The Junction Journal

5pointz

This isn’t another diatribe on how increasingly expensive/impossible it is to live in New York (however true that may be). Instead, this is a lament on the inevitable loss of the one of our best treasures. I’m talking about 5pointz, the warehouse building in Long Island City, Queens, which is scheduled for demolition between the end of this year and the beginning of next. It doesn’t take long to realize why 5pointz is so special. One look is all that’s needed. The building is drenched with graffiti art. The building has been, for years, an unfinished canvas. Periodically tweaked and added to, the building has served as a landmark in the neighborhood. An unofficial cultural center, many artists had dubbed it to be the ‘Graffiti Mecca.’ After all the years of artistic innovation and expression, I guess it was easy to forget that the building was still privately owned. What was thought for years, at least emotionally, to belong to the artists and people of the neighborhood, actually belongs to the Wolkoff family (a family who originally bought the building forty years ago). The Wolkoff family, in conjunction with the New York City council, has decided to replace the ‘Graffiti Mecca’ with two apartment towers, each standing over forty stories. Not to worry though, because apparently this is going to hurt Mr. Wolkoff just as much as it’s going to hurt us. He says, ‘I absolutely love their art.’ ‘There will be tears in my eyes when I take that building down.’

I’m sorry, but why are you tearing the building down again? This sounds so disingenuous to me. I’m in obvious support of 5pointz, but, in fairness, the Wolkoff family has agreed to one concession (I say one concession because even though the Wolkoff family has also agreed to accommodate affordable housing, it should be noted that that was required of them to qualify for tax-free financing). Graffiti artists will be given a section of the building, specifically ten thousand square feet of space surrounding the complex, to continue (or restart, depending on whom you talk to) Long Island City’s, and by extension New York City’s, graffiti art tradition. Perhaps, not all is lost. As lofty as it may seem, I think two towers slathered in graffiti art looks a lot better than a warehouse building. 😉

-Shayne McGregor

Sources:

http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2013/10/11/photos-new-york-s5pointzgraffitimecca.html

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304520704579125902343221802.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/09/nyregion/city-council-to-decide-fate-of-mecca-for-graffiti-artists.html?_r=0

Subotnick

I suppose I could write about how the government is still shut down, or how the new Obamacare websites are unfortunately still glitchy for a lot of people, but you already know that. I want to talk about a sweet little NPR segment I found on Morton Subotnick. If you are unfamiliar with his work (which I confess I was until two days ago), suffice to say he is one of the founding fathers of electronic music. His debut album Silver Apples to the Moon was one of the first internationally acclaimed electronic albums. He broke the mold championed by his contemporaries by injecting his songs with the occasional repeated rhythm. His work may seem worlds removed from today’s loop-based and predictable EDM, but it (what exactly is it?) would not exist without his innovations.

After the release of Silver Apples, Subotnick was offered the job of artistic director at a burgeoning New York nightclub known as Electric Circus. The opening night was a huge success. “[Japanese conductor] Seiji Ozawa came down; members of the Kennedy family were there,” Subotnick says. “I played about a half-hour’s worth of material starting with a heartbeat. … It wasn’t a beat that you would usually use in rock ‘n’ roll, but it was a strong pulse, and that’s all they needed. And they ended up dancing to it.”

What delights me the most about Subotnick is that while he recently turned eighty, his goals as an artist and musician remain the same. Watch an interview with him and you will see an exuberance and liveliness I rarely see in people my own age. His wife seems really fantastic as well.

http://www.npr.org/templates/event/embeddedVideo.php?storyId=231546813&mediaId=

Mr. Subotnick stands as a testimony to how far a commitment to your passions can take you. He has worn many hats over his career—composer, performer, software developer, educator— but each role has served his overall goal of making music more accessible for people to listen to and to create for themselves.

Well played NPR. Well played.

-Josane Cumandala

Source

Image Source

Miley Cyrus and Sinead O’Connor

Well, sorry. I know there are much more important topics to discuss. But hey, it’s Miley time! Miley and I have a lot in common. First, well, uh, but you know, uh, never mind. Actually, the only thing we have in common is probably our age. I first started watching Miley on Disney’s “Hannah Montana” a show about a pop singer who conceals her identity allowing her to live a double life.

https://i0.wp.com/www.hdwallpapersinn.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/hannah-hannah-montana-1485915-1600-1200.jpg

Apparently, Miley is far from her Disney days. After her shocking and erotic performance at the VMAs, no one thought Miley could stoop lower. The girl was twerking and grinding against 36-year-old (and married) Robin Thicke.

We were wrong.

Shortly afterwards, Miley released her music video to “Wrecking Ball.” In the video, Miley is wearing next to nothing while swinging on a wrecking ball and licking a sledgehammer. Disturbing? —To say the least. The sad part is that if you listen to the song without the video, it appears to be a “normal” pop song—something that could have easily been sung by Avril Lavigne or Lana Del Ray. Instead, Miley is selling herself for popularity.

What makes this all interesting is Sinead O’Connor. Widely known for her 1990 one hit wonder “Nothing Compares 2 U”, Sinead openly released a letter telling Miley that she is being “pimped” by the music industry. Why Sinead? Well, Miley kind of started it. Miley told Rolling Stone that her inspiration for her appearance in “Wrecking Ball” was from Sinead’s “Nothing Compares”.

The letter is too long to post here but I will leave a link at the end to read it. Basically, Sinead told Miley that the industry is using her just like they’ve used plenty of young and beautiful women and that they will dump her eventually. Well, I kind of made it sound nicer than how the actual text sounds, but you get the point.

And just like I mentioned earlier, Miley performed “Wrecking Ball” live on SNL and she did an amazing job. She didn’t need to be naked and swinging for her audience to capture her talent.

My point for the news brief? Meh, I’m not too sure myself. I feel bad for Miley. I think she’s caught up in a world managed by people who do not have her reputation or well being as their priority. I thought it was interesting that Sinead answered back (multiple times, actually). Sinead is known for being rebellious (in a different way) from Miley. I appreciated Sinead being blunt with Miley about the darkness of the music industry.

Okay, okay, enough celebrity drama. Does anyone like “Nothing Compares 2 U”? It’s one of my favorite songs. And in my opinion, much better than “Wrecking Ball”.

History Snack:

Sinead O’Connor performed on October 3^rd, 1992 (a month before Miley’s birth) live on SNL. During her performance, Sinead took a picture of the pope (without SNL producers knowing) and ripped it on live TV (link to video on bottom). Sinead was criticizing the sexual abuse in the Roman Catholic Church. The result? Utter mayhem. NBC had to respond to thousands of calls criticizing Sinead’s behavior.

Maybe Miley should have held a picture of Sinead while performing and ripped that.

-Nadia Hamidi