Feb 6, 2009

double exposed

A few images from my new camera, all with double exposures: Bettys in a window with store lights, merry-go-round horse, and swing dancers in a neighborhood square.





Feb 4, 2009

go lomo

I've been excited for a few days now since I finally bought the camera I've wanted all year: the Diana camera. Completely analog, it's a remake of a cheap camera that made it's debut in the 1960s. Produced by the Great Wall Plastic Factory in Hong Kong, it's now made by the Austrian company Lomography. Originally intended for the amusement of Chinese working class families, it was given away at carnivals or public events as prizes. It's about as lightweight as one of the disposable cameras by Kodak, but much, much cooler. The cheap plastic body sometimes allows light leaks, which may result in interesting effects, and the Diana F+ allows you to remove the lense for a true pinhole image. Lucky for me, Barcelona has a Lomographic store, for fanatics of vintage-style cameras, clones and Holgas..

pixellize me

I have been too curious to find out how eBoy creates their incredibly detailed illustrations, until I saw this Flash Blog video. Then of course, I had to try it myself. This is what I came up with:

Jan 25, 2009

Pixel Nation

I mentioned earlier about two worthy exhibitions which invite you to question reality; the second recent favorite was going on at Rojo gallery in Barcelona by the German trio known as eBoy . Their giant, backlit plexi-panel "posters" represent various well-known global metropolises, easily identifiable by pixellized renditions of familiar buildings, all generously decorated with global brands and logos which seem to inhabit these places as much as the numerous pixel people/creatures (peecol), godzillas, and miscellanea. What I love about these is the tiny details of craziness happening in a casually urban environment, such as a war between robots and monsters, turning cars over and occasionally killing people, while passers-by snap photos of iPods cheerily holding hands.





I especially like this homage to the Victorian house-on-wheels I saw at Burning Man a couple of years ago..



The eBoy trio like to include themselves in their work.


And to give you an idea of how big these are:


Each panel can be yours for a mere €4000 to €4500 (USD$5100 to $5800). Or you can just be thrifty and buy their Pixorama book for only €20. At least that one fits in your pocket.

Believe in Mermaids

Ok, I admit it's been a while since I've last posted, but I promise I have a few good reasons: namely 2 great exhibitions I've seen recently. The first one undermines our faith visual media, and he second reconsiders the merging of our virtual realities with the ones we live.

De Facto, an exhibition by Barcelonin conceptual artist and photographer Joan Fontcuberta, presents convincing alternate realities which from beginning to end break down our systematic method and willingness to accept what we understand as facts. My friend and I could not agree that the first images we saw were true or not. Regardless, if you came across something like this, you might want to suspend your belief for a moment, if only to feel the delight of the possibilities it might hold..

Jan 15, 2009

Stolen Shadow

Sometimes the best kind of art is the unexpected. For all of Rodchenko's manifesto-declarations about non-objective art, one of my favorite "works" of his is the shadow cast by one of his sculptures, shown in La Pedreda, one of the many buildings designed by Gaudí. Although I wasn't supposed to photograph the artwork, does capturing the shadow count? Alexander Rodchenko: Hanging Spatial Construction no.9 (Circle in a Circle), 1920-21.

Jan 6, 2009

Hiber Nation

A funny thing, winter. From the tilt our little satellite makes while on its journey round the star that is our sun, the temperatures drop in the northern hemisphere, and me and most of my friends experience colder weather. It is cold in Barcelona today: 41º F (5º C) and thick white over cast clouds have completely blocked the sun. Not a fun day to be outside at all. Makes you wonder why the new year starts at this time of year. Winter is the time for hibernation: everything slows down, animals find caves, creatures burrow deep into the earth, seeds lie dormant under frozen ground, waiting to drink the springs from melted snow so they can push their way to face the sun again. It's a beautiful thing, winter. From the death of old grows the youth of tomorrow. It's in our subconsciousness, the timeless sleep cycle. Like the replicants in Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, our own consciousness dooms us to deny and fight this clock we cannot stop.
And so we create our rituals, traditions that over centuries become holidays, time off from our workday to close up shop and drink ourselves silly. Probably originating from religious observances where the intention was to reflect upon past grievances and ask forgiveness, our new year resolutions– starting off with sincerity– become guilt-ridden promises to be healthier, drink less, lose weight, which are later abandoned. In Barcelona, like most of Spain, holidays don't end until the 6th January, on the day of the three kings. This is when children get to open the presents the kings have hidden around the house. Sort of like Easter, but with 3 santas instead of the Easter bunny. And presents instead of chocolate eggs.
At a bar last night, my friend Ana tore off a strip of paper and said I had to make a list of wishes for the 3 kings. Instead of giving it to her to mail, I decided to post my list here for all to see. I'm hoping this will inspire some peer pressure from some of you to stick to my intentions for 2009. Here it goes, out in the ether:
1) SPACE to create a workspace/art studio where I can do all design work and work for exhibitions.
2) SELF-DISCIPLINE to do more daily yoga, dance, design work and work for exhibitions.
3) PATIENCE with myself and others, especially to find a balance and not beat myself up for the occasional slippage from my intentions.
4) STRUCTURE time for #1 and #2 so that #3 can happen.
5) BUDGET so I don't blow all my money, and save enough for
6) TRAVEL to another country- this time Mexico- to follow la Ruta Maya and Guadalajara, where my grandmother was born.
7) Become completely SELF-EMPLOYED by the end of the year.
8) Go to Burningman and make an art car, or something. Actually, Mexico is a better idea. BM is great, but making everyday life more CREATIVE and fun is a bigger challenge.
9) MOVE from the city of San Francisco to a place that's my own. And, hopefully,
affordable.
10) The original #10 wish was to fall in LOVE. (Why not? It would be nice..) But then I realized that wanting isn't the same as doing, so I've modified this wish to just LOVE MORE. Because, like most things, it's important to cultivate the things you want, so that they show up in your life more. And besides, how else will we balance out the non-love dark matter that is out there?

For what it's worth, this particular turn around the sun with all its chaos and negative forecasting has brought to me a simple but profound thought, which I think is pretty powerful: True wealth has nothing to do with money. The trick is just realizing that every day.