New York Stories

50 Moganshan art district (Shanghai):

Shanghai Urban Planning Museum:

Shanghai art museum:

798 Art District (Beijing):

We will meet on Wednesday, March 30, in a different room so that I can work with students on their multimedia “One in 8 Million” features. We will meet in Room 7-165, which is a Journalism Department Mac lab. We will meet at the usual class time. I can stay late for those who want to stay.

I’ve always been amazed but perplexed by abstract expressionism. I think that is what is so intriguing about this style, the images are not concrete or tangible, but there is always something new to discover. After looking at some of the artist Dorothy Miller helped gain notoriety, I wanted to share some of my favorites.

This is a “Marilyn Monroe” by Willem De Kooning

Joan Miro’s Circus Horse

Robert Motherwell –  Poncho Villa, Dead and Alive

Jackson Pollock, I couldn’t find the title to this one.

Jackson Pollock’s work reminds me a bit of Wassily Kandinsky, what do you guys think?

This 2003 article from New York Magazine offers a exceptional portrait of Dorothy Miller, definitely one in 8 million.  In a world dominated by men, she was the first curator at MoMA and is responsible for introducing the world to artists such as Frank Stella, Franz Kline and Mark Rothko.  Without her, her friends Walker Evans, Jackson Pollock, Robert Motherwell, Joan Miro, Arshile Gorky and Willem de Kooning might not have become giants of Abstract Expressionism.  On Monday, March 28, we’ll meet at the FEIT seminar room and then visit The James Gallery’s exhibition “The Making of Americans” and see what’s so special about Abstract Expressionism, New York and Mama MoMA, Ms. Dorothy Miller.

When we think of skyscrapers, we usually think of gravity-defying, beautiful, high-rise buildings that are usually occupied by offices of wealthy companies. However, I wanted to look at a different end of the spectrum: the nyc housing projects, which are usually associated with the opposite, accommodating low income families. Most of the housing developments were built from 1946-65 in a “tower-in-the park” modernist style. The developments grew, mostly due to Robert Moses (ones of nyc’s greatest urban planner and builder), in his plan to clear old tenements and modernize nyc (wikipedia).

I thought it would be interesting to compare the two extremes. The saying: “the sky is the limit” supports the new york narrative. Dreams, careers and even physical buildings can reach unimaginable heights but at the same time, NYC is home to thousands of families facing financial problems and joblessness. This is the reality and irony of NYC. These housing developments cater to those in need, and we still refer to them as “the projects.”  This is to say, not all buildings are symbolic of success and prosperity, although the nyc skyline- of skyscrapers, does.

For those of you who were at today’s tour but had to leave, I am happy to report that F. was safely rescued from the elevator. The tour of the Met Life tower turned out to be more eventful that I had imagined.

Hi everyone,

As said in class several times, Mayor Koch will be at Baruch this Wednesday, March 16. Please arrive at 6:30pm in VC 14-220. Mayor Koch will be speaking and there will be a Q&A session followed by a reception with some food after that. You will get to mingle and speak to Mayor Koch.

Hope to see you there!

Harman writer-in-residence Adrian Nicole LeBlanc is giving a reading on March 22 at 5:45pm. Here is all the information about her and the event.

Hines photographs of Empire State Building construction:

http://digitalgallery.nypl.org/nypldigital/dgkeysearchresult.cfm?parent_id=131032

Building of Empire State building

http://ci.columbia.edu/0240s/index.html

King Kong

Skyline controversy

http://www.dnainfo.com/20100823/midtown/city-council-mull-new-skyscraper-near-empire-state-building

As I mentioned in class, Ben and I took a class together few semesters back with professor John Maciuika.

One of the best resource for the class was the PBS series simply entitled New York. The videos cover the story of our beloved city form its establisment till today.

More here: http://www.pbs.org/wnet/newyork/series/index.html