SEMINAR I: A RETROSPECTIVE

Peter Cruciata

BARTLEBY BY H E R M A N M E LV I L L E

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 EXHIB IT 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,