Observations on Art 9.1

A friend of mine posted something on Google+ in which she asked the question “do you think Black and White photography specifically has gained more than it has lost in the digital age and why?”

I had to think about the answer to that because it really is a hard question for me. The first affordable digital cameras emerged in the late '90s and the first Adobe program in 2003 so by the time I began to take photography seriously the world had already begun to change. I never had much formal training and only ever toyed in a darkroom but I did take a lot of analog photos with a pair of OM10s I own. It's something I would like to get back into someday but who knows if I'll ever have the time. I'm torn because my photos are almost exclusively monochrome but a large percentage are color shots I changed with software. The different methods of doing that is something I have in the back of my mind to write about and something that came up in the seminar I just took.

I first fell in love with
black & white when I discovered the portraits of Robert Mapplethorpe and the landscapes of Ansel Adams almost twenty years ago. To me color records the scene in front of you while black & white interprets that scene and there aren't any better at it than those two. Maybe this is a little arrogant of me to say but the way I feel is that a color photo is a photo but a black & white one is a work of art. I try to limit using software myself but to me software is just another tool to use in creating that work of art. I'm sure photography has lost something in the digital age but I also think it has gained just as much or more than it has lost. One thing I'm not quite sure of is if the ability to take hundreds of shots in search of that one great one is a good thing or if it takes away from the original composition of the photo. Than again I'm as guilty of that as anybody

Software isn't used in just digital photography today but all kinds and even without software a purely analog photographer has any number of ways to change a photo including film speed, exposure, and soaking time. So I guess my total cop out answer is you can't take the digital out of photography anymore than you can take the acrylic paints out of contemporary painting. One thing we both miss are the scents and smells of the old styles.

I don't know if I answered the question or asked more but thanks for making me think.

Inspired by Irene

A friend of mine sent me this video. I just think this is totally cute and think we will prob see her on the Weather Channel one day soon. Remember I told you first.


Link

Inspired by Irene

I know I wasn't going to write about Irene anymore but I just have felt oddly drained for the past couple days. Almost like I'm going through some sort of adrenaline withdrawal so I was looking at videos people made during the storm and came across this one. I wish it was longer and showed more but I still think its awesome.

Irene NYC from Buffalo Picture House on Vimeo.

"Two young filmmakers went out during Hurricane Irene to document their Manhattan neighborhood."

One thing I have learned, I don't like the name Irene because I leave a space between the 'I' and the 'r' every time I type it. Sometimes I 'm just a dumbass.

Observations on Irene 8.29

I always seem to find funny moments in any situation and Irene was no different. Both involve my early morning wanderings as the storm reached its peak. The first I mentioned yesterday when I got the text from Ash calling me an idiot. When I got back to the apartment she scolded me like an errant child as Chloe tried not to laugh but failed terribly. The other was during that same walk near the forbidden zone while I was standing in a doorway trying to keep a cigarette dry. Two of New York's finest strolled by, stopped, and seemed ready to scold me like, well, an errant child. I only had on hiking boots but I was still taller than both. After a moment they walked away never having said a word.

Favorite tweet from the storm, this made me laugh. “@spicenyc: So that's it..my next girlfriend is going to be a hot weather chick..done + done!” I'll tell you what, after the past couple days I could write a post just on those weather girls and maybe I will sometime but not now.

To tie up some loose ends I should say that I heard from my friends to the south and all is well, just a power outage. I don't know anything first hand about the beach house and Stone Harbor but I did find this on their Facebook along with some photos that show little damage to the downtown area.

“Stone Harbor fared very well! We have retained much of the replenished beaches, and little damage around town is evident. We are so fortunate that we can all now return and get back to normal. Many thanks to all who helped keep us safe - our tireless public servants and volunteer fire company - and thanks to all of you who provided photos and information that we could pass on. We love our Stone Harbor - Sidewalk Sale, anyone?”

I have been hearing all over that the government, particularly New York City's, overreacted to Irene. Speaking for myself I don't think they did at all. Better to shut down and have it end the way it did than not shutdown and have a Category 3 storm plow into Coney Island Sunday morning because North Carolina didn't take the hit first. If this was somehow a failure of government I'd much have this Irene failure than the previous Katrina one. As for the complainers, I didn't see any of them out in the streets this morning during my walks.

I think I'll remember Irene more for how I felt than for any lasting damage it did. Not scared or worried at all, maybe a bit depressed about things, but I was wired. Excited at what was happening around me and what I was going to do with it. Saturday night was exhilarating, I can't think of any other word to describe it. I'm just not right in any way.

One last question, anybody need some 'D' size batteries? First come, first served, cash only please.

Observations on Irene

I'd like to take a moment and thank everybody that emailed, texted, called, tweeted, commented, and plurked their luck, wishes, thoughts, and just damn well wondered if I was still alive. Some of you know me all too well. Anyways it meant a lot even though I don't often say it.

Thank you.

One last Irene post in the morning than back to the regular bull shit.

Observations on Irene 8.28

2:00AM - After a bit of relaxation I just realized the wind is absolutely howling outside the window. Warnings be damned I grab a cigarette and sit in the window as sheets of rain blow down the street outside. Lights of some kind flashing down the block, police, fire, or ambulance, I have no idea. I just took a look at the ConEd map and there doesn't seem to be any major power outages yet but they are going to decide in the next hour whether or not to shut off power to lower Manhattan.

Best line on CNN, “the empty and ominous streets of New York.”

Guess I'm on my own here because the VQs seem to have grabbed their wine and gone to bed so I suppose it's time I try and get some sleep myself. Irene is just south of Stone Harbor.

8:00AM - Awake since six, alive, not hungover, and amazingly I have power. Over 75,000 in the city are without power but no one in Manhattan has lost it yet. That's just hard to believe but I better shutit because the lights are flickering and I don't want to jinx myself. As predicted Anderson Cooper isn't down at Battery Park but over in Washington Square Park which is just a couple blocks away from here. I guess if he was going to be up this early he wanted to be within walking distance of his apartment. Well, I don't care what the mayor said, I might need to go for a walk. For the record Jacqyi Jeras in a red dress isn't a bad thing to wake up to either.

Some friends to the south lost power last night and I have no word from them yet. I hope all is well with them but I just talked to my sis and she said that other than the rain it never got very bad at home. That was good to hear. No sign of the VQs yet which is strange because it's a perfect morning to be a VQ.

High tide along with the storm surge is happening right now, winds gusting close to hurricane force, and heavy rain falling. Forgetting food was a bad idea because I had too much to drink, not enough sleep, and I'm starving. Like I said it might be the perfect time for a walk.  I wonder if AC wants some coffee.

10:30AM - Not long after I posted that last part the wind kicked up dramatically and at the same time both rivers began to spill over their banks as now Tropical Storm Irene made landfall over Coney Island. Never did get AC his coffee because till I got over there they were moving out. His loss.

The VQs emerged from their hurricane and wine induced slumber. I was walking down the street when I got a text from Ash which, edited to be politically correct, pretty much said I was an idiot and I should get my ass back inside. I've decided that unless I can get to the water, or the water can get to me, hurricanes aren't very photogenic at all. Just a big nasty rain storm slapping you in the face.

Some water in our basement but other than that no big problems yet. Brooklyn and Staten Island are covered with power outages but so far there is just a small one in the West Village. That I do not understand but I'm an artist so what do I know.

Seems like the worst is passing now and AC finally made it back to Battery Park. The water is starting to recede already so maybe I'll try and get to one river or the other and see what I can find. I don't have a Weather Channel or CNN jacket so might have a problem but maybe the Penn State field hockey one will do the trick.

Than maybe it will be time to put a dent in these supplies we have.

Observations on Irene 8.27

12:00PM - We have the weirdest sky now, all dark and swirly, something I don't associate with a hurricane. More like a twister movie sky.

Electric shutdown, “If a shutdown of those substations did become necessary, the affected area would be the southeastern tip of Manhattan, bordered by the Brooklyn Bridge on the north, Broadway on the west and the East River on the south and east, said Chris Olert, a spokesman for Con Ed.” Well that's bad for them but good for me.

1:00PM – The bar is open and the Phillies are going to try and play. I hope I didn't make a mistake leaving the alcohol with the VQs though. I could get back to a storm shelter for theatre types and that isn't how I want to spend my hurricane. Forget this as the Phillies game was called when the outer bands of Irene arrived over Citizens Bank Park. That means the Phillies now have no days off until the end of the season, 33 games in 33 days. Not good at all.

6:00PM - Made one last check on Foxy and did my usual weekly engine running routine while I called my dad to check-in. It's getting breezy there but not raining much yet which is good because they already had over a foot of rain this month. For the first time I'm glad my parking space is on the third floor, she should be fine.

I'm starting to get a slightly depressed feeling as the storm tracks up the coast. I love the shore, I always have, and one by one some of my favorite places are being trashed. Nags Head and Kill Devil Hills on the Outer Banks went first and will soon to be followed by Ocean City and Rehoboth. When Irene hits Stone Harbor later tonight I might just cry. Supposedly 95% of Cape May County, which includes Stone Harbor, has been evacuated. It will be days till I know how the house made out.

11:00PM - Heavy rain started falling not long ago and with it came the first sounds of thunder. The winds are gusting to about 30 mph now but should rise to 50 mph by midnight according to NY1. The latest predictions have us getting wind speeds up to 90 mph and a six to eight foot storm surge by early morning. When Anderson Cooper goes live at 6AM I don't think he will be standing in Battery Park where he was Friday night. The street below is pretty much deserted now, honestly I think I saw more activity out there during the blizzards this past winter.

More useless hurricane trivia. On October 16, 1955 Hurricane Katie was born with winds of 115 mph. It lasted three days, caused $250,000 damage (1955 dollars), and left seven deaths in its wake.

And now the first lightning. I have the feeling it's going to be a long night.

Observations on Irene 8.26

I thought maybe I would take some early morning photos so I rode an empty subway train down to the soon to be forbidden zone of Battery Park. Truth be told I didn't take much of anything because it was just a cloudy dreary humid morning and on top of that the Starbucks was closed. If this is the calm before the storm I think I'll pass.

Irene came ashore in North Carolina around 7AM as a category 1 storm. The weakening doesn't change the situation much here as the problem is how long the storm will batter the city and how much water will be pushed into the harbor, the rivers, and down the street. Later today ConEd will decide if it is going to shutdown the power to lower Manhattan. Because the cables are all underground they are vulnerable to saltwater if they are in use but not if they aren't in use. Now I understand why there are no batteries to be found in the Village.

Everybody says be prepared so we stocked up with the following....

One case of Corona, one case of Corona Light, and two bags of ice in the freezer. Multiple bottles of red and white wine because Ash can't decide which is the right one for a hurricane and one must follow the wine rules at all times.
A bag of limes and one bottle of Jose Cuervo Black Medallion tequila because one shouldn't ride out a big storm with cheap tequila.
One carton of Misty Menthol Ultra Lights otherwise known as Misty Silver under the theory that people think ultra-light smoke is healthy and will think silver isn't.
One carton of Marlboro Menthol 100s because Chloe isn't a lite weight like me and smokes a real cigarette, or so I am told.
New lighter to light those above named cigarettes.
Two camera and two laptop batteries charged. A camping lantern and flashlights along with a jumbo pack of priceless D size batteries. The latter I am tempted to sell on the street because, well, they really are priceless right now.
My older digital camera packed in a towel and zip-lock bag. Don't ask on this one because I'm not going to tell.

Shit I forgot to get food.

A bit of worthless hurricane trivia that doesn't seem so worthless now. If the storm is a category 1 at ground level it is a category 2 ten stories up. I can hear the glass raining down already.

No subways running down below and it just started raining in the Village. I suppose this really is the calm before the storm.

Let the games begin.

Neil Young - Like A Hurricane, Berlin 1982

update - Due to some concern I would like to add that we have cookies, coffee, and two cases of bottled water too.

Observations from the Window 8.26

At times it seems like I might be mellowing in my old age because I just don't feel like writing about politics like I had been. Maybe it's the reverse that is true and I haven't mellowed at all but just don't want to write about it because when I do I think and when I think I just get pissed off. I'll go with that because I know I haven't mellowed at all and never will. I'm just destined to be the bitchy old woman at the artists' home in Montreuil which is a future I don't find all that unappealing.

I know I have talked before about writing more on art and photography only to get sidetracked by one thing or another but I'm going to try to do that once again. Last week I took a photography seminar at the Tisch School of Arts at NYU and it, like the Armory Show earlier this year, has me wanting to get some things written. While I was there I was looking into the course offerings and saw two I would really like to take, the Advanced History Seminar (photography) and Business of Art (photography). The problem is I really don't have the time to do either.

As for now I'm about to be sidetracked yet again as hurricane Irene is heading in my direction. I'm not too worried because I'm in evacuation zone C which is well outside zone A, and a block away from zone B. This is from the NYC Office of Emergency Management website, “Residents in Zone C may experience storm surge flooding from a major hurricane making landfall just south of New York City. A major hurricane is unlikely in New York City, but not impossible.” Damn, reading that makes me feel better already.

One sad thought has crept into my head and that is the idea that by Sunday morning 'my' beach house may be gone forever. Sitting on the beach in Stone Harbor it now seems that there isn't much chance of it not being hit hard. I toyed with the idea of driving down and sitting at Fred's as the storm rolled by but Stone Harbor already has evacuated non-residents and as of 5PM today all liquor sales will be suspended till Monday. Worst of all Foxy would be parked in the open and that I will not do.

Is it wrong that I worry more about my car than myself?

Jimi Hendrix - The Wind Cries Mary

Late afternoon update - Cape May County NJ ordered a mandatory evacuation of its barrier islands which include Stone Harbor, Fred's, and the beach house. Also New York City ordered the first mandatory evacuations in its history today. So far they just include zone A but that includes all of Battery Park City, Coney Island, and Rockaway Beach.

Observations 8.24

I love movies and one of my fav is the Luc Besson's French thriller Nikita which starred the gorgeous Anne Parillaud and was released in the US as La Femme Nikita. The film inspired the American movie Point Of No Return, TV series La Femme Nikita, and the current TV series Nikita.

I was excited when I saw this trailer for Colombiana which is a movie made by the creators of the original TV series. I honestly don't see as many movies as I would like to in the theater but this is one I might drag myself to see.

YouTube Link

You can tell me I'm not right, I'll understand.

Observations from the Earthquakepocalypse

You just know I would be remiss if I didn't report in from one of the greatest natural disasters in the gallery's history. Well maybe a minor disaster, alright it felt like an overloaded trash truck driving down our narrow street. A 5.9 magnitude earthquake centered in Virginia rattled our windows and sent Ash scurrying for bottles of wine as she is wont to do during natural disasters.

I shouldn't joke because I did see video of the crowds in Times Square which looked to me like New Years Eve had come in the afternoon. One thing I hadn't thought of was how people in the towers would react to the quake. People thought of the 9/11 attacks and had a 'oh god not again' reaction than instinctively got out. Thinking about it now I have to say I would have done the same.

With the Mets visiting the Phillies tonight the best tweet I saw was from Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer who covers the Phillies. “Citizens Bank Park was evacuated. No one allowed in. But the Mets are still inside. Really.” Another, which came from the Phillies, was funny just because I couldn't believe I was reading it. “Tonight's 7:05 Mets Phillies game at Citizens Bank Park will be played as scheduled following today's earthquake."

I did learn a few important lessons today. During an earthquake do not under any circumstances stand next to tall buildings, duh. Do not immediately check twitter because if you do you won't get in that all important cell phone call because the system will already be down till you get to it. Do not whine about the quake online because anybody you know on the left coast will laugh and call you a drama queen. Do get on foursquare as soon as possible and check into earthquakepocalypse because if you are lucky like I was there will already be 8,000 people there and you can score the 'epic swarm' badge.

In the end we of the gallery survived the quake but we can't dwell on our luck for long as Hurricane Irene is bearing down on the east coast and is expected to be in the New York City area late Saturday night or early Sunday morning. "Quite honestly I am more concerned about our preparations for the approaching hurricane," said New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg at a press conference on the earthquake.

Stay tuned.

Observations from the Coffee Shop 8.23

I haven't done much writing in the past week in what is possibly the longest drought sinse I started this blog. Truth be told there are a couple reasons for that. One is that as much as I love it I'm just totally turned off by politics right now. I just can't think of anything good to say about it and I'm trying to be good. I'm just a sweet little girl trapped in a tall bitches body trying very hard to let her out.

Seriously the collection of circus clowns chasing the GOP nomination for President is just pathetic. The emergence of Rick Parry from his neanderthal cave in Texas would make it all the more laughable if we weren't talking serious shit here. Charles Blow said it best in his opinion peice in Sunday's New York Times (l). "The Buzz Lightyear-come-to-life bravado of Rick Perry, complete with delusions of grandeur and accomplishment." Personally I think he is just a poor impersination of that last President from Texas whose name escapes me at the moment. Than again maybe I was right months ago when I said former Utah Govenor Jon Huntsman would end up being the GOP nominee for the simple reason that he is the only one running who seems sane enough to actually win. Last Thursday he tweeted "To be clear. I believe in evolution and trust scientists on global warming. Call me crazy." He picked up 7,000 followers the next day.

Than I read this on Politico (l) yesterday and it just gave me another reason to think this country is run by a bunch of loons. "President Obama decides to vacation while world burns. White House aides say he deserves to spend time on an island with extremely rich people in order to get in touch with America. Aides also cite fact he has not played golf in at least several days. Good publicity follows: Though Obama started war in Libya in belief he was preventing a genocide and it appears to be a war the United States will actually win in under 10 years, headline on Washington Post website Saturday is: “As rebels close in on Tripoli, Obama getting updates on Martha’s Vineyard.'" Actually I found that pretty amusing along with GOP law makers complaints about Obama's vacation. When was the last time any of them were in Washington?

Oh i guess I still love politics but at times it all makes me want to dye my hair the same color as Hayley Williams and run away screaming.

Paramore - Monster

Observations from the Window 8.21

Tomorrow, Monday, is the first day of classes at Penn State. The first day of classes for my sis. The first day of classes for the third and final member of our evil sibling triumvirate to attend State. For sure it wasn't her first choice but karma being karma there she is and I wish her the best.

I'm so excited for her but I'm also a little bit sad. Seems my little sis is all grown up which is a slight fact didn't really sink in until now. Our conversations slowly changed over the summer as she became less my mini-me and more my equal in so many ways. I'm going to miss my mini-me but I also welcome the company of the fine young woman that is my sister.

And so a vid in honor of my sis, my school, and the soon to begin 125th season of Penn State Nittany Lion football. For the record JoePa will be 85 in December and has been Penn State's head football coach since 1966, he still rocks.

Late update - In all the thoughts of my sis' start at Penn State I forgot another important bit of information. This was the first time in five years that classes started and my brother wasn't there. God what a torn day.


Link

*geek speak - I dabbled with getting rid of the YouTube control bar for aesthetic reasons and it does look much better. Prob is you can't turn off the vid than.

Observations on Art 8.15

Dreams take many forms but is a dream worth everything? In that I mean is it worth giving up all else to make that dream happen? Everything comes at a price, even a dream, one just has to decide if it is a price you are willing to pay. The price of turning that dream into a reality.

"Notre devoir, en tant qu'hommes et femmes, est de procéder comme si les limites de notre capacité n'existait pas. Nous sommes des collaborateurs dans la création."*
Pierre Teilhard de Chardin


Paris de Women are Heroes from La Boite Concept on Vimeo.

Ile St Louis is one of Paris’s oldest and most exclusive districts, a district of cobbled streets and tea-shops. It became the home of an installation by French artist and photographer JR called Women are Heroes. For the Women are Heroes exhibition JR and his volunteer assistants pasted up miles of posters of women’s eyes around Ile St Louis and the Louis Philippe bridge that links the island to Paris’s right bank.

Everybody has a dream. Some are fleeting, some are not.

*"Our duty as men and women, is to proceed as if limits to our ability did not exist. 
We are collaborators in creation."