in the realms of the unreal

"Great art should baffle, but how often doesn that truly happen? When images bewilder and quiet, they resonate forever." -Robyn O'Neil

The American Folk Art Museum holds the largest collection of work by Henry Darger, and a recent exhibit examines his influence on contemporary artists, including Robyn O'Neil (see above please). After seeing Darger's work, it seemed so fitting to have seen the little girl below just moments before. Darger posessed the naiveté and sheer infatuation with making art that so many adults lose as we become too self-aware. I suddenly want some sidewalk chalk so I can hopscotch to infinity, and a good set of swings, so I can swing so high, I touch the sky.

studio in a school

I had the recent pleasure of stumbling upon the Studio in a School Gallery on my way to the American Folk Art Museum. Studio in a School is a wonderful program that works to "foster the creative and intellectual development of young people through quality visual arts programs directed by professional artists," and continuously promote and support arts programming for kids in NYC. If only we had such a cohesive and established program in Minneapolis. Little kid drawings=so fresh!

bonnie bonnie bonnie

I arrive at the best little cookbook store in all the land, and am greeted by a fairy godmother by the name of Bonnie Slotnick, along with an array tasty bites and sugary delights...

And, after spending two hours crawling on the floor perusing piles of said delights and talking to Bonnie about the joys of whipped meringues and Minneapolis's own Nordicware, I had to choose but a few from my pile of many. One day I'll come back with more money, Bonnie, and perhaps a tray of cookies as well. 

adorable

levels of pretending.:.shades of being

masks from New Ireland

Indonesian Masks

Tibetan (je pense?) masks

Humans beings have always worn masks. They mark ways of revelry, a means to escape, a universal human tendency to wonder what its like to live outside one's own skin. By day you are a servant, by night you are the court jester, the king, the belle of the ball. And a vacation is taken from the realities of my meaningless existence. And for a few hours I don the mask of a warrior. I charge on, ever forward with my downfalls in disguise, until midnight strikes, and my carriage becomes a pumpkin once again. It is in this moment that I must decide whether I also like the pumpkin. It is in this moment when you must decide who you really are. 

ºººall masks are part of the permanent collection at the ever-classic American Museum of Natural History, NYCººº 

the pest

earlier this afternoon, as my stomach was grumbling for lunch, i peered into the refrigerator and was met with a sudden hunch. a creature waited on the floor, just inches from my feet, a cockroach, it seemed, was hoping for some crumble of my treat. "not so fast" i yelled at him, as he raced across the room, and as i grabbed the sole of a nearby shoe he reached his ultimate doom.

recent revelries/beachside debaucheries

Why am i so filled with glee? Because of the mock seriousness of a certain C&A, because of A's recent bout with facial hair, because of the amazing oilcloth patterns that line the wall behind me, and, perhaps also, because of the wondrous potion that i may have been sipping from that neon tiki cup. Thank you, Otto's Shrunken Head!

A run-in with Poseidon at Glasslands Gallery leads me to...Mermaid Avenue...

Hello Coney Island!

Yes, this game is real. And yes it scared me just a little bit.

OMG, its the NYPD!

The beach brought comfort from the madness. So many people. So many mermaids. So many so much so many. The Coney Island Mermaid Parade: truly an experience like no other. The sun set down and I retreated back home for some peace, and quiet, and a shower....goodnight everyone!

wandering...part deux

I awake at 6pm, nose in the couch cushions, ungrateful, uninspired, still tired, still cloudy, still...purposeless, jobless, aimless. I arise and force myself out the door, because the streets are where the color lies. And while the sun sets across the city, I revel in this fleeting moment of inspiration, when teenagers sneak cigarettes in basketball courts, their shins bloody from too many skateboard falls. Where I stop to smile at a man in the midst of a mural. Where fortune tellers and gypsies swap tea and gossip with mothers, and angels, and priests. I am sorry, everyone. I will try to be braver tomorrow. 

sky phenonemon

The distance suddenly becomes difficult when I cannot be there for the ones I love. I wander the streets, I stare at the sky, and imagine all those that share this sky. In recent days a man, a father, a friend, a fighter has been lost. In recent days my admiration for those that have survived has grown. To those that I love but cannot be with today, know that I stare longingly at the blue, and think of all of you. 

made in scandinavia

In 100 degree city heat, the beads of sweat cling to my chest in a now familiar pattern: a map of the zig-zagged blocks i have walked to reach my destination. Earth, it seems, has shortened the circumference of its orbit, and surely shines but inches away.  My pocketbook cannot spare a $2 subway ride, and so i trek on, ever forward, to...Scandinavia house! The Nordic Center of America! I breathe in that precise air of the Finns and the Nords, the Icelanders, the Danes, and the Swedes, and am chilled by the beauty, the precision, the divinity, the cold mystique of those faraway lands. 

ºººLimbo Lamp for Petur, an installation by Olafur Eliasson, and Manhattan textile pattern by Josef Franckººº

dinner guests

This is Jo and Keith of the band The Shivers who I had the tremendous privilege of meeting recently. Please check them out. Lightning bolts of talent burst forth from their lips and humble fingerlytips.

wandering de neighborhood

keith haring, mosaic light poles, joe strummer, mark gonzales! such delightful things i see while wandering about de hood. 

monday: the first day...

...wherein Elvis makes a darn good bloody (Great Jones Cafe!), an afternoon is spent in Chinatown, and my brother and I enjoy cask beer, Belgium beer, wheat beer, Yucca frozen yogurt, and a feast. I have arrived!

it's time to...

i'm off an a technicolored adventure to the great new city of york. celebrate, everyone, as i do declare: summer is here!