Al's Art Blog

flahive320 — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 20:35:54 +0000

flahive320 — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 18:35:13 +0000

The Club House

Well spring break is officially over and I can’t say I’m happy to be back in New York. Arizona was one of the most relaxing, beautiful and hot places I’ve ever been to. The energy was different out there. People are far more relaxed than they are here in New York. At first we were taken aback by the smiles and friendly waves, but we got used to it and by the end of the trip we didn’t think it was weird at all and even started doing it ourselves. The dessert is a peaceful and breath taking place. It was the strangest thing driving down a highway with nothing but dessert on either side. They have a high-occupancy-vehicle just like the long island expressway. I couldn’t remember what the side of the LIE looked like. But the side of the HOV lane in Arizona is surrounded by dessert. I even saw a cactus! Plus another amazing thing is the mountains in the distance. We’re driving down a highway in the dessert and there is mountains with snow covered peaks in the distance. The entire experience was surreal. Even the architecture is different. Most communites had a club house with a pool. We statyed at Val Vista Lakes community. It is set on a lake so when you lay by the pool your overlooking the lake too! The roofs and building shapes are far prettier in Arizona than in New York. Maybe it’s just because I love the sun but it was one of the best trips I’ve ever had! I saw so many interesting things and will hopefully make it there for grad school one day!

Dangerfield Comedy Club

flahive320 — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 19:12:48 +0000

This weekend I went Dangerfield’sComedy Club in New York City. The food was good and the laughs were great. Tim Young, Steven Scott, Ray Allen, and Steve White were the comedians that performed. The host, Q, might have been the funniest person that went on that night. He would continuously rip on the people in the front. I thought all performers were funny but they all had the same material. Generally they talked about stereotypes and race. The comedy club was opened in 1969 by Rodney Dangerfield. The walls are lined with pictures of him with other famous people, including a signed photograph of Bill Clinton. All of his movie posters are hung throughout the club. It’s a very small and intimate setting. The lampshades are signed by guests that visit the club and add an artistic touch. Overall, it had a very relaxed and fun vibe. I definitely enjoyed my first comedy show experience at Dangerfield’s!

The Watchmen

flahive320 — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 17:19:34 +0000

I saw what i consider to be the worst movie I’ve seen in a long time. I tried to compromise this weekend when I attended a movie but I should have stuck with my gut and just said no when the The Watchmen repeatedly came up as an option. So we went and saw it in the IMAX theater which did have its perks. But in general, the movie was a dud. The story line was pretty corny and the characters were questionable. Some of the graphics looked so fake, especially the super heros space ship. Only an hour into it, I thought it might be alright, but by the end I couldn’t even sit still. A lot of other people I know who saw it, said despite their love for super hero movies, this one was a failure. At one point the female super hero drops down and does a little tumble thing. I burst out laughing at how corny it was. I was confused about their powers and if they even had any. In general the movie was a dud. I went in with an open mind and came out upset that I had just wasted 3 hours of my day.

Brolic Broadway

flahive320 — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 20:07:44 +0000

An article in the arts section of the New York Times, Broadway Holds On, For Now, gives hope that despite economic hardships, many people are still attending the theatre. According to the article, no major new Broadway productions have been cancelled due to budget issues and the 2008-9 season has 43 productions compared to the 36 shows that opened during the 2007-8 season. Furthermore, total gross revenue for this season so far is $713.7 million, compared with last seasons $682.8 million. But, people are skeptical as to whether or not Broadway will continue to flourish throughout the summer and fall. So why is it that during this global recession, Broadway is still standing on a mostly firm ground? My only answer is that people need to escape from their problems. It’s similar to the character of Tom Wingfield in the play, The Glass Menagerie, by Tennessee Williams. It is set in 1937 toward the end of the great depression. The Wingfield family has very little money. Tom is the man of the house because his father abandoned his family. He despises his warehouse job and is tired of supporting his family though these difficult times. As a way to escape, Tom drinks liquor and goes to the movies. The movies, similar to the theatre, are a way to become someone else and escape the problems, if only for a brief time, that haunt your own life. I think Americans today feel similar to Americans during the great depression and are looking for outlets, like Tom did. It’s crucial to keep Broadway strong, enabling the world of theatre arts to prosper and thrive. Without it, we might never be exposed to such fine playwrights like Tennessee Williams and countless others.

Post Secret

flahive320 — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 19:22:05 +0000

One of many secrets

So I can’t get enough of Frank Warren’s blog, Post Secret. It’s one of the coolest and artiest blogs out there right now! Each Sunday Frank posts new secrets that are sent to him. Most of the secrets include originally art work or are written on a photograph. They’re all very creative and different. Some of the secrets are sad, weird, serious and funny. They all vary. Many of the secrets don’t make it to the website because he receives so many. So he’s published multiple books and is coming out with a new book titled, Life, Death and God. He setup a new page for this book that allows the public to tell their story. He travels around the country and exhibits many secrets that aren’t in the books or online. Tour dates are listed on the website! The site has encouraged people to be creative while letting go of their secrets. Many youtube users have complied their favorite secrets and made videos.

Photoshop Assignment

flahive320 — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 23:48:02 +0000

Ballerina

http://mysbfiles.stonybrook.edu/~aflahive/popartcomposite.jpg

http://mysbfiles.stonybrook.edu/~aflahive/compositeofsunglass.jpg

Tiger Lily Cafe

flahive320 — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 20:35:38 +0000

Tiger Lily Café located in Port Jefferson is an eatery that incorporates ones passion for art and music with good food. They showcase local artists and musicians at the café and include a vegetarian menu and a juice bar. It’s one of the healthier places to eat in the area. An artist by the name of John supplies a bulk of the artwork at the café. He uses bright colors and bold images that really catch your eye upon entering the eatery. His paintings are mostly of women. I’d classify his style of art as expressionism because he uses color and distortion to draw emotion and emphasis certain things. His creations, along with others, are displayed throughout the café and some are used as table tops. Local musicians are invited to play during their ‘Acoustic Sunday Session’. Tiger Lily is definitely one of the more edgy places to eat and enjoy art in the area. So if you’re looking for a place to showcase your artistic ability, grab a bite to eat and enjoy local long island artists, then Tiger Lily is it!

Bachelor flip-flops

flahive320 — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 05:00:09 +0000

Well, I don’t know if it qualifies as the arts, but The Bachelor, on ABC, is definitely entertainment! I was home for the weekend and my mom is a huge fan of the bachelor, so of course I watched the big Monday night finale with her and was shocked! True to reality TV, it had twists and turns that were a first for the show. I sat there completely enthralled, despite the fact that I haven’t followed it all season long. It wasn’t even so much what happened on the show, as it was what happened after the show that was the biggest shocker. Yes, during the show, DeAnna Pappas, his ex from last seasons ‘the bachelorette’ made an appearance to stir things up. But it was on ‘After the final rose, part I’ where the drama happened. It was taped six weeks after the show wrapped. The Bachelor, Jason Mesnick, announced he’d made the wrong decision and picked the wrong girl! Melissa, the girl he originally picked, was shocked and even called him a ‘bastard’ on TV.

What’s even more shocking is Molly, the other woman, took him back! She said her feelings never changed and this

Molly, the runner-up

was a dream come true! What’s the dream? She’s sloppy seconds and pathetic for immediately taking him back. But whatever works for them I guess! After it aired Monday night, Mesnick defended his decision Tuesday morning on Good Morning America. ‘After the final rose, part II’ aired tonight and the happy couple (Molly and Jason) is still happy. She’s moving to Seattle, so it seems pretty serious. I still think the whole situation is bizarre. It’s doubtful that their relationship will last. The show only produced one successful marriage since its debut in 2002.

Arts Suffer

flahive320 — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 17:21:01 +0000

In ‘The Arts’ section of today’s New York Times there’s an article discussing whether or not the course study of humanities is becoming obsolete. It claims many schools have experienced hiring freezes or postponed faculty searches in areas such as religion and philosophy. The article said humanities generally includes languages, literature, the arts, history, cultural studies, philosophy and religion.

It isn’t fair for the arts to suffer because we live in a society driven by technology. The budget cut has affected the arts at Stony Brook University, particularly Theatre Arts. Many courses were cut from the curriculum due to a lack of money. All students, whether they’re majors or minors must take THR 320 Production I. In this class student’s work with faculty to put on two main stage shows. It gives students hands on experience in different roles of production.Previous shows include, As You Like It, The Playboy of the Western World, Prelude to a Kiss, Las Meninas and Three Sisters, to name a few.

Las Meninas

I took the class in fall 08’ and worked on two shows, The Trestle at Pope Lick Creek and Bob Rauschenberg America. Working on two shows allowed me to work two different production jobs, an experience I’ll never forget. That’s why I was sad to learn that due to lack of funding, there will only be one show this semester. This takes away from a student’s production experience and quite frankly isn’t fair. They’d never cut a lab from the bio department or classes from chemistry. If they are actually forced to cut classes from those departments, you can be sure they cut what they could from the theatre department first.

Plus a lot of the department’s money to put on the productions comes from the shows ticket sales. So go and see Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare and directed by Valeri Lantz-Gefroh. The show runs March 12 to 15 and March 19 to 22, 2009, so buy your tickets!