Author Archives: jf151257

Ryo Toyonaga’s exhibit, Mindscapes, at the Mishkin Gallery immediately brought to mind works of art produced by Dali in terms of the surrealistic style. All of his works in the exhibit shared a common theme. Each work centered around some sort of industrial contraption excreting pollutants and seemingly clashing with the surrounding environment. Each work appeared depressed and cold as if life itself was fading from each work. Some of the works contained whimsical creatures that looked like organs with human appendages in a style reminiscent of illustrations by Dr. Seuss.
Two works in specific, both untitled, feature surreal depictions of what appear to be a nuclear reactor destroying the environment and a city of skyscrapers doing likewise.
In the piece depicting a nuclear power plant, the cones of four reactors are seen with pipes protruding from all areas. The pipes eject grey smoke while the reactors ooze red lava upon the ground. The ground surrounding the reactors is brown, burnt, and polluted. Trees are void of leaves and the lake in the background is nearly black. The sun appears to be setting on the dying environment.
The piece featuring the city of skyscrapers is not so different either. The terrain surrounding the city is again barren and toxic looking. The city is built upon an ant mound-like structure. As in the previous work, pipes spew smoke while the bases of the building drip a red ooze onto the soil.
Upon further research of the artist I found that Toyonaga themed much of the exhibition around the atomic bomb era and atomic energy. I can agree that the theme behind most of the art in the exhibit gave the feeling of a post-apocalyptic world or one which has experienced a nuclear holocaust in which confusion runs rampant and the deterioration of society has occurred. Another perspective could be of the destructive nature of mankind and the industrialization of Earth.
As with most art exhibits the message the artist wishes to convey usually
isn’t immediately available and requires thought and interpretation by the observer. At first I felt the exhibit was mediocre and imitational of Dali. Upon further thought I changed my mind and realized Toyonaga has quite a unique and interesting style in his exhibition of Mindscapes.

Final Blog Post

As my first semester draws to a close I am grateful for all the friends I have made in the last four months. The most interesting part of Baruch’s student body is the extreme level of diversity. I am still amazed at how different everyone’s background is at Baruch. For once in my life I was the minority which provided me with an entirely new perspective that I was never presented with in my quiet suburban life in Warwick.
When I first arrived at Baruch my perception of college was different. I had been to campuses in Upstate New York and Pennsylvania State University and found them to be overrated and utterly contained environments. I can say that even though there is no real campus here at Baruch, we have the advantage of being right in the middle of one of the most important cities in the world. Our campus is New York City and it is always moving and always changing, thus promoting us to adapt to our surroundings There is so much here in this city that we can benefit from culturally and professionally that so many college students our age don’t have access to.
Like others have said in their posts, now that I have experienced college I am ready to take on the responsibilities that go with it. I hope the rest of my time here is as influential as the first semester has been. I wish the best of luck to all of my classmates in their journey’s at Baruch.

My name is Jake Freijo. I am an identical twin. If I sent my twin in place of me to this class you wouldn’t know the difference. I was born in New York and have lived here all my life. I come from an interesting background. My father is an immigrant from Spain and my mother is a lifelong resident of the state of New York. I have family in California, Arizona, the Carolinas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Spain. This sure makes for one hell of a diverse family reunion.

I get the best of both worlds by going to school in the city and living in the countryside. Everyday I get to compare the immense differences between both worlds. It is as if I am living two entirely different lives. I have my friends and family back in Warwick and my friends down here. The two groups know an entirely different person. This is not out of choice, but the result of how a different environment has drawn out different parts of me that my previous environment hadn’t done.

Getting to Baruch could be a whole book in itself if I decided to write it all down. I am focusing on an MBA in finance and currently becoming certified as a real estate agent through a different school.

I grew up with my father owning a popular restaurant in my home town. Most of my free time was spent there. I was involved in nearly every process of the business from a very young age. I attribute these experiences as the foundation for my sociability and people skills.

Ironically, I try to keep to myself a lot of the time. A lot of people mistake my silence for arrogance but that changes when you get to know me and I start talking. My personality is sort of a niche thing. If I’m not triggered to be talkative and personable, I won’t open my mouth.

Photography is a small hobby of mine. I first started 2 years ago because we would always go on vacation and no one would ever bring a camera. Photos are fascinating to me because I can relive the moment and the significance of the image I took. When you see one of my photos understand that it is one of probably 75 nearly identical shots. I am obsessive about each and every photo. If you were to ask me about the photos that people say are my best I would immediately tell you what is wrong with it. There are maybe one or two that I can assure myself are perfect. I believe I apply the same mentality to a lot of other things in my life. No matter what I do I have this intense feeling that it is never enough or it is flawed.

In a little over a month I can already see a lot of opportunity ahead of me. I feel a lot more accepted in my current atmosphere than I have in a while. I hope to make the most out of my time here and make some lasting friends.