SEMINAR I: A RETROSPECTIVE Peter Cruciata

BARTLEBY BY HERMAN MELVILLE  I found Bartleby, the Scrivener to be  my favorite reading from Seminar I.  I believe the story says a lot about  the good and odd people in New  York.

“I WOULD PREFER NOT TO”  Melville’s story is about a man in a law office, who one day decides to stop working, seemingly for no reason. I see the good side of New York in Bartleby’s unnamed boss, who does his best to help his sickly looking worker who constantly repeats “I would prefer not to.”

COMPARISON TO NEW YORK  We later find out Bartleby has had a difficult life before becoming a scrivener. I found it ironic that Bartleby went to Wall Street after living a difficult life because working on Wall Street may be as depressing as his previous job in a dead letter office.

A NEW EXPERIENCE Seeing A Midsummer Night’s Dream sparked my interest in black box theaters, where there is little seating and even less space to perform. However, Julie Taymor’s actors made great use of the space and showed great imagination in taking advantage of it.

CHANGE IS NOT A BAD THING!  I first read A Midsummer Night’s Dream in Freshman year High School. It was the only Shakespeare play I found amusing as my teacher found. I was skeptical towards Taymor’s production, however, when I found she made changes, like adding “rude mechanicals” having a pillow fight. After seeing the play, I believe it could not be any more perfect or amusing. Taymor’s changes showed great creativity.

A REALIZATION  Taymor’s production helped me view New York plays and other productions in a different way. Her mesmerizing version of a classic play was performed in a theater less than half the size of most popular Broadway plays. I have gained much more admiration for off- Broadway plays in small theaters due to Taymor’s production.

THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART The Met was one of the first museums we visited. I found the Hopper to O’Keefe exhibit particularly interesting. Most of the paintings, like Edward Hopper’s House by a Railroad (top left) and George Bellows’ Dempsey and Firpo, depicted traditional American scenes, which I found to be the most memorable I in the museum.

TOSCA  Tosca is a play by Giacomo Puccini about two lovers who are torn apart by the villainous head of police so he can take the female lover for himself. The play tragically ends with the lovers and their antagonist deaths.

“TOSCA” AT LINCOLN CENTER  Viewing Tosca with my Seminar class was a new experience for me. I had never seen an opera before Tosca. Tosca’s has been a famous play since it was first performed in the early 1900s. I found it very interesting and would not mind attending another opera.

CARDIFF EXHIBIT AT THE CLOISTERS  The Cardiff exhibit at The Cloisters consisted of forty speakers, each standing in as one vocalist in the acapella “Spem in Alium,” by Thomas Tallis.

IMPRESSIONS  I found Janet Cardiff’s exhibit interesting particularly because the idea itself is different from most museum exhibits. The music was interesting as well, especially when one is positioned closely to a speaker and tries to make out what the singer is saying.

IMPRESSIONS  Janet Cardiff’s exhibit at the Cloisters changed my expectations of museums. I always imagined museum exhibits as solely involving paintings. I now include, audio as well as visual exhibits in my mind when I think of the possibillites of a museum exhibit.

Seminar I has opened my eyes to the different forms of art that can be found in New York City,