[hypergraphia]

GOD facebook is lame.

to send an invitation to everyone, there is no “send to all” button. SO LAME. just spent the past 10 minutes clicking on people’s names.

FACEBOOK IS SO LAME.

“Jetting in and out of likely locations, they have no time to assimilate, still less to understand, the artistic production in any one place. From the viewpoint of those living and working in distant outposts, mega-curators and global artists may seem well connected; but they remain, by the very nature of the enterprise, more or less culturally rootless. At the same time, this deracination gives them a position of advantage, if not of privilege; for them, biennials do indeed have no frontiers. But for the majority outside the magic circle, real barriers still remain. The biennial, the most popular institutional mechanism of the last two decades for the organization of large-scale international art exhibitions, has, despite its decolonizing and democratic claims, proved still to embody the traditional power structures of the contemporary Western art world; the only difference being that ‘Western’ has quietly been replaced by a new buzzword, ‘global’.”

-Biennials Without Borders, by Chin-Tao Wu

– — –
article only confirms what most people already know regarding the nature of biennials, with the help of statistical data drawn from Documenta.

what to take away is that contemporary ‘nomadic’ curators indeed may not live up to their superstar reputation - after all, how do you assimilate yourself with the social context in which the biennial is held, within just a time span of merely 1-2 years of preparation? to put together a biennial that is socially relevant and that truly engages the community requires more time than a few years.

after how many years? anyway, it’s not as stripped down as the last one, but pretty clean i think. there are still a couple bugs floating around, bear with me. had a good time making minor edits to the code, found great satisfaction in knowing what the original deutsch link buttons meant when changing them to english.

just added a new sidebar item: shared items on google reader –>

what is this?

so i was wandering around the salvation army in kowloon tong the other day, when i came across at least a dozen packs of the above. it was the mini barbara kruger that caught my eye.

on closer inspection, all the little weird pieces in the pack are miniature art pieces by well-known contemporary artists, scaled 1:12. along with Kruger, there’s Sarah Charlesworth Red Mask, Alan McCollum 5 Perfect Vehicles, Lisa Yuskavage Blonde Brunette and Redhead, Alexander Ross Untitled, John Newman Bubbles Burst (the weird blue thing that dominates the entire pack).

aside from boxes of this ‘art collection #2′, i found boxes and boxes of figurines, toiletries, teacups and mini furniture designed by established architects and artists, all part of The Kaleidoscope House. weird. the only thing that i couldn’t find was ‘art collection #1′. and everything was copyrighted under Bozart Toys and Laurie Simmons. another artist? that was enough to make me want to buy an iphone just so i could google this thing right away.

upon returning to my cubicle at work, this is what i found:
The Kaleidescope house is an interactive creative play environment for 6-year olds, conceived and designed by Simmons and Peter Wheelwright. Here’s an NYTimes article regarding the project. Simmons also has a blurb about it on her site. Bozart itself seems to be missing a website, despite all the hubbub surrounding their artist-type toys.

since everything at the salvation army was donated, i figured a toy manufacturer gave away all of these. selling price, HK$25. take note of the original selling price here, and the ebay prices here.

seems like an investment opportunity (and not really)! i’m a little disappointed by the quality of the toys… they look sort of rough and unpolished. so random to come across this in the least likely of places.

A friend sent me a link to Yoñlu’s myspace page a few weeks ago. i immediately became a fan after listening to the few sample songs, and have managed to get my hands on his album, A Society In Which No Tear Is Shed Is Inconceivably Mediocre… (2009).

after a few sessions on my repeat playlist, i started paying more attention to the lyrics. some of them don’t make a whole lot of sense, but that’s rather typical of indie music anyway… poetic license. but there was something else - a sort of dark, ominous tone to the words. at first listen, the style is quirky, experimental, at times melancholic, at times almost giddy and silly. but the lyrics were dark even under some of the more upbeat tracks.

being a bit bored at work, i went on google to find out more about him. it actually took a bit of time, for after the first search result came up with his myspace page, i had to click around before finding the official website.

listen to the music first, then read the articles. such a shame.

Yoñlu - I know what it’s like

at first i didn’t really believe what i read, but some more digging and the sad story unfolds…

Yoñlu official site
review of A Society In Which No Tear Is Shed Is Inconceivably Mediocre…

like all the previous times i visited the city, it was amazing. falling in love again and again with (and ‘in’) the city. the weather was phenomenal - i’m told that berlin weather is fickle during that time of the year (april), but the whole week i was there it was super sunny, warm (a little too warm) during the day, and a bit chilly at night. perfect weather for people watching. and since it’s so cold for the larger part of the year, berliners really appreciate whatever warm weather they have, and there were people sprawled out and suntanning nearly everywhere you look, many half-naked, everyone in a good mood. what i wouldn’t give to be back there again, spring fever and everything.

despite having visited the city a fair number of times before, this time i actually brought a guidebook with me, to find stuff that neither of us has seen before. also, for the first time, i experienced the beginnings of ‘belonging’… a lot was still novel to me, but i felt the initial stirrings of wanting to live there, not as a tourist but as part of it, and i couldn’t help but start imagining myself feeling familiar and even growing bored of berlin, in a daily, mundane, everyday manner. one day, i would like to say “ich bin ein berliner“, donut or no donut.

first stop, our favourite vegan buffet brunch, run by anarchists. we went nearly everyday - their vegan mayo is so delicious.

how could i resist going to the flea market on a berlin sunday? so much wonderful junk to browse through!

lots of vintage shops in kreuzberg… mostly ridiculously overpriced stuff you can find for just a couple euros at the flohmarkt, but still fun to browse through. i would love to have a ‘bargain hunter’ job for a second hand store!

we went to R’s quaint little garten on the outskirts of town. not only is he turning his little ‘toolshed’ into a really cosy living space, but it will have a sauna ‘annex’ - all amongst his lettuces, tomatoes and tulip beds.

i’m sure mauerpark has all sort of crazy stories… i’m not sure if i want to know what was behind this little article of clothing…

bauhaus archiv. the building is definitely something to look at, designed by my main man, walter gropius. unfortunately their exhibition hall just closed for renovations, so i didn’t get to see any funky teapots. however, i did see some andreas feininger, and we got a compensation postcard after a bit of haggling.

the max liebermann house. we rode in the family mobile home to get there, it was fun listening to the ‘kitchen’ rattle around. i didn’t know much about liebermann until i visited, and while i’m not terribly in love with his paintings, i seriously love his house. especially the garden, which overlooks the water.

from the liebermann haus it is a short drive to potsdam, where of course we walked around the old palace, sanssouci. i got a bit of a tan from all the sun and fresh air. quite different from when i went to versailles… that was cold, cloudy and slightly eerie.

a plaque commemorating friedrich der große - those round things you see in the picture aren’t stones, but potatoes. apparently he’s the guy who taught germans that potatoes are edible.

the chinesisches haus. back in the day, this is what their impression of what a chinese teahouse would look like. very rococo, with a golden monkey figurine that apparently looks like Voltaire…

we went to see an uncle in potsdam, and looked through old family albums. this is a picture of the uncle when he was little, with a little kaiser helmet on! sooooo germaaaan…

i will post ONE picture of the sony center, and never again.

sankt matthaeus kirche, designed by friedrich-august stüler, student of schinkel. perhaps because the church is by the kulturforum, they have rotating contemporary art exhibits, usually merged into the religious aspects of the church. it was a coincidence that when i visited, john young, an artist born in hong kong, had his work up (that’s his hanging on the alter). i heard it’s inspired by the light dancing off the stained glass windows in the church…

for the first time, i went to a classical concert in berlin (about time too). it was mendelssohn, held at the konzerthaus, and it’s such a gorgeous building… the architecture is breathtaking. i wish i knew how to appreciate classical music more though (my years of playing the clarinet in the symphonic band has not been terribly educational unfortunately).

despite all the sights and scenery, the best part of the trip was finally meeting the wonderful folks and friends, and catching up with him. wow, i can’t believe i just spent over an hour on this blogpost. time to move on. i do have some other pictures to show that i haven’t developed yet. oh and here are a couple from vietnam and south korea that i took waaay back but didn’t develop the roll till recently:

on our way to the confucius temple in ho chi minh city, we randomly came across the “M & F” cafe, tucked away in a little corner. it’s cute. “music and friends”. and yes, they had decent music.

better than decorating the christmas tree and submitting to anglo-saxon christmas consumerism, let’s keep it real by decorating the communist star -

a picture of my green tea coffee at the cute (too cute) district of insadong. everything is so dainty, small and carefully arranged there that i thought he would clumsily bump and smash something at any moment.

sorry i’m a bit spoilt when it comes to traveling, and am ridiculously fortunate. so… where next?

hey E. it was good talking to you again, even though it was brief.

unbelievable that it’s been nearly a year… back then i was filled with hopes and dreams and doubts, the usual after graduation. where to go next? do i stay in philadelphia, or do i leave? i was impatient. in the end, i decided with much difficulty to stay, mainly because my mom said it’s okay.

she was so selfless. i know she wanted me to be home, after being away for four years, but when i said i didn’t want to leave philly, she was, as always, supportive. “do what you think is best for you”, despite herself.

in the end, life brought me something else. i was back at her side, but it was too late - all those times i wish i were with her for longer, all sleepless evenings when i wish i had more time with her. i barely knew her. she never got to know me as an adult; as an adult i will never get to know her, not just as ‘mom’, but who she really was.

it’s been a long and difficult time. i am lucky that i have a natural ability to adapt, to make the best out of hard situations, that i have an optimistic attitude towards life in general. i am fortunate that i have such lovely and supportive friends. they all pulled me through, and still pulling. and suddenly, it’s nearly a year, and i think of all the things that could have happened if it weren’t for my mom’s ailing health. i’d still be in philly, probably, and everything would have been different. i might still be with you, E, and who knows what that would have meant. like all crossroads in life, you are the path that i didn’t take, the key to a parallel universe that i will never know.

and because of that, you’ll always be special, beyond words. i can’t wait to see you again.

I wish I could swim in the toilet with my family.
I wish I had a silly sister.
I wish everyone was kind and polite in this world
so you wouldn’t be bullied
or miserable.
I wish boys were dumb. I wish girls didn’t exist.
I wish a small meteor would fall
in that cup.

I wish I wasn’t much of a weakling myself;
I wish I had a force field. I wish
everything was free, so there would be
no beggars in the world. I wish
the light could be many popcorns. I
wish there were football fields everywhere.
I wish boys were not everything bad.

I wish all of the girls went to jail
and had 10,000,000 teeth. I wish the world
was musical. I wish the world
wasn’t polluted.

I wish my mom was a magician. I wish my dad
wouldn’t die. I wish boys and girls
could get along with each other,
because I don’t want to fight.
I wish I had wisdom.
I wish it was always autumn:
autumn is my favourite season.

I wish boys went to Jupiter to get more stupider;
I wish girls went to colledge to get more knowledge.
I wish Henry had a girlfriend.

I wish I could freeze time. I wish people
wouldn’t think I’m weird.
It makes me sad. I wish
I could end this poem
somehow. Finally,
I wish this poem was good.

–
the poem is a collage of many ‘i wish’ poems written by kids who were taking classes at the tutorial center i was working at last summer. i was in a bleak state of mind at the time, but in retrospect i am glad i was around those kids briefly. they’re angels.

many thanks to H for putting together this collage, and for sharing.

on repeat:

Le Corps Mince de Françoise feat. Norman Palm - Ray Ban Glasses (Winter Mix)

cute little song, great mix

Kings of Convenience ipanema beach

awesome song, great crowd, rather hilarious camera angle

- thanks J (and V) for the link!