Showing posts with label museums. Show all posts

Hello fellow bloggers,

Since I started the spring semester I haven't had much time to blog, since I was kept quite busy by a heavy load of classes and a liberal amount of extracurricular activities. Barely having a moment to breathe has its advantages though, and I think I like it, despite the sleep deprivation and all. When there is so much to do and so little time, you don't stop to think and you don't have time to waste on complaining and feeling down. You just have to jump straight into it and work, work, work, juggling multiple projects and assignments and trying to accomplish everything in the short amount of time given. Sometimes I wonder why I take on so many things at once if my free time is almost inexistent as it is, but I think I know the answer.... It makes me feel like I am accomplishing something, and that gives me encouragement and motivates me to do more and to achieve more. All of the experiences are rewarding, and I want to make the most of my four years in Stern.

People ask me what I'm doing and how I'm doing in Stern, and my first reply is always in the form of a huge smile -- because I'm doing great. Since classes started again after Sukkot, there has been so much going on that I barely have time to breathe. In addition to the six classes I am taking this semester, I signed up for a whole load of clubs and events and activities, filling up almost every free minute of every day. It only caught up to me now during midterms, when I have a few subjects to study for and a couple of papers to write (one of which will be six pages long) and 100-page readings on topics such as "Time, Work Discipline, and Industrial Capitalism" and "The World the Slaves Made." Those long readings will eventually translate into long papers to write. But despite the length of my to-do list, I am having the time of my life right now.

Juniors and seniors always seem surprised when, in reply to their questions, I say that my freshman year is going great so far and I'm loving it. They also seem surprised that I actually know what I'm going for -- English major, art history minor. I, on the other hand, am always surprised to hear that many students don't yet know what they would like to major in. I would have thought that the direction you want to take career-wise would influence which college you choose, since different colleges have different strengths and weaknesses, but oh well. I suppose they will eventually know what they're doing. (But there are always those people who never really know and end up going back and forth between different fields.)

Apart from academics, I have been having a lot of fun in Stern getting involved in all these amazing clubs and going to various events. I just became a board member of the Creative Writing and Poetry Club, which had its first event of the year earlier this month -- a discussion on Shakespeare and Milton as dissidents. Future events might include readings, workshops, and poetry slams, so it's going to be absolutely awesome! I am also involved in the Stern College Dramatics Society's production of Pirates of Penzance, which is going to be a blast. The result is that I often come home late, since I commute. The benefit of commuting is that I have 40 uninterrupted minutes each way in which to do homework, reading assignments, and studying for exams.

Aside from that, I am going to start writing for Stern's official student paper, The Observer. Actually, there is a deadline coming up right after midterms so I might want to start writing. And speaking of The Observer, I was mentioned on the front page of the October issue since I was one of the Dean's Scholars who received a free laptop at orientation.

Just in case everything else I'm doing now is not enough, I am also in the process of becoming a docent at the Yeshiva University Museum on West 16th, so I hope to see some of you. I went to the YU Museum this past summer to see the Braginsky collection, which was on display for a limited time and is unfortunately no longer there. It was kind of surreal and so incredibly meaningful. One of the manuscripts on display was a handwritten one by the Vilna Gaon, and I could not tear myself away from it. The exhibits at the YU Museum change all the time, so there is always something new to see. As a docent, every time there is a new exhibit I will have to attend a training and get to learn all about it, so that should be fun!

Yesterday, the art club had a scavenger hunt at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Although I had been there many times over the past few years, this was a completely different experience because instead of focusing on one gallery at a time and examining each piece of art separately or lingering by the ones I found the most interesting, we were hurrying through all the galleries and covering most of the museum. We were going back and forth between the modern art, European art, Egyptian, and Greek and Roman and trying to find the answers to all the scavenger hunt clues in our booklets. That definitely gave me a new perspective on the Met, so it was fun.

Oh, and YU has a Russian club! I was actually pretty surprised at how many Russian students there are in Stern. I absolutely love those "whoa-are-you-Russian-too?" moments that I've been experiencing a lot lately. Even one of the ladies working in the caf is Russian! She actually complimented me on my Russian.

By the way, Stern is having an open house on November 14th, so anyone applying to college for next year should definitely come! I want to write up a post about Stern and my experiences here so far for prospective students, so look out for that. :] And meanwhile, if you have any questions you can feel free to comment below or to send me an email at myinkstainedhands [AT] gmail [DOT] com.

Hello, readers!

I am now in Cleveland, relaxing a bit after a full day of taking in the sights of Ohio.

We left New York on Monday, August 2nd, and drove to Clearfield, PA, where we spent the night in order to break up the long drive to Ohio. The air there smelled so sweet and fresh, you have no idea -- it was like flowers and freshly mown grass. That basically sums up Day 1 of our trip.


Day 2 (Tuesday, August 3rd) was much more exciting. After checking out of the hotel, we continued on our way. The time between Pennsylvania and Ohio seemed to pass by much faster when I was behind the wheel, although I don't think the other passengers in the car (my parents) felt the same way.

When we arrived in Cleveland, it was still too early to check into our hotel, so I went to see the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame while my parents enjoyed the fresh air at a nearby park. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame was simply delightful, and I only wish photos were allowed inside. The building is shaped like a pyramid and the walls are made of glass. I saw it during the day, but I think it looks even cooler at night when it is all lit up.

The museum had a lot of things on display for music fans. There were guitars that had been played by the Jackson 5, Elvis Presley, members of the Beatles, Johnny Cash, and so on. They had different artists' outfits, including Elvis, Ringo Starr, the Ramones, Mick Jagger, Bob Marley, Tina Turner, Brian May, David Bowie, Steven Tyler, and more. For Beatles fans, there were the electric guitars that John Lennon and George Harrison played, the jacket that John Lennon wore on the sleeve of the US single 'I Want to Hold Your Hand', the famous outfit he wore on the cover of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, the piano that Yoko Ono got him so he could compose when he was away from home, and his handwritten lyrics. One of the fun things about seeing the outfits was being able to get an idea of how the person looked -- some of those people were much shorter than I had imagined, judging by their clothing.

The top two floors of the museum were dedicated to a Bruce Springsteen exhibition, and also contained outfits, musical instruments played by him, handwritten lyrics, and awards he won.

For me, the highlight of the museum was the little section of it that was dedicated to Michael Jackson. The outfits started as early as from the 1970s and spanned about half the length of his career. The earliest outfit was from 1971, back when he was part of the Jackson 5. The famous original red jacket from the 'Thriller' video (that is now commonly worn as an MJ costume) was there, but it was sadly very tattered. With it was displayed the animal mask Michael Jackson sometimes used for performances of 'Thriller', as well as his Grammy award. The outfit from his 'Bad' video was also there. My favorite outfit though was the blue sparkly jacket with golden epaulets that he had worn to the 1984 Grammy ceremony, when he won a record-breaking number of eight Grammy awards. And, of course, the signature white glove was on display as well, sparkling in the dimly lit hall. I could have stayed there much longer, just staring at it, but the museum was closing.

Day 3 was today -- Wednesday, August 4th. We spent the first half of the day at the Hale Farm and Village in Peninsula, OH, where we got to see historic buildings and homes. People in period dress were there to explain the time periods of the different houses and to demonstrate what it was like to live there. There were women spinning wool, weaving, and making baskets. There was a really cool glassblowing demonstration, in which the man showed us how he makes glass vases from beginning to end. (It was an incredibly hot day today, and I can only imagine how much worse it must be standing there next to a hot furnace all day.)

The heat was beginning to really get to us as well, so as soon as we had seen all we wanted to see (and I bought a bonnet and a Civil War-style Confederacy cap at the gift shop), we returned to Cleveland. I only regret that we were not able to be there for the Civil War reenactment, which is happening next weekend.

I spent the second half of my day in the Cleveland Museum of Art, which was absolutely beautiful. The architecture is magnificent, and although I am used to the Metropolitan in New York and already feel at home there, I loved the Cleveland museum every bit as much, I think. Admission is free, so it's convenient if you want to take your time going through the galleries and spend more than one day there.

I focused on the European paintings and sculptures, and I also enjoyed the collection of suits of armor and weapons (from the 16th century!), which was arranged very well and given more space than the one in the Metropolitan. There were so many galleries there and so many beautiful paintings. El Greco, Pieter de Hooch, Jacques Louis David, Boucher, Gainsborough, Constable, Monet, Renoir, Manet, Van Gogh, Cezanne, Picasso, etc. My favorite things: the gallery of American paintings from the 1890s to 1920s, which focused on New York life and which I found very helpful in gaining a better understanding of the time for something I am writing, Degas' paintings and sculpture, and the entire gallery of Rodin's sculptures. To say I was delighted would be an understatement. There were art students sitting in every corner of that gallery, sketching the sculptures. Outside, in front of the museum, was a huge sculpture of Rodin's 'The Thinker'. So awesome!

I left the museum at 9 PM, only when they began escorting everyone out. I could definitely have spent more time there though.

So those were the first 3 days of our little vacation. Plans for tomorrow include a visit to the Toledo Museum of Art, to see -- you guessed it -- more art! :]

Although I have complained about Jane Austen's happy endings in the past, she is, in fact, one of my most favorite authors and quite an inspiration to me. Her writing has transported me into other, more beautiful worlds and times. She was able to bring a smile to my face whenever I was feeling down, and there was something about her writing that always made me feel serene and at peace. In other words, I love and adore Jane Austen despite her happy endings.

The Morgan Library and Museum currently has an exhibition on Jane Austen titled A Woman's Wit: Jane Austen's Life and Legacy, open until March 14, 2010. It contains a collection of Jane Austen's letters to her sister Cassandra on display (she must have written at least 3000 letters of which 160 survived) as well as part of her handwritten manuscript of Lady Susan, which is apparently the only surviving complete draft of any of her novels and can also be viewed here. There were also some earlier printed editions of her novels and a few framed illustrations by different artists based on her books. The exhibit also strives to give the viewer a better understanding of the author's life and influences, including books she read, authors she admired, and the general philosophies of the time. It gives people a glimpse into the life of one of the greatest female writers so we can better understand the themes in her novels and her goal in writing.

The part that I found most fascinating was looking at her letters and handwritten manuscripts. For a huge Jane Austen fan, getting to see up close and personal the actual pieces of paper on which she wrote in her own handwriting was pretty awesome. Paper was expensive so her handwriting was quite small and cramped at times. When she ran out of space, she would often write either in the margins or upside down between lines! So her sister would have to first read the letter through one way and then flip it upside down. Another thing Jane would do if she had more to say was write vertically over the horizontal lines of the letter, which you can see here.

Her letters offered us a more personal glimpse into her everyday life, as she described parties she attended and dances she participated in. In a letter from 1804 to her sister Cassandra, Jane wrote that she danced quite a bit and would have danced some more if she had wanted to with a certain gentleman or with "a new odd looking Man who had been eyeing me for some time & at last without any introduction asked me if I meant to dance again." I loved that bit. Things like that make me feel more connected to her as a person, because I can just imagine it with the help of my own personal experiences.

In a 1799 letter to Cassandra, Jane gushed about a new cloak. On the side, she sketched the lace pattern on the cloak in perfect detail. You can see this letter here.

In an 1811 letter from London, Jane mentioned some of the things she had done recently, which included attending two Shakespeare plays -- Hamlet and Macbeth. Seriously, I can completely imagine being friends with this girl.

Overall, I loved this exhibition, and I encourage all Jane Austen fans to check it out before it closes on March 14th, 2010. The Morgan is located on Madison Avenue and 36th, only a few blocks from Herald Square or Stern College. Check here for their exact address and hours. The admission is quite cheap -- $12 for adults and $8 for students with current IDs. This price gives you access to pretty much all of the exhibitions currently on display at The Morgan. Currently, those include one called Rome After Raphael, which is a collection of pen and ink or chalk sketches and drawings by artists such as Raphael, Caravaggio, Parmigianino, etc. There are also many illuminated manuscripts on display, most notably those from the era of Catherine of Cleves. Oh, and make sure to visit the gift shop! It is the most delightful place. They have a big collection of books on art and books containing reproductions of specific artists' works. I started browsing as they were about to close at 6 PM, but I would like to return some day and look through them more closely.

Some of The Morgan's future exhibitions include Albrecht Durer (starting May 18, 2010) and Degas (starting September 24, 2010). I am looking forward to those.

As I was walking from the train station a few months ago to the Broadhurst Theater on West 44th to see Hamlet, I noticed the Discovery Times Square Exposition advertising its new Titanic exhibit. Well, I finally saw it today.

The haunting line on the flyer I picked up reads, "After nearly a century... Titanic finally arrives in NYC." What a chilling introduction! Think about it.... The ship that set sail for New York from England in 1912 and sunk to the bottom of the ocean has finally reached its destination -- but only the artifacts lived to see New York.

As you enter the exhibit, you are given the 'boarding pass' of a person who was actually on the Titanic with his/her name, age, class, reason for voyage, and a passenger fact. You are told to hold onto this boarding pass and at the end of the exhibit see if 'your' passenger survived.

Various artifacts were on display throughout the exhibit, and some of them were identified as belonging to certain people. Rooms on the Titanic were replicated, as were certain corridors and the grand staircase (where you could take a picture). The Titanic was apparently the most luxurious ship made, and that becomes quite obvious as you see the pictures of the dining halls and the replicas of the first class rooms and the grand staircase. Something about that makes the tragedy even more tragic -- kind of like a last supper, when you look at the culmination.

Artifacts included perfume bottles (some of which contained perfumes that still had a scent), champagne bottles with champagne still inside, mirrors and hairbrushes, pocket watches and wristwatches, toothpaste jars, floor tiles, china plates and cups, playing cards, traditional straight razors and modern Gillette safety razor blades, wax stamps, etc. There were matching pants and a vest on display which had been preserved because they were in a leather suitcase, and since leather is tanned, it repels microorganisms and prevents water damage. According to a display hanging on the wall, there are no conservation techniques to preserve the ship itself, and it is being consumed by iron-eating microbes and will implode and collapse on itself within 40 to 90 years.

We often hear stories about people who were saved in tragedies such as 9/11 because they happened not to be there at that time on that day, even though they normally would have been there. Well, the stories about some of the Titanic victims were the opposite. There were people who were supposed to be on different ships, and some were even supposed to leave up to a week later, but certain circumstances forced them to switch to the Titanic last minute. One such passenger, Edgar Samuel Andrew, wrote in a letter before the voyage that he would rather be on a different ship and sail some other day, and added, "I wish the Titanic were lying at the bottom of the ocean." Little did he know that a few days later, that is exactly where it would be, and he would perish with it.

Two days before they were scheduled to land in New York, some of the First Class passengers made a gala dinner in honor of the captain, to congratulate him for a safe crossing. Little did they know....

Near the end of the exhibit, there were lists of all the survivors and victims in first class, second class, third class, and the crew. The woman whose boarding pass I held -- Miss Ellen Hocking -- survived, along with her mother. But it seems as if the rest of her accompanying family -- which included her aunt, brother, sister, and 3-year-old and 10-month-old cousins -- did not.

Seeing all the people there checking those lists to see if 'their' passengers survived made it so much more real, as did seeing all those little artifacts that once upon a time belonged to somebody -- mirrors that were once held by the women, razors that were once used by the men, the china on which they ate as they awaited the day when they would arrive in New York, and so on.

The souvenir shop was actually selling tiny pieces of coal from the actual wreck of the Titanic. I was more tempted by that than by any of the other souvenirs. I am fascinated by history, and that was an opportunity to own a little piece of it. But I needed the money for other things, so I did not buy it. I suppose I can at least know that I once had the opportunity to own a piece of history.

This exhibit made it come alive for people who might otherwise not have understood the enormity of the tragedy. Events sometimes get lost in history and risk becoming just another piece of information and the people involved become mere statistics. I would definitely recommend that people go see this exhibit while it is still open (but please leave the kids at home, especially if you know that they will disturb the other visitors). This exhibit closes on February 28th, so if you are interested, now is the time.

I would also like to take this chance to thank my parents for agreeing to sponsor this little trip and my school for making this all possible by giving us a day off.