La Jetée and Sans Soleil

Two fascinatingly beautiful films from the same director, separated by over 20 years.

Both very French. Both very thought-provoking.

The first is a disturbing black and white sci fi film from the early 60s. A series of still images, beautifully shot in high-contrast black and white, narrated with a story of a post-apocalyptic nightmare. This is about as French as it gets. There is an attention to detail, a sense of appreciation of the small, subtle, the poetic moment. Beautiful or disturbing, there is something both tragic and celebratory. A triumph of the spirit in the face of hopelessness. Clearly inspiration for 12 Monkeys. It is a fairly short film, and moving at a pace so much slower than most contemporary films. But worth the investment, worth the attention, and certainly I am left thinking of it.

The second film is a lovely exploration of moments of culture, mostly of Tokyo, with a few interludes in Cape Verde, Guinea Bissau, and Paris. Partly a film of travel, but more accurately, a film of the small moments of humanity. It focuses on the meaning of the smallest actions. It is in the tradition of a private letter, that literary device that allows for a most intimate, personal address. Humorous, melancholy, introspective, philosophical and visually moving. It's is a slow-moving film, requiring patience and a willingness to invest some thought into its meanderings. Overall, though, as different as it seems from the first film, it captures that same sense of hope and sadness, subtle joy and dark humor of the first film.

Definitely on my list to view again...

A picnic

Some time ago, I decided I wanted to go on a picnic. After several weeks of setbacks, mostly involving illnesses and end-of-semester engagements, Kim and I settled on today to have finally have our long-awaited picnic adventure.

The menu...can one think of better picnic fare than Vietnamese food? I sure can't. So we made spring rolls with tofu, bean sprouts, cucumber, cilantro, mint, peanuts, and thin rice noodles. Got some Hoisin dipping sauce. Then we made the fixings for sandwiches--mock duck, cilantro, cucumbers, tofu, mint--and packed up the many condiments we have for such sandwiches: veganaise, maggi thai chili sauce, sriracha, jalapeno relish, and another kind of chili sauce that isn't sweet but acidic.

Threw it all in the cooler with some ice and a gallon of water, got in the Mini, and headed east on the 8 to Flinn Springs park in El Cajon. Not sure why there, other than it seemed to have a good picnic area with a stream, trees, and tables. It seemed like a good drive, too, to make the picnic seem more of an adventure.

There isn't much else to say. Everything tasted good. The stream was small, but pleasant enough. The park was almost empty and quiet. We forgot utensils, but used pieces of a disposable plate to scoop the many condiments into the french bread. It was messy. It was a good picnic.

Yelp! Reviews

Recent reviews by Lisa S.

What's this?

This is a neat little map that shows the locations of my recent reviews on Yelp! It's a little bit of a pain in the ass to use, but if you want to find the places, the map is pretty helpful.

San Francisco :: A Real Vacation:: Photos

Hi. I posted photos from the San Francisco trip to flickr.

http://flickr.com/photos/46205070@N00/

I'm almost finished writing the blog...hope to have the rest up soon.

San Francisco :: A Real Vacation :: Wednesday, 2008 October 8

I’ve long argued you can’t really get a great bagel out of New York…maybe Pikesville in the Baltimore area is close…or maybe New Jersey. I don’t know. But not in San Diego (though City Bagels is about as good as it gets, and certainly in the good range). But San Francisco…seemed like a bad idea. But I wanted something different than our veggie breakfasts of the past week, so why not give it a try? Close to our hotel, and rated about as good as it gets for bagels in San Francisco, Katz Bagels and Pizza seemed like a good breakfast option. Well, the name is Jewish, anyway. I got a pumpernickel bagel with some hummus, and Kim got poppy with lox and cream cheese. It was pleasant enough. Better than average. Not as good as Big City, but several notches above what passes for bagels most of the time. What was memorable about this place, though, was the patio in the back, where the skylights let in a lovely mid-morning light…a perfect spot for reading the paper and relaxing.

Of course, I have a hard time lounging around much on vacation. I’m not a sit around and relax kind of girl, at least in a city like San Francisco, where there are so many adventures to be had. So after a bit of paper-reading, we were off to Golden Gate Park, and to the newly-opened California Academy of Sciences. Kim’s back was feeling marginally better, so we elected to walk through the Panhandle, my running route for the week, and into park. It was fairly warm, but not completely unpleasant, and I remembered my camera for a change. The line for tickets was already extremely long, wrapping around stansions out the front of the building, but they had some automated ticket dispensers in the front of the museum. I thought I’d give it a try. Unfortunately, some Japanese college student tourists in front of me had experienced some problems with their credit cards in the machine, leaving an open order up, and when I went to purchase my order, I ended up purchasing their tickets…three, in fact. The ticket machine guardian, posted there just to help hopeless cases such as this, helped us negotiate a cash deal, and we all ended up with tickets…I even ended up profiting by a dollar. All was well.

The academy is quite amazing. It contains a planetarium, a 4-story rain forest, a green roof, and an aquarium. The signage and exhibit design was well-done overall, with some fine typography and use of materials in the signage. There were many words, descriptions, and narratives throughout, so the type help set the tone, transitioning from area to area, and generally, giving the space a sense of consideration. I do love the logo for it. Very smart and memorable, though the reversed version does remind me of another logo I saw in 2color Design by Templin Brink Design. Nonetheless, it is a good example of a successful modern, clean logo with a solid idea, so often missing in logo design for larger institutions. Good for them for placing value in the visual, perhaps realizing that part of their mission is to get out the word of the amazing work that is being done in the scientific world in ways all can connect with. While they still need to work out the bugs for the disbursing of tickets for the planetarium, which was confusing and time-consuming at best, but the overall experience of the place is one of wonder and joy, bringing together the analytical and the unexplainable, the greatest thinking of our time and the simple aesthetic beauty of our world.

The rainforest spirals up 4 stories, allowing you to see how the rainforest changes into different ecosystems as it approaches the sun. The green roof allows in beautiful natural light, luminating the glass bottom of the forest, underneath of which is the aquarium. My favorite part of the rainforest was really the butterflies. Call me girlie, but I love butterflies. There is something about the way they move that is the visual equivalent of pure, innocent, joy. The opportunity to see so many different species in such a small space is rare and special. Sure, the birds and flowers and lizards and frogs were all beautiful. But it was the butterflies that really made me love that rainforest.
Once at the top of the 4 stories, you enter an elevator and go underneath the rainforest into the aquarium. It isn’t large, but what is notable about it is its design. You can walk through a tunnel under the water, looking up through the tank into the rainforest as giant catfish and piranhas cruise above your head. The dispersed light from the rough casts an unbelievable glow through the water, and you feel like you might be under there with the fish. There are some benches for sitting and watching, and if I was too impatient to sit and relax during breakfast, I had no problem sitting here for awhile. Despite snack-munching hippie tourists and their hellion children, it was still serene. The streamlined movement of the sharks and fish overhead, the slight waving of the aquatic plants…the play of light on the floor. It was a good “in-the-moment” moment. And a good place for Kim to rest his back. At least for a little while.

We then rushed to the Planetarium, stood in line with our tickets, were herded into some kind of people-pen (like something you’d normally use for herding farm animals), and then into the theater. I had thought I hadn’t been to a planetarium, but then, once inside, remembered a long-lost memory of going to one as a child. We were really lucky to have one of the funniest children in the world behind us…she was really the highlight of the planetarium experience really. As the lights went down, she turned to her father and in her most serious little girl voice said, “I miss my Barbies.” It was genuine and hilarious, and not whiny at all. Just a genuine expression of longing. Hilarious. As the show got started, she watched for a moment and then said, “I’m scared,” but not in a way where it sounded like she was going to cry, but in a way in which she sounded simultaneously intrigued and unsure. What a character! Besides her, the planetarium show was interesting enough, narrated by Sigourney Weaver, who now seems to be the go-to voice for beautiful nature shows, but I missed the simplicity of the old planetarium memory. The simple lights and stars, instead of this iMax-styled movie. It didn’t suck, but could have been better. If nothing else, it seemed like they needed to revisit the script and focus it a little better.

The final part of the Academy that we wanted to see was the green roof. The building is LEED certified, and the roof is one of its most innovative features. The skylights illuminating the interior were as interesting outside as inside, and of course, there were the requisite solar panels. But what was lovely were the plants. An entire roof of native plants, requiring only rain water and no irrigation. The provide insulation, prevent runoff, and help absorb CO2. Green roofing is an innovative, forward-thinking idea that have been implemented in various forms for a while now. I had researched them extensively for a school project, so it was great to see one in action. Made me wish I could install one. Maybe in the future.

After a full day at the Academy, I was hungry. Kim still wanted to find a gift for Amanda and to revisit Kid Robot for a new “things that hurt” zipper pull that was not a heart. Brass knuckles, gun, knife or something…but not a heart. So we elected to go back to the scene of our first meal in town, to the coffee shop with the baba ghanoush plate on Haight. We went with the falafel plate this time, the falafel being light and balancing the chickpea heartiness with parsley tang. Hummus was creamy, though probably could have had a touch more lemon. Overall, though, it was a good late light lunch that went well with a cup of rooibis tea to tide us over until dinner. From there, we went back to Kid Robot in search of a non-heart zipper pull (he got a mortar, and I got…a heart. Go figure). We took in a last stroll up and down Haight, stopping in stores, looking for possible presents for Amanda. Not much luck. No striking area brews or must-have t-shirts. Nothing was calling out. We decided to head back to the hotel for a bit, figure out our plan for the evening, and hope for some inspiration. As dusk began to settle in, we realized it was our last chance to duck into the two little stores flanking our hotel: a game store and a comic store. The game store was an old-fashioned board and role playing game store. Not video games. But chess and backgammon, D&D and all that stuff. It made me really want to learn chess. Kim picked up a game about…beer. Flashcards with beer trivia on them. I was very impressed by the design, as it used some well-done spot illustrations, clean, considered typography, and a fairly refined color palette for a beer-related thing (since most beer-related design truly sucks). Turns out it was designed by Michael Osborne Design…how appropriate to buy it here, in San Francisco. Still no gift for Amanda, though.

We hurried into the comic shop, where we proceeded to spend lots of time and money. I often forget how much I really do love a certain type of comic…Chris Ware, Daniel Clowes, Lynda Barry. These are my favorites. Personal narratives, non-superhero every-person stories capturing the outcast, the small moment, the existential sadness of everything (much like French films), but at the same time, not giving up hope for hapless losers and outcasts. Laughing darkly at themselves and others. I connect in a real way to these. Clowes, in particular, who served an important influence in the 90s for me. Eightball captured the dissatisfaction I felt with the world, never feeling like I fit in with any group, and never quite feeling like I would. Snarky? Thoroughly. But observant. His “People I Hate” piece still makes me laugh out loud, showcasing the details of these horrible people, and putting into words and visual how I feel about them, too. And “Art School Confidential.” Now that I’ve been to art school, well, it does fit a bit. Anyway, I ended up buying some of his stuff, almost buying some Ware books and some other books, but holding out. And Kim finally did find something for Amanda…a copy of Eightball. Good choice.
After a bit of research and a brief rest at the hotel, we decided to get some dinner and then venture out. We reprised our dinner at Magnolia, this time getting a most amazing sweet potato/yam, some delightfully bitter greens, and some kind of chickpea “sausage,” which was really more like falafel. Got a half pint of their Magnolia Bitter, this time on draft instead of cask, and enjoyed it all. It’s a good place, with some decent beers, but I still prefer the Linkery. I’m lucky to have it so good and so close.

From there we made our way to the Mission area to see Ponytail (a Baltimore band!) at the Bottom of the Hill. We took MUNI out there, transferring in our favorite (ha) Tenderloin stop. We were riding for awhile, thinking we were almost to our destination, but not quite there. Luckily for us, the bus was running early, and had to wait for a few minutes, so we asked. Turns out we missed our stop by a few blocks, so we got off the bus, and walked back down the hill. And what a hill! The view is amazing. It’s the kind of view where people fall in love, and then break up again…at least in indie movies. At the bottom, we stopped in Whole Foods for directions, and made our way to the club. There really isn’t much around it. Some interior design warehouses…that’s about it. It is that indie type of club that every place resembling a city has…some more than one. It was fairly crowded, but not uncomfortably so. We got there at the perfect time, just as Ponytail was finishing setting up. I was in front of the singer for the bathroom, in fact. They are a bunch of characters. We saw them open for another band (was it Octopus Project? I can’t recall) at the Beauty Bar in San Diego, and I was impressed by how weird and different they were. Risk-taking. The vocals are not words, but sounds…alternating between shouts and calls, cries of joy and sounds at times inhuman. Maybe not my favorite band in the world, but thoroughly charming, totally unpretentious, and innovative. Admittedly, I’m biased since they are from Baltimore, but really, they are fun. And they were even better this time. The crowd was much more into them than in San Diego, and the sound in the club was great. Really. So much better than the Casbah. It was well-balanced and appropriate for the room, filling it without blasting me out. The bass was full without being boomy. The vocals audible but not floating over top of the instruments. It was quite good. There was a bit of mosh pit, which was weird to me, but maybe it’s all part of the neo-90s revival that I can see starting to form. I was hoping for a little more of the late 80s and maybe some 80s hardcore to be revived first before we dove back into rave and grunge, but I’m not sure we’ll get to that. The best parts of an era are usually skipped in the revival…though the post-punk revival does seem to defy this generalization.

Anyway, it was a good show, but I was tired and ready to go. We ended up taking a different, more direct, bus back to the hotel. It was in front of some divey-looking bar that had an Earthless flyer in the window. More hipster in the area than you can shake a stick at as the saying goes. We ended up back in the room, watching Bizarre Foods and falling asleep as I realized I wasn’t quite ready to go home yet.

San Francisco :: A Real Vacation:: Thursday, Oct 9, 2008

Our final morning in the city by the bay. A welcome break in the running regime allowed us more time to enjoy a final leisurely breakfast before making our way back to Oakland and our flight back to San Diego (to arrive in time for Kim's Beer Judging class...and Quintron!). We settled on a final breakfast at Herbivore, seeing as it was close and hearty. We sat outside, the morning sunny and breezy, the traffic on Divisadero never waivering. Our waitress, who had an accent from somewhere in the United Kingdom, though we weren’t quite sure where, brought us tableware, and took our orders. I had scrambled tofu with mushrooms and spinach, breakfast potatoes, and some wheat toast. The spinach was well-cooked, not overly mushy and still retaining a slight bitterness without that raw calcium feeling of undercooked spinach. The toast seemed like it had been sitting for a bit, but the potatoes were good...really, how can you mess up potatoes with grease and salt? The whole thing seemed to be lacking a bit of spice, though. Could have used a lot more hot sauce. Took longer than expected to get the check and pay, so we ended up leaving a little later than planned. Of course, since we were staying in the laid back hotel, the front desk wasn’t manned when we were trying to leave. So we patiently waited, and maybe it worked out just right because just as we were leaving the hotel, a cab rolled up. We took one last ride out to the Civic Center BART stop. Now that we were experts on using the BART ticket machines, I reached into my wallet to find the BART card I had left from my last ride…only to find I’d lost it. Of course. A handful of quarters later, I was seated in the retro 70s car on the…train, listening to the incredibly noisy ride east. Emerging from the tunnel, I spotted the he industrial wasteland with a certain sadness during the last BART ride out to Oakland. And for the first vacation in a very long time, I didn’t want to leave. I could see myself staying.

Mapping your Rides and Runs

Kim showed me this site. It's a great example of the the possibilities of interactive mapping. Here is my bike ride for the day.

art is not (always) bullshit

the conversation began simply and innocently enough. after carefully applying both apricot and plum preserves to his breakfast slices of french bread, my boyfriend turns to me and says, "look. this is my art." we chuckle, and i start applying both to my bread, joking that i am not stealing his idea but calling it my own and i will provide him with an essay explaining why what i am doing is new.

we laugh at this critique of contemporary art.

then he says (to the best of my memory, though the exact wording may be off), "that is why do not like art. so much of it is mired in bullshit."

i laugh again. and i agree at the moment.

but then i start thinking.

this is my open letter to all who think art is mired in bullshit. it started as an e-mail, but perhaps this is a better forum.

"This is probably not something to be read quickly at work, but I have been thinking about the art = bullshit idea all morning. For some reason, it really sent me on an introspective bend. First, I believe it is something of a generalization, and one I can find humorous because I've certainly come across it...Ray at night or TNT are fertile grounds for finding examples. I also think that part of your belief comes from not having an in depth knowledge of it or an interest or inclination, much as I find economics tedious or calculus irrelevant to my daily life. Of course they are important, but it all seems so uninteresting and useless to me. But, having acknowledged that much of the contemporary art world is founded on bullshit, I still believe art itself (and design as a very closely related field) still has profound value, and is often dismissed as superfluous educationally and intellectually. I think that is a mistake. Reason and logic are important. They do make us human. But there is more to humanity than left brain. I only bring it up b/c the whole thing made me question why I'm dedicating my life to something that is often perceived as bullshit. Am I just another purveyor of meaningless, gratuitous work? Am I somehow less intelligent for choosing to learn about visual communication instead of mathematics? Is art irrelevant? Culturally, I think most people would say yes. I think it unfair. And I'd like to think it is not true. I may not understand physics and I am struggling with the simplest CSS programming, but I understand how to use imagery to communicate ideas, emotions, new ways of seeing. The last time the we pass each other on the street book was exhibited, the people featured in it walked away with a new sense of pride in their words, their stories, and their recovery. Almost all of them told me the experience was one of great healing for them, and of great pride. Several visitors to the exhibit told me that it gave them a new perspective on addiction, and made the people in the program seem so human. The work gave others the opportunity to see these addicts as people. It made a difference to the addicts, to their families, and maybe changed some perceptions. Of course it wasn't all my doing; their stories were completely moving before I visualized them. But the visual work took the words to another place, and though it may sound overly new age cheeseball, I think it got some people in the heart. It isn't necessarily measurable or tangible. But I have to believe it is important. And I guess I'm telling you all of this because I want you to understand why I am making art/design and why it is so important to me. It isn't just what I do. It's who I am and how I live. And I work my ass off to make sure it is not bullshit. well, most of it isn't, anyway."

campylobacter (or how i've been sick for a month)

so i came back from mexico with some friends. bacteria that made my stomach cramp, burn, growl...and many other things. i've been sick for a freaking month. i finally get two weeks off, and i spend it battling these freeloaders. and i didn't even really lose weight...just some muscle. bummer.

final process book project

a design not about itself, but about the designer —ed fella

most thinking designers and artists will agree on the importance and value of the process. sometimes arduous, sometimes intuitive, sometimes magical and others workmanlike, the process is the journey, the narrative that gives life to the work.

so to document the process of a quarter spent analyzing, defining, and pushing the limits of process (or methodology), is, well...a journey of a journey.

few projects have taken me to such introspective depths as this one.

the assignment was to document the process of the quarter. whatever that meant for us. to document our projects, our thoughts, our reactions, revisions...and growth.

from the start of the quarter, my whole approach was grounded on a belief that risk-taking and reflection were the keys to my creativity. understand the problem, pursue the most communicative, beautiful, passionate solution rather than the easiest solution, then reflect, analyze, criticize, refine. all of my projects from the quarter followed suit in their own ways, and it became clear that intuition and passion were my guides. sometimes this produced unexpected results, but more often than not, the unexpected results were tremendous growth experiences or innovative solutions. either way, they weren't safe, and that resulted in accepting a certain level of failure into my process. it would happen when i wouldn't have solved the problem totally successfully...but it always allowed me to leap forward onto something...well, something that embodied my beliefs and loves.

so when the task came to put all of this into one final book, i knew i couldn't just create a pdf with a standard grid and boxed photos......if i spent the quarter exploring, pushing, and taking risks, now was the time to step it up.

i decided to take a moleskine sketch book, my favorite kind of journal, and create and hand-made book of sorts documenting the process. call it a scrap book, an album, a journal...doesn't matter. it was a narrative documenting the way i thought, grew, created, communicated and moved through the quarter.

it was the most challenging project of my life, and one of the most rewarding. exhausting. enjoyable. and meaningful. i don't know if i have ever reached the level of personal communication about the way i think and approach problems and creativity as i did with this book.

at one point in the quarter, i posted this thought on the discussion board: the idea that this quarter had been about pushing ourselves to go to uncomfortable and challenging places and see what comes out and grow. as i looked at the books of my classmates, beautifully organized and rendered in PDF...i was jealous and angry with myself. i was very sick, had to go to urgent care, and weak. tired. and just ready to end the quarter. yet...when i could have probably created a lovely book in the software, i took the difficult path, choosing to do something i have never done before and to take it all of the way.

and it was worth every step. i learned more about creativity, passion, risk, love, and life in crafting these pages than i have ever have in my formal education to this point.

maybe the product doesn't hold together completely. but it embodies everything i believe in about visual communication theory and practice, and if nothing else, it is a celebration of a time of growth, with all of its joy and discomfort.

i accept its little failures and rejoice in the big payoffs.

san miguel de allende > 11 agosto > coming home

woke up early and met up with erika and katie to go to the panaderia, a bakery with mexican pastries, most notably empanadas and conchas(?)...i think that's what that's called. it's the one that kind of looks like a shell. it is round with icing. the empanadas are pastries with fruit or some have tuna...not the fruit, the fish. so for 59 cents, i got about 6 pastries. we went to the zocolo steps with some coffee, and enjoyed. well, first i bit into a mystery empanada...and of course, it was tuna. gag. hot tuna in the morning. luckily i had a warm concha to rid my mouth of the taste.

from there, we went to the market to buy a birthday gift for fernando, the boy who served us breakfast every morning for the past two weeks. we got him dulces and a spiderman bag and gave him some cash. we dropped it off up at the mirador, apparently right at the same moment when...

barbara's purse, wallet, and passport were stolen. apparently she was scammed by that sketchy woman i saw behind her and her male partner who i didn't see. the scam involved spilled mustard and water. and we were supposed to leave in 30 minutes. after a brief flurry of panic...

a police report, a call to doris, and the chaos of all of us in the lobby with suitcases. the bus arrived, and we followed the police to the station so barbara could make a report. she was going to have to cross with only photocopies of her passport and this police report. needless to say she was nervous.

the bus ride to the airport was relaxing. i got a bit of homework done. it was about the best part of the trip.

the guanajuato airport was busy and each suitcase was searched. mine weighed 23 kilos over the limit, so i had to pay $$169 USD to get my luggage home. it was so frustrating b/c they tried to run my card, and it was declined even though i had plenty of cash. i asked the agent to try again, and she refused. so i had to run to the atm, take out more pesos ( i now have an abundance of pesos in my hello kitty bank), and run back to pay. meanwhile, the people on my trip are disappearing, and the hour of the departure for our plane creeping closer.

of course, this is mexico. we were supposed to take off at 1:15. the plane hadn't even arrived by that time. try 2:15. awesome.

the flight home seemed quick by comparison to my usual baltimore flight. some food, a nap, itunes, and some conversation. it wasn't all that bad.

but then we got to tj.

apparently, after finally getting our bags, we were going to have to load them on the bus, drive to the otay mesa border, then unload the bags, walk them across the border, then load the back on the bus. remember how heavy my bag was? oh, and i had two others to carry. i was so unhappy. i sported dark blue and black and yellow bruises all up and down my legs for weeks. and i broke one of my esteban valdez pots. cranky doesn't cover it.

the good news was that barbara made it across the border. mustard shirt, photocopied passport and all.

the trip home to city was uneventful. kim picked me up, and we all dispersed rather quickly. tiring day.

naps, thai food...it was a good night. though my stomach started hurting a bit. i figured it was just the trip (little did i know it would last the entire month of august).

in one final footnote...
we had a reunion of sorts this tuesday, and enrique, who stayed in Mexico for an extra 2 weeks, told me that an hour or less after the stolen passport incident, doris, our guide and assistant for the trip, got a call from the thieves offering to sell back the passport to her for a price! what a deal?

san miguel de allende > 10 agosto

lately, when i drink, i get terrible insomnia. i am exhausted and want nothing more than to sleep off the evening, but am wide awake. this night was no different...a few short hours of sleep, and then up early in the morning for a walk and some photos. i walked one last morning down to the cafe to pick up cds. for fear of getting them in trouble, i won't name the cafe name, but the owner has an enormous collection of music and for a little under $3 per disc, he'll make you copies of whatever discs you want. it was a total treat to go down there, listen to some music, pick out some discs, drink some coffee and just relax. i did this the day before, then came back early before class to pick up the goods. it was a good walk back, a nice morning, and though a bit tired, i was enjoying life.

today's class began by looking at contemporary mexican designers. viewing their work and hearing about their visions made me realize what a profound influence mexican art, design, culture has had on my own work. seems odd since i am not mexican. and i don't live in mexico. but i do live in san diego, and i did go to school at san diego city college, and i think there is a strong mexican/chicano influence there. it is a beautiful discovery, and one that is just furthered by this study abroad trip. people have asked me why i chose to live in san diego. i think the excitement of the border culture is a big part of it. and though i'll never fully be "mexican" and i'm sure i'll never fully understand what it means to be mexican, i can say that my work is surely a product of the living on the border. and i am very proud of that.

from class, we ventured out to a mask gallery and folk art gallery. these were located inside a beautiful bed and breakfast. the galleries were informative and the masks intriguing. wonderful insights into the culture through art. cultural beliefs that i didn't know...the distrust of the moors, who are almost always painted red, often with large and strangely shaped noses. interestingly, there were many masks of black people. apparently, though appearing uncomfortably racist at first, the informative cards next to the masks explained they were actually held in high esteem. apparently the negritos, as they were called, were slaves of spanish settlers. they had great knowledge of fishing and farming, and were respected by the native peoples for their knowledge of the land and their strength. it was an interesting viewpoint, and one i had not known. the other masks were just as interesting...skulls, bulls, saints, devils. famous folk characters. and all had been danced, which made them even more interesting. the folk gallery also had interesting toys and calaveras, as well as these beautiful cut-paper art works made from hand-made papers. they were some of my most favorite works from the trip, mostly for their graphic simplicity.

we left from there to do some shopping at akitsch, a really funky store that was closing. i got a lucha belt buckle, for crying out loud! too bad they weren't staying open. they had the most fun stuff i saw down in san miguel.

we had lunch at a vegetarian restaurant with the sweetest and funniest woman i have come across in a long time. she was chef, waitress, and hostess. oh, what a character! it took a long time, but was well worth it...a home-made tofu burger never tasted so good!

the evening ended rather quietly for me, with a bit of homework, some packing and some roommate time. i was happy to end it at this point. i still enjoyed the company most everyone on the trip, and yet, was looking forward to returning home.

san miguel de allende > 9 agosto

tree sculptures on the way to instituto allende.

i woke up early this morning for a walk to the park in search of these tree sculptures as described to me by sally, who told me that they were political and interesting...so i was up for the adventure. it is a winding, very steep hill that descends down what seems forever, past the cultural center and into the beautiful park...it seems the only place one could really run or exercise in town. i ran into lucia on the way down, who was going to spanish class, and she told me about the craziness that had ensued the night before. it was a pleasant walk. the other side of the park is another entire part of san miguel that i had not seen yet. older businesses, galleries, and many shops. even a health food store, complete with comforting health food store smell. it was a great walk. but i didn't find the sculptures. i then had to hurry back for breakfast, and to class. well, it turns out we were going down to the instituto allende anyway to see the galeria pergola. they feature modern mexican masters. it was a top-notch gallery, with some interesting up-and-coming artists, including lupina flores, yolanda marroquin, and alfonso marti. they also had a tamayo piece, which was great to see in person. interestingly, the owners, originally from texas, own a place in pozos...the ghost town. pretty cool. the link to their gallery: http://www.galeriapergola.com/pergola/en/index_home.html

after the gallery, candice offered to take us to the mero gallery. only a few people went, but we were treated to an amazing collection of graphic works including work by several cuban artists who were amazing. several of the pieces were art books, and they were totally inspiring. i'm still looking for my notes on the artist names, but this work was my favorite of all i had seen in san miguel.

all of this art seeing left me hungry, so leah and i got some health food and then took off to do some final shopping. i picked up some fun jewelry and religious art presents. i can't remember much after that until we went out that night...
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i've been trying to balance personal observations and stories so as not to be overly voyeuristic, but this is pretty darn funny, so i thought i'd share. it was our goodbye dinner. libations flowing, though not for me until later in the eve. conversation was lively, and the dinner ended with us finally donning our lucha masks (mexican wrestling)...about 20 of us. we all posed and laughed, and ended our official time together with smiles. from there, we ventured to the berlin bar/restaurant, where i had $50 in free drink coupons. combined with two other people, we were able to get a group of about 10 pretty toasty. don julio reposado and i became reaquainted, and i began telling all kinds of wacky stories about hobbiton and broken down volkswagens in the ghetto of dc, and the van catching on fire. apparently these were highly entertaining, as several people asked me to tell them again later in the trip. from there, a good chunk of us then went to chocolate (i think that's what it was called...i can't remember for sure), which becomes a bar and after hours club at night. more tequila, though not much, and soon we were taking photographs in the bathroom, hiding toilet paper, dancing to uber gay disco, and eventually, i jumped dukes of hazzard style over a couch. twice. oh, and it was gay pride weekend in san miguel, so a lesbian band played iron man in spanish. we laughed a lot, enjoyed ourselves, and then enrique and erika and i grabbed a cab home. erika put on her lucha mask again. when we got to the door of the hotel, the man said, "trick or treat" in spanish. it was hilarious. a fun night all around, and just enough of a party for me.

san miguel de allende > 8 agosto

pozos. a once great mining town. here is the history from their web site:

A SHORT HISTORY OF MINERAL DE POZOS

Before the arrival of the Spaniards, the region was populated by nomadic tribes such as the Pames, Jonas and others collectively know as the Chichimeca. Their ancestors still live in the area to this day.

In the middle of the Sixteenth Century, after the discovery of silver in Zacatecas, a leg of the Camino Real passed through the valley below and to the north through the present day city of San Luis de la Paz. To protect the wagon trains moving north and south, the army established an outpost called Palmar de Vega, the first settlement of Pozos.

At around the same time, Jesuits arrived in San Luis to evangelize the local population. Legend has it that they brought the priests silver that they mined near the military outpost in an area know today as Santa Brígida (Saint Brigit in English). The mineral wealth was at the surface and the indigenous inhabitants had a very simple operation to extract it. The Jesuits began to mine the area using existing European techniques and continued to do so until 1767 when they were expelled from all the Spanish Realm.

Mining ceased until 1844 when the modern era of mining begins in Pozos with limited mercury extractions. By this time , the area is know as San Pedro de los Pozos. In 1871, what remained of the Jesuit mining operation was acquired by Francisco Torres and JM Cobos. Two years later The Parkman family of the England acquired title to the property.

With discoveries of lodes just to the west of town, Pozos begins to grow in importance as a mining district towards the end of the Nineteenth Century. Within a few years Pozos enters a boom period and, in honor of then President of Mexico, Porfirio Diaz, who was also one of the town's most important promoters, the town was elevated to the status of municipality and renamed Cuidad Porfirio Diaz. By 1895, there were 500 mining concerns, 306 operating mines and 70,000 to 80,000 residents. The Mexican stock exchange, the Bolsa de Valor, is founded to promote shares in Pozos mines beginning with Cinco Señores.

1910 marked the beginning of the Mexican Revolution and the beginning of the end for Pozos. The cessation of mining operations during the fighting and the subsequent flooding of the mines combined with a dramatic fall in the world price of silver to cause the mines to begin to close. Finally, with the advent of the Cristeros War in 1926, the last mine, the Angustias-Dolores, closed a year later in 1927.

By the 1950s, there were perhaps only 200 or less people living in Pozos.

In 1982, then Mexican President Jose Lopez-Portillo decreed Pozos a National Historic Monumental Zone recognizing Pozos's importance historically.

Today, according to the most recent census, the population has grown to 2,223 mostly farmers and herders or people who commute to nearby towns and factories. However, many US expatriates and others have begun to establish Pozos as a center for art.

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Now this story differs from the one we were told. Rather than the revolution ending the mining, we were told it was because of flooding because workers flooded the mines...as a result of an explosion between warring mining families. I haven't found any evidence to support this warring family thing, but it does seem that the mines did flood when an underground river was struck, thereby ending the little bit of mining that was left after the silver prices declined.

We were also told this was an outpost for banditos and other criminals during the time after the mass exodus. Again, I can find no evidence to support this, though it seems feasible. After all, what tourist industry would want to advertise that the residents of the town are all descendents of criminals?

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Having said all of this, I can only say I love Pozos. I love its decaying sleepiness. The quiet lack of commerce. The abandoned ruins. The crumbling paint. The feeling of something forgotten and magical. The light. It's a beautiful, strange, and wonderful place. I can imagine myself doing work there. It's a place with no distractions. If I were to ever get a PhD (which I won't), this is where I'd go. Anyway, besides the ruins and the light and a lovely lunch, we were treated to a performance by a group who plays pre-colombian traditional music with hand-made instruments. it was amazing! what lovely people and what great music! it was a major highlight of the trip. it was inspiring to hear this music survive through so much turmoil and adapt to our current culture and still communicate so powerfully, so lovingly. it made me again think about the people who who are trying to end their culture by not sharing their languages. what if this group didn't make this music for us? it is true that we are tourists...outsiders. is it cheapening what they make? is our commercialism distancing them from the real purpose of their music? are we tainting them? can we truly understand all of the levels of meaning in these pieces? these are tough questions to consider. but without placing judgement on those who have chosen not to pass down language, i must say i am so grateful that this group was willing to share with us. they taught me much about culture, and have given me a great appreciation and a desire to gain more knowledge. and on a personal level, i walk away moved and with a great love of their work and the place.

As Candice said, Pozos rocks. And she knew I'd like it.

But how can you be an artist and not?

san miguel de allende > 7 agosto

a day trip to the famous church of atotonilco. this church was the cradle of the mexican revolution, and the inside is covered with murals and finely carved santos. several of the santos (saints) are dressed in real clothing that is changed during each church season. at various times in mexcican history, this church has been the target of political upheaval. according to our tour guide, priests from this church were targeted by anti-catholic leaders for execution. in addition to its catholic traditions, the church has synretized (sp?) indigenous traditions and culture, and it is common to see a melding of the two during ceremonies. perhaps one of the most fascinating stories to me from the church involves a santo statue. in one of the chapels, there are statues of the 12 apostles. st. peter is conspicously absent. appartently, at one time, when the church was being attacked by anti-catholic leaders, the priest and the statue of saint peter were taken outside and executed. my first thought was, why st. peter? and why execute a statue? it haunted me all day. and what i came to realize was that first, st. peter is the founder of the institution of the church. you know...the cornerstone. the key. destroy him, and you have destroyed the church foundation. it's symbolic. and we do place a lot of value in symbolism. so if you want to win a war, attack people. if you want to take out a culture, destroy art and symbols. think if feeling of the twin towers falling. or the toppling of the lenin sculpture. sometimes these moments are more important than major battles. it's all about psychology.

speaking of that, another interesting thing we learned is that many indigenous cultures have stopped teaching their grandchildren their languages. they believe that their cultures have reached their practical end, and they do not want the language to be adapted and exist in this world. i don't know what to think of that. on the one hand, it is a noble decision to willfully end your culture and to refuse to have it be adapted as a commodity to be sold on the market...to prevent it from becoming a tourist show. on the other, culture is fluid. i'm sure their generation is very different from one a hundred years ago. so is it right to stop that change? it's an interesting debate. and one that certainly makes me think about how we are impacting the future of many cultures throughout the world.

after all of this heavy thinking, a trip to the hot springs was in order. we ate some lunch (all i could eat were french fries and hot sauce...which isn't too bad, but not totally satisfying), then a swim in the hot springs. pretty relaxing, if not a bit too hot for me at times.

that night, i spent the evening home working on my school work while everyone else went out to see some jazz. i didn't mind. the alone time was much needed, and i did get a lot done.

will i ever finish this blog?

san miguel de allende > 6 agosto

Monday. Ryan and Therese were still in town, so we met up quickly before catching a taxi over to Richard Trumbull's house near the botanical garden. He is a friend of Candice's who became a painter after retiring to San Miguel. It is a difficult house to find, but we made it up there right on time. Once inside, we were treated to one of the most lovely designed homes i have had the honor to see. It was designed by a famous architect (whose name escapes me at the moment); a prodigy of Barragan. It's a little quirky, but quiet, monastic, and airy. I loved how the floors were the same on inside and outside. More impressive than the home, though, were Richard and his partner, Sylvia, themselves. A quiet, thoughtful artist who came to painting late in his life, Richard was unpretentious and profound...somebody asked him how he was able to push himself to be more abstract, and he responded that you have to take risks and not be afraid to make a fool of yourself. It really struck a chord with me considering what i've been working on this quarter at school. They then spoke about their trips in Spain and France following pilgrim trails. it was very moving to hear about how they had this mind-clearing experience. After that we stopped at a customized jewelry shop, which was pretty spendy, so we took off for chilo's, the glass factory, and el pato, the art store. we also had a great lunch on the zocolo. that night, ryan and therese and i went to the lopez's house for dinner. what a great night! we chatted, drank a little, had a fantastic dinner with lots of tortillas and soup, and just enjoyed each other's company. we saw an enormous spider, too. rafael drove us back and i spent the evening feeling inspired.

san miguel de allende > 5 agosto

well, it's already tuesday, and i'm trying to think back to adventures from sunday. it seems like a week has passed! candice certainly has packed our schedules, and we are making the most of every minute we spend here.

on sunday, i was feeling a little better, but still not so great. actually, the morning was a little rough, but i toughed it out and made it down to chocolate y churros for breakfast with ryan and therese. we had a lovely time, though i wish i could have had more coffee. we then made it back up the hill and caught our tour bus to guanjuato for a day trip. i was on a mission to see the mummies...and to enjoy the sunday despite the stresses of school and life in general.

the trip was an hour and a half, and we arrived in guanajuato at 2:30 or so. we walked as a group down the the mummy museum, and the line seemed long. most people in the trip didn't want to go, but i had my heart set on seeing the mummies. what can i say? especially after seeing that bodies exhibit, i was curious to see how they were preserved, why they had been created, and to view the awesomeness of the natural phenomenon. admittedly, i am drawn to the unusual and macabre as well, so there was that factor too. the line was long, the tour guide said over two hours, and most of the group didn't want to go. i wasn't going to give up, though. luckily, ryan, therese and enrique all agreed to go, so we got in line. it only took 30 minutes to get through the line. the mummies were not well kept, and it was extremely hot inside. despite that, there was something very moving to me about the. i guess when the skin and tendons dry, the mouths of the mummies are drawn open. so they look like they are moaning or screaming or crying...a few laughing, but mostly in faces of anguish. it is an amazing reminder of our own mortality, and that ultimately, we are composed of the same substance as these mummies. what is interesting, too, is that these mummies aren't very old...only from 150 years ago. they were bodies that weren't claimed by families or who couldn't afford to keep the bodies interred. the most famous of the mummies are the doctor and the fetus. the doctor has full clothing and big white mutton chops, still perfectly in shape. he was french, and his body was never claimed, but he was very prominent and well known in town. and yet, here he was in the same room in the same state as the poorest indigenous person, preserved together by the silts and muds and minerals of the land they both knew. the fetus was pretty self explanatory, and yet also moving in its positioning. it made me think about birth and death and the commonality of both for all people, all cultures.

anyway, after the mummies, we went to another small museum about death and occult. it was so cheesy...it was like a cheap disneyland exhibit but with real mummies. i wasn't sure if i should laugh at the irony or be outraged by the lack of respect shown these human bodies. either way they had holograms....can you say museum 1984? lame. but sort of funny, too.

after that, we taxied to the market, where we found a great place to have lunch. empanadas, soup, mineral water, guacamole...i was starting to feel a little less sick. it was a lovely day outside, and we were in a quiet square listening to a terrible mariachi band and just enjoying a leisurely day. doesn't sound exciting, but it was fantastic.

from there to the mercado, which is pictured above. it was large with many indoor stalls...everything from chicarrones to plastic bags to lucha banks to traditional embroidered dresses. and of course, illustrated adult comics. i had seen these before and they are somewhat legendary in mexico. so i got one...wow, i don't think i was man enough for that comic, but if i ever wondered about sexuality in mexico, it was a fantastic crash course.

we ran out of time then, and caught a cab back to the bus, and then a nap on the ride home. i kept dreaming about being in san diego. it was funny. it rained a bit on the trip back, and we saw a rainbow. upon arriving home, we parted ways. i ended up walking down to town with this cool girl erika on my trip, getting some tortilla soup and then coming back to go to bed early. i think i ended up feeling really homesick after all that dreaming so i made a quick but expensive phone call, and then crawled in bed. i hoped to dream more, but ended up not dreaming at all. i think i was too tired.

san miguel de allende > 4 agosto

well, it finally hit me. the bad stomach. a small bottle of pepto and a lot of water seems to be helping, but i haven't been at my best. i started the day out okay with some amazing chilaquiles verdes and real coffee...it was pretty fantastic. today the group went on a trip to another colonial city, queretaro, but i decided to stay home...not because of the stomach thing (that didn't rear its head until the afternoon), but becaues i had so much homework to do for school. it was intentse, too. a total redesign of a concept, and then a total reworking of the original idea. i'm telling you that grad school for design is so much more than just refining skills...it is really analyzing every aspect of what you do and who you are and what you believe. powerful stuff. and hard to do in the middle of a trip in mexico where you have no supplies or privacy and where the internet works about half of the time. but you learn to improvise. something that designers and mexicans (and i'd guess mexican designers) do very well. i do admit to enjoying having some private alone time. there hasn't been much of that on the trip.

anyway, besides that, i went to dinner with ryan, therese, a mother of a friend of their's and her friend. i felt a little ill, so it wasn't as great as it could have been, but we did have a good time, and i found out that kenneth anger was at the film festival, and camilla (the mother's friend), got to meet him. pretty rad! it was a lovely dinner, and i got the chance to walk around a lot that evening, exploring the square. all of the younger folks went out dancing and drinking until 5am...i can't hang with that, especially when i'm not feeling super great. so i stayed in and got some much-needed sleep. not a particularly exciting day, but a productive one.

san miguel de allende > 3 agosto

oh, i'm getting so behind on this blog. okay, i'm going to try to recap as best as i can. the morning started with a workshop with rafael. it was the same one he did for link, with the crayons, tempera, and gouache, except this time, i got to try it myself! yeah! so in the spirit of san miguel, i did a piece about chilo. it actually kind of looks like him, so it's funny. i cracked myself up, anyway. and that's what matters.

after our class, we went up to casa lopez and enjoyed a lovely lunch and a healthy portion of killer tomatillo salsa. the above picture is rafael's mother, pillo, who gave us a salsa demo and made our great meal. what a joy! i got it all on video, too, so i can remember how to make it when i get home. you know how trying to write out recipes goes. it was a fun afternoon, a great view, and enjoyable company. one of my favorite parts was seeing rafael's studio in the basement. there is something i can totally identify with down there...the cave. sometimes we need to have sensory deprivation when we are trying to be creative.

which is exactly what i don't have right now, and probably why i've been struggling with school so much. without getting into too much detail, school has been a constant source of frustration for me since i've been here. technical issues, lack of time and privacy, and just being out of my space...all have made it hard to create in the way i need to create for these courses. a journal would be one thing. a deeply conceptual piece based on an ed fella quote is another. i don't even have a desk. ack.

anyway, we did manage to make it out to office depot, gigante (the grocery store), and mega (like wal-mart, sort of), which was interesting in its way. an unexpected adventure to remind us that life does exist in the area outside of the center of the town. and for a lot of people, that's real life. hey, it is still mexico. you can buy volkswagen badges in the grocery store.

instead of beating my head against the wall for school last night, i ended it with a long walk, a negro modelo and some journal creating. sometimes getting away is the best thing you can do.

san miguel de allende > 2 agosto

the day began with a presentation and discussion on frida. though candice describes her as a surrealist, i see her more as a proto-postmodernist. her feminist, deeply personal narratives infused with cultural and personal symbolism all fall into the realm of post-modernist painting...perhaps that is why contemporary pop culture is so in love with her. we get it.

anyway, from there we traveled to the rural surrounding area of san miguel to the ranchito of maestro esteban valdez. a smithsonian-recognized potter, maestro valdez shared with us his studio, technique, and lovely work. it is truly an amazing experience to be in the presence of a man like this...he is someone who has led a simple family life, and yet created some of the most charming, lively, authentic work i have ever seen. even at 90 and half blind, his steady hand captures the spirit of someone who has spent life working, crafting, and creating with his hands. it is easy to over-romanticize the difficulties of living the rural life he leads...yet, there is clearly a joy that comes from his work and his relationship with the land and his culture. i have rarely felt the admiration and awe i felt in his presence. it was a truly beautiful experience.

from there, we ventured back to the hotel, then to the art store and mercado. as we were waiting for a cab, who pulls up but....chilo!!! and he offers to give us a ride to the art store, since it's near his shop. rockeritas! what a great guy and a fun story to tell. the art store, el pato, was great. i bought a ton of paints and rubdown letters. getting in the mood for art.

then to the market, which is always fun. looking for weird stuff for our journals...and finding it. everything from sequinced fridas to loteria cards showing parts of the body. oh, and blue corn tortillas.

lunch at el tomato, and then back to the room to work on my homework. kind of a drag. but then ryan and therese called, and we went for dinner at ole ole. it was great to see them, and the restaurant was wonderful. garlic mushrooms and dos xx. sweet. i made my first phone call after dinner, and was glad ryan was there to help me figure out the phone card system.

more homework. then sleep. long day.

but a good one.