While visiting the art gallery at Baruch, I learned about the works of Marcel Sternberger during the 20th century. During his career, his notable technique included his style of taking pictures. He used a smaller and portable 35mm camera which allowed him to be able to move freely and take pictures through different angles. In this exhibit, there were many well known people that Sternberger photographed, including Albert Einstein, George Bernard Shaw, President Roosevelt among others. I noticed that the personalities among Sternberger’s photographs varied and the woman giving the tour explained how Sternberger would take the pictures while having a conversation with the people. The most interesting person he photographed to me was George Bernard Shaw. Shaw declined having interviews at first but eventually agreed after being convinced. He had even told Sternberger that his photos would not impress him and he is not even interested in seeing any of it. However, he ended up requesting fifty copies of the same photograph without providing payment. He eventually sent very small checks explaining that his autographs were worth more than each check, and so selling the checks would gain Sternberger more money than the photographs. While taking pictures of Albert Einstein, Sternberg wanted to have the suspenders off since it made him look less professional, but ended up letting Einstein keep it on to show a compassionate side. I liked Sternberger’s technique of taking photos since it was not just to take them, but also to show a more personal aspect of his interviewees. It gave me a new perspective on how photographers take pictures because I did not realize there was more to it than just clicking a button. It is always fascinating to me to learn about new people and information, and this trip allowed me to learn about not just Sternberger, but also a little bit on the people he interviewed.
UNICEF, the United Nations Children’s Fund, is an organization that helps defend the rights of children. Its headquarters is located right here in New York City and it works in 190 countries around the world. I attended Baruch’s UNICEF club this past Thursday to learn more about what the organization does and how students at Baruch can be involved as well. There were two main committees: fundraising and raising awareness, and marketing and communications. The heads of the club showed us pictures from the past years of students being involved in different events for fundraising. It was nice to see leadership playing a key role in these events and seeing how genuinely happy people were to help. I plan on staying with the club throughout the semester and future years because I have done community service in high school as well and enjoyed coming together with other people to help an important cause. I’m especially looking forward to the Halloween fundraiser, which is known to be a hit in Baruch according to the heads of the club. Trick-or-treat boxes will be handed out to those in the club to raise money for the organization prior to the main event.