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.
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.
So you may be asking yourself, amidst the stress of school work and club life, "What can Global NYers do this week?" Well, I have a couple ideas for you which could serve as stressbusters or just plain entertainment:
1. Sikh Film Festival (http://www.sikharts.com/film-festival.html) - Saturday, Oct. 4th - An affordable, fun, and cultural experience. Great for those of you interested in discussions of religion, multiculturalism and film. Also great for anyone just looking for something to do!
2. Havana @ Umbrage Gallery (http://umbragegallery.com/) - Thru Oct. 31 - Free exhibit in DUMBO Brooklyn, showcase of some of the most important photographs in the history of Cuba's Revolution. Black and white images remembering and commemorating the Revolution's 50th anniversary.
3. Multimedia NYC @ MCNY (http://www.mcny.org/exhibitions/current/timescapes-a-multimedia-portrait-of-new-york.html) - Visit the Museum of the City of NY for several AWESOME exhibits, including a 25-minute multimedia experience tracing NYC's historical growth. It's a $5 suggested entrance fee, but if you say you're "a neighbor", they waive the suggested fee. I may go on Thursday or Friday.
If you explore any of these options If you write about your experience, pass it to me, and I'll post it on the blog. Or, if you take part in any other cultural/global experience here in the City, let me know. I'd love to include it in the blog.
This Sunday, Sept. 28th, join your GNY! stream leader Jarett as he leads a group up to beautiful Ft. Tryon Park, in the most northeasternly corner of Manhattan, to enjoy a day of jesters, minstrels, jugglers, medieval music, and general Middle Age enjoyment!!
We'll hopefully head up there rain or shine. Check out the forecast here. If the rain is too bad, though, we'll cancel the trip.
The event is completely free (you bring your metrocard) and takes place from 1130am-6pm. We'll head up there as a group, meeting in the GoddardLobby @ 2pm. You can leave the event whenever you want...but you may want to stay for the day's finale - A JOUST!!
Everyone is invited - all floors, all streamers, all Goddardites. Bring your friends!
Check out the official website here for more information: http://www.whidc.org/home.html
Global NY hits the ground running in search of Monuments, Landmarks, and Memorials
By Goddard Writing Faculty member Dr. Michelle Dent
The Global NY stream at GoddardResidentialCollege recently finished its first series of site visits to a host of New York landmarks. Some of our destinations were to iconic monuments of the American Dream. At the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island we quoted favorite scenes from our earlier screening of The Godfather: Part II, and as we waited on long lines and crowded ferry boats, we felt ourselves transported back to a time when New YorkHarbor was packed with anxious and hopeful newcomers. Yet, through our time-traveling, we were also made more aware of the contemporary rituals of security checkpoints that have become a part of our current travel landscape. With helicopter surveillance in the harbor and hi-tech screeners at Lady Liberty’s threshold, we wondered amongst ourselves about the ways in which this iconic “gateway” has changed in our lifetime. Later in the week, on a unique a podcast walking tour sponsored by the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, we visited historic landmarks of heroism and grief such as the East Coast Memorial for WWII servicemen, the Merchant Marines Memorial, and the Irish Hunger Memorial. By the time we arrived at Ground Zero, the poignancy of these lesser known memorials created a compelling frame of reference. We contemplated the seven-year anniversary of the September 11th attacks while overlooking the site from within the marble opulence of the WorldFinancialCenter. The complexity of this hallowed ground, which continually is blurred with commercial and political interests cannot be underestimated.
Some of our other site visits were to monuments that are so off the beaten path that a large part of the experience was taken up in simply finding our destination. Did you know, for example, that there is a section of the Berlin Wall on display in Battery Park City? It not, then welcome to the club – you are not alone! But GlobalNY takes great pride in the fact that its stream members persevered, so if you’d like directions, or photos contact our blog or our Facebook group for the inside scoop. We rounded out this calendar of events with a trip on the 7 train to the Queens Museum of Art in the FlushingMeadowsPark, the site of not one, but two former World’s Fairs (1939/1964). At the QueensMuseum, we toured the Panorama of the City of New York, with NYU Writing Professor Blagovesta Momchedjikova, who wrote her doctoral thesis on the massive scale model. We are currently arranging a Panorama talk-back with Dr.Momchedjikova where we will also discuss her essay “My heart’s in the small lands: Touring the miniature city in the museum.” Our trip to the Panorama was arranged in collaboration with Goddard Writing Faculty Marion Wrenn, and the Writing New York Stream. Global NY is especially grateful to Dr. Wrenn for organizing our post-Panorama nosh at the scrumptious Delhi Palace Indian Restaurant in JacksonHeights.
Thanks to the awesome energy of my Global NY partners, our fabulous Grad RA Jarett Gilbert and our gracious and all-knowing CDE Ty Crisman. And remember, GlobalNY is nothing without YOU, its ResidentialCollege members, so a big shout out to the entire stream for such great spirit and intellectual curiosity. Here’s to more traipsing around the city in the weeks and months to come!
Saturday morning at 10:30am, Goddard's Global NY!ers will be departing from the Lobby to check out Queens, Brooklyn's neighbor to the north. It is the largest of the 5 NYC boroughs (see if you can name them all by now!) and the 2nd-most populous. Noteworthy areas in Queens include:
There is so much to see, touch, taste, smell (and feel??) in Queens. All you need to do is explore. I recommend one day taking the train to Jackson Heights-Roosevelt Ave (E-F-G-R-V) or to Steinway (R) or to Astoria-Ditmars Blvd (N-W) and exploring.
Sometimes it's just as easy as seeing what countries are celebrating their independence day. Try going to that kind of ethnic restaurant on that day - there's bound to be a celebration afoot.
Additionally, visit NYU's Center for Multicultural Education and Programs (CMEP) or even some of the cultural studies departments here on campus. They will have event information laying around or on their websites, i.e. free flamenco, a guest speaker, or an art gallery.
Finally, you can always come to Jarett and ask what's going on in NYC. If he doesn't know, he'll help you find out.
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.
