The Museum of the City of New York
During my trip to The Museum of the City of New York, I felt different emotions and was able to relate to a lot of the works. While viewing Interior Lives, which are a collection of contemporary photographs of Chinese New Yorkers, I saw a variety of photographs that made me feel nostalgic. This is not because I experienced that but because it reminded me of the places I would visit with my mom when we were in Taiwan or Hong Kong. Additionally, because this was set in Asia, it reminded me of home and where I’m from. Annie Ling’s tenement series was one of my favorites. A lot of her photographs display emptiness. The second collection boy Ling which is also one of my favorites is 81 Bowery. This was captures specific movements from people to things and emotions. Her work is also similar to An Rong Xu’s works. His works are very similar to Annie Ling’s; both were set in an Asian country. He also displays works that give a sense of emptiness; from his works on Madison street and Pell street. Madison street shows empty windows while Pell street shows one store being the only one lit in the entire street. On the other hand, Thomas Holton show similarity with Annie Ling’s and An Rong Xu’s, however, I noticed that he also displays happiness in his works. This is especially seen when he captures the elderly dancing and the lion dancers smiling. Holton also captures different people in different places and situations. He has a collection where he photographed people experiencing different situations for the first time. For example, one of the students goes to college for the first time. He states that the white walls in his dorm represent a fresh start for his first year. Another photo displayed remarriage and his last one shows someone experiencing spring break for the first time. All artists seen in Interior Lives captures everyday situations in China showing their hardships but being able to overcome and find happiness within it. While viewing The Future City Lab, what I found most interesting was the 25 minute clip they played during the entrance. I enjoyed watching what New Yorkers had to say about their difficulties and challenges living in the city. Some of the main challenges I heard were about the subway. One of the disabled stated that there are elevators that go down but not up. New York are starting to care less about the people and their safety. Another problem was the commute to different places were far depending where you are in New York. Another one said that there should be homes where people live together – people think living alone is fine but it’s not always. Lastly, rent has been increasing ever since 1993 because of the market rate conversion and public housing being demolished.