My name is Ariana and I grew up where I didn’t fit in. My values were different than many of those around me and I felt that there was many times in which I was not given the opportunity to show my true self. In living in Manhattan I find myself in a world of “true self’s”, of course there will always be those who pretended to be someone they are not, but that is the beauty of it. One can be whomever they choose to be, naturally are, or wish they were. The people of New York make up one priceless work of art. There are pieces which we would never wish to purchase, those we wish we could have, and those who clutter up our tiny apartments but we can’t manage or really don’t want to get rid of. My art is not just about New York, it is about the values of New York, whether it takes place in the city or not. I believe in showing people things they may have once looked over and allowing them to decide whether or not they would like to keep looking. My hope is to one day produce documentaries that shed light on not only problems, social, economic and otherwise but also on those involved in the process of solution big and small. I'd love to one day document street performers, as I'd like to know and would like others to know more about the life behind the performer, the human being removed from their art as well as what inspires their art.
The following is not a video that I took personally but I often see this performer, an older man performing in the 42nd Street Subway station specifically near the ACE lines. Apparently others are taking notice as wel.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZl7HvDuKTk&feature=related
UPDATE! The performer I posted above is named Danny Small! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0DSXUcVK-QA&feature=related
The following is not a video that I took personally but I often see this performer, an older man performing in the 42nd Street Subway station specifically near the ACE lines. Apparently others are taking notice as wel.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZl7HvDuKTk&feature=related
UPDATE! The performer I posted above is named Danny Small! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0DSXUcVK-QA&feature=related
I really like the way you talk about the people of the city and their personalities as art. I too look at the places and things around me for inspiration.
ReplyDeleteI have one question though, What kind of art do you think of doing? Will your inspiration of people lead to movies, art, writing, ect? I would love to hear about how you use it!
Hello Ariana,
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your interests and your sources of inspiration!
Your opening sentences is great, and I would like to know more about it:
“My name is Ariana and I grew up where I didn’t fit in. My values were different than many of those around me and I felt that there was many times in which I was not given the opportunity to show my true self.”
Why didn't you fit in where you grew up? What made your values different from those who surrounded you? And what was one of the instances in which you wanted to show your true self?
Could you insert links to some projects that you have done? Or, to other projects that inspired you?
You also write:
“The people of New York make up one priceless work of art.”
I believe that many of us would agree with this idea, and at the same time each one of us would interpret it in completely different ways.
I like Stephanie's question: How would you translate this idea of “New York as a priceless work of art” into a work of art?
Maybe you could explore this theme in one of the future media projects that we will be working on.
Best,
Martyna
Hi-
ReplyDeleteI think the way you talked about Manhattan being a priceless work of art. Its interesting you say that because I definitely feel that the city itself is an artistic creation in itself, without even trying to be. There are so many different components to it, from the food, to the culture, to the people, to the architecture, that it creates such a specific and intricate portrait of life. I also think street performers are really interesting. A documentary on that would be really cool, maybe interviews with these kinds of people, and following them around showing their daily lives, that'd definitely be something I'd watch.
If you don't mind me asking, where did you grow up? I'm from Long Island, and at my High School the arts program wasn't taken very seriously. There were hardly any kids in the art programs, let alone students who were actually into learning about art, so I always felt out of place too, in the past anyway. New York, and college in general, have definitely helped me feel more accepted because there are people who have similar interests and ideas as me.