true at all, after it is disproved or replaced by another one.

Sometimes an artist’s ‘truth’ may resonate with us as we listen or look at it, then we might be able to feel it. Art can also distort or exaggerate the truth. Just like a caricature may be showing face characteristic the person has, but they are dramatized and even though the overall you will recognize the person in the caricature, he or she will not actually look like that. So whenever we look at any art, we also get the truth but through the eyes of the artist. Several artists may look at the same artist, but each one will also paint it a different way. They might each stress different features of colors of the sunset. Then there is also the interpretation of a work. So the “truth” intended in the art will get distorted several times in the process of creation and interpretation.

Body Language

Is Dance a Language?

A certain only encyclopedia states that humans communicate with body language 90 percent of the time. However accurate that may be, we can certainly say that movement can express a lot, whether the motion is done consciously or unconsciously. People dance when they are happy, they tap their feet and bop their heads happily. You can see that a person is happy by how they dance. When a couple dances slowly on the dance floor, shifting their feet carefully, their bodies close together and moving freely, you can see the romance between them. When someone is sad they will sit with thier head in their hands, and if a child is angry he might thrown a tantrum by throwing himself on the floor and acting out. These movements too can be part of dance. Humans express so much through their actions and the way they perform that action. No everything can be said in words. Dance is not only body movement, but body language. Each movement and how it is executed can convey emotions and feelings. Whether the dancer jumps energetically or tilts her head down as she takes tiny successive steps toward her death, dancers can tell a story without words. What dancers do with their hands is also very strong language. Do they bring their hands to their hearts, are they reaching out for something?
Of course, dance needs music to fully convey the story and set the mood. I think that music is half the language in a dance. It aids the person in understanding the performance better, and after all, what would dance be without a rhythm or sound to move to? The meaning of a dance can be changed if music is changed. Every step, stance and turn is important so that taken together, a dance routine is a story book. Dancers might use movements that you exhibit during the day yourself, or they might chaotically thrown themselves about the stage, but whether you recognize the meaning of a movement or not, you will understand the overall message. It is the language to which there is no actual dictionary, but it is rich with feeling and expression.
if a picture is worth a thousand words, then a moving gesture is worth ten thousand.

This is a wonderful interpretative dance. Language is used to tell, among other things, stories. And just like actors are story tellers, dancers can be very good actors too. One of the things I love about this dance is that there is a lot of meaning packed into actions. The camera even highlights the movement of her hands and feet, which are done deliberately and with a purpose. The music adds to the madness of the scene.

Le nozze di Figaro review

When I first entered the Opera house, I did not know what to expect. This was my first time at an opera. If you were to ask the person sitting next to me, she would probably tell you I was riveted, my eyes glued to the stage. Even before the curtains had opened, I fell in love. While listening to the overture, I recognized it as a melody I heard, and loved, many times before. The music is not to heavy, it is catchy and stays in you head after it is over. Then the curtains opened and my eyes were presented with the most beautiful sets I had laid eyes on, act after act. What especially captured your attention was how the light progressed through the acts, from warm sunlight shinning through the large windows, to the cold moonlight of the last act. The lighting was so realistic and beautiful, I had a hard time believing it was coming from man made lights rather than a magical sun. The lighting gave life to the set and the actors’ faces. the costumes were equally realistic and beautiful, transporting us, effectively, back to the time when women wore large gowns and corsets.  The singing was beautiful, especially the arias. What I did dislike was the repetition of the same line over and over again, it made me want to fast forward through the drawn out conversations. The opera was hard to sit through for three hours, and I do know that there are operas longer than this one. The plot was a bit too much like a soap opera, with so many people misunderstanding and trying to get back at each other. At times the plot seemed to rushed and unrealistic, like at the end, when all of a sudden everyone was happy and all was forgiven in a matter of seconds. The acting was good too and it certainly added to the singing and the whole show.  Overall I have more praise than critique for this opera and it was an experience that made me want to come back for another performance.

Byzantine Art Movement

byz1

The Byzantine Art Movement was around from the 5th century to the middle of the 15th century, when the Byzantine Empire existed. The movement originated in the Orthodox Church and spread to other regions where the church was dominant, yet remained centered in Constantinople. These regions include Russia, Greece and some slavic nations. Since the movement originated in the church, the artists were restricted by regulations that the church imposed on them. This helps to explain why practically all of the art had a religious theme.

This movement’s style, which was mainly seen in religious paintings, mosaics, buildings and icons, was characterized by bright and rich colors, mosaic tiles, solid tone or gold backgrounds and flat human figures that were often unnatural and lifeless. Placing another figure higher than the first one showed distance. There were usually two ways in which the humans were portrayed. One way featured the humans in full length, facing the front. This was to express power and authority and the people were usually gesturing meaningfully or holding symbolic objects. The rigid folds in their clothes were meant to highlight these frontal figures. The second way of drawing humans was used in illustrating religious narratives. In these images the figures are turned and are gesturing to express emotion, like distress, sympathy and others. However, the emotions were always subtle and in control. The fluid, moving folds in the clothes were meant to show movement and emotion. In decorative architecture, mosaics were used very often, covering large areas in the buildings. These mosaics were colorful and illustrated, once again, religious characters and themes. The rich colors, expensive materials such as gold and ivory and intricate patterns in this art served to show off the wealth and power of the Byzantine Empire. Even though the movement became unpopular after the fall of the empire, its influence could still be felt in other countries the movement spread to.

Sources:

http://www.metmuseum.org/explore/Byzantium/art.html

http://www.arthistoryguide.com/Byzantine_Art.aspx

http://virtualology.com/hallofartmovements/byzantineart.org/

Brooklyn Bridge

By Albina Khayrulina & Simmi Kaur.

Then:brooklyn-bridge-2

Now:akhayrul

We took a photograph of the Brooklyn Bridge and tried to recreate Hassam’s painting. We can see through technical details that the photo and the painting match. For example, the artist was standing to the right of the walkway in the painting, and we tried to mimic this perspective by using the angles of leading lines of the railing. The left line has a lower angle, while the right line has a steeper angle. Both of these show us that the artist stood slightly to the right and purposely situated the bridge off-center. The actual towers of the bridge are not in the center, but also on the right side of the picture. We also used the vanishing point (located around the staircase in the image) to position our photograph. Another feature that helped us position our photograph are the barely visible second towers of the bridge. We tried to get the towers/arches in the photograph to be about the same size as they are in the painting.
Recreating the exact painting is obviously impossible but this task was a lot more difficult than expected. There are several changes that cause our photograph to look different. The walkway ramp is higher today than when it was in Hassam’s time. This can be seen by the carriages, which are almost level with the pedestrian walkway. Today, the cars are not visible in from that angle. In addition, it is easy to tell that the walkway has been narrowed since Hassam’s time and thus, we weren’t able to completely achieve the same angle, since that would put us on the highway itself. The staircase is gone because of the bicycle lane, and the benches of the left side have been removed. Still, this photograph comes pretty close to replicating Hassam’s painting.

Self Portrait

O.   What does Art mean?

Art means the expression of ideas and feelings through the beautiful, the chaotic, the graceful and the original. It’s artists trying to show other how they see the world, or how they feel.

1.    What is your favorite art form?

My favorite art form is music. Each song has its own personality. Music contains energy that is transferred to the listener, sometimes intensely, other times slowly. Music does more than make you move, it makes you feel. It can really get inside of you, from the moment you first start nodding your head, to the point where you are flailing your arms and jumping around. Music is poetry, melody and emotion. My favorite of all is soundtrack music which can create a range of atmospheres. You can put on your headphones, turn up the volume and let your own imagination ride along with the music.

2.    What is your favorite historical period?

My favorite historical period? I don’t like history, but if I had to pick a time period it would be from the beginning of civilization up until the fall of Rome.

3.    What is your academic/ non-academic strength?

My academic strength is science, especially physics, and I WISH my non academic strength could be painting.

4.    Do you feel comfortable with new technologies?

Of course. I am comfortable with new technology, especially any technology that caters to my laziness.

5.    How would you rate your writing skills?

I would rate my writing skills as satisfactory, or a 6/10. I try do do some creative writing, but I am often not fully happy with it, and there’s always a lot of room for improvement.