chicagoartist

Art and Architecture

2009-03-28T10:14:00.000-07:00

It's our last week (actually today is the last day) in Berlin and a lot is going on, including my last time (sob) around the Schlacten See today. I walked it due to a hamstring injury but had a great time watching the dogs and the ducks... a few days ago I led a tour of post-reunification "starchitecture" sites in Berlin. Karla, Ruth, and Birgit came along; I only photographed one site (Jahn's Sony Center) due to the misty/rainy weather but we also visited Frank Gehry's Deutsche Bank, Eisenman's Holocaust Memorial, Libeskind's Jewish Museum, and Nouvel's Galeries Lafayette. On the way to the Jewish Museum, we stumbled on the ruins of the old Anhalter Bahnhof, the former departure point for Jews deporting to Theresienstadt (in Czech Republic).

Yesterday my Media Law and Ethics class presented their projects, public artworks that challenged our interpretation of Intellectual Property (IP) laws; the students also wrote a paper and had to defend their artworks against a panel of critics. Here are photos of the projects, by Ruth Martin, Jason Shutts, Karla Macedo, and Kat Rdoltskaya:

Garmisch-Partenkirchen and Munich

2009-03-17T01:47:00.000-07:00

For the last "open weekend" I went to Garmisch-Partenkirchen and Munich:

I’m sitting in my room at the “Post Hotel” in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, a ski resort town in the Voralpen, or the beginning of the Alps, on the German-Austrian border. The hotel was built in the mid-16th century, and it’s on a pedestrian street across from a church. The town is pretty much set up for tourists, (but I am a tourist so…) with decoratively painted buildings and tiny winding cobblestone streets. Awwww…. “Winding” means they wind up and down hills that lead to the mountains where the town ends. I intend to go hiking tomorrow, though the weather is pretty sucky (heavy snow). The “Zugspitze,” the highest peak in Germany, is near here, and I can take a funicular up the mountain.

The train ride was about 7 hours in total, going through Fulda and Munich. I love trains. Especially when the scenery is like this. The German ICE (Inter City Express) trains are immaculate, comfortable, silent, and FAST. I don’t know how fast, I’ll look it up. Really fast. And as you suspect they run on time. To the minute, and if they’re a minute off they apologize. You are provided a schedule with exact times the train arrives in each station, accompanied by a list of connecting trains, local-regional-distance that you can take from that particular station at that time. There are a variety of (2nd class) seating arrangements, from a private room seating 6, to rows of seats facing one direction, to 4-seats facing each other with a table in between. I believe 1st class has electricity and internet in addition.

Anyway, back to the hotel. I am listening to the quarter hour bells from the church across the street. My room, a single at this modestly priced hotel, is lined with carved wood – all walls, ceiling, everything. The paneling comes from an 18th century structure in another village. It’s small, with just what I need (Simpsons on the TV, in German) and a balcony that looks out over the Alps.

Ate dinner at a touristy Gasthof, where there were traditional dance demonstrations and a guy playing the electronic organ. You know what kind of music. I chose a Knödel Sauerkraut Schinken dish, it was good!

Second Day

Breakfast this morning was held in the small dining room, see photos. Obviously antique, the high ceiling was lined with deer horns (called racks?) and the room’s perimeter has benches with tall woodworked benches. Breakfast was delicious, but not outrageous: high-fat yogurt, fruit, fresh ham and cheeses, handmade jams, hard cooked eggs, Semmel rolls and Bauernbrot. Each table got its own pot full of appropriately strong coffee. It seemed the other guests were skiers and elderly couples.

I inquired from the front desk about the good hiking paths. The weather was lousy, the reception guy pointed out, but I could find paths on both the Garmisch and Partenkirchen side (I am in Partenkirchen). I put on my fat down coat and took my umbrella and camera: not regulation hiking gear, but it would have to do. I found the first path by a swift-flowing stream coming from the snowmelt on the mountain. Though there was a light rain, there was still snow on the mountain, especially further up. In minutes I was too warm, and wished that I’d worn my lighter jacket (I brought this along so I can run Munich). I did hear early on two very loud booms, separated by a few seconds, that shook the ground and I wonder if they were avalanches. The booms were followed by the sound of helicopter motors… at any rate the trail was well-marked after the initial ascent and the views were breathtaking, despite the low cloud cover and light rain. I walked for a couple of hours, taking lots of photos and videos that I will post here. I was “Grüss Gott”-ed twice! A couple of men wore Lederhosen.

Having satisfied my curiosity about hiking, I set to finding a cable car to bring me up to a higher peak. The woman at the ticket counter flattered me about my stuttered German, and explained that the Zugspitze and other high cable cars were not running due to storms on the mountains. So I chose to take the local train to the Hausberg cable car, which went up a lower mountain that would in any case be shrouded in a cloud. It was pretty fun, and I had a Glühwein at the end and spent some time watching skiers and snowboarders come down from the summit.

So I had lunch at an Asian restaurant, where I thought there’d be some chance for a vegetable. I was right.

Later on I took another long walk: the mountains weren’t so overcast this time and everywhere I looked was some other view that was just so impressively beautiful. It also reminded me of being in Tucson when I saw the mountains for the first time. Children playing in a snowfield high above the town. Horses. Dogs.

Dinner (wienerschnitzel and warm potato salad, Austrian white wine) at a nearby Gasthof was shared with a group of 4 Americans from New Jersey /Ramstein AFB in Germany (green salad, Coke). About halfway through the meal a group of 20 Norwegians on a business holiday (see Lars Von Trier’s “Boss of it All”) took their tables, with one young man obviously very –uh- happily standing up repeatedly to toast the others and something else, a garbled Norwegian idea of a German drinking song – and we wondered where they were from? Soon to find out, a (tall, handsome) member of their group waited till the Americans cleared out, then sat next to me declaring “I would like to enjoy you for the evening.” Well he WAS tall and handsome so despite the humorous interpretation of how to pick up a woman in English, I joined his table for a bit. Partially because I’d just seen “Boss of it All,” I was really curious about a whole office being obligated to go on holiday together - they all worked for a bank and because they’d had a successful year this was their treat. No spouses, just folks from the office. The man seated to my right told me all about ice fishing and elk hunting in Norway. I left the restaurant before things got out of hand… probably they did…

Third, Fourth, Fifth Days

The sky was clear today, warm weather (5 degrees or so) and though my train for Munich leaves at 10:04 I eat an early breakfast and head back up the mountain for more photos.

The weather in Munich was also heavenly and though I took no photos I spent a pleasant couple of days visiting the Pinakothek der Moderne and Haus der Kunst, also seeing my first St Patrick’s Day parade (that was really funny, they blessed the shamrock in German). I stayed with my friend Jürgen in the suburb of Hartof and took a couple of long runs, getting lost and asking lots of very old people where I was. In this way I saw a lot of Harthof and Feldmoching, in addition to running around a beautiful little lake. Munich= nice people, clean, beautiful city.

Some Talk and Some Norwegians

2009-03-05T07:29:00.000-08:00

Yesterday there was a special meeting of our student group with a group of journalism students from Norway: 35 students from the Norwegian Institute of Journalism in Oslo, and their instructor, Birgit Heitfeld's colleague Nils Indahl.

At two sessions, we discussed the German business climate/situation and talked about the relationship between Berlin/Germany and the United States. The first of the two sessions was held at the Bundespressekonferenz, a large, beautiful, press-owned building where journalists host politicians for press conferences. Our speaker was Daniel Kriener from the German Foreign Office. The second session was held at the L-4 Akademie (click for pictures), where our speaker was Wolfgang Müller from the Institute for Free Enterprise (IUF).

After the talks the Americans and the Norwegians (most of us) and a couple Germans shared a beer and a nosh at the nearby beergarden. I compared lutefisk experiences with some of the students. Dad: did you know you're supposed to eat it with lots of condiments? Bacon cooked crisp, green peas, and turnip puree among them. It tastes awful without condiments! And we thought it just tasted awful!

Photos to follow.

Group Trip to Prague

2009-03-04T03:01:00.001-08:00

During these study abroad quarters the group goes on one or two trips together. This quarter we took the train to Prague. It would not be out of line to say this was a highlight of the whole, spectacular quarter. From our hotel (Metropol-excellent) to our guide (Milan Vitek-ditto) to our professional visits [Symbio, Czech TV, MF-DNES (Czech Republic's largest newspaper), and the Art Academy)... it was a fantastic weekend. Add Prague's affordable eating and drinking, and amazing architecture, and even passable weather... well... let's go back... here are some photos. I haven't the energy to label each, but you can visit my facebook page for the full details. And more photos.

Weekend in Budapest

2009-02-25T22:31:00.000-08:00

Last weekend Celia and I made a 4-day trip to Budapest. I don't remember how long I've wanted to go there; I was anticipating elaborate architecture and jewel-colored thermal baths. For the baths, the Hotel Gellert Spa did not disappoint. A thermal spa isn't much like Canyon Ranch. Instead of calesthenics, you sort of laze around in water that is geothermically heated and supposedly the minerals in the water are good for you. What do I know. In any case we managed the language barrier (Hungarian? Koskonom means thank you. That's all I could retain) we booked massages and a manicure for me, a pedicure for Celia. The manicure featured all sorts of sparkeldy nailpolish, I chose pink. I am looking at it now. It is fairy princess my little pony pink.

Our hotel, Soho Boutique Hotel, was on the Pest side of the river. The hotel, newly finished in August, was staffed with handsome young men whose English was perfect. They encouraged us to ask for recommendations and advice, which we did several times a day. Very helpful, very nice room, great breakfast, I recommend it.

So we mostly wandered around, maps in hand, or took one of the four transport modes: Underground, Tram, Street Train, or bus. Like most european cities, Budapest has a lot to teach the US about public transportation. Otherwise the cars all seem to be burning diesel fuel which made the air kind of nasty at rush hour. The city is all you think it is: cosmopolitan, ancient, elaborate-amazing, and there are remnants everywhere of the Soviet era. Fabulous food. We shopped at tiny grocery stores also every day for snacks and mystery food.

We visited more museums than I will remember here: The Textile Museum, the Applied Arts Museum (in a fabulous tiled art nouveau building), the National (art) Museum, the History Museum, the Jewish Museum... the Castle, the embassies, the bridges (all), the Central Market (see photos). Well. Here are the photos:

Museums and FOOD

2009-02-24T08:28:00.000-08:00

A couple of days later Celia and I visited the German History Museum in Berlin on Unter den Linden. We dallied at the ancient history part, not realizing that history goes all the way to uh... something like yesterday... so I advise anyone visiting Berlin to go to this museum more than once!

Later that day Birgit Heitfeld had arranged a German cooking lesson for the gang at the Kochbox in the Kulturbrauerei complex in Berlin. We spent the afternoon cooking klöpfen, kartoffelsuppe, several kinds of meat I don't know what, two kinds of sauerkraut... well I don't know what everything was called. But it was a hit with everyone. Some pics:

Haus am Waldsee, snow magic

2009-02-24T07:38:00.000-08:00

My daughter Celia came to Berlin from New York last week. She's interested in art and art history so we spent 10 days looking at art and otherwise doing a lot of walking through two fascinating cities: Berlin and Budapest. The day after her arrival, we went to see a show at Haus am Waldsee that featured work by Carla Guagliardi and Simon Faithfull.

I know Carla from the last time I was in Berlin. This quarter she's in Brazil, but she told me about her show at Haus am Waldsee, a contemporary art space in a sprawling old house in Krumme Lanke, a suburb to the west of Berlin.

Her work has to do with the passage of time, and the evidence of the passage through the change of elements (loss of air, for example). The pieces are poetic yet they involve a physical sort of inquiry... I will show some photos here. Great space also. Hi Carla!

Photos: Large planks weighing on latex balls, filled with air; Glass water vessel suspended between four corners of a room; latex balls and rubber bands

After a cappucino at a cafe on Mexicoplatz, we bundled up tight and took a walk to the Schlactensee. Celia wanted to sample the Glühwein, so I was a good sport and joined her. The See was iced over, snow covered, with more snow falling. Despite the weather, or probably because of it, there were a lot of people walking around/on the lake, taking a lunch at the cafe on the shore, etc. We did also see many dogs. I think I mentioned before, and others have noticed it, German dogs are sooooo well behaved. Grocery stores have assorted dogs sitting outside, not leashed, waiting for their masters. Not distracted at all by any passers-by! Also the children are well-behaved. It's true. But none are parked outside the grocery.

Not to wear anyone out, but later that night we had Tapas in Berlin Mitte at a restaurant across from the Clärchens Ballhaus, where afterwards we went to a concert in their famous Spiegelsaal. This photo is pretty dark, but you can get a better view on their website.

Potsdam Adventure

2009-02-09T08:18:00.000-08:00

On Sunday six of us set out for Potsdam, with the idea that we'd rent bicycles at the train station and wheel around town then up to Parc Sans Souci. Turns out we couldn't find bikes to rent (could it be because it's winter?) but we found the 695 bus and hopped a ride to the park. Parc Sans Souci is huge, and houses a number of palaces and assorted other buildings dating from Friedrich Willhelm II (Frederick the Great). Friedrich II was a fan of Italianate and French architecture as reflected in the two big palaces - the yellow building "Sans Souci" with happy students in front, and the pink building "Neue Schloss." Other buildings included the Chinese House, also constructed during FII's time, and the Orangerie (more students: Kat, Karla, Nathan, Ruth, Teesha) which was a gigantic greenhouse where exotic fruits were grown for the royal household.

We walked the grounds for 5 hours! Afterwards, we sought out a French bistro on a backstreet in Potsdam town for a beer... then wandered around before giving up and taking the 695 back to the station. Truly a wonderful day.

I just heard the radio weather forecast: it's going to snow! I'll go out for a run now before it gets too bad...

Chillin in Chilham (bad pun)

2009-02-07T13:10:00.000-08:00

Last weekend I spent a wonderful long weekend with my longtime friends Lesley and Brian Strange in the UK (students went variously to Florence, Rome, and Amsterdam on "free weekend" trips of their choices). I've known Lesley and Brian since the late 80's when I lived in Shaker Heights, Ohio. They rented a sweet 14th century cottage in Kent, in a village called Chilham. Thus the bad pun. Our goal for the weekend, besides cooking, eating, drinking, and watching videos, was to make a pilgrimage to Canterbury using one of the overland hikes in Brian's tour books. Successful in all ambitions, we had a memorable weekend with the following highlights:

1. Saw "Woman in Mind," a play starring Lesley's friend Martin Parr at London's Vaudeville Theater. The director, Alan Ayckbourn, was in the audience but we did not meet him. However Martin joined us at a cozy pub afterward. The first photo is Lesley and Martin:

2. Went shopping for provisions at the Borough Vegetable and Fruit Market and Billingsgate Fish Market (notice the hare and partridge)
3. Our cottage, "Orion," is on the left
4. Ate - it's true - lobster, oysters, sole, squid, mixed game pie, 3 pounds of French butter. It was the best lobster I have ever tasted.

5. Wandered off to Canterbury (11 miles!) over hill and dale, and through a flock of sheep and lambs
6. Watched videos that I chose. "Downfall" was popular, not so "Trainspotting" and a Lars Von Trier film whose name I forget. I liked that one though. Ate popcorn. 2 more pounds of butter.

6. Returned during a snowstorm
7. Was snowed in! Heathrow closed down altogether. There was at least 6" of snow!
8. Took the train back through the Chunnel, Brussels, and Cologne. All's well that ends this well.
THANKS LESLEY AND BRIAN FOR A GREAT WEEKEND

Tomorrow, the group goes to Potsdam, where we'll attempt to rent bicycles to ride to Sans Souci...

Flohmarkt am Mauerpark

2009-01-25T06:00:00.000-08:00

Today Karla, Raul, Marisol and I went to the the flea market. Actually I ended up going to three; which kind of tires me out on the topic. Something's changed for me in the past year, I'm not as interested in buying random junk or even looking at random junk. Aversion to junking is probably not going to harm me in the future. But for today, it was a lot of fun. Here are some photos: One of a massive dishes seller - A lot of the sellers are Turkish - and one of a spices seller (I bought "Arabisch Gewürtz" and cardamom from him) - and one of a hat seller who may have also been the hat designer - and one of a general junk seller who happened to have doll parts in great number. I'd considered buying some of them (random junk) but then decided only to take a photo, for which she chased me for a block and chewed me out. I pretended I didn't speak German. Weenie me.

Artx and Pentagram Visits

2009-01-23T23:19:00.000-08:00

Yesterday morning we hopped the Strassenbahn in front of the hotel and took a ride to Prenzlauerberg, where we were invited to visit a small web design company called Artx. The owner, Folker Silge, gave us the tour around his new offices and spoke about the Artx business model. You can see from their website that theirs is a volume business, providing inexpensive and fixed-priced services to customers who find them on the internet (first photo). Great office space with neat tiles.

After the tour we walked back to the train past the old L-4 (our school) which used to be in a multi-colored Art Nouveau building (I think there's a photo in the 2007 part of this blog).

After a lunch at 12 Apostles at Sevignyplatz and a wander through a fantastic art book store, we proceeded to Pentagram, close by in Charlottenberg. (On the way I took photo #2 of some students: Ruth, Karla, Kat, and Nathan, in front of Kaisers)

Justus Oehler, a partner at Pentagram and the head of the Berlin office, gave us a fascinating and opinionated talk about the importance of design and the puzzling indifference of - well everyone except designers I guess, to graphic design issues particularly and to a critical vocabulary and public discourse about those issues. (last photos. that's me with Justus). It was the second time I'd been to Pentagram with an Ai Study Abroad group, and truly a privilege to be hosted by Justus, who is a charismatic and compelling speaker.

Everyone's Celebrating

2009-01-20T12:15:00.000-08:00

I don't have photos yet but tonight I watched (teary-eyed) as Barak Obama was inaugurated - translated to German, at an Italian restaurant, in Berlin. Birgit and I joined the restaurant employees in marking this historic, joyful moment... good for the world we hope...

Under the Weather But...

2009-01-20T04:46:00.001-08:00

There are 12 students in the Berlin program this time, all lovely people and I mean it: 10 of them and I have come down with the most awful colds. Perhaps I should say cold, because it's the same lung and throat and blech for everyone. Yesterday I went to the Apotheke downstairs and enumerated to the pharmacist my symptoms: Kopfschmerz (headache) Halsschmerz (throat ache) Ohrschmerz (earache) and Husten (cough). She gave me Lutschen (like cough drops only they are anesthetic, at least they make me feel better) and some cough medicine the active ingredient of which is - Thyme juice. I can't claim it doesn't work.

Tonight we'll all be watching as our new President is sworn in... I'm meeting Birgit Heitfeld to witness the event at a Tapas place near Hackescher Markt. I remember in 1985(?) Ronald Reagan's inauguration (the second) when Stuart and I lived in DC. Though we were a mile or so from the White House, we were near the Omni Shoreham where there was at least one Ball. The limos, the glamour...traffic jam in front of our apartment. So now Reagan's reign will come to an end...

I did take some video, I will try to upload it again. THis one's of the Warschauer Strasse Station near the hotel, where what, 7 train lines converge:

Graffiti

2009-01-16T22:38:00.001-08:00

As far as visuals go, the neighborhood where we are living is covered with graffiti and placards for bands and other performance-related activities. There is in front of the building a Strassenbahn (street train) and a block away are what, 7 train lines or something. So here are some more visuals of the neighborhood:

Some pictures of the neighborhood

2009-01-16T22:33:00.000-08:00

It seems as if every moment of the day is taken up with some amazing activity. Or eating and drinking. Yesterday I took my camera around the neighborhood. First, I'll show something of the building where we're staying and the view out my window:

Dateline Berlin, January 2009

2009-01-11T07:29:00.000-08:00

Here I am your foreign correspondent back in Berlin for another tour... well of course it's far from a military gig, I'm here with a group of lovely students who are studying graphic design, media design, and film for the quarter. This quarter many classes are being taught by europeans - for example, one can enroll in German Culture and Civilization, or Aesthetics, or World War II Europe... even the Graphic Design courses are taught this quarter by a Berliner who runs her own design company here. The photo is of our group, at the Berliner Philharmoniker.

My Special Projects class has a Berlin client - Axel Springer TV Guide - and we will be doing a website redesign for them. Our German Art Director is very coincidentally a graduate of Ai Ft Lauderdale ('99). Small world. Here is a photo of Jason in front of Checkpoint Charlie

My room overlooks a courtyard and across that there is another old building with verdegris copper framing the withdows, and a red tile roof. I'm near the top floor so it's very sunny, with giant windows. Here is a shot of Jose, Eleanor and Teesha in front of the Antike Museum.

It's very cold here, with one of the nights breaking record low temperatures. Still, we have managed to do all of our walking tours. Even the students from California are responding in good humor. Today I went early to the Flohmarkt am Mauerpark (a giant flea market). Unlike in the US, Berliners see no reason at all to make these seasonal, shutting down for the winter. I was expecting an abbreviated version, but no, everyone was there, with - car parts, measuring tape, their mother's china, handknit everything, hot corn on the cob, glühwein, coffee, crepes, all kinds of Turkish food I don't know about, old photos, old boots, new boots, new photos, kids and babies, music... students were too wiped out to go with me but there'll be another time. I bought thread, scarves, and later at the train station I bought green tea (you can buy anything in the train station too. Great place). Here is The Berliner Dom, taken from the Antike Museum

Ai Berlin 2009

2008-11-11T19:57:00.000-08:00

Hey the Ai Berlin program will be live again from January 5 to March 29. I have to admit that at first I thought it was crazy to be in Berlin in the winter... really insane. Which is after all the main reason to go. What is it about being in Berlin, the art, the music, the Freiheit, the Ordnung, the chaos, the "arm aber sexy" -ness, the sense of being on the edge? It's going to be great. I can't wait now.

Participate in an International Art Project!

2008-10-08T08:20:00.000-07:00

Take part in an international art project! It's free and you don't have to be an artist!

Do you have something to confess (are you secretly in love? do you feel guilty? have you been betrayed?)

Chicago artist Caroline Anderson and Berlin artist Sui Sabine Wiley invite you to contribute your story on

confessionstation.com

Contributed stories and objects will be exhibited in Chicago and Berlin, online and finally on eBay where all proceeds will be donated to the international artists’ organization TransCultural Exchange.

Get the full details at confessionstation.com

2008-2009 Study Abroad Programs

2008-07-26T05:32:00.000-07:00

Ai's 2008-2009 Study Abroad Calendar is being finalized and you should see posters about information sessions the week of August 4. See you in Berlin!

Mark Shreiner, AP Photo

Wir sind alle Berliner!

Ai Berlin Fall 2008

2008-04-26T06:34:00.001-07:00

Ai Berlin in Fall 2008 has been canceled. Check back on this blog for updates: anticipated reschedule date is Spring or Winter 2009.

Fall 2008 in Berlin

2008-04-13T07:50:00.000-07:00

The Fall 2008 Berlin program begins on September 29. Ai students will receive information soon regarding the details - which side trips you'll take, which classes are available, etc.

Europeans know what a happening place Berlin is for artists. It's widely acknowledged as the New York of Europe. Simon Rattle, the Principal conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic, described Berlin as "... 60% Germany, 38% New York and the rest the Wild West." The music scene is fantastic, with dozens of great bands to see any night of the week. Galleries pop up at the rate of 30 per month; many of them show young, new, experimental work. If you are in the VC or IMD programs you can be a part of Fall 2008 in Berlin. Ask your International Programs coordinator for details, or email me.

CERN and the beginnings of the Internet

2007-11-30T09:24:00.000-08:00

"CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, is where it all began in March 1989. A physicist, Tim Berners-Lee, wrote a proposal for information management showing how information could be transferred easily over the Internet by using hypertext, the now familiar point-and-click system of navigating through information. The following year, Robert Cailliau, a systems engineer, joined in and soon became its number one advocate." - http://info.cern.ch/

On our trip to CERN we not only toured the large hadron particle collider (in 2008 they will attempt, through colliding protons at high speeds, to reproduce the conditions moments after the big bang), we were also toured around the birthplace of the internet by Robert Cailliau, Berners-Lee's collaborator on the project. He also spoke to us and with us at length. Truly an honor. This is a photo of Cailliau and me, in front of the office where it all began:

At the L4, future geniuses are at work in the Ai program's well-equipped lab (Hi Ashley Wood!)

Thanks to Robert Jamison for the photos.

Weekend in Geneva

2007-11-23T00:07:00.000-08:00

One of our organized weekends (actually, 5 days) was a trip to Geneva, which included side trips to CERN, the Niepce House (he invented photography, and the United Nations. I only had my camera with me one one outing so the only photos you'll see are of the Niepce Museum trip. He's the man who in 1822 invented photography and we stood in the actual room and looked onto the landscape of the first known photograph. The house is in a miniscule town called St Loup de Varennes, in the Burgundy region of France. Niepce was an inventor in general, and another one of his inventions was the velocipede, demonstrated below by our own Ryan Wenner:

The house:

The plaque at the end of the lane, facing the train tracks:

Afterward we visited a beautiful Burgundian town, and though this was NOT the focus of the trip, it made good photos. Chalon sur Saone:

At CERN we were blown away by a tour of the massive super colliders, one of which will, in 2008, recreate the conditions a moment after the big bang, by colliding protons at high speeds in a 27 KM ring. More on that in another post.

Weekend in Venice

2007-11-13T00:18:00.001-08:00

Students and professors get a couple of long weekends free to travel during the program. The first weekend I decided to see the biennale in Venice. This was my second time there and still my breath is taken away by the incredible beauty of the city and all of its surprises. I realize how lucky I am to be able to even contemplate visiting on a regular basis. Anyway, wouldn't you like to see some pictures. My hotel room, though it is not what you'd imagine it to be in a 16th century villa, is clean and quiet (means: simple and looks at another building) (but cheap). But the villa faces a square and the church you see is S. Geremia e Lucia. There was a Mercado in the door to the right on Saturday night, where the ladies of the church had knitted and crocheted items for sale to raise money for missions. So sorry, I didn't find anything I could use, but it was like home:

This is a photo of the canal to the left of the church, and the street that leads further into town:

The neighborhood, near the train station, is called Canareggio. After dinner at a trattoria the second night I happened upon a neighborhood celebration in a square like the one I am staying on. There was a local band playing: about 10 local artists playing brass and percussion, and vocals. Kids piled up on the fountain, men passed the grappa, everyone swayed, danced and clapped... they let me participate and I had a great time. Traveling by myself can be lonely/boring but there's usually something going on if I look long enough.

The Biennale at the Giardini was more interesting than the Arsenale (which gave me a headache; it reminded me of a web site - I could have gotten the same thing on a web site and skipped the long walk) and here are some photos from the American Pavilion. The artist is Felix Gonzalez Torres. People who come to the exhibit are invited to take a poster or a piece of candy to participate in the installation; however mostly what I saw was they rushed in, did not contemplate what was going on, grabbed as many posters as they could, grabbed HANDFULS of candy, and left. Probably I'm being cynical. No doubt. Read about FGT online. Photos:

Gonzalez-Torres' work has been interpreted as being about AIDS (he died of AIDS in the 1996) and the lightbulbs slowly going out have been seen as a metaphor for dying.

My friend Chingiz Babayev of Azerbaijan was in the Biennale this year but his exhibition had closed before I could see it. He sent me this photo. Hi Chingiz! It looks great! This is a very large carpet made out of fruit and vegetables and other things.

I also thought the three video installations in the Central Asian Exhibition were very good.

Meeting up with my friend Jürgen Faust and his wife Tanja were really what made the trip perfect. They drove from Munich across the Alps through a snowstorm to spend Sunday in Venice. While Tanja visited the Biennale Jürgen and I had a chance to catch up.

Here is a final photo, on the way to the train:

Radfahr from Wannsee to Potsdam

2007-10-27T11:43:00.000-07:00

As athletic and robust as I think I am, today totally wiped me out, in a good way. I met my friend Sidra Stich at the American Academy in Wannsee, where she gave me an enlightening tour of the house and grounds. It's on the Wannsee, overlooking a long lawn and a harbor filled with sailboats belonging to nearby American expats. The house itself was beautifully updated by the Nazis, with gold leaf tile mosaic, secessionist grilles, etc. Owned by the Academy for the past 10 years, it houses 8 or so scholars at a time in fair luxury and enables them to progress in their research. Sidra is going to invite me to her presentation in December, and I can hardly wait.

So, we go down to the boat house to retrieve the bikes, a couple of vintage-types with a bit of cob webs, but no matter. Mine was a one-speeder (from the 60s?) whose tires we pumped up and !ready to go! we were off to the Pfauen Insel, or Peacock Island, a retreat for Willhelm II and his friends. The ferry runs regularly only till the 30th, so we wanted to be sure to see the island before then. It was a foggy day but we spent more than an hour walking the island and inspecting the wildlife (including a couple of tame foxes who nonchalantly walked right by us a couple of times) and the fantasy structures built as was the fashion in the 19th century to invoke the sense of far away places such as - a ridiculously fake looking crenellated castle, and a mini-greek temple. The trees were for the most part mature, remaining apparently untouched by the last war and its aftermath that decimated other local forests.

I was hungry, so we ate lunch at the shoreline restaurant. The Tages Angebote was Schweinhaxe, Kartoffeln and Kraut. I washed it down with a Gluhwein. Sidra only had the wine... I don't know how she made it through the rest of the day on only that because we were off again this time to Potsdam. I mentioned that my bike was a single speeder with fat tires so that you'll understand my legs ached at this point already. The fog settling on the Wannsee, the imposing forest, the wide paths and the orange carpet of leaves made me forget my quads for a while. Sorry no photos. Presently we came to the Potsdam Brucke, and we crossed into the town.

Our destination was Sans Souci Park and buildings built in the 18th century by Friedrich der Grosse. The enormous formal gardens are carefully populated by various structures... the well-touristed Schloss Sans Souci, a giant windmill, a Dragonhouse, a Chinese house, a Roman bath... you get the picture. What we were totally unprepared for, because the photo on the postcard is so small, was the Neue Schloss on the west end of the park. It was entirely gigantic and constructed of rose-colored brick with full-height statuary crowning each floor as it went up. Gold leaf details crowned the sculptures at intervals. The ediface, I said was enormous, but this word doesn't describe it adequately. I've never seen anything like it. Facing the Neue Schloss are two matching buildings with limestone collinades and copper domes that the map calls "liegenden Communs."

I would have liked to show photos, but I didn't bring my camera. Google the topic, it's worth it. And when you visit Berlin, don't miss San Souci.

Weekend in Alsace

2007-10-24T01:31:00.000-07:00

Last Friday we all took a plane to Baden-Baden, for a weekend exploring Alsace. The 6 am flight left us all a bit groggy for the first event, a visit to Rastatt and the Visus Media studios, where we were hosted by Matthias Weyrauch. After a lovely lunch, Tristan gave us a presentation about the studio's work, then a photoshoot, then we were off to the races at Iffezheim. Few were prepared for how fun that was... thanks Matthias for the treat! Here are some photos.

I lost a lot of money on this race (5 euro)

Taking a lap after the race

Matthias' intern; Isabelle, our SIU Coordinator for the trip; Rob J; and Matthias

After the races we warmed up in the bus (it was pretty chilly there, even with Gluhwein, Wurstel and Linsensuppe), we drove off to Strasbourg. Imagine our disappointment when we saw where we were staying (view from my window):

Chateau Pourtales was built in the 18th century as a hunting lodge and soon after expanded to its current proportions. Its famous (repeated) guests included Albert Schweitzer, Friedrich Schiller, and Franz Liszt. There's also a ghost. Its extensive grounds are filled with footpaths that are used by townspeople and students; and they are lined with site-specific contemporary sculpture. Nearby-very near- is a Radfahrweg (bike trail) that winds through three countries, from Frankfurt to Basel.

At this point my camera stopped taking photos. Until we went on a sidetrip to Colmar, which was picturesque enough. Here are photos, without commentary:

Matthias Grunewald's Isenheim Alterpiece:

My camera is in bad shape, or maybe it's the memory card. I don't have shots of the wineries or the wine tastings. Also I don't have any from Strasbourg, although it is of course almost as amazing to a tourist as Colmar. The Cathedral especially. I bought boots at Galleries Lafayette - and they're not practical either. Also I paid retail.

Maybe the highlight of the trip - if you could imagine anything topping those scenes from Colmar - was the bonfire and "BBQ" hosted by Isabelle and Willi at the Chateau. Around 2 big campfires were 26 leisure chairs, and a big grill area out of which would come the most heavenly food - fish, then chicken, then a variety of local sausages, accompanied by seven or eight sauces, salads, breads, and your choice of Alsatian wines and beers. One student declared it her favorite night of the entire Ai Study Abroad program so far. Probably not an exaggeration!

Special thanks to Isabelle and Willi for the fabulous time in Strasbourg and at the Chateau.

Schlactensee photos

2007-10-23T22:39:00.001-07:00

It was a week ago now that I took another run around the Schlactensee. It was around 70 degrees and heavenly... but I took no camera. So I returned on Thursday when it was cloudy and cold, but took some shots while the trees were still turning. I'll try again this week.

red ducks? they must be ducks

this is a storefront in the town

Weissensee

2007-10-15T22:42:00.001-07:00

Yesterday offered a glorious, warm, clear afternoon to seek out another nearby lake for a walk-around. Not far from the L4 where we have our digital studies is the town of Weissensee. My guidebook said I'd find some impressive house architecture and the old jewish cemetery, but I'd not taken the book along so I'd be freed up for a run. So instead, as usual, I wandered around and saw normal things and missed the attractions. Can go back!

This plaque reads:
"The inheritance of fascism was rubbish and ruin.
This park comes into being through the volunteer work of the national construction workers
A work of peace"

The past weekend was chock full of art events. On Saturday, L4 hosted “So Klingt Berlin,” a weekend-long symposium on music marketing that culminated in a band competition at a local club on Sunday night. A fabulous time was had by all students and instructors who took part THANKS INGRID AND ALL STUDENTS AT L4.

At TAKT Gallery, Marcus Ahlers, Antje Görtner and Henriette Böhmert-Leske were our hosts for an exhibition of work by Jürgen Grewe, a painter whose work you can check out his his site.

Sidra Strich, my art friend from the Berlin Academy, and Carla Guagliardi, an installation artist who lives in Prenzlauerberg met me for a gallery tour. They chose the galleries, and the high point was Mike Kelly’s Kandor .

Schlactensee

2007-10-11T07:12:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I took the train to Schlactensee, a small town just outside of Wannsee, to the west of Berlin. There is a beautiful lake there (the Schlactensee) surrounded by a forest (the Grünewald) and the train left me off within sight of each. So since I was dressed for a run, with my water jar on a belt, I started off clockwise around the See... first stopping to warm up where a man on a motorbike shouted "Lass der Baum stehen!" when I pressed against a tree to stretch my calves... then I ran along the street a bit to get a look at the architecture, big turn-of-the-century houses with flowerboxes cascading form each window. Not Bavarian, but solid and impressive by size and workmanship.

Around the See, there were pine trees, leaf trees just starting to change and shed, and dogs, kids, older couples walking hand in hand. The dogs are all VERY well behaved. All of them. They don't even use leashes here. The dogs heel and walk along with their masters, ignoring me!!! The kids sprawl out under trees to eat some snack, and the adults gather at the cafe to the north of the lake, where all sorts of wonderful refreshments are sold in the most exquisite surroundings.

It reminded me of my parents, walking on paths through the woods. Ducks. Geese. Swamp and beach. Mom and dad are there in my imagination.

I had no idea how far it was around the lake, but luckily for me it was only about 4 miles. Afterwards, I took a leisurely walk through town and then hopped the train back to Berlin. Magic.

I wish I had photos! Next time I go, the trees will be colorful and I'll take pictures.

Dresden

2007-10-08T03:06:00.000-07:00

About 200 kM in the direction of (and halfway to) Prague is Dresden, the city that was largely destroyed by Allied firebombing during WWII. Marion (one of our German organizers) also said that during the cold war it was the only place in east Germany that you could not get radio or television from the west. Such suffering is not apparent in a three-hour day trip to a city that has plenty of rebuilt monuments in its old center. In addition to wandering the streets and for me, one museum, we had a splendid lunch at Luisenhof, on a mountain overlooking the city; and a tour of the VW Gläserne Manufaktur, where they hand-build the Phaeton, VW's luxury model. The late day was capped off with dinner at a brew pub where exhausted students quaffed major amounts of beer...

Lunch was really too good for us. We are learning NOT to scrape our chairs!

Ashley out in the garden

Shanda taking a break from lunch

Buildings in Dresden - fine

Want to go to an art school in Dresden? This is their Art Academy

For my mom, a statue of Martin Luther (hi Mom)

VW Gläserne Manufactur

VW GM Inside - Phaetons start at 69K euro and go up to 179K... sorry you can't get them in the US! Also, they don't come with manual transmission...

Reunification Day

2007-10-04T23:03:00.000-07:00

Wednesday was such a wonderful day. I drew for a while, ripped that up, then went for a long run: between the "wall" and the Spree, then through town and small community gardens, finally to the Museum Insel, where there were lines and lines of flea markets. There were plenty of Russian tschotschkes - the nested dolls, cheap amber - a lot of books, WWII and DDR memorabilia, gorgeous handmade hats and cloth bags, antique dishware... altogether something to revisit. Along the way, I heard and saw traditional chinese musicians, irish fiddlers, classical duos, every kind of eating...

Later, after a lunch of fresh vegetables and exquisite leftovers from the night before, I worked a bit on my next day's class. Then, I took another walk downtown for the Reunification Day celebration. I walked through the Tiergarten, up Unter den Linden, through the Holocaust memorial, to the Brandenburger Tor where someone was bungie jumping and someone else (presumably a rock star) was belting it out on the big screen.

Bismarck Memorial

Boulevard 17 Juni (looking through the Tiergarten away from Brandenburger Tor)

Bungie guy goes up...

Bungie guy comes down.

Holocaust memorial

Jumped on the S bahn to Sevigny Platz in Charlottenburg, where I met Sidra Strich, an art historian who is a Berlin Academy fellow in Wansee until January. We ate at a really good Chinese restaurant, talk talk talked and agreed to go to Dresden together on Saturday. (turns out, the group is going to Dresden tomorrow, and she can't go along).

First Day of Classes +

2007-10-02T22:56:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I went over to the gym "Fitness Center" with some students and signed myself up for a membership. On Monday, Stef had negotiated with the man behind the counter for students to receive a specially priced deal on membership - and I wanted to make sure to get it! The gym is on the 3rd floor (four flights up) of a courtyard building. THe main room is filled with machines and weights, stretching mats, etc. All of the guys are hot. Up a winding staircase are two tanning booths (one for strong, one for light), the locker and shower rooms (very nice), the yoga/pilates/step/etc studio (big, lined with mirrors and a beautiful view of Friedrichshain) and a sauna that is adjacent to a beautiful serpentine tile-walled shower and a spa-style relaxation room. The sauna is women only for some hours on tuesdays, otherwise for both sexes.

You're probably wondering what the view is out the window of my room:

Two shots of the school, yes it's the Nouveau building:

This is a view across the street from the school:

The school is about a 15-minute strassenbahn ride away. Yesterday was the first day for the animation class; everything went smoothly except the projector took some getting used to: it projected an image seemingly 10 feet tall and 15 feet wide! I'm not good with sizes so I may be off by some. The windows in the room are double-insulated, and both sets swing in with handles. I'll take photos next time I go.

The special topics class client is Marcus Ahlers of Takt Gallery. He also runs a residency program. That's where artists come to make art for a certain amount of time, and the host provides housing and whatever other agreed-upon necessities. We're looking forward to his gallery tour, which will take place next Thursday.

Art Forum Berlin Part 3

2007-10-02T09:43:00.000-07:00

These are the last photos I will post from AF Berlin. The first are mostly made from tape... kind of a trend at the show, across galleries.

Both of these, from Karl Heinz Meyer Gallery, Karlsruhe

Karl Heinz Meyer Gallery, Karlsruhe

This and the next, Patricia Low Contemporary, Gstaad

Patricia Low Contemporary, Gstaad
These very large drawings/paintings are on tissue paper - fragile, ephermeral surfaces that seem like they will dissolve with water or a light wind.

Veracores Gallery, Lisbon

Veracores Gallery, Lisbon

Art Forum Berlin Part 2

2007-09-30T22:54:00.000-07:00

For Part 1 of this topic, see the post below.

Gallery Franco Soffiantino, Turin: This Pantone cone was maybe five feet across

Also from Gallery Franco Soffiantino, Turin: People cases

From Jan Winklemann Gallery, Berlin: see closeup of the glasses, below

Jan Winklemann Gallery, Berlin: Glasses presumably "after" the photos
There was a lot of drawing at the show. I am particularly interested in this because that's what I'll do when I'm here:

This, from Ursula Walbröl Gallery, Dusseldorf: an exquisitely cut and hung lacy paper sculpture.

Closeup of the paper.

Art Forum Berlin

2007-09-30T09:31:00.000-07:00

This big art fair, held in an exposition center like those we have in the states, blows Art Chicago out of the water. Mostly european, the theme of the show is "About Beauty" and as the title infers, there is plenty to see. Beauty yes, pretty, not always. The breadth of concept and execution and the mix of knowns and unknowns made for a 4-hour tour that left me exhilarated, not exhausted. A sample of galleries and the works that I thought were the most interesting/ useful to me:

From Arndt & Partner, Berlin: my favorite exhibitor. Each artist has a strong concept and the pieces are also visually "beautiful."

From Arndt & Partner, Berlin: "Goddess with the Head of a Phallus"

From Arndt & Partner, Berlin: both pieces are made of pigskin. The wall piece, pig hair intact, is made of the Louis Vuitton logo in pattern.

Ellen de Bruijne Projects/Akinci, Amsterdam: This artist interests me because of the visual tactility of the slick plastic surfaces. Also there is something seductive about the stacking of the canvasses in a cartoonish way. It seems mechanical/industrial and tactile/random at the same time.

Anita Beckers Gallery, Frankfurt: This butter sculpture takes on a serious subject: classical sculpture. Or does it...

From Frehrking Wiesehöfer, Koln: These paintings on plastic seems to practically drip off the wall.

I have to finish this tomorrow. I have more work to do tonight. There are many more photos to come.

Kreuzberg and Prenzlauerberg

2007-09-30T09:21:00.000-07:00

Kreuzberg is the neighborhood just to the west of the former wall, and Prenzlauerberg is the one to the east. It has been a couple of days since we took the tours, and I want to write about Art Forum Berlin, so I will just give you some pictures to enjoy:

Bread at an open air market

Closer... buy some now to take home...

All groceries are organic here.

A street in Prenzlauerberg

A pre-war synagogue in Prenzlauerberg. We were there on Shabbat, and heard singing through the windows. It was not destroyed by the Nazis because it shared walls with adjacent buildings. Shabbat Shalom!

Day 3 - Köpenick and Friedrichschagen

2007-09-28T09:25:00.000-07:00

The L4 school where I am teaching my classes is in this fabulous art nouveau building. I didn't get a photo of the facade, but will post one in the near future. The school is very impressive and I am inspired to redesign my teaching site because their work makes mine seem dowdy and out of date. Well, it probably is. I also plan on spending a lot of time with Drupal. L4 website. Here is a shot of the courtyard of the L4 school.

Having re-read my Berlin book, I realized that I had merely taken the wrong turn in Köpenick on Wednesday. Map in hand, I persuaded a few others to come with me to see where the Spree meets the Dahme. Founded in 800, what we saw resembled somewhat a resort town complete with a Best Western. But the old buildings were still there and we had our first real German (not Italian or mishmosh) meal. Karen and I had Gulaschsuppe. Emily and Robert A. had schnitzel, and Robert J. had a pork dish... here is a picture of the Rathaus that I thought was a church. It's really a historic building and you can read about it online if you're interested.

Karen, Robert A, and Emily got all PRACTICAL and asked tourist information where to find the Müggelsee (not in Köpenick, but I knew that). So we took a strassenbahn to Friedrichshagen, where even in the greyscale of the day the Müggelsee had a certain charm. Here is a photo of the group at the lake:

Finally, we went to the historic Wasser Werks a bit down the road in Friedrichshagen.
The most interesting thing we saw there was a 1-man bomb shelter from WWII. Actually, it fits up to three people.

Day 2 - Taking Trains

2007-09-26T14:55:00.002-07:00

My early intentions today included a trip to the other side of town - to get a handle on how far away things are. Six optimists joined along and we rode the S Bahn to Zoo Station (you probably all know this: one of the trains that goes to that station is U2). Sorry! I forgot my camera but we saw the Gedachtnis Kirche (Memorial Church), an 18th century structure that was mostly destroyed by the allied bombing during WWII. There's a new edifice adjacent that now serves the congregation, but the shored-up former remanant with its gilt mosaics inside serves as a reminder of what happens when an insane leader pushes his people into a senseless war.

In the afternoon everyone ELSE had to go to German class, so I thought I'd go find the Mügglesee, a big lake to the east and south of here. For a change of scenery. To get some nature.

Got off at the right stop, Köpenik, but instead of finding the water I walked in the opposite direction. I make jokes about men not asking directions, but I didn't either. Confident in my intuition, I spent about an hour touring nice neighborhoods with houses and gardens, dogs and cobblestones, no traffic but instead people riding bicycles. There was "Red Riding Hood Street:"

And a free-flowing garden with a giant sunflower:

But today's essay is about Taking Trains. Hey. When you take a train in the US, do you get to do your produce shopping while you wait?

And, how about if you think you need a beer and a pastry. I mean, right now.

Poor thing. You'd prefer hard liquor, and some cigs. Been a hard day, huh.

One of the refreshing things about being in Germany is it's so much less a nanny state than the US. For example, I'm on the fourth floor here. It's actually 5 flights up because Europeans don't count the ground floor as 1, rather as ground. Anyway, if I wanted to dive to the ground from one of my gigantic, beautiful, two-ways-to-open-for-fresh-air windows, I could. Really. No bars, no screens. No safety locks. No nanny. Not that I would, but it's just an example...

Tomorrow I'm trying Köpenick again, this time in the right direction, maybe with some students. Stay tuned. (Photo from tonight's dinner)

At Home in Friedrichshain

2007-09-25T13:24:00.000-07:00

It's 22:30 pm and I should be dropping from jet lag, but somehow I think I'll be clicking away for another hour or so. We arrived in 23 pieces together in Berlin this morning, though it seems like 2 days ago already.

Our lovely Hotel Friedrichshain looks onto a quiet courtyard on Warschauer Strasse in the Friedrichshain district. Warschauer is a busy split street with an S-Bahn running up its middle. Pastel colored buildings, mid-rise stucco postwar apartments for the most part, accomodate on the erdgeschoss (first floor) a variety of small shops - handy phones, Obst & Gemuse, video rentals, an Apotheke...

I took a short run in my spandex down this street and up that. I did notice there was no one else doing this, though bicycles zipped by regularly in their own reserved bike lane. I used to joke that one downside of cigarettes is that you can't run while smoking. But here, you can't help it! Lots of folks light up while walking down the crowded sidewalks.

There are, I believe, 24 students in this program; about half women and half men. Coming from all corners of the continental US, most have put lots of energy into starting to know each other. So far we've eaten a couple of fabulous meals. Here I am showing some snaps of tonight's dinner. Too bad I didn't take them until the end. The food was as beautiful as it was tasty.

Fall 2007 in Berlin

2007-08-13T17:40:00.001-07:00

Yes! After September 24 I'll be in Berlin, gainfully employed, teaching Web Design/ Interactive Media classes for the Art Institutes Study Abroad Program. Here's where we'll be staying: Thanks to Google, hope I'm not breaking any copyright. Anyway, Berlin is a fabulous place, full of art, architecture, and anarchy: the three A's. Sidetrips include: 4 days in Geneva; 5 days in Baden-Baden and Strassbourg... Why not consider coming to Berlin with us? Or next quarter? Gives you some time to learn German...

2007 Conference on International Opportunities in the Arts

2006-12-04T10:07:00.000-08:00

Boston: Friday, April 27, 2007 to Sunday, April 29, 2007

I'm moderating a panel called "Small Scale Retreats" in this symposium. If you are interested in working on your art abroad, this is for you:
Learn how to break into the international art world. Join leading figures from around the world to hear about long- and short- term international residency opportunities for artists (working in every medium) as well as biennales and other global exhibition possibilities.

The Banff Center, Canada

Taipei Artist Village, Taiwan

K2, Turkey

Come to Boston to meet, network with and have your work seen by the conference’s distinguished curators, critics and panelists. This is an excellent resource for professional development. Advance conference registration, which includes admission to all the panels, networking events and a private one-on-one consultation with one of the conference’s international guests, curators or critics is $150.

Register early to ensure your participation in this weekend-long event. All advance registrations must be received by February 1, 2007.

Click on http://transculturalexchange.org/conference_2007.htm for schedule of talks, details and to register.

NEW! Catalogs for TransCultural Exchange’s The Tile Project: Destination: The World, including postcard prints of all the tiles, available at http://transculturalexchange.org/tileproject/catalog_order.htm

Illinois Institute of Art at the Apple Store in Chicago

2005-11-16T06:49:00.000-08:00

Tonight the Illinois Institute of Art Chicago and the Apple Store teamed up to present work by students in the Digital Media Production, Visual Effects and Motion Graphics, Interactive Media Design, and Visual Communications programs. The evening was very well-attended, with a packed audience for the hour-long video feature in the store's theater. Interactive Media Design and Visual Communications students showcased their work in the downstairs area. Here are some photos:

Interactive Media Student Group Ideas

2005-11-10T14:09:00.000-08:00

Interactive Group

The purpose of the interactive group is to provide students at Ai
1. Networking opportunities
2. Competitive environment
3. Sense of community and social context
4. Expose students to current industry trends
5. Promote and develop team skills
6. Promote excellence in the use of current and future technologies
7. Provide tutorials if possible (so that students can log on and learn tricks etc.)

Some potential group composition
1. Alumni
• Santiago Ruiz
• Puja Mehta
• Flori Hung
• Rob Johnson
• Erinn Ng
• Donny Harder

2. Business professionals
• Mark Blottner
• Brian Shensky

3. AI students
4. Students from outside Ai
5. Ai Faculty
6. Outside faculty and or speakers

Projects
1. Competitions
2. Interactive pieces for Ai use and display
3. Gallery showings
4. Interactive Expo: Invite other schools to attend (Local, related studies)
5. Organziation site with business sponsors
6. Web Forum/Blog—exchanging experiences & knowledge
7. News posting on the site, informing students what is going on in the industry, as well as sharing our interests and likes with them
8.

Venues
1. Outside school venue with wifi
2. Venue that supports video conferencing
3. Web Forum/Blog—exchanging experiences & knowledge
4. News posting on the site, informing students what is going on in the industry, as well as sharing our interests and likes with them

Students
1. David Ostroski
2. Robert Martone
3. Sean Sands
4. Rahel Haile
5. Chanz Pannha
6. Adnan Alicusic
7. Elen Chan
8. Teresa Carney
9. Douglas Simpson
10. Shane Currie
11. Miguel Martinez
12. Warren Rudd
13. Gloria Maldonado
14. Mike Gorelick

Tile Project Installation in the Philippines

2005-09-20T12:41:00.000-07:00

In late June I went to the Philippines to meet the artists who are putting together the Tile Project installation there. Eileen and Chit Ramirez shepherded me around Manila for five days... The project was installed a month later at the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP), a big Marcos-era modernist building with huge public spaces and gigantic chandeliers. The spot where the project is permanently installed is a prominent part of the CCP, in the lobby near the escalators and next to a painting by Eileen's grandfather Cesar Legaspi, a revered "national artist" and one of the "13 Moderns", a loose group of artists creating art opposed to the prevailing academic art of the 1940's.

In connection with the installation, the Ramirezes organized "Synch," a forum on collaboration held at the CCP in August. For full details, including photos, see http://www.transculturalexchange.org/tileproject/press.htm.

The "artist's world" I witnessed there was remarkable for its optimism, its strong sense of community, and relative lack of cynical opportunism. We went to the nightclub Conspiracy, a multiple-use environment that hosts music, installation, video, and traditional exhibition space. Oh, and a restaurant and a bar. Conspiracy is owned by some 50 artists and is a hive of art conversation and activity. Fantastic. I also saw many co-operative galleries: tiny exhibition spaces in very visible, accessible environments such as the "mega mall" and outdoor mall spaces. Though Manila's population of 11 million dwarfs that of Chicago, I saw artists who drove for hours to support their colleagues at openings and gallery events.

Digital Art: The Virtual, the Interpersonal and the Tactile

2005-04-15T05:50:00.000-07:00

When integrated into a practice of “real space” art activity, digital art forms can be powerfully expressive for a traditional artist. My interest in digital art focuses on the networked computer’s potential to create community. For me, the computer’s use as a fine art image-making tool takes a back seat to its potential to unite people in intercultural understanding. My research consists of the execution of collaborative projects involving artists and a diversity of other humans around the world. These projects extend our “real space” traditional studio practices into those for which location, nationality, and narrative continually shift their focus between the virtual, the interpersonal and the tactile.

Trained as a painter and printmaker, from 1978 to 1994 I pursued a single-minded path of production, exhibition, and sales of my studio work. My paintings and prints reflect my interest in language shapes and random cross-pollination of gestures, pressings, stampings, and scrapings. Most of my painting work is highly tactile. For me, the tactility emphasizes the human touch, the immediacy of being hand made.

The appreciation of this aura-object quality requires real-space presence. When I began to finally learn to use the computer to make images, this split between on-screen and real-space was pronounced for me. I made a few attempts at solving a painting’s compositional problems with the computer but in the end my impulse was always to make the decision in front of the canvas.

Digital imagery fascinated me though for another reason - its existence, the ability to make any image, anywhere, anytime, and distribute it in an infinite number of ways an infinite number of times, across cultures, without the imperative of language or serious financial outlay – this obviously changed the place/role of imagery and art in a profound way. The freedom to connect through imagery with other groups of artists, to work in collaboration via email and the web – this possibility was fascinating.

An early piece: Artwire
- 3 schools, Cleveland State University, Kunstseminar Freie Hochschule (now Fachhochschule Schwaebisch Hall), the University of Maryland/ College Park
- 15 students sent each other art assignments - resulting video, audio, print and documentary pieces posted online (unfortunately, 10 years later the sites no longer exist)
- Three resulting exhibitions in real space
- Led to the student trip to Germany and German students coming to US

Being/Sein
- American students spend a month in Germany in the class "Sense of Place/ Place of Technology"
- Can an experience in real space be expressed online?
- Journaling/ QTVR Do you remember your grandparents?
- In connection with big painting show at the Plains Art Museum in Fargo, North Dakota
- My grandparents lived in Fargo area
- Want to honor their memory and my return
- Want to use the web to connect my relatives, North Dakotans, and the world
- Stories uploaded automatically, had to email me the photos
- Stories posted by native american children
- No longer taking stories

TransCultural Exchange
- I am the Assistant Director
- Met Director Mary Sherman (Boston) during junior year abroad, Vienna
- Mission to unite artists online, create dialogue, promote peace through transcultural understanding, have real space exhibitions and meet in real space to extend the dialogue in future exhibitions.
- Have had exhibitions on every continent including Antarctica

Coaster Project
- Exhibitions, then distribution for free on all continents
- Performance aspect
- Extensive press coverage
- Award for best show in alternative space from International Association of Art Critics
- Four page spread in International Gallerie Magazine

Tile Project
- 100+ artists
- 22 permanent public installations: Fine Arts Museum of Ho Chi Minh City; Arts Academy of Azerbaijan; Mercer Park, NY, etc
- artists travel to each other’s opening receptions, create networking
- Sponsors include UNESCO, Soros Foundation, Boston College, Asian Cultural Council, MIT, Puffin Foundation, Hewlett Packard…
- University collaborations parallel main artists’ project
- Grade school and high school peace projects
- Wiki site allows contributions from all parties
- I will be in Manila and possibly Bosnia in the summer
- Was in Azerbaijan in February

My trip to Azerbaijan
- Hosted by artist Chingiz Babayev
- Installation at the Arts Academy sponsored by Soros Foundation
- Post Soviet government, oil drilling
- Muslim country
- Qobustan
- some of the oldest petroglyphs in the world.

TransCultural Exchange Project Promotes Peace

2005-04-05T08:44:00.000-07:00

I am the Assistant Director for an international artists' collaborative called TransCultural Exchange. Boston sculptor Mary Sherman is the Director of the organization, which she founded in 1985*.

What we do: Every three years or so we stage an art project with a global scope. The Tile Project, Destination: The World is currently being installed in 22 permanent public venues around the world. Each installation is comprised of 100 or so tiles created by as many international artists, mostly whom we have met on line through our web site: http://www.transculturalexchange.org.

In October I travelled to Baku, Azerbaijan to participate in the reception for the installation there. Chingiz Babayev, the host artist, welcomed me into his family's life and his country's culture. The opening reception of Baku's installation at the Azerbaijan Academy of FIne Arts was attended by dignitaries from the American Embassy, the Academy, the Soros Foundation (our sponsor), two television stations, Radio Liberty, and a Baku journal.

While I was in Baku, Chingiz introduced me to artist Ali Shamsi, who took me to see the petroglyphs in Qobustan, about 70 kilometers south of Baku. The petroglyphs are among the oldest in the world, up to 20,000 years old. Thor Heyerdahl claimed that the petroglyphs have a lot in common with Viking runes, and that they may have been created by the ancestors of the Vikings. I am of Scandinavian ancestry and personally I see the connection...

Ali also showed me an ancient cemetery, piles of stones in the middle of a field, many of which were etched with similar petroglyphs. The backdrop for this excursion was the Caspian sea, volcanoes, rocky mountains formed by tectonic plates smashing into each other, and vast desert.

Azerbaijan is a former Soviet state and is largely Muslim. The two languages they speak there are Russian and Azeri. I am a blonde single Jewish woman who speaks only English with the typical college smatters of French and German. Nevertheless, I was made to feel perfectly at home, welcome, and honored by these lovely people. My gratitude is profound. TransCultural Exchange is sponsoring host artists in all installation countries to have such an experience (Chingiz went to Finland).

The course that we take on earth as humans can be changed one person at a time. With understanding, compassion, and focus on working for peace we all can make a difference. Please visit TCE's Tile Project site for more information: http://www.transculturalexchange.org/tileproject/.

TRANSCULTURAL EXCHANGE'S MISSION STATEMENT:

TransCultural Exchange is an award winning 501c3 non-profit organization dedicated to promoting international art, global harmony and the understanding of world cultures, through high quality art exhibitions, cultural exchanges and educational programs, at our home base in Boston and throughout the world. Incorporated in 2002, the organization has already received awards from such organizations as the International Art Critics Association and support from such respected world organizations as UNESCO, the State Department’s Art in Embassies Program, and the Asian Cultural Council, among others.