Subtle, No; Awesome, Yes

The continuing adventures of the Park Avenue Armory Youth Corps, in easy-to-swallow Tumblr form. The Youth Corps is a group of New York City public high school students that are immersed in the art and creative processes of the Armory’s artists through paid, project-oriented internships that provide job and career training, leadership development, and essential communication and life skills.

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POST: 'Sweat' - do we just not notice or not care enough?

Watching this show, I found myself on the actual edge of my seat, my heart rate increasing the more I watched and having to close my mouth after my jaw dropped one too many times. From the very beginning, I saw a group of friends as they enjoy the year 2000, when the U.S. is doing fairly well

Check out Youth Corps Phase III member Cheyanne’s review of Lynn Nottage’s Sweat on the TDF blog!

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Youth Corps Get Started on Spring ‘17 Final Project

by Anamaria (Phase II)

The Youth Corps get a set tour of The Hairy Ape.

For the spring 2017 semester of Youth Corps, we have been working towards creating a three-dimensional mechanical art piece, inspired by three plays we have seen and their themes. One we have been focusing on is The Hairy Ape written by Eugene O'Neill in 1922 and directed by Richard Jones to be performed right here at Park Avenue Armory. We also saw Sweat by Lynn Nottage (2015) and The Emperor Jones, also written by Eugene O'Neill (1920).

Our semester began with smaller projects which opened our minds to the themes we would soon see in each of these plays, such as a book binding assembly line. We used our book binding activity to discover what a system is, how we individually are a part of them, as well as what systems we experience in daily life. (Turns out there are quite a few systems we're all part of!) All of us had the opportunity to see The Hairy Ape at the Armory, which follows Yank on his journey to prove that he is not the “hairy ape” that the upper-class Mildred calls him, trying to find if he does belong somewhere.

View of The Hairy Ape set.

Half of the Youth Corps then saw Sweat, which follows a group of protagonists who see their friend promoted and then lose their own factory line jobs. Two of the group, Chris and Jason are being questioned at the beginning, and then we're taken back eight years to see how this all began. Lynn Nottage, who wrote the play and just won a Pulitzer, is also an Artist-in-Residence at the Armory. The other half saw The Emperor Jones, which is about Brutus Jones who escapes persecution from killing many men, to an island where he assumes power and oppresses all those below him. In the play he is aware that the people are coming to take him from power, and runs into the forest to escape, where he begins hallucinating about his past.

In all of these plays, we saw reoccurring themes, such as identity, determination, being stuck in a cycle, the American Dream, and free will (or lack thereof). Then we tinkered, experimenting with different tools and supplies to broaden our inspiration for our final project. During this time we explored Rube Goldberg machines and how they can portray various ideas and themes.

The Youth Corps work on their Rube Goldberg machine.

Now we're on our way. We've got our groups, main themes, and the plays we're choosing to study more closely, and now are determining how to best produce our art pieces to convey everything we've learned this semester thus far! Stay tuned…

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Youth Corps visit the New-York Historical Society

by Cory (Phase II) and Kedesia (Phase I)

Cory interviews Kedesia about a field trip the summer Youth Corps took to the New-York Historical Society.

CORY: Recently, we went to the New-York Historical Society museum, and received a tour from the teen interns there. What did your tour group show you?

KEDESIA: My tour group was called "No Child’s Play," and they showed us different historical artifacts that poor child workers made in factories, like small plates, toy ships and dolls. They showed the difference between the poor and rich kids during the industrial revolution.

CORY: What do you think about kids making toys for other kids?

KEDESIA: The children were in dangerous situations where they could lose their lives, plus it was unsanitary. I think the poor kids had to get money for their families and ultimately, you have to do what you have to do. Even though I don't think anyone should be working in those conditions, at that time, they had to in order to survive.

Youth Corps on tour at N-YHS

CORY: There was a doll of a person of color made during that time, that was not as detailed as the other white dolls made back then. What do you think about that?

KEDESIA: The doll was very stereotypical. It had big white eyes and big red lips. It didn't even have a nose. I guess that's how they wanted everyone to see people of color. It just shows you the power people can have with money. It got to me because I'm black, and back then they tried to make everyone believe this by manipulating what they saw, when in reality it’s not like that at all.

CORY: The teen interns mentioned that some of these dolls are still made today. Does this bother you?

KEDESIA: I hope it’s because they’re supposed to show how people of color were viewed back then and how it wasn’t right. I'm optimistic. I'm not trying to look at the bad side, and people may get upset, but I don't mind it if it’s for historical reasons.

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Youth Corps Meet Darrell Thorne

Youth Corps member Anamaria (Phase I) works with Darrell Thorne. Photo by Jtan Amaya (Phase III)

Over the summer, Youth Corps met with artist and performer Darrell Thorne to learn about his plans for the Armory’s 2016 Gala. Below, Kedesia (Phase I) interviews Cory (Phase II) about the experience of meeting and working with Darrell.

KEDESIA: This week we had the chance to meet Darrell Thorne and I have a few questions for you about him. Starting with the documentary he showed us, what about the film the stuck out to you?

CORY: What stuck out to me the most was is how open he was in discussing that he was HIV positive. It's always great to have insight into someone's obstacles and see how they overcome them because it gives you a lot of inspiration. I found it really cool that he didn't let that stop him from doing what he loves. I like his passion. He worked at a hospital, came from a religious family, and always had a feeling that he was different, but that never stopped him.

Youth Corps try on one of Darrell’s handmade masks.

KEDESIA: If asked to, do you think you would be able to make a headpiece in the same time frame as him?

CORY: He's been doing this for a long time so he has the experience and practice! If he could teach me, then I’d try it.

Darrell and dancers in costume at the Armory’s 2016 Gala. Photo by Da Ping Luo

KEDESIA: He also does body painting! What do you think about that?

CORY: I think it's fascinating how he creates an illusion with paint on the body. It can trick you into thinking it's something when it's not. It's a different way of creating art. It’s original and I find it mesmerizing.

KEDESIA: Do you think it was hard for Darrell to express himself coming from a religious background?

CORY: Yes, I think it must have been a hard time for him. It can be hard to do something you love when it's not accepted at home. I don't know how his parents felt and I would love to hear it from them, but I know that if it were me, I would have struggled fighting for the two things I love.

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Youth Corps Visit Jason Moran’s STAGED Installation

by Saran, Phase I, and Logan, Phase II 

As mentioned in previous posts, our final project this semester is making a podcast inspired by Orson Welles’ “The Fall of the City,” which took place here in the Drill Hall of the Armory! While still in the tinkering and experimenting phase of making podcasts, we went to the Luhring Augustine Gallery in Bushwick, Brooklyn, to see Jason Moran’s “STAGED” installation. Jason Moran, famous Jazz pianist, composer, and MacArthur Fellowship Award winner is actually a friend of the Armory whom some of us Youth Corps got to meet last winter. He is currently curating the Artists Studio series of events in the newly renovated Veterans Room here.

His sound art installation at the Luhring Augustine Gallery was inspired by the look and sounds of two famous Jazz clubs that are no longer around. Parts of the sound pieces he made were pulled from chain gang songs, sung by prisoners made to do manual labor. There were also works on the wall where he had covered a piano with paper and played over it with charcoal on his hands, making marks. As part of our research into podcasts and the different aspects of podcasting, we went to this sound art installation to get our minds thinking about how sounds connect and how we can incorporate that into our own podcast. In this interview, Logan (Phase II) talks with Saran (Phase I) about her experience while at the installation.  

LOGAN:  What were your initial impressions when you walked into the Jason Moran exhibition?

SARAN:  At first I was confused, because initially thought we were going to see a big museum or something like that, but then I was like, “What is this?”  Because I didn’t really understand it. As I kept looking around and the music starting playing, then I understood.

LOGAN:  So after being there a while, walking around the installation, and the music started playing, did the music evoke an emotion or remind you of anything?

SARAN:  Yeah, I feel like my mind is really negative because my mind went straight to slaves, so I thought maybe since Jason Moran is black, he’s trying to do something to honor the black slaves because the music seemed like—

LOGAN:  Slave music?

SARAN:  Yeah, it seemed like a foreign language that wouldn’t — I don’t know, it sounded to me like, “oh, slaves.” Then the artwork on the walls looked like ships.

LOGAN:  You thought they were slave ships?

SARAN:  Yeah! I thought, “Oh I’m right, slaves,” but I still wasn’t too sure. But then we talked about how he combined the chain gang music with the jazz music from clubs in the city and it made more sense.

LOGAN:  If you had the money, would you buy his installation?

SARAN:  I’d buy it because I can really connect to his work in many ways. Especially the sound shell structure—not only did it have African fabric, the sound from it made me feel close to home (Guinea, Conakry).

LOGAN:  Overall, what was your favorite part of the installation?

SARAN:  When the music from the piano and sound shell came together because at first, I was only thinking slaves but the singing and the piano together gave me an old black music vibe.

LOGAN:  Is there anything else you want to say about the installation?

SARAN:  I hope that my kids and grandkids get to see this one day.

LOGAN:  Well, thank you Saran.

SARAN:  You’re welcome!

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Youth Corps Experience Thrilling Adventure Hour

By Anamaria, Phase I

Just a few weeks ago, it was revealed that we, as Youth Corps would create and take part in our own podcasts as part of our final project. Our inspiration is Orson Welles’ “The Fall of the City”, which premiered via Columbia Broadcasting System, right in our very own Drill Hall. It occurred in 1937, complete with a live crowd to provide the cast of the radio drama. It was spectacular, and having the opportunity to listen to the original audio made it clear we just had to base our project on the groundbreaking broadcast.

So, on July 23, approximately half of the Park Avenue Armory Youth Corps, including myself, were invited to a live taping of the radio drama podcast “Thrilling Adventure Hour”, as research into modern radio drama, and what it takes to create a successful podcast.

It was exciting for sure, with actors including Jon Hamm of Mad Men, who performed two sketches. The first was called Sparks Nevada: Marshal on Mars. This particular sketch was about Mars being dangerously overheated from its core, because of Lava Men doing ‘things’. It was so exaggerated and energetic that it was hilarious! In the end the main character, Sparks, was able to save the planet from exploding by turning down Mars’ thermostat. In between sketches we enjoyed a music break, to help transition in a new story. We hadn't known the words at first, but I definitely found myself singing the odd lyrics by the end.

The second sketch was called Beyond Belief, about socialites Sadie and Frank, who are introduced to a mannequin lifestyle from Frank's former buddies that are alive for one night a year. The beginning was very lighthearted, and Frank's friends reveal he was once a mannequin himself. A mannequin hunter even comes to kill his friends, but is defeated with a change of heart. My favorite part of it all was when things took a dark turn. The line I remember was: “Do you know what thrill killing is?” as said by one of the mannequin friends. It turns out they spend their one night a year ripping apart humans limb from limb. It threw us all when the revelation came to light. But it was masterful use of writing because no one saw it coming.

In effect, it was a great podcast, with more twists and turns that any of us had anticipated, though I guess that's why they call it “Thrilling Adventure Hour.” It was a look into storytelling podcasts with voice-acting and sound effects, much like the podcast the Armory broadcasted from the Drill Hall in the 1930s.

Since attending the podcast taping, I’ve been able to adapt the ideas of personas, or characters, in our ‘practice podcasts.’ I was in a group of four, with Logan, Lorenzo and Gregori, forming the Clueless Comics. I used some of the ‘campy’ style commonly seen in radio dramas, and the exaggeration, to play the clueless guest star who needed some help to learn about comics. (It wasn’t so hard to play that character, I found, having not been the comic savvy person that my friends are.) We also used sound effects in the same way, to provide context for the podcast, making our theme and outro music based off of superheroes. All of it helped further our understanding of what a podcast can be, and how we can create it.

Going to see “Thrilling Adventure Hour” was a true adventure. I was able to take so much from it, and it will serve as a wonderful juxtaposition to Orson Welles’ radio play, so we can make informative and entertaining podcasts.

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Would You Be Able to Collect 100 Sounds from a Train Station in an Hour?

By Kedesia, Phase I

Both Youth Corps Phases 1 and 2 were put up to the task. Some even had 102 sounds, but that’s just what the Youth Corps program is all about: always exceeding expectations!

We went to Grand Central Station and were put into groups of three. We all had booklets and pens and were told to walk around and mark down every sound you hear. We had to collect 100 unique sounds. My group started off great, but after about 40 we kept hearing the same things we already wrote down. That’s when another group came up to us and made us a deal. They’ll tell us some of the sounds they heard that we didn’t have, if we did so as well. Then we will all go around together because 12 ears were better than six!

As a Phase I in the Youth Corps program, I thought it was weird to just go to a train station to hear sounds. I use the train every day and it isn’t all that exciting. Of course when I got there I changed my whole perspective on what we were there for, and I was more excited to start. When we first began and were just looking at everything and everyone. People kept staring at us because we went around with our heads tilted to catch a sound others hear every day and don’t even notice. I felt like we were aliens from a different planet because we seemed so interested in everything, just because we wanted to hear everything we possibly could. Even though I was doing it, I still hadn’t grasped the reason of why we were doing the challenge. Maybe to have some fun? Maybe because we were going to play a game on this afterward?

We were asked by someone working at the Apple Store what we were doing and my groupmates said explained that we had to collect 100 sounds. The worker still looked confused and his facial expression told me he wanted to ask why even though he didn’t. Then I remembered about our final project. The Youth Corps always has a final project and ours were making our own podcast. So, what does a podcast have? Sound!!! That’s why we were there: we were listening out for many sounds. It was to give us a little direction of what we could sound like when making our podcasts.

Cory, Phase II, displays her group’s list of sounds.

Later, when asked what we thought the purpose of this challenge, we all came up with similar response. But we also thought of other reasons: to realize what we hear every day and don’t notice, to make us better listeners, and show us all we can learn just by listening. The last reason was correct, and even proved right because when we were making our podcast and heard each others’ work, it was clear we all really felt the need to have other sounds in there to keep the conversation interesting.

I give thanks to that little 100 Sounds Challenge, because it has made all the difference while podcasting without me even realizing it would do so at first.

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Youth Corps Meet Dia:Beacon Teens

By Shai, Phase II

Meeting with the teen group from Dia:Beacon was a great opportunity to meet teens who work in a contemporary arts institution, just like us Youth Corps.

It was interesting to see how we both have the similar views about contemporary art, such as staying open-minded when it comes to contemporary art, as well as investing your time into thinking about why something is considered art.

The day consisted of fun activities. First we started off with an extremely fun “name game” just to get to know each other. Later, we took a jump into interviewing the Dia Teens. Why would Youth Corps interview them? Well, our final project this semester is creating our own podcasts, so we interviewed our guests.

We developed questions to ask them such as: “What do you think about past art versus contemporary art?” and “What do you consider art?”  One of the Dia Teens responded: “Anything that causes an emotion.” Another said: “Everything is art as long as if affects someone.” We even learned about their favorite artworks in their museum, as well as how their location in Beacon influences their views on art.

These questions allowed the Youth Corps to experience how it feels to keep a conversation rolling in an interview! This was yet another great experience for the Youth Corps, because we learned a lot from the Dia Teens. We look forward to using our interview skills to create podcast this semester!

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Youth Corps Prepare to Create Podcasts

By Gregori, Phase I

Gregori and Anamaria hard at work podcasting.

This summer, the Youth Corps are working on creating podcasts. To get started we “tinkered” by making two projects. One was practicing with sounds, and the other was doing our own podcast shows on whatever topics we wanted.

In the first project each Youth Corps worked individually, using voices of other Youth Corps talking about their favorite summer activities. We added sounds and rhythm. Some of the more interesting ones were about summer and the beach, with pleasant sounds that put the image of summer in your mind. Some were making sentences with each of youth corp voices and opinions.

In the second project we formed four groups, each doing our own podcast show, from different genres like pop culture to social issues. My group made a review of the Justice League trailers with three comic geeks and a person who didn’t know anything about comics. It was fun because the conversation between the hosts was really fluent. Other topics were teen struggles including parties, parents, and school, which was very relatable. Another talked about social issues, how some hip hop has negative effects. In that podcast the hosts disagreed and presented many different viewpoints. Finally another topic was relationships, about how people choose between friendship and romantic relationships, and what's more important to value. The contents of this podcast were really interesting and relatable, but they also helped us start practicing the technical parts: like introductions, music/sound effects, balance or voice, hook/theme, overview, opinions, and climax.

What I'm looking forward to is our final podcasts. It was very fun talking about something I like and making our own podcast shows and episodes.

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Youth Corps Experience the Live Taping of For Colored Nerds

By Angela, Phase II

Youth Corps works on a final project every semester, and this summer we are creating podcasts!  In 1937, an experimental radio play was broadcast nationally from the Armory called “The Fall of the City”, starring Orson Welles. We are using this radio play as inspiration to explore how sound is an art form that can evoke emotion and allow for multiple interpretations – in a modern way, by creating podcasts.

Because of that, we have been listening to a lot of podcasts lately, and one of our assignments was to listen to For Colored Nerds.  FCN is a podcast hosted by two best friends, Eric and Brittany, where they talk about “the uncool topic of their choice” while also “testing their outer limits of their friendship” (as they say on their website).

As part of our research, we also went to see a live taping of FCN in July. Seeing a podcast live for the first time was really exciting and intriguing, especially since the hosts talked about everything from social issues all the way to the humorous and beautiful parts of life.  You can listen to the taping we went to see in this episode of FCN.

Listening to their podcast first, and then actually seeing them on stage, was a completely different experience. I personally do not like listening to podcasts mainly because I have trouble focusing to voices in my headphones, but when I saw FCN live, I loved every minute of it.  Half of the summer Youth Corps went, and it all made sense once we saw Brittany and Eric’s personalities shine on stage.

I asked a few of the Youth Corps who went to see FCN live: “What is one word you would use to describe the live podcast of FCN and why?”

Amadou (Phase II): “Outgoing, because I felt their personalities. We were able to see their personalities shine, and it didn’t feel like they were faking it.”

Logan (Phase II): “Eye-opening, because it exposed me to a new area of art, which is black art. I hadn’t thought about the impact it has had before we went to the taping.”

Saran (Phase I): “Relatable. There were two women in the taping, the host, Brittany, and a guest, Ashley Ford, and one of them had natural hair. They talked about movies that had an impact on them, and hearing their views of those movies, I definitely gained a lot more knowledge because of their point of view.”

Keshawn (Phase II): “Comforting. It’s good to see the black community come together and have a conversation about recent events happening in society.”

We all had different words to describe this experience, but in the end, it connects back to how FCN is a work of art. Everyone has different interpretations of art in general, but as long as you leave with a feeling, the artists did something right.

We are very excited that, after some Twitter conversations, we will get to meet Brittany and Eric later this month when they visit us here at the Armory! We will be sure to write about the experience here!

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Youth Corps Present at the New York City Museum Education Roundtable Conference

In early May 2016, Park Avenue Armory Youth Corps joined forces with youth interns from the Museum of Modern Art and the American Museum of Natural History to present a session at the annual NYCMER (New York City Museum Educators Roundtable) Conference, attended by hundreds of educators from area cultural institutions. The students formed a panel, shared a bit about their institutions, and spent a full hour answering pressing questions from educators. Youth Corps members Nancy and Terrelle reflect on the experience below from their perspective as Armory interns. We send our thanks to fellow youth panelists Cara and Yvonne from MoMA and Roman and Karina from AMNH, as well as to staff facilitators Calder Zwicky (MoMA) and Barry Joseph (AMNH), for collaborating with us on this session!

Nancy: The conference was a total success. Terrelle and I were excited for the meeting from the very start, and we were ready to introduce the Armory and all it has to offer to us, as well as the Youth Corps program to the people attending the conference.

Terrelle: Being part of the conference was a really great experience for me. It really gave me more insight about other youth internship programs in NYC, and made me appreciate working at Park Avenue Armory so much more.

Nancy: We were part of a panel called “Ask the Experts: Activating Your Museum through a Younger Lens,” with other youth interns from the American Museum of Natural History and MoMA. We got to chat with them beforehand at a nearby Starbucks and know more about what their programs had to offer. Once we were inside the Morgan Library, where the conference was taking place, we began introducing ourselves to the educators attending our session, and all our nerves went away.

Terrelle: The first question we were asked was how we want to be identified—as teens or youth or something else? This question is quite tricky since it really depends on the type of programs and the type of people you want to reach. I have seen a majority say they would prefer the term “youth” as it is less patronizing than the word teen. To me, “teen” typically refers to ages 12-15.

Nancy: Also, at our program here at Park Avenue Armory, the age ranges from 13-22+, so “teens” wouldn't exactly be the way to go. Instead “youth” can mean any age within that spectrum.

Terrelle: Others in our panel found “teen” to be better, and others thought whatever term makes alliteration with your program title, then that's what you should use. Words like Student and Young Artist were also mentioned, and I liked those as well, because in a sense everyone is a student. Everyone is still learning, especially when it comes to art—there is always something you can improve on.

Speaking of improving, another question asked that stuck out for me was: “How do your programs provide space for failure?” Here at the Armory, we create a final project every semester that is inspired by a production—past projects have been guides to unplugging, an audio walk, and installation art. We typically go through a tinkering phase where we experiment with different materials, different ideas, and produce different outcomes. Our tinkering process is our trial and error phase. Many people know the saying “You learn from your mistakes.” When you fail at something, it’s not that you should give up—it’s for you to analyze what you did wrong and to fix it. Once you learn what you need to do to have your envisioned outcome, then you can adjust.

Nancy: We were also asked whether or not we felt we had a voice within our programs. This was an automatic no brainer for me since that is exactly what the Armory provides, especially with the Advisory Board, which enables us to make vital decisions for events, productions, and our program.

Terrelle: I am one who always vouches for programs to let youth have a voice when it comes to something that they’re involved in. If something is for teens/youth, then they should be able to give you feedback on how you can run it better or improve on certain things. Having end of semester feedback/questionnaires or advisory boards become essential, because this gives your students a chance to voice their ideas and concerns.

Nancy: We also got asked if we felt that the programs we are in represent the diversity of New York City. This made me think of the different schools the Armory partners with, which have ethnicities from all over, and many are international students. The different boroughs that we come from add to the diversity that our program has.

Photo courtesy Barry Joseph

Terrelle: All in all the NYCMER conference has definitely inspired me—to work on my networking skills, one of my many personal goals for this year, and also to become more involved in youth events and teen nights in the city.

Nancy: Representing the Armory was not only fun but interesting. It was great to be able to learn about other programs that aren’t our own and meet other students who work in cultural institutions. We were glad to have been able to provide answers to arts educators!

You can learn more about the Armory Youth Corps here, the MoMA Teens program here, and the American Museum of Natural History teen programs here.

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Youth Corps Present at REMAP Bay Area

In mid-April 2016, Phase III Youth Corps Nancy and Jtan traveled to San Francisco, CA, with Armory Artist Corps Penelope McCourty and choreographer Reggie “Regg Roc” Gray to present a workshop at REMAP. REMAP Bay Area was a gathering organized by ArtChangeUS: Arts in a Changing America, which is a new, five-year initiative that seeks to explore and understand the dramatic demographic transformation of the United States and its profound impact on arts and culture. In their workshop, called "Flexn Your Story,” participants utilized elements of Flex dance--characterized by pausing, snapping, gliding, bone breaking, hat tricks, animation, and contortion--to express personal narratives around social justice issues. True to the Flex dance community, participants created “tag team” duets of their stories. In this post, Phase III Youth Corps Nancy and Jtan share their experiences at REMAP.

Nancy: Our trip to San Francisco was nothing but amazing vibes. The FLEXN workshop itself started off with a surge of energy and willingness from everyone to get sweaty. One of our fears before starting was that groups would stay within themselves, but to our advantage no one knew each other. Some participants came in suits, while others chose comfortable clothing, but no matter what they wore, everyone gave it their all without thinking twice.

Jtan: The participants were so engaged in every part of the workshop. No one was familiar with each other beforehand, but you couldn’t tell because of how comfortable everyone was with each other—a community/supportive environment was forming between all of us. They showed lots of interest in learning about flexing, and it showed from the way they danced and picked up the moves that Reggie taught us. They also were interested in learning more about the Armory.

Nancy: Jtan and I facilitated back and forth to spread out the information evenly, and then Reggie and Penelope took charge and laid everything out with immense clarity. After we answered questions about FLEXN, the Armory, and the Youth Corps program, people started bonding. We created a cypher—a freestyle dance circle. Once our cypher began, most people went for it. Some were hesitant, but we encouraged and supported each other, and they eventually gave us some of their dance moves.

Nancy: All throughout our workshop, I noticed other people on the outside of our circle moving along with us and taking part in it.

Jtan: After our workshop, we had a lunch break and then went to a couple of inspirational panel discussions, which led up to the finale panel talk that featured Reggie. Reggie spoke about flexing, its history, and how far it has come. Finally, Reggie had 2 flexers from the Bay Area (Droopy and Crawler) perform, who put on one hell of a performance.

Nancy: The success of this workshop made us feel accomplished and wanting to continue these workshops in other cities.

Jtan: The rest of the trip was just the cherry on the top. We got to go around sightseeing and exploring the great city of San Francisco. We started in Upper Haight, such a visually amazing place filled with colorful walls and art everywhere. From there we headed up to Golden Gate Park and walked around. Near there is the Conservatory of Flowers, which is the huge glass green house that had more than 2,000 species of plants and flowers. Finally, we just sat down on the grass, relaxed, and took it all in. This trip San Francisco has made to my top favorites of all time, especially because I was surrounded by great co-workers in a great city filled with positive, artistic vibes.

Photo by Nancy

Nancy: San Francisco is a city I will be sure to visit again!

Nancy, Phase III Youth Corps

Jtan, Phase III Youth Corps

All photos in this post by Jtan unless noted

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Youth Corps and the Armory Artist Corps

By Shai, Phase I

What's better than a day at the Armory? A day with the Armory Artist Corps! The Artist Corps are teaching artists, who visit schools in New York City to prepare students to see productions at the Armory. They test their educational activities on us Youth Corps, and we then give our feedback and our thoughts on the activity.

As a Phase I, my first Artist Corps experience was about De Materie. The whole experience of doing activities with the teaching artists was so fun. Not only did we meet amazing people, but I learned so much more about De Materie. Typically people would say it's a musical, but it's actually a symphony directed by Heiner Goebbels, using four visual images. One of the visual images in the symphony had actual sheep! Sounds strange, doesn’t it? Well, the sheep were extremely personal and significant to Mr. Goebbels. He contemplated putting sheep in the symphony but he wasn't sure why at first—it was his instinct to do it. Then he remembered that whenever he would fly a glider with his father, there was a sheep barn nearby and they could see the field of sheep grazing, and that’s where the image came from.

Besides learning a lot of fun things, the activities expanded our thoughts. The activities were truly fun and caused you to think. It might sound weird—how would you expand your thoughts through an activity? Here’s how: They were hands on, and you got to see others’ perspectives, causing you to think more than you would otherwise.

So I know you're asking, “What did you get out of this?” Working with such amazing people who have positivity, high energy, and joyful vibes, you become a better individual as far as being able to communicate in a group. It benefits your people skills. I definitely can't wait to experience another workshop with the teaching artists.

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Inspired by Martin Creed: "I don’t know what I want to say” by Manuella, Phase I

Manuella, Youth Corps Phase I, wrote the below poem responding to Martin Creed’s 2001 work, “I don’t know what I want to say”, above. Youth Corps are studying and creating a final project inspired by artist Martin Creed, whose work will be on view at the Armory this summer. 

I don’t know what I want to say Does it even matter anymore Look at what’s left of my world Look at what I’ve lost Does it matter what I say

I don’t know what I want to say I have lost my will to speak Once upon a time my voice was mine And now I’m forced to conform To your wishes, I’m yours to bid

I don’t know what I want to say Or maybe I do and I’d rather not say Or maybe I really don’t know And I want you to help me speak I want to be heard again

I don’t know what I want to say I’ve thought of so much And yet I’ve achieved so little My mind is filled with incoherent thoughts So of course I don’t know what I want to say

I don’t know what I want to say I don’t know how to say it Is there any way you can understand My thoughts         my feelings              Without saying

[parkavenuearmory]

Top: De Materie phographed by Stephanie Berger. Bottom: Photograph of the first Solvay Conference in 1911. Seated (L-R): W. Nernst, M. Brillouin, E. Solvay, H. Lorentz, E. Warburg, J. Perrin, W. Wien, M. Skłodowska-Curie, and H. Poincaré. Standing (L-R): R. Goldschmidt, M. Planck, H. Rubens, A. Sommerfeld, F. Lindemann, M. de Broglie, M. Knudsen, F. Hasenöhrl, G. Hostelet, E. Herzen, J.H. Jeans, E. Rutherford, H. Kamerlingh Onnes, A. Einstein and P. Langevin.

As we prepare for the last performance of De Materie, let us take a look at the fourth movement of Louis Andriessen’s masterwork, which presents a tableau vivant of the 1911 Solvay Conference. Towards the end of the piece, Polish-French scientist Marie Curie appears and recites a combination of her Nobel Prize-winning speech and fragments from a diary she kept after her husband Pierre died in 1906. The Solvay Conference took place in Brussels in 1911 and the topic focused on “Radiation and Quanta.” This conference allowed the pioneers of these disciplines to address problems and approaches in classical physics and quantum theory, and was where Madame Curie first presented her development of the theory of radioactivity, a term she coined. The success of the first Solvay Conference established a legacy that has led to its continuation, which takes place every three years, when renowned scholars come together to further discuss the ever-changing fields of physics and chemistry. Below we take a look at the scientists and scholars who attended the first Solvay Conference in 1911.

Maria Salomea Sklodowska-Curie (1867-1934) was a physicist and chemist who devoted her career to doing research on radioactivity. Some of her major accomplishments include developing the theory of radioactivity, innovating techniques for isolating radioactive isotopes, and discovering elements polonium and radium. Curie was the first woman to win the Nobel Prize, and the only woman to win it twice for different scientific disciplines. She founded the Curie Institutes in Paris and her hometown, Warsaw, both of which continue her scientific legacy and are leading centers of medical research today.

Walther Hermann Nernst (1864-1941) was a German physicist whose research and theories for the calculation of chemical affinity won him the 1920 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Other accomplishments include developing the Nernst equation. His scientific contributions have helped establish the modern field of physical chemistry.

Louis Marcel Brilloui (1854-1948) was a French physicist and mathematician, and worked for 31 years as a Professor of Mathematical Physics at the College de France. Brillouin contributed to 200 scientific papers on a wide range of topics including kinetic theory, viscosity, and electricity.

Ernest Gaston Joseph Solway (1838-1922) was a Belgian chemist, industrialist, and philanthropist. His major accomplishments include developing ammonia-soda process that improved the manufacture of soda ash and limestone. Establishing processing plants brought Solvay an increasing amount of wealth which he used for philanthropic causes.

Hendrik Lorentz (1853-1928) was a Dutch physicist whose theory of the Zeeman effect won him and Pieter Zeeman the 1902 Nobel Prize in Physics. Lorentz’s research on the transformation equations laid the foundation of Albert Einstein’s theory of the special relativity. Revered by many in his field, Lorentz is seen as an innovator who completed the work of his predecessors and laid the groundwork for future physicists.

Emil Gabriel Warburg (1946-1931) was a German Physicist who devoted his career to research in areas of kinetic theory of gases, electrical conductivity, gas discharges, heat radiation, ferromagnetism and photochemistry. Warburg was a professor of physics at the University of Strassburg.

Jean Baptiste Perrin (1870-1942) was a French physicist who studied the Brownian motion of particles suspended in liquids. His research on the atomic nature of matter won him the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1926.

Wilhelm Wien (1964-1928) was a German physicist who devoted his research to theories about heat, and electromagnetism. His notion of adiabatic invariance became fundamental for the field of quantum mechanics. He won the Nobel Prize in 1911 for his work on heat radiation.

Henri Poincare (1854-1912) was a French mathematician, physicist, engineer, and philosopher of science. His contributions are instrumental in the fields of pure and applied mathematics. He formulated the Poincare Conjecture which was one of the most famous unsolved problems in mathematics until it was solved in 2002-03. Poincare himself was known as being able to excel and contribute to all scientific disciplines of his time.

Robert Goldschmidt (1877-1935) was a Belgian chemist, physicist, and engineer. Goldschmidt was the first to conjure up the idea of standardized microfiche. His research also contributed to advances in aviation and wireless telegraphy.

Max Karl Ernst Ludwig Planck (1858-1947) was a German theoretical physicist whose contributions to the work on quantum theory were honored with the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1918. His legacy of the quantum theory has transformed human understanding of atomic and subatomic process.

Heinrich Rubens (1863-1922) was a German physicist. Rubens’ major accomplishments include his work in black-body radiation, which was fundamental for fellow Solvay conference attendee Max Planck’s discovery of radiation law. Rubens received the Rumford Medal in 1910 for his work in radiation and longwave length.

Arnold Johannes Wilhelm Sommerfeld (1869-1951) was a German theoretical physicist who contributed to the pioneering of developments in atomic and quantum physics. Sommerfeld served as a PhD supervisor for many Nobel Prize winners in physics.

Frederick Lindemann (1886-1957) was an English physicist. He developed a mathematical theory of aircraft spin recovery. He was one of the first people to suggest, in 1919, that in the solar wind particles of both polarities (protons and electrons) come from the sun.

Maurice de Broglie (1875-1960) was a French physicist. He made advances in the study of X-ray diffraction and spectroscopy.

Martin Knudsen (1871-1949) was Danish physicist known for his study of molecular gas flow. He developed the Knudsen cell, a primary component of molecular beam epitaxy systems.

Friedrich Hasenöhrl (1874-1915) was an Austrian physicist. He challenged the electromagnetic mass formula. and used different theories from scientists like Einstein and Planck to further his work.

Georges Hostelet (1875-1960) was a Belgian mathematician, philosopher and sociologist. He published The Scientific Investigation of The Facts of Human Activity right before he passed away. He proposed a review of the categorial imperative by the philosopher Kant.

Édouard Herzen (1877-1936) was a Belgian Chemist. He played a leading role in the development of chemistry and physics in the 20th Century.

James Hopwood Jeans (1877-1946) was an English physicist, astronomer, and mathematician who developed the concept of Jeans length, a critical radius of an interstellar cloud in space.

Ernest Rutherford (1871-1937) was a New Zealand-born British physicist. He worked with J. J. Thompson on conductive effects of X-rays on gas. This work led to the discovery of the electron. Because of this, he is known as the father of nuclear physics.

Heike Kamerlingh Onnes (1853-1926) was a Dutch physicist and Nobel laureate. In 1911, he found that at 4.2 K the resistance of solid mercury in liquid helium suddenly vanishes, and he called this Superconductivity (electrical resistance).

Albert Einstein (1879-1955) was a German theoretical physicist. He developed the theory of relativity. He came up with the energy equivalence formula (E=mc2).

Paul Langevin (1872-1946) was a French physicist. He developed the Langevin dynamics and the Langevin equation. He worked with a colleague to patent the first ultrasonic submarine detector.

THANK YOU: Youth Corps Researchers: Paola (Phase III) & Manuella (Phase I)

Sources: 1911 Solvay Conference, W. Nernst , M. Brillouin, E. Solvay,H. Lorentz, E. Warburg,J. Perrin, W. Wien,M. Skłodowska-Curie, andH. Poincaré. Standing (L-R):R. Goldschmidt, M. Planck,H. Rubens, A. Sommerfeld,F. Lindemann,M. de Broglie,M. Knudsen, F. Hasenöhrl,G. Hostelet, E. Herzen,J.H. Jeans, E. Rutherford,H. Kamerlingh Onnes, A. Einstein and P. Langevin.

[youthcorps]

Youth Corps Meet & Greet the Armory Staff

By Anai, Phase I

Being new in Youth Corps has been an amazing experience. We Phase Is first met all of the other Youth Corps members, and then we got to meet the Armory Staff. Every semester there is a “Meet & Greet” where the new Youth Corps meet the staff. We have treats and food and everyone gets a chance to talk to each other.

We made a poster so we could have something to talk about with the staff. We Phase Is answered: What school do we come from? How old are we? What is our interest in the Armory? What would our superpower be? What has been the weirdest thing we have ever seen? But we weren’t allowed to use words (except for our names and school)—we had to use images. But we weren’t asked to do this alone; we were paired with a Phase II Youth Corps buddy to help us brainstorm our ideas for a while, and then got to work making our poster.

When creating the poster I decided to add eyes to my poster, representing my superpower, which would be to see what people’s opinions were on me and what people think. Under that, I added a woman covered with star stickers on her body, because the weirdest thing I’ve ever seen is a woman covered all over with stickers without clothing on the subway. This part of my poster started many conversations with the staff members I met when I told them what I meant by this specific drawing. Around her was a sketch of the Armory’s Drill Hall, because I would like to be a part of it and see the events that are made in this huge space, and how everything is created.

I enjoyed speaking with the Phase II Youth Corps buddy I was paired with and I got to learn more about how others are part of the events here in the Armory. Many of the people we met were really cool and told us what their job is here. I met someone who works in the box office who told us that’s where people pick up the tickets (she was surprised about the lady with stickers). Overall, I felt welcomed, and the way the staff reacted when we spoke about ourselves made me feel confident to open up to talk and make a conversation with them. At first I was a bit nervous to speak and I wasn’t sure what to say, but in the end I had a great time meeting other people who I will be working with later on. This makes me look forward to learn more about the other Youth Corps members too.

[youthcorps]

Youth Corps Meet Jason Moran

In mid-February, jazz pianist, composer, and MacArthur Fellow Jason Moran met with Park Avenue Armory Youth Corps to introduce them to Artists Studio, a new series of  events inspired by the newly-reopened Veterans Room and the inventive spirit of the designers who conceived it. Curated by Moran, these performances feature a diverse mix of contemporary classical, performative art, and an improvisational approach to jazz. 

In this post, Youth Corps describe their experiences meeting with Moran. We look forward to collaborating with him in the future! 

“Talking with Jason made me think about how amazing it is that Youth Corps have the opportunity to meet and speak with artists in intimate settings. Talking with with Jason made me realize how lucky I am to be a Youth Corps member. It was exciting to listen to him speak to us about his vision for the upcoming series in the Veterans Room. It surprised me to hear how he thinks about music and how it is played, and how rooms have a very big impact on that. I never thought about that before until then. He was so charismatic and friendly.”  —Biviana, Phase III 

“I really enjoyed meeting Jason and talking to him. The way he explained music was amazing: it showed that he’s still so passionate about music [after years of performing].”  —J-tan, Phase III

“I'm glad that Jason has the opportunity to curate this series in the Veterans Room. He is bringing an eclectic range of musical expression into a room that parallels those forms of music. Jason is well aware of the world and how people interact with their surroundings, which will undoubtedly be reflected in the performances he has chosen for the series. I am thankful that I was able to meet Jason and experience his keen eye for audience interaction in a way many others may not be able to.”  —Cody, Phase III

“Being able to meet Jason was a great experience for me. I got to meet a very famous and talented artist in person. Talking to Jason opened my eyes because he questions things that people don't normally do. This type of thinking helps take things to a whole other level. One thing that really surprised me was when Jason informed us that the temperature affects the sound waves of the piano. I never would imagine that that had anything to do with the piano and its performance."  —Santiago, Phase II

“Talking to Jason made me think about my future as a musician. His story about [being inspired to get into music by] Thelonious Monk and [Jason’s] mind frame as a teenager really connected to me because it was basically the same mind frame that I have now. I was thinking about the experience and music on the commute home, and was so inspired that I sat down on my piano at home and created a song! So thank you Jason. You said that you wanted to inspire people, and you definitely inspired me that day.”  —Logan, Phase II

All photos by Da Ping Luo