Category: ENG1101 Project #3

Project #3 completed

taken by: Alice Garcia

To navigate from New York City Tech you must exit from jay street and then its approximately like 2 blocks going down going to Fulton street. From there you can already see the train station to not just the A train but also the C, F trains. Afterward you have to head to the left of the train station like one block to head to Lawrence and Willoughby street near the R train exit of Jay St-Metro Tech station. There is also this address you can put on google maps to help navigate: 129 Lawrence St, Brooklyn, NY 11201, this will leave you in the same street where the view is at.To look for this angle in the photograph you have to look up and see the same design building. There are 2 different buildings the very first is part of the ASA college, the second building is a connection to the parking lot of the college. This is an example of Juxtaposition because here we can see that there is an old and modern type building due to the use of material seen outside the building.

Brooklyn has a lot of good things or places where they are some being relocated elsewhere but they weren’t removed. Even though it may not see the same like before in some previous years that doesn’t mean you never been or walked there but it got more modern with new places in the area. Walking through my juxtaposition area that I found was very relaxing and more quiet. Other would say it would seem pretty isolated. I think that many have their own perspective of going from a street and think whether it seems like a good place, quiet, loud, too crowded, or even too small of a space to even get to explore anything around the location of a cetain street. I prefer going through locations such as the one that represents my juxtaposition because I’m one of those persons that prefers the calm of the street and when I’m looking up I like to seem the glass windows reflecting the sun’s light into the building in front or even see the different from the first building to the next one right after that one and then the one right after the second one and so on.

Juxtaposition can be anything you see outside and be thinking about what you think of the certain location you are in or living near by. It all depends on what you think and what you like of a certain location, or the atmosphere itself.

project 3

To arrive at my location, it’s only 1 to 2 minute walk depending on what city tech exit you come out of. If you were to come out of City Tech through the Tillary street entrance make a right and go down and another right then go down the block half way. And if you were to come out of the Adams street you can either make a left and at the corner make another left and walk down the block. Or you can make a right and at the corner make another right, go down the block then make another right then go down the block half way. But if you were to come out of the Jay street entrance you are right where you are suppose to be. My juxtaposition is the new city tech building at 285 Jay St and the brown and red Jacobs building across the street from it.

According to merriam-webster juxtaposition “the act or an instance of placing two or more things side by side often to compare or contrast or to create an interesting effect”

   Walking to my juxtaposition was short, boring, and common. I wish I would have picked another area around the school or could have picked another area altogether to show more of a difference. However this is not such a bad juxaposition. You can compare and contrast many things between this two buildings. For example the height. The new City Tech building is like three times the size (taller) than the brown and red building. Not to mention the age difference. The city tech building finished contruction in 2016 and the red building has been there for as long as I can remember. But the major difference I can see between these two buildings are the structures. For example the red buildin is made up of all bricks and has small glass windows. While the city tech building is made up of all glass including windows and doors.  What if there is another hurricane like sandy is the new city tech building going to hold up the like the red building or break apart because it is glass? This makes me think that newer isn’t always better if it can’t survive harsh conditions.

In my opinion the City Tech building seems more delicate, because it is made out of class which is very fragile, compared to the Jacobs building that seems sturdy because it is made out of bricks. Yet visually the City Tech building is more appealing because you get a glimpse fo students at work.

Project #3 – Juxtaposition FINAL

Out with the old, in with the new. This is New York City’s motto. This city is always evolving, whether it is the architecture, street art, or the culture itself. This may be exciting for some, but for locals it is sometimes devastating, as their some of their favorite classic pizzerias are being replaced with internet cafes. Their neighborhood is changing before their eyes. This is rezoning. Rezoning is increasing in different parts of the city as we speak, especially in Downtown Brooklyn. The rezoning process of a neighborhood shows lots of juxtaposition. Juxtaposition is the fact of two things being seen or placed close together with contrasting effect. Even though your neighborhood might have changed completely or at least starting to, you will always see it the way it was when you were growing up there. For others it may be different though. In this essay, I will describe an image of juxtaposition in Downtown Brooklyn, the different elements shown in the image, and talk about how our perception of our neighborhoods are different.

This is a picture of Albee Square, a public plaza located at the intersection of Fulton Street, DeKalb Avenue, and Albee Square West. This is a very convenient location, as the A,C, 2, 3, Q, R, 4, and 5 trains are nearby. I personally took the A train to Hoyt-Schermerhorn Street and turned left at Bond Street. I walked straight until Albee Square was directly in front of me. In this plaza, you will find the Dime Savings Bank (on the far right), and City Point (the other buildings), which is a residential/commercial mixed use, multi-building complex.

The history of the two buildings starts here. The Dime Savings Bank was first opened in 1859. When it first opened, it only occupied a small room on the ground floor of the Post Office at 211 Montague Street. The first person to make a deposit was a man named John Halsey who invested $50. By the end of the bank’s first business day, 90 people opened accounts. By 1884, the bank had about 40,000 customers, for whom the bank was holding nearly 12 million dollars. Known Brooklynites at the time such as George Hall, Brooklyn’s first Mayor, John W. Hunter, the Mayor of Brooklyn from 1875 to 1876, and Alfred Smith Barnes, publisher and director of the Brooklyn Historical Society, had the Dime build its first actual building on the corner of Remsen and Court Streets. The bank was quite successful, but in June 2001, Washington Mutual announced that they would acquire the Dime for $5.2 billion in cash and stock, rebranding all of its locations to Washington Mutual banks. It was acquired in January 2002. Dime had 123 branch offices in the New York City area in the states of New York and New Jersey. The Washington Mutual banks were a failure, and is now being incorporated into a skyscraper as we speak. When completed, the building will be stand the tallest in Brooklyn.

The location of the image, Albee Square, used to be a theater until 1977 when it was replaced by the Albee Square Mall. The mall was later demolished for new development in 2007. This new development is now known as City Point, which was part of the “Downtown Brooklyn Plan”, developed by the City’s office of Economic Department. This plan consisted of a series of zoning changes and public works. The first tower, City Point Tower 1, opened in 2015.  The second tower, City Point Tower II, was completed in 2015 and opened in 2016. A third tower—City Point Tower III, is under construction, planned to be 720 feet tall, making it the tallest in Brooklyn in 2020. This is the building that will be connected to the Dime.

There is a high contrast between the two for multiple reasons. The Bank is a much older building than the City Point development. The Classical Revival  architecture clearly sets the Bank apart from the other buildings, having multiple pillars on the front and sides, and the Dome-shaped roof. Above the sign of the Bank, there are sculptures of people and small details running along the edges of the entire Bank. The copper roof looks as if it were a more recent addition to the Bank because of the blue tape next to it. The City Point development on the other hand was built with more modern materials, with the structure being far angular than that of the Bank. The first thing that might catch your eye is the Target logo on the front of the mall part of the development, as it adds a pop of color to the small, grey building. The taller part of the development has cool grey undertones and a darker shade of the same color on the windows.

In the article “The Way We Live Now: 11-11-01; Lost and Found” by Colson Whitehead, the discussion of people seeing things differently is shown in this paragraph: “Go back to your old haunts in your old neighborhoods and what do you find: they remain and have disappeared. The greasy spoon, the deli, the dry cleaner you scouted out when you first arrived and tried to make those new streets yours: they are gone. But look past the windows of the travel agency that replaced your pizza parlor. Beyond the desks and computers and promo posters for tropical adventures, you can still see Neapolitan slices cooling, the pizza cutter lying next to half a pie, the map of Sicily on the wall. It is all still there, I assure you. The man who just paid for a trip to Jamaica sees none of that, sees his romantic getaway, his family vacation, what this little shop on this little street has granted him.” One person may see one thing, which in this case was a pizzeria, but another person will see it differently. Why? Because we all have different experiences in life. We are not the same, therefore we will always look at thing another way no matter what.

Another article that talks about viewing things differently is “How better photos can help you document, and shape, your neighborhood” by Patrick Sisson. When Chuck Wolfe was asked about his style, he said, “My style is based on a tool in the book which I call the urban diary, which I’ve been writing about it for years. It’s a very flexible approach, designed for people who want to document and use the LENS method: look, explore, narrate, and summarize…I tell people to look for overlaps and juxtapositions.. to tell a story. Use the camera as a reflexive tool.” In other words, Wolfe is saying that photography allows you to display your view of anything, whether it is of the city or something that simply peaks your interest. He says that juxtapositions are good for storytelling. There is plenty of history behind the juxtaposition, and how it even became one in the first place.

Everyone sees things from a different perspective. If your favorite store was replaced with a restaurant, you will only remember it as the store. However, someone else may see it as simply a restaurant. Juxtapositions always have some sort of story behind it, and each and every person will have a different story to tell of it.

 

Works Cited:

Dean, Allison Lirish. “Albee Square: When the Mall’s No Longer Home.” Gotham Gazette, 20 July 2007, https://www.gothamgazette.com/index.php/development/3612-albee-square-when-the-malls-no-longer-home.

“Dime Savings Bank of New York.” Downtown Brooklyn, 10 Oct. 2018, http://downtownbrooklyn.com/listings/dime-savings-bank-of-new-york.

Sisson, Patrick. “How better photos can help you document, and shape, your neighborhood.” Curbed March 14, 2017. Web.

“The True Story behind the City Point Development.” Good Jobs First, www.goodjobsfirst.org/blog/true-story-behind-city-point-development.

Whitehead, Colson. “The Way We Live Now: 11-11-01; Lost and Found.” The New York Times, November 11, 2001. Web.

Project #3 completed

Lots of things have a history behind them, whether it’s as small as a rock or as big as a skyscraper, they all have history. Even though the people there have changed, the buildings still stand tall, having lots of history to back them up. The roads were built back in who knows what time, the stores were built awhile ago too. Sometimes buildings get torn down and replaced with new ones but in this juxtaposition, this building still stands to this day.

To get to my juxtaposition form city tech, you would walk down adams street towards johnson st. When reaching johnson st, make a left and go to jay street. Then make a right and you”ll find this old looking building. In this picture, there is a blue building in the background. When you walk around jay street and be able to find that building. In the front of that building is an entrance to the jay street train station. Next to the train station is a poster that says brand new rentals, so this shows that the building is still kind of new and hasn’t really been used for anything yet. What goes on in the upper parts of that building I’m not sure of. There are many stores around this place, these stores have been around for maybe a few years. There are clothing stores, grocery stores and phone service stores and more. Beside the brown building is a plain gray grid patterned building. I’m not sure what that building is about. The brown building has a detailed arc at the bottom where the door is. There is a small window in the higher part of the brown building. In the gray building next to the brown one is an arts and crafts store. The brown building in my juxtaposition has a long history behind it. Before, it was called the Brooklyn Fire Headquarters and it was first built in the 1890s, designed by Frank Freeman. It was first used as a firefighter headquarters, where fire trucks were kept there. It stayed that way until the 1970s. After the fire headquarters shut down, Brooklyn Polytechnic used the building for classrooms for a little while, but then it remained empty for years. In 1987 the city got together to turn the building into an affordable housing unit. It was good for awile, until the inside of the building started to show its age. It started to have serious roof issues. A massive renovation was planned to have this building repaired but it didn’t go through until 2013. The building had a reopening and ribbon cutting ceremony in 2015.

In the background of that building is a new looking taller blue building. There’s probably not much history behind that building  yet because it looks like it was just built. In the article “The way we live now;11-11-01; Lost and Found” by Colson Whitehead, it says “we see ourselves in this city every day when we walk down the sidewalk and catch our reflections in the store windows, seek ourselves in this city each time we reminisce about what was there 5, 10, 40 years ago, because all our old places are proof that we were here”. This relates to my juxtaposition because the old building was once a fire headquarters that was built in the 1890s. The people that worked there might have looked back at this building to remember their past experiences.

This city has so much history behind it. The Headquarters was changed so much over the years but it still looks the same. It probably feels different, but it still has that old look to it.

Project #3 Completed

 

The use of technology has been part of our everyday life. Have you ever not carry your smartphone for at least a day? Can we as humans even do that?  Things started to change over time as technology becomes more and more advanced throughout our lifespan. People nowadays can just communicate through the use of electronics such as the following: Smartphones, laptops, tablets, iPods, smartwatches, etc. One of the advanced technology throughout the world would be the use of cameras. Cameras had changed over the years. Back in the day when people want to take pictures, they will have to buy a camera and additional films. In addition to buying a camera and a film, people will have to develop the film in the darkroom where there is no light source. When developing the film it might take a while. The photos will turn out black and white since the technology was not advanced. However, if by any chance the film is exposed to any white lights the image will turn out white. Last but not least, nowadays in this generation with our smartphones, cameras, tablets…etc, we can take pictures pretty much everywhere at any time.

My juxtaposition is comparing and contrasting 2 buildings. I want to claim the two different materials it’s being made out of. The building on the left looks a little bit old meanwhile the building on the right looks newer. The contrast between these two buildings is different. The building on the left has more colors and the windows are more geometric but old. On the other hand, the building on the right has a solid grey color. The windows are made out of glass and the building is a lot taller than the building on the left. Also, the materials were made differently. As you can see the building on the left is made out of brick and the building on the right is made out of a different wall.

The building on the left is called Joseph J Jacobs Building. The building on the right is New York University Tandon School of Engineering. To reach this area from City Tech, walk up to Jay St. It is extremely near the Jay St MetroTech station/Starbucks. This location is also across the Kings County Family Court.

Joseph J Jacobs Building also was known as Jacobs Engineering Group was founded by Joseph J Jacob in the year 1847. As of 2004, the company “$4.6 billion in revenue last year and has more than 35,000 employees worldwide”. (Press 2004) Moving forward to New York University Tandon School of Engineering. This building, in particular, used to be another building, NYU purchased the building as of 2014. It was not very long ago. The building was originally called Brooklyn Collegiate and Polytechnic Institute which is made in 1854, founded by a group of businessmen.

Population not only increased a lot, but the cost of living also increased as more advanced houses, studios, apartments, etc has been built drastically. “And as the population swelled and the real estate prices soared and crime waned, the affluent pushed deeper into neighborhoods they one stunned.” (Scott 2003). As an example, paying rent has increased over time. Rent used to cost around $4.00 per month compared to now rents can cost between $500-4,000 per month depending on the location and how big the house is. “In an era where we’re taking more photos of our cities than ever, populating ever more social media feeds, Chuck Wolfe believes we can use them for a greater purpose” (Sisson 2017). In our quotidian life, there is much more to see other than new places being built. Day to day in New York construction workers is constructing new things such as buildings, stores, roads and many more. Mostly every day we can see those buildings often. Taking pictures of the things we see every day can be documentation since you can never predict what will happen to the place you took pictures of. Things can drastically change as the years go pass by.

As new buildings, apartments, houses starts improving each year providing surprises to humans, increasing the cost of how a normal human being can live in a month. Some places outside of New York are a lot cheaper and why do we choose to live in New York knowing it’s an expensive city to live in? “I’m here because I was born here and thus ruined for anywhere else, but I don’t know about you” (Whitehead 2001). The author Colson Whitehead made a really good point. If you’re born here or lived in New York City chances are you’re stuck living here since New York City is one of the cities which provides the necessity of things people need in your everyday life. Colson Whitehead then said, “Maybe you’re from here, too, and sooner or later it will come out that we used to live a block away from each other and didn’t even know it”. Wendell Willkie once said, “There are no distant places any longer: the world is small and the world is one“. This quote is a perfect exam as to what Colson Whitehead said. Living in New York City is super convenient. The city is small, people can take transportations or even walk to the place they need to go to. “Go to your old haunts un your neighborhoods and what do you find: they remain and have disappeared. The greasy spoon, the deli, the dry cleaner scouted out when you first arrived and tried to make those new streets yours: they are gone. But look past the windows of the travel agency that replaced your pizza parlor” (Whithead 2001). This is a perfect example of comparing and contrasting how Brooklyn Collegiate and Polytechnic Institute turn into New York University Tandon School of Engineering as years pass by.  

Bibliography: 

Press, The Associated. “Joseph J. Jacobs, 88, Engineering and Construction Executive, Dies.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 30 Oct. 2004, www.nytimes.com/2004/10/30/obituaries/joseph-j-jacobs-88-engineering-and-construction-executive-dies.html.

Sanz, Cynthia. “BROOKLYN'S POLYTECH, A STORYBOOK SUCCESS.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 5 Jan. 1986, www.nytimes.com/1986/01/05/education/brooklyn-s-polytech-a-storybook-success.html.

Scott, Janny. “Here, Poverty And Privilege Are Neighbors; Income Gaps Are a Source Of Resentment and Guilt.” New York Times March 3, 2003. Web.

Sisson, Patrick. “How better photos can help you document, and shape, your neighborhood.” Curbed March 14, 2017. Web.
Whitehead, Colson. “The Way We Live Now: 11-11-01; Lost and Found.” The New York Times, November 11, 2001. Web.

Juxtaposition essay

Pier 5

There is always the hustle and bustle of the city. People everywhere have someplace to be and somewhere to go. But in this fast pace city, inside there are places that have a total different feel a different environment, a slower pace if you will. These places are important just as important as the big building you see in the city. There are not many of these places compared to the busy side of things, but no less we have to pay mind to the places with a slower, calmer environment.

The picture I took was of Pier 5 in Brooklyn. You can get there from CityTech by walking south on Jay street until you hit Johnson street then turn right. Walk to court street and keep walking straight on Joralemon street and you will get to Pier 5 in about 15- 20 minutes. The reason for me picking this picture to show the juxtaposition of the different environments, the fast pace and slow pace. The pier 5 is very relaxing and calming, also people come to just sit a talk. Nobody is rushing to go somewhere, everyone is just enjoying their time in this environment. While next to this pier is building that get bigger the more you walk farther away from the pier. It gets more crowded, more louder, more pieces moving at the same time. Also just a cross the water is Manhattan and their big,tall, looming buildings.So it’s also as if there is this bustling city life on both sides of the pier and this pier is a beautiful sanctuary in between the craziness. As for me personally when Im walking to the pier, passing these big buildings and crowds of people, I feel congested and a sense of,I need space. But when I get the pier I feel relief, also like I can breathe again, a sense of calm and no worries.

So why places such as the piers, parks, or just any place in the city where life is slower and quieter. Why are these places important in the city where, the city is know for being all about keep moving and noise as well as fast. They are important because it makes people happier, its a stress free environment. People that live in the city,visiting the city, or temporary people in the city that experience the fast, loud, crowded life need an escape from that so the answer is a new opposite environment. I find being in the crowded city very and sometimes extremely stressful, “so yes, people are blissful in Central Park, and bummed the hell out at Penn Station” according to “The Happiest and Saddest Places in New York City, According to Twitter.”I agree with this article because imagine if quiet places like piers or parks in the city did not existence, then a high amount of people would be in crowded places most of the time and have no places to escape that stress. More stressful people in a crowded environment together leads to a lot of unhappiness and more people not wanting to stay. Also stated in this article, ” There seems to be no better argument for city planners not to skimp on the urban green spaces than this. People love parks!” More stress free environments in the city. I know to myself that I love staying in a environment that helps me feel happy and if living an more crowded place gives people less happiness. Then places with parks and piers  will provide happiness, isn’t important? These places are important, when it comes down to it. I know when i come out of CityTech, I’m glad I have places to go like the piers or the park for that matter. In my experience of the city, these places have helped me a lot, if i ever had a hard day, a stressful day, or even a sad day. I know that these places help me get away for stress and open my mind to be calm and forget about the troubles of life, I know these places helped other people too. Life in the city is a stressful place, a place away from that helps reduce that stress.

In places in the city, I have seen people on rooftops having small gardens. People that live in apartments, standing out on their balcony just looking out. People living in their houses just sitting on their steps looking up at the sky, looking at the people walking by. These people are doing the same actions as people in the parks and at the piers the only difference I have noticed is that more people are smiling in parks or piers then people that are at their homes and apartments. The atmosphere in these environments of stress free places, you have happy people talking to happy people. It feels more whole, almost like one big family. while in the city where the bustling is going on, it feels dull just people disconnected in a different sense.

 

Merchant, Brian. “The Happiest and Saddest Places in New York City, According to Twitter.” Motherboard, August 20, 2013. Web.

 

 

 

 

 

Complete Project #3

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My juxtaposition location was about a 5 min walk from City Tech. It was on Jay street and Myrtle. I am Juxtaposing the trees being reflected on light and the buildings in the background. There is a sense of repetition within the trees and the post lamps. I chose this location because it brought up the idea of having patches of nature throughout Nyc. It’s as if it’s forgotten or more like ignored. New Yorkers have adapted to a new way of living and they tend to ignore New York’s details.

One of the biggest distraction nowadays to us is technology, our cellphones have changed the way we view certain things. When was the last time we actually payed attention to the leaves falling off trees or observing all the bushes full of green. This juxtaposition sets a great example trees vs buildings. Buildings representing modern life and trees representing the past but the present.

There was several reading read In class but the one that stuck out to me the most was “What if you could choose between the faster route and the most beautiful” just by reading the title it makes the reader think and it makes me realize that were too busy trying to get to certain places we totally forget about our surroundings, we tend to not have time to observe. We worry that we’re going to get to work late or class. On the image the trees seem to be lightened up and for me it was like a wake up call “look at me”. The time of day affects the picture and its whole point, if I had taken the picture in the morning you would have ignored the trees and focused on the enormous building on the background, but since it was night time the spotlight was all on the trees especially with the lights hitting directly at them. At this point you can barley see the buildings, you can see them but they’re  not that important they don’t stand out as much anymore.

On the second article “The way we live 11-11-01 lost and found” on  the third paragraph the author states “the only skyscrapers visible from your carriage were the legs of adults, but you got to know the ground pretty well and started to wonder why some sidewalks sparkled at certain angles” at a very age we started observing our surroundings and not only that but we started understanding what was what and comparing certain objects or colors and as we grew up it’s like we forgot all about what’s within Nyc and focused on what we have to get done everyday. nature is all over New York but do we actually take the time to walk around and see New Yorks natural beauty? The location of the picture is surrounded by buildings, food spots and office buildings.  Metro tech Commons. is the name of the location where I took the picture of the juxtaposition I found. If you see the map on satellite there is barley and patches of nature near that part of Brooklyn.

 

Project #3 Completed

 

Times Article
Dumbo and industry

“If you go through life and you don’t find the beauty in an unexpected place, then you really have a sad existence.”– Octavia Spencer. This amazing quote by Octavia Spencer gives great meaning to how we view our great city. The majority of the world is lost in technology and other problems in their life. We as humans and people of conscious minds should take time in our day to just look around and enjoy the beauty our great city has to offer. The beauty that I got to see and get more into depth is Dumbo Brooklyn. The google definition of what is Dumbo Brooklyn takes away the beauty surrounding it with its waterfront and many grassy areas. Dumbo is known for its trendy restaurants and boutiques but as for its art galleries which as a COMD student standout to me.  Once I visit Dumbo my family and saw two different art expos where one was national geographic. Dumbo really gave me something to remember as I went home. I traveled to many countries but there nothing like New York like in a Times article; “There are eight million naked cities in this naked city — they dispute and disagree”. This quote by Colson Whitehead really is true compared to other places like countries in South America that I’ve visited. When visiting other places you will never truly experience something like a place where you’re from which is my New York. Every day I see something new in our city because of its always changing motion which separates us from other places around the world. 

On my 15 minute walk, I decided that I’d travel to Dumbo because it stuck with me the number of times I visited. This experience was asked by my professor to see juxtapositions in the area I chose. A juxtaposition instance of two elements close together or side by side that is often done to compare or contrast the two. When on the walk to our decided area we were asked to take a picture of the area that showed the juxtaposition. The picture I chose is one where the old tobacco factory and the railroad came together on the cobblestone path. The building was an old factory and gives contrast with the modern building in the area. Why should I even talk about the history of Dumbo there no real need? I am fascinated by any type of history and with this project, I wanted to learn more about what makes Dumbo so important.  In this juxtaposition, I want to tell how history is still part of dumbo and these two elements in the picture relate to one another. Our beautiful city of New York originates from the colonists of the Dutch Republic in 1624 in Lower Manhattan. The history of dumbo originated from a man named Robert Gair who originally discovered this location that was just north of the new Brooklyn Bridge in 1880. The neighborhood in the 1880s was seen as an area where the rise of factories, docks, and warehouses. Dumbo was not the original name it went there many name changes like Rapailie, Olympia, Gairville, or Walentasville. The District Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass In Brooklyn “DUMBO” was known by a local artist who wanted to separate alienated developers of Dumbo. These artists wanted to be left alone and separate from others become there were alienated because of a lack of language and tradition.

Edward Hopper
House by the Railroad
1925

The 1970s, where Dumbo only costs less than six dollars, even tho many still invest considering that is was worthless and had no real value. The burdened of own land in Dumbo is costly and the building like condominiums are always sold in high profits and value. In the picture of Dumbo, you can see a railroad and I was curious about how it got there and its significance. This railroad was named the Jay Street Connecting Railroad and the railroad was connecting many terminals that served DUMBOs factories and industry. This really allowed DUMBO to be allowed to its industry and expand parts of New York. What amazing is the railroad served only dumbo and many companies were there to make shipments become of its fast movement. The Jay Street Connecting Railroad had, unfortunately, stop the factories in 1958becayse of the rise of vehicle transportation. All of these detail what makes the picture of DUMBO so unique. As I study more of art history in college I’m able to see the artists that find inspiration in the art such as railroads. A famous art that is in MOMA Edward Hopper, House by the Railroad, 1925. This is a real piece of art where Hopper in a late-afternoon paints his Victorian-style home with a railroad coming across its porch. The tracks are like a barrier that blocks the entrance to the house. This particular piece of railroad takes away from the landscape and isolates it from any place. The juxtaposition is the house and the tracks because the house is a traditional type of artistry and the railroad modernization. Hoppers other works had the main subject of lighting and subjects, but this painting has more representation. Many artists had meaning behind the reason why they paint certain elements to there paintings. As an artist myself I’ve learned that you should always give some type of meaning or symbolism because it could be used to help others understand. When I talk about meaning like DUMBOs history is its foundation of why it’s important and what makes it trendy and different.

“Dumbo History.” Dumbo NYC, http://dumbonyc.com/dumbo-history/.

Hopper, Edward. “Edward Hopper. House by the Railroad. 1925: MoMA.” The Museum of Modern Art, https://www.moma.org/collection/works/78330.

Pogrebin, Robin. “The Lords of Dumbo Make Room for the Arts, at Least for the Moment.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 6 Mar. 2008, https://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/06/arts/design/06dumb.html.

Whitehead, Colson. “The Way We Live Now: 11-11-01; Lost and Found.” The New York Times, November 11, 2001. Web.

Project 3 completed

To arrive here ,it’s a 5 minute walk. First you would want to come out of City Tech through the Tillary st. entrance. After that, take a right and walk down the block. Take a left and cross the street towards Jay st., when you pass by McLaughlin park , you will make it to City Tech’s midway building and look across the street and there it is. 

  This is a good example of juxtaposition because it shows two very different pieces of architecture which is the church , looking like it’s mostly made out of brick while we have the the tall modern building which has many windows.

   Walking towards my juxtaposition was quick and it wasn’t as much of an interesting walk, another thing is that I didn’t get to view it in a different position within the area which could’ve given a different type of sense or information. However I checked out a different route on google maps and I went through a preview and the route was interesting, first off you would walk near Brooklyn bridge which would be Adam’s st and then make a right heading to sands st. When you do , the Manhattan bridge comes into sight after that you keep walking until jay st came and the tall building was near the manhattan bridge and more farther down was the church. The article that supports this is “what if you could choose between the fastest route and the most beautiful?” And states 

 “Your commute to work and your walk to the shop don’t have to be so myopic and destination-driven. If you give yourself 10 extra minutes for a small detour on your journey, it can transform your experience of the city into something altogether more enjoyable.” This explains that longer routes can make you view something in a bigger light and affect the way you view the destination your going to,just how the different route was shown in googlemaps. Another article that supports this is “The way we live now:11-11-01;Lost and Found” by Colson Whitehead,  and the author stated “you start building your private New York the first time you lay eyes on it.” This explains how you can view my juxtaposition which is this old brick religious building with the large windows and statues in front , meanwhile we have this largely built modernized building which seems almost transparent by the amount of glass it has which are the windows and both give you that different feel of time periods and the reason they were built, so you as the viewer can make an observation and create your own views and ideas on the city.

Complete Project #3


Day by day, New York seems to get more and more modernized. There is always new buildings and roads being constructed (or reconstructed) and there just seems to be more of an absence of parks, quiet spaces, or just somewhere away from the crowded/busy city streets, where people can take a break from a long day. However, for the few places that we have left in the city, we should at least appreciate and use them while we can because we don’t know how long they will be here for. And one place in particular around city tech that I recommend is Walt Whitman park.

To get to the park City Tech you can walk about 2 blocks (from the Tillary entrance) to get there or instead if you take the A/C train to get to city tech instead of getting off at Jay street you can stay on for 1 more stop and get off at High Street. And the park will be on your right hand side as you exit the station from the first exit. The reason why I chose this location as my juxtaposition is because it is a place that is normally very peaceful and quite. Yet, it is located right next to the busy and crowded streets of downtown Brooklyn which is also near the Brooklyn bridge. Typically speaking you would expect such a quiet place to be near such a busy area because it would kind of contradict the point of it being a “quiet space.” But sometimes small places like this help make the experience of the city one to enjoy as buildings and cars and roads may just seem to boring to be surrounded by every day.

With this juxtaposition you can see how there is more than what meets the eye. And by that I mean almost everyday we see the exact same things all the time. Rarely do we ever see something different or out of the ordinary. Reason being we go about our days following the same daily routine , going to the same places in the same chronological order and repeating the cycle the next day and so forth. But we never take the time to explore and open our eyes to new sights that might actually be closer than we think or hidden in plain sight and we just don’t know because we don’t allow ourselves too. In “The  Way We Live Now: 11-11-01; Lost and Found” by Colson Whitehead he states how as New Yorkers “you start building your own New York the first time you lay eyes on it.” As he elaborated on in more detail in the text we can infer that we all have a different perception on New York based on what we do or how we navigate it. We are all confined by what we do daily and when there isn’t any change in the cycle nothing new becomes presented and that hinders the experience. Another point that he says is “ Never listen to what people tell you about old New York, because if you didn’t witness it, it is not apart of your New York and month as well be Jersey.” Simply meaning if there’s things you learn about NY that you haven’t experienced then it isn’t really of value in your NY lifestyle. And not only that but our perception of the city is limited by what we allow ourselves to see/ what we experience. Going back to Walt Whitman park you wouldn’t know such a place is there because we don’t take the time out of our routines to really take in our surroundings. The location of the park is also a great contrast from being next to city tech because being a college student sometimes your days can become very stressful with work loads and just a list of things you need to do. And sometimes we all just need a break to rest from all of that in our free time and just to be away from the college atmosphere/ campus. Which is why the fact that we have the park right next to such a busy area is a great thing. For the fact that it provides that break or that different thing people need in there days to make things less stressful or just to get away from the norm( reality).

The text “What if You Could Choose Between the Fastest Route and the Most Beautiful” by Lex Berko also brings up a really great point. It states “ Small interventions in your everyday routine can generate a more comprehensive urban experience… If you give yourself an extra 10 minutes for a small detour on your journey, it can transform your experience of the city into something altogether more enjoyable.” This is another reason why the juxtaposition I chose is a really great example of why we should appreciate the things around us. The fact that places like Walt Whitman park exists around the city can open us to maybe new hangout/ chill spots after a long day of work or a stressful day of classes. The city is a beautiful place from what we see normally, but we never really ask ourselves “ What if we took that path home or to school that always seem interesting” or “what if I went an extra stop, or walked an extra block or to or took the longer route to somewhere?” Questions like these can really make for a wonderful experience or a great way to get a break from the daily life we live and give a sort of refresher to the normal things we are exposed to.

 

1) Whitehead, Colson. “The Way We Live Now: 11-11-01; Lost and Found.” The New York Times, November 11, 2001. Web.

2) Berko, Lex. “What If You Could Choose Between the Fastest Route and the Most Beautiful?” CityLab. July 17, 2014. Web.