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When I first heard about “Baruch Voices,” I became very excited. It was something I thought would be a lot of fun. To write a monologue, be chosen to do a storytelling workshop with professional improv theatre representatives, and then get to perform my own work on stage—how many times does a chance like that come around? So as soon as the monologue assignment was given in Freshmen Seminar, I began trying to figure out what I wanted to write about.

The theme in most of our classes this year has been identity, and our new journey of starting college. So I allowed that to become my inspiration. While brainstorming ideas, one of the topics that kept coming up was transformation, and as I felt as if I had gone through a pretty impactful one over the last year, I took on that topic as well. With this theme and topic in mind writing became very easy, though the one problem I had was I would write a sentence, then come up with multiple other ways to rephrase it. At first, it was going to sound like a motivational speech. Then the tone changed to more conversational. As I kept trying out different styles to see how each one sounded, I began to write in “fairytale terms” and, as Goldilocks would say, this style was just right.

I have always loved stories, especially fantasy and fairytales. However, though most of my favorites come out of the Disney vault, I’ve always felt as if the “happily ever after” was too much. While there is this excitement and fantastical element to it, the underlying subject of my monologue is self-discovery from transformative events. So I knew if I was going to go down this road, I would have to start after “the ever after” and just talk about the journey as a past event. Then I began, starting with one of the most iconic lines from a fairytale, “Mirror Mirror on the wall.” Writing the rest of my journey with these terms was surprisingly simple. As we have discussed in class, the old legends and tales all have similar plot structures and archetypal characters. Continue reading Christina Russo’s Thoughts on “Baruch Voices”

“The Parakeet and the Mermaid” (1952). (Image courtesy of the Museum of Modern Art, New York City.)

In thinking about the resolution of seemingly contrasting ideas, consider this “cut-out” (which I hope you will see at the MoMA exhibition). What does Matisse suggest by putting a mermaid and a parakeet in the same work of art?

 

Henri Matisse’s “The Fall of Icarus” (1943). (Courtesy of the Museum of Modern Art.)

Yesterday, I attended a press viewing at the Museum of Modern Art for an upcoming exhibit called “Henri Matisse: The Cut-Outs.” The “cut-outs” are an art form which Matisse (1869-1954) created by painting gouache (similar to watercolors) on white paper, and then, with the use of a pair of scissors, cutting the paper into whimsical shapes. While the “cut-outs” have long been among my favorite works of art, when I again stood before “The Fall of Icarus” (1943), I was reminded of the subject of our class, the search for identity, and our upcoming consideration of male heroism.

If you do not know Icarus’s story from Greek myth, you might want to read it (“Bullfinch’s Mythology” is a good start), as it has all the elements of great storytelling—a romance, a betrayal and the hero’s death and rebirth. Very briefly, it is about the young man and his father, the inventor Daedalus. They escaped the Labyrinth, having been placed there by King Minos of Crete for aiding the hero Theseus. Daedalus made wings composed of wax and feathers for himself and Icarus, and warned his son not to get too close to the sun. If he did, the wax would melt. While at first Icarus heeded his father’s warning, he soon became so entranced with his ability to fly that he forgot how vulnerable he was. His wings melted and he fell into the sea. Continue reading The Male Quest and Matisse’s “The Fall of Icarus”

Thank you all for coming today to our “extra hour” of study. I enjoyed the lively discussion and all of your wonderful ideas about Angela Carter’s “The Bloody Chamber.” “The Close Reading” is a work in progress, so please check back this weekend. In the meantime, see the next post for changes to our “class plan.”