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.