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You can call me SL, this is about living.  |
Bryce Canyon National Park
Bryce, UT from my 2005 archive 
Bryce Canyon National Park
Bryce, UT from my 2005 archive April 16, 2011 "127 Hours" The opening scenes where James Franco's character, Aron Ralston is biking through the Utah landscape is breathtaking. So lovely, exquisite cinematography. It reminds me of when I went to Bryce Canyon. The Swede and I road tripped from California to Michigan (where we were going to live for two years while I went to graduate school). The Swede had never been to the Grand Canyon and wanted to go. Since I have been there too many times to count, my Father recommended Bryce Canyon as an alternative. It is not as vast as the Grand Canyon, but arguably more beautiful in the colors of its strata of rocks. Amazing. When "127 Hours" first came out in the theatres, it piqued my interest, but I did not think I would be able to stomach it. So I waited for it to release on Netflix, thinking somehow viewing the whole cutting off your own arm thing on a smaller screen would be less severe. Wow. James Franco gave a convincing performance. He carried the movie well with mainly an internal dialogue and laser point facial expressions. Portraying natural facial expressions is no easy feat. Have you ever seen yourself caught on video or in a photo and thought, "Ugh, my face, why am I making that face?" The climax of his performance for me was when his character first gets his hand trapped by the boulder. The shock on Franco's face is so genuine, I could feel his panic. His performance can be compared to Tom Hank's in "Cast Away." I, of course wish there had been more of the landscapes shots of Utah, but I get that the movie is about Aron Ralston's mental and physical struggle to survive. What a story. archives: Books + Movies |
photo credit: I.Theorin, the "Chelseamobile"
Chelsea, NY from 2011 April 14, 2011 All that sparkles and shines. I am calling this the "Chelseamobile." While waiting to cross the street, I spotted this car coming from afar (how could you not, it announced itself). The Swede had the camera, so I shouted to him, "Hurry, hurry, the camera, that car, that one, get a picture." He quickly got it out and panned the camera while the car drove by, the technique worked. Good job. Just when you think New York can get a little mundane (I realize what I am saying, but it can), something surprises you. Safe driving, the reflection off that car must be blinding. archives: Street Art |
studio of Steve DeFrank
Brooklyn, NY from my 2011 archive 
gouaches, studio of Steve DeFrank
Brooklyn, NY from my 2011 archive |
detail, Steve DeFrank's "Diga, Diga, Doo"
Brooklyn, NY from my 2011 archive |
Steve DeFrank's "I Was Here"
Brooklyn, NY from my 2011 archive |
Steve DeFrank's wood and paper plank works
Brooklyn, NY from my 2011 archive April 12, 2011 A studio visit with Steve DeFrank The first time I met the painter, Steve DeFrank was several years ago when I was sitting and waiting for The Swede in a sculpture workshop. Steve came up to me and asked, "Do you have any chocolate?" I was without chocolate and Steve moved on. The question was innocent enough but it caught me off guard, he did not know me. On the way home, I told The Swede the story, and he chuckled, "That's Steve DeFrank." Fast forward a few years to late March of 2011. The Swede and I went to visit Steve's studio in Brooklyn. We arrived toting red velvet cupcakes topped with raspberries hoping to satisfy Steve's penchant for chocolate. When we arrived, he greeted us in Spanish. My instinct was to reply, "Como estas?" but I stalled, a bit embarrassed that my Spanish was not up to par. (It once was, in high school.) Steve is an avid student of Spanish and that is the thing about him, he does everything with enthusiasm and with openness. He is an artist and an educator. And very funny, an opinion many people share. His 500 square foot studio is spectacular. It is spacious and filled with natural light from a set of large windows on one end. Scattered throughout the space are works in progress and finished works hung on the walls. Steve is gifted with the ability to be a great conversationalist and an even better listener. He can speak endlessly about any subject. We were able to move from talking about his artistic process, to politics, to Powerpuff Girls, to families, to religion, and to travels. Steve draws inspiration from Pop Culture; referencing song titles, graffiti found on bathroom walls, cartoons, NPR, and other forms of media. He plays with the idea of faux, with layer upon layer of simulacra. He paints wood grain and carvings upon real wood and on pieces constructed from heavyweight paper made to look like wooden planks. Adding to the playfulness and attention to detail, Steve added to one work, faux planer marks, further challenging the viewer to guess what is real and what is fake. After being in the studio awhile, the enjoyment, passion, and satisfaction the artist feels became evident to me. I was able to see it in the work. This is not an easy place for an artist to reach. Steve agreed, he spoke about being in a place where he feels he should be and how it feels good to be there. This fall, Steve will have a solo exhibition at the Margaret Thatcher Projects. I am already looking forward to another studio visit and to his show, whichever comes first. We spent the last half hour of our visit saying, "We should go, let you work," but continued to chat. In the end, we did peel ourselves away from Steve and his work, after a four hour visit. archives: Art |
Newton of the Ruth Rea Howell Family Garden
Bronx, NY from my 2010 archive April 11, 2011 An Appreciation I am a Member of The New York Botanical Garden, and The Swede and I visit a minimum of twice a year. We always leave happy, rejuvenated, and holding a bag from the gift shop... Recently I had the opportunity to write for their blog regarding city children and food education. Check out the post and please visit The New York Botanical Garden if you have the opportunity. I guarantee you will fall in love. It is truly one of my favorite places in New York. archives: Garden |
Roa's work (Title Unknown)
Williamsburg, NY from my 2011 archive 
Roa's work (Title Unknown)
Astoria, NY from my 2011 archive April 5, 2011 Street Art continued... I used to think a work near my community garden by the Street Artist Roa was of a rat. I was wrong. I went back recently to take a better photo of it, and I realized it is a badger, I mean ferret...according to The Swede. Now he thinks it could be a weasel, who really knows. I came to the conclusion it was not a rat after noticing its tail, which is cut off in the photo because of that van. I was lucky however, normally cars are completely obstructing its lower half. On an outing to get coffee from my home state, The Swede and I came across another of Roa's work in Brooklyn. I was able to get the shot of the squirrel just as the sun was going down. By the time I finished taking six or seven photos, it was nearly dark out. The shots nearly made us miss our chance to get coffee. When we arrived, they had closed. Persistence paid off, I knocked on the glass door and convinced them to let me at least buy a bag of beans. Thank you Blue Bottle. archives: Street Art |
Collection of Joanna S. Rose, "Infinite Variety: Three Centuries of Red and White Quilts"
Upper East Side, NY from my 2011 archive 
Collection of Joanna S. Rose, "Infinite Variety: Three Centuries of Red and White Quilts"
Upper East Side, NY from my 2011 archive |
Collection of Joanna S. Rose
Upper East Side, NY from my 2011 archive |
Collection of Joanna S. Rose
Upper East Side, NY from my 2011 archive |
Collection of Joanna S. Rose, "Infinite Variety: Three Centuries of Red and White Quilts"
Upper East Side, NY from my 2011 archive March 31, 2011 Red and White Speaking of collections, can you imagine owning more than one thousand quilts? Joanna S. Rose has such a collection of red and white American quilts. I cannot imagine owning more than one thousand of anything. Not that I would not love to have a large collection (artwork), but the issue is how to store and care for those items. Six hundred and fifty quilts in her collection were on display at the Park Avenue Armory for six days. I wish it had been on exhibit longer, but the admission was free as a gift to New York City, so I understand it could not have gone on forever. Thank you. The Park Avenue Armory is an incredible space. It has a 55,000 square foot drill hall, perfect for massive installations. When the space is used effectively, it has a jaw-dropping, wow factor. I could have spent hours looking at each quilt, each pattern, each stitch, at each arrangement of quilts, and at the installation as a whole. The installation had so many visual layers and was an artwork in itself. It was great to witness so many people excited about quilts. I am sure they will never look at one in the same way. Quilts are one of the forgotten craft objects that you do not spend much time with in a museum, unless you are genuinely interested. I saw a show back in 2006 at the de Young Museum that I credit for bringing this art form back into the spotlight. After we returned home, I mentioned to The Swede that I thought it was amazing that only red and white quilts were on display, what restraint by the curator and the collector. He said, "Well no, I did see one quilt that had small yellow squares on it, about thirty to forty of them." What? Where was I? I wish I had seen that quilt and to of course, photograph it. I wonder how many other quilts had surprises on them. archives: Art |
mushroom empanadas
Upper East Side, NY from my 2011 archive March 30, 2011 Coffees and an empanada On my way to meet The Swede, I passed a hole in the wall cafe that caught my attention. I paused shortly to assess it: looked cute, had coffee, small bites, counter seating, and a line of 3-4 people. Once I met up with The Swede and mentioned the place, we decided to give it a try. We ordered two coffees, a mushroom empanada, and one soup. In addition to mushrooms, the empanada was filled with ricotta cheese (not cheddar as the label stated) and spices. It was perfect. The texture of the dough was just right, soft with a very slight crunch to its outer crust. And the filling, delicious. The counter seating seats three comfortably and has a large mirror hanging over it. The mirror gives the illusion that the cafe is bigger than it is, great interior trick. It is also good for spotting people staring at you, as to why you are taking so long to take a bite of the empanada that you are sharing. I imagine the place is busy throughout the day; there was a continuous line while we were there. It is quaint, inexpensive, and perfect for a quick bite or for a grab-and-go. archives: Food |
photo credit: I.Theorin, Maira Kalman's "Herring and Philosophy Club"
Upper East Side, NY from 2011 |
photo credit: I.Theorin
Maira Kalman's "Crosstown Boogie-Woogie" Upper East Side, NY from 2011 |
photo credit: I.Theorin
Maira Kalman's "Abraham Lincoln" Upper East Side, NY from 2011 |
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March 28, 2011
Language Take advantage of Free Saturdays at The Jewish Museum and see Maira Kalman's first museum survey. (Note: the gift shop is closed because of the Sabbath, no cash transactions.) She and I have something in common, a fondness for Presidential Portraits and language. During a critique in graduate school, it was debated whether language and visual art could or should be combined. Some people argued yes, and others no. Maira Kalman illustrates that it can be done and should be done if you can do it like her. Everything is deliberate, each letter, each line break, each bit of punctuation. One room in the exhibition is dedicated to a collection of items from her home that she curated herself. In a glass case sits an assortment of rags with a typed index card that reads: on linens taken quietly from hotels. I stared, reread, reread again, smiled, reread, then immediately ran around looking for The Swede and our friends to show them. "It says quietly, isn't that so clever?" They did get a kick out of it, but not as much as I did. I learned of Kalman through a Colleague while browsing through a bookstore to pass the time while waiting for a train. I instantly forgot her name, but not her work. Lucky me, I came across her books again and again until her name stuck. Her latest book is generously filled with works of Abraham Lincoln and George Washington, two Presidents I use as inspiration in my own work. On a separate work trip to The Capital, I debated for far too long about whether or not to buy a George Washington cross-stitch kit for $12. I decided against it, never forgot about it, then bought it one year later when I returned. Maira would be proud. archives: Art |
detail from a Hope Gangloff painting
Chelsea Gallery District, NY from my 2011 archive 
Astoria, NY from my 2011 archive
March 27, 2011 Maneki Neko continued... My love for them has not faltered. At Hope Gangloff's show, I spotted a Maneki Neko in one of her paintings. I squealed, really, I did. Galleries must love me. The second one is from a sushi restaurant I frequent. Enjoy. archives: Maneki Neko |
screenshot of Vik Muniz in "Waste Land" on Netflix from my 2011 archive
March 25, 2011 "Waste Land" I have been a fan of Vik Muniz since 2007 when I saw his exhibition, "Vik Muniz: Reflex" at MoMA PS1. A friend of mine knew his work and thought I would be interested, she was right. He is the kind of artist I describe as clever. He uses a range of materials such as: chocolate, sugar, diamond dust, trash, peanut butter and jelly, toys, floor sweepings, and spaghetti and meatballs to speak about social conditions. Last summer/fall, a documentary about one of his projects was playing at a few independent theatres around town. The Swede and I kept saying to each other, "Let's go, let's go." We never did and regretted it. We put it into our Netflix queue straight away and waited. It was recently released and even better is available on Netflix's "Instant View." We finally watched "Waste Land" (while we played The Settlers of Catan because we are serious about our multitasking). It is powerful in its content. In terms of its creativity as a documentary, it has room for improvement. I would have liked to see more of the making of the artworks. Nonetheless, the story of the "pickers" is moving and speaks of dignity in the face of abject poverty. archives: Books + Movies |
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