Challenging the Human Spacial Concept

Always a fan of architecture, concepts which challenge people's current ideals of what is right, necessary, good, and true, Yahoo!news has provided again.


The article, World's Skinniest House, is an art installation in Warsaw Poland.  As a technicality, it is only an installation and not a house because it does not meet certain Polish building code.  Otherwise, it technically is livable, ranging from four feet across to a mere twenty-eight inches.  It houses a bathroom, bedroom, what looks like one window, and will apparently be the workspace for Etgar Keret, an Israli writer.  I cannot eve tell if it houses a kitchen, but that is because of the phone and lack of housing specifics in the article.  Still, it's courageous.  Or crazy.  It all depends on your perception.


The article did comment, however, that it is a bit of an eye sore on the surrounding area and would even seem to hinder creativity, as the space is so small.  Regardless, it rivals the 9.6-foot wide house in NY, which I had initially been surprised by.  I'd like to say it's a nice change from the expansive demands of society up to this point.  Everyone wanted bigger thinking it was better, but we can only expand so far as we will run out of space before we run out of greed.  Maybe these smaller houses are more a testament to humans realizing sometimes more isn't better, it's just more.  Now it's just time to find a happy middle ground.

Carmen

As a last minute gift, if you will, I was invited to see the opera, Carmen, at the Lyric Opera House with some students and faculty from my school.  When offered the option of going I immediately jumped at it.  I've seen two operas before: L'Elixir d'Amour and Don Giovani, and have to admit neither made me want to jump out of my seat and see another.  However, I concluded that I would probably never find anyone to go see Carmen with me for a very long time, and to get to go for free to one of the most popular operas ever was definitely worth doing, despite any past experiences.


WoW! Amazing isn't even close to explaining it.  The performance blew me away.  The sets were incredible and some of the cast beyond reproach.  And, as an added bonus, to keep the interest of 7th and 8th graders for nearly 4 hours means you're doing something right.  


The story, for those of you who are unaware, is about a Spanish gypsy woman, Carmen, who has two lovers at different points during the story:  Don José, a soldado (soldier) and Escamillo, a torero (bullfighter).  It deals with love and jealousy and the gypsy life.  Written by a french composer, Georges Bizet, it's performed in French and has the exotic and fantastical representation of Seville, Spain as Georges imagined Spain to be at the time.  Ergo, it's not the most perfect nor accurate historical representation of the time period, but being that it is part fantasy makes the costuming A-M-A-Z-I-N-G.  The music had fun upbeat moments and then slower and more heartfelt ones, and the lead female was incredible.  Apparently, Katharine Goeldner is a well-known Carmen performer, as her website shows it is one of her most common roles, and WOW she does an amazing job of it!  I loved her SO much I would honestly follow her around and just go see every opera or musical she's in.  


My funny "Oh-my-God-I-can't-believe-that-just-happened" moment came at the onset of the play.  One of my students asked if I had seen it before, to which I replied that I had not only not seen it before but that I didn't even know much about it.  She quickly said that I would, at the very least, recognize some of the music.  And recognize it I did.  During the overture I sadly and laughingly leaned over to another chaperone and said, "is it sad that I only know this music because of Bugs Bunny?".  It's a generational thing.  :-)


So, yes, if you ever want to see if you like opera, this is a MUST see.  It helps when they have translation boxes to help you understand the music, but it is an amazing opera.  Sad to know the composer never knew it to be a success during his lifetime...although that seems to be the way of things.  "Olé!"

The Movement of Spanish Dance

This is more of a play on words if you will.  Yes, dancing, Spanish or otherwise, is movement, but I also mean the spread of its visibility across the world.  I've already talked to you a little about flamenco and the Spanish gypsy, but now I want to show you more.  More dancing!  More Spanish! ... olé!!!


I should probably thank DWTS (that's dancing with the stars for any non-viewer) for making ballroom dancing alone so popular, but for also shedding some light on some really great Spanish dances.  "Caribbean secrets" if you will, as many of the dances originated from that area.  Some of the ones I include in that statement are:  salsa, merengue, bachata, rumba, and cha-cha.  While each have slightly different backgrounds and have different varieties and "flavors" based on the actual country being discussed, the basic gist of their history is about the same.  Most of these originated from the Caribe" (Caribbean) as a mixture of Spanish, native, and African dances, which itself was a result of hundreds of years of slave trade, immigration, and colonization.  If that doesn't make sense to you, take a moment to watch the dances or listen to the music.  Most of them have similar sounds and beats, are happy and upbeat (rumba might be the exception as it's the 'slower' of the ones listed).  


However, do not make the mistake of thinking these dances are reserved for the ballroom!  If you haven't visited a latina-club before, and you like this kind of dancing, take yourself on an adventure!  They're fun, and way more casual / street dancing than what you'd find in your standard ballroom class, although basics are still basic, steps wise.  A good example?  The dance movie Dance with Me with Vanessa Williams and Chayanne.  The Club Azucar scene is great!  

But let's switch gears.  I have a new favorite dance to watch and try to learn.  TANGO.  That's right.  Tango!  Say it with me "T-A-NGO" (at least, that's what you have to keep saying to yourself as you learn the basic step...according to Antonio Banderas in Take the Lead.  In this movie, he shapes up a group of detention-hall banned kids via ballroom dance.  One dance, the dance he uses to capture their attention (*quick eyebrow raise*), is of course TANGO.  HOTT.  


I love tango.  I love it because you put up one of these pictures like the one here by Fabian Perez, and by the position of the subjects alone people already know it's a tango. They look at it and, taking a quick gasp, go "ah! Tango!"  It originates in Argentina and is such a unique dance because there is so much involved.  It's not just a dance of love, but a dance of passion, lust, sex, jealousy, flirtation, and desire all wrapped up in one.  The movie, Moulin Rouge, did an awesome scene with it to the song "Roxanne".  I'm in love, but it kind of captivates that intense emotion and eerie air all at once.  The music is equally unique, often with violins, guitar, and sometimes piano, flute, etc, and it is popping up in all kinds of movies, besides just the ones listed above.  It's also been in: Scent of a Woman, Evita (as one would absolutely assume), Another Cinderella Story (with Selena Gomez), Shall We Dance, Out to Sea, Frida, and even True Lies.  


I think it's fair to say, dances certainly "get around".

Investigating Art

I recently had the privilege of having an art related blog recommended to me.  I love art, especially painting and architecture, and the Art Blog By Bob is an exciting gateway into the art world.  He provides background, insight, relays critiques, and just generally brings more awareness to a world that is often remembered as an afterthought.  He highlights sculpture, American and contemporary art, and he also provides references to classic and more referenced art.


If you like art, you'll both fully enjoy and appreciate this website.  I know I do!  I especially like the portrait from fruit by Giuseppi Arcimboldo and the piece Bob previewed on Hong Kong, Art, and Deterritorialization.  Generally my preferences are towards abstract and visually stimulating pieces, like Dali, and impressionistic art, like Monet and Renoir.  I'm also starting to really enjoy more contemporary works, like the ones featured at the MOMA - Museum Of Modern Art, in NYC.  I also visited this really cute art store, the name of which has sadly escaped me, but I loved it because it featured new artists, and I found one particularly exciting.  It was pop art meets portrait, but her portraits were often the negatives and painted with cake decorating tools!  So fun!  And there was a photographer who tore his pieces into strips, encased them in fiberglass, and then warped the strips to make 3-D pieces.  Love it!


Ok, off my art-box for now.  Explore the website, and feel free to share any artist you enjoy!  I know I certainly always love expanding my knowledge base.   

The University Where it's Always a "D+"

How many people would want to go or send their kid to a school whose advertisement is "D+"?  I don't know about you, but I might personally take that as a negative.  No one ever want to see D+ anywhere on his reportcards, because nothing about a D+ radiates achievement.

So my question is, who in this PR firm thought that the "Drake Advantage" campaign for Drake University should ever, in a million years, be represented by "D+".  That's almost as bad as something like Kit Kat coming out with the Krazy Kit Kat and calling it the "KKK."  Maybe my example is a little much, granted, but it's the same idea - failing to realize the negative connotation of an idea.  Maybe if it had been "Drake+" instead of "D+" that would be understandable.  You could even go so far as to say "D" with the "+" sign on the inside of the D, but to have them butted up together in a way resembling a failing grade is just downright poor proofing on the part of the PR firm.  I would be utterly embarrased, that's for sure.  I don't think it's worthy of being fired, granted, so I hope the designers still have their jobs!  I might just write myself a sticky-note reminder that says "BE OBJECTIVE" or "GET A 2ND OPINION!", laminate it, frame it, and stick it on my cube wall!

Remember, there's never anything wrong with getting feedback.  In fact, that's how all of us grow and become better at what we do.  However, their failure to catch their slip up definitely led to a nice afternoon laugh.  Way to go.  "D+"

"An arm and a -" . . . wait no. Just legs

It isn't often that I head into downtown Chicago on a weeknight, but tonight was an exception.  During my endeavor, I stumbled across human statues missing an entire chunk of their bodies.  I didn't I would ever see half-human statues, yet tonight, I stand corrected.  Welcome to Grant Park, at the intersection of Roosevelt Road and Michigan Avenue.

This is an installation created by Magdalena Abakanowicz.  Agora is only one of this artist's many famous installations.  Completed in 2006, it has a total of 106 pairs of walking legs spread throughout this southwest corner of Grant Park.  Inspired by the notion of "the Countless", as she calls it, this particular installation attempts to spark recognition amongst viewers in the reality of those exact people - the "countless".  

Quite honestly, initially, I was shocked and disturbed.  I passed the installation in my car and seeing it from inside my car, only in passing, during the cold, snow-covered night, truly sent eerie chills through my spine.  It probably doesn't help, granted, that there is a huge World War II / Holocaust unit encompassing everything "8th grade" where I teach, because I couldn't digest the images for quite some time.  However, I must note, that true artists require and are excited by these responses.  To observe a piece of art with indifference and not being somehow emotionally moved by it or even confused by it, is actually a bit of a slap-in-the-face to the artist, if you will.  Ideally, artists wish to create some form of impact in the viewers - good or bad, pleasant or unsettling.  A reaction means an emotional or intellectual response.  It means a connection to the artwork and therefore an internalization of the artwork and possibly a conversation sometime thereafter about said artwork.  Thus, this explains why I have been mulling over this installation for the past few hours.


Again, as mentioned, initially this disturbed me.  However, the more I think about it, and learn about the artist and her intentions, the chosen site and the "why" for the artwork, the more ingenious the installation truly is.  Think about it.  How many times a day do you pass even just one person without acknowledging him or inquiring about his day, even if you do or do not know him?  Now think about how many people you pass DAILY - whether it be on foot, on public transportation, during errand shopping, or even those people in the cars next to you.  All these people that you encounter daily - DAILY - that you have no interactions with, that you cannot distinguish from the next, are the people represented by these statues.  In fact, these people are nothing more than what her installation suggests - legs.  They have no heart or identity, no mind or soul.  They are two more countless feet that you pass on your way to where ever it is you are going.  


This artwork forces you to interact with your "countless" encounters.  It forces you to recognize the complexity of your day and yet the sheer, simple, undeniable fact that you not only create the "countless" around you because you fail to acknowledge them, but that you yourself fall into this category as a result because you are that same "countless" person in someone else's life.  


Scary.  But true.  Much like the reflection of my responses to the art:  Fear and confusion to understanding and agreement.  And ultimately, appreciation.


So, next time you find yourself on an errand, or out living the next moment of your daily life, take a moment to notice the number of nameless feet that you pass.  Think about the fact that you are and extremely important individual and yet utterly anonymous all at the same time.  How much does the truth in Agora infiltrate your life, and is there anything that you can do to change the reality of its presence?