The New York Art Institute, Simmons College

Seeing a performance of Alvin Ailey is always refreshing and enlightening. On June 16th, the company presented excerpts of the best twenty years and some of their full-length dances. Some of the excerpts included The Stack Up (1982), Grace (1999), and North Star (1978). Even though this was not the first Alvin Ailey performance I have been to, it was still just as powerful as the first performance.

The movements, costumes, and music are carefully chosen to help represent an overall theme or idea, mostly about African American history. The dancers’ movements in combination with the music helped tell stories about Harlem and the great minds of W.E.B. Dubois and Zora Neale Hurston. As I watched, I was amazed by the dancers’ ability to kick, extend, and move from the one side of the stage to the other.

When I participated in theatre, I helped out back stage with the costumes, so now, when I attend a play or performance, I observe the costumes carefully. The Alvin Ailey costumes varied depending on what was being performed.. Oftentimes, the costumes were shirts, skirts, and leotards, like in The Stack Up from 1982. However, in Welcome to Harlem, women wore patterned skirts and coats appropriate to the time, instead of the traditional leotards.

In the dance company, the music selection is the important key and helps tell these stories, setting the mood with the notes. The songs with and without lyrics help get a certain point across. The night ended with the well-known and celebrated performance of Revelations (1960) choreographed by Alvin Ailey himself. The costumes were more elaborate, women wearing full skirts and men sporting suits.

To the seasoned Alvin Ailey fan or to a newcomer, at the end of the night you feel like you just were a part of something that belonged to everyone. Alvin Ailey once said,“Dance is for everybody. I believe that the dance came from the people and that it should always be delivered back to the people.”

-Emma Brightbill

The World Cup is the most anticipated sporting event in the world. Over 2 billion people play soccer world wide. By making this exhibit free, the Paley Center exposed the beautiful (and to a lot of people, still unknown) realm of African art to the greater population of NYC.

Oh, and did I mention that if sitting in wooden chairs isn't your style you can head downstairs to sit in soft, roomy, comfortable chairs and watch the games on a big screen in HD? I kid you not.

The exhibit is here through July 11th - which is the date of the Championship game. Coca-Cola is sponsoring a party with free admission and free food to celebrate! If you are in the area, I highly suggest checking it out. You will not be disappointed.

- Jessica

PS - Forca Portugal! Eu acredito em você! Go USA! :)

Labels: africa, futbol, nyc, simmons college, soccer, world cup

As described by senior curator Jennifer McGregor, Wave Hill truly is one of New York’s hidden treasures. A short shuttle ride from the train station brought our group into what may be the most beautiful natural space we’ve encountered thus far. Rolling hills and manicured gardens embraced us as we explored this space and despite the oppressive heat we were all quite relaxed. Children who had just discovered the art of instrument making through Wave Hill’s family art project cavorted beside their parents. The sound of Indonesian gamelan instruments floated through the air as an audience gathered to listen to Gamelan Son of Lion, a repertory ensemble from NYC. All visitors seemed to be under a certain enchantment that only a place like Wave Hill could generate. I found it interesting to compare such a place so heavily involved in the arts with the many other institutions we’ve visited as a group. Unlike some of the others, Wave Hill is a place that evokes almost instant feelings of accessibility. Tucked away in the acreage, their art gallery exhibits a show intimately connected to the surrounding nature, which I believed helped visitors to feel at ease; the opposite, I feel, is often what occurs at more typical galleries within urban settings. Thus I began to contemplate the impact of alternative art spaces and how they can effectively reach a group of people that more traditional galleries and museums may not. These spaces are important to develop and maintain in order to keep arts communities thriving.

Labels: african burial ground, nyc

The Queens Museum of Art is not a world renowned location. It does not house blockbuster exhibitions, nor is it even what most New Yorkers consider part of New York. We entered through a non-descript entrance, obscured from the path by trees. While one can voice many criticisms about the building, the location, or even the collections, the Queen Museum of Art (from now on QMA) has been the only institution we have explored so far that has had such a dedication to exploring, creating, preserving, and exposing culture of all kinds to the community.

We were able to meet with Tom Finkelpearl, the Executive Director of the QMA, who appeared lively in his striped shirt with contrasting striped tie. We also had the opportunity to explore the museum while it was closed, with Tom as our guide.

Right off the bat we were exposed to the mission of the museum without needing to have the mission statement clearly defined. To summarize, the mission of the QMA is to present amazing art and educational programming to the New York community, focusing on the “uniquely diverse ethnic, cultural, and international community” of the surrounding locale of Queens. This is done by creating exhibitions and educational experiences that are current and relevant to the community, that “directly relate to the contemporary urban life of its constituents while maintaining the highest standards of professional, intellectual, and ethical responsibility.” The dedication that Tom showed to the community was inspiring.

We were shown a few examples of the QMA’s mission statement in action. During our tour, the QMA was housing a reception for 60 highschool students with extreme special needs. These children were able to work with the art educators and art therapists that the QMA has hired full time. We learned about up-coming community activities, including the Inti Raymi Solar Celebration this Sunday, and were able to pick up handouts showing the best skateboarding locations in the city as put together by an independent curator (then marked on the Panorama, also known as the “jewel of the collection”). We viewed an exhibition created by artists currently in Rikers, and heard about the many offerings to immigrant adults, families, and even their children with autism.

Perhaps the most daunting task the QMA currently faces is the expansion of the museum, nearly doubling its space. The new wing will be as modern and effective in housing art as any other museum, but what again shines through is the ties to the community. The new wing will also house a library, effectively being one of the first museums to house a library open to the general public.

The QMA embraces the old model of museums, the “cabinet of curiosities” as Tom put it, but remains current in the offerings to the community. It was a pleasure and extremely inspiring to explore the collections with the Man with the Plan, and to learn how we all can engage with and create culture in our own communities.

-Lauren

Labels: QMA, Queens Museum of Art, Tom Finkelpearl

Our trip last Thursday to a performance by the New York Philharmonic felt to me like a homecoming. As an Arts Administration student on the “Music track” (and a past Music Education/Vocal Performance major), I've really been enjoying our total immersion into the world of contemporary visual art; my cultural horizons have been broadened immeasurably in the past two weeks. But I was particularly excited to spend the morning discussing the themes of the Romantic era and contemplating the effects of timbre and instrumentation on the human ear. For a few short hours, I was back in my own element.

Our guest speaker, Jacob Cohen, led us in a discussion of the current “classical music crisis” and introduced us to the harmonic concepts behind the works by Sibelius, Brahms and Lindberg on that evening's program. Jacob, who is a music professor at Baruch College (as well as a fellow Phish head), really helped us understand the work that goes into programming a classical music concert (placing a modern piece in the beginning or middle of a program, for example, and ending with a familiar classical piece, is a popular way of “sneaking” new music into the mix without scaring away traditional listeners). That evening we also enjoyed a pre-concert lecture about each of the pieces, which helped us understand the personalities and unique experiences of each of the composers and how these could be referenced in the music itself.

The concert at Lincoln Center's Avery Fisher Hall that night really knocked my socks off. I couldn't believe how fast Lisa Batiashvili's fingers flew as she led the orchestra in Sibelius' notoriously difficult Violin Concerto. Her four curtain calls were well deserved in my opinion. And the finale of Brahms' Symphony No. II... flawless. There's a reason the NYP is considered one of the “Big Five” (the foremost classical ensembles in the US, including the Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia and Cleveland Symphony Orchestras)!

-Yasmina Kamal

The American Women: Fashioning a National Identity, an exhibition going on now at the Met, in conjunction with the collection at the Brooklyn Museum, is much more hype than it is satisfying. Comparatively, since it is the Met, one would expect a certain degree of show and exhibition display perfection, however, one could counter that the window shop displays at the Berghoff Goodman stores are put together with much more refinement and sophistication.

The displays were a bit sterile and lacking of any creativity or feeling. The Met should take a clue from the American Museum of Natural History's displays of ethnic cultures and display their shows in such "slice of life" ways. The hair on the mannequins was distracting; great masses of horse hair piled on top and lacquered with hairspray took away from the beautiful clothing. In addition, the mannequins looked tired and weary, made of material that looked like stuffed fabric, their poses odd and lackluster.

The first disappointment is the placards which describe the color of one of the dresses in the Charles Worth section as being "ice-blue" when it appears in the dim lighting as mint green. Furthermore, if the garments origins were unclear, the curator simply labeled the piece as "Probably American" or "Probably French." All in all, it seems rather hasty and slapdash, if not hinting to not having enough confidence to label the piece as "Probably."

The greatest disappointment of the show is that it spanned merely from the 1880's to 1970's, completely cutting off the last forty years of fashion. However, what is interesting is the museum's press release reads: " It explores developing perceptions of the modern American woman from 1890 to 1940 and how they have affected the way American women are seen today." If the cut off date was the 1940's, it doesn't explain why a Yves St. Laurent dress appeared at the very last of the exhibition.

The entire show was just very confusing, with its large video installations in the 1920's room and feminist rights, which was supposed to make up for their scant collection (four pieces) reflecting the women's suffrage movement. Or the very last video installation of all the women and images from museum, just made a tacky last effort.

Another great disappointment was that if the exhibition was about "Fashioning a National Identity," it focused primarily on elitist groups that appeared in the early 20th century, such as the Gibson Girls, the Bohemians, or the Screen Sirens. The museum should have incorporated in minority or little-well known groups that emerged in this era because they were just as important to the "fashioning of a national identity."

The collection at the Brooklyn Museum remains to be seen, but of the few fashion collections in NYC, the collection at FIT never fails. It is a rather small collection, however, the curator at the museum has always assembled shows which are well-thought out and put-together. Appearing now is Eco Fashion: Going Green, which explores how fabrics and clothes are manufactured and how they affect the environment. It features garments from the 18th century to contemporary fashion designers.

Labels: fashion, FIT, Met

An odd shape’s balanced movement caught in the middle of an abstract spin, and a gaze into an illusory bizarre world of dream-like atmosphere filled with unworkable modelled shapes; L&M gallery has set up a harmonized show exhibiting the work of peers Yves Tanguy and Alexander Calder. Whilst one works in abstract sculpture and the other in surrealist painting, they complement each other so perfectly, one starts to wonder whether they criss-crossed their work throughout the life of their friendly relationship.

The residential style windows of the gallery’s red brick facade reveal little of the interior content of the art home. We buzzed at the door, and were welcomed into the home of (currently) Tanguy and Calder. The squeaky floors seemed peculiar for an art gallery, but added a historic characteristic to a gallery that shows both older work as well as contemporary. The space, with its homey quirks was a perfect installation space with an organic staircase and spacious rooms. Nicole Hudson, a Simmons Alum, took us on a tour around the various rooms and spoke of the artists, the work, the installation, the close relationship of the work and the supposed influence of one on the other, as well as about the gallery and its chronicle. Nicole was knowledge-filled, and addressed various aspects of the exhibition, in anticipation of our questions. We found out about the Calder Foundation requesting the building of special white platforms to hold the sculptures (which provided a perfect canvas for the seemingly drawn shadows that were cast from the work), and why one room was painted a gray, standing in stark contrast to the other white (reason: to designate a period of their work).

Peggy Guggenheim had at one point worn a Tanguy earring in one ear and a Calder in the other – consequently providing the inspiration for this show. The actual pieces of both artists seemed to mirror each other, whilst also standing at opposite ends of the spectrum. The class oooh-ed at the Tanguys and marvelled at the Calders; visually absorbing their similar shapes set in real-space vs. surreal space. The different neighbourhoods created by the artists fashioned an odd, positive juxtaposition. Personally, I had issues relating to the dark imaginations of Tanguy, and his surrealist concept initiated a discomforting feeling, but despite my dislike I continued to engage and converse with the pieces, especially as the playful sculptural drawings of Calder touched a soft spot, and I really enjoyed looking at them. The adjacent positions of both artists’ work instilled a desire for dialogue with the work I admired, as well as the work I did not. Hence the show seemed to facilitate a conversation with an artist I would not have undertaken if I had seen his work on its own, as I might have dismissed it the moment I heard my own reaction. So in that regard, I am grateful. It was great to observe my own reactions changing and finding little positive quirks in the Tanguys I initially disliked.

An interesting experience, that left a lot to ponder over...

Laima

Labels: Alexander Calder, L and M Gallery, Yves Tanguy

Labels: Dia Beacon, George Trakas, Michael Heizer, psychic space

Labels: Dakis Joannou, Jeff Koons, Marcia Tucker, New Museum, Skin Fruit

This past Thursday, the group got to experience the hilariously inventive off-Broadway show Avenue Q. The Tony award winning musical not only kept us rolling in the aisles, but for many of us who are quickly approaching the end of our days as students, it had a blunt way of saying, "Good luck, you're going to need it!"

Due to its recent switch off-Broadway, Avenue Q was performed in a smaller theater called New World Stages. It almost had the feel of a movie theater, as there were five other stages showing different shows in the same building. And we seriously lucked out with tickets! Front and center, somewhere around 4 rows from the stage I think. Couldn't really ask for more.

The show was amazing! Though in all honesty, it's pretty crass. With numbers titled, "Everyone's a little bit racist" and "The internet is for porn," you'd think the audience would leave the theater angry and offended. But somehow this show manages to make it okay! They even poke fun at the recently deceased Gary Coleman, from TV's Different Strokes. I don't get how they do it. But not once did I feel anything but amused. I might have blushed once or twice though...


After meeting with Todd Hawkins earlier that morning, I think we were all pretty pumped for the show. He certainly talked it up, and when something is described as the "adult Sesame Street," you can't help but be intrigued. I think it's safe to say everyone really enjoyed themselves. Not bad for day 2 in the Big City!

-Iman Richards

Labels: avenue q, off-broadway

Labels: dance, louis armstrong, music, performance art, queens, queens museum, simmons college

I've lived here all my life, but now I'm back as a tourist and guide. The City is everything I remember--frenetic, smelly, noisy and overwhelming. But it also pulses with creativity, and we are in the middle of it for an entire month.

We have been here for three days, but our days are so packed, they feel like weeks. We have chatted with accomplished arts professionals, navigated the subways, visited museums, galleries, and the High Line and enjoyed an irreverent, but relevant, performance of Avenue Q. Today we are off to Queens, where some of us will attend a Carnegie Hall sponsored community concert at the Flushing Public Library, hang out at a block party/art/music event sponsored by the Queens Museum and Louis Armstrong House, and if we have any energy left, we will check out Greater New York at P.S. 1.

-Michele

On our second day in NYC we meandered our way over as a class to the Museum of the City of New York. Located on “museum mile” the Museum of the City of New York strives to “explore the past, present, and future of this fascinating and particular place and to celebrate its heritage of diversity, opportunity, and perpetual transformation. A variety of exhibitions, public programs, and publications all investigate what gives New York City its singular character.”

To be honest, I had no idea what to expect when I entered this museum. Maybe it was just being exhausted from having moved in the day before – but I didn’t research them before I walked through the door (I know. For shame.).

We were greeted by EY Zipris, Manager of Program and Professional Development. What a title right? I honestly don’t think I have met anyone who has spoken about their job with such energy, enthusiasm and frankness – which not only made our time at the Museum that much more special, but I’m pretty sure (and yeah, I’m going to say it even though I run the risk that EY might actually read this) most of our class wanted to be her by the time we left. She is incredibly intelligent, articulate and her shoes were all kinds of fabulous.

Alright, on to what I’m here for…the Museum of the City of New York is currently showing an exhibition titled America’s Mayor: John V. Lindsay and the Reinvention of New York. It examines the political career of New York City’s 103rd mayor who served from 1966-1973. The exhibition presents Mayor Lindsay’s attempt to lead one of the largest and most diverse cities in the country through a time of local and nationwide civil, political and social revolution.

The exhibit starts off the way that most political campaigns do: with promises, promises and a star. One can’t help but notice what a handsome devil Mayor Lindsay is and not only does his brilliant white smile greet you, but so do promises of a new New York. Splashed across the wall is a quote by a journalist who inadvertently created the slogan for the Lindsay campaign in 1965.

“He is fresh and everyone else is tired.”

EY speaking to Art 236 about the Mayor Lindsay exhibition.
Photo: Jessica Pratas

We were lucky enough to have EY bring us through - but even without a tour guide, the exhibit is easily navigated. It is not only organized chronologically but also by specific events in his career, policy issues and historical milestones taking place throughout the country. Being this organized is a must since the walls are practically filled with literally every media you can think of: letters, photographs, posters, buttons, books and even television screens. Yet somehow it never seems too much. Everything presented was chosen for a specific reason and is worth your attention.

Photo: Jessica Pratas

And for all of those who are opposed to the increase of technology in museums…it’s not lip service when I say I see your point – but I commend the curators for what I think was a successful use of technology in this exhibit.

Personally, I don’t see how one could say the life and times of Mayor Lindsay were as accurately portrayed as possible if these news conferences weren’t on display. People who lived in NYC would have been sitting in their living rooms or their kitchens…or wherever, watching their Mayor address them and the rest of the city. That deserves as much attention as any photograph on the wall.

Labels: exhibition, mayor lindsay, politics, simmons college, the museum of the city of new york, visual art

While the days are chocked full of so many activities, hopefully some of us will be able to check out the art from amazing, young, up-and-coming artists in smaller galleries.

FecalFace, described as a "content-rich, comprehensive, multidisciplinary art and culture website supporting the art scene in San Francisco and beyond since 2000," has its finger on the pulse of art, even in New York City, and has an always changing, always updated NYC Arts Calender available here.


A highlight of the June openings include Greg "Craola" Simkins, a street artist now known for his bizarre fantasy creatures and his collaborations with Vans, Converse, Juxtapoz, Mattel, and AFI to name a few. His opening, on Saturday, June 5th at Joshua Liner Gallery in Chelsea (548 W. 28th St., 3rd Fl. New York, NY 10001) begins at 6 PM.

Hopefully we wont be too tired to explore more galleries!

-Lauren

Hello all,

So this is it. The first entry...I arrived from Providence with my roommate Whitney at the 92nd Street Y around 1 PM and have unpacked and settled in.

As far as I know my other classmates are still trickling in...the room is large and (thank goodness) AIR CONDITIONED.

By the way, for all those interested - here is where the 92nd Street Y is located:


View Larger Map

Not a bad set up. So tonight we are all going out to dinner and afterwards we'll be getting our work load for the week and going over the basics. This was actually a pretty boring post, but I promise they'll get better every day.

Until next time,

Jessica