Wednesday class continued from Monday’s class and students continued to improve the collage with the criticism received, for those who finished them before hand were allowed to begin painting them. Class started off with Show and Tell in which Mikala shared a unique video on youtube about Shia LaBeouf and another classmate, Richard, shared a video that featured vocabulary such as Juxtaposition. Professor Spevack talked about our assignment that is due this Monday, the class is to turn in one painted reproduction of one of their completed collage either broad or narrow with the other collage to be reproduced digitally by using photoshop. Professor Rosen also passed a reading during ADV 1100 that the class is to be read by Monday. Lastly during class Professor Spevack talked to the class one-on-one to discuss their grades and any questions they might have regarding the course.
Archive for October, 2014
Everyone has an opinion and therefore everyone sees the world in a different way. Everyone has their own New York and will vary from person to person, for someit may be the towering buildings of Manhattan or the beautiful walls of what used to be the 5 Pointz building, whatever it may be they all have one thing in common it’s someone’s New York. Colson Whitehead author of “The Colossus of New York” explains what his New York is and the experiences behind them, Whitehead explains that the moment you start to remember fondly about an old establishment in New York. By Whitehead saying this he implies that everyone’s New York is constantly overlapping one another and that no “New York” is the real “New York”. By walking around the Jay Street area we are able to slowly discover our New York and at the same time discover a little about the many neighborhoods that juxtapose one another and the variety that it creates.
When beginning my journey I had an easy time finding things that juxtapose one another but my main issue was finding experiences that actually meant something to me because of this I was able to find the location but not the meaning or feeling that such a walk should have. After a couple of days it clicked to me my New York was my friends that I’ve made here in college but my friends aren’t a location rather the places we went to are the locations that make up my New York and will continue to do so as I spend time with them here in City Tech. The location of these places are pretty simple to follow, one must first start off by exiting out of the Johnson side of City Tech upon doing so you should be greeted by sounds of construction and the sight of a yet unfinished project, make a left and keep on going straight you should cross a train station with connections to the A,C and R trains. As you walk for a minute or two you will see a concession stand with people at times however there is another train with connection to the number lines, head over there but do not go in the train instead head straight through the trail with trees. Once you encounter the Five Guy’s restaurant make a left and walk. Upon walking the Juxtaposition should start to become evident with the buildings starting to look a little more run down and less new than they are in Jay Street.Ā Continue walking straight and a few things you will see are the Asa Learning Center, a blood donation center if you walk even further you will eventually come across the Fulton Mall. My original journey was slightly longer but had no real attachment to the area since I had no memories that were particularly important to me, however once I made a few friends and went around making a few friends I see that my New York is slowly but surely becoming evident.
My location lies between Fulton mall and Lawrence Street to me this a rather unique juxtaposition it shows a small section that in a sense is slowly being consumed by it’s surroundings, the name of this place is Willoughby street. Change is always constantly happening and Whitehead experiences this with many of the buildings he never got to say goodbye to “I never got to say goodbye to some of the old buildings. Some I lived in… I thought they would always be there.” Willoughby Street looks rather old compared to the scenery around it, everyone here was mostly casually dressed and seemed to be of a somewhat normal income with the occasional professional who is by making their way to work. The Willoughby area is saturated with small stores like 99c stores, corner stores and raggedy looking restaurants however there is also some chain restaurants like Tio Pio here and there but oddly enough no franchises such asĀ Mcdonalds, at least where I walked through. As for the sounds I heard it ranges from voices to car noises with the occasional construction here and there which in a way serves to remind that Wiloughby street is slowly disappearing. As it begins to be consumed by it’s surrounding it makes me wonder is it really such a good thing? Will I, just like Whitehead not be able to say goodbye to my New York?
On the other side of the spectrum in the Fulton Mall is much more varied with people of all walks of life, age and cultures . Unlike Willoughby street Fulton mall is full of franchises that are otherwise not found in Willoughby street. The way one feels upon entering Fulton mall is like entering a whole new world with such the drastic change in scenery. As far as noise goes itĀ buses are now thrown into the mix and are constantly making noises as they pick up passengers, not to mention the many people shopping and chatting as they walk. When I look at the Fulton Mall I can’t help but wonder what this place looked like before and whose New York did it used to belong to? Such as how Whitehead remarked on how the Pan Am building and how others who refer to it as the Met Life building are wrong ” I still call it the Pan Am building…that titan squatting over grand central is the Met life building….She is wrong of course” which is contradictory to what Whitehead implied about no New York being the real one. The way this juxtaposes with Willoughby is really evident not only in the way it looks but how it feel as you walk through what seems to be this new world, Willoughby feels old and in a sense a step back in time while the Fulton Mall seems more progressive in the way it looks, yet this experience could be the complete opposite of what someone else feels.
The surroundings we live in change constantly change and shape our ideals, the same applies to our own New York. By being able to see the juxtaposition in every neighborhood one can see the difference in lifestyles for each person, someone in a suit in the Jay Street Metro-tech area could be an intern or a student off to college level classes while those in the Fulton Mall area could be anyone that is simply looking to shop. Many things affect the way a person see something from the experiences they have to what they deal with on a daily basis. Everyone has their own New York and no one New York is truly correct, the only thing everyone can all agree on is that their New York belongs to them.
Everyone is entitled to an opinion therefore everyone is entitled to their own New York. Every New York has it’s story and will vary from person in accordance to their experiences as a New Yorker. For some it may be the towering buildings of Manhattan or the beautiful walls of what used to be the 5 Pointz building, whatever it may be it has one thing in common it’s someone’s New York. Colson Whitehead author of “The Colossus of New York” explains what his New York is and the experiences behind them are. My task was to follow Whitehead’s footsteps and find my New York with the added twist of a juxtaposition and how it makes New York even more unique in the way it merges poorer neighborhoods with the more richer ones.
When beginning my journey I had an easy time finding things that juxtapose one another but my main issue was finding my New York the experiences that actually meant something to me because of this I was able to find the location but not the meaning or feeling that such a walk should have. After a couple of days it clicked to me my New York was my friends that I’ve made here in college but my friends aren’t a location rather the places we went to are the some of the locations that make up my New York and will continue to do so as I spend time with them here in City Tech and Jay street. The location of these places are pretty simple to follow, one must first start off by exiting out of the Johnson side of City Tech upon doing so you should be greeted by sounds of construction and the sight of a yet unfinished project, make a left and keep on going straight you should cross a train station with connections to the A,C and R trains. As you walk for a minute or two you will see a concession stand with people at times however there is another train with connection to the number lines, head over there but do not go in the train instead head straight through the trail with trees. Once you encounter the Five Guy’s restaurant make a left and walk. Upon walking the Juxtaposition should start to become evident with the buildings starting to look a little more run down and less new than they are in Jay Street.Ā Continue walking straight and a few things you will see are the Asa Learning Center, a blood donation center if you walk even further you will eventually come across the Fulton Mall. My original journey was slightly longer but had no real attachment to the area since I had no memories that were particularly important to me, however once I made a few friends and went around making a few friends I see that my New York is slowly but surely becoming evident.
My location in specific lies between Fulton mall and Lawrence Street to me this a rather unique juxtaposition it shows a small section that in a sense is slowly being consumed by it’s surroundings Whitehead experiences this with many of the buildings he never got to say goodbye to “I never got to say goodbye to some of the old buildings. Some I lived in… I thought they would always be there.” This small section between Lawrence and Fulton looks rather old compared to the areas around it, everyone here was mostly casually dressed and seemed to be of a somewhat low income with the occasional professional who is by assumption making their way through to make it to a job or coffee. The Willoughby area is saturated with small stores like 99c stores, corner stores and raggedy looking restaurants however there is also some chain restaurants like Tio Pio here and there but oddly enough no franchises such asĀ Mcdonalds in the Willoughby area which is odd as restaurants like these tend to thrive off the low income ares such as this one. As for the sounds I heard it ranges from voices to car noises with the occasional construction here and there which in a way serves to remind that Wiloughby street is slowly disappearing. As it begins to be consumed by it’s surrounding it makes me wonder is it really such a good thing? Will I, just like Whitehead not be able to say goodbye to my New York?
On the other side of the spectrum in the Fulton Mall is much more varied with people of all walks of life, age and cultures. Unlike Willoughby street Fulton mall is full of name brand clothing such as gap, banana republic, Aeropostale and Express. The way one feels upon entering Fulton mall is like entering a whole new world with such the drastic change in scenery. As far as noise goes it varies a little bit more as buses are now thrown into the mix, and since Fulton mall is slightly more lively there is also many people shopping and talking as they walk through the streets. When I look at the Fulton Mall I can’t help but wonder what this place looked like before and whose New York did it used to belong to? Such as how Colson remark on how the Pan Am building and how others who refer to it as the Met Life building are wrong ” I still call it the Pan Am building…that titan squatting over grand central is the Met life building….She is wrong of course”. The way this juxtaposes with Willoughby is really evident not only in the way it looks but how it integrates with the surroundings, Fulton Mall makes Willoughby’s scenery stick out like a sore thumb. Everything from the condition of the street to the people that walk through it shows the difference in people and the way they go about their day.
The New York one has varies from person to person and can be good or bad depending on that person’s experience there. By looking at two locations that juxtapose one another one is able to see how people live and to some point can even tell what their New York is. With their being so many people, there is so many New Yorks all with different experiences and locale how one decides to look at it all varies.
After reading the Boston photographs it has really expanded my way of seeing. The Boston Photograph talks about an incident in which a faulty fire escape caused the death of a mother, however this was only part of the main focus as a whole what mattered the most was the photojournalist who took the photograph as the mother and her child fell from the fifth floor luckily the child survived. Stanly Foreman, the photojournalist who took the photographs originally intended to take photographs of the fire fighters being heroic but instead captured the death of a woman, the newspaper later published the story along with the images. This in turn caused an argument between those who had issues with the newspaper showing the corpse of a dead woman while those who supported it argued that it’s part of Foreman’s job. While it is wrong I do have to agree with that it’s Foreman’s job to bring these photographs to the public, while his true intentions weren’t to show the death of a woman rather show civil workers being heroic, Foreman did however show that photojournalism is very powerful. The reason I say it is very powerful is because images can more than often evoke more emotion than simple words, after all a photograph says a thousand words.
Words can mean many things but a photograph tells so much more. The Boston Photographs by Nora Ephron is an article that talks about the tragic accident that killed a woman during 1975 and the attention it received after images of her dead body were published in an article of the Boston newspaper. It all began when Stanly Forman a photojournalist attempted to capture images that depicted Fire Fighters being brave however due to certain circumstances Forman ended capturing images of a 19 year old woman and her child falling, the woman died with her child surviving the fall. After publishing the images in the newspaper the question began to arise, “Is placing images of corpses ethical? Is it for sensationalism? or is it just a cheap and dirty way to gain attention to one’s work?” When discussing the matter ombudsmen, people who are in charge of moderating content on the behalf of the peopleĀ say they have never seen anything like it while on the other hand editors of the post found it to be “intriguing” and found no problems with publishing it. The key point of the article is to debate the power of photojournalism over regular journalism to some extent photojournalism is more powerful than just regular journalism, photos can mean so much and the reaction it causes varies from person to person which makes it that much more valuable. In the end it doesn’t matter if an image is ethical or not as long as it fulfills its purpose of creating the reaction it desires it has accomplished what the photographer set out to do.
Peat-Noun
Definition- Partially carbonized vegetable tissue that has been formed by partial decomposition in water of various plants.
Definition Location-http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/peat?show=0&t=1412003425
I’ve encountered this word during Professor Rosen’s class when we went over during the glossary assignment in case anyone had any questions. I understand this word to be related to organic material found in mires that can be used for plants and even to set it on fire as a fossil fuel.
