Two More Production Days...

It's been one week since we started working at the Sculpture park. It rained pretty much all day, for two days. It felt just like New Orleans...except the temperature dropped to 60 degrees. I was unprepaired so I was cold. We went to Takashi's studio earlier this week and made room for some production there - just in case it started raining again. You can smell the bread from the bakery downstairs, too. Besides that, Takashi and I worked to get the site set-up for installation. Gradually we've had volunteers show up. The best day so far was Tuesday when we had 7 volunteers, mostly sculptors/artists/musicians. Right now a few students from Pratt are helping us, Chris and Katie. Deborah from the Socrates Sculpture Park has been very helpful with logistics, materials and welding!

Today we finished patching the pieces with latex and cheesecloth and started grommetting the pieces . Instead of pvc pipes, the framework for the house will be steel pipes. I'm using all kinds of equipment and picking up ideas for future projects. It's good to get my hands on new tools...I can't wait to get started on my own work in San Antonio.

Tuyen, Tuyet, Becca and James all showed up this week. The old Krewe from New Orleans. It was great to be reunited with them. We all know this house well. We know the process and I think we all feel vested in the project and want to see it sucessfully completed. James mentioned how weird it was to see everyone from nola in nyc, working on the same house. It is kinda strange. The house no longer exists on Caffin Street or on any other street for that matter. It was demolished. So really, what is left is a memory of the place and, in a way, we're all a bit displaced.

Photos: A few images of rain at the park and my buds at the falafel cart-$4 can't beat it!

Media: The local NPR station interviewed Takashi (and me briefly). The interview should air around the 3rd or 4th of August.

I LOVE NYC

The past week I did the following...

1. Visited the Bronx Zoo

This gorilla puked in front of everyone and then he ate it. It was delightful.

2. Checked out Little Italy in the Bronx
You want cannoli? I got your cannoli.

3. PS1 Summer Concert (no photo)
Met up with David and Elrey and listened to a French dj on Bastille Day.

4. Greek food in Astoria (no photo)
Greek fries - just add feta.

5. Beer at the only beer garden left in NYC (no photo)
This place felt like Austin and looked like it too.

6. Walked around L.I.C. - Vernon Blvd. and Piers
Very laid back Sunday. Coffee shop, funky art gallery and some amazing views of the city.

7. Central Park - NY Philharmonic with Judy
Too cool. We laid our mats down and listened to music all night.

8. A Day in Chelsea
Before the concert in the Park, I spent the day exploring some of the galleries in Chelsea and had lunch with David. The Chelsea Market was very nice, too.

Who got a big ol' booty?

Street art in Chelsea.

Day 4 in NYC

Wow. This place is amazing. I don't know where to begin. I guess...Monday. I arrived around 11:30am after getting up at 4:15am central time to catch my plane in Austin. JetBlue was a great airline for this trip. It's only 3 - 3.5 hours, which makes it super easy to come back. (And I'm already planning on it.) JFK is not a cute airport...

My place is in Long Island City which is only a 10 minute train ride to Manhattan on the #7. The station is a few steps from the front door. Which also means that I hear the train all the time. Not a big deal. It's quieter than the trains that go by my place in SA! I have two roommates, Isaak and Erik, and a one-eyed cat named Kittie. Erik works for the Bronx Zoo and he's invited a few friends to go visit on Friday. Isaak is working on his Phd. Both have taken me to places in the neighborhood and the city.

Tuesday was my first day in the City. I ate Ethopian food for lunch in the Village and then went to Cafe Habana in NOLITA for dinner. Somewhere in between I had a chocolate canoli from a really old bakery called Vesuvius. Tre bien! So that was just the food. I saw so much that day and walked off all of that food, too! NYU, Soho, Greenwich Village, Washington Square Park...about 6 hours of walking around and that was just between Grand Central and Soho!

Wednesday I ventured out on my own to Times Square to visit La Judy. She workes off 49th and Broadway, so I just walked there from the subway station - which I took on my own for the first time. (People here complain about having to wait for the next train - a whole 3 minutes - geez! They would hate public transit in Austin or SA....) Time Square was madness! It was so busy, horns honking, the traffic, people walking around in a hurry - I loved it. The billboards were HUGE. Judy says to me, "If the P.Diddy billboard is behind you then you're walking in the right direction." Being in New York feels like you have your finger on the pulse of the world. So many different languages, faces, clothes, foods. If you get bored in this city, something is wrong with you. I finally met Judy on the corner of 49th and Broadway which was really surreal. It was just a few months ago we were dancing cumbias at her nieces quinceniera in Alice, Texas. She took me to her work on the 33rd floor. I met the CEO of the company and then we left for Judy's place on the Upper West Side. We had plans to see the NY Philharmonic in Central Park but it rained. So we stayed in her room most of the afternoon. I was helping her with some graphics that she was updating in her portfolio. It was great seeing a familiar face.

Today my plan was to visit the Museum of Modern Art. Now that I had some experience tranferring on the subway I felt comfortable enough to actually go to some specific places. I did manage to get confused/disoriented once I got off the train. I think that'll get better. But fortunatly I ened up at the NY Public Library. I love libraries and this one was amazing. I kept thinking how much my mom would love it. I wish she was with me today. It would have been fun. One day! They had a photography exhibit that I checked out. Then I went to the third floor and it was awesome. I saw a handwritten copy of the Declaration of Independence and the Gutenberg Bible, too.

After that I walked down 5th Avenue to 53rd. It was around 10 blocks, 14 actually because I walked too far. I spent a few hours at the Museum, had lunch and kept looking... the Cy Twombly's at the Menil are better...(teehee) but everything else...I mean who can complain! I saw alot of the collection when it was in Houston for the Amazing Century exhibition. I think that's what it was called. They had everything except Dali's Persistance of Memory-which is super tiny! The works were inspiring. What caught my attention most was a print exhibition, Picasso, Rendon, Kara Walker, Willie Cole and a few others I'm blanking on. It was great. I want to try printmaking again. I have some ideas... Another exhibition I saw was What is Painting....great!

Tomorrow, PS1 and possibly Chelsea galleries, Bronx Zoo. Maybe galleries on Saturday! Too many things to do and not enough time...I guess I'll have to come back. My work with Takashi begins on Monday, so I am exploring as much now because we will be super busy once he arrives.

NYC

I leave for NYC on Monday morning. The place that I'm renting is in Long Island City, very near PS1. Two friends of mine are already in the city, Judy and David. Judy is working on her advertising internship for 10 weeks. David moved to the city in April and is working at a non-profit. I met both in Austin while working at the Children's Museum.

Luckily, I'll have the first week to explore the city. Takashi doesn't arrive unti the 16th. But, once he arrives we have two weeks to install at the site. According to my map, I live really close to the Sculpture Park.

It's taken some time to soak in everything that I experienced in New Orleans. I don't know that I'm done! I'd like to finish this project and then see what ideas remain. I'm thinking a video piece, photography, drawings and a performance/installation piece... Seems like a lot, but I think I can do it.