Great art project that turned into a reinforcement of dignity and self-esteem for women everywhere.
Thank you Ms. Rossetti!!
This is what I call feminism.
It's how I visualize a woman optimizing her thought process for her own well being and a pleasurable/enjoyable life(style).
I had no idea Aurora University had a Native American Culture program, and much less a museum. Since I didn't have anything more important to do that evening, I headed right out after taking my dog for his afternoon walkies.
I enjoyed perusing slowly through the entire Native American exhibit space. Taking special care to enjoy the silver jewelry and Hopi Kachina doll displays. The bear claw necklace is huge and features real bear claws! I flashed back to the great time I had in New Mexico a few years ago, visiting the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center in Albuquerque.
A special room, located just off the library and museum main exhibit room, is dedicated to artist showings. The evening I went was the grand opening for the Bullets in the Chest, Arrows in the Back show by artist Bunky Echo-Hawk. His exhibit runs until April 26.
Echo-Hawk created portraits that are modernist and simplified. Rich in color, deeply pigmented, and eye catching. What I found most fascinating was the accompanying card for each of the pieces, providing a brief biography for each portrait and narrating the impact that person's work and life had on the Indian Nation.
As I was walking out I got to meet Meg Bero, the museum curator. Meg came over to introduce herself, thank me for stopping by, and invite me to help finish some of the appetizers and cookies that had been ordered for the show's opening. Meg has a bubbly, contagious personality and you can very easily tell she's passionate about her museum.
There's a great little shop at the entrance of the museum with lovely handmade products ranging the entire span of the American continent: Mexican blouses, South American wool bags, and Native American books. And more! Great gift ideas for a special someone or for yourself.
If you drop by, which is well worth your time, make a donation and ask to fill out a card so you can be kept in the loop of upcoming events. The Schingoethe Center is located in the basement of Dunham Hall, at the crossroads intersection of Marsellaise and Dunham in West-Central Aurora, Illinois.
Aurora University is actually easier to find than I expected. Its campus not unlike North Central College in Naperville or the old Marycrest International University in Davenport. It's a small private university with several architecturally interesting buildings spanning several decades.
Got a chance to check out North Central College's Schoenherr Gallery at last, after a long time.
The current exhibit, Vantage Point, was a lovely collection of watercolors, graphite sketches, and giclee prints.
Barry Skurkis drawings of ocean mammals and penguins superimposed on a space view of earth or the moon were amazingly rich in hue and vibrancy. I particularly liked the ocean turtle, of course, since I love turtles.
Justin Aram's work had a great comic strip look to it, but with very rich colors. It reminded me a little of the animation series that spinned off of the Dexter television show.
Micah Farritor's drawings fascinated me, as they reminded me of a number of works shown on MTV's old Liquid Television. There is a touch of moodiness and eeriness to his scenes, but the detail and texture make you peek in closer to absorb all the details.
Adam Henske's work reminded me of tattoo art, tokidoki, and skater tee shirts. I loved the urban and modern feel to the decaying popular art/culture characters. His use of color or shadows and blacks create vivid work that would look great on a tee shirt or iPad cover, or just as well on the walls of a gallery.
Kevin O'Brien had some really nice views of Chicago in a realistic but a little naif approach. I really enjoyed the landscape viewing North Michigan Avenue from the Gold Coast, and the Wrigley Field crowd scene. It must have been a nice switch for him to capture compact and busy urban scenes and landscapes, compared to the gorgeous and expansive sights of Wyoming, where he opened a gallery.
I missed going to Schoenherr, so I'll be glad to keep abreast of North Central College's upcoming exhibits and sparing a few minutes to check them out.
I had a great day today. Not only did I wake up late and snuggled with Benny for like 1/2 an hour before getting up, but I also had a girly pampering/shopping extravaganza roadtrip going too.
One of the best ways I know how to make sure my favorite stores stay open is to visit them and tell all my friends and family members about them. Downtown Aurora is actually pretty spectacular when I get to drop by during days off on weekdays.
Aurora Downtown FTW
Today I finally got to use my Groupon at 7 West, a studio featuring local artists' art, jewelry, and other creations.
I came away with a sense of how awesome local artists are, pretty much in an Etsy but around my neighborhood kinda way. I got a gorgeous hand-made, glass pendant on a silver chain that closes with a magnetic (very strong too!) closure.
I also got a small, long bamboo tray hand-painted with sakura flowers and a black bird, which I will use as a wall hanging in my office.
There was also some great home-made massage/moisturizing oil bottles. The oil--a mixture of olive, geranium, sandalwood, rose, and grapeseed--is great for just after the shower or to rub into your shoulders or other achey points.
7 West will have a special theme night event on June 4, and another August 4. Keep an eye on this awesome little shop. Although their hours are a little restricted due to the owner-operator's other commitments, it's really worth it to drop by and check it out.
I went across the street after to the River's Edge Cafe, which I've heard great things about and have been dying to try out. I had a great skim chai for only $3.30 (!).
The interior is a great rehabbed old building, with tuck-pointed brick walls and very nice window treatments, and wall art. Lots to take in. Including a very family-oriented, relaxing atmosphere.
I couldn't help but stare out the back door to a little alleyway filled with doors and windows. It looked like a perfect photo opportunity for my next visit.
Geneva Commons Shopping Haven
I also went to Geneva Commons in Batavia earlier in the day, and a grand self-pampering shopping spree for some essentials and new favorites at stores like Gap, Francesca's Collectibles, and Sephora.
Capped off a great outing with a quick lunch at Tom and Eddie's (my fave burger joint) where instead of delving into my trusty favorite, the ahi burger, I jumped the shark and tried the edamame burger. It was spectacular, with an eggplant/tomato sauce and a great mild goat cheese. The crispy and gingery edamame patty was really spectacular. Would have that again in a heartbeat.
Hurray for fun outings and days off. I really, really needed today. Me can haz happy grin :D
I've come to realize I'm fascinated by urban decay pr0n--photographic evidence of decaying urban landscapes and structures that are abandoned, in disrepair, and in the process of being demolished.
I'm probably suffering the side effect from a life-long fascination with archaeological ruins at all the places I've lived in and traveled through. Observing the residue of a lifetime long ago gone, always inspires me to imagine and fantasize about how daily life and interaction was for those peoples.
An article yesterday on the Huffington Post, titled Ian Ference: On 'Ruin Porn' had me thinking about another, recent article on the HuffPost about an abandoned hospital on an island in New York.
I periodically also look up photo galleries of Chernobyl. National Geographic has a spectacular gallery.
Many think these abandoned settings are creepy. Their hair stands on end. They look away. I think they're beautiful. Peaceful. Rich in a history long forgotten.
Recent articles about abandoned settings are heavily influenced by our bad economy. Photojournalistic coverage of the half-abandoned city of Detroit is in abundance. Journalists like to use these for fear-mongering and as a sign of our worsening economy. It all paints a very apocalyptic picture.
I soak up the photo galleries that accompany these stories like a biscuit. Not because they're depressing, but because the photos and the places are rich in their silence. Pictures speak a thousand words.
There's the interpretation of the photograph, and then there's the intimate relationship the photographer had with their environment at the time they took the shot.
When I'm not scouring urban decay stories like those mentioned above, I pay an inordinate amount of attention to the setting of movies and television shows, where any ancient or abused locales and architecture are showcased.
Movies bring decayed settings up front and center the best, but few people in the audience will think about the building, when they are getting a healthy jolt from the characters' antics in the scene.
I have fond memories of staring at Psycho's house on the hill, Fright Night's house next door, The Lost Boy's California cave, the Klopeks' house in 'Burbs, the lofts in Eyes of Laura Mars, the nice converted depot in Secretary, the beautiful herbarium off the kitchen in Practical Magic, and the scary old mansion in Salem's Lot. There are hundreds more like these.
Old, decrepit mental hospitals and old and creaky mansions play innumerable and un-attributed roles in the history of film. The unspoken but rich world of film locations.
Some of us take movie settings further by researching and even visiting filming locations. Some others like to venture out and about on a more casual and serendipitous adventure--like the photographers form the Huffington Post articles and the Detroit photo galleries.
I like running into little discoveries myself. In 2009 I found a rotting, half-buried kitchen door and what looks like the ancient remains of a partial basement while out walking my dog. I was inspired by the setting enough to write a story called The Old Jeep Trail, published in National-Louis University's 2010 Mosaic literary magazine.
On a particularly busy corner of unincorporated Lisle, past which I commute every morning, there was a plot of wild, thickly-vegetated land with a tiny little white house. The structure was falling down upon itself: broken windows, long-lost gutters, boarded up doors...it was adorable. An oasis. Each time I passed by--or even better, when the stoplight was red--I ogled, stared, fantasized, and imagined. One day, someone razed it down to sell the land for commercial use. A memory lost forever.
Soon after I happened to watch Miru Kim's TED video. Ms. Kim snaps photos of herself nude in the middle of incredibly inhospitable and decrepit scenes under the city of New York. Miss Kim showcases an amazing audacity perching herself among the perilous and dirty residue of what once was. It reminded me of the underground settings fabricated in Beauty and the Beast--the old TV show from the 80s.
In March of 2010 we took a free (thank you Twitter!) Architectural Foundation walking tour in Chicago. Their in-house exhibits feature information about the loss of Louis Sullivan architecture examples, due to over-eager zoning commissions. One of the people who helped photograph Sullivan buildings prior to their demise--sometimes during the demolition--was Richard Nickel, a man equally famous for his passion for documenting and saving architecture, and sadly, for having died during a demolition. He inspired those who founded the Architecture Foundation.
I'm always drawn to art deco and art nouveau structures in particular. They are musical harmony for the eye. In the mid 80s I forever fell in love with the Queen Mary at the port of Long Beach in California. I always peek at murder mysteries, such as David Suchet's Poirot, to mostly gawk and ogle the architecture, the dress--the look and feel of an era gone by.
Although I can't use the right words to qualify and explain all the details I see and adore, and I don't retain any useful statistical information, I am merely an ignorant admirer...I am forever fascinated by what was.
Hopefully, more and more people support and partake in preservation societies and groups, to help us hold on a little longer to some of these old structures--and the magnificent legacy that the genius and foresight of architects and designers before us left behind for generations to come.
Not since my discovery of Mark Ryden have I found an artist that moved and piqued my interest as much as Jessica Harrison.
I found her by sheer happenstance (just like I did Mark, several years ago), bu this time via a Tweet from @GuyKawasaki.
She has a spectacularly twisted approach to her subjects. Furniture that look like genitals, porcelain statuettes of ladies with horrible disfigured heads or other extremities.
Harrison takes what is expected and comfortable and puts the most unusual in the middle.
The attention to detail is spectacular--it forces you to look at and lean in closer, before you realize it, to the scary, monstrous, or otherwise unsavory-looking strange bits. You have to look, full on, at the dedication she applied to each piece, you can't squirm or look away.
Prettty Fly by Offspring has a really great section about clueless guys getting tattoos:
Now he's getting a tattoo, yeah
He's gettin' ink done
He asked for a "13" but they drew a "31"
Friends say he's trying too hard
And he's not quite hip
But in his own mind
He's the, he's the dopest trip
I particularly liked the mini sadist thrill of hearing about a guy wanting a 13 to be all cool and goth-like and instead, getting a 31. You didn't know if he was too young or too clueless, but it spoke about his own fail at being cool and at the typical stereotype of tattoo artists fail--imagine the horror of realizing your art has been transposed a la dyslexia this way!
And this pretty much sums up how I used to (and still do) think about young guys getting ink done. I always felt ink, or tattoos, were for older folks, especially war veterans (30s and above). A little pain of a needle bearing ink was nothing compared to the emotional hardship of putting up with the devastation of a war.
I also knew that full sleeve tattoos and more extensive works sometimes encompassing the entire body, were for folks who needed to belong to socially tough groups, who needed to turn off outsiders and who wanted to express their individuality in a rather forceful or obvious way. Either that or masochists hehe.
The X-Files episode featuring Scully's (Jillian Anderson) own poisonous tattoo and wild joy ride with new, pshycologically-off boyfriend in tow, helped reinforce what I thought was a stereotypical and incorrect view of tattoos. However, I began realizing that there were now some awesome tattoo designs possible, and not just the mother, rose, anchor, skull and crossbones, or grave images one might assume predominate.
But it reinforced the negative outlook on tattoos, tattoo artists, and people who get tattoos. Now tattoos are psychogenic and even guilty of mind control! Really?
It wasn't soon after that I started seeing advertisements for tattoo parlor and artists reality shows popping up. And I saw a different side--the personal side. Still a tough side, but another perspective. A peek into the artists' and customers' lives. The richness of creativity, the hard work and patience, the amazing personalities, the amazing sense of style. There were some gorgeous designs that were in complete contrast with the ugly, green-black somber stuff of old times of yore.
My grandfather had a tattoo. His said mother, had a rose, and I think I remember a grave. I'm not sure whether he had a portion done before shipping off with the military--when his other mates were also getting their tats done in honor of shipping off--and later had the grave added.
My grandfather used to tell me that tattoos were not for everyone and not a good idea altogether. As he used to say that, I was prodding him to play tattoo parlor with me. So he used to look at his tattoo wistfully--which always perplexed me. He used to play tattoo parlor with me anyway, because he always was happy to spend time with his wacky grandaughter. He would use a rounded biro (pen) top and make great, accompanying sound effects, to act like he was tattooing me on the outside of the arm. I loved it and used to get goose pimples! It used to be one of my favorite pretend things to do with "daddy"--as we all (my grandmama, my mom, and my dad) called him.
So now I'm researching tattoos. The science of, the practice of, the people who do it, the people who design them, etc. I've always wondered what design I'd like if I should ever get one--and I'm glad to say I've sort of finalized my ideal tattoo.
I began playing around with removable tattoos since the early or mid 1990s. I used to get Tiny Toon and Loony Tunes ones at the beginning, then expanded to flowers with thorns and tribal bracelet styles.
I admired Pam Anderson's wire armlet tattoo--if showing a little confusionat the juxtaposition of her public persona and her decision to express something via a wire design--but mostly, I wondered why she wanted to focus on pain...after all, having wire wrap around your arm is a painful concept. That's when I realized she probably was a lot more complicated and interesting than she seemed.
The more I wondered about tattoos over the years, the more sense tattoo artists and customers made to me. However, I still didn't feel this was something for me. But I began to appreciate how tattoos helped people match their outsides to their insides a little bit more--for those among us who always see a disconnect between inside and outside.
Tattoos speak of something inside that needs to come out--fear, need for control, appreciation for a style or image, obsession, need to belong, need to stick out, etc. It's a side of the personality and aspirations that needs expressing. Of course, no one is a stationary being, so capturing a sense of your deep thoughts and/or self in something as permanent as a tattoo is a tricky thing, because you're trying to catch a moving target! Buyers regret kicks in, followed by expensive and painful laser tattoo removal treatments.
Well, now I've been finalizing my own idea of what a cool tattoo for me would be. I first thought I should be inspired by Alice from Resident Evil, so a biohazard logo would be cool. But it's a bit antisocial isn't it? Then the gradient would have to be between a blood-curdling red and a bright red to make it pop.
I've finally settled on partly sunny image that I developed, put together, and then personalized using MS Office clipart. I used to like the motto: try for sunshine inside and out, but life is a little more complex than that Polyanna outlook. I like the multiple connotations of a partly sunny image...is it partly sunny or partly cloudy? Is the glass half full or half empty? It's up to the eye of the beholder and what informs his or her outlook, isn't it?
So, in addition to tweaking my (un)happy little partly sunny/cloudy design, I've also begun researching different tattoo parlors, the FDA website (and here), and Illinois Department of Health website. As well as checking out as many resources about the process, what to look for in the tattoo parlor hygiene standards, and the aftercare. There's an amazing wealth of resources and information out there, and it pays off to research this even if just for general knowledge. I seem to like the best seeing examples of non-traditional art, but not in sleeve or full-body designs because I find those a bit confusing with so much going on.
One thing's for sure. People like talking about tattoos, be it for or against the practice. Talking about tattoos brings out all sorts of cool conversation time from your friends, family, and coworkers. It's a surefire way to open up a conversation about a meaningful chapter in someone's life, or just get their amazing perspective on the topic. Try it sometime!
Do you have a tattoo or have wondered about getting one?
Just found out via Wired (bless yeeee!) about Luna Park, a very gritty and gorgeous graphic novel by Kevin Baker and Danijel Zezelj.
They featured some graphics in the Wired article. The cover of one of the comics was fascinating: a woman with long hair running straight up the cover, while a skyline of an amusement park (some parts almost reminiscent of Russian architecture) ran up and down on the left margin. Then the luna park (amusement park) reference in the ferris wheel on the bottom, right corner. It actually reminds me of the grittiness of Eastern Promises.
As if the graphics weren't enough to get the audience drooling, the intriguing storyline revolves around time travel and history.
Baker calls the protagonist, Strelnikov, "the living embodiment of the idea that people learn nothing from experience. And from this flows true tragedy.”
Just caught wind of a new print on sale on www.neverwear.net, which is Neil Gaiman and his assistant's online shop. But more importantly: the print of Gaiman's "100 Words" - check out the shop's listing here, and the closeup of the piece here.
Great art project that turned into a reinforcement of dignity and self-esteem for women everywhere.
