Extreme Angles in the New Year

Graham Norton's New Year's Eve Party Set

11 Minutes into this video, the party gets started!

I've been thinking about my day at the Hammer Museum a lot lately.  Two weeks ago, I took advantage of the free admission anniversary promotion and headed down on a rainy day Sunday to see the museum.  I was excited as it was my first visit ever.  It was a great trip and I spent over two hours looking at the permanent collection and exhibits.

Seems as if durning the holiday season, there is a trend in museum curation of truly interactive work that forces the audience to stop treating a museum like a church or sacred space and have fun and play in the museum.  Up until January 23, the Hammer has this something in Julian Hoeber's work, titled Demon Hill.  It's a work that deals with a room on extreme angles and extreme lighting.  There  was a sign posted in front of the work that upon entering, some people may experience disorientation and I was a naysayer and shook my head, thinking it funny there should be a warning sign stating that one could experience the list of maladies, but once in the work, I did feel light headed and tried to force myself into the work and act like all was well.  That  feeling was a bit exciting as it forced other senses into the experience of the sculpture/mixed media work.

The memory of the work has stayed with me for the last 2 weeks and when watching Graham Norton's New Year's Eve program, I saw how this experience can be applied to entertainment.  When sharing a description of this work, my mom reminded me of the house at Six Flags Over Texas- a tilt house-Casa Magnetica that was in the park from 1962 to 1997 and then a resurrection in 2004-07.  The pictures and spiel for the simple attraction are at this link, along with an explanation of the phenomenon here.

All this makes me want to make work that gets people recalling it weeks after.  This also makes me want to see how living extremes this year could influence the work I do make.  Should be an interesting kick start to all my work- be it installation or photography. _______________________ _________________________________

Behold, a thing of beauty!

Stone Creek Coffee Roasters out of Milwaukee has a cinnamon blend that only comes around this time of year.  It is one of  my sister-in-law's favorites! Since is has a hint of sugar, cloves, and of course, cinnamon-you can only buy it ground.  When opening the bag, you can see the chunks of cinnamon just waiting to give yummy flavor.
 My parents and I offered to go out and buy more since my sister-in-law is home taking care of the newborn niece and has limited herself to one quality cup of coffee a day.  We were looking for one pound bags, but this stuff is so hot, all that was left at the store near her and my brother was the 5lb bag!  It's so good, I don't think it'll be much of a problem consuming this and saving some in the freezer for special occasions.  Can't wait for the get together tonight and share it. _______________________ _________________________________

Ladybug FunkyFonic Headphone! Santa please!

People Magazine's Cool Kid Gifts for Every age is plugging for your 5 year old female audiofile, a pair of Ladybug FunkyFonic Headphones, $28 from modernlola.com.  They may want to think of making adult size pairs...I want some!

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Sympathic Resonance at the Wired Store

                








Another installation at the Wired Store was a giant marimba by Joshua Kirsch, titled "Sympathic Resonance” . 

I was on the top floor in the beginning and had no idea how this work was controlled or triggered.  The store had just opened and there was a seating area nook of sorts, located right after walking up a staircase. "Sympathic Resonance"  silloutted the view, and in the seating area, a sign said "please ask for assistance" on a gadget.  Sonicly not related to the work, Sympathetic Resonance, was the gadget in question (an alarm of some sort).  Myself being a rules person, I did nothing, but really appreciated the button pusher and his girlfriend right behind me that set off a high pitched alarm that even "assistance" had trouble disabling.

Sympathic Resonance is marimba, (analog in sound), while down below a synthesizer of sort,  being triggered by a touch keyboard on the lower floor.  Sculpturally, it is stunningly beautiful and I wish I had a loft that it could live in.  In many ways, it reminded me of  the wales or prehistoric animals that are often suspended up overhead at a Natural History Museum.  Sympathic Resonance was much more enjoyable hearing others who know how to play piano work the keyboard over my mary had a little lamb recall but it was amazing to look at and beautiful to the ears. _______________________ _________________________________

Wilderness Machine~Wired Store

While in New York, I was pretty happy to be able to go to the opening of the The Wired Store, a temporary bodega, in an old Tower Records shop, right before Thanksgiving.  Of the many things that was a great surprise was a corner with many different art installations and less consumer products to give and get for the Holidays!


I had already been enchanted by Arcade Fire's the WIlderness Downtown website.  I even shared my digital postcard I sent to myself with a few others, so I was surprised and intrigued by a magic machine titled the Wilderness Machine. It takes the ideas and application of the website and prints an analog/hardcopy postcard you take away and plant into the ground.  --the paper has seeds!  Nothing like a little free magic and inspiration for the season-- more valuable than anything you can buy! _______________________ _________________________________

Turner Prize goes to a Sonic Artist

Here's a NY Times article on Susan Philipsz, recipient of the prize earlier this week.  Looks like her medium of sound is different from mine in that she uses the voice and strictly sound vs my preference for some sculpture or object and field recordings or sounds from memory. The work is now in a gallery but looks to be a bit more interesting in site specific areas.  Love the related writing of Telegraph art critic, Richard Dorment. 
Turner Prize
Susan Philipsz
Richard Dorment _______________________ _________________________________

Thunder and Lightning

Sorry, but as an audio person, I loved the costume for thunder! Makes me start thinking about Halloween costumes....

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