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Art Lab Reflection

The art lab was an interactive experience that was breathtaking throughout the process. For instance, before entering the art lab studio facility, you must enter the grounds of the Staten Island botanical garden which was blossoming and full of life. As I waited for Gaby to find parking which admittedly was a challenge, I wandered around the garden and admired all that nature had to offer. I especially enjoyed the 9/11 memorial they included, as though they meant to show thanks to the brave souls who sacrificed their lives for us and that it was not in vain as with the loss of their lives we commemorate it with the beginning of another by planting this garden as a memorial. 

When I entered the art lab I was greeted by very friendly and welcoming volunteers who were students from the College of Staten Island, therefore I was pleasantly surprised by how much opportunity this experience grants to others looking to volunteer. Also, considering that the art lab is free, the community service is spectacular as it requires no funds but only asks for artists on the island to come together to use their talents to inspire others. In fact, as I wandered the halls and studios of the art lab, one artist in particular invited me to her studio. There she gave me a tour of her work and took me through the step-by-step process of how to draw realistic sketches. She was obviously very passionate and kind-hearted. She even gave me her email to reach out to if I wanted to see a larger studio filled with more of her work or if I wanted her to teach me more in-depth how to draw and paint which I thought was very generous. 

Moments later I met up with the rest of the Macaulay group that also decided to come to the art lab. We then decided to enter another artist’s studio which gave us the amazing opportunity to paint fruits from life. We crowded in her studio each with a few paints, brushes, and canvases and much artist freedom. None of us were particularly talented, therefore, we were able to let ourselves go and make fun of ourselves without fear of judgment as we were all very supportive. As we created art on the canvases, art and beauty took life in the studio as our energy flourished. Art imitates life and in that moment, we became both the creators and the creation. Our paintings, though imitating the same piece, were starkly unique to each other, they were all an equal reflection of the joy and pure bliss experienced in that moment.

Banksy Museum: A Tearful Experience

♥ Trigger Warnings ♥

BEFORE YOU READ: This post contains mentions of war, violence, and sensitive political controversy. Sensitive topics will be bolded in red.

♥ Thoughts Before Blogging ♥

Honestly, I spent an hour staring at my blank page (with some tears) trying to figure out how I could possibly blog about my experience at this museum without diving deep into super uncomfortable topics. There are many reasons why people find art uncomfortable to speak about or experience, but according to Banksy himself…

I do feel comforted. Not by the topic, but by the fact there is somebody with a greater voice who advocates against everything that harms innocent people.  I am disturbed, but my singular voice is also insignificant. Banksy is listed as one of the most influential people on Times Magazine. He uses his voice when common people cannot and that is what comforts me about his art.

♥ Rats Make Me Crazy ♥

Let’s start tame. When you walk around the museum there is a LOT of rat imagery. Some of my personal favorites include “Rats Along the Seine,” “Gangsta Rat,” and “Out of Bed Rat,” all shown below.

Why was Banksy so obsessed with rats? How is this classified as protest art?

The most important quote to note is “‘…rats are the only wild living animals in cities, and only rats will survive when the human race will have disappeared and died out.’ The similarities between these nocturnal creatures and graffiti artists are clear.

They are the clever, tough, and unwanted vermin of society.”

One of Banksy’s main forms of protest is graffiti art, and as a graffiti artist, he seems to resonate with rats the most. He mentions that if you feel unloved, rats are your role model. Perhaps he feels unloved by politicians due to the fact there is definitely a lot of unrest in the world at the moment.

♠ War, Kids, Future ♠

War. Unrest. Everybody has an opinion on it. Here, I would like to focus more on the position the children are placed (or displaced) in when it comes to war. Banksy focuses on this and topics of innocence throughout his artwork. Here are some examples.

Despite war, innocence is never lost in children. They still find love on top of the hill of guns and missiles, they hug the missle made to kill them. The child with the balloon (symbolic of hope and the future) is reaching at it at a questionable angle; is she letting go of hope and her future, or is she reaching out for it? Children know nothing but love and unfortunately are born in a world with governors who don’t value their lives.

I was met with a sign that said “Exit the Warzone.” My teary-eyed friend said we should. I told him that the worst part of all this is we have the option to leave the warzone. I am heartbroken as I type this, and truly, I believe this is how true art is meant to make me feel. I am meant to feel anger, heartbreak, and desperate for change. These artworks definitely did that for me.

♠ Coppers ♠

Banksy also had strong opinions on policemen and used humor to refer to those negative opinions about the police force.

Banksy does not take policemen’s actions very seriously. He believes sometimes their actions are unwarranted (ex. chasing after a playing stickman), and a less tame idea that can be the intention of making these artworks is the rise in police brutality towards BIPOC. Banksy also alludes to The Wizard of Oz to showcase the unnecessary searching of items when unneeded, he shows Dorothy being searched by a cop, which seems very childish to us as the audience, but is this the reality? The artist seems to believe so.

♥ More About Kids ♥

Banksy loves the idea of innocence and how optimistic and naive children are. It is why he is so angry about involving them in war. Some examples Banksy has about childhood innocence are the heroes they look up to. They look up to policemen, and although Banksy is very opposed to the system they are a part of, he seems to admire that children see policemen as role models. They also look up to nurses and doctors. Children value life, so they value those who save lives.

♥ Conclusion ♥

To conclude, this was one of my favorite museum experiences. I was brought to so many emotions, both negative and positive. I would 100% go again, but I do wish it didn’t cost $26 to walk in. After all, the price of entry is one of those capitalistic ideas that Banksy goes against.

Banksy exhibit

This class continues to grow my appreciation for art, and as someone who does not care much for art I can confidentially say the Banksy exhibit is a must see. The art has such deep meaning, but always with a comical twist, in addition, the art has so many modern references such as, movies like Planet of the Apes and Pulp Fiction. Banksy is anti police, and anti capitalism, I noticed that he wants what’s best for the average person, his art is satirical to many elitists such as his mockery of Andy Warhol.

The first piece that stood out to me was the picture of an ape, with the text saying, “Laugh now, but one day we’ll be in charge.” This was easily my favorite piece especially because the Planet of the Apes series is my favorite movie series ever. I also belief this could be a reference to Darwinism and how apes will continue to evolve, and like in Planet of the Apes, will be in charge. Banksy had a few pieces with apes pictured as advanced beings, and this spoke volumes to how animals that humans used for entertainment, and hold captive may one day have the power to do the same to us.

The next piece that stood out to me was the work of this rat, and there was many other rats pictured. Banksy being the rebellious type, appreciates the nature of rats and how they exist and no one likes them, also how rats are so little and harmless but hold such great power. Banksy is technically a wanted criminal. He has to be stubborn like a rat, so he can still make his art. He is not doing harm to anyone, yet people in power want him hunted, like a rat.

All in all, the Banksy exhibit is definitely my favorite museum of the few I’ve been to, Banksy is just an average guy, not like these artists who make millions and their art has little meaning, it is just sold for the value of the meaning, and he does not encourage his work to be sold as he is strongly against capitalism.

Art Lab

When I went to the Art Lab, the street leading right to the entrance was completely flooded, so I had to take a different route. It turned out that every other street after the entrance to the Art Lab was a one-way street going the opposite way, so I had to go down several blocks just to get in through the exit.

When I finally got there, the only class offered was for kindergarteners. Since I was already there, and I didn’t want to just go home without doing anything, I decided to take the class with them. When I walked into the classroom, they were all painting realistic people, but I am still stuck on doing stick figures, so it was embarrassing to see them doing much more advanced pictures. I ended up leaving the class and tried looking for another the same day, but the next class for people my age wasn’t for a few more days, so I would have had to leave and come back a completely different time.

I decided to stay longer and look at the paintings and sculptures that were on display. I also found out that there were many different classes offered. This included classes offered for painting, drawing, sowing, photography, darkroom photography, and stained glass painting. There were many different studios for each class, and many of the works produced there were on display.

 

Snug Harbor Art Lab

Introduction:

My artistic ability when it comes to drawing, or painting is terrible. Unless I trace over some sort of already completed drawing, I can pretty much draw only well made stick figures and put random colors on a canvas. So, going into the art lab run by the Staten Island Museum, I expected to not really get how the art was drawn and find myself being lost in the room full of art. However Griselda, the person running the oil painting lab there, took us through a beginner crash course of oil paintings and was an amazing teacher as most of us were painting for the first time ever. I would say my experience at the art lab went better than expected as I created my first oil painting and learned a lot about how artists compose them.

Lecture & Painting:

Griselda told us the most challenging aspect of art is shaping the 2D world of a canvas into a 3D one. The artist has the responsibility of creating perspective within the canvas; the background having a lighter color to emphasize its presence and the foreground not overpowering the overall positioning of the art. She gave us a lot of useful tips such as starting with the background to make painting the foreground a lot easier, and also outlining our painting before even beginning. After her lecture on oil paintings, she set up everything to allow us to create our own paintings and we were given objects that we could choose from. I chose the fennel as the object since it was the most interesting to me, and I thought it seemed easy to draw. Just bits of splatters of green for the leaves and branches, and white for the base; however, it was a lot harder than I initially anticipated.

The funnel was placed within the perspective of a window and that’s what I imagined my painting to be. I wanted to have the window be within the perspective of the funnel and then have the funnel be the foreground of my painting. However, doing this as a beginner, was not a great idea. I started with the background of the clear sky, and the trees in the background, but then when I started painting the funnel it just blended in with my painting of the trees. So, within my painting you can’t really tell the difference between the foreground and the background and it just lost all perspective, which didn’t really turn out to be how I envisioned.

 

Picture of Funnel Painting

Conclusion:

It was fun to do my first oil painting at the art lab and it was therapeutic almost as I felt so relaxed after I finished my painting for some reason. It was also interesting to see how others painted the objects they chose; Aleksey’s and Kryistan’s paintings, in particular, did a really nice job of putting everything into perspective and you can clearly tell the objects they were attempting to paint. Looking back, my painting could’ve been a lot better if I just focused on painting the desk and the funnel, but what I pictured was the funnel getting a shining perspective from the window and the sky with the background having trees within it. So, I attempted to do so and although it didn’t come out as I expected, I definitely want to start painting more or just drawing in general. I used to draw a lot but I stopped, I think just before COVID so I want to start getting back into it again. Overall, it was a great experience and I learned a lot from Griselda and everyone there about oil painting, and it was great to sort of see the process for drawing the art and getting hands on with it.

The Counter – Elisa Ujkashi

Watching The Counter at the Roundabout Theater was an unexpectedly moving experience for me. At first, I thought it would be a simple play about a waitress and a regular customer in a small-town diner. As the story unfolded, however, it became so much more, a profound exploration of human connection, loneliness, and the burdens we sometimes place on others.

The characters of Katie and Paul, played brilliantly by Susannah Flood and Anthony Edwards, drew me in immediately. Their relationship starts in such an ordinary way, with Katie refilling Paul’s coffee, but there’s an emotional depth that’s slowly revealed as they open up to each other. The use of the passage of time throughout the play shows the first-person thoughts and feelings of Katie and Paul, which truly revealed the emotions that they both shared for one another. I found myself relating to Katie’s guarded demeanor, perhaps because it reminded me of those times when you’re going through something personal and, unexpectedly, someone in your life helps you carry that weight, even for just a moment.

The most powerful part of the play, for me, was when Paul makes a shocking request asking Katie to poison his coffee within the next couple of months, which ultimately forces both characters to confront their innermost fears and secrets. It made me think about how our everyday interactions, even the ones that seem trivial, can have such lasting effects on us. There’s a beautiful tension between humor and heaviness in the script, which is a testament to Meghan Kennedy’s writing. One moment I was chuckling at a light-hearted exchange, and the next, I was on the edge of my seat, wondering how these characters would navigate their intense, deeply personal emotions.

The diner setting was simple yet perfect. It felt intimate, as if I was sitting at the counter with them, observing their lives unfold. The minimalism of the set allowed the actors’ performances to really shine, and it made the emotional stakes feel even more palpable. The actors’ emotions and actions truly shone through the simple setting and made the emotional outbreaks even more prominent and touching. This play reminded me of my favorite episode from the show, Friends, called “The One Where No One’s Ready”. The premise of the episode is the fact that the camera never leaves the living room of Monica and Rachel’s apartment until the characters are all ready for an event in which they leave together, which is where the episode ends. The hilarious dialogue of Joey saying, “Look at me – I’m Chandler! Could I *be* wearing any more clothes?” as he is wearing 100 layers of Chandler’s clothes will forever be one of the most iconic quotes of the show. The simplicity of the setting, as the characters crack joke after joke and stress about what they have to wear to the event further highlights the incredible dynamic that the actors have with one another, very similar to the actors in The Counter.

What struck me the most about The Counter was how it left me reflecting on my own relationships, how even the smallest gestures or conversations can mean so much more than we realize at the time. The play’s exploration of deep themes like grief, loneliness, and moral ambiguity felt universal. I left the theater thinking about the people in my life and the roles we play for each other, whether we realize it or not. In short, The Counter isn’t just a story about a waitress and her customer. It’s about life, how we navigate our connections, and how even the most ordinary relationships can change the discourse of our lives.

Suzanna Grigoryan – Political Art

This painting by John Gast was created in the year 1872. His work of art has a substantial historical significance regarding the era of American westward expansion, guided by the concept of “manifest destiny”. The historical context reveals a population guided by their religious faith in justifying entitlement and unequivocal dominance, which is an applicable perspective to any time period. Therefore, this painting was important in its message of an American unity, following colonial times, where people living in North America were truly able to identify as Americans and claim the land as that of their own. This establishment of possession showcases a vital transition in the identities of these former colonial Americans which were now expanding to establish their own unifying character and ultimate country. The angel represents the guidance of God, accompanied by settlers moving west and industrial factors such as trains improving the nation. These inclusions resemble the period of growth experienced by Americans, however at the expense of others like Native American tribes that were removed from their homes. Hence, this piece of art may still resonate with modern society because it reflects the ideals of expansion that are still indirectly prevalent in the current world, as nations seek to improve themselves, however accompanied by the negative sentiments that are directed toward this appeal are also reflected through the communication of this painting in revealing the brutal truth about American treatments and attitudes regarding indigenous populations, relating to present subjects of equality and injustice. Also, the historical context reveals a population guided by their religious faith in justifying entitlement, which is an applicable perspective to any time period. Overall, this painting possesses a significant meaning within the time period that it occurred throughout and partially in the contemporary world.

“Protect Kids, Not Guns” – A Reality Check

“Protect Kids, Not Guns” – A Reality Check

by Angie Mekki

This piece by Micah Bazant stands for stricter gun control laws to protect children (and faculty) during school shootings since there is an uprise in them. This was and still is important because whenever school shootings happen, there is an uproar about gun control. Many people believe in the right to bear arms and not to ban guns, other people would argue to ban guns completely. This artist makes the point that regulating guns should not be discussed with a black-or-white approach so long as children and faculty members are still always in danger. This still resonates now because there is even a rise in the number of teenagers and children bearing arms here on our own Staten Island. Yesterday afternoon, five shots were fired across McKee High School and injured a 17-year-old boy. The morning before, a 17-year-old boy snuck a gun loaded with 10 bullets into Curtis High School. Intermediate schools on our island are being flooded with gun threats. This can all be found on the Staten Island Advance. So, this issue is still important and even personal to us today.

 

Political Art

A piece of political art I find to be highly interesting is Faith Ringgold’s 1972 poster United States of Attica. Her poster displays a map of the United States divided into four pieces which is dedicated to the prisoners who rioted at Attica Prison in 1971 in protest of the profoundly inhumane conditions at Attica and the prison industrial complex as it stood—and stands. Ringgold’s map is also variously labeled with a wide range of atrocities (and their death tolls) committed by the United States government throughout history, including the My Lai massacre, the Korean War, and the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki among other things. Every state is additionally labeled with acts of violence committed against marginalized communities, such as lynchings. Her intention with this piece of art was to highlight the violence that the United States was built upon and the cruelty that it continues to dole out today. It was profound in the wake of the Attica riots and it remains profound today, especially when taking into account acts that the American government has been responsible for, such as destabilization of the Middle East and incidents of police brutality. Ringgold addresses the timeless nature of her piece with an addendum on the bottom which reads, “This map of American violence is incomplete – please write in whatever you find lacking.” Her poster still resonates today as Americans hear about senseless violence our country is responsible for every day we read the news or turn on the television.

Danil Gurshumov – AntiWar

 

What Happened to Protest Art?

This art has a very strong meaning. It sends a message that people should become more peaceful and that all wars should stop. The artist probably made this because they know that usually nothing good comes out of war. This is important because it shows how there are a lot of useless wars right now or wars for the wrong reasons. It has gotten so bad that the artist decided to make protest art about it. This piece of art resonates with me because I believe that wars should not be started for the wrong reasons. Of course there are some wars that need to be fought. For example, World War Two. In my opinion, if Germany was not stopped, they would keep fighting until they conquered the whole world. This is one of the mandatory wars that must be fought. Most wars do not have to be fought out, and they should look for more peaceful ways to resolve them, like through debates and talks. I say this because, at the end of the day, a human life is worth a lot.