We're on our way to the deep blue region!
Finally, some real winter weather.
YAY! Can't wait!
We'll be leaving the balmy shores of New York City,
where Pratt Institute recently hosted their holiday bash,
with plenty of fruitcake for all.
A highlight was an impromptu Christmas song by the incomparable
Paul Petrocelli, who sings in places like, say, Carnegie Hall with the New York Choral Society,
and who also runs Pratt's Digital Output Center.
Brooklyn makes an attempt to look holiday-ish, above on 7th Avenue and 2nd St. -
below on Livingston and Hoyt St.
I like the minimalist treatment of lights, which can get gaudy, if you know what I mean.
Finally, here on 7th Avenue at Flatbush, Brooklyn succeeds in looking Christmasy!
Love the smell of those trees.
Some random subway fun:
...and this instrument made an amazing resonant sound in the subway tunnels.
Some kind of giant gourd?
I wind up another semester of painting at Kingsborough Community College;
below is Samantha's still life with flowers...
...and later, her still life with grapes, after the "make-a-painting-in-the-style-of-a-Modernist" session...
Below is Daniel's still life with grapes and pineapple...
...and below, still life with flowers, after the Modernist assignment.
Here is Stephen's still life after Matisse:
Here is Hoi Man's copy of Turner's "Rain, Wind and Steam"...
...and the original Turner, below.
Except for Samantha, none of these students have painted before.
Speaking of art, one cold sunny afternoon, I pack up the Painted People...
...for a visit to the studio of Susan Luss in Long Island City.
They are thrilled to wander...
...amongst and on top of her artwork...
...almost getting lost in this fascinating world!
Later, on our way to LaGuardia, I am amazed to see one of the blank billboards...
...transformed by the Painted People and Susan's art!
Wow!
(At least, that's what I see. Don't know about the rest of the world - they might not be looking...)
Up, up and away, into clouds that look like ocean surf.
We're heading straight into the blue,
which translates into white...
The Madison/Dane County airport is hesitant to let us land before their army of plows
does their work. When we finally do land, the plane swerves on the runway just a bit,
and we all hold our breath.
Finally, we are back in baby land!
Here is Frank two weeks ago, holding little Baby Boy Keeley Yonda...
Here is Frank two weeks ago, holding little Baby Boy Keeley Yonda...
...and here is Frank now, holding Elliott John Keeley Yonda!
Look how big he's grown! Elliot, that is.
Frank looks identical; he's even wearing the same shirt!
Later Frank receives another shirt, a more exciting one.
And here we are, enjoying an evening in Courtney's cool pad, opening gifts, drinking,
eating, having a fabulous time!
Well, some of us are having a fabulous time, others of us are not happy little Santas, are they?
You can tell by his little toes that he's not pleased.
Aaron and Andrew, however, are loving Elliott's new toys!
This is a singing octopus light from Aunt Courtney!
Pretty groovy.
Awwww...he's good enough to eat!
But remember, you can't give the baby booze...
...to quote the amazing Vic Reeves!
Courtney's couch is the place to be!
Awwwww squared!
Andrew and I go to Cherokee Park to get in a little skiing!
It's beautiful, but frustrating as the 32-degree snow sticks to our skis and makes it more like
snow-shoeing with long skinny sticks on our feet.
We see a beautiful flocked tree,
and later see another lovely tree, this one at the Tempest Oyster Bar
where we enjoy a delicious meal.
Andrew and Jennifer are at one with the oyster-colored decor.
More art! This time at the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art
where they are having their Wisconsin Triennial exhibition.
(Kimberly Green, Equilateral Brick Series I, porcelain)
There seem to be lots of art classes in attendance -
I hear the world "deconstruction" four times in ten minutes
from the professors. If you don't know what that refers to, you're probably lucky.
Nevertheless, this is an awesome exhibition!
Frank even liked it!
Nevertheless, this is an awesome exhibition!
Frank even liked it!
We go upstairs to see if we can catch a cup of coffee,
but the restaurant is hosting a private affair,
and so we're like,
well, excu-u-u-u-u-se us!
So I amuse myself with taking pictures from the 3rd floor...
...down to where the students wax enthusiastic about deconstruction.
I ask Frank, botched electronics, or art?
Ha, ha! Silly deconstructionist art joke.
This is actually Strand by Richard Knight,
which meanders gracefully, crazily, lyrically down the glassed-in tower.
Here is a phallic orange cascade of plastic elegantly rising and falling at the same time.
(Jason S. Yi, That Hollow Feeling, 2013. Orange plastic fence, PVC pipe, wood, and concrete.)
Uh, oh.
I am told in no uncertain terms that I must not take photos, so I am forced to sneak them on my iPhone,
I am told in no uncertain terms that I must not take photos, so I am forced to sneak them on my iPhone,
thus the random finger-marks on the screen. Sorry.
I really like this installation by Jason Bitner.
Each TV shows a different tone of static, some cool gray, some warm,
Each TV shows a different tone of static, some cool gray, some warm,
and all emanating white noise.
It's a surprisingly pleasant noise that creates an all-encompassing environment,
and peer into the empty but full screens,
all the metaphorical implications dance in my head like visions of sugarplums.
I ignore the no-photo rule, which doesn't really apply to Brooklyn Multimedia Mythologists
such as myself.
Oh, did I mention the article that the incomparable art writer,
Mark Blickley, wrote about my work?
It's in this month's Creative Sugar Magazine!
Page 8!
http://issuu.com/creativesugarmagazine/docs/creativesugar_issue_7.sabrina_scott
Sorry about the shameless self-promotion.
Back to the Madison MoCA where I am shamelessly snapping
pics, like this one of a table by Michael Beitz.
Back to the Madison MoCA where I am shamelessly snapping
pics, like this one of a table by Michael Beitz.
It's beautifully crafted of wood.
I am both attracted and repelled.
I want to sit at this table: not on the chairs,
but on the obscene protrusion!
Who wouldn't?
But the hole on the table...hmmm, nasty.
Like looking into Hieronymus Bosch's lower level of hell.
Well, yes, eating can be obscene...
...things shoved down the gullet into various tubes...
This is a literally deconstructed piece by Ash Kyrie, made from a blown-up photo pasted to the wall
and torn off in strips. It appears that viewers can rip off pieces also.
I miss an opportunity here by not reading the fine print on the wall!
"Ash Kyrie, a veteran of the war in Iraq, addresses the gap between media depictions of military action and his own experience of the war. To prepare for his project Untitled Media Images, Kyrie spent two years collecting and categorizing photographs of the war from news publications such as The New York Times and USA Today. For each installation, he selects an image from his archive, blows it up to an approximate size of 70 x 100 inches, and pastes it to a wall. Prompting deeper audience engagement, the artist subsequently asks viewers to strip the appropriated and magnified photograph from the wall and allow the remnants to scatter on the floor. What remains on the wall is an image whose clarity is compromised—echoing the disconnect Kyrie experienced when comparing his reality to the original photograph."
(Quote from MMoCA website)
One of my favorite pieces in the show is this quilt by Sarah FitzSimons, where the colors and stitching refer to oceanic currents and depths. Quilts have taken an interesting
art journey from "women's work" to "art" mainly due to the
radical feminist idea that what women do is worth as much as what men do.
Or more.
One of my favorite pieces in the show is this quilt by Sarah FitzSimons, where the colors and stitching refer to oceanic currents and depths. Quilts have taken an interesting
art journey from "women's work" to "art" mainly due to the
radical feminist idea that what women do is worth as much as what men do.
Or more.
(Pacific Quilt, Part 1: Bering Strait - Tropic of Cancer, 2013.
Cotton fabrics, thread, and batting. Approx. 6 ½ x 18 feet.)
The idea of the ocean as a quilt covering the world is very pleasing to me.
I wish we were taking better care of our beautiful blue earth-quilt.
Speaking of earth, Frank and I admire these photos by Stephen Hilyard that glow in light boxes.
They depict imaginary mountains made from real photos of lava domes in Iceland.
Uncanny.
Of our world, but mysteriously alien.
Which brings to mind my imaginary vision of the things seen by Aaron and myself
in Scotland recently...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dK70qL8cEt0
And yet another great restaurant experience, this one at the
Merchant, where once again
Elliott has a great time!
Cotton fabrics, thread, and batting. Approx. 6 ½ x 18 feet.)
The idea of the ocean as a quilt covering the world is very pleasing to me.
I wish we were taking better care of our beautiful blue earth-quilt.
Speaking of earth, Frank and I admire these photos by Stephen Hilyard that glow in light boxes.
They depict imaginary mountains made from real photos of lava domes in Iceland.
Uncanny.
Of our world, but mysteriously alien.
Which brings to mind my imaginary vision of the things seen by Aaron and myself
in Scotland recently...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dK70qL8cEt0
Now I want some big light boxes of my own!
Merchant, where once again
Elliott has a great time!
This restaurant is famous for turning away Governor Scott Walker in 2011
because he caused all the patrons to break out in loud and louder boos
(not to be confused with "booze")
until the management was compelled to ask him to leave.
Tonight it is crowded and lively in Merchant,
with no sign of the evil Gov'ner and his storm troops, fortunately.
Oh, boy, remember what Vic Reeves said!
Later, Aaron comes across a bizarre problem in Grand-Theft-Auto land when he wins a billion dollars, yes, a billion dollars, (which actually has value in the "real" world, whatever that is)
by (accidentally) killing his friend John who has a bounty on his head for said amount.
This turns out to be problematic, as Aaron finds out after posting his Big Win!!! on Facebook,
and may result in his getting kicked off the game for "cheating."
WTF!!!!????
As a result, he stays up into the wee hours trying to deplete his funds
by buying virtual cars and such. Harder than you might think to spend a billion dollars, especially when you're in a hurry.
However, the next day reveals that all is well, as the game is not kicking off
innocent victims of the evil money-giving hacker.
So Aaron gets to keep the billion!
For what it's worth.
What a world! Much of it I have yet to comprehend.
In other words, what I don't know about the world would fill a book.
Or a vast databank.
This makes more sense, right?
Ducks preening and enjoying an icy afternoon in Tenney Park?
And also some humans, specifically Aaron and me, enjoying an afternoon on Tenney Park ice as shown by these photos by Andrew Keeley Yonda!
I take a stately run on the ice, while Aaron
goes all out!
And now, we're off to more of the north country for more Christmas fun.
Update coming up!
