Revisiting the Guggenheim

A few weekends ago, I had the pleasure of revisiting the Guggenheim Museum in New York. It has been years since my last visit, and the experience this time around remains singularly pleasant. The Guggenheim has always lent itself to solo-exhibits like no other - the enormous spiraling structure provides precious continuity for visitors who enjoy viewing works of a single artist without interruption.

This time around, the "solo-exhibit" is really a collaborative effort of many designers and artists, and incorporates everything from a hotel suite that is rented out nightly, to a theater showing previously banned films. Aptly entitled theanyspacewhatever, the exhibit uses the single path offered by Guggenheim's unique architecture to carry the visitor along in a fluid manner while throwing across his path various stimuli (from illy cappucino to corrugated walls) - resulting in a subtle yet transformative experience. Indeed, if the goal of the exhibit is to celebrate art as it finds itself taking over exhibition spaces at the risk of losing its objectified worship status and delineation, then it has succeeded. The exhibit closes on January 7, so if you are looking for a place to spend a few hours walking around indoors (with free coffee and movies), be sure to make a stop here.


Link of the day: Shiba Inu Dude Cam
So in case you have not been caught up in the Shiba Inu frenzy, here's the link that made these Japanese puppies famous all over the web (and via it, the world). Although many of the pups have grown up and a good number have found homes, they were certainly so very cute a few months ago. Well, the link of the day is just a funny human version of the puppy cam. Enjoy!

Artist of the day: Catherine Opie
Although the main corridor at the Guggenheim is great for single exhibits, the museum does generally showcase other artists in its side halls. One of the artists I came across during my visit is the photographer Catherine Opie. I have seen Opie's works briefly in my history of photography course in college (most notably her self-portrait with "Pervert" tatooed across her bosom), but the exhibit was a real eye-opener. The window-sized prints lined up neatly next to each other really helped me better appreciate Opie's aesthetic sensibilities and talent.

Many photographers are well known for portraying American sub-cultures, yet few produce works that also clearly articulates the artist's mastery of photographic techniques and knowledge of formal design. Opie's photographs, on the other hand, manage to convey messages, capture reality, and celebrate beauty all at the same time. This is another one of those cases where seeing the works in person will a great deal more than seeing it via google image search. Want to get lost in beautiful photographs AND have food for thought? Get off-line and head to the Guggenheim!

Sweet Stuff

Some experiences are meant to be once in a lifetime, even if there are plenty of opportunities to repeat. I had one such yesterday when I went for brunch at a chocolate bar - essentially a dessert buffet with everything from cakes, candy, to chocolate liqueur. I was at the place for 3 hours. Towards the end, I was pretty sure I hit my sugar quota for the year, not to mention feeling queezy at the thought of any kind of sweets. It was nevertheless worth the trip, if only once in a lifetime. I am proud to say that I ate about half of what was pictured (my bf ate the rest)...


There were some more cakes and chocolate liqueur martinis but I think the above was more than enough to make my point.

Link of the day: www.rrrrthats5rs.com/games/dont-shoot-the-puppy
What is it: a very random and quite pointless game, but in a sense, aren't all games ultimately just things that take time and get us to forget a bit of reality? I suppose there are games that teach things as well, but I can't say if people ever approach games with the intent to learn. In any case, this one's quite amusing as it tests your curiosity and constraint.

Artist of the day: Frida Kahlo (1907-1954)
Who is she: a Mexican artist who is perhaps most well known for her surreal self-portraits. She has been the focus of much popular attention, including amovie entitled Frida starring Salma Hayek. Kahlo's turbulent marriage to the famous Mexican muralist Diego Rivera and her numerous affairs easily made her an interesting woman to study.

As I expressed in my post about Pan Yuliang, the personal struggles an artist goes through should not be the sole basis for elevating his or her art. Like Pan, Kahlo's art should not be dwarved by her life, however sensational it may have been. All the same, the pain and sufferings Kahlo went through (including very physical deformations and trauma) are very visible in her works. And somewhat ironically, I like her paintings precisely because she so clearly articulated her feelings through surrealistic means, a genre most often associated with a sense of detachment (the dreamscapes of Dali, Chirico, and Margritte, even when they deal with the grotesque, generally portray things through a veil of perplexing relationships). While Kahlo also used dreamlike logic in her art, the combination of objects she chose often elicits very visceral reactions and makes her paintings much more proactive and intense - Kahlo reaches through the protective film surrealistic works often lend their subjects to connect viewers to her pain.

In this way, Kahlo's experiences contributed to the greatness of her art. Am I being hypocritical? I don't know and I hope not. There is a fine line between valuing artworks shaped by the unique experiences of their creators and elevating art of interesting artists. I feel like art historians constantly juggle with these concepts as they analyze works of art. Should they focus more on theory, biography, aesthetics, or history? I don't think there is a clear answer but I would like to think it is a balance of both context and content. Great art should be able to stand on its own artistic merits and at the same time, offer insights when its background (artist, time period, intent, etc.) is revealed.

Self-portrait with Thorn Necklace and Hummingbird, Frida Kahlo, Nikolas Muray Collection, Harry Ransom Center, The University of Texas at Austin

A Year Late

Last year around this time, I was walking through the Harvard Yard and taking pictures of trees by lamplight when I noticed a sticker on one of the lamps. I thought it was interesting that someone would go through so much trouble to tag a lamp so high up but did not investigate further. Yesterday, while browsing through the Times, I came upon a slide show for the movie, Art by Losers. I was pleasantly surprised by the images of Shepard Fairey's Obey posters. One of them happen to feature that sticker design I chanced upon more than a year ago. Doing some research led me to a good number of sites about the artist.

Link of the day: obeygiant.com
What is it: Fairey's official site on the Obey family merchandise and news. While there are a good number of fan sites available, I like the site design here even if it is very commercial. At least you can still download free templates and images for printing your own Obey stickers and stencils. A more comprehensive image database of Fairey's works can be found at thegiant.org.

Artist of the day: Shepard Fairey
Who is he: a contemporary artist most well know for his sticker campaign series that featured Andre the giant, who, by the way, played Fezzik in one of my all time favorite movies, the Princess Bride. The campaign started as a joke when Fairey was just a RISD student in the late 80's to early 90's. He created an Andre the giant has a posse sticker and placed it all over Providence "as a way to be mischievous and also [to] put something out in the world anonymously" he could call his own. It certainly sparked interest in the public and Fairey started posting them in Boston and New York. He also spread the stickers among friends and the project took off from there. The stickers number millions now and have been featured in countless movies and TV shows, including Batman and Family Guy. Although the original sticker image has been modified (possibly due to a lawsuit from Andre and his posse), the stylized version remains popular.

As Fairey expressed in his 1990 manifesto, his sticker campaign was an experiment in phenomenology, or the study of our awareness / consciousness of our experiences (in this case visual). My definition of phenomenology is fuzzy at best but I am sure readers of Heidegger and Husserl can shed more light on what it encompasses. In any case, from my understanding of Fairey's manifesto, it appears that the first aim of the stickers was to cause people to react. As Fairey put it, "Because people are not used to seeing advertisements or propaganda for which the product or motive is not obvious, frequent and novel encounters with the sticker provoke thought and possible frustration, nevertheless revitalizing the viewer's perception and attention to detail."

Upon reflection though, I wonder if this isn't an aim for most art that requires viewer interpretation. This is especially true for untitled pieces where the artist usually give the viewer no clue as their intentions. Instead, we are left to search for ourselves and through our interpretations reveal our own sensibilities and states of mind. I also highly doubt that the campaign is still a study in phenomenology, especially after Shepard's rise to fame and his most recent images of Obama. Can one really divorce meaning from images if the images are of current contentious issues or public (and political) figures?

The original Andre the Giant has a Posse sticker, image from wikipedia

The stylized version of Shepard's giant (same as the one in my photo), image from obeygiant.com

One of Shepard's more recent and visible works, image from obeygiant.com

Two Birds

It has been a while since I last updated, but the title refers to how I feel about my recent visit to the Garment District. I generally don't visit vintage stores for clothing, partly because I am not too keen on old pass-me-downs, but also partly because "vintage" stuff can be quite expensive. I have to admit, though, that I am pleasantly surprised with the garment district in Cambridge. While prices are still nowhere as low as Goodwill or Salvation Army, the quality of stuff is worth the extra buck or two. Plenty of old lace, sequins, fur, and feathers - the perfect place to find a Halloween costume. Of course, I stayed away from the 100+ dollar stuff. Not only do they look shiny and fake, they are also far from interesting. Long story short, since I am lacking a costume for my polka competition anyway, I figured I would try to hit two birds with one stone and find something that could serve both as my competition outfit and as my Halloween costume. What do polka dancers wear? I haven't a clue but I figured it would involve long skirts, puffy-sleeved cotton shirts, and something like a corset. I couldn't find a shirt (perhaps a good thing since I wasn't sure I wanted to wear old tops against my skin) but I did find a fake barmaid / pirate corset and a checkered long skirt. The checkered skirt gave the ensemble a countrified air that most certainly won't cause me to be mistaken for a gypsy barmaid. But enough rambling about my costumes. On to the usual stuff...

Link of the day: www.designspotter.com
What is it: a really comprehensive design site showcasing all sorts of interesting product, furniture, architectural designs, etc. A blog-style site that calls itself an online magazine, designspotter publishes "young modern contemporary" works of well-known and obscure designers. It is easy to get lost among the gazillion products that filter through the padded site, but this is a great place to find inspiration if you need ideas, or the latest addition to your living room if you need furniture.

Artist of the day: Caravaggio (1571–1610)
Who is he: an Italian artist who is known for his chiaroscuro paintings of people with dirty feet. Well, Caravaggio didn't just paint people with dirty feet, but he was most certainly remembered for portraying people as he saw them - imperfect beings who might have dirty limbs or blemishes on their skin. In fact, his painting Madonna di Loreto caused a scandal because the pilgrims portrayed had "dirty feet and torn, filthy cap." I really like Caravaggio, considered to be one of the first Baroque style painters. He was far from perfect in both life and art. Caravaggio constantly got into brawls and could never get shoulders quite right in his paintings. But like the origin for the word Baroque, a French transliteration of the Portuagese phrase "pérola barroca" or "irregular pearl," Caravaggio's art was beautiful despite its imperfections. It is truly a shame that the word Baroque is often used negatively to describe the excessively ornate or ostentatious because the Baroque roster of painters and sculptures actually include such illustrious names as Bernini, Vermeer, Rembrandt, Rubens, Van Dyck, and Velasquez.

Madonna di Loreto, Caravaggio, 1604-1606, oil on canvas, San Agostino, Rome

The Calling of Saint Matthew, Caravaggio, 1599-1600, oill on canvas, Contarelli Chapel, San Luigi dei Francesi, Rome

Polka Power

For some reason or other, I've been extremely tired this past week. Every morning I've been running late and every night I tell myself I'll update the blog the next morning :( I guess we all have those kinds of unproductive weeks...well, it wasn't exactly unproductive, just blog-wise. And I have already started my random flower blog, although that has also been rather neglected.
On the news front, one of the first events since I joined a ballroom team is a rookie-veteran dance. I somehow got assigned to polka and must, within the next week, not only learn it but to come up with a routine for my rookie. Let's just say that after watching polka videos on youtube, I am finding myself coming down with restless-leg syndrome.

Link of the day: www.questionablecontent.net
What is it: a comic updated every Monday to Friday and reads like a (slightly) less incestuous version of Friends or Will & Grace. Actually, to compare it to the popular TV series is not quite fair of me. The comic is actually pretty educational, with its constant allusions to alternative / indie music.

Artist of the day: Jim Dine (1935- )
Who is he: an artist who exhibited alongside Warhol, Lichtenstein, Ruscha, and other artists in what became known as the first Pop Art exhibition. I came across Dine's name in a NYT article, and was intrigued by the inclusion of his massive head (cast in plaster) in the famous Getty Villa amidst classical marbles of Roman and Greek antiquity. The article quoted Dine as resisting the label of a Pop Artist and it is not difficult to see why. So while his latest foray into sculpture and poetry may still stem from the concept of reworking icons (in this case, sculptures that have come to stand for classic ideals even in our popular culture), I do not see in his work the same counter-"cultural" challenges that other pop artworks exhibit. However, this is not to say that Dine is not encouraging viewers to reposition the familiar. I have yet to learn more about Dine, so for the time being, I'll keep my ignorant blabberings to a minimum.

Doing Nothing

It's Columbus day and I just had a ball doing nothing at home. I don't know when I started picking up the bad habit of doing nothing, but I suppose it is always good to relax every once in a while.

Link of the day: www.99rooms.com
What is it: an internet-based art project that combines slightly creepy but gorgeously rendered graffiti with some interactive flash animations. The link I posted takes you to the beginning of the 99 rooms, but you can find more info here. Each of the room features wall art and some sort of sound effects, whether it be eerie music or the hissing of pipes. The rooms themselves look like what you would actually run into at old warehouses. In fact, they remind me quite a bit of the art warehouses I visited in Shanghai.

The above pictures were taken at the old DDM Warehouse. From their website it appears they might have moved to a new place.

Artist of the day: Diego Velásquez (1599-1660)
Who is he: one of greatest painters who ever lived. So it may seem like I have been praising all the artists I've written about so far, but in terms of painting, Velásquez is indeed a master who left his mark on artistic history. When I first learned to paint, I was taught to paint "as flat as I can for as long as I can." This can be said to describe how Velásquez painted. A few strokes suffice to bring out the three dimensional nature of his subjects. Velásquez was unparalleled in his command of color and brushwork. Of course, he was much more than a master of technique, he also possessed the ability to capture the character of his sitters. If El Greco gave visual form to the soul of his subjects, Velásquez captured the psychology and life of his.

Pope Innocent X, Diego Velásquez, 1650, oil on canvas, Galleria Doria-Pamphilij, Rome

Juan de Pareja, Diego Velásquez, 1650, oil on canvas, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC

Trash to Treasures

Trash to Treasures is actually a title on today's AIM pages, but I thought it rather fitting as I did indeed find some "treasures" on the curbside. I don't generally pick stuff up from the streets, but when I saw a number of new books sitting in a box labeled "FREE," I couldn't resist going through the titles and ended up taking a few. Better sitting on my shelf than rained on and ruined, right? Among the salvaged novels are a few well-reviewed literary romances (i.e. Falling Angels, a novel by the same author who wrote the acclaimed Girl with a Pearl Earring) and Watership Down, a rather famous epic of a band of rabbits looking for a new home.

Link of the day: www.redbubble.com
What is it: a website for members to share artworks, etc. I have to admit, I've encountered many such sites before (i.e. deviantart.com), but the quality of works at redbubble is just much much higher. Most works look polished and professional, making me conscious enough to only display my favorite pieces.

Artist of the day: El Greco (1541-1614)
Who is he: a painter of Greek origins who is perhaps most well known for his elongated figures and "mannerist" style. Although he was born Doménicos Theotokópoulos in Crete, El Greco actually spent most of his life in Toledo, Spain, where he produced his more mature works. I have always enjoyed El Greco's works because they are haunting in their use of color and form. Like Rodin in sculpture, El Greco went beyond perfection of proportions and other classical ideals to create life and to imbue his works with atmosphere. While I am inspired by the beauty of composition and forms set by Michelangelo and Raphael, I am much more moved by the works of El Greco. When I saw a number of his paintings at the MFA Boston a few months ago, I cannot help but be touched by the spirituality of his pieces. Here indeed is a man who took his subjects seriously, communicating not only their forms but to an extent the states of their souls. No wonder he was grouped with Velasquez, one of my all-time favorite painters and another master of capturing psychology in addition to physical forms.

Fray Hortensio Félix Paravicino, El Greco (Domenikos Theotokopoulos), 1609, oil on canvas, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Evolution

I was walking along the street today, taking picture of flowers as usual, when I realized I should probably do something about all my flower photos. They are not all that impressive as far as flower photos go (there's probably more pictures taken of flowers than anything else), but I've always wanted to create a site with only flower pictures. Hence, I will probably start a separate blog for them, since I take photos of flowers and trees rather frequently.

All enterprises, for better or worse, evolve. I would have to say the same for blogging. I tried to make it a rule to always include an interesting site and an artist for every post I make, but that is actually pretty hard to do on a regular basis. I don't surf the net that often for fun sites and my time fact-checking artist bios is limited. Therefore, I have no choice but to "evolve" the blog to be a little less rigid in format. Eventually, I'd like to have a section for just links or artists, but for now I can only keep on posting.

Lately, I have been craving sweet and savory combos, sort of like the kind that characterizes Japanese food. With the advent of a long weekend, I finally found time to grocery shop and cook what I crave. The result? Buckwheat noodles with seafood toppings. If I may say so myself, I think it turned out rather good.


Link of the day: www.wordskit.com
What is it: a site a college friend IMed me the other day when I complained that I was running out of fun sites to post on my blog. The site showcases "eccentricities of the English language" that range from funny pronunciations to original and hilarious similes.

Artist of the day: Zhang Da Qian (张大千）
Who is he: a noted Chinese painter of the 20th century. A lot of artists can paint. Many paint well and a good number of them are considered "important" by art history books. Most artists, in fact, contribute quite significantly to art as we know it today, whether by shaping artistic trends or capturing the essence of their era. Only a very select few, however, can be deemed geniuses. Pablo Picasso and Leonardo Da Vinci are two such, with Gerhard Richter a potential modern addition. To this elite "artistic pantheon," I would not hesitate to add a fourth: Zhang Da Qian.

Zhang Da Qian has always been widely recognized as a master of traditional Chinese painting. He was gifted with an uncanny ability to emulate Chinese paintings and calligraphy and was exceptionally talented in mixing traditional and contemporary styles and ideas. He was a master forger whose copies were often taken in for originals. In fact, the Museum of Fine Arts Boston recently had an exhibit for Zhang, placing an original he donated next to one of his forgeries that the museum had unwittingly bought decades ago. Ironically, few have been able to emulate Zhang as he had the masters before him.

In any case, like the other artistic geniuses I mentioned earlier, Zhang lived to a ripe old age and developed his art continuously and innovatively throughout his lifetime. Like the others too, he did not stop at being a master of the art he was brought up to revere, but instead surpassed it and blazed new trails time after time. Pictures in this case, are worth far more than words.

Zhang Da Qian, image from chineseartists.net

Zhang Da Qian, image from iecool.com

Zhang Da Qian, image from iecool.com

Zhang Da Qian, image from iecool.com

Sunk Cost

No matter how often I learn the concept of sunk cost in economics class, trying to practice it in real life is incredibly hard, especially for an optimist. In this time of stock market plunges, understanding and dealing with sunk cost is more than crucial, but I raise the topic of sunk cost not because of stocks...rather, I raise it because of elephants.

I was walking home from my dance practice when I ran into a crowd of people, many with strollers and holding toddlers. Curiosity got the better of me and I asked people why they were waiting in the cold. "Elephants," a mother replied, "Barnum is walking the elephants." Apparently, once a year the circus walks the elephants down Massachusetts Ave, or at least a section of it near MIT. I thought my dinner could wait, seeing as it was exactly the time the elephants were expected to arrive. Perhaps it was because there was trouble elsewhere (I saw the passing of 5 firetrucks) or perhaps the ringmaster just wanted to build up excitement, but we waited nearly an hour before I finally gave up and jumped on a bus to grab something to eat at Central. The moment I finished grabbing a sandwich, however, I saw the circus cars drive by and realized if I had only left for dinner earlier, I would have made it back in time to see the elephants. If only I had sucked up the sunk cost after waiting for 30 minutes in the freezing cold...

Site of the day: www.nycgarbage.com
What is it: a site that sells garbage from NYC streets as well as events. The tag line runs, "own a piece of NYC for just $50." Pretty clever, but also unbelievably sad in a way. If I remember correctly, the little plastic containers of garbage used to only cost $10, but apparently garbage demand is high and its price increases more rapidly than that of crude oil in its heydays.

Artist of the day: Vilhelm Hammershoi
Who is he: "a well-kept secret" according to the Economist. I am very fond of the Economist because it is one of the few magazines out there that packs in quite a bit of good content every week. Even though it might be more well-known for its political and economic articles, its "Books and Arts" section is quite a gem as well. Their July 5th issue introduced me to Hammershoi, a Scandinavian artist of the early 1900's who's window and door painting immediately arrested my attention. Back in high school I had painted a series of doors as a senior project and since then, I've always been partial to paintings that touch upon the subject.

Having gone through the struggle of making flat and rectangular objects beautiful and arresting, I knew how difficult it can be to render "plain" objects interesting. Thus, it was little wonder that I was enthralled by Hammershoi's use of light to create physical, intellectual, and atmospheric depth in his interiors. If I was attracted to his painting, I was even more charmed by his personality. That he was influenced by Vermeer came as no surprise, but that he too, delighted in a "subversive sense of humor" made my heart beat. It was as if I had found a friend that understood me across time - someone who shared my sense of aesthetics and love of hiding irregularities in paintings. I am not one to want to "own" paintings so dearly, despite my love of art, but if I had a million dollars, I would not hesitate to buy Hammershoi's works.

Interior, Strandgade 30, Vilhem Hammershoi, 1908, oil on canvas, Aarhus Kunstmuseum

Sunbeams or Sunshine. Dust Motes Dancing in the Sunbeams, Vilhem Hammershoi, 1900, oil on canvas, Ordrupgaard, Copenhagen

My own humble attempt at doors back in high school

Chance Encounters

I was walking back home from church today when I ran into an elderly lady carrying bags of bottles for recycling. Her clothing was poorly patched and she seemed in need of new shoes as well. I asked her if she needed any help and found out she was Shanghainese. So we chatted for a bit. Apparently she lives in the elderly home next to my church and is making money to help with retirement, the social security being far from enough to live on. From what she told me, her family treats her well and often invites her to vacation with them. Still, it pains me to think that in our society, we leave the elderly on their own.

I am a bit less lazy today, so I am uploading pictures of dinner from last night. For appetizers we had a bit of bread with anchovy dip and a nice Riesling. This was followed by a butternut squash soup. I think the soup could use a bit less cream cheese next time, but my guests liked it. A simple green salad with romaine and grapevine tomatoes then proceeded the main course, which was served with a Nobilo sauvignon blanc. The salmon was marinated a bit too long, causing the balsamic vinaigrette to lose its kick, and I could have used a lot more red pepper flakes, but otherwise the fish turned out well. I learned a few new combinations I am likely to try again. For example, I really liked using white wine soaked cranberries and honey toasted almond flakes in my mushroom rice. They make the texture very complex, a nice complement to the smooth and simple salmon. Dessert was an amazing orange flavored cake entitled California Dream from Japonaise, a French-Japanese bakery (surprise!).

"Firecracker" salmon with mushroom rice side

California Dream from Japonaise

Link of the Day: www.tastespotting.com
What is it: a site for those who love to cook and try new recipes. Gorgeous pictures and descriptions will leave visiter salivating for more. Okay, so that was not such a pretty picture. Still, worth a visit!

Artist of the Day: David Wojnarowicz
Who is he: "gay painter, photographer, writer, filmmaker, performance artist, and activist who was prominent in the New York City art world of the 1980s" according to Wikipedia. I don't know much about this artist but I saw a number of his works at MoMA when I visited there last Saturday. Although I thought the themed approach a little cliche, I did enjoy his elemental paintings of Earth, Fire, Water, and Wind. The colors were bold and mural-esque, and in the case of Fire, the use of wanted posters as a backdrop was rather clever. I especially liked the way he painted play on words. For example, in Water, he painted the frog and what appeared to be tadpoles. Naturally they exist in watery places. He also painted submarines and seamen. I am not sure if it was Wojnarowicz's intention, but I am pretty sure it is more than coincidence that the tadpoles are visual puns to seminal fluids, which in turn are puns to men in submarines.

Water, David Wojnarowicz, 1987, synthetic polymer paint and pasted paper on masonite, Museum of Modern Art, New York

Cooking Oils

A little bit of effort in cooking goes a long way. I just tried out a new recipe from allrecipes.com for salmon. The marinade called for peanut oil and sesame oil among other extremely fragrant spices such as ginger, and balsamic vinaigrette. Needless to say, it smells extremely pleasing. I haven't tasted anything yet, as I am going to bake it for dinner, but I just cannot help remarking on how powerful the oils are. One of these days I will be a little less lazy and start putting pictures up as opposed to just describing what I was seeing.

Link of the day: www.folj.com
What is it: a site with a good number of analytical problems and puzzles. The site design is extremely straightforward. Questions are grouped into Lateral Thinking, Logic Problems, and More. Hints and answers are hidden until users click on them. I tumbled across this site during one of my puzzle periods when I would comb the site for interesting lateral thinking and logic problems. They are extremely fun and often require more quick thinking than tedious trials and errors.

Artist of the day: Nan Goldin
Who is she: a contemporary photographer known for her portrayal of subcultures against a backdrop of drugs, glitz, and violence in the 1960's. Her photographs were mostly of her circle of friends (many of whom were transvestite and gay) and exposes a world the "average American" knows little about, juxtaposing glamour, alienation, despair, and attraction, just to name a few. To get an idea of her opus, check out Goldin's 2002 retrospective at the Pompidou Centre in Paris. Since then, she has been increasingly playing with cinematic ideas and tools. I have to admit, I am somewhat ambivalent about her work. On one hand, I truly admire the way Goldin composes lines and colors in her photographs. They are simply beautiful. I don't know if it is because I am constantly bombarded by glamour magazine images and she's the mother of all glossy covers, but Golin's pictures move me quite a bit on the aesthetic level. On the other hand, I feel that to appreciate her photographs as I do the works of Cindy Sherman and Diane Arbus seems oddly insufficient and relegates her to a "follower" status. Nan's subjects are in many ways much more intensely personal and to view them solely aesthetically or in cultural context is ignoring the very elements that make her works so moving. But where does the emotions and closeness of the subject matter to the artist becomes a factor the valuation of a work of art? Is Goldin's significance in contemporary photography only aesthetics and the fact that she used her friends as subjects? I surely hope not.

Seasonal Shifts

The temperatures have been fluctuating so dramatically lately that it is unclear what season we are in anymore. Only the bright flares of reds and oranges in the foliage remind me that we are already moving into autumn and will soon be at the mercy of New England winter. I have been dancing a little more lately and the initial joy of discovering I can still do spirals has given way to the uncomfortable knowledge that I still have a long way to go to get back into decent technical shape. All the same, I am enjoying both the changing lifestyle and weather.

Link of the day: www.pangloss.com
What is it: a random quote generator, but with a twist. Pangloss, from Voltaire's satire Candide, is an eternally optimistic character known for his mantra "all is for the best in the best of all possible worlds." While the homepage of the website spits out random quotes from literary greats, a sub-section of the website is devoted to random generation of Shakespearean insults. The bard is quite a force to reckon with in his praises and admonishments. His imagination and vivid descriptions are often very funny to read and put modern insults to shame for their lack of creativity.

Artist of the day: Hieronymus Bosch
Who is he: a painter of the late 15th century known for his depictions of hell and other monstrosities. Unlike the fictional Pangloss, Bosch expressed a rather pessimistic view of the world in his works, almost all of which show rather violent torments, complete with ghastly imps and gory details. His choice of subject matter was quite at odds with the prevailing themes of his day. Fellow Flemish painters focused mostly on serene religious worship by their patrons. Bosch, instead, gave free rein to his creativity and visual representation to all sorts of fantastical creatures - all in the name of religion, of course. Even more remarkable, Bosch transcends time in his power to horrify us - we who are used to gory and violent works. Take a look at this section of his Garden of Earthly Delights and tell me this man does not know FEAR and what disturbs us.

Rainy Morning

I re-read my last post and it did quite well to betray my state at the time, although I've written much funnier / surreal things when on the verge of sleep. In any case, nothing much to report in the past few days as I catch up with work and chores.

Link of the day: http://orwelldiaries.wordpress.com/
What is it: a website dedicated to publishing daily entries from George Orwell's diary. Bostonian weather has certainly come a-calling. The weather for the last few days have been chilly and cold and rainy - what one would generally associate with this city. I used to think one only writes about weather when one has nothing else to say. Orwell proved me wrong. He's quite the writer, authoring classroom classics like Animal Farm and 1984, but if you look through his diary entries, he devotes quite a bit of his ink to observing nature, especially the weather and ripening of vegetables. In fact, he almost begins his every entry with a line or two about the weather. I suppose this is no different from art. Artists-in-training are always encouraged to sketch constantly in their sketchbooks and the most obvious things to observe and record are weather-related, as weather changes from day to day.

Artist of the day: George Innes
Who is he: a landscape painter of the mid-late 19th century. I first saw one of his "approaching storm" paintings and was drawn by the way he used a bright reddish orange near the center of his composition to "gather in the storm." It was a very daring feat since the bright color will inevitably draw the viewer to the center of the painting first and hold him captive, preventing the eye to take in the rest of the work. Perhaps it was the proportion of colors he used or it was the way he surreptitiously carried the colors throughout his piece in hardly detectable ways, Innes was able to achieve a harmonious yet moving whole. Unfortunately, I cannot seem to find the painting I just described, but google image has a number of his other landscapes available.

Double Take

The title for today's blog is of course a double entendre. It is a double take in the sense that I am writing two blogs back to back (because I didn't have the internet access this morning to do yesterday's blog), but also because I am currently reading the Golden Ass of Apuleius. It is one of those translated Greek works that happen to be popular but somehow never made it into the cannon of classical literature (another double entendre ;)). Apuleius, the author of the Golden Ass, was described by the translater as a master of double takes. Just when one thought one had gotten the joke and has laughed heartily at it, he reads the real punchline and finds himself unable to laugh further. Of course, in the books case, it was not only jokes but also unfortunate situations...almost as if things can always get worse. But enough about the book. Read it yourself if you want to know more. Just be forewarned that it teaches a rather radical moral philosophy that might not make sense today as it contains prejudice and plenty of self-preservation lessons.

Site of the Day: www.spores.com
What is it: a site that introduces the next blockbuster game: Spores. Not another gaming site!!! Actually, I don't play very many video games but it is again effective advertising that caught my eye with Spores. In the transit stations, bright one-colored ads feature cartoony microbes and beckon you to check it out at spores.com. The ambiguity and the urgency of the ads just might (by eliciting curiosity) get people to vist their site. Once there, you learn that the creator of SIMS finally came out with a more dynamic version of their SIMS game. You can not only develop relationships, etc., but you can also have them evolve and become armies for you to conquer other steady states. Very clever indeed, but I wonder what the future will hold for these games. Are we so interested in playing God and in control that that is the only direction we can move towards now? I surely hope not, but let's see.

Artist of the Day: Vincent van Gogh
Who is he: an incredibly well known artist now although he remained rather unappreciated during his time. I shall write more about him in the coming days but I thought it fitting to crown him the artist of today as I just saw an exhibit of his night paintings at the MoMA. The exhibit was roughly 40 paintings, with most of them on loan from the Van Gogh museum in Amsterdam. The Starry Night was of course there, but to be honest, there were not enough works in the exhibit to tie the "night paintings" theme together. Many of the works were created in the dusk and although van Gogh wrote about wanting to paint the night, the works in the exhibit just did not weave a coherent story about what the artist wanted to do. I could write more, but as it happens, it is about 3 AM here and I really need some sleep. I will presently get back to van Gogh and muse over what I think about his works.

Ad Musings

I was riding on the PATH on Friday when an ad caught my attention. No, not the 'Do you want to hook up' from Comcast, but Dentyne Ice's new campaign with couples and families spending more 'face time' vs. online time together. It is definitely one of the success stories of advertising - clever, attention-grabbing, and with a positive message.

Link of the day: www.dentyne.com
Needless to say, in trying to figure out a good example of the Dentyne example, I came across their site. It appears that Dentyne Ice took themselves seriously when it comes to encouraging non-internet activities. If you are curious, check it out yourself.

Artist of the day: Paul Klee
A few weeks ago, I was walking on the street when I came upon a bookstore on wheels. It sold mainly old books for a buck or two. I selected two, one on Paul Klee, and another on Incan art. I haven't begun either yet, unfortunately, but Paul Klee does bring back a host of memories. I first encountered his work in junior high. At the time I knew just enough about art to be slightly distainful of the smudgy colors and childlike drawings. What I did not realize, was the way Klee took subjects often a kindergarten kid would draw and infused them with depth. Cat and Bird was not only light and humorous, it can be interpreted in a much more serious manner. An obvious one being the predator and prey relationship, but then agian, that's just scratching the surface. I don't have enough background materials on me now to delve more into detail on Klee but I'll probably come back to him again when I get a chance to find my supporting materials

Bleary-Eyed

I just woke up. Not sure why, but I've been finding it harder to get up in the morning these days. It must be the onset of winter when days start darker in general. I have been loading up on vitamin water and instant meals these past few days because I could not find time to cook, but I did go shopping last night and was surprised at the cost of groceries. They have gotten high rather fast! That, and I must have not grocery shopped in at least a month or two.

Link of the Day: www.crunchyroll.com
What is it: a site dedicated to fans of all sort, but it primarily targets the young Asian population. There are loads of semi-high quality anime videos (although they do have a few very wonderfully drawn animations from other countries), Asian drama series, video game clips, music videos, etc. There's even a section on cars. In any case, while there are a number of free anime-watching sites out there, this one is pretty unique in that it is pop-up free and the Ads are relatively simple to ignore.

Artist of the Day: Normal Rockwell
Who is he: an American illustrator who designed many memorable and often humorous covers for the Saturday Evening Post. There was a NYT article on Maurice Sendak recently who commented on how Rockwell is not an artist. I don't buy it. I do think there's quite a distinction between illustration and fine art, but a great deal of that distinction lay in depth of the creator's exploration. IMHO, an illustrator is often commissioned to design or illustrate for someone else's concept and may quickly move on from there. They may explore techniques and styles, but not beyond that. An artist, however, is someone who is not merely satisfied with portraying what he sees in his mind's eye but is interested in evolving and in telling a story endlessly - for art IS his life and will continue to change or deepen as he ages.

Just as an aside, I was able to visit and get a tour of the Bostonian. The editorial walls were covered with staff photographers' contributions and some of the images were simply beautiful while others very moving.

Running Around Once Again

I almost forgot what it was like in college when I ran around like a chicken with its head cut of. Not a very attractive image, I admit. However, I haven't had quite this sense of deadlines and adrenaline rush in a while and it is making me very happy. Last night I went to a Wine Tasting and tried an Australian wine called Malbec. It had a somewhat bitter aftertaste. Although it wasn't quite to my liking, I was nevertheless happy to have had the opportunity to try such a "rare" wine.

Link of the Day: www.allrecipes.com
What is it: a site dedicated to user-submitted recipes. While I am sure most people reading this blog would have been familiar with the link already, I was a stranger to it not too long ago. I have used it primarily for delicious pie-making recipes so far, but the site has much more to offer. The most wonderful parts are the comments that often include valuable suggestions to making good recipes even better.

Artist of the Day: August Rodin
Who is he: a sculptor of the late 20th century. Granted, I wrote about him in my last post, but I felt I hardly did him justice, so a continuation today. A lot of times, artistic works are hard to appreciate unless one views them in person. In this age of excellent digital reproductions, we often find ourselves satisfied with Walmart reprints of famous paintings or even Google images. However, many works of art were meant to be seen in their originals and in context of other works by the same artist. This is particularly true of sculptures. I never was a huge fan of Rodin back in high school. His figures seemed grotesque in the way they contort and writhe. His portraits (think Balzac), look more like a Turner painting of a storm than real people. No smooth skin or even facial symmetry - often cited as the pre-requisite for beauty. Yet, when I visited Rodin's museum in Paris, I came away convinced that he is one of my favorite sculptors. Words cannot describe how mesmerized I was by his works. I was almost overwhelmed with the beauty and life in them, and I felt that this could not have happened if I did not view many of his works in close proximity to each other. It was as if in moving from one of his works to another, I suddenly saw the life that Rodin was infusing into his works. The "imperfections," if they can indeed be called "imperfections," were the very things that gave these works life. It was as if Rodin was applying the Gestalt theory to 3D art. The slight asymmetry was really capturing the beginning of motion and our minds supplied the rest - finishing the motion and hence giving the works life and true movement. It was the "impression" of life that he captured and the eternally changing beauty of life that he immortalized.

All Work and No Play...

...makes me a rather grumpy girl. I am usually fine with solving problems and thinking through issues on my own, but when the problems get too complicated (infinite solutions times infinite consequences), I freak out and shut down. Then, it takes a good bit of "away time" to get me level-headed again so that everything becomes clear and looks more manageable. Of course, in my case, the "away time" is best spent sleeping.

But enough about my psychotic behaviors. Everyone has them and it really all boils down to management, whether in terms of time or information or expectation.

Link of the day: www.esnips.com
What is it: another one of those P2P portals. It has evolved quite a bit since a few years back when one can download without having to join its membership network. I still enjoy the site though, because it hosts many non-music file types (i.e. ebooks, word documents, spreadsheets) in addition to mp3s. One can still download songs if the uploader enables the option. A great source for electronic manuals, language books, and anime pop songs.

Artist of the day: Agustin Rodin
Who is he: a genius of a sculptor. I have never truly appreciated his work until I visited Rodin's house and museum in Paris and saw his work as a collective whole. Rodin possess the means to express feelings and raw powers through his imperfect figures. Of course, the anatomy of his figures are more or less correct, but it is the very "less correct" parts of his works that bring his figures to life, for they are hard to define like a moment caught unexpectedly. This in-between quality hints at movement and hence, life, rendering Rodin's sculpture not so much lifelike in their detail as lifelike in their impression. Little wonder then, that Rodin is grouped with the Impressionists.

Post-Resolution Pains

Verbal commitment to making new resolves is easy. Following them through is inevitably harder, particularly if accompanied by physical pains. Not having danced in more than a year, I am incredibly sore and tired after a weekend of mostly dance. It is also approaching winter. I can feel it in the dark morning skies and the chilly winds.

Link of the day: jayisgames.com
What is it: a site for flash and casual game play. For the occasional gamer who enjoys good 3D graphics but who doesn't expect to spend days playing the same game, this site offers reviews, links, and walk-throughs for many beautifully rendered games. I was particularly addicted to the room escape genre for a while. It allows me to play puzzles of the detective sort without having to waste time making my character travel many steps.

Artist of the day: Pan Yuliang
Who is she: A Chinese painter active around the early part of the 20th century. She was a pioneer in many ways. For my senior essay, I focused on analyzing one of her paintings through cultural and aesthetic angles. Who knew, a recent novel about her just came out in English. Pan's life is fascinating and in many ways, it dwarfs her artistic accomplishments. As hinted by the title of the novel, From Prostitute to Post-Impressionist: China’s Modern Art Ambassador, Pan had a less-than-stellar background. Even so, to use the word "prostitute" is going too far even as a marketing ploy playing on sensationalism. For one, Pan was not a prostitute in the sense that she sold her body. She merely worked in a brothel, most likely in the capacity of a maid servant. If Pan was not a "prostitute," she would be no less interesting as a pioneering female painter in turn-of-the-century China as Western avant garde ideas finally started to take root in the East. Enough ranting for now. I will probably come back to her at a later date with a more comprehensive entry.

Revisiting Old Hobbies

I went out salsa dancing last night. It was good to get back into dancing in general but I never knew salsa could be this much fun. It was also quite a workout. I am not joking when I say that I've lost a good 3-5 pounds in 4 hours.

Link of the day: notcot.com
What is it: a well-designed website for all (well, mostly product) design junkies. The owner has a selective yet undiscriminating eye. Showcased items range from Tetris Tiles, to a weekly Happy Hour, where clickable thumbnails redirect to actual cocktail recipes. There is truly something for everyone here.

Artist of the day: Gerhard Richter
Who is he: a twentieth/twenty-first century artist that is taking the seemingly linear development of painting into his own hands. As someone who is interested in art history, I have often found myself asking the question: what's next? Every since Giorgio Vasari, the "father of art history," chronicled the lives of artists chronologically in the 16th century, art has been seen as developing in a linear fashion. For instance, Western painting is often described by movements and counter-movements as we go from the iconic art of the Middle Ages to the classicism of the Renaissance, from Realism of the 19th century to the Abstract Expressionism of the 20th century. Painting went from symbolism to photographic renditions and back to fundamentals. We've explored pure form and pure emotion. So what is next? Richter answers the question by tracing the footsteps of what was done before him. His art spans innumerate styles and media, yet he manages each time to avoid being a simple copier. I can't say I know enough about him and his works to figure out if he's reached the next stage, but we can always wait and hope.

New Beginnings

I started a Xanga account freshman year in college but didn't really get to update it often. In fact, I probably have less than 10 entries in it. So why should I start blogging now? Well, simply because there are so many cool things out there that I find daily and want to keep track of - everything from random links to new stores visited. None of those deserve a full page of summary, but they are all things I want to remember and share. And voila...the blog! Who knows, maybe from dumping everything here, I'll finally figure out what I want to focus on in life.

Today marks more than my entry into the world of bloggers, but many other things as well. Since things never work out if I talk about them in advance, I'll save those other beginnings for when they attain a more tangible form.

Link of the day: www.wheresgeorge.com
What is it: a place to track dollar bills by their serial number. I had bill K42517930C. It started its journey on 14-Jan-07 10:54 AM in Norton, MA, but apparently didn't make it farther than 28 miles in more than a year. Of course, that's most likely because no one bothered to go on wheresgeorge.com to enter in their location. Hopefully when I release it back into the world, it'll land in the hands of more curious people. So long K42517930C!

Artist of the day: Athanasius Kircher
Who is he: a man ahead of his time. I came across an image of Poussin's Peter and John Healing the Lame Man and decided to look for information on Nicolas Poussin and his use of parallaxial shifts. I remembered the painting from a high school museum visit and at the time never fully comprehended the master's use of perspective, so I decided to do some online research. Googling yielded few results, but did lead me to a blog on Kircher, who apparently taught Poussin perspective. Kircher has more to his name than that though. Described by the NYT as a postmodernist of the 1600's, Kircher was an eccentric artist who invented things like eavesdropping statues and vomiting machines and whose pursuit of knowledge often led him to conduct dangerous experiments on himself (think Ben Franklin and his kite but with active volcanoes). This is one old artist I intend to keep an eye out for.

Alright...off to work on my new beginnings