What makes rhythm, the beat, the sloooww and tantalizing sound that reverberates and bounces off walls like fuzzy striped yellow balls speeding out of a steady steel machine that drums, drums, drums...french manicured fingers tapping a white Formica table.
The beat wrapped and tightened around the everyday, the camera helps me see, the sounds of beatific tunes trailed on our heels as we swirled through Camden. Dogs barked and cranes squawked along a Regent walkway.
It was fun to have a Friday off (especially given the thick and syrupy rich tension that envelopes the office, blue felt partitions mingle with anxiety and uncertainty to truly separate warm but no longer present bodies) and spend it with family visiting from France.
I am ready for the next turn ahead (actually I am getting a crink in my neck from looking ahead, behind and all around; it's lurking like that the Mr Strings advert).
I'm really bent on this idea of collaboration, and how social media and a shifting industry reinforces the need for partnership more than ever before. It's all about the Hollywood model, the collage of talented people, from scriptwriters, directors, producers, lighting technicians, photographers, actors, sound specialists, etc, that work together to weave together narratives that form the rich tapestry of our culture. OK, now the communications industry may not be taking over the movie business, but I do believe it is going to take a new approach to engage deeply with people, one with creativity at its core.
A lot of the projects I have in mind would necessitate contributions from a host of talented folk - from illustrators to designers (from comics to Twitter stories to Open source API)...
Any thoughts on collaborative projects you're working on or have heard about?
This is what I miss about NYC. Beautiful breaks in the madness. Creativity just waiting to be discovered all around you (usually in the most unlikely places). I remember being a kid, going to spend the weekend with my Pop on the Bowery (Lower East Side Manhattan) and riding the D train from Park Slope. Graffiti artists had tagged a certain tunnel with beautiful images that moved along with you like a motion picture. It was magical. It was a colorful story unfolding for a brief moment in time.
Walker Evans' subway series captures passengers caught in between time, turned off, no pretence, no act, no charade- taking a reprieve from the above ground world. The shots are haunting. (I'd love to do a similar project in the modern underground, unfortunately, I'd probably get sued. Walker Evans had a small camera hidden in his coat that allowed him to snap away unnoticed).
There is something raw and mysterious about the subway. The underground reprieve.
The MOMA has given the daily grind more flavor and color by filling Brooklyn’s Atlantic Avenue/Pacific Street subway station with reproductions of over 50 works of art from Picasso to Warhol. MOMA is sharing its prints but also asking people to reciprocate by posting own photos, which are displayed on MOMA's microsite)Some photos and video tour below.
The 'invitation' copy is pretty engaging:
We know you’re moving at warp speed to get from here to there, but take a breath and take a look. We hope what you see in the station changes the way you see the world today, if only for a moment. And it’s a reminder that the real MoMA is only a short ride away.
Wow. I'm lucky to have such a fracking patient, sweet and supportive (and with basic knowledge of DreamWeaver) partner. I also have a new found appreciation for producers generally. People who animate ideas and understand the mechanics and usability of a medium. We've been literally in front of the computer for like 6 hours, and managed to create 3 pages. Mind you, our skills combined are far from professional when it comes to html and css. Hence the massive time consumption. But three pages in, I'm happy. Great start (the landing page was the hardest to configure). The more simple things seem, the more complex they are, and perhaps vice-versa. Creative writing and design homework will have to wait in line, right next to buying theater tickets for in-laws (due to arrive this Wednesday), cleaning the house, preparing for not one, but two pitches, and well everything else in between.
Here's a taste of the landing page...(still under construction)
Wind screamed and whistled like a big Texan at a rodeo subway intimacy staring into sand, honey and blond strands blue ridged rubber floor holding onto strange surfers the buzz of the silver car sounds like time travel quietening petulant morning fears transportation held tightly in the embrace of warm bodies rocking to and fro a collective set of leaves on a parched bark a respite break from destinations Chinese beats faintly pepper the backdrop deep rumbling below like miniature jack hammers which jolt to a halt as the train swings or swigs a drunk losing his step while holding unto the bottle moments held frozen underground
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