alter.ego

I've been working on an alter ego project recently. It's caused me to question my own self-worth, and when I thought about it... my life is pretty kick ass right now! I'm finishing up my final year at USF, taking engaging classes, working at a great job that I can ride my bike to, living in a beautiful apartment with my crazy mutt, and loving my mountain man of a boyfriend who lives in the woods. I really love my life.

Sorry for such an ego-centric blog, but I haven't blogged in such a long time that I thought I would just really let this one be dripping in vanity. 

William Eggleston does not know Paris

Today I went to the Cartier Gallery of Contemporary Art. Beatriz Milhazes had her work on display upstairs, and William Eggleston had his work downstairs. The work from Beatriz Milhazes was spectacular. The paintings were enormous, touching the ground and nearly reaching the tall ceilings, when up close the viewer was engulfed in an array of colors. Her pallet offers great compliments of varying colors. 

Beatriz Milhazes, Sinfonia Nordestina, 2008, Acrylic on Canvas

William Eggleston is a photographer who I have long since admired. He has managed to turn such simple subjects into iconic images. He is an American photographer who has truly captured the "All American Charm" of the USA, but his work abroad seems to lack these qualities he is known for. He was approached by Hervé Chandès (Director, Cartier Foundation for Contemporary Art) to make a series of photographs documenting Paris. Eggleston's work is best viewed as a body of work rather than appreciating each image individually. He has been said to take his photographs "spontaneously", in a decisive moment manner.

After spending only two weeks in Paris, I certainly can not attest to knowing this city. I could live here for months, or even years, and still not know all that Paris has to offer. With that being said, the photos on display were lackluster. Each image was no larger than 8"x10", and the resolution of the photos seemed poor. Although there were a few images that I enjoyed it did not compensate for the rest that were simply dull. I am not sure if this is a finished body of work, as the literature alluded to the fact that he may still be working on this.

William Eggleston, Untitled, Paris Series, 2006-2008

Van Gogh-ville

Today we ventured to a part in France roughly an hour North of Paris. I walked in the room where Van Gogh lived just before he died. Van Gogh shot himself (in the chest) in his most famously painted wheat fields. He walked back to his flat, and died two days later. The town was having an annual Festival, Cocagne Fete, there were so many vendors and marching bands. It was fantastic.

My friend Keith and I purchased a bottle of chilled Chardonay, and made our way to the wheat fields. We sat for a while and had a picnic in the fields. We found an already existing path that had been forged through the wheat and made ourselves comfortable. 

Keith in Van Gogh's one room palace, 7 sq. ft.

Kisses for the dread-locked donkeys. 

Candied Apples, Cocagne Fete

Wheat!

Poppy with Wheat

Van Gogh's wheat fields.

Farm livin'

No "farmer's tans" allowed at the Gay Pride Parade, Paris.

Chardonay on a hot day.

Foux du Fa Fa

Last night we went to Vaux-le-Vicomte. It was absolutely beautiful! The entire chateau was illuminated by hundreds of candles. My camera was dead, but I really don't think that I could have captured all of the charm of the chateau. We got home around midnight. We walked to Pizza 31 (a near by late night pizzeria, with buy 1 get 1 free pizzas). Morgan, Keith, and I shared wine and conversation with our Canadian neighbor in the dorm. He's a poly-sci major, we chatted on politics for a bit, and agreed that the school system in France is as equally beaurocratically backwards as it is in the states and Canada. 

This is how it feels to be in France, sort of.

mobile children of Paris

Today our mission was to act as Flaneurs. Each group was given one destination to find in the city. We were armed with maps, and with a partner of our choosing. Morgan and I had Le Marais - rue des Rosiers. This is an old Jewish district. We ate Falaffel and embraced the grumpy old Jewish women. Once in our destination (and after exploring all of it's benefits) we were instructed to "drift" back home. This proved to be difficult, but it helped us to really learn the streets of Paris better.

After a long day of walking, Morgan and I took the RER home. We were almost to our destination when a sea of children filled our RER car. Their noises were pleasant, French giggles. The chaperones herded the children into the car once the doors opened, the familiar beep of the RER warned everyone that the doors would soon be closing, but the women seemed confident that they could squeeze every last child in.

When the kids aren't taking the Metro, they're buzzing around the streets on razor scooters. It's fantastic! The adults ride bikes (everywhere!), and the children take their scooters. It's no wonder this country is full of fantastically thin individuals.

Home away from home.

My roommate Morgan and I sharing a delicious bottle of 3 euro wine.

Notre vue est magnifique!

For JB

While I was waiting in line at the airport Starbucks (yuck) this CD caught my eye. Of course I thought of you, it seems that your telepathic abilities are still working (in spite of our distance).

Yes, I'm having my second Starbucks "ZEN" Green Tea of the day, my second croissant, and yes I am ashamed. The Starbucks convenience factor is undeniable, and seemingly unavoidable. Oh well, they win this one.  

The Tampa International Airport smells like McDonalds, and I'm pretty sure I saw an Albino. 

TPA to Philly, Philly to Charles De Gaul

I'm sitting in Tampa International Airport. Tired, anxious. It's now 12:37 EST. My flight leaves for Philly at 2:15 EST, and I won't set my feet on French ground until tomorrow morning at 7:55 du matin, (7:55 a.m.). In Florida it will be 12:55 am EST. Much of my jitters have left me, and now I'm looking forward to the adventures I'll be getting into over the next five weeks. 

I love traveling. I am overcome with the excitement of the unexpected. 

Check back for my reports of said adventures. 

Currently I am reading Henry Miller's Tropic of Cancer.

Stop Motion Photography

I should do something like this...

Photos in context.

I live in Tampa, Florida. I am a seventh generation (on my father's side) Florida native, a rarity in this snowbird state. My great-grandfather, on my mother's side, still lives in "the Cuban district" of Tampa. He, my grandfather, and my Uncle Joe have lunch every Friday at a local Cuban restaurant. Occasionally, my mom and grandmother tag along, and on an even more rare occasion I tag along. This past Friday was one of those rare occasions. My mom asked our waitress to take a picture of us.

My mom then took it upon herself to add context to the photograph.

 

"Juke Box Heroes"

At "Yeoman's Road" English pub on Davis Island, in Tampa, FL. May 19th, 2009, Tuesday, Open Mic Night. The room was very blue.

Another reason why I want to move to Denver, Co.

The art scene in Denver is very exciting to me right now. I feel like they have a very fresh outlook. The Denver Art Museum's current temporary exhibition, The Psychedelic Experience, places vintage posters from the 60's and 70's among the rest of their worldly and historic collection of amazing artworks. (I know, I hesitated when using the term vintage with regards to only 40-year-old-ish show posters, but it seemed appropriate all the same.)

I had the chance to visit the DAM about a year ago, and I could have spent days exploring all that it had to offer. If given the chance plan on blocking out your day to take it all in.

Kudos to the curator; clever idea for a show.

"I hate graffiti"

"I hate graffiti." - Taylor, age 12

This photo is from the Children's Photography Workshop that I teach at FMoPA. A young girl in the class commented on the graffiti scribbled on the sculptural piece outside of the Sykes building in downtown Tampa, "I hate graffiti". 

For some reason it impacted me. 

Tampa is for Hookers...?

For fun, sometimes, I like to play with google image. Sometimes I'll catch myself searching the strangest things out of sheer boredom. Today I decided to google image cities in the U.S. Most of my results were beautiful landscapes of downtown, often at night to showcase the city in a twinkle of lights. When I typed in Tampa, Florida this was my result. 

Tampa through the eyes of Google Image: sun, fun, and scantly clad women

I guess this is just a warning, ladies. I'm all about liberation of the body, but be aware of the photographic opportunities that may present themselves. 

 

My dream home

http://www.tumbleweedhouses.com/

not-so-disposable cameras

Sometimes plastic cameras can be just as special as a $2,000(plus) DSLR. I hate to use the phrase "disposable camera", it sounds so cheap and worthless. Here are some photos taken with this $5 camera. 

Still awaiting a new name for these special little gems.  

Serendipitous

Upon leaving FMoPA yesterday around 5pm I saw this girl leaning out the car window and letting her hair play in the wind. The way the sun was catching her face and strands of hair forced me to take a photo of her. Her name is Rhiannon. I think these will compliment a series I'm working on about commuters. 

J'apprends le Français!

I have found a fantastically convenient site for assisting in my studies of learning to speak French, www.livemocha.com. I'm enjoying it, I just hope to retain the information when I step foot in Paris. 

I asked JB to make me a "JB doll" as an in the case I may get homesick device. Perhaps I will need a Stella doll too, I will ask him.

JB found a sweet old Singer sewing machine on the side of the road the other day, of course he brought it home. Doesn't seem to work, but that doesn't mean it wont. The sewing machine was a nice reminder of my new year's resolution: to make more clothes!

Awful photo, but you get the idea of how sweet it is... I miss my camera.

My camera battery has died, and I can't find the charger. I left my original in Denver, Co. I was gifted a new one for Christmas, and of course lost it before it left the packaging. Typical.

on pause for a picnic

Today I had a picnic with Baudelaire. An act such as this should help him to consider me as a flaneur. Unfortunately, my being a woman prohibits such a title. Damn men stuck in their 19th century ways.

Studying for mid-terms... today is History of Photography. Should be back to blogging soon.

Intelligent women in contemporary society disregard.

Examples of brilliance:

Diana Al-Hadid

Leslie Shows

Annie Leibowitz

Diane Arbus

Graciela Iturbide

...

Happy Valentines Day, ladies!

Chills

Today it is very cold in Florida, colder than it should be. The low tonight might hit 23°F. Ridiculous! Shocked at the thought, I bought a sweater from Community Thrift, a gem of a thrift store near campus. I found a perfect little sweater in the men's section, must have been a little boy's, fit's me fine.

I've been very busy lately; preparing a new show at the museum, the usual school work, and I'm finishing up building a website for my work. I've been meaning to get on here to post an image that has been the topic of some recent controversy. I thought I'd put it up here and see if it provokes anything.  

more info

PHOTOsynthesis

Ackroyd and Harvey, Mother and Child, c. 1998

stay-green grass, clay, wood, 3.9'x5.9'

This photograph is really exciting to me. These two artists, Ackroyd and Harvey, work together in figuring out how to manipulate the chlorophyl during the photosynthesis process into rendering a photo. I am amazed by these photos, and I think it is a beautiful way of working with science and art, something photography is known for, certainly, but they seem to take things to another level. 

I'm still researching the process. 

The bastard child of science, left on the doorstep of art.

Beaumont Newhall once described photography as, "the bastard child of science, left on the doorstep of art." 

This single phrase summarizes my overwhelming love and intimidation for photography. I am intrigued by the scientific attributes behind the brilliantly beautiful result of the art, the photograph.

Stream of consciousness:

Girl on cellphone, walking through the library:

"I was driving on the interstate, fast, in the rain. I was in a rush to get back on campus in time. And I did a 360 on the interstate."

Exit girl on cellphone.

back to the arts

Brody Condon, Twentyfivefold Manifestation 2008

After living in the woods for a week it was refreshing to come back to civilization, and to be immediately immersed back into school. Thursday of last week USF had a visiting artist, Brody Condon, speak about some of his most recent work. Brody got his MFA at the University of  California in San Diego. More recently he's been living in New York working on these instillation pieces. The one, in particular, that he came to talk about was Twentyfivefold Manifestation 2008.  I could feel the awkward silence swish around in the room, a few mumbled comments, blank looks on faces, but never so much as a giggle (thank god). Brody didn't seem entirely comfortable speaking in front of us. I didn't find this denoted him as a bad artist, I was only more eager to see his work.

With little explanation behind the piece, he played the video for us. I can't speak for everyone in the room, but I know that I was confused. The video was shot in a park in the Netherlands, if I remember correctly. The video seemed very raw, as if anyone with a video camera had happened to stumble upon this bizarre cult and pressed 'record'. There is no dialog (outside of some chanting, with only a few words recognizable), so the viewer is forced to come to their own conclusions of the happenings in the video by the characters use of body language, their surroundings, etc. Towards the end of the video I enjoyed the videographer's use of tight shots, I felt this gave the video a better sense of intimacy with the characters that we had been watching in the film. 

After the film was finished he gave a bit more explanation. The way he talked about his history with these LARPS (Live Action Roll Playing Scenarios) helped me to empathize with the characters. This may help give a better understanding towards this artists association and history with LARPS that fueled his desire to make this art:

Brody grew up in the mid west. He had a fondness for Dungeons and Dragons as a child, but was misunderstood as a demon worshiper for playing with such games. Since childhood it has been a struggle for acceptance with these so-called demonic games, and now as an adult the LARP world is evolving to such a larger scale that he is all the more intrigued. He is determined to revolutionize things in the LARP world even more. The Scandinavian countries warmly welcome LARPS, but it is in America where Brody wants to bring this way of life to this same level of acceptance.

For me, I think it's incredibly exciting when any one person becomes so passionate about one thing that they are willing to dedicate their life to that one thing. For Brody it is LARPS. When the discussion let out into the court yard for food and drinks I could hear the conversations rising up, "That was awful," "I can't believe I waited around for that," "At least I got some free food out of the deal." Granted, I thought the video was poorly executed, but I think that his passion for the subject is something that should be recognized. 

Also, the large, futuristic living spaces that he created for the scenario were extraordinary. He did warn the audience that his focus was/is in sculpture work, and that working with computers and video recording equipment is still new to him. Also, the entire scenario that these characters were living out was a LARP world that Brody had created himself. When the viewers take into account that these are what constitute as his art it becomes more exciting, for me at least. 

Here is a link that gives a better idea of this work. 

Here is a link that shows some of his older work. 

FNS: Stella's Search for Snow

Here is a collection of photos from our most recent gypsy excursion entitled FNS: Stella's Search for Snow. We started in Alabama trucking our way towards the east coast so that we could arrive in time for new year's eve to whiteness the first sunrise of 2009.

Disclaimer: The series of photos start from the bottom, working their way back up here.

Enjoy!

Reading my book in a hammock before we packed up and head back home.

Fort Mounds. The soldiers hollowed out these mounds (behind JB and Stella) to convert into spaces of storage, refuge, bunks, etc.

dorks

glowing

gun powder

creepy old fort hospital

cannon ball

Fort McAllister

fresh squeezed oranges for our mimosas

celebratory champaign

pop!

home

so sleepy

This is how cowboys make coffee.

the sun creeping in to our camp site

Happy 2009!

JB and Bean

Stella was cold, tired, and cranky

the first sunrise of 2009

stoked

pensive, fire-side

nap time

dancing fire

bambie

Still on our quest, we headed further east and slightly south. We ended up deciding on a place called Fort McAlister State Park.

Stella, did YOU drink the last of the Tennessee whisky?!?

fire

water

there's nothing like slappin your knee to the harmonica

these two trees were hugging one another

crucial

breakin' it down

harmonica break!

Getting to the tops of mountains means long and twisty mountain roads.

Time to head to Georgia. Our next destination was to camp in Blood Mountain (part of the Appalachians), in a place called Vogel.

the grass

good morning, sun

our tent

our car

The next morning frost had covered everything!

big knees, big heart

Yes, Stella had her own sleeping bag.

telling stories

Stella the water dog!

leprechaun Jb

self-timer = awkward poses

"I make you very good deal for my grandmother, she-ah cook for you."

exploring

These beautiful walls were covered in awful graffiti (i.e.- "ICP 4 Lyfe")

petrified

cave masters

spelunking

I helped him up as soon as I got this shot.

Mmm... Still water, mosquito breeding ground? Perhaps.

never satisfied

mountain goat

mountain hiking

JB's turn

All the trees trick one into think they are dead during the winter, but come spring they'll remind us of their beauty.

sitting on the edge of a cliff, Stella wasn't allowed (someone had to take the picture)

After a great deal of twists and turns down old coutnry roads (some still in service, but most were not), we made it to our first night of camping, Buck's Pocket State Park.

The branches seemed to claw at the roof of the barn like a giant's hand.

This was a beautiful old barn that had been taken over by this determined, decaying tree.

the mobility of Rainsville

This pleased the citizens of Rainesville

Rainesville, Alabama

endless pavement

December 27th through Januray 2nd JB, Stella, and I set out for adventure. We got in the car, with minimal preparations, and started driving. Due to our limited intimate knowledge of our bordering neighbors I was eager to visit Alabama, so we set our initial destination for somewhere in North Eastern Alabama.