Author Archives: RITHA BURGOS

One painting that caught my attention instantly in the gallery was Henri Rousseau’ oil painting called The Dream. This painting was done by French artist Henri Rousseau in 1910. Rousseau was born in 1844 in Laval, France were he grew up and lived a decent life style of attending school by day and being a boarder at night. Rousseau’ work was not noticed with extreme attention at the beginning, however, when he gained attention it became an inspiration to many people on how his art form came from so little experience and knowledge.  Henri Rousseau is known for being a self-taught artist, whom did not care about the critiques on how imperfect his drawings were. The image above is an example of how at a first glance it is noticeable that his drawing have odd shapes. The reason for this, is the lines and curvature that do not follow a pattern or a single way. Rather, every line such as the woman’s head, or the lion’s head is not perfect at all. Instead, it has an unusual shape which makes this painting very interesting.

Aside from how imperfect this drawing is, the way to interpret it is that anything done with passion will reflect the type of artist you are. I believe Rousseau did an excellent job with this because he did not let anyone critiques offend him, and instead used that and valued it a lot to keep on working on how to be himself through his art pieces. This specific piece is considered surrealist because of how dramatic the images come out to be and the scenery that this is taking place in. The location of this image is in a forest, which depicts a lady laying between leaves surrounded by wildlife. Adding this type of expression category makes it include a platform of imagination, which is what made this artwork very intriguing during this time period. Additionally, several questions that have been rising while analyzing the different paintings in this category of surrealism is how Rousseau was the only one that stood by his technique and did not persuade others to follow free-handedly just as he did. Some people would suppose that because his paintings were getting a lot of recognition, people would want to start developing this skill. However, I believe that Rousseau did his paintings with a purpose and to leave a message that nothing is perfect in this world and its acceptance that matters the most.

Dating back to the concentration camps during the 1940s, it is clear to see how people were treated under such inhumane conditions. In the short story, “This Way for the Gas, Ladies and Gentlemen” it describes vividly how people imprisoned at Auschwitz camp had to live their day to day lives. Walking around naked with no respect, having insufficient food, and not getting any treatment which would only lead to multiple threats. The story states, “The camp has been sealed off tight. Not a single prisoner, not one solitary louse, can sneak through the gate… Thousands of naked men shuffle up and down the roads.” This portrays the lifestyle that these innocent people had to live under a lot of pressure and with hope that they would not get any further mistreatment whenever soldiers felt the desire. Having the feeling of being insecure is not easy, and more so when it’s a fact that it will always turn into a bad outcome. Furthermore, one of the other difficulties that the imprisoned individuals had to suffer through was the actions against their will and beliefs. The thought of being forced to do things to please other people for no positive outcome is cruel; but this is what was meant to happen at these camps.

In a similar context, the novel that has captured a lot of attention and has been made into a film is “The Boy in the Stripped Pajamas”. The novel which was released in 2006 gave back to the readers a lot of vivid and traumatic experiences that a lot of people in the concentration camps went through. This text with its descriptions of its two primary characters has a lot of connections with Borowski’ short story. In this novel, two young boys with their lives ahead of them had no sense of how negative their reality was aside from being separated by a fence. However, when Bruno who is the boy from Berlin saw the difference of clothing and work that had to be put into daily marked the difference between him and Shmuel who is the Jew living under those harsh conditions in Brunos’ father concentration camp. Being this young at the age of eight, and in this situation marked interest on each of the boy’s eyes. Wondering if there was a possibility to actually meet aside from being separated by the fence. However, nothing could ever be done since there would always be malicious threats and death in the future for Shmuel.

Both stories have the similarity with the problematic system that occurred in concentration camps. I believe that each individual had a story to share for people to take into account how their lifestyle was drastically changed for worse. Each person living in the concentration camp had to deal with brutal experiences not only from their own but from what they could see being done to others. Everything that occurred during this time period was unacceptable and unforgivable. People in the concentration camps had to adjust to this new life forcibly and with much pain; and similarly to what they felt it will never be forgotten.

Hello,

My name is Dayanna Burgos and I am currently in my junior year. I recently transferred to Baruch from St. John’s University, and I cannot be more happier with my decision. My entire life I have lived in Jackson Heights, Queens, and I absolutely love it. I am exposed to so much diversity in this neighborhood so I definitely recommend visiting. My plan for this year is to declare my major in Marketing with a minor in communications. However, aside from school I am also a ballroom dancer, which has been one of my passions ever since I was a child. By being involved in school and dance it makes me aware that I have to work hard to see the results that I want.