fizernnd1d-blog

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Late and great artist, Keith Haring, was a man of many skills. His work shined a light on his advocacy for youth in urban neighborhoods, LGBTQ individuals, and those afflicted by AIDs. Haring was an individual who challenged the norms of the art world by seeing everything as a canvas. An artist with an unprecedented and extremely creative ability for choosing his canvas, Haring has created an extensive body of work that unfolds across numerous mediums. His artwork can be found almost anywhere in the city; he is prevalent even in the most surprising places. Visiting some of the places where his art is on display gives one a chance to experience the different sides of him. His work is hosted in vastly contrasting lights, which allows people to view Haring as a dynamic being instead of just an unconventional artist.

The first stop on the list is the public pool on Carmine Street. Alongside the west wall is a mural by Haring that stretches the entire length of the pool. The actual pool is closed to the public until the summer, but to gaze at the work through the fence is no less impressive. The mural is an amalgamation of Haring’s iconic characters. Instead of the usual dancing men though, he created amphibious creatures. Splotches of blue and orange are placed behind each character in a way that highlights their individual actions.

Moving along, the next stop is The New York Historical Society Museum. The museum has the ceiling mural that was taken from Haring’s pop-up shop. The mural, in the quintessential Keith Haring style with large black and white connecting lines, is conveniently located at the front desk so there’s no need to tour the museum to see it. The intriguing part about this piece is the fact that it was once part of something much larger. Having it put into the museum allows the legacy of Haring’s pop-up shop to live on.

The last stop on our little Keith Haring tour is the Cathedral of St. John The Divine on Amsterdam Ave. The building itself is massive from the outside, and truly makes you feel small in stature. Unlike St. Patrick’s Cathedral that’s always full of tourists, this one only attracts a few at a time so the church is usually mostly empty which adds to the eerie atmosphere. The Life of Christ piece made by Haring in 1990 is tucked into one of the small rooms off to the side of the altar.. It is a triptych altarpiece that shimmers in gold and depicts heavenly and earthly figures crowding around an infant in Haring-style figures. Unfortunately, he passed away only weeks after its completion. From the image, it’s almost seems as if Haring knew his time on this Earth would soon be over and wanted to make peace with God in some way.

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Fairy Tale Fashion

The Museum at FIT has collected a myriad of clothing pieces inspired by fairy tales and organized them into an exhibition. Fairy tales have always used fashion to signify a character’s transformation, status, or conceit. Likewise, designers have always used fantasy and fairy tales as inspiration for fashion. The Fairy Tale Fashion Exhibition showcases a collection for different fairy tales, each presenting fantasy themed clothing through the years by various designers. Big name designers such as Marchesa, Alexander McQueen, Tom Ford, Dolce & Gabbana, Prada, Rodarte and many others lent their pieces to the exhibition, making the exhibit even more of a treasure.

The exhibition opened on January 15, free of cost to the general public. Organized by associate curator Colleen Hill, Fairy Tale Fashion features more than 80 objects placed within dramatic, fantasy-like settings designed by architect Kim Ackert. Illustrations of scenes and characters from well-known fairy tales line the wall of the front space of the exhibit, setting the scene for what is to come. Photographs from Kirsty Mitchell’s Wonderland series accompanied the illustrations.

The exhibit is open from January 15- April 16, 2016. With the conclusion of the exhibit, Yale University Press will publish a book, also titled Fairy Tale Fashion. Featuring more than 150 beautiful photographs and illustrations, the book expands upon the fascinating topic of fashion in fairy tales. The publication will include text by Colleen Hill, and essays by Patricia Mears, the deputy director of The Museum at FIT, Ellen Sampson, fashion theorist and footwear designer, and Dr. Kiera Vaclavik, senior lecturer of French and Comparative literature at Queen Mary, University of London.

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For the second part of my design project, I designed a flyer for a meeting in the lounge in which people could come and share their experience with community within our school; good or bad. I wanted it to be an open ended conversation for people to give their thoughts and opinions on our social scene. The outcome of the meeting was pretty good. Ten people attended the whole meeting and a few people came to chat for a few minutes before leaving. It was a little awkward in the beginning because people were not sure of what to say. However, once the conversation started flowing, everyone started to open up. It was a really enjoyable experience.

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For the first part of my design project, I put up posters on each floor of my dorm (seven floors) that asked people about what they think it means to be a part of a community and about their interests/hobbies. The posters on the first and second floors were left blank, but the other floors participated. I was surprised at how many people actually felt that there is a good sense of community here. I think that they were looking at it from the perspective of the dorm versus the whole school, because the people in my dorm seem to be closer than in other dorms. It may be because our dorm is small. The floor that had the most responses was the sixth floor. I’m not sure why but more people answered and they gave long responses. Of course, there were silly responses on some posters that did not pertain to the subject, but that was to be expected.

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Flash Draft Revision

Everyone wants to have a career that they will enjoy, but deciding on what that may be is not always easy to do. We dream about things whether we think they’re possible or not. It’s human nature. “Maybe if I were white. It’s just harder being black, you know?”  Conflicted between her dream and her reality, Calli Ella opens up about her aspiration of a future in modeling.  As we sit across from each other in her dimly lit room, I study her thin features and the evenness of her coffee-colored skin tone; she gives off the aura of someone who gets asked for their picture all of the time. Her dream doesn’t seem so far off considering she has already modeled for companies such as Kimera Lingerie, Meg (a shop in Brooklyn), and Michelle NY. She has also filmed a commercial for Apple’s iPhone 6s.

A career in modeling splits into two different avenues: commercial and runway. “I prefer commercial modeling. Even though runway gets more exposure, commercial pays more because you get paid for each time the commercial plays.” Runway modeling is a whole different ball game. It’s saturated and is much tougher if you don’t fit the set mode. Commercial is a bit more forgiving. One of Calli’s biggest obstacles is her race. Being bi-racial in the modeling industry makes it more difficult to land a job. She’s stuck in the awkward position of either not being “white enough” or “black enough” for the target image. Another obstacle is her height. She is only 5’6, which is considered short for a model because companies tend to go for girls that are 5’9-5’11.

Growing up in Brooklyn, Calli has always been surrounded by art and culture. She moved to the city in hopes of finding better opportunities for her modeling career while attending classes at The New School University. “A career in modeling would be nice, but it’s good to have options.” While she has her sights set on her ideal career, she maintains a grip on her reality. She plans on becoming a curator and owning her own gallery as an alternative to modeling. In fact, she has already curated a few shows in Brooklyn and has gained important contacts as a result. As a former dancer, she is inspired by modern and contemporary dance. She is enamored with how freeing modern dance is, unlike ballet, and would like her art to reflect that. “I just want to make enough to be comfortable. Being rich isn’t necessary, though it would be nice.” She smirks and leans her thin frame back into the railing of the bed. Being in the comfort of her own space brings out a humorous side of her that she doesn’t initially show. Satisfied, I close my notebook and put down my pen. “You sure you don’t have any more questions,” she asks eagerly. “Nope. I think that’s a wrap.”

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Writing a Strong Lead

This article really helped me understand the “don’ts” of writing a strong lead. I know I am a repeat offender of the cheap methods he describes, but after reading this I should be able to write a better lead for my write-through. Even though blind leads are not always a disaster, I do not think it was the right method to use for my profile and I understand why. ê

Writing a lead can help you in figuring out what you want to say for the rest of the paper and clear up your thoughts. It allows you to view your piece in various ways before fully writing it out. However, it is the hardest part to write.

Your lead should not be:

·      Cheap

·      Tacky

·      Flashy

You don’t want to seem as though you’re using cheap methods to overcompensate for lack of confidence in your writing. A blind lead is a lead wherein you withhold the name of the person or subject you are writing about and reveal it after a paragraph or two. This method only works for a certain kind of piece and should not be used for every story. It is a risk. The lead should be about what is to come and should correlate with the actual story.

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Design Bootcamp

My plan is to design a poster to put up on each floor of my building. It will have two sections: a section asking people about what is means to be apart of a community and a second section asking about their interests and hobbies. There will be a small box next to the the poster for people to submit (anonymously) their experience with community at the New School (i.e. an experience where they felt a sense of community at the New School or a moment where they felt most disconnected from a sense of community.) The objective of the poster is to get people thinking about the idea of community at our school and to have them learn new things about the people on their floor (as well as advertise for the meeting). Maybe they have things in common with these people that they never knew about. The last part of my project is to hold a fun gathering in the lounge where people can come to discuss the sense of community at our school and share their experience with it, good or bad. I’m still working on an incentive to make people want to come.

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One thing that people seem to respond well to in my building is an interactive poster. We’ve had people put up little sheets of paper asking about our day and just random things like that. People have always responded to them. The week leading up to Valentines Day, there was a compliment box at the door and people could anonymously put in a compliment for any student in the building. The compliments were read aloud in the lounge on Valentines Day and are now hanging on the wall in the lounge. It was a really great turnout.

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Flash Profile

           “I want a future in modeling.” As I look up from my notebook, she gives a small laugh and a shrug as if the possibility were ridiculous. In her dimly lit room, the gentle light from the stars pasted on her ceiling illuminate the conflicted expression on her face. Everyone wants to have a career that they will enjoy, right? We dream about things whether we think they’re possible or not. It’s human nature. As I look at the girl sitting cross-legged across from me on the top bunk of her room, questions of dreams versus reality blossom into a flowing conversation.

19-year-old Brooklyn native, Calli Ella, pursues her modeling career while attending The New School University.  She models for companies such as Kimera Lingerie, Meg (a shop in Brooklyn), and Michelle NY. She has also filmed a commercial for Apple’s iPhone 6s. “I prefer commercial modeling. Even though runway gets more exposure, commercial pays more because you get paid for each time the commercial plays.” Runway modeling is a whole different ball game. It’s saturated and is much tougher if you don’t fit the set mode. Commercial is a bit more forgiving. When I ask her about whether she sees a future in modeling, she sighs and leans back before answering. “Maybe if I was white. It’s just harder being black, you know?” I study her thin features and the evenness of her coffee-colored skin tone. She looks like the spitting image of a model to me; the type of girl that always gets told she looks like she should model. Nevertheless, she smiles and says, “Or if I were taller. I’m only 5’6.” Only? Laughing at my baffled facial expression, she informs me that companies usually go for girls that are 5’9-5’11. “Wow. That’s really tall,” I say to her in bewilderment. “But I guess everybody seems tall to me since I’m so short.” We both laugh as move on to her current goals.

           Calli plans on majoring in Creative Entrepreneurship and getting her bachelors of Arts degree. “What are you hoping to get out of your degree?” She laughs and rolls her eyes. “Clarity of what I want to do.” Outside of modeling, art is one her biggest interests. She aspires to own an art gallery and become a curator. In fact, she has already curated a few shows in Brooklyn and has gained important contacts as a result. “I just want to make enough to be comfortable. Being rich isn’t necessary, though it would be nice.” She smirks and leans her thin frame back into the railing of the bed. Being in the comfort of her own space brings out a humorous side of her that she doesn’t initially show. We smile at each other and keep the conversation flowing. “What are you most inspired by?” As a former dancer, she is inspired by modern and contemporary dance. “I used to practice modern dance, African, street, and ballet. I quit dancing because of the commitment, but I still love it. Except ballet. I hate ballet.” She is enamored with how freeing modern dance is, unlike ballet, and would like her art to reflect that. “A career in modeling would be nice, but it’s good to have options.” Satisfied, I close my notebook and put down my pen. “You sure you don’t have any more questions,” she asks eagerly. “Nope. I think that’s a wrap.”

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Interview Notes

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How to Write Journalism

Keep It Simple:

·      Don’t over embellish your writing with unnecessary words

·      Write for your target audience

·      When in doubt, go with simpler choice of words

·      Make sure your audience can understand what you’re trying to say

·      Big, complicated words are not impressive if the audience has no idea what you’re talking about

Intro:

·      Instantly pull your reader in

·      It is supposed to the most attention grabbing aspect of the story

·      Doesn’t completely give away all the facts in the beginning

·      Gives the audience an incentive to keep reading

·      Should not confuse or mislead the reader

I get that the intro is important, but I don’t understand why you would only cut a story from the bottom. Also, I find it a little confusing that he defines it as a summary of what the story is about, but not a summary of everything yet to come. I’m not entirely sure what he means by that.

The Middle:

·      Provides an explanation with details

·      Should keep the story flowing smoothly

·      It is your job to determine how much info needs to be given

Misc.:

·      Always prefer active voice to passive

·      Present what is “happening” even when something is not

·      Long quotes bore the reader. Paraphrase and get to the point

·      Always use “said” when introducing quotes

·      Use specific adjectives, not general ones

·      Avoid excluding readers

I don’t like that he did not go into how to close the story. It would be nice to get insight into how to conclude an article that places so much importance on the beginning of the story.

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VoxPop in Union Square