February 5th, 2009

I ran some errands today in the city and as casual as that sounds I think it will still be a long time before emerging from the subway to see the Empire State Building in front of me will seem normal.

Anyway, Wednesdays have become my adventure errand days since I don't have work or classes. Last week I started with a trip to the Kodak store by Penn Station to get film for my Super-8 class. The store functions more like a doctor's office than anything else. You fill out some paper work, hand it to the man behind the desk, and wait for him to call your name. By the way, the man is nice and helpful and reminds you of your grandpa.
After Kodak I hopped on the E and got off at 5th Avenue to visit the MoMA. I saw the Pipilotti Rist video exhibit Pour Your Body Out for my History of Video Art class. It was bizarre. I wandered upstairs to see the Marlene Dumas exhibit. It was bizarre as well. Besides being bizarre, however, both were incredibly impressive and thought-provoking.
With video and painting on my mind I rode back home to pick up a friend and head back into Manhattan up to Harlem to see part of a Cuban documentary film series at the Maysles. We saw half of the first film, With a Stroke of the Chaveta, a documentary about the really interesting Cuban tradition of having someone read novels over an intercom to workers in a factory. The second documentary, East of Havana, followed three hip hop performers struggling to keep their art alive. The directors of both films stayed after the screening for a heated discussion with the audience about nothing really that happened in the films but mostly about divisive contemporary Cuban issues. It was pretty intense. People got confrontational, and a crazy lady in the back started grunting loudly. I learned A LOT. And then I ate pulled pork sandwiches.

Today I picked up some doilies from a cake supply store in Chelsea and walked down to the Strand bookstore. I'm going to try coating them in clay slip and making plates out of them. I foresee many potential problems, but I bought more than enough doilies so a mistake or two or ten might be alright. Wish me luck.

At the Strand I picked up Of Love and Other Demons by Gabriel Garcia Marquez for Maryellen's mother. Maryellen got me involved in this book-sending chain that works so that you send one book to one person and receive thirty-six back. If you're interested in how that works, let me know and I will tell you all about it.

Well, it's definitely late enough, and I should be going to bed.