New York History and Culture - Experience NY and the World

“Walk The Line” with Joaquin Phoenix as Johnny Cash - Music History Livestream

Let’s celebrate the life and musical career of Johnny Cash (September 23, 1930 - June 10, 2004) with a screening of the 2005 biopic “Walk the Line” starring Joaquin Phoenix as Johnny Cash.

The first portion of our two-part program (approximately 15-20 minutes) will be a brief overview of the film, including its historical context, plot summary, things to look for, accuracy, etc.
The second portion of our two-part program will be a full showing of the film.
During the screening we invite you to participate in a discussion of the film with your fellow participants via Zoom.

John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American singer-songwriter. Most of Cash's music contains themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially songs from the later stages of his career. He was known for his deep, calm, bass-baritone voice, the distinctive sound of his backing band, the Tennessee Three, that was characterized by its train-like chugging guitar rhythms, a rebelliousness coupled with an increasingly somber and humble demeanor, and his free prison concerts. Cash wore a trademark all-black stage wardrobe, which earned him the nickname "Man in Black".
Born to poor cotton farmers in Kingsland, Arkansas, Cash grew up on gospel music and played on a local radio station in high school. He served four years in the Air Force, much of it in West Germany. After his return to the United States, he rose to fame during the mid-1950s in the burgeoning rockabilly scene in Memphis, Tennessee. He traditionally began his concerts by introducing himself with "Hello, I'm Johnny Cash". He began to follow that by "Folsom Prison Blues", one of his signature songs. His other signature songs include "I Walk the Line", "Ring of Fire", "Get Rhythm", and "Man in Black". He also recorded humorous numbers like "One Piece at a Time" and "A Boy Named Sue", a duet with his future wife June called "Jackson" (followed by many further duets after they married), and railroad songs such as "Hey, Porter", "Orange Blossom Special", and "Rock Island Line".
Cash is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, having sold more than 90 million records worldwide. His genre-spanning music embraced country, rock and roll, rockabilly, blues, folk, and gospel sounds. This crossover appeal earned him the rare honor of being inducted into the Country Music, Rock and Roll, and Gospel Music Halls of Fame.

Walk the Line is a 2005 American biographical drama film directed by James Mangold. The screenplay, written by Mangold and Gill Dennis, is based on two autobiographies by the American singer-songwriter Johnny Cash: Man in Black: His Own Story in His Own Words (1975) and Cash: The Autobiography (1997). The film follows Cash's early life, his romance with the singer June Carter, his ascent in the country music scene, and his drug addiction. It stars Joaquin Phoenix as Cash, Reese Witherspoon as Carter, Ginnifer Goodwin as Cash's first wife Vivian Liberto, and Robert Patrick as Cash's father.
Walk the Line premiered at the Telluride Film Festival on September 4, 2005, and was theatrically released by 20th Century Fox on November 18. It received positive reviews and was a box office success, grossing $187 million on a $28 million budget. At the 78th Academy Awards, Witherspoon won Best Actress while the film was also nominated for Best Actor (Phoenix), Best Sound, Best Costume Design, and Best Film Editing.

Van Gogh Museum - Amsterdam: Art History Livestream

Join us for an online/virtual tour of the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. The Van Gogh Museum holds the world’s largest collection of Vincent van Gogh’s paintings and drawings, plus works by many other artists including Monet, Gauguin, Toulouse-Lautrec and more. We’ll discuss how the museum’s paintings and drawings compare and contrast with well-known items at other museums and the context of these works in Vincent’s life and legacy.

The Detroit Institute of Arts: The American Collection - Art History Livestream

You’re invited to join us for a livestream art history tour of the Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA), one of the top art museums in the United States. This particular program will focus on American art, with the DIA having one of the best American collections in the world. On a later date we’ll focus on some other areas, including European highlights and Impressionism. Your host, Robert, spent the first two years of his career working at the Detroit Institute of Arts and is extremely familiar with the museum and its collection.

The Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA), located in Detroit, Michigan, has one of the largest and most significant art collections in the United States. With over 100 galleries, it covers 658,000 square feet. The DIA collection is regarded as among the top six museums in the United States with an encyclopedic collection which spans the globe from ancient Egyptian and European works to contemporary art. Its art collection is valued in billions of dollars, up to $8.1 billion according to a 2014 appraisal. The DIA campus is located in Detroit's Cultural Center Historic District, about two miles (3 km) north of the downtown area.
The museum building is highly regarded by architects. The original building, designed by Paul Philippe Cret, is flanked by north and south wings with the white marble as the main exterior material for the entire structure. The campus is part of the city's Cultural Center Historic District listed in the National Register of Historic Places. The museum's first painting was donated in 1883 and its collection consists of over 65,000 works. With about 677,500 visitors annually for 2015, the DIA is among the most visited art museums in the world.

Brooklyn Bridge by Ken Burns - Film History Livestream

Brooklyn Bridge is a documentary film on the history of the Brooklyn Bridge and the directorial debut of Ken Burns. It was produced by Burns, Roger Sherman, Buddy Squires, and Amy Stechler in 1981.
The film included interviews with personalities such as The New York Times architectural critic Paul Goldberger and writer Arthur Miller plus film clips featuring Bugs Bunny (Bowery Bugs) and Frank Sinatra. It was narrated by historian David McCullough, who wrote the 1972 book the film was based on.
The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.
The film was rebroadcast nationally twice: on January 29, 1992, preceding the then-new documentary from Burns, Empire of the Air: The Men Who Made Radio, and on October 21, 2002, as part of Ken Burns: America's Stories.

Prior to the film there will be a brief introductory program (approximately 15 minutes).
During the screening you’ll have the opportunity to discuss the film with your fellow participants via Zoom.
Please note that on Friday evenings in January we’ll also be screening
The Civil War (1990) by Ken Burns.

The Brooklyn Bridge is a hybrid cable-stayed/suspension bridge in New York City, spanning the East River between the boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn. Opened on May 24, 1883, the Brooklyn Bridge was the first fixed crossing of the East River. It was also the longest suspension bridge in the world at the time of its opening, with a main span of 1,595.5 feet (486.3 m) and a deck 127 ft (38.7 m) above mean high water. The span was originally called the New York and Brooklyn Bridge or the East River Bridge but was officially renamed the Brooklyn Bridge in 1915.
Proposals for a bridge connecting Manhattan and Brooklyn were first made in the early 19th century, which eventually led to the construction of the current span, designed by John A. Roebling. The project's chief engineer, his son Washington Roebling, contributed further design work, assisted by the latter's wife, Emily Warren Roebling. Construction started in 1870 and was overseen by the New York Bridge Company, which in turn was controlled by the Tammany Hall political machine. Numerous controversies and the novelty of the design prolonged the project over thirteen years. After opening, the Brooklyn Bridge underwent several reconfigurations, having carried horse-drawn vehicles and elevated railway lines until 1950. To alleviate increasing traffic flows, additional bridges and tunnels were built across the East River. Following gradual deterioration, the Brooklyn Bridge was renovated several times, including in the 1950s, 1980s, and 2010s.
The Brooklyn Bridge is the southernmost of the four toll-free vehicular bridges connecting Manhattan Island and Long Island, with the Manhattan Bridge, the Williamsburg Bridge, and the Queensboro Bridge to the north. Only passenger vehicles and pedestrian and bicycle traffic are permitted. A major tourist attraction since its opening, the Brooklyn Bridge has become an icon of New York City. Over the years, the bridge has been used as the location of various stunts and performances, as well as several crimes, attacks and vandalism. The Brooklyn Bridge is designated a National Historic Landmark, a New York City landmark, and a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark.

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