Life Imitates Art?

            Nothing really interesting happened at work this week... So instead I’m going to talk about the not-work-y things I did. :) Interestingly, a lot of them ended up involving art, which isn’t something I normally deal with. These aren’t necessarily art in the traditional sense of the term (paintings and sculptures and such) but rather art in the broader sense that I’ve been considering a good deal- art in the sense that everything is art to someone. Basically, I’m choosing to define art as something that can be appreciated on different levels, based on your understanding of the piece. In this way, anything can be art- good food, fireworks, a particularly lovely garden, or words that move you profoundly.

            The first pieces of art that I experienced this week occurred on the Fourth of July. I had the day off of work, which was a welcome break in the middle of the week. My roommate and I got up that morning and made cookies, which I thought were delicious. We then spent the better part of the day hanging out in the common areas- eating food and chatting (and cleaning a ceiling fan, because I decided that any extra air flow would be welcome on a 90+ degree day with somewhere around 80% humidity). It was a very chill morning/early afternoon, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. We knew that space to watch the fireworks fills up pretty quickly though, so we headed over to the river at about 2 pm to meet up with some friends and wait for the show to start.

            During our 7.5 hour wait, we ate, chatted, and played card games. I now know the basics of poker... not enough to actually play anything for money, but if you wanted to practice with, say, M&M’s, I’d be down for that. It was surprisingly fun- I was expecting to be bored after about an hour, but there was enough gong on that that was practically impossible.

            At about 7 pm, the Boston Pops (part of Boston’s Symphony Orchestra) started their show. They first played backup for a number of guest artists, including Howie Day, who sang ‘Collide’, and various other native New England and Boston artists who sang patriotic songs or songs they had written. My favorite comment from this part of the show was from the little boy sitting behind us- one of the artists was singing Leonard Cohen’s ‘Hallelujah’, and the little boy said “Mom! This song’s from Shrek!” It was pretty adorable. The Pops continued playing after the singing was done. At about 9 o’clock, they began playing the 1812 Overture, which concludes with cannon fire. In this case, the cannons fired, and the first set of fireworks went off soon afterward. I love the theme of the 1812 Overture, so it was awesome to hear it played. And the fireworks were quite lovely as well. :)

            After about a five-minute pause, the actual fireworks show began. Other than the times we’ve gone down to Lake Tapps to light fireworks with family, I’ve never been very close to a fireworks show. On the 4^th, we were probably less than 500 meters away. Being able to feel the reverberations from the fireworks was fun. There were quite a few people, although it wasn’t nearly as packed as the Boston side of the river was. For reference, the event website for the 4^th of July lists the average amount of people who come to the Boston side of the river as 500,000, while the amount on the Cambridge side is 'only' 200,000. The fireworks were really lovely, especially set to orchestra music. I can’t do them justice at all, but they were gorgeous. I did get some pictures, but again, they can't do the show justice. Fireworks are just so pretty!

            There were also a couple of hacks on the Green Building. For the non-MIT folks, hacks are basically pranks people pull at MIT that aren't destructive in any way, and are mostly just meant for the enjoyment of those who pull them and those who are lucky enough to observe them. The Green Building is the tallest building on campus (and in all of Cambridge), which makes it one of the perfect places for hacking. The first hack, which I didn't manage to get a picture of, was the fact that the Green Building would light up its windows in a pattern that seemed to correlate with the music the Pops were playing. The second one, at the end of the show, has been done before, but it's still really pretty. The windows of the Green Building were lit up in an American flag pattern:

Not all the windows were lit up, so it's not perfect, but it's still really awesome that someone is able to do this.

            So that was the first set of art that I experienced- wonderful music and a gorgeous fireworks show. It’s incredible to think of how much work must have gone into each of those things to make them what they were- the hours of practice from the musicians, as well as all the time and effort that went into organizing the show; and the amount of time and engineering it must have taken to design chemical processes such that explosions erupt into smiley faces and stars and firebursts that seem to fall from the sky like weeping willows. I’m not sure who was the first person to come up with fireworks, but I have to say that I greatly appreciate their work.

            On Saturday, there was a heat advisory (it was 98°F by 11 am) so I was told that doing things outside was probably not the best plan I’d ever had. As a result, I ended up going to the Museum of Fine Arts (also known as the MFA) in Boston. The MFA is massive- there’s no possible way to see all of it in a day. There are three floors (plus a basement) and various wings- more art than you could possibly hope to even glance at in a day. Luckily, MIT funds memberships for all of its students, so I can go back to see the things I missed. :)

            It’s hard to say what my favorite parts of the MFA were- there’s just so much to see, and it’s all incredible. I took pictures of some of my favorite pieces, which are below, but there are still some that I left out because pictures weren’t feasible (they were behind glass or too small or too big to photograph). I think my favorite painting (which I didn’t actually get a picture of, because it was too crowded) was one from Monet’s series of paintings of the Rouen Cathedral. Cathedrals are already one of my favorite pieces of architecture because of their detail and grandiose nature. And Monet’s depiction of the cathedral was characteristically wonderful. I love everything he paints- the soft brushstrokes that contrast with the incredible accuracy of what he’s painting. If I had to choose a favorite artist, Monet would be pretty high on the list.

           It's easier to talk about the other pieces of art one by one, so I'm going to do that: 

           Normally I'm not a huge fan of modern art. I'm kind of a traditionalist in a lot of things, and visual art is one of them. But the modern art at the MFA made me stop and think, which isn't something I usually experience when I'm visiting an art museum (You may have noticed I'm really bad at appreciating art... Maybe it's part of growing up, but I think I'm learning to appreciate it a lot more than I have in the past. Emphasis on 'learning to'. So bear with me, this may be something of a bumpy ride :P ) Anyway, this was the first piece in the museum that really made me stop for a second. In case you can't read it, it says "ALL ART HAS BEEN CONTEMPORARY". I thought that was interesting, and also very true. Everything we do today was, at some point, a completely new concept. It's weird to think that things being developed now that seem so incredible will be commonplace for the next generation. It's also weird to think that at one point, things that we view as traditional, like Tchaikovsky's music or Monet's painting style, were new and unknown to their peers.  

         I know I literally just said I wasn't a huge fan of modern art in the last paragraph, and here I am, throwing another piece at you (fair warning- the next few are also modern art). This one was really interesting though. I don't have a whole analysis for it, but I'll explain what the piece is, and maybe someone who's better at appreciating art than I am can explain it to me. :) Basically, the artist designed this piece to eventually die out- literally. Originally, the lightbulbs spelled out the word "Intent". Since the piece was installed, they've been burning out, and all of the lightbulbs are predicted to be burnt out by the end of this year.

         Here's another one that's a bit difficult to read- it says "With You I Breathe". The description of the work that was posted said that the artist had been working with neon lights for a while, and had recently begun to make the lights into phrases in her own handwriting. The way the sign interpreted the work was that it had a dual meaning- the 'you' in the phrase could be referring to a significant other, someone who shares your life. It could also refer to the world at large, and refer to the fact that we're all connected in one way or another, even if it's only in that we breathe from the same atmosphere.

          This one's also difficult to read (sorry, I seem to have a thing for wordy, difficult to read things...). What it says though, is "The object, sentence, and work completes itself while what is read constructs what is seen." This brings to mind a quote that my dad is relatively fond of: "Your perception is your reality". No matter what is put down on a page, or a canvas, or sheets of music, there is some amount of interpretation that will be done by the person observing the piece. This observation and interpretation is inevitable- I'm doing it right now. And it brings me back to the idea that art can mean what people think it means. Different people with different life experiences will see things differently. And that's one of the things that makes art really amazing- it can be interpreted in many different ways, and none of those ways is wrong.

         So... this isn't actually a work of art. It's the sign that explains one of the works of art. The work itself is an open book with one page, on which is written "Abnehmendes Licht ist zunehmendes Dunkel", which is also the title of the work. Originally, I wanted to take a picture so that I could remember the title and translate it later, but then I realized that it was translated underneath. Once I could read it, I realized that the title was practically a work of art in and of itself- it's pretty poetic, if you ask me. The idea that "waning light is waxing darkness" is a little sad, at least until your remember that the opposite is also true. I read a quote recently that said something along the lines of "The greatest truths are those for which the opposite is also a great truth". I don't know if that's true, but I like the idea that opposing ideas can both be great truths. 

                                     

            Since I don't really play any string instruments, I can't possibly hope to appreciate this one fully- but I know that someone *cough* little sister *cough* will probably appreciate this work of art for what it is. That violin is a Stradivarius, one of the most well recognized names in musical instruments. I'm sure that in its day, before it was hidden behind a glass box, that violin wrought some beautiful art of its own.

             This behemoth is a Chihuly- it kind of reminded me of home, so I had to take a picture. When I say behemoth, I actually mean it- that sculpture of glass weighs over 10,000 pounds and is 42 feet tall. I had to stand on a second floor staircase to get this picture.

            The highlight in this room was supposedly the Pollock on the back wall (it's on the left if you're wondering), but I was more taken by this statue. I didn't read the sign, so I'm not sure what it's actually mean to depict. But it was striking, and both simple and complex, and I needed a picture. And since I've somehow managed to convince you to read this far, I wanted to share that picture with you :)

This picture, and the one below, are both architecture from outside the museum. I loved the colors of this building, and the way it wasn't just your typical skyscraper. It had personality. I also liked that it was only about two blocks away from the more traditional brick buildings and the church that's below this block of text. It's fun to see how architecture embodies the new and old parts of the city in such close quarters.
















            


               That was the majority of the art that I encountered this week. We also went canoeing on the Charles, which was wonderful. It was awesome to get back on the water, even in a different manner than I'm used to. And, I finally got to take some of the pictures I've wanted to take since I got here- unobstructed views of various parts of the city. Some of those are below too, for your viewing pleasure.  :)

The classic shot of MIT's dome (a bit obstructed by trees, but still pretty neat)

Boston's skyline... How am I so lucky to have lived in such beautiful cities?

            Anywho, that wraps up this week's blog post. I hope everyone had as lovely a week as I did! :)