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.
When art critics get together they talk about Form and Structure and Meaning. When artists get together they talk about where you can buy cheap turpentine.
Picasso
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.
