Art and Anticipation

They definitely make school breaks too long. It was fun-- I had a lot of houseguests and crashed with my folks for a while and went to Philly and ate too much of everything and spent time with my favorite gentleman and learned Solidworks and wrote a bunch of job applications and completely spoilt my cat and slept twelve hours a night-- but DAMN if I don't feel mentally and physically squashy, like a grub.

Don't ask

I did go to a lot of museums, though, which was great. The never-ending variety of things to see is one of the best things about this mad city. Here are some shows that are up now-ish:

Gaultier at the Brooklyn Museum: Strange, elegant, lavish and cool. Half appallingly ugly fashion, half 'I want that. In my closet. Want.' The mannequins had moving faces projected on them. They all had underbites. A-.

I'll take one of each and some growth hormones, please.

War Photography at the Brooklyn Museum: Heartbreaking and very well curated. The photos were arranged by theme rather than year or place. I had to leave before the end because I was breaking down completely, but if you're not a complete softy like me it's highly recommended. A. 

Surrealists at the Philadelphia Museum of Art: A lot of stuff from their permanent collection displayed together in the new annex. It has a nice feel, like seeing a bunch of old friends all together (which is what I did in Phila, so I might be conflating). The Dali paintings are getting darker by the year because he used some kind of non-archival lead white paint, so see them as soon as you can. B.

Marc Newson at the PMA: This guy is Mr. Slick. He's an Australian industrial designer who does everything from silverware to boats. Everything is bubbly and cheerful. It was impossible to hate, even the truly ridiculous chrome surfboard. I also liked to see the breadth of projects he got his hands on, since I want to design ALL THE THINGS. Not at all my taste, though I respect him. B-. 

But, um, no. No. Absolutely not.

Vermeers Everywhere: There are a lot of Vermeers on the East Coast right now. I saw all the ones in NYC and Phila. And I was... Well they're nice, but I had no urge to flip out over them. The Girl with the Pearl Earring was engaging and pretty and... Man, I hate to say anything mean about a great artist, but I just did not get it. He's not fabulous at faces or hands, but his fabric and light is extraordinary. I think the ones that have traveled here are mostly of people with faces and hands. I feel like a jerk. B-. 

This isn't Vermeer, but I visited him at the Frick anyway. He's so dreamy.

Ten Thousand Waves at MoMA: This is a multi channel, semi abstract video installation. I can see why a lot of people might find it insufferable, but it hit every single romantic and aesthetic chord in me and I loved it. There is a recurring shot of a woman in a white kimono flying through the air, and in a few sections it cuts away to the actress being filmed in front of a greenscreen, and it's still magical. The imagery is beautiful and the plotlines are just barely follow-able. I'm going to see it again before it comes down on 2/17. A. 

The Armory Show at the NY Historical Society: Apparently this show caused a massive scandal 100 years ago. It's mostly modernist painting from both Europe and the US. Nice to see some of them in person. B.

Gilded Age Portraits at the NY Historical Society: Squishy babies, foggy pink women, and insufferable men. A few third rate Sargents. Rather than the overwhelmingly elegant portraits I was expecting, these were the the pale, feeble scrapings from an institution not known for its art collection. There were some better paintings in the study cases upstairs. There are some better paintings in diners. C-. 

William Kentridge at the Met: A medium sized installation with a great creaky bellows and a black and white film wrapping around the walls. It's more live-action than a lot of his stuff, which I find detracts from the emotional impact. There are also some lovely drawings and prints in a separate gallery. I still like his pure animations better. B+.

I'm leaving out a couple, like the Whitney (mostly because the temporary shows left me completely cold) and the Museum of Natural History, because how do you review that? It's nice to look at art as a no-longer aspiring artist-- less stressful, and the enjoyment is more pure. I can also have loud opinions without sounding jealous. The Whitney Biennial is coming next month, and for once I am looking forward to it. 

Just when I thought this term would be a little less stressful than last a couple of opportunities came along that will make it equally, if not more work intensive. I'm not complaining-- I seem to thrive best right up against the edge of what I can do. This is very much a fake-it-till-you-learn-enough-to-stop-faking-it situation, but I've done that before and it seems to be the way things go in this industry. 

I'm going to spend tomorrow (last day of freedom) making copious amounts of freezable foods, cleaning my apartment, and generally readying for three months of enjoyable panic. 

Oh who am I kidding? I'm going to have a nice long bike ride and go ice skating. 

I should probably get used to getting up at seven again, so off I go. 

Isis

"We live here!"

The term is over and I survived. I think I did ok, considering how desperately unfamiliar everything I learned was. The sleep deprivation has caught up; every time I sit down I start dozing. I know they do this deliberately- cram everything possible into us as fast as possible and intellectual comfort be damned- but I'm not sure I'm wired to learn well this way. I certainly know I need to spend a good part of the holiday break re-learning a bunch of programs I only scratched the surface of.

Here's my digital final-- I absorbed just enough to realize I don't know anything. But the dresses were fun!

The dragon was fun too

And here are a couple of rug designs that I was quite happy with:

The formal one

The not formal one

I'll upload a video about all the products if I ever figure out how to do that. Each product has to be accompanied by a video, and that took forever. I know nothing about videos, and my cat wouldn't even cooperate when I needed him to look confused. There's another thing to work on over break! (filmmaking, not confusing the cat. He's confused enough by life). 

And here's my final display, almost done: 

It occurred to me that these are the colors of the house I grew up in

I think what kept me going is the sense that this work is actually going to pay off. There are jobs and opportunities out there for people with MIDs, and this could all be building up to a consistently interesting career. That sense of possibility was completely absent in art school. 

I went to Philadelphia twice (planning weeks in advance so I could spare the time off, and it still meant an extra late night or three) and each time the knot of tension that I carry behind my sternum quietly melted away. It was so nice to see my friends and the dear, calm, unpretentious city. I miss riding only a mile or two to anywhere I like, and I miss having a network of bikey nerds, I miss house shows and late nights spent NOT working. Since the past three months have been spent buried in the studio I have not had a chance to fall properly back in love with NYC. There's another thing to do before Spring term...

After the last final, crammed into a taxi with a bunch of colleagues on the way from one celebration to another, I saw Manhattan rising splendidly across the river. And all of us, from our many corners of the world, were struck with a sense of amazement. 

"We live here," we said, wondering and smiling. "We live here!" 

Isis

Industrial Design Is Hard

....But damned if it isn't fascinating.

It's a little embarrassing that I have been working my tail off for the past 5.5 weeks and don't have too much physical evidence for it. Even my brain feels about the same size, just moshier. But here's a few things I've made that look cool:

My hardest class by power of 100 is Digital Ideation, which is basically Maya with some easier programs mixed in. I'm not very good at it. In fact, I am kind of spectacularly bad at it. But there's not really an option to fail, so I keep plugging away, often til 3AM. I did print some abstractish shapes out on the 3D printer, and all but the Viking ship came out really well:

The little guy in front is a dragon

And here are some lamps:

I did an animation of one of them waking up with a hangover and puking. I'll post it when I figure out how. 

For all his assigning 15 hours of homework a week, the prof is pretty inspiring and into new materials, programs and technologies, so I enjoy that part. I'll eventually get better at the ideation part, but I already know that the digital world is never going to be easy for me. 

Another hard class, surprisingly, is drawing. I did so much of it in art school, still lives and portraits and such, but damned if I can draw a straight line. Again, since failure isn't an option, I'm improving. I made up a car:

It's based off that little Messerschmitt. The Messerschmitt is my favorite car. 

It was only after I turned it in that I realized the blue one doesn't have a rear window, taillights, or a trunk. I still want to go into transportation design! 

Today I did a better one:

I hope the prof agrees. That's my midterm. 

Another work-heavy class is ID Tech, which involves a lot of field trips. This week we had to make barcode scanners (complete with ideation boards and videos) and made a trip to Motorola's depressing campus in Ronkonkoma. Here's my model:

Blue foam, suckaaaas. It lit up, too!

I also made my first video ever. Here it is:

100 thanks to my wonderful colleagues for being actors

I'm gonna set ALL my videos to Lady Gaga until someone tells me to stop. I'm also gonna use lighting next time. 

And if I could spend my days making models and silly videos I would be very happy. 

Another thing I thought I could never, ever do was make neat, clean stuff. I've always been a messy bugger, and my artwork is a little messy and my room is really messy and I've never kept a desk clear for more than a day or two. But for 3D class I made a neat thing:

After 25 years. 

So for all the exhaustion and frustration and withdrawal from the world, and missing my gentleman-friend so much it hurts, I can't imagine a better thing to be doing. 

Now back to my epic animation of a bunch of kitchen appliances getting drunk and dancing (to Lady Gaga of course). Are you sensing a theme? 

--Isis

Fire and Rock I'm Coming Home To You

(AKA, The Sad Romance of Punk)

I've been listening to a lot of punk lately-- the driving rhythm keeps me moving, and the ragged sound reminds me of Philadelphia and the life I used to lead. While I'm so very busy, buried under dozens of digital shapes and looming deadlines and a skillset that I've absolutely no experience in, it's good to have music that's simple and anarchic and idealistic.

I think I mentioned that I like Mischief Brew before-- they're a ratty, DIY band that goes on about anarchy and the punk scene and like that. I take a certain pleasure in riding in to school early in the morning singing,

There's MUD ON MY BOOTS!
And BLOOD ON MY JEANS!
I'll take those pretty dresses
TEAR 'EM AT THE SEAMS!
Open up the gates of hell... Ah please
And I'll be back-
IN YOUR DAUGHTER'S DREAMS! 

Even if I remembered to put my face on, and my messenger bag is clean and my bike is upright and my hair is parted straight, songs like these keep a part of me in the world I loved so much-- the gentle souls with their community gardens and giant bike piles, kitchens full of drying herbs and cats and trashpicked art. Maybe I'm romanticizing. Here's a song about it:

Wish you were here. 

Not that there's anything wrong with Brooklyn, but I have no time for adventuring and riding out, and I don't recognize any faces on the road. I suppose it will take time, and until I'm not at school twelve+ hours a day I won't be able to make a community for myself (aside from my colleagues, who are generally wonderful). 

One of these colleagues drives along my rout, and informed me that I'm always riding behind the same guy. So now I expect some dude to wheel around and say WHY ARE YOU STALKING ME? I am really unobservant in the morning.

I think the one thing I object to about Brooklyn is a poorly calibrated sense of irony. People make such an effort to be coolest of the cool, so over everything, and then you get things like this: 

What happens when a mushroom gets stuck in the tubing?

And this, a bike powered steampunk carousel that combines everything young, wealthy, ironic Brooklyners like:

I'm actually ambivalent about this. Part of me thinks it's pretty neat.

I really need to go to a punk show. And a bike co-op. Wish I had time. I haven't even got time for laundry or groceries. Christmas break is gonna be very sociable... 

'...And its not long

Before I start to roam.
Seek out the patches on the punks,
Maybe a band I know.
I bet you in five minutes time,
We find that we know all the same
People, places, and roads.'

But damned if this city isn't beautiful. 

Off Governor's Island

Next post will be about industrial design! Today I made some scanners...

-Isis

A Fish that Walks and a Dog that Talks

Brooklyn is definitely having a good effect on me. I get up with more than 10 minutes to spare (15) so I have time to play with the cat and paint my eyebrows on. I've been following traffic rules. I always have two lights on me and I haven't forgotten them yet. And I am always astonished by something when I ride out...

Nope nope nope nope nope!

 I'm working harder than I ever have in my life.

It's astonishing how much my attitude has changed since undergrad. Then, I wanted easy classes and I wanted to excel and that was about it. Now, the one easy class I have makes me ragey-- this is really expensive and I need to get really good pronto! Make this harder! That was an inconceivable attitude three years ago. Now I have a clear goal in mind, a clear set of tasks I need to do to achieve that goal, and damned if I'm not putting every bit of energy I have into it.

I think undergrad was as much about growing up as it was about learning things. Now I'm more or less content with who I am as a person, I can really concentrate on being a person with a CAREER. That barely entered my mind in 2006...

My program crams four years of industrial design undergrad into one year of grad school, so the workload is kind of staggering. I can just barely keep on top of it, and my mind is always skipping ahead to the next thing that needs to be done, planning, allocating time. I expected to be more stressed, but so far, while there is stress, I've been uncharacteristically calm and peaceful. And whenever I do get jumpy there's always a nice spoiled Pratt Catt to chum with.

Meet Winston. He is chummy. 

And I do miss Philadelphia and my dear friends and sandwiches not costing $10 and everything being close and only having to ride four miles to my gentleman-friend's house. I miss the rivers and the space and the lazy long evenings in company. But it was time, past time. And I seem to be wired for new things and striving, rather than comfort and consistency.

 I DON'T miss subpar bagels though. And the light here has been extraordinary:

I just about fell off my bike.

Speaking of bikes, this Saturday is the Brooklyn Bike Jumble so if you're in NYC you should go. And if you're selling bikes two of my classmates need 'em-- a 50 and a 55ish respectively. I am not allowing myself to buy anything! 

I was singing this as I rode home tonight, making up verses when I ran out of real ones. It's been in my head all day:

Tomorrow's the day my man's gonna come...

Is it bad that I like her version better than the original?

We'll see how long this good mood lasts. Ask me again at finals! 

Isis OUT. 

The Land of Bixi

What I learned about Montreal:

There is a certain aggressive vigour* in the city's view of itself- here is the founder of McGill, for example:

Onward!

It's particularly clear in the behaviour of the cyclists, who all ride like maniacs. And there are so many of them! Everywhere we rode (and we rode a lot) there were scores of fit, reckless people on bikes zooming by and jamming up the intersections. They have a beautifully done and very well used bike share programme, and everywhere you look is another rack of public bikes (or Bixis):

SO MANY BIXIS

The fact that each Bixi weighs about 50 pounds does not deter Montreallers from riding them TOP SPEED in all directions. I have wistful fantasies of NYC getting to that point eventually, but we'd need some serious bike lane restructuring. Montreal's bike lanes make sense, go where you want to go, and are often protected by concrete curbs on BOTH sides. It was really nice. 

There was also lovely architecture and landscapes and some really dedicated surfers flopping around in a slightly turbulent section of the Saint Lawrence. There was a Biosphere,

One of the weirder world fair relics I've seen, though I think Knoxville's Sunsphere still wins

And the Highest Inclined Tower in the World,

We went up in a funicular

And an Octopus,

Previously sighted in Portland

And an unexpected screening of my favorite Swiss 80s art film which OH MY LACK OF GOD is on YouTube! Aaaaah!

I liked wandering around and not rushing at all, and it was lovely to spend time with my gentleman-friend. We tried to speak French, but couldn't quite shake a sense of ridiculousness even if we KNEW we were saying the words we meant to say. The bizarre Quebecois accent doesn't help. A friendly youth hostel employee informed us that Montreallers are all mean, much meaner than New Yorkers, but  Philadelphians are the meanest of all. It's a shame that everyone's perception of Phila appears to be based on It's Always Sunny. 

I stopped in Phila on the way back to Brooklyn to collect my cat, and while sitting in the Rocket Cat and trying to get my brain together after a 15 hour train ride and inadequate sleep I felt a great sense of homesickness. Mostly because the flyers pasted to the windows were so much cooler than the ones I'd find in an analogous Brooklyn cafe. I might just be going to the wrong cafes, but Phila has a lovely sense of community and I don't think this big, anxious city can replicate it. 

Dorian don't care, though. He was nervous for about an hour, then decided he was above it all. 

This is after having his way with my lovely new curtains

It's only been 24 hours and my cat is already cooler than I am. 

Orientation starts tomorrow. I am not gonna be a snob! I am not gonna be a snob! I am not gonna be a snob! Much. 

-Isis

*Spelled in Canadian to honour and humour our neighbour's flavours.  

Bells

Looks who's an authentic NYer! I rode from my house to Williamsburg twice and the second time I only got lost once! WHY does Brooklyn have so many different grids?

It's been a strange week, half riding out in all directions and half being comatose and waiting for things, like utilities guys to turn up with the internet. My new neighborhood is largely Caribbean, so it smells amazing and the bodegas have fruits and candies that I can't identify. It's near Prospect Park, so I've been diligently riding out on the little bike loop every day. I like it a lot more than Central Park, less crowded, less manicured. Just as many manic-faced roadies in Kissena jerseys, though.

AND THERE'S NOWHERE TO PARK.

People are a lot nicer than I expected. They say hello to me and smile (after the sort of up-and-down size-up that seems to be a New York thing). I got a giant bell and furiously ding at anyone who gets in front of me, and they say 'I like your bell!' which is disarming. 

Replace the constant squeaking with DING DING DING DING DING...

Since everything is so far away from everything else I am gonna be getting Champion style legs pretty soon. 

I made a point to make my room nice; it'll be good to have a sanctuary from the inevitable school-related stress. Packing half a three story house into a third of a three bedroom apartment isn't so easy, but NYC has closets which are deeper than six inches, so there's that. The house mojo won't be properly set until my cat and the housemate's cat move in (also, the housemates). I miss having a chubby little pounce monster wrecking my curtains. 

And I miss Phila a lot, or rather I miss the people in it. It's going to take a long time to build up a community as amazing as the one I enjoyed there. I did visit Time's Up, which is a bike co-op not unlike Bike Church in Phila. And everyone was super nice and welcoming and unsnotty and that made me very happy. Bike people seem to be marvelously similar no matter where they are, and it's immensely comforting to find a space where I feel automatically at home. I've never dealt with design types before, and it's been a long time since art school. The social aspect of grad school is scaring me out of me tree going to be an adventure. 

Tomorrow I and my gentleman-friend are checking out a small-boat club where we may keep our sailboat (WHICH FLOATS!!!!!!) Is there a way to talk about your boat without sounding like an entitled twitbag? If you say 'I'm building a boat' everyone says 'Cool!' but if you say 'I have a boat' everyone thinks,

Wot? Me?

At some point I will write about the boat's maiden voyage. It was.... memorable. 

There are a lot of churches in my neighborhood. St Francis of Assisi rings its bells at 15 minute intervals (not quite on the dot). It makes me acutely aware of time, and how much (if any) I am wasting. This whole city seems very much concerned with time, at least no one appears to be loafing. I'll quit loafing the minute school starts, but at the moment flaneur-ing my way about Brooklyn feels very strange. 

Qua? Moi? Oui!

And on THAT note, I am off to Montreal for a week. 

Hello, mad city?

-Isis