Art Created, Curated: A Student Webstream

4′33″

27th May 2015

John Cage’s contemporary piece, “Four Minutes and Thirty Three Seconds” (4’ 33”) was a very abrupt and severe entrance into the age of new music into the mainstream concert hall. In an industry that had been previously stagnant with the introduction of change, the composer felt many things needed to be changed about the aural and visual aspects of an orchestral performance. The inspiration behind creating such a work lies in Cage’s trip to Harvard’s anechoic chamber, which eliminates all sounds. All that can be heard is one’s own bodily functions such as the heart beating, stomach growling, and whatever else may be occurring. The composer’s trip to this chamber coincided with his search to create a landmark piece to mark the middle of his life, or as some reviewers think, to commemorate his mid-life crisis. And thus, this avant-garde piece of symphonic literature was born. The piece is broken up into three movements which, cumulatively, take four minutes and thirty three seconds to perform. Though the contrast between this piece and others performed in the same halls for the same audience is stark, Cage’s composition takes the form of typical orchestral style in that it features three movements, with each movement attempting to create contrasting atmospheres, dialogues, and outrage. Although reactions to the piece have not been able to rival the raucous aftermath that occurred after the premiere of Igor Stravinsky’s “The Rite of Spring,” such a style of performance has received criticism from some, as well as acclamation and praise from others.

Parents in favor of cutting the arts throughout a school district in suburban New Jersey brought a performance of 4’ 33” to their school board claiming, “experimental education through ‘music’ like this is not what we pay taxes for.” This particular school board shot down the parents’ proposal citing that such performances are “progressive” and “the future of arts education in America.” In the state of California, this piece of music is exemplified in the new Common Core curriculum, citing that such an open ended work catalyzes the formation of independent critical thinkers.

Sam Silverman

Newport Beach, CA

Interlochen Arts Academy

“Girls Don’t Cry Wolf”  

Madison Douglas

Interlochen Arts Academy, 12th grade


                               Click here for an interview with the artist

Girls Don’t Cry Wolf is dedicated to survivors of sexual assault. Girls ages 16-19 are four times more likely to be victims of sexual violence than the general population. Together we can raise awareness to end this culture that perpetuates the objectification and oppression of young women.

*Note: While 1 in 6 American women will experience sexual assault in her lifetime, 1 in 33 American men will become victims too. Although this song specifies women, it is not to undermine the experiences of male survivors and or non-gendered people.

*Track Credits * Music and lyrics written by Madison Douglas Arrangement by Madison Douglas and Torna. Produced by Torna. Recorded at HaloHorn Studios Backup Vocalists - Allie Kessel, Julianna Shamel, and Chris Bell.

 ·  3 notes

Law and Order: Controversy for Conversation

6th May 2015

Law and Order: Special Victim’s Unit, now in it’s 16th season, has opened the door to discussions of sexual assault and hate crimes in modern television, and their audience. The series follows a police squad at the Special Victim’s Unit in Manhattan, the center of focus being Detective Olivia Benson, played by Mariska Hargitay.

This series has offered a way into talking about difficult subject matter that America did not previously discuss on network television. When the series first aired in 1999 as a spin off of creator Dick Wolf’s successful series Law and Order, none of the other popular network shows discussed anything related to the topics SVU so boldly takes on. Popular television at this time included Friends, and Sex and the City, 1999 also marking the first seasons of The Simpsons and Family Guy. These were the shows that sold, the networks believed, so why should they make anything else? SVU was the first show to break out of that mold.

Wolf’s spin off series did much more than originally anticipated, not only in the role of what subject matter is allowed on television, but the role of women in Hollywood. Wolf originally cast Hargitay after extreme pressure to hire a female, as the original Law and Order featured only male main characters. Hargitay’s character, Olivia Benson, is portrayed as a powerful woman who does not let her personal life affect her work life. During this period most female characters on television were portrayed as sexual objects that used as plot devices to support the male characters, or to take their shirts off and act scandalously to increase the show’s ratings.

Many popular series now feature strong female leads, such as Grey’s Anatomy, Orange is the New Black, and Scandal, something that may have still been slow approaching were it not for the strides Hargitay has made. With Hargitay portraying this strong, female character, many younger girls were able to identify with her because they saw themselves in Olivia Benson more than say, Rachel and Monica from Friends. Benson is real, strong, and has had to fight to be accepted in a male-dominated workplace.

In October of 2014, in it’s 16th season SVU did what they do best; stage “ripped from the headlines” stories that starts a conversation. In this episode titled Holden’s Manifesto, a young man named Holden Chase uses a phone to record himself ranting about his lack of romantic interests, how often he is rejected, and the men who he deems “worse” than him who get all the girls he believes he should be getting. This story is not far fetched from an actual crime which took place near Santa Barbara, California earlier that same year. The real killer was named Elliot Roger. He posted a YouTube video entitled “Elliot Rodger’s Retribution,” where he recounted almost identical things to “Holden’s Manifesto.” Huffington Post describes the episode’s series of events as a scenario in which:

“Holden starts hunting down a series of pretty blonde acquaintances he obsessed over but who never noticed him. He quickly graduates from stabbing the women to killing them. The SVU detectives go all out to find him, eventually executing a search warrant on his apartment. They find Holden’s 100 page “manifesto” detailing all the injustices he believes he’s suffered.”

The actual series of events with Roger was slightly varied, as he began his killing spree in his apartment and proceeded to kill six people, and injure thirteen, in that day. However the parallels between the storylines are clear.

In the episode Holden writes a manifesto, just like Rodger who wrote one that totaled  100,000 words. In Roger’s he wrote:

“You girls have never been attracted to me. I don’t know why you girls aren’t attracted to me, but I will punish you all for it. It’s an injustice, a crime, because… I don’t know what you don’t see in me. I’m the perfect guy and yet you throw yourselves at these obnoxious men instead of me, the supreme gentleman. I will punish all of you for it. On the day of retribution I’m going to enter the hottest sorority house of UCSB. And I will slaughter every spoiled, stuck-up, blond slut I see inside there.”

The reaction to this episode was, expectedly, immense. People voiced their opinions on Twitter, using the hashtag #yesallwomen to lead their own conversations about patriarchal injustices and acts of violence or sexual assault. Emily Hughes (@emilyhughes), employed by Penguin Random House, chimed in:

“Because every single woman I know has a story about a man feeling entitled to access to her body. Every. Single. One. #YesAllWomen.”

Thousands of other people voiced their opinions as well, sparking a national debate about sexual violence and the stigmas and stereotypes that surround it. Law and Order is famous for the conversations it ignites in its audience, and how they are able to bring forth conversations about these topics that might not be held otherwise.

The show’s largest viewer population is females below the age of 18. Given it’s mature and at times, graphic nature, many wonder why people are so attracted to it, particularly youth. Maybe it’s because a large portion of the victims represented in this show are those in that age demographic. Violence against young people is a growing problem in modern culture. Maybe it’s because of this that SVU’s largest demographic is under 18, because they are the people who are experiencing some of these storylines first hand. The episode Holden’s Manifesto is a perfect illustration of this, and how the public will react. Actress and vocal women’s rights activist Sophia Bush (@SophiaBush) also voiced her opinion:

“I shouldn’t have to hold my car keys in hand like a weapon & check over my shoulder every few seconds when I walk at night #YesAllWomen.”

This tweet was retweeted over six thousand times, and because it was from someone who has been in the public eye since her first big role in One Tree Hill, it was widely heard.

For sixteen seasons Law and Order: SVU has sparked conversations in the public about the crimes discussed in the show. Moving through cast members and storylines quickly, this show covers a wide range of topics, so much so that almost everyone can identify with at least one of the characters, even if they were just a three minute cameo. This show talks about the things people are uncomfortable discussing, and by doing so opens the door for these conversations to take place.


This piece is a review of the television series Law and Order: Special Victim’s Unit. When I approached this topic, I was interested in the controversy surrounding both the age demographic of it’s viewers, as well as the role of women in television. That is what I sought to explore throughout this review, as I think that it’s a really interesting topic that isn’t discussed as much as it should be in our culture. There are many shows that feature women who are only there for sexual reasons to increase the ratings of the TV show. Law and Order was one of the original shows to fight against that stereotype, instead focusing the show around a strong female lead who doesn’t let her personal life get in the way of her work. 

Makai Andrews

Los Angeles, California

Interlochen Arts Academy

 ·  5 notes

5th May 2015

Ken Looi
EduJourney Aspirasi, 18
Malaysia
All Photos Taken by in Hong Kong and Malaysia
“Déjà Vu”. I was knocked off my bicycle by a car during a race. Pick the bike up and continued the race. True story. (HK)
“Passage”. Allowed myself to skip and...
Ken Looi
EduJourney Aspirasi, 18
Malaysia
All Photos Taken by in Hong Kong and Malaysia
“Déjà Vu”. I was knocked off my bicycle by a car during a race. Pick the bike up and continued the race. True story. (HK)
“Passage”. Allowed myself to skip and...
Ken Looi
EduJourney Aspirasi, 18
Malaysia
All Photos Taken by in Hong Kong and Malaysia
“Déjà Vu”. I was knocked off my bicycle by a car during a race. Pick the bike up and continued the race. True story. (HK)
“Passage”. Allowed myself to skip and...
Ken Looi
EduJourney Aspirasi, 18
Malaysia
All Photos Taken by in Hong Kong and Malaysia
“Déjà Vu”. I was knocked off my bicycle by a car during a race. Pick the bike up and continued the race. True story. (HK)
“Passage”. Allowed myself to skip and...
Ken Looi
EduJourney Aspirasi, 18
Malaysia
All Photos Taken by in Hong Kong and Malaysia
“Déjà Vu”. I was knocked off my bicycle by a car during a race. Pick the bike up and continued the race. True story. (HK)
“Passage”. Allowed myself to skip and...
Ken Looi
EduJourney Aspirasi, 18
Malaysia
All Photos Taken by in Hong Kong and Malaysia
“Déjà Vu”. I was knocked off my bicycle by a car during a race. Pick the bike up and continued the race. True story. (HK)
“Passage”. Allowed myself to skip and...
Ken Looi
EduJourney Aspirasi, 18
Malaysia
All Photos Taken by in Hong Kong and Malaysia
“Déjà Vu”. I was knocked off my bicycle by a car during a race. Pick the bike up and continued the race. True story. (HK)
“Passage”. Allowed myself to skip and...
Ken Looi
EduJourney Aspirasi, 18
Malaysia
All Photos Taken by in Hong Kong and Malaysia
“Déjà Vu”. I was knocked off my bicycle by a car during a race. Pick the bike up and continued the race. True story. (HK)
“Passage”. Allowed myself to skip and...

5th May 2015

Ken Looi
EduJourney Aspirasi, 18
Malaysia
All Photos Taken by in Hong Kong and Malaysia
“Déjà Vu”. I was knocked off my bicycle by a car during a race. Pick the bike up and continued the race. True story. (HK)
“Passage”. Allowed myself to skip and...
Ken Looi
EduJourney Aspirasi, 18
Malaysia
All Photos Taken by in Hong Kong and Malaysia
“Déjà Vu”. I was knocked off my bicycle by a car during a race. Pick the bike up and continued the race. True story. (HK)
“Passage”. Allowed myself to skip and...
Ken Looi
EduJourney Aspirasi, 18
Malaysia
All Photos Taken by in Hong Kong and Malaysia
“Déjà Vu”. I was knocked off my bicycle by a car during a race. Pick the bike up and continued the race. True story. (HK)
“Passage”. Allowed myself to skip and...
Ken Looi
EduJourney Aspirasi, 18
Malaysia
All Photos Taken by in Hong Kong and Malaysia
“Déjà Vu”. I was knocked off my bicycle by a car during a race. Pick the bike up and continued the race. True story. (HK)
“Passage”. Allowed myself to skip and...
Ken Looi
EduJourney Aspirasi, 18
Malaysia
All Photos Taken by in Hong Kong and Malaysia
“Déjà Vu”. I was knocked off my bicycle by a car during a race. Pick the bike up and continued the race. True story. (HK)
“Passage”. Allowed myself to skip and...
Ken Looi
EduJourney Aspirasi, 18
Malaysia
All Photos Taken by in Hong Kong and Malaysia
“Déjà Vu”. I was knocked off my bicycle by a car during a race. Pick the bike up and continued the race. True story. (HK)
“Passage”. Allowed myself to skip and...
Ken Looi
EduJourney Aspirasi, 18
Malaysia
All Photos Taken by in Hong Kong and Malaysia
“Déjà Vu”. I was knocked off my bicycle by a car during a race. Pick the bike up and continued the race. True story. (HK)
“Passage”. Allowed myself to skip and...
Ken Looi
EduJourney Aspirasi, 18
Malaysia
All Photos Taken by in Hong Kong and Malaysia
“Déjà Vu”. I was knocked off my bicycle by a car during a race. Pick the bike up and continued the race. True story. (HK)
“Passage”. Allowed myself to skip and...

Ken Looi

EduJourney Aspirasi, 18

Malaysia

All Photos Taken by  in Hong Kong and Malaysia

“Déjà Vu”. I was knocked off my bicycle by a car during a race. Pick the bike up and continued the race. True story. (HK)


“Passage”. Allowed myself to skip and avoid stepping on sunlight exposed tiles. (HK)


“Vanguard”. Prayers has been said. The gods honored, the streets blessed. A barrier placed by the triads to protect the people from harm during the Hong Kong protest.


“All aboard to the Doctorate train”. Fuck racial stereotypes. (HK)


“Kuala Loco”. (MY)


“Untitled”. (MY)


“Doll". Hey honey, you got some time ?“. My backyard (MY)


"Conversations With my Brother”. Did you know a grasshopper can live a week without its head? Me: Well not anymore with most of its fluids drained and stomach

 ·  5 notes

Ash Wednesday

3rd May 2015

Angelica Rose Parker

Manton Mi

Interlochen Arts Academy, 10th Grade


Blasted apart from church and rock,

there’s nothing for me here

but the drag of school classes and a missed bus to my church service.

My friends planned on making dates, as though

this was Valentine’s Day. And God,

how I miss the rain, because all I can see is snow.

My lungs are lined with ash,

in every shape but a cross, my foot

crushed into damnation and my roses splattered on linoleum.

I forgot it wasn’t Valentine’s Day,

that I should devor dust,

instead of cream-filled chocolate.

I don’t have a ribcage, I have a cross

whittled from bone and a trachea

baptized by my priest. And

I have a mind, I swear I do.

It’s like God, I guess.

I can’t see it, but

I think I believe in it.

It’s in there somewhere

pressing against my eyes from the inside,

like a bouquet,

like a garden in the greenhouse of my skull.

Behind the criss-crossing asphalt roads of ash that should

be smeared on my forehead.

I went to the service last year, wore the cross

like a staple or a sign

a neon blaze of Catholicism,

charring my skin into disbelief.

I scrubbed it off in the sink,

like a baptism,

and wondered if I was right.

Maybe I wasn’t committed enough.

I was the type to stay up till midnight, technically Thursday,

and break the fast with food

that tasted so much more.

Like the lack had blessed it,

broke it open.

Food may not get better with age,

but,

I swear to God, it gets better with waiting. 

 ·  2 notes

2nd May 2015

Slide, Tricycle, Siege, Swing Set, Picnic Table
Ryan Yale
Interlochen Arts Academy, Senior
Five years ago my father was diagnosed with kidney cancer. The diagnosis
shook the ground that had always been so stable beneath me. Just as there are no good...
Slide, Tricycle, Siege, Swing Set, Picnic Table
Ryan Yale
Interlochen Arts Academy, Senior
Five years ago my father was diagnosed with kidney cancer. The diagnosis
shook the ground that had always been so stable beneath me. Just as there are no good...
Slide, Tricycle, Siege, Swing Set, Picnic Table
Ryan Yale
Interlochen Arts Academy, Senior
Five years ago my father was diagnosed with kidney cancer. The diagnosis
shook the ground that had always been so stable beneath me. Just as there are no good...
Slide, Tricycle, Siege, Swing Set, Picnic Table
Ryan Yale
Interlochen Arts Academy, Senior
Five years ago my father was diagnosed with kidney cancer. The diagnosis
shook the ground that had always been so stable beneath me. Just as there are no good...
Slide, Tricycle, Siege, Swing Set, Picnic Table
Ryan Yale
Interlochen Arts Academy, Senior
Five years ago my father was diagnosed with kidney cancer. The diagnosis
shook the ground that had always been so stable beneath me. Just as there are no good...

2nd May 2015

Slide, Tricycle, Siege, Swing Set, Picnic Table
Ryan Yale
Interlochen Arts Academy, Senior
Five years ago my father was diagnosed with kidney cancer. The diagnosis
shook the ground that had always been so stable beneath me. Just as there are no good...
Slide, Tricycle, Siege, Swing Set, Picnic Table
Ryan Yale
Interlochen Arts Academy, Senior
Five years ago my father was diagnosed with kidney cancer. The diagnosis
shook the ground that had always been so stable beneath me. Just as there are no good...
Slide, Tricycle, Siege, Swing Set, Picnic Table
Ryan Yale
Interlochen Arts Academy, Senior
Five years ago my father was diagnosed with kidney cancer. The diagnosis
shook the ground that had always been so stable beneath me. Just as there are no good...
Slide, Tricycle, Siege, Swing Set, Picnic Table
Ryan Yale
Interlochen Arts Academy, Senior
Five years ago my father was diagnosed with kidney cancer. The diagnosis
shook the ground that had always been so stable beneath me. Just as there are no good...
Slide, Tricycle, Siege, Swing Set, Picnic Table
Ryan Yale
Interlochen Arts Academy, Senior
Five years ago my father was diagnosed with kidney cancer. The diagnosis
shook the ground that had always been so stable beneath me. Just as there are no good...

Slide, Tricycle, Siege, Swing Set, Picnic Table

Ryan Yale

Interlochen Arts Academy, Senior


Five years ago my father was diagnosed with kidney cancer. The diagnosis
shook the ground that had always been so stable beneath me. Just as there are no good wars, and no good natural disasters, I began to realize there are no good cancers. I am not sure the first time I realized things would never be the same, because I was constantly setting this idea of transformation aside. I tried not to confront of even think about the fact that I might never see him again. My work has not only challenged me, but also has provided me a way to communicate through visual language this buried truth and pain that was and can still be so difficult to talk about. During the creation of this work, I began to use a variety of everyday objects- from chairs to cups that not only have a specific function in the present day, but also spark a memory that I have experienced with my father. This year I have began to take these everyday objects and put them through a faze of transformation much like I endured when I found out my dad was diagnosed with kidney cancer. I have
begun to discover and want to continue to discover the point where these known objects become something else through transformation and misplacement. I want to challenge the point when the “dysfunctionality” of the everyday objects is reached through an encounter of materials and misplaced situations. Although there isn’t anything I could do to control the cancer I feel that this experience inspires me to live each day to the fullest, and to cherish the existence of everyday objects since time is so precious.

 ·  16 notes

Mausoleum

23rd April 2015

Nim Holden
Interlochen Arts Academy,  9th Grade
Chicago, IL

I.

When we lived in Tribeca,
Isaac used to tell me
Maybe the reason this city never sleeps is
Because there’s no more fucking ambien.
He says this because
He’s been up Forty-something hours
Reading poetry by Virgil and hoping that
The right combination of prayers, coke,
And desperation might make him holy.
He says this because
He’s still awake,
After hours of trying not to try.
He says this because
The medicine cabinet is empty.
When we lived in Harlem,
Isaac used to tell me
I am too alive, and now I
find everything dying.

II.

You might understand my trust issues
If you picture him like this:
A mausoleum graffitied with the words
“If I tell you there’s coke on the counter,
What’s your assumption?”
Rows of bullet-occupied bodies
Dressed drug dealer chic, red
Palms facing up just like the poster
Of Jesus on his wall.
A picture of the Mona Lisa
With the flash on, and the sign saying
“No flash photography.”
Caught in the top right corner
Of the frame.
A Rothko painting on the wall
of a brothel in central
New Orleans.
A tattoo that reads:
Monogamy killed romance.

III.

Is this a love poem yet?

IV.

Let me tell you a joke:
What do you call someone who crossed
Out the word love in your poems and
Replaced it with impatience?
What do you call someone who crossed
Out the word absence in your poems and
Replaced it with love?

V.

He didn’t know what it was like
To be hungry.
Or the sound a mother makes
When the river takes her baby.
What it feels like to lose fingers
To crocodiles.
Or the symbiosis of sand and
Skin stretched across the spine.

VI.

When we go to Isaac’s grave,
We put Coca-Cola cans by his tombstone
He used to say flowers were for bitches,
And I like to pretend that’s the reason we do it.
But really,
It’s because orchids or lilies would die too fast.
Just like him.
We leave the red aluminum cans,
Heavy with carbon and our mourning,
And remind ourselves that
It’s just our nature to escape.

VII.

Sometimes I think he’s not even dead.
I think he just doesn’t have an
alarm clock.
I mean, he had a funeral
But I swear,
This is a 10 month early
April Fools joke.

VIII.

What if I told you I didn’t go to his funeral

 ·  17 notes

Nicholas Gotham

Interlochen Arts Academy, 11th Grade

Austin, TX


Thematically, I suppose the piece is about wrestling with big decisions have the possibility to make you re-frame your future entirely. In an instant, everything you thought might be true about the direction of your life can shift dramatically, and there is often paralyzing anxiety and depression that can accompany such realizations.

Really it’s not so important to me that the listener grasps the scope of that intention consciously; rather in the piece I have created two contrasting soundscapes. These are places where I invite the listener to succumb to the music, get totally lost in their own thoughts. My hope is that in listening to these soundscapes one can not only find a commonality in their emotional reactions but also realize that the concept driving the first and last sections (the ostinato, the simple harmonic content, etc.) is very much the same both times. The piece seems to present itself in a drastically different way but actually not much is changed.

Source: SoundCloud / Mark Mazzarella

 ·  13 notes
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