Jacob on "Tonnage and Toxicity"

Tonnage and Toxicity Lecture

Presented By Samantha MacBride

Two Mondays ago I, along with Michelle Dent and a few other students, went to a presentation of Samantha MacBride’s thesis work entitled, “Tonnage and Toxicity.” Her lecture focused on industry’s production of the vast majority of global wastes every day. She discussed the facts that producers enjoy unregulated management of the huge amounts of nontoxic waste, there is a minute presence of scientific research into this waste and its effects, and there is even less movement historically to institute legal regulation of industrial waste. She believes these facts are the effect of America politically and socially blaming the individual consumer in matters of waste and the environment instead of the collective producers.

What I found most interesting was MacBride’s take on the “Green movement.” She believes this movement, now being advocated by all sorts of companies producing “greener” products, is designed to keep society blaming the individual consumer. She even stated that consumers are left with no choice but to waste due to the product designs producers utilize to maximize profits. The designs referred to are ones such as, the concept of “to-go” products to be used once and discarded and planned product obsolescence. She suggests meaningful change should come in the form of consumers demanding an overhaul in product design and most importantly in lobbying for legislated policy concerning industrial waste.

I agree with MacBride that consumer society is in a state of denial if it believes we can significantly reduce overall wastes at the individual level, especially when producers give us the choice between wasteful product A, B, or C. It seems in the conflict between producer and consumer, we, the consumers, should look to our government for aid. I asked MacBride if any international legislation from institutions, such as the UN or WTO, has been passed to regulate industrial wastes. She answered that only the European Union has instituted environmental laws (with a rather high level of success). Overall, I definitely enjoyed this lecture because it enlightened the audience on the one hand about a rather unknown subject, industrial waste, and on the other hand gave an alternative view on a very well know topic, the green movement. The lecture raised many important questions such as: how much power does the consumer really have? And in looking towards government for aid, how much more government security are we willing to establish for the sake of the environment’s security?

Ben on "If You See Something, Say Something"

Most actors want their performance to seem real, but, for many, artistic truth is extremely difficult to convey. Actors train in studios like Lee Strasberg for years just to get close to it. Some even dedicate their lives to the effort and never quite get there. Yet sometimes an anomaly of an actor can come along. Every so often, a guy can be so unabashedly strange, so powerfully intense and so uniquely talented that he doesn’t have to try to be real onstage, he just is real. Realism flows out of them like water out of fountains. Mike Daisey is that anomaly.

At Joe’s Pub—a restaurant/theater where the Global New York stream enjoyed the guilty pleasures of melodrama and cheesecake at the same time, Mike Daisey’s newest show was in full swing: If You See Something, Say Something. It is a fantastic, darkly comical critique of American homeland security and the epic stories that surround the Trinity test site: the first detonation of a nuclear weapon. Mike Daisey, with his eloquence and acute sense of timing, takes you from hearty laughter to reflective silence in a heartbeat. Once engaged in the performance, you wonder how one person can remember and perform ninety minutes worth of lines. The answer: he doesn’t have lines. He just has the story in his mind and a few notes which he never looks at. He sets the stakes high but does not disappoint us. As we walked out, a thought came to someon

If your interested in having an incredible one man show experience, If You See Something, Say Something is playing at Joe’s Pub.

- Ben Russell

Aditi's Reflection on the "Queens Panorama"

Tinges of Realization

We are lost in a maze
a concrete jungle

We jump block to block
street to avenue

we wait in lines hours long
we commute for even longer

so much to do so much to see

too much to do too much to see

center of the world
the biggest apple of everyone's eye

you can complain
complain about the strange smells and sights
complain about the looming buildings and the vast emptiness of the boroughs
complain about the individual boroughs, label them, stereotype them
complain about the crowds and the criminals
complain about the typical, unfriendly New Yorker

But
don't ever say it's not special.

_________

it is understandable

that a miniature of something so colossal, so overwhelming
would be colossal and overwhelming in itself

a college day trip, a train ride to Queens
and a breathtaking view of the monument to one of the world's greatest living wonders.

_________

we have skewed images in our minds.

sometimes,
we just need that extra nudge
that vertical tilt, that staggering impossibility
to push our minds over the edge

and freefall into the
fathomless canyon
of deeper understanding.

Rob on the "Art & Bodies Walking Tour"

The Art and Bodies Walking Tour provides an in-depth look into the various ways people and ideas are represented through sculptures and statues. The people and objects depicted in the statues range in significance from the most notable founding father of our country, George Washington, to the lowliest group of unnamed immigrants, to even personified animals and body parts. Some of the people portrayed in the art are portrayed as heroic and grand (Federal Hall National Memorial and The Four Continents), while others are replicated in their true, natural form (John Erickson and The Immigrants). Still other statues can be perceived as whimsical such as Ape and Cat, while others, like the Trinity Church Cemetery, are more somber.

I learned on the tour that an artist could portray an idea about a person or object by merely controlling the geometric shape and physical details of the statue. For example, the artist can praise a figure like George Washington by exaggerating the size of his features to make him appear dominant and larger than life. In a figure such as The Immigrants, the artist creates exhausted, but hopeful facial expressions on the immigrants in order to convey the struggle of these people. Another statue, Eyes, is composed of a simple geometric form, and is thus ambiguous to the viewer’s perception.


The tour was a very satisfying experience that guided me throughout lower Manhattan to some utterly beautiful areas of the city. I learned a little bit about public artwork, while also exploring new places in the city. I definitely recommend that everyone take this tour while in Manhattan.

-Rob R.

Khia on "Pasifika Styles"

I went to the "Pasifika Styles" presentation a few weeks ago with a small group. The speaker was artist Rosanna Raymond, a New Zealand born Pacific Islander. She spoke to us about a project she was a part of which worked to bring different artists of New Zealand together to make an exhibit. Her work shows the culture and style of the Samoan people. "Pasifika Styles" showcased traditional tools and clothing of the Pacific people while adding in the modern pieces by the artists. Raymond's arms showed her traditional Samoan tattoos, which was part of the way she used her body to show us the art of her culture.


This reminded me of the "Art and the Body" walking tour I went on where I saw many statues of people (historical and symbolic figures) standing for a message being displayed by the artist. Our bodies can be used in so many powerful ways that it is easy to forget how much we can show through them. The statues on the walking tour are frozen in place, immobile, but still portray stirring images. Raymond's tattoos, clothing and poems brought her Pacific culture to life, and the entire presentation was engaging and informative. Her activeness makes her body an important canvas. Just by looking at her and listening to the amount of passion in her voice as she explained her interest in sharing the art of her people, I was able to see an art form non-existent on the walking tour.