Outside the Museum: Peter Coffin’s Sculpture Silhouettes

Peter Coffin recently plucked 13 of the most influential sculptures in Art History from their place in survey books and reduced them to silhouettes. The resulting works are currently on view in City Hall Park and will remain there through May of 2010. What might first appear to be a simple rehashing of other artist’s aesthetic pursuits is actually based largely on the function of memory instead of the individual works themselves.

Each of the steel silhouettes are between 8 and 10 feet tall, painted a flat black and are a mere 1 inch thick. In the lobby of City Hall, 3-dimensional maquettes of the original sculptures are displayed on a small pedestal and serve to index the larger simpler version just outside. Several of the works, including variations on Rodin’s The Thinker and Michelangelo’s David, are instantly and widely recognizable. The instant recognition speaks of Jungian ideas and evidences a collective aesthetic unconscious. This idea is  central to the artist’s choosing of specific works. The artist has also chosen some works that are not quite as iconic in hopes that the viewer may recognize that they are consistent in their mode of creation.

Although these sculptures are a-dimensional, their outlines suggest the space that the referenced sculptures occupy. The idea that the volume of these works is referenced instead of recreated forces the viewer to call upon their own memories to flesh out these outlines. In so doing the viewer reconciles past and present actions, memories are reworked in this new context. Much like memories, the large silhouettes drift in and out of view as one walks through the park.

Untitled (Sculpture Silhouettes) is free and open to the public, although reservations are required for tours inside City Hall and can be made by calling 311 or visiting http://www.nyc.gov. Photographs by the author.

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Emilie Keldie

Cruel Yet Merciful

Othello is a story of jealousy, betrayal, and all around villainy. Othello (Kendale Winbush, CC ‘11) is a rapidly rising Venetian general who is married to his true love, Desdemona (Alice Mottola, BC ‘10). Othello’s jealous lieutenant, Iago (James Underwood, GS’11) uses and betrays all those around him, including his wife, Emilia (Madalena Provo, BC’12) to convince Othello that his wife Desdemona has been unfaithful to him with Cassio (Brian LaPerch, CC’12), even though she has not.

Director Mikhaela Mahony (BC ‘11) plays with themes of unraveling and constriction in this production of the Shakespearian classic. The structured military jackets used for Othello, Iago, and Cassio start primly and properly buttoned. They unbutton and unravel as the story moves forward; as Iago’s villainous plot unravels Othello’s and Cassio’s lives. Light is used to constrict the areas in which the actors have to move around, symbolizing the different worlds of the characters of the show.The characters in Othello are some of Shakespeare’s strongest… and most difficult. Othello, as his jealousy overcomes him, gets stuck deeper and deeper in his own mind. The lighting in the pivotal strangulation scene serves to emphasize this constriction.

This production expertly employs the violence inherent in this play. Sword fights, stabbings, suicides, slaps, and strangulations; Othello has it all. The entire cast has worked hard to make all of these encounters realistic, as well as safe. They have succeeded; the different fighting methods serve to elevate the plot, not to bury it. The scene in which Othello suffocates Desdemona  is striking in this sense. Mahony bravely decided to do away with the customary pillow. Indeed, many of the fights and attacks are choreographed to immerse the audience in the urgent, life-and-death stakes of the play.

Othello is presented by King’s Crown Shakespeare Troupe. Written By William Shakespeare. Directed By Mikhaela Mahony. Produced By Allie Lalonde. December 3-5 at 8pm, plus an additional Saturday matinee at 2pm. Lerner Black Box. Tickets are free, but performances are currently sold out. You can sign up for the waitlist by emailing your name, the performance you wish to attend, and how many tickets you want to kcstothello@gmail.com. Facebook Event. CUarts Tickets.

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Alison Goldberg, BC’12
Alison is the Lighting Designer for this production.

BAM: Cate Blanchett in A Streetcar Named Desire

Cate Blanchett as Blanche Dubois

When the Brooklyn Academy of Music sends me its calendars, I usually descend into an ambitious fever of dog-earring and circling events that I need to attend, problem sets and budget be damned. One entry in particular however, sent me staggering to the phone and blabbering to a friend.

“Oh my god, A Streetcar Named Desire’s at BAM in November, and CATE BLANCHETT’s in itaskdjhakjhdj!!!”

So two months ago, we secured tickets to a performance of the classic Tennessee Williams play, this iteration performed by Australia’s Sydney Theatre Company and directed by the Norwegian Liv Ullmann, herself a formidable actress and longtime muse to Ingmar Bergman.  The play is set in New Orleans of the 1940’s, aging debutante Blanche DuBois visits her sister Stella and brother-in-law Stanley, and through their conflict Williams explores the decay of the South’s romanticized past. With such an international cast, I was curious as to how they would interpret a play so rooted in the idea of the American South.

Suffice to say the production exceeded expectations by miles. Blanchett plays Blanche with fury and tenderness; we see the disintegration of Blanche’s fantasy in her voice’s shrill edge when asking Stanley for a story. Even her coordination breaks down from glide (she had a way of keeping her green dressing gown swirling about in slow motion) to lurch and crawl. When Blanche cries, “I don’t want realism,” Blanchett’s guttural bellow forces you to understand how thoroughly her despair has driven her from the polished tones of make-believe. Joel Edgerton acted the menace perfectly well, unenviably in the shadow of Brando’s Stanley, especially in a scene around a birthday cake, when his mere stance between the two women insinuated violence. Robin McLeavy delighted as Stella, loyal but torn.

Joel Edgerton, Cate Blanchett, Robin McLeavy

The most effective moments in the production often contained no speech however, such as silhouettes on a drawn window shade, the cinematic bloom and fade of lights to illuminate bodies in bed, and the shrinking of a spot light on Blanche’s upturned face to close the play. These distilled the sweep of Williams’s narrative to moments that lingered; not a bad finish for a new production of an old master. Consequently, we left the theatre elated, and with quasi-legit urges to re-watch Elizabeth and re-read Faulkner. It made more sense at the time.

Unfortunately, A Streetcar Named Desire at BAM is currently sold out. Keep an eye on their excellent calendar however…you never know what might turn up.
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Livia Huang, CC ‘12

Bohemian Rhapsody by The Muppets

A little treat for the start of Thanksgiving break. Straight from the Muppets Studio: Bohemian Rhapsody. Nothing I say could possibly add to the sheer genius in this video, so just enjoy:

 

 

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Darcy Zacharias, CC ‘10

Ten Cellos Are Better Than One

Juilliard recently got a face lift, and while for the past two years I was rather against seeing my beloved Juilliard Plaza go, now I must say I kinda like it. The new building looks very chic, and when a little bird told me of a (free) cello studio recital there last Friday, I decided to go check it out. Getting to Morse Hall was pretty easy. It is a cozy little recital space, but Bonnie Hampton’s ten cellists made it epic.

The program ranged from baroque to modernism. The most enjoyable part of the concert was to see how 10 cellos interact, and how they vary piece to piece. The first half of the program had all ten students on stage and opened with a  beautiful Bach Chorale “An Wasserflüssen Babylon.” The harmonies of the chorale contrasted with the conversation in “Hymn to Saint Cecilia” by Colin Hampton, the second piece.

Next came a series of ten preludes for the solo cello composed by Sofia Gubaidulina. Watching this was pretty much an earth-shattering experience. There was a prelude titled “Ricochet” in which the cellist actually hit her bow against the cello strings and let it bounce. Another prelude had the cellist plucking with her fingering hand (imagine the force!), only occasionally rubbing the strings with her index finger wrapped in paper instead of using a bow. While not all of the preludes were this innovative, they still offered some new perspectives on the cello.

The first half concluded with Villa-Lobos’ “Fugue (Conversa),” which was probably my favorite piece. Aside from being a conversation between cellos, there were parts of it when the cellists looked like they were all dancing together.

The second half of the program was three cello quartets playing chamber music. It was pretty interesting that all pieces were originally written for the violin, but then arranged for cello quartets by Laszlo Varga. The students performed Vivaldi’s Concerto Grosso in D Minor, Op. 3, No. 11, Bartok’s Hungarian Peasant Songs, and Bach’s Chaconne in D minor, BWV 1004. Of these, I enjoyed the arrangement for the Chaconne the most. The lush harmonies of the cello quartet arrangement create a moodier tone than in the violin solo. If you ever come across any of Varga’s cello arrangements, based on the ones from the recital, I highly recommend you listen to them.

All in all, the concert was fun, especially since it was free. Juilliard offers more free events in dance, theater, and music, and you can check them out here.

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Ayo Alston-Moore, CC ‘11

High and Low Art at the American Folk Art Museum

Visiting The American Folk Art Museum is like going to your crazy Aunt Mildred’s for a meatloaf and potato dinner. Her living room is a kitschy, hoarder’s delight. How and when did she have time to collect an original Kewpie doll? Why does she have such a large rubber band ball? Why in the world would anyone want these soda cap robots, Jesus woodcarvings, tobacco shop Zouaves, Abraham Lincoln whirligigs, Amish quilts, and paper cut lamps? Is that an aluminum deer head that I see? Boy, Aunt Mildred is really weird.

The museum is like a scrapbook and longitudinal study in American crafting. There are hints of high art, but mostly instances of low art. The curatorial staff, with their explanatory labels, was constantly questioning what past Americana obsessions can be counted as real collectibles or real art and which were merely put in the annals of the bygone strange. The overall museum vibe was very innocent and a bit naïve. Usually buttons, spoons, thimbles, plastic bags, and bits of carpet do not a museum make. However, it was nice to be challenged as to one’s current concept of “what art is”. Too often museums rest on the conventions of yore. The American Folk Art Museum lingers on the precipice of high art and low art, sometimes balancing the tight rope perfectly. A continual question that kept reoccurring on all floors of the museum was, “Are self-taught artists conscious of themselves as artists?” Morris Hirshfield, whose piece The Artist and His Model (1945) was on display, definitely seemed to interact with the zeitgeist of his art world. For example, try comparing any one of his painting to a Henri Rousseau. Although Hirshfield is considered an outside artist and naïve painter, his images have hints of early surrealism. Thomas Cole’s famous landscaping work and light play for the Hudson River School is renown in the art world, yet Thomas Chamber’s landscape art is not. They do not differ all that much except for the fact that Cole is displayed at the National Gallery of Art and Chambers is displayed as outsider art in The American Folk Art Museum.

The museum also attempts to breakdown preconceived notions about self-taught artists; they are not all hermits, they are not all rural, they are not all obsessive compulsive. Yet, some of them on display really are all of the aforementioned; the stereotype persists for a reason. Henry Darger, known for his fantastical, “Alice in Wonderland” type scenarios, wrote a 15,145-page, single-spaced fantasy manuscript called The Story of the Vivian Girls, in What is known as the Realms of the Unreal, of the Glandeco-Angelinnian War Storm, Caused by the Child Slave Rebellion. He also produced several hundred illustrations to accompany the story, modeled after coloring books and various advertisements from his day. His mental health was questionable. He seemed to exist in the realms of the unreal, but so too did J. R. Tolkien, John Tenniel, and Madeleine L’Engle who are now considered greats. During his life time his art was never art, yet posthumously, critics have decided to define it as such. The museum has even created a Henry Darger Study Center in 2001.

As famed cultural critic Dave Hickey argues in his seminal work “The Invisible Dragon”, beauty really is in the eye of the beholder. Hickey states, “These people [museums] were setting themselves up as guardians of public taste. My argument was, basically, beauty allows us direct access to art without public oversight.” Although The American Museum of Folk Art is still an institutional gatekeeper, it is taking a step in the right direction, which seems to be away from the patronage system of Michelangelos and Monets.

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Keren Veisblatt, TC ‘11

This is the part of our blog series 30 Museums in 28 Weeks. Through CUarts’ Passport to New York program, Columbia students get in free to 30 museums in the city. We will attempt to visit every single one of these museums before the end of this academic year and share the experience here with you. 30 museums. 28 weeks. That’s a lot of culture. Check out our progress here.

Fall at MoMA. Plan Accordingly.

It seemed a silly tagline for MoMA’s full-page advertisement in the NYTimes a few weeks back. But considering the exhibitions on the fall program of NYC’s premier venue for modern art, “Plan Accordingly” is the best advice anyone could give you.

MoMA’s two marquee shows, “Bauhaus: Workshops for Modernity, 1919-1933” and “Tim Burton” are each staggering in their own way. They’re also causing mobs in the museum as visitors flock to them. Plan accordingly – try to visit the museum on a weekday.

A drawing of Edward Scissorhands from "Tim Burton"

We all knew “Tim Burton” was going to be special, and despite a general need for editing, it still lives up to those expectations. It is the first exhibition of the director’s non-cinematic work at a major fine arts museum. It is also a retrospective of his major motion pictures – pretty much everything from “Pee Wee’s Big Adventure” to “Sweeney Todd” is being screened in one of MoMA’s plush theaters. The journey into the third floor gallery is quite literally a walk into the belly of the monster. The exhibition, with its hundreds of drawings, dozens of sculptures and film props is a journey into the macabre and relentless imagination of Tim Burton. There are a lot of distorted gothic characters on the walls and many of them you’ll recognize (Edward Scissorhands is everywhere). The majority of the drawings come from Burton’s personal sketch books, and as such they are not so much works of fine art as they are a visualized stream of consciousness. It’s hard not to like the Burton show. Sure it could have about a hundred fewer sketches, but ultimately it’s a refreshing and entertaining display of the work of an undeniable (twisted) genius. (Note: there are timed-tickets for the Burton gallery, which can be booked in advance online).

While Burton is cool, the jewel of MoMA’s fall program is unarguably “Bauhaus.”  It is a scholarly yet approachable survey of the 20^th century’s most influential school of design. Beautifully curated with something for everyone, Bauhaus sandblasts misconceived notions that German design is grey and industrial. Color abounds, particularly in the glistening textiles that adorn the walls. Bauhaus should be slowly savored, and luckily with everyone crammed into Burton, you’ll probably have most of the 6^th floor gallery to yourself.

A chair from "Bauhaus"

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Kathleen Reckling
CC ‘07, GSAS ‘09

This is the part of our blog series 30 Museums in 28 Weeks. Through CUarts’ Passport to New York program, Columbia students get in free to 30 museums in the city. We will attempt to visit every single one of these museums before the end of this academic year and share the experience here with you. 30 museums. 28 weeks. That’s a lot of culture. Check out our progress here.

Meet the Meds: Physicians and Surgeons Embrace Sondheim

I am continually amazed by the breadth of arts groups that are part of the Physicians and Surgeons Club at the Medical School. Despite their extensive workload, medical students manage to find time to participate in a Choir, Coffeehouse concerts, Dance Club, Literary Society, acappella group The Ultrasounds, and more. This Saturday I headed uptown to see these talented doctors-to-be onstage in Bard Hall Players‘ production of Stephen Sondheim’s Into the Woods.

The Medical Center is only several stops uptown on the 1 Train, or you can save the fare and take the Columbia shuttle for free. I was immediately jealous of the Alumni Auditorium, where the performance took place. The spacious theatre, though simple, is a great improvement over most Morningside performance spaces (certainly an improvement over Wien Lounge).

The production featured a large, exuberant cast; some parts that are typically played by one person (Narrator/Mysterious Man, Wolf/Cinderella’s Prince, etc.) were separated, in order to give roles to more actors. A few roles were also added to large group numbers, including Puss in Boots, Gnome, and “Maiden.” Though the set and lighting were limited, the stage was always filled with the talent and energy of the actors.

The enthusiasm of the performers was the most valuable, and pervasive, asset to the production. I have seen several productions of Sondheim’s classic, but this version of Into the Woods was one of the most fun I have experienced. The team clearly enjoyed themselves and that translated to the audience. Bard Hall Players added many whimsical touches, including the use of coconuts for the Princes’ horses a la Monty Python and the stepsisters played by two burly gentlemen in trashy wigs and bright gowns. The real stand-out was the cow Milky White, portrayed by Manuel Montano and Peter Rubenstein, billed as “Head” and “Rump” respectively. The bovine star stole every scene it was in, providing mute commentary on the action of its human costars and dancing to Sondheim’s catchier tunes.

Bard Hall Players directly challenges the dominant perception of medical students. These physicians sing, dance, and act, proving that doctors aren’t just entertaining on TV.

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Darcy Zacharias, CC ‘10

By Any Means Necessary

Wien Lounge. We all know it. Its beautiful fireplace, large windows, comfortable furniture, and wide-open space make it an ideal place for rehearsals. However, it can be difficult to mount a full production in there, as anyone who has attempted to do so knows. However, first-time director Thomas Kapusta (CC ‘12) wanted an unconventional space for this play. “I really want the focus to be on the characters and the story,” Kapusta said, and he believes an unconventional space really allows those elements to come to the forefront.

The story Kapusta has chosen is Dirty Hands by Jean-Paul Sartre. Set in fictional Illyria in World War II, the play centers on Hugo (Sam Johnson, CC ‘11), a young idealist who is tasked to assassinate a leader of Illyria’s communist party. He learns the timeless political reality that no one governs innocently. The cast features Tyler Benedict, Emily Feinstein, Madalena Provo, Henry Ring, Arron Seams, Jenny Vallancourt, and Anya Whelan-Smith.

Having spent an immense amount of time studying the play in the original French over the summer, Kapusta knows the story backwards and forwards and it still compels him. He hopes it will interest audiences as well. His use of Wien Lounge as a performance space, in addition to the characters and story, should pique audiences’ interest. The cast has not had the opportunity to rehearse in the space much; from the rehearsal I saw last night, they are adapting well and are learning the real dimensions they have to work with. Light is used well in the space to create the intimate feeling Kapusta wants the audience to have with the characters. Lighting Wien well for a performance is difficult because of the large amounts ambient lighting from the computer lab and laundry room that overlook the lounge. Kapusta has chosen to use lighting effects (backlights, etc) and a thrust stage, which is unusual for Wien, to allow the compelling characters and plot to really be thrust in the middle of the audience, Kapusta said.

CUPlayers present Dirty Hands. Directed by Thomas Kapusta. Produced by Dane Cook. Thursday, Friday and Saturday (November 19, 20, 21) in Wien Lounge. You can get your FREE tickets and see the Dirty Hands’ Facebook event.

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Alison Goldberg, BC ‘12

30 Museums in 28 Weeks: MoCA

The Museum of Chinese in America sits on a quiet stretch of Centre St. fringing Soho and Chinatown, and initially I mistake its glossy front for another boutique, except the two nattering men in uniform outside seem incongruous on an empty street. “Is this the…?” I’m still confused by the museum’s name at this point, but they make welcoming noises and I duck inside, still flustered.

The museum had been recently redesigned by the architect Maya Lin, who lined the walls and floors with dark wood to make the interior feel intimate and historical, like an old house. Passing the lobby, you enter into a room with a time line mounted on the wall that winds through the museum, highlighting the more important developments in Chinese-American history to act as a narrative backbone the visitor follows, from which spring curious objects, including a book for make-up artists on how to apply proper yellowface (like blackface, but you know, with taped eyelids), and a toy gun in which the pressed trigger activates the figurine of a European man to pull a the queue of a “Chinaman” and kick him from behind, popping the toy bullet from his mouth. In the next room, a neon sign advertising chop suey glows red above photographs taken by the German émigré Arnold Goenthe, who took street photos of the area but doctored out European-Americans to heighten “exotic pictorial affect.”

The time line eventually leads to another room detailing the change in attitude come World War II, reversed in reaction to Mao’s ascension, and then flipped again around the introduction of the term “model minority.” Tables in the middle of the last room contained more artifacts, among them a documentary clip about Long Tack Sam, a forgotten vaudeville magician who worked with Cary Grant and Orson Welles, and portraits from the Hapa Project (hapa is slang for those of mixed race with Asian or Pacific Islander roots). Under a boy’s photo: “I am part Chinese and part Danish. I don’t usually tell people I am Danish though, because they think I’m a pastry.”

I left the museum surprised by what it contained, and disappointed by my own inability to recognize history not celebrated in popular imagination. In showing once mundane items we now deem absurd (I’m still hung up over that pop gun), the museum insists on the importance of inheritance in building a modern identity, and I am grateful for its reminder.

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Livia Huang, CC ‘12