I have contributed an essay to the book (PDF soon available for free online, and for purchase in book format -a few sample images shown here-) of an exhibition I am curating. 3 years in the making, “Gaze, Reflexion, Fusion” is the highly poetical but politically charged work of one of the most interesting new photographers in the New York art scene: NEBULA.
From Tokyo to San Francisco, Madrid to Seoul, the Spanish photographer Nebula has traveled to 10 cities in 4 countries in order to find inspiration and the right images (somethimes a fleeting reflexion of it) to bring to life what she feels about art, identity, apropriationism, feminism, and psychoanalysis.
Yesterday I was invited to a member`s only screening of Born on the Fourth of July (1989) and post-screening discussion with Oliver Stone and Ron Kovic at MoMA Film Theater 1.
What do I do instead? I end up at Central Park, with lightning bugs around me. I think I am still there. For some reason, I have gotten trapped there, and I do not want to leave.
In a sort of “NY diary”, here is what the last two weeks of June had in store for me.
June 17th: I went to Cha`An in the heart of the East Village, for a very delicious tea ceremony. And it was delicious not just because of the great matcha tea (usucha) and wagashi, but also because Noriko-san was such an excellent host, performing an excellent otemae. Being a public restaurant, and not a private house, not everything was “perfect”, like in the tokonoma, where the scroll was obviously generic.
As I mentioned in my previous post, at IBM Innovation Center in Chicago they have a Watson (more info here) interactive kiosk with which to play an interactive game of Jeopardy. In case you have been living in a cave for the past few months, Watson beat Jeopardy human champions on live TV, the significance of which can not be overstated.
Now, remember: this is a “small version” of Watson, and a “self-contained” version of Jeopardy.
On June 13th and 14th I went to Chicago. Here are a few anecdotes.
If my gate is C, why do I have to go to Terminal B? Go through security twice. #ThankYouIdiots
So, once in Chicago, straight to my first meeting at IBM Innovation Center. Intense, interesting… and off to my hotel for a few hours of preparing for the next day (and BIG meeting). The next day, great presentations and meetings (including lunch with the big boss), and something very interesting: they had a Watson interactive kiosk with which anyone could try and compete at Jeopardy.
Two places I tried June 10th in West Village: Tea & Sympathy: UK charm (irony intended) and Tea+Scones, at high prices, minimum consumption ($11 per person!!), and they don`t even know how to serve tea (full pot, loose leaves… no way to get them out to avoid over infusion of second cup). Avoid. Smörgås Chef: decent Scandinavian restaurant, with their own eco-farm.
Trying to catch up with fun days, here is what June 1st looked like: first some crêpes for lunch at Vive La Crepe Union Square (delicious crêpes and funny chair backs embedded in concrete).
Then, after browsing around at Beacons Closet</a>, and going to <a title="https://www.tibethouse.us/" href="https://www.tibethouse.us/" target="_blank">Tibet House</a> to gather info (Tuesdays meditation classes, here I go), it was finally time to visit Rubin Museum of Art. While Modernist Art from India, Illuminated, and Casting the Divine were very interesting and delightful, I must admit the nerdy geek in me enjoyed Hero, Villain, Yeti like a real kid.
