craving
March. 16. 2012
craving more Marfa- essentially endless earth n open skies
When I was a kid I had to write an essay on, “If I was a road…”
shed your shower shame n bring a tent to pitch @ el cosmico
Judd silhouette
Gimme a concrete box, n I’ll give you a backflip n say aauuhhmm! (oh, and Natalie will take a picture of it)
wouldn’t you if you were here?
That mini red dot on the horizon is a Marfa light. If you go out on an oddly aligned time of night, you’ll see these lights appear and disappear, they move along the horizon (not like cars). Apparently aliens flash their lights at people here, ALL year long. Go to Marfa. See Judd. See the stars. And, SEE MYSTERY LIGHTS.
Like this:
conversations with bricks and concrete
January. 28. 2012
“And if you think of Brick, for instance,
and you say to Brick,
“What do you want Brick?”
And Brick says to you
“I like an Arch.”
And if you say to Brick
“Look, arches are expensive,
and I can use a concrete lentil over you.
What do you think of that?”
“Brick?”
Brick says:
“… I like an Arch””
-Louis Kahn
Like this:
rum boogie cafe
January. 28. 2012
what I miss most about the dirty south is the music (and the biscuits)…
the highway series
October. 25. 2011
tail lights, billboards, street lamps….fueling my timeless dance with displacement, wheeling out of Boston on a whim
“Never wish away distance. Never wish away time.”
-Bruce Weber
freedom from fear
September. 11. 2011
I am steel and concrete.
“All material in nature,
the mountains and the streams and the air and we,
are made of Light which has been spent,
and this crumpled mass called material casts a shadow,
and the shadow belongs to Light.”
– Louis Kahn
stranded
September. 6. 2011
I have this love affair with trains that just won’t die. Found this stranded cargo train on the road to Marfa, TX (iphone shot hanging out the window)…ingredients for a swell weekend in West Jesus Nowhere-
1. one good friend+
2. the desert sky+
3. a tent to pitch (w/ hammocks)+
4. minimalist art+
5. falling stars+
6. an unusual bookstore+
7. and serendpitious reunions
= Ishi heaven!
falling up
July. 7. 2011
and staring into the whirlwind atmosphere at 27,000 feet
she almost fell upwards, head on the ground (fast dissipating) and feet in the clouds
there was nowhere to go but up, and she had no fear of falling
and there is much to be said about that.
Like this:
song for the earth
April. 22. 2011
Happy Earth Day! Rain it is you, my soil that I crave even here around the bends of this faceted world where edges seem sharper than some I have known, I listen to rain seep through your furrows my ears to your parched skin and my breathing with it in unison I cannot, but love you for your breath was my beginnings
Like this:
roppongi
November. 9. 2010
Roppongi is known as the foreigner district of Tokyo…one of the places where ex-pats and the likes settled, and gaijene run amuck. Except- I saw maybe three foreigners on my three trips out to Roppongi.
Regarding my proposal, with Roppongi I was concerned with the local reflections of international trends- and rest aassured that didn’t dissappoint. There were malls scaling city blocks full of merchandize familiar to any cosmopolitan metropolis- the same brand names that plague the world abound in Roppongi Hills and Tokyo Mid-Town (not neighborhoods as their names may suggest, but more like giant developments).
It was the in-betweeen-ness found while roaming the backstreets that really became interesting to me. Small scale shops with foreign flavors nestled in the messy blocks scattererd around the larger developments haphazardly hold treasures like the shrine above and even create community spaces where people gather to catch their breaths…
tskuiji
November. 7. 2010
If you follow my blog or know me, you’ll know I love corrosion in general and rusting in particular…
Weathering marks the passing of time, and I enjoy the reminder.
In the back-quarters of the Tskuiji district old meets new. This is one of the last few spaces where remnants of old style Japanese houses still remain. Guess, what dominates what?
wooden
November. 2. 2010
The Port Terminal in Yokohama, port-sister-city of Tokyo, is one of those mind bending system of planes that makes you want to run around barefooted and strike a yoga pose or two. Ships set sail to all corners of the world from this gorgeous piece of shore…and you can see travelers lined up around the block waiting to board.
The success of the construction is reflected in the fruitful use of the public space by people engaging with the architecture, and contemplating what lies outside of it.
The structure is sited so craftily that it seems to emerge from the end of a small peninsula automatically, somewhere losing the distinction between natural and mechanized in its wooden splendor. Attention to detail goes above and beyond the call of duty- even the parking garage is beautifully designed.
elektronik
November. 1. 2010
Greetings from electronic city- if in retrospect!
Akihabara is a celebration of electronic consumerism- if it involves electricity or silicon chips- you will find it here. Promise. Oh and did I mention the vending machines with shrink wrapped wet dirty panties you can find middle aged men crouching around? Let’s just say the veils come off to a degree in this part of town…
Everything glows, moves or screams, and the people that come with it are no less interesting- Manga girls in costume, reduced to reflections of imaginary provocative characters can be found luring customers in. The consumers, the followers, the geeks and nerds, the loud and boisterous, the quirky and gimmicky, and of course, the onlooking traveler like me…one big cluster of GO!
I found the only sign of dissent in Japan here- a well organized, policed, civilized way of protesting- this being Japan- with a snake chain of people winding through the crowds with loudspeakers and chants…Have no idea what it was about- but if you can read Japanese, maybe you can give me a clue~ or crue- as they would call it!
ginza
October. 30. 2010
TOP: Ginza on a busy evening BOTTOM: Ginza on Sunday morning- streetspace handed back to the people
For the HOGI Scholarship, I had one week to spend with the Miyamas, and one week to research my thesis. I added a third week to spend time with friends and see more of Japan than just Tokyo which is where my study was focused, but more on that later.
The thesis of the project is to understand the architecture of cultural hybridization, in the urban fabric of an essentially old city. I call it Inhabiting the Global Anonymous, because it can be argued that in the end, that is what assimilation/ globalization does, if secretly. What becomes interesting then, is the manner in which foreign cultures and forms are appropriated….there was mayo and seaweed in my McDonald’s breakfast sandwich!
My work in Tokyo began the day the Miyamas sent us on our way, and my first stop was Ginza- a place to eat, shop, and do some business- wherein lies the most expensive corner of our planet (a block away from picture #1). Tokyo is the world’s largest megalopolis, so much so that I hesitate to even call it a city. It’s more like a cluster of cities within a city- at 23 million people- each neighborhood is like a small Tokyo with its own flavor. Ginza is the most expensive land in the world, and as our host had pointed out- about half a square meter costs you about a million USD. Ouch!
Walking down the busiest and swankiest street in Ginza gives you a look into just how integrated and cosmopolitan the city has evolved to be- gone or buried are the remnants of the Edo period in such places.
Although Tokyo is so different from any other place I have ever been, there is something about the big city feeling where globalization makes strange streets look vaguely familiar in all big cities in so many ways…
smoulder
October. 23. 2010
prada
October. 17. 2010
it glows like the jewel it is…
I still don’t think I’m done with it yet.
simple complexity
October. 15. 2010
or complex simplicity?
the Tokyo Forum- simple but intricate- throws some off.
not as “crazy” a building as you may think…
onsen
October. 14. 2010
ohio gozaimasu! kirei desyo? (good morning! beautiful isn’t it?)
or so went conversation at the onsen
early morning dip into the hot springs
the warmth of the water
crisp against the cold goosebumps on my skin
fuji-san playing hide and seek in the distance…
some shed inhibitions and therefore clothing- mine went in reverse order, but vaporised soon enough into the morning mist.
freeing, for sure! so much so that I snapped up this quick one once the crowd cleared…
a good morning indeed!
volcano
October. 13. 2010
the sacred volcano: fuji-san
no matter who you are, it is breathtaking in its solitude.
no other like it in the whole range…so typically japanese- meticulously symmetrical in its rawness…
this country never seems to lapse into disorder. Thus far…
it-oh
October. 12. 2010
tama art university- toyo ito…more back at studioish
there are buildings, and then there are buildings. this one just happens to be the latter.
tangled
October. 3. 2010
Sometimes life can get so tangled up that unwinding seems out of reach, doesn’t it? But then you always get out of it and find your feet. The art of grounding, I call it.
For the past couple of summers, we’ve gotten in the habit of hauling out to a friend’s aunt’s ranch-house in east-jesus-no-where: the middle of hill country. Somehow, the summer feels more languid when you live in a place where your mailbox is 2 miles away.
My idea of luxury is not money and things, but time…easy mornings…living at my own pace.
This is a corner of Aunt June’s house, on a cool summer night. When I shot it I wished the web was more complete- prefect, symmetrical, eye candy-ish…in retrospect, I’m glad it wasn’t.
Did you know spider-webs are stronger than steel?
