First-Year Seminar 2017 – DMB – Page 5

The Rubin

Just a few days ago, I visited The Rubin Museum of Art in accordance with an assignment I had for my Art History class. It was a treat and definitely different to where I would choose in terms of places to visit. Upon entering, I was greeting with massive glass doors, high ceilings and a vast yet quiet space. The Rubin seemed to be little known in comparison to other museums around the city, or so the minimal visitors suggested. Ascending the stairs to the first floor of their exhibits, I was greeting with the atmospheric tones of a Tibetan singing bowl. I was impressed before I’d even seen the displays.

Up on the second floor, there are several sculptures in glass enclosures depicting a serene Buddha and other deities such as Vajrayogini and Vishnu. Climbing higher, I encountered several interactive displays on ceremonial chants, funerary prayers and mind altering practices utilizing combinations of silence, tones and lights.

Of all the exhibits however, my favorite would have to be the Sacred Spaces shrine room. It was potent with all the ceremonial pieces packed into such a small space. And accompanied by the ever present tonal sounds of a singing bowl, the low light and what seemed to be a patron meditating in solitude, the exhibit took on a weighted feel. I felt if I went any further into the room, I’d have to be prepared to face something heavy within myself. I wasn’t prepared for that just yet, but I do plan on paying another visit before the exhibit closes on October 16th.

The Rubin was definitely not what I expected and I’m glad for that. Otherwise, I would have been bored out of mind. Instead, I genuinely enjoyed myself and gained some knowledge on a culture outside of my own.

S.Belcon

Hillel – Olivia Lesniewski

A few weeks ago I had the chance to visit one of the many cultural clubs in Baruch. I thought about visiting and joining the Polish club but soon realized there was no word of it. My friend Pamela had convinced me to join her for a one time visit to the Hillel club. I approached the door and was immediately greeted by all ‘Welcomes.’ The room gave the vibe of a party. There was Israeli club music being blasted all throughout the room and everyone coming up and introducing themselves to me. It was interesting to hear some of the conversations others had. In the end, the club did not feel like it was restricted. It seemed very open. I thought I would be in for a glance about the religion maybe find out some things I didn’t know before like traditions or prayers. I did get the chance to learn about “Birthright” which is a trip to Israel that some of the members take. It never occurred to me that something like that exists. My friend explained to me that she had gone on a trip like that and was very happy to have met new life long friends. Hillel made me realize that where you come from is important and should be celebrated. Being of Polish descent, I began to have a need to stay connected with people of my background. It’s an important part of preserving ones culture and keeping in touch with people of similar ways of life. Even though I could not find an active Polish club at Baruch I realized the importance of where you come from.

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Alpha Kappa Psi G.I.M

Alpha Kappa Psi is a force to be reckoned with. From their numerous business partnerships to their intelligent members, this fraternity has it all. Two weeks ago I decided to check out the fraternity Alpha Kappa Psi (or AKΨ for short) and it was easily one the best decisions I’ve mad thus far. During the meeting all meeting goers were briefed with an introduction to the frat and a short synopsis of what they were all about. After this short introduction all soon to be applicants were split up and allowed to engage in conversation with either the other participants within the group or our choice of “Brother” from AKΨ. After engaging in multiple surprisingly intelligent conversations with both other meeting goers and “Brothers”, I came to the conclusion that while a very nice club, this club was not for me during this moment in my freshman career at Baruch. This frat requires a high level of commitment and determination from it’s members. While achievable for me it was not in my best interest. With that being said I would still definitely recommend this fraternity to anyone who is interested in a business/partnership related experience during their time at Baruch.

Academic Post

I recently visited the Rubin Museum on 17th street in New York. I originally attended this museum for the sole reason to complete an assignment for my art history class but my visit became much more.

The first purpose of visiting this very specialized and interesting museum was to find Indian art that portrayed the main religions practiced in India. The two main religions are Buddhism, and Hinduism. They both are very similar yet, fairly different. For our assignment we had to identify a Buddha, and write an essay about it, we also had to identify a Hindu deity (god). Fortunately the museum was covered in artifacts, paintings, and representations of these worshiped gods and goddesses so I was able to take a picture and be on my way immediately. I assumed that I would walk in and walk out of the museum, but my friends, and the fact that I had to pay $10 made me stay a little longer; I am so glad I did stay longer.

I explored past the first floor of the museum and found many interesting things that the museum had to offer. I went to each floor closely examining exhibits like the OM room, and the recreation of a shrine room. These exhibits engulfed you in indian culture and made me understand their culture and my assignment much better. I took my time and found many pieces of art that I really enjoyed. Taking the extra step, and further exploring the museum turned out to help me out in the long run, and teach mea valuable lesson.

I learned two important lessons that will help me in my freshman year. I found that I should not always just do the assignment, and turn it in as soon as I think I’m finished. I should think about assignments more, and go the extra mile because it will prove to help me understand the work better, and enjoy what I am doing. I also learned that New York has so much to offer, and I just have to go out there and look for it.

blog post 1

Last week I attended The Rubin Museum of Art downtown. The Rubin Museum is special because it is an art museum that focuses on art forms from India, the Himalayas, and important aspects of Buddhism and Hinduism religion/culture . The exhibition that I spent the most time in was “The Masterworks of Himalayan Art.” This exhibition helped me with my first semester of freshmen year because I have an art history assignment that involves me writing three 1,000 word essays on Himalayan culture and the differences between Buddhist and Hinduism beliefs. These exhibition forced me to learn about the similarities and differences in an interesting, creative, beautiful, and aesthetically pleasing way.

The museum was divided by exhibits. The top floors were dedicated to the sound exhibits while the other floors were divided geographically showing the different traditions of western Tibet, central Tibet, eastern Tibet, and Bhutan in relation to the neighboring areas of India, Kashmir, Nepal, China, and Mongolia.

I decided to focus on one particular Buddha sculpture. I picked this sculpture because it was the most plan depiction of the Buddha that I saw in the entire exhibit. I thought it was odd that it was realistic with out any enhanced features or jewelry or symbols . Even its hands were simple, not performing any gestures. (Adjacent to the wall with the art there was a poster explaining the different symbols gestures and meanings depicted in all of the statues )

Overall I highly recommend this museum and I will defiantly be going again

The Rubin

I recently had the pleasure of attending the Rubin Art Museum on 17th street this past week. Before this visit I was aware of most of the Art museums in the city but this one was new to me. A art history assignment sent me to this institution and I was pleasantly surprised. It turned out to be a fantastic experience.

I went to this museum with my freinds and peers. The walk there was phenomenal, nice weather, little traffic, you can’t pay for this kind of experience. After many blocks walked and countless laughs shared, we arrived at its inconspicuous doorstep. We walked in and dropped 10 dollars on a eye opening experience, a professional atmosphere enveloped us as we were given friendly service and excellent directions from the security guards. For a small institution, it is quite modern and clean inside, with interesting architecture, and state of the art displays. We managed to get the materials needed for the art history assignment. We had also been advised to check out a exhibit about”the art of sound” and it was LIFE CHANGING. We entered a room that played recordings of people saying “ohmm” and the sound enveloped us and we were taken to another realm. Snapchats to our friends yielded questions of “where are you” and “why are you snapping me this?” But little did they know We were in a once in a lifetime experience. I will never forget how interesting and serene this moment was. After this we went to a exhibit with instruments that would play if you stood in front of them. This was a fantastic experience and i would definitely recommend it to anyone who is looking for a cheap, fun and fascinating place to visit. I will definitely attend this great gallery in the near future.

-Carson Vulpis

Latinx Heritage Month – Carolyn Seminario

Blog #1: Student Life

My college experience has been so far great! I love the friendly environment here and the variety of opportunities Baruch has to offer. Besides so many opportunities, there is many extracurricular activities to join that I don’t think I will have enough time to join many clubs besides one or two. Baruch also celebrates many heritages through many fun events. There is always something going on in the 2nd floor lobby which is great because it keeps the students engaged.

On September 7th 2017, I attended the Opening Ceremony for Latinx Heritage Month and it was a great experience. It was very welcoming and exciting. There were many clubs in attendance like the Ecuadorian Club, Undergraduate Student Government, Latin American Student Organization, ASEDOM (Dominican Association), The Ticker and Assoc. of Latino Professionals for America (ALPFA). Also, all of these clubs were giving some type of food. LASO gave out platanos with salami and chicken and ASEDOM gave out Mamitas ice cream, which was pretty cool. WBMB Radio, DJ Spintech, had the crowd dancing to different genres like bachata and dembow. There was so many people dancing. At first I was just there looking at the people have fun, since I am shy, until a dance teammate from high school, Wandaly, pulled me to dance. By dancing with here, we got cute cups as a reward for participating. Later on, the dj played some more bachata and that was were Thanayri and I danced for about 15 minutes straight. This event was a fun experience for me and I hope there are more events like this. This event made me think about joining some of the clubs there.

One of the clubs that I want to join is Latin American Student Organization(LASO). Unfortunately, I was not able to attend the first General Interest Meeting for Latin American Student Organization but I do plan to join this club later on this semester or the beginning of 2nd Semester. I also plan on joining ALPFA because it seems like a great way for me to begin networking and a way to learn more on how to be in a professional setting.

I was so happy to see that the Latino community is represented in such a fun and vibrant way. This event made me feel that I am welcomed at Baruch and made Baruch feel more like a home to me.

Chinese Dissident Art

Being that I am a huge museum fanatic, none of the exhibits I have visited have consisted of such specific and meaningful themes as the artwork displayed in the “I Have No Enemies and No Hatred: Contemporary Chinese Dissident Art” at John Jay college. All the artists shared a common message amongst their artwork which was the idea of oppression faced in China.The artists used their art to convey these messages of social and political corruption in all different ways. Prior to visiting this exhibit I had not been very educated on the issues in China. After visiting the exhibit I began to do more research about the causes and learn so much more.

The work of art that I enjoyed most was Zhang Lei’s “Unlimited”. Zhang Lei aimed to communicate the violence against women. Not only did it symbolize abuse towards women, but as well as women’s lack of say in the culture. Zhang Lei based her work off of her own experiences as well as the situations she had witnessed. In China women were dependent on men entirely. In her artwork she used eyelashes to symbolize delicate women in China and attached meat cleavers at the bottom as the anchor to symbolize men. Coming from a culture that views females as inferior, I was able to relate to this art work. In the Albanian culture women are expected to be submissive housewives. After connecting This image requires alt text, but the alt text is currently blank. Either add alt text or mark the image as decorative. with Lei’s art, I had done more research on the topic of oppression faced by women in China. I learned about many practices such as foot binding that left women literally physically dependent on their husbands. This exhibit caused me to open my eyes and learn more about the ongoing problems around the world.

The Rubin Museum of Art

This past week, I had the chance during my busy class schedule to go to the Rubin Museum with a few friends from Baruch. We went to the Tibetan Buddhist Shrine exhibition. The exhibition displayed a couple of Buddhist and Hindu small sculpture gods made out of beautifully crafted copper. After learning about the Buddhist and Hindu culture in Art History class, we had a better understanding of the artifacts. One of my favorite pieces from the collection was the Hindu god named Ganesha. He’s the remover of obstacles and the god of good fortune. His head is an elephant but his body is human. The legend goes that Shiva, his father, chopped off his head because he didn’t recognize his son guarding his home. Shiva realizing what happened, grabs the head of the first creature he sees, which was an elephant, and replaces his head. In his upper right hand he holds an axe, his lower right hand he holds a broken tusk, and lower left holds a bowl of sweet meat. He is very fond of eating so a cobra is wrapped around his stomach to prevent it from bursting. Visiting the Rubin Museum was for sure one of my highlights in Baruch so far. The quiet and peacefulness of the museum was refreshing after being in a noisy city all day. It was nice to get out of the classroom setting and learn beyond it.

Academic Blog Post-Justin Kushnir

For my Academic blog, I am writing about my experience at the I Have No Enemies and No Hatred: Contemporary Chinese Dissident Art” exhibit at John Jay College. There was a lot of different art pieces there from a number of Chinese Dissident Artist and learning the meaning of a lot of them left me shocked. I never quite realized how oppressed citizens and China are by their government and how little freedom they have. The exhibition/museum was not crowded and it was very easy for me to get around and see everything that I wanted in a good amount of time. I liked the museum because it was not too big and was not a lot to take in. I was able to check out all the paintings in around 45 minutes.
This activity helped me during my first semester because it taught me to be open to new experiences. Before the day I went, I had only been to an art exhibit one other time and I did not like it, in fact I left after about 15 minutes. This time though it was so easy to take in all the paintings and it was quiet and relaxing for me. It showed me that if you don’t try new things you’ll never know whether or not you would enjoy them. A lesson like that can help me when I’m deciding between joining a club or staying out of it. All I have to do is remember that I didn’t always like art museums, but because I tried it more than once I found out that I might actually enjoy and go again to a different art museum. I am happy with my choice to pick a museum as my academic assignment because it opened me to a new way of relaxation and fun.