The Art of Survival

Kongjan Yu
BEAUTIFUL
BIG
FEET

Turenscape

Tu-ren is two characters in Chinese.

Tu means dirt, earth, the land.

Ren means people, the man, human being.

"Once these two characters come together, it actually means earth man,
which also expresses my understanding about land and people".

NYBG Winter Landscape Series
Asia Society
October 2, 2012

Don't bite the hand that feeds you is supposedly good advice.  Kongjan Yu did not take this advice. 

He slammed the making of ornamental gardens and our nostalgia for Chinese landscapes represented in the brush paintings of former centuries.  It was the New York Botanical Garden that brought him to New York to speak and yet everything he had to say was a contradiction of the kind of gardens a botanical garden makes and maintains. 

Yu equated the ancient practice of foot binding (little feet)  as a metaphor for the unproductive landscapes that are a result of Chinese urbanization.  50% of the Chinese population live in cities, surrounded by pollution, drought, flooding and habitat loss; Yu is determined to change all that by creating a new aesthetic.

His practice is based in the rural landscape of his childhood.  Farmers have wisdom.  How the land was managed for centuries, teaches Yu how to use some of those practices, combined with current green infrastructure techniques, to clean water and manage storm water run-off.

His landscapes are messy.  They are not ornamental.  They are DESIGNED to be performative.  And this is where the beauty comes in.  These urban parks are full of native grasses, woodlands, rice paddies and native flowering plants that increase biodiversity. 

Getting the public to accept these "messy" landscapes is a question that I have struggled with, but Yu has found the solution:  create a formal structure for people to experience the landscape.  Paths through the plantings,  skyways above the plantings, pavilions ot hang out in, sculpture to magnify the landscape... these parks, day or night, create active interaction with the landscape.  Almost all of these massive public spaces use a filtration system or terrace system in which plants act as a sponge to clean and absorb water.  The landscape becomes a living machine.  It's what Yu called landscape acupuncture.

Kongjian Yu left us with the following words, "Help nature to recover and let nature do the work."  I can live with that.

Program-less Archiecture

CURTAIN
Jerome H. Haferd
Brandt Knapp

I couldn't wait for the opening and I had to make a trip to Costco, which is adjacent to the Socrates Sculpture Park, where "Curtain" is being constructed.  The Architectural League and Socrates Sculpture Park invited emerging artists and designers to speculate on contemporary interpretations of the folly.  Curtain is the winning entry by architects, Jerome H. Haferd and Brandt Knapp.

Constructed of 4" x 4" wood beams, steel joints that connect the frame and white plastic chain that is draped over the frame, Haferd and Knapp have played with the idea of folly.  I associate follies with garden structures on large estates... extravagant, useless, whimsical.  In an interview with Gregory Wessner, Knapp had this to say:  "We were really excited about the project prompt (for a folly).  That's what got us going.  We both have an interest in program-less architecture:  architecture that has little or no function or purpose. "

"I think that I'm interested in anything or anyone that poses questions that get me thinking on a level that art is supposed to, but I think that the difference between many artists and many architects is blurred.  It's really just that our disciplines set us apart."  Knapp

And I think everyone should venture out to this part of the world (Astoria) and take a look.  If you wondering about the differences between art and architecture, wander over to the  Noguchi Museum, it's across the street.

Letting Go

 

 When I first saw my peonies, they had gone by. I was relieved.   The dead wilted petals littering the garden floor suited my mood perfectly.  I wanted to post a sign on my front yard "NO Gardening Going On Here." 

Removing weeds, digging up volunteers and frowning over the state of things is my usual summertime MO in the garden.   The wrinkles on my forehead are not self-imposed. They are the result of doctor's orders:  no bending, no lifting, no twisting.  In the gardening world, that doesn't leave much to do.  I walked around quietly assessing the situation.  I saw tasks that needed to be done, but my hands were tied.

"Most of our troubles are due to our passionate desire for and attachment to things that we misapprehend as enduring entities."  Dalai Lama

When you've got plenty of OCD to contend with; letting go doesn't come easy.  I've hired a Dutchman to take care of my garden until my physical situation improves.  And his approach to gardening is particularly European.  It's more relaxed, more in sync with plants and their habits and is concentrated on the whole, not the minutiae.  This is a kind of therapy for me.   And therapy is work.  My greatest challenge will be changing the way I experience the garden:  bystander, critic and student of Zen.

 "letting go is letting happiness in." Lori Deschene

ABC

EY  BEE

CEE  DEE

EEE  F  DJEE

EITCH  AI  JAY KAY

EL  EM  EN  0H  PEE

KIEW  AR  ES

TEE  YEE  VEE

DUBBLYEW  EX

WAI  ZEE

How To Spell the Alphabet

Tauba Auerbah

Gilbert Apollinaire

As a  child, one of my favorite things was to open the cedar closet, which stored my mother's seal coat and run my hands up and down the nap; changing the color from espresso to fawn.  I enjoy this same luxurious sensation when I glide my hands over handset type. I know this is weird.  But if you've ever set type, you  know what I mean.  You can feel the letters.

The current show,  Ecstatic Alphabets/Heaps of Language at MoMA gave me goosebumps.  I experienced the joy of letters and words and the deconstruction of words taken away from meaning.

The Robert Smithson piece, A Heap of Language composed of 152 words in a pyramidal form collapses language.  "A word outside of the mind is a set of "dead letters".  The mania for literalness related to the breakdown in the rational belief in reality.  Books entomb words in a synthetic rigor mortis, perhaps that is why "print" is thought to have entered obsolescence." 1957 R.Smithson

The artists in this show (those shown for historical reasons and those working today) have taken content and turned it into something visual.  There is wallpaper made of words, constructed photographs of letters, a floor runner by Ferdinand Kriwet and numerous collections of objects called Found Fount by Paul Elliman.  All of these pieces have one thing in a common; an uncommon joyful spirit.  As Smithson pointed out over fifty years ago, print may be dead, but playing around with words is not.

Self-CONFIDENCE

"I am too busy to care about what other people think."  Tavi Gevinson

"Personal style is curiosity about oneself."  Iris Apfel

My mother crawled into the protective shelf of a girdle almost everyday of her adult life.  When it came to fashion, she was a follower.  Her lack of self-confidence was masked by her innate ability to always appear elegant. She chose her clothes carefully.

High maintenance is a trait I inherited from her, but not elegance.  Early on I was putting outfits together that had an aesthetic appeal to ME, which is not to say I had self-confidence.  Tavi Gevinson, founder and editor-in-chief of RookieMag.com, age 16 and Iris Apfel, style icon, age 90 have self-confidence.  They exude it.

The conversation between these two women was moderated by Judith Thurman: the topic:  Good Taste/Bad Taste:  The Evolution of Contemporary Chic (Metropolitan Museum - Sunday June 17).  You might wonder what kind of dialog a 16 year old and 90 year old can have?  Is it grandmother to granddaughter?  Sage to Innocent? Seniority to inexperience?  No.  These two ladies were talking to each other as respected colleagues.

"I don't live to be trendy - you can't be trendy and have personal style."  Iris Apfel

"Personal style is a chance to create your own fantasy...to have a force field around you"  Tavi Gevinson

I understand that clothes are like performance art.  I often look over my closet and put something together I feel proud of; I put a check next to the self-esteem box.   But sometimes you want to be yourself.  Many years ago, a friend of mine said, what is the first thing you do when you get home?  Take your clothes off and change into a pair of jeans and a t-shirt.

Apfel "I am freer when I am not dressed up"

and Gevinson agreed, "There is nothing like a good old bathrobe."

And there is nothing like a great conversation.

___________________________
Visionary Courage
Iris Apfel may have been the first woman to wear a pair of jeans on a college campus.

"I went to the University of Wisconsin in 1940's.  I had this vision of myself in a pair of jeans, big gingham turban, hoop earrings and a crisp shirt.  I asked around and found an Army/Navy store in the area.  I inquired of the owner where I could find a pair of jeans for myself.  He immediately kicked me out of the shop.  "Woman don't wear jeans."  But, when I want something; I am like a dog with a bone.  I went back time after time; thinking he might take me seriously.  A few months later, I received a call from the owner.  He had ordered a pair of boys jeans for me."

UMAMI: The Wow Effect

I lost my sense of taste to anesthesia.  When I was offered a cup of coffee before leaving the hospital, I realized that my tongue was no longer picking up on sensory cues.  I could identify the drink as hot, but that was all.  I tried not to worry.  I hoped it was a temporary condition.

A week and half after surgery, still living in a non-flavorful world, I went to hear Eric Ripert, chef at the 4 star restaurant, Le Bernadin and Christina Tosi, pastry chef at Momofuku Milk Bar talk about "Fabulous Flavors:  Sweet, Sour, Savory" at the Alliance Francaise.  The conversation moderated by Christine Muhlke, Executive Editor of Bon Appetit Magazine was advertised as a discussion on how flavors shape our memories.  For someone lacking  taste buds, I thought this conversation might revive my capacity to detect flavor.

The pairing of these two chefs was brilliant:  cornflakes meet black truffles.

Ripert grew up in the South of France in a cooking family. With French and Italian grandmothers, a mother devoted to the nouvelle French cuisine of the day (Paul Bocuse), Ripert was surrounded by rustic and elaborate cooking that depended on local ingredients.  His home was an ocean of flavor and smells.

Tosi's childhood was packaged. A picky eater,  her childhood diet consisted of Whatchamacallits, Reese's Peanut Butter Cups and Barbecued Potato Chips. "I did not taste a raw tomato until I was 18 and ordered a BLT. My early food memories are those of the American Midwest.  It's low-brow, casual and has provided me with a flavor palette that inspires me as a pastry chef".

Just like a good dish, the contrast in texture made for a great conversation, which never became bitter or sour.  Each chef was passionate about putting their voice into food; tapping into emotions and memories.  The evening turned on one word:  UMAMI.

Tosi was talking about depth of flavor.  "It's something you feel in the pit of your stomach; it's umami." 

Ripert brigthened at this remark.  "What does umami mean to you? We've been researching it.  What does it mean in Japanese?... delicious flavor.  It's the WOW effect.  A state of mind.  A combination of ingredients...vibrant, powerful.  It's pure harmony.  It's earthiness."

As I left the Alliance Francaise, I felt reassured that my sense of taste would return.  As Tosi said, eating creates emotions in your mind.  I am waiting for those emotions to infuse my tongue.  In the meantime, I am planning a trip to Milk Bar to taste a compost cookie (pretzels, potato chips, chocolate and Rice Krispies).  A dinner at Le Bernadin will have to wait until a few more pesos accumulate in my bank account.


From le Bernandin dinner menu:
Lacquered Striped Bass; Chayote Squash, Sofrito Broth
Sauted Sole;"Almond-Pisctachio-Barberry" Golden Basmati, Brown-Butter Tamarind Vinaigrette
Grilled Baby Sepia; Sweet Pepper jam, Red-Wine-Squid Ink Sauce

From Milk Bar menu:
Blueberry miso soft serve
Compost Cookie
Crack Pie
Pretzel Milk

A Political Act

For gardeners, there is nothing new to learn in American Grown, The Story of the White House Kitchen Garden and Gardens Across America by Michelle Obama.  But it doesn't matter.

Before I downloaded American Grown, I had to consider if buying it was a political act.  I spend a great deal of my time at work in a 15,000 sq. ft. organic vegetable garden that exists solely for the purpose of educating New York City School children about where food comes from.  I am already a convert to the current gardening movement.  I am not interested in the White House garden as a garden and I am already familiar with gardening movement around the country, so?

Gardening is a safe topic.  It comes with none of the baggage of abortion or gay marriage.   I admire Michelle Obama for her efforts on behalf of healthy eating, nutritional food and war on couch potatoes is needed,.  For those who need the validation of a First Lady to open their eyes to the food movement, this is a good start.

The guy who has more to say about the politics of food than anyone I know of:  Wendell Berry

"I begin with the proposition that eating is an agricultural act.  Eating ends the annual drama of the food economy that begins with planting and birth.  Most eaters, however, are no longer aware that this is true.  They think food as an agricultural product, perhaps, but they do not think of themselves as participants in agriculture. They think of themselves as "consumers."  If they think beyond that, they recognize that they are passive consumers.  They buy what they want - or what they have been persuaded to want - within the limits of what they can get.  They pay, mostly, without protect, what they are charged.  And they mostly ignore certain critical questions about the quality and the cost of what they are sold:  How fresh is it?  How pure or clean is it, how free of dangerous chemicals? How far was it transported, and what did transportation add to the cost? How much did manufacturing of packaging or advertising add to the cost?  When the food product has been manufactured or "processed" or "precooked," how has that affected its quality or price or nutritional value?..."

"When I think of the meaning of food, I always remember these lines by the poet William Carlos Williams, which seems to me merely honest:

There is nothing to eat,

seek it where you will,

but the body of the Lord,

The blessed plants

and the sea, yield it

to the imagination intact.
1989

Wendell Berry, The Pleasures of Eating

The Good, The Bad and The ArtFULL

FRIEZE ART FAIR
 

Randall's Island

Some people said the tent was amazing, some the art.  I found the mix of people most arresting.  Instead of bumping arms with hermes bags, converse sneakers outnumbered anything designer .  Sipping coffee, drinking wine, munching on croissants, eating pizza, guzzling beer, pushing baby carriages, chatting with friends and talking about art was the Frieze vibe.

I  watched the tent go up.  I knew it was 3 football fields long, still I could not feel the vastness of it until inside.  Walking to the end of one aisle was a work out in itself and then it was time to turnaround and head back down in the another endless direction.

Even though I think the whole book thing is dead, not at Frieze.   Art books of popular and little known publishers, plus limited editions were selling.

And of course there was the people watching

At Frieze, no one spoke in a a hushed tone.  More state fair than art fair, Frieze was a New York moment; as vibrant as a city sidewalk at rush hour.  Maybe this is the way ART is meant to be experienced.

Not Under The Tuscan Sun

PERIPHERAL Visions:
Italian PHOTOGRAHY
in Context
1950's - Present

Bertha and Karl Leubsdorf Art Gallery
Hunter College
1-4 pm Tuesday - Saturday
Until April 28, 2012

When you have gone to as many galleries and museum shows as I have, you think you've seen it all.  Thank God it's not true.  There is always something else to be uncovered.

Fortunately,  there are curators, gallery owners, graduate students, whose mission it is to discover unknown artists. This is the case of the current show at the Hunter College Gallery.  Peripheral Visions brings together 21 Italian photographers, who have looked at the landscape of their own country in non-pastoral way.  It's not the Italy of vacation snaps.  It's the underbelly of Italian cities and the seedy side of the rural environment.

If you are in the neighborhood, wonder into the gallery.  I guarantee you will not be disappointed.  It's not ALL extraordinary, but it's ALL worth looking at.

IN ADDITION
Matthew Pillsbury
City Sages
Bonni Benrubi Gallery
41 East 57 St.
Through April 28, 2012

Continue down Lexington Ave, make a right and walk toward Madison.  41 East 57 st., The Fuller Building, an art deco gem that has just been restored. Take the elevator to the 13th. floor.

Matthew Pillsbury uses a large-format camera and long time exposures to create amazing photographs.  If the work at Hunter College is of a landscape unfamiliar to the Italian tourist, Pillsbury's subject matter is the familiar to anyone who lives in NYC:  Macy's Day Thanksgiving Day Parade, Brooklyn Bridge Park Carousel (pictured above), the NY Stock Exchange, Times Square on New Year's Eve, the High Line, etc.  The contrast between the parts of the photo that are in focus and the part that is out of focus challenge our perception of the place. 

Take a stroll to either of one these shows (or both)  and alter your vision of what you think you know.