What's She Bulding In There?

Wow, time flies!

In the past few weeks I have been performing a new role: I have become a non-professional and heavily improvisational carpenter, yes sir!

I figured that if I needed “things” for my show I better start making them, and the fact is that having these objects around my studio make me feel confident about my show.

My studio has suffered the consequences of an entire weekend of cutting, hammering, nailing, punching, and kicking wood (the last two were performed in a few instances of pure frustration).

The kitchen table, which plays a big role in my show, is partly done. I now need to think about tabletops and stain colors.
The other two structures you see in the picture bellow were given to me for free. Most likely they will become tables, one for cooking and one...well...for something.

As you can see it is getting harder and harder to walk into my studio…I do not want to imagine how is going to look like in a month.

Prospectives.09

I am exited to be part of this year's Prospectives.09 International Digital Arts Festival in Reno, Nevada. I will be performing my piece Miranda at the Wayne and Miriam Prim Theater in the Nevada Museum of Art (Saturday, November 14th).

Here's part of Prospectives.09 press release:

Prospectives.09 International Digital Arts Festival November 12- 14, 2009, University of Nevada, Reno
http://www.unr.edu/art/prospectives09.html

Exhibit > Present > Perform > Project > NetArt
Prospectives.09 is the international festival showcasing the work of graduate and Phd candidates working across a diverse spectrum of digital arts practice. The festival showcases the work of 37 artists and performers from throughout the United States and internationally (including artists from Australia, United Kingdom, India, South Africa, Chile, Sweden and Portugal).

This event presents a unique opportunity to experience the cutting edge of digital production in the visual, performing and auditory arts. Artists working in and across disciplines were invited to submit works to be considered for five interrelated events: Exhibi t; Pr ese n t/Symposi um; Pr oje c t: A/V; Perform; and NetAr t. Venues include: The University of Nevada, Reno, Sheppard Fine Arts Gallery, Joe Crowley Student Union, Fleishmann Planetarium and Science Center and the Nevada Museum of Art.

Prospectives.09 features a wide range visual and performative media incorporating digital systems, including but not limited to: interactive art, movement/dance, internet art, video art, generative systems, telepresence, computer gaming, electronic music and “mixed reality” performance art.

Produce, Time, and Nothing in Particular

This past two weeks have been so busy that is quite difficult to keep the mind in one single place. Graduate school is getting difficult to manage these days. It seems to me that there are endless piles of things to do, little tasks here and there, teaching, and many, many other things that are succeeding at taking my focus away.

This weekend I decided to ground myself, at least for a few hours, by visiting the Downtown Phoenix Public Market. I cannot tell you what a wonderful atmosphere that was: people eating, dogs playing, coffee being poured, and fresh produce mostly everywhere. I love to go on these little field trips, yet I am afraid that soon enough these might need to be transformed into weekend studio hours (soon, like this week soon).

Fresh, organic produce from the public market.

Another important grounding element of my weekend was actual research time with my good friends: the history/theory books. I have compiled a list of those books that are helping me develop my show. If you are interested about food and its relationship to culture you might want to check out some of these:


Abbott, Elizabeth. Sugar: A Bittersweet History. Ontario: Penguin, 2008.

Graeber, David. Toward an Anthropological Theory of Value. New York: Palgrave, 2001.

McGee, Harold. On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen. New York: Scribner, 2004.

Meigs, Anna. “Food as a Cultural Construction.” In Food and Culture, edited by Carole Counihan and Penny Van Esterik. New York: Routledge, 1997.

Mintz, Sidney W. “Time, Sugar, and Sweetness.” In Food and Culture, edited by Carole Counihan and Penny Van Esterik. New York: Routledge, 1997.

Pendergrast, Mark. Uncommon Grounds: The History of Coffee and How It Transformed Our World. New York: Texere, 2001.

Strong, Roy. Feast: A History of Grand Eating. London: Jonathan Cape, 2002.

Symons, Michael. A History of Cooks and Cooking. Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 2000.

Whisk Continuously

It might be part obsession, part nostalgia, and a little bit of what I called “research interest,” but I cannot stop thinking about the delicacies of food and art (together). Food helps me helps me connect concepts with experiences, tastes with sights, art with life. It is just wonderful, I think, to go to the beach and experience an overload of egg white meringue coming and going right by my feet. Delightful.

This is Miles, he was enjoying the foam as much as I was.

Here’s a little video I took of the ephemeral life of this Californian sea foam. Where is my sea mousse?