NYU’s Daily Student Newspaper
WASHINGTON SQUARE NEWS Vol. 42, No. 84
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2014
nyunews.com CLIMATE
Experts reflect on Sandy, future planning By CHRISTINE WANG Staff Writer
Today marks the two-year anniversary of Superstorm Sandy hitting New York, yet some are not sure the city is entirely prepared to deal with another storm. Klaus Jacob, a professor at Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, spoke at NYU’s Robert F. Wagner building on Oct. 28 about disaster preparedness and resiliency in a changing climate. While he cited many examples of positive changes and mitigation projects, Jacob said the city has ultimately fallen short of its goals. “I think in our attempt to really make a difference in our present situation and economy, we’ve fallen short in finding a long-term solution and resilience,” Jacob said. The event included a panel discussion with Nupur Chaudhury, senior project manager at Rebuild by Design, and Katherine Greig, senior policy adviser at the New York City STAFF PHOTO BY ALEX GREENBERGER
Chris Ofili’s colorful paintings, on display at the New Museum in an exhibit titled “Chris Ofili: Night and Day,” reveal his jarring approach. ARTS
Exhibit proves shocking, thrilling
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
religious art. Then there is the elephant dung, which at this exhibit replaces Mary’s breast and is thankfully scentless. The painting is propped against the wall instead of hung and, like all others in the gallery, it sits on two big balls of dung. Dung is a running motif in Ofili’s work, and it is used to defile his black subjects, who engage in all sorts of unspeakable activities. Though these works use it for shock value, his later red, black and green paintings, produced for the Great Britain pavilion at the 2003 Venice Biennale, use it as a more poetic means by incorporating dung into the garish, colorful compositions. Ofili’s influences are sometimes
Use makeup to top off your costume This year, use the right makeup to make your costume more authentic. STORY on PG. 4
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VIA WIKIPEDIA.ORG
“Chris Ofili: Night and Day,” the New Museum’s retrospective of the controversial British artist, opens with a shock to the system, the kind that makes it easy to forget that the rest of the exhibition even exists. Ofili’s work should not be surprising anymore — the almost two-decade-old, acrylic-on-linen paintings strewn with map pins, glitter and resin featuring blaxploitation-like heroes are known for their shock value. In a classic moment in New York art history, former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani temporarily pulled city funding from the Brooklyn Museum after it showed Ofili’s “The
Holy Virgin Mary” (1996) in its 1999 show “Sensation.” The work of art, like any of the paintings in this gallery, is still sensational today. It depicts a familiar personage — the blue-robed Virgin Mary, shown with her left breast exposed, depicted just as any Renaissance painter might have done it. It is not outlandish, however, to say no Renaissance artist would have painted the Virgin Mary as a black mother figure. Few other painters in the history of art would have been so daring as to underline Mary’s sexuality by juxtaposing her with collaged porn images of black women exposing themselves. Fingers are ready for insertion while a religious figure sits ready for her portrait. This is not your grandma’s
PHOTO BY RACHEL LIQUINDOLI
By ALEX GREENBERGER Arts Editor
Mayor’s Office of Recovery and Resilience. The event was moderated by John Gershman, professor of public service. Jacob said the effects of Hurricane Sandy were as bad as the predictions he and a team of colleagues made a year before Sandy hit: parts of the city flooded within 40 minutes, it took three weeks for infrastructure services to be restored and transportation infrastructure alone sustained $10 billion in damage. After observing the mitigation measures the city took, however, Jacob said he noticed that there were ways to prevent such disastrous consequences. For example, putting up plywood water barriers and removing sensitive subway signal and control systems were effective forms of damage prevention. Jacob added that the latter method in particular saved the city two weeks of recovery time and billions of dollars after Sandy. Jacob also said although many
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BEAUTY & STYLE
Fashion inspires Halloween costumes By LAUREN CRADDOCK Staff Writer
As Halloween approaches, high fashion costumes are proving to be easy to create and fun to wear. What better day than Halloween to be avant-garde in style? The nostalgic trend-setter is already contemplating which faux Manolo Blahniks to wear as Carrie Bradshaw, or which oversized sunnies will best present Anna Wintour. Although they are fashion icons, costumes for Bradshaw and Wintour are dated and predictable. To stay fashion-forward for Halloween, make a high-fashion statement with one of these simple looks. One TV show character many are obsessed with is Olivia Pope of the ABC series “Scandal.” The trendy po-
litical crisis manager is said to be the new Carrie Bradshaw. The character’s style is the buzz of the industry and inspires ready-to-wear fashion. Played by Kerry Washington, Olivia evokes presidential chic. To pull off this costume, find the cross between elegant, trendy and office-appropriate. A beige coat, fall gloves, trousers and high heel pumps would do the trick. Add in a watch and tote bag — the bigger the designer the better — for accent. To differentiate between the average business woman walking down the street, commit to being Olivia with side bangs, a blowout and an air of independence. If you are feeling extra chic this Halloween, look to those who are responsible for worldwide trends. Instead of Anna Wintour, a unique
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Yusuf comes out with third album
NYC prison
With his newest album, Yusuf is able to creatively articulate his faith with unique sounds.
The NYC review of prison suicide may set the city on track to lead the nation in better prison conditions.
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