Flip Book

My flip book represents a garden growing and then dying out... the cycle of life.

Grid Project

For our grid project, I was feeling rather homesick so I decided to do something fall themed. Since I had recently gotten into origami, I thought the pinwheels were a nice design. Using fall colors, I attempted to make it look like the foliage you see in the North.

Wicked

When I was in 6th grade my best friend Christina, her mother, my mother, and I went into New York City to see the Broadway show Wicked at the Gershwin Theatre. I'd already seen my fair of broadway shows at that point, but Wicked was nothing like I had ever seen before. From the decor of the theatre to the prop scenery before the curtains open, I was blown away from the first note. I have always been a Wizard of Oz fan- it's not thanksgiving until i've watched it after dinner, and to see the backstory was a truly special moment for me. By the next weekend, I had listened to the soundtrack enough times to know all the words to every single song performed.
One of the favorite songs, Defying Gravity, is truly a treat to see in show. At the highly climatic end of the song, our Elphaba is seen to be defying gravity while she hits a high F. I had always wondered how she was able to soar above the stage with no visible wires or harnesses, but I finally learned that Elphaba runs across stage to a hidden deck and then takes off. It’s operated by the actress herself so when she steps in the device it locks and she's standing on a steel plate. The whole thing lifts her off the ground and it looks like her skirt is extending forever and she’s flying. The device is locked around her waist so there’s no way for her to get out unless she presses the release button. Makes it seem a lot less magical, but definitely better than visible strings, (and safer).
I also thought it was very cool that they use MAC eyeshadow to make Elphaba her famous green color instead of a gross green body paint.

Vaudeville Acts

Vaudeville is a type of entertainment popular in the late 19th century in America. It consisted of a series of unrelated acts such as magic, dance, comedy, and animals. It was developed from the form of variety shows put on in beer halls for male audiences. In 1881, Tony Pastor introduced a successful "clean variety show" in New York City. He tried thereafter to get others to follow suit and clean up their shows for broader audiences.
I always enjoyed the thought of burlesque dancers, mostly because of the fast and vigorous dances these women put their bodies through. Watching the woman dance with the chair however, made me question whether or not it's real because that is some serious talent to be able to balance a chair on your face.
The woman in the swing is a little more traditional- you can see acts like that at a circus or a big tent show. Back then i can't imagine them having safety nets or harness's to ensure safety so I feel it's only right to give these performers extra credit for being so brave and nonchalant about swinging through the air.

Bailey Art Gallery

This picture stood out to me a lot because how creative it is, however i don't quite understand it. If "I can not remember" is cut out, what's the difference with "I can not forget" being imprinted. I suppose "I can not remember" is symbolized through the words falling out, but since it's cut out of the paper, it looks more like it's carved into memory. I do understand and appreciate the "i can not forget" being imprinted into the paper because it's literal.

This piece I especially liked because of all the realness involved. It's the perfect depiction of the art produced by early grade school children. They're always taught the writing lesson, with structure and harsh rules, but when they're given the opportunity to create, to draw what they feel, thats' when the real lesson is being taught.

The Paris Opera House

Watching the video of the Paris Opera House actually got me really excited because The Phantom of the Opera is one of my favorite movies. Unfortunately, until this moment I never put two and two together to realize what the theatre in the movie was. The story of the chandelier falling from the ceiling is a great but tragic story. The colors in the paintings on the circular ceiling, the attention to detail on the front of the building but even thoroughly throughout the entire monstrosity that is the Paris Opera House.

Madama Butterfly

After watching the Madama Butterfly opera i felt an array of emotions. It's a sad but beautiful love story between a woman and a man, a woman and her daughter, and a woman and herself. Madama Butterfly is something of a phoenix woman. When the sailer returns and takes their baby she's so heartbroken, so empty, that she rips herself apart until theirs nothing left but her bones in bits and pieces. With a new day came a new Madama Butterfly, out of the pieces came a beautiful and more vibrant butterfly than the beginning of the film, and from that came again Madama Butterfly.