|
|
july 31 2000
i asked sean how i'd explain this tattoo when i was well into old age. he said, "just say it's from the lyric page for the song 'get your dick out of my food'".
viva mcpheeters drawings.
july 17 2000
i don't feel much like writing but work is slow.
last night, we were treated to dame darcy and the centimeters. paul had warned me that i wouldn't like the centimeters. he then changed his mind. "well, maybe you will. i don't know".
so i was introduced to nora, who sat quietly on the sofa, a tiny bit of a woman in a sundress and burgandy tights. we took a walk to allegro for slices of the tastiest tomato pie in existance. and, then, we took a walk back to paul's. 3, 2, 1 and in blew darcy, long hair flowing and bubbly and dancing. she and her devastatingly handsome beau played bluegrass songs on bass and guitar. darcy shook her tambourine and shimmied whilst she sang.
and then, a few beers later, the centimeters took the floor. and then, once nora opened her mouth to sing, i realized how amazing they are. it was gothic, it was dancable, it was chock-full of all sorts of keyboard-type goodness. the "kids" went berserk. nora danced, that particular type of gothic dance that is beautiful and creepy rolled in one, her willow body bending and swaying. darcy had a mop of pink yarn atop her head. i hopped down from my perch on the stairs to tackle adam as he walked through the door. i was handed a bouquet of flowers. darcy exclaimed, "they're beautiful !" and i kissed adam on the cheek. i made my way back to where paul stood and we danced together. it takes a lot to make me dance, more than anyone could imagine. the centimeters made me dance.
so here i sit, bored at work and full of "inside out" sushi rolls, counting down the minutes until i return to my nest and meet myles for ethiopian dinner.
the 5 minute walk to the ethiopian resturaunt is a good thing. a very, very good thing.
july 9 2000
teaching wasn't as horrific as i expected it to be. i was worried that the kids would not be interested, that they would not catch on to dadaist concepts, that they'd get up and leave. funny that, at first, all i really cared about was making an extra $800.00. as the time grew nearer, however, i wanted this class to be good. i mean really good.
you see, i remember back to when i was fourteen years of age. i took an art class outside of school and was fortunately blessed with an absolutely wonderful teacher. she took us to museums and gave us extended lectures on art history. there was a marcel brothaers show up at the time. maria explained, briefly, some of the comcepts behind his work and went on to mention marcel duchamp. that is where it all started: my undying interest in dadaism. after a mere museum lecture, i began taking books on dada and surrealism out of the carnegie museum library. the more i read, the more fascinated i became.
now here i am, eleven years later, teaching dada and surrealism to kids who were the same age as i was when i began studying art history. funny how things come full circle like that.
i began class by introducing myself: where i studied, what kinds of art i make and where my interest in art history began. i then asked the students what their art history backgrounds were and why they decided to take the class. amazingly, the students had little to no art history background (a clean slate is a wonderful thing to work with). unfortunately, many of them decided to take the class because they "love salvador dali". i loathe salvador dali. i managed to keep my trap shut, however, and mentally rearranged my syllabus. we began by discussing a few of the key artistic movements that began the break from academic painting and sculpture: impressionism, fauvism, cubism and futurism. i lectured for a brief period of time and proceeded with a brief slide show. they particuarly enjoyed giacomo balla's "the dynamism of a dog on a leash". this is one of my favorite futurist paintings. i always find it amazing that is was executed in 1912.
we went on to discuss the work i had shown, which lead into a lecture on dadaism. after reading tristan tzara's "dada manifesto of 1918", we went into a long discussion. i was amazed by how easily the kids caught on to the concepts tzara presented. truly amazed, especially considering that dadaist manifestoes aren't the easiest thing to digest.
after a morning of lectures and discussions, we went on to do two dadaist exercises in the concept of "chance".
i've babbled long enough and i do not feel like finishing this thought. let us just say that teaching went well. and screw the pma for closing its modern and contemporary art galleries (for renovation) right when i had two museum visits planned. perhaps the kids will enjoy the mutter museum more.
over and out.
july 6 2000
today's soundtrack: sockeye (the hard to come by stuff), boy in love (pretty much the same line up as sockeye) and destroy 2. this, amongst many other reasons, is why my boyfriend is better than you.
the weekend was burning hot. i'd been lamenting that i hadn't been to a beach since the time i was in vancouver, about four years ago. i didn't really consider the beach there to be a real beach. i'm used to sandy beaches and wide expanses of ocean. the vancouver beaches were rocky and shaded with trees. when you went to wade in the water, you discovered that the rocks didn't stop at the beach and soon found yourself limping back to the safety of your towel with a stubbed toe. canadian beaches fucking suck. in any case, sean decided to humor me. on saturday morning, we headed to point pleasant, new jersey. after a long car ride, spent singing along to sockeye and drinking bad coffee, we arrived at the beach. oh, the beach ! i had forgotten how absolutely terrifying it is. i didn't get the chance to wade, seeing as they charged people to actually set foot on the sand (!). instead, we walked down the boardwalk, mumbling "put some fucking clothes on" and searching for skee-ball. eventually, we found an arcade and partook of the heaven that is skee-ball. between the two of us, we came close to spending $25.00. i walked away with sixteen multi-colored frogs; sean with a yo-yo and two bendy aliens.
after being on (or close to, at least) the beach, i was reminded as to why i hadn't set foot on one in four years. in the immortal words of the dead milkmen: i don't wanna be on the beach ! no fun !
|
|
|
