tara donovan's cups

Tara Donovan

Untitled, 2003
Styrofoam Cups, Hot Glue
Dimensions Variable
Ace Gallery Los Angeles, 2005

the plot is not my own

I haven't read poetry in a long time. Not because I don't love it, I do. 

Most of it.

It's more that most poetry doesn't fulfill me in the way that fiction does. It doesn't transport me so completely. And at this point, if what I'm reading doesn't transport me, doesn't transfix and insert me into the easy machinations of the story, I don't have the head space for it. I want to be transported, taken into another world, another life.

It's not that I don't love my life. I do. But at the end of the day, I want to experience something else, something fresh and unknown. Even if the story or the characters aren't fresh, they're new to me. The plot is not my own.

But tonight Djuna pulled Turneresque by Elizabeth Willis off the shelf and brought it over for me to read to her. This is her new thing. She brings me books, plonks herself in my lap, and sits still for 5, 10, 15 second stretches before she's off again, in search of the next book. (We are raising another reader for sure).

So as I flipped through pages of my old poetry teacher's book, I happened upon a poem that reminded me of being in my early twenties again. Of that feeling that I was living with all the unknown ahead of me. Every day an adventure, every book or movie or song a life I might live or emulate.

untitled by Elizabeth Willis

The day left off with a kind of singing "bang." Golden-
rod in a small sea-like air, specific and unbroken. I cannot
favor hunger or its alternatives. I cannot describe salt. In
a parallel universe does anything intersect the confused
blossoming blueness of a wall that is not sea, not golden-
rod, but the paper fastenings of you, standing against it?
I favor concrete between our rage and its mirage. Its
broken line. Catch the flying saucer but spit out its metal
mystery. Adore the big green nothing of the past, the
rationing of calm late in the century, like the arches of a
brick heart, letting go.


[image: Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775-1851), The Burning of the Houses of Parliament, from Old Palace Yard, with Westminster Abbey, c. 1834; watercolor and gouache with scraping-out and stopping-out on paper, 55 x 80]

be back soon... and friday links

Kara Rosenlund's "Sea," via Cup of Jo

We are headed to the south of France and Berlin for two weeks, so the old blog will be neglected for a bit while we are away. I am excited to get away with family, and visit with dear friends we haven't seen in awhile, but I'm totally dreading the flights and traveling with a newly-walking toddler. When do vacations with kids become relaxing?

See you in a few weeks!

Pan-roasted chicken with harissa chickpeas.

My friends Melissa on SFGirlByBay!

Remember Sarah? Her site, Speed4Sarah, just launched. Consider donating to help find a cure for ALS.

One of Stella's favorite activities? Taking photos.

I'm not grossed out by armpit hair on women, are you? Truthfully, I often grow mine out, and I find it quite sexy on other women.

How Powerful Is Your Passport?

This pretty much sums up my daily uniform.

How a woman's plan to kill herself helped her family grieve.

Josey Baker Builds a Bakery. 

(Happy Birthday to my Dad!!)

@large: ai weiwei on alcatraz

I would brave the Alcatraz crowds for this.

From For-Site Foundation:

“The misconception of totalitarianism is that freedom can be imprisoned. This is not the case. When you constrain freedom, freedom will take flight and land on a windowsill.”
— Ai Weiwei

The Chinese artist Ai Weiwei is internationally renowned both as a maker of potent and provocative art and as a passionate advocate for human rights and freedom of expression. His art and ideas find a compelling new context in this exhibition of works created specifically for Alcatraz — a 19th-century military fortress, a notorious federal penitentiary, a site of Native American heritage and protest, and now one of America’s most visited national parks.

Ai’s sculpture, sound, and mixed-media works will occupy four locations in the former prison: the New Industries Building, A Block, the Hospital, and the Dining Hall. With the exception of the Dining Hall, these spaces are usually off limits to the public, but all will be open throughout the run of this unprecedented exhibition. Revealing unexpected perspectives on Alcatraz and its layered legacy, @Large prompts visitors to consider the implications of incarceration and the possibilities of art as an act of conscience.

For Ai, these are not just artistic themes; they are facts of life. A vocal critic of the Chinese government, Ai was secretly detained by Chinese authorities for 81 days in 2011 on charges of tax evasion, and is still not permitted to leave China. As a result, Ai is currently unable to visit Alcatraz. He is developing the artwork for the exhibition from his studio in Beijing, with the help of the FOR-SITE Foundation and a team of collaborators from organizations including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.

@Large runs September 27, 2014 – April 26, 2015 at Alcatraz Island 

[photo: for-site foundation]

happy weekend + goodbye to may

Enchanted Forest by Elsa Mora

Happy weekend, friends!

Vegan Mint Brownie Ice Cream

London Growing. This is FASCINATING. (Maserati's "Cities" is a lovely accompaniment)

The star recipe this week

Chic Fille

Men Who Drink Breast Milk

Elsa Mora's awesome papercuttings

Hachette vs. Amazon

The movie version of Jonathan Tropper's This is Where I Leave You looks funny

Hershey Felder does Leonard Bernstein at Berkeley Rep

life is a glorious thing + friday links

It has been an emotional week. Last Friday night a friend's husband died unexpectedly. There are no words to describe the immeasurable loss and subsequent outpouring of love that we have witnessed for her and their young son and their family over the past seven days. His death has made me pause often, tell those around me that I love them, and hold tightly onto my family and friends.

Life is a fragile, precious, glorious thing. It is good to be reminded. 

Happy weekend.

Get Your Shit Together. (thanks, Shayna)

I love Sophie Calle. Forever.

The perfect weekend bag.

Brian Eno.

I am usually one to roll my eyes and make fake gagging sounds at food restrictions, but now that I've gone dairy, nut, and tomato free for Djuna's sake I'm actually considering buying this cookbook. Crazy? Maybe.

Are the French Better at Sex?

I found my perfect jumpsuit. (thanks for the treat, Mom!)

Though I am, and always have been, a morning person, the upside of being a night owl.

[image: Guillaume Ziccarelli; 2014 Sophie Calle/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York, ADAGP, Paris ; Paula Cooper Gallery and Galerie Perrotin]

book/shop oakland

Read instead... screen print from an original watercolor painting by BOOK/SHOP founder Erik Heywood

BOOK/SHOP is an intimate, well-curated book store/experience in Alley 49 next to Temescal Alley. As well as first editions and other fine volumes, they carry bookish prints, lovely book bags, and other book-related paraphernalia.

Book/Shop book bag, $15

"The Habit of Reading" print, $18

At the end of March they started featuring five new arrivals on their site a week which are only available for online purchase. A few recent gems:

Richard Brautigan's Trout Fishing in America, The Pill Versus the Springhill Mine Disaster and In Watermelon Sugar. First Edition of this printing. $250

Claude Cahun, Photographe. First Edition. $200

Adrienne Rich's Of Woman Born. First Edition. $35.

BOOK/SHOP blog. And Instagram.

[all photos: book/shop]

ceramic bells

Every time I venture into Esqueleto I admire the gorgeous ceramic bells by Michele Quan that are hanging around the store. Aren't they lovely? I want them all.

cheers to december

Hello to December, one of my favorite months of the year. I love the holidays: the chill in the air, the smell of pine needles, baking, twinkly lights, Charlie Brown Christmas on repeat, old traditions and new ones. It's a month of celebrations, of birthdays and family gatherings, made all the more memorable and magical with an almost three-year-old. So cheers to all that...

A few links:

We're on day 2 of this adorable advent calendar.

Yayoi Kusama's Mirrored Room looks beautiful.

I (finally) started Donna Tartt's The Goldfinch over the weekend. The book has been sitting on my bedside table since the day it was released, but I hadn't felt ready to crack the spine until this past Saturday. I'm only 50 pages in, but I'm loving the language and the imagery so far. Take a look at the interview with Tartt over at Powells.com.

Applesauce Carrot Bread with Pecan Streusel. Yum!

This place has become one of our favorite date night spots.

It is silly how long I've been looking for a cute pair of booties. I've been so tempted by clog booties, but when I admired them on Marisa Haskell a few weeks ago she told me all about how hers are stiff and unforgiving. I just don't have the time or the patience to break in a new pair of booties. And, frankly, spending beaucoup $ on a pair of shoes that are so uncomfortable I might never wear them is just not an option. These are the ones I've chosen (in Navy suede). Fingers crossed.

happy friday links

Sheeps by Meagan Donegan

I can't wait to read the new Donna Tartt.

Cookies! Shayna texted me about these yesterday and Stella and I promptly set to work making them.  We put in half the curry recommended but added cardamom and chocolate chips as we didn't have shredded coconut. They're so good!

On the topic of cookies... How Oreos Work Like Cocaine.

Ads use Real Google Searches to Show the Scope of Sexism Worldwide.

Are you watching the new season of Homeland? I'm continually impressed by how the creators of this show make each character's point of view so very believable. And the acting! 

Abandoned: Mark Twain Branch Detroit Public Library.

Hurray for a new Wes Anderson film.

Ace Hotel now in Shoreditch.

Banksy NYC.

oakland gnomes

This weekend I was reminded about this NPR segment on the gnomes of Oakland, the anonymously-painted little wooden creatures nailed to the bottom of utility poles around the city. Walking up a side street by Lake Merritt on Saturday I saw at least seven of these guys. They add cheer to the Oakland streets; every time I see one I smile. Isn't this guy cute?

a few friday links

Our plum tree is producing more fruit than we can manage to eat, so this week I made this super tasty plum tart. I used half whole wheat flour for the crust and very little of the topping. We devoured it with a scoop of Jeni's Goat Cheese with Red Cherries Ice Cream. Absolutely delicious!!

A new study shows that delayed umbilical cord clamping benefits newborns.

We are recommending this book left and right (so good!), and I'm currently in the reading this book, both of which made it onto NPR's Best of Summer: 6 Books that the Critics Adore.

Hurray for new episodes of Endeavour.

YES to breastfeeding in public.

I can't wait for my feet to go back to size so I can finally (I got them in MAY) fit into my *new* clogs.

The Rapper is Present: Marina Abramović + Jay-Z.

Ace & Jig cuteness.

If We Didn't Have California What Would We Eat?

cloudscapes

Beautiful.

Cloudscapes by transsolar & tetsuo kondo architects.

[via of paper and things]

"the ghost of me was still there"

The Interestings, more than any book I've read in the last year, really stuck with me. I bring it up often, with anyone who will listen. I talk about how deftly Wolitzer tackles coming to terms with growing older, realizing the self you are is not necessarily the self you imagined yourself being in your teens and twenties, and facing an unexceptional life at middle age that does not necessarily mean uninteresting. This November I will turn 35, an age I never imagined myself being, and don't really feel. I don't feel uninteresting and I know that the life I lead is, in so many ways, unexceptional. But the truth is, I find happiness in things I doubt my 25-year-old self would, and in shrugging off the desire and impulse to live that exceptional life, I am a happier person for it.

Over lunch today, I read the Tracey Emin interview "The Ghost of Me Was Still There" in The New York Times Magazine, and again started thinking about The Interestings, growing older, living with the detritus and substance of our youth, and looking back at our younger selves with distance and a bit of wonder. This part of the interview fascinated me:

Charles Saatchi owns your famous piece “My Bed,” an unmade bed with the detritus of a bad few months of depression in 1998. How does the bed get installed when it travels?
I install it. Everything is in sealed containers, and it’s all labeled, like a crime scene. I did it in Frankfurt last year. I hadn’t seen it since 2008. I was thinking, with the cigarettes, that’s so weird because I don’t smoke anymore. I haven’t had sex for years, and there’s this condom. God, there’s a tampon, and I haven’t had a period for years. There’s my ex-boyfriend’s marijuana, I would never be with anyone who smokes marijuana now; there’s a whiskey bottle, and I don’t drink spirits. I get inside and pull the covers over me and then fold them back to look natural. I can actually smell the past. When I touched the condoms, I thought, Oh, I really loved that person who wore that condom. It’s a strange feeling, a good feeling. This ghost of me was still there.

[image: "My Bed," Tracey Emin, Saatchi Gallery]

steven soderbergh on the state of cinema

From Steven Soderbergh's State of Cinema keynote at the 56th San Francisco International Film Festival:

But before we talk about movies we should talk about art in general, if that's possible. Given all the incredible suffering in the world I wonder, what is art for, really? If the collected works of Shakespeare can't prevent genocide then really, what is it for? Shouldn't we be spending the time and resources alleviating suffering and helping other people instead of going to the movies and plays and art installations? When we did Ocean's Thirteen the casino set used $60,000 of electricity every week. How do you justify that? Do you justify that by saying, the people who could've had that electricity are going to watch the movie for two hours and be entertained - except they probably can't, because they don't have any electricity, because we used it. Then I think, what about all the resources spent on all the pieces of entertainment? What about the carbon footprint of getting me here? Then I think, why are you even thinking that way and worrying about how many miles per gallon my car gets, when we have NASCAR, and monster truck pulls on TV? So what I finally decided was, art is simply inevitable. It was on the wall of a cave in France 30,000 years ago, and it's because we are a species that's driven by narrative. Art is storytelling, and we need to tell stories to pass along ideas and information, and to try and make sense out of all this chaos. And sometimes when you get a really good artist and a compelling story, you can almost achieve that thing that's impossible which is entering the consciousness of another human being - literally seeing the world the way they see it. Then, if you have a really good piece of art and a really good artist, you are altered in some way, and so the experience is transformative and in the minute you're experiencing that piece of art, you're not alone. You're connected to the arts. So I feel like that can't be too bad.

[via Kottke]

vigilante copy editor

charles fréger's wild men

Charles Fréger "Wild Men" of Europe are beautiful and fascinating.

CZECH REUPUBLIC: In the village of Nedašov, devils join the retinue of St. Nicholas to frighten children into being good.

POLAND: Macidulas on New Year’s Day

FRANCE: Bear at the Festival of the Bears

ROMANIA: Stag on New Year’s Day

ITALY: Schnappviecher (snapping beast) on Shrove Tuesday

AUSTRIA: Every five years the men of Telfs collect lichen to create Wilder Mann, or Wild Man, costumes for the town’s Carnival festival. Tradition dictates that they nibble on a piece of this lichen before the festivities.

Portugal: During Carnival in Lazarim characters called “caretos” parade through the village in hand-carved masks to a bonfire where effigies known as the comadre and compadre are burned.

From David Rosenberg's article on Slate:

If you thought Santa’s naughty list was intimidating, chances are you never encountered a Krampus.

A beastlike creature that is part of the pagan folklore of Alpine countries including Austria, Hungary, and Slovenia, the Krampus was to play “bad cop” so Santa could spend time focusing on the better behaved children.

The Krampus is also the first beast Charles Fréger  encountered during his two-year journey through 19 European countries documenting pagan festivals. The resulting series, “Wilder Mann” is on view at Yossi Milo Gallery in New York through May 18 and is also available as a monograph titled Wilder Mann: The Image of the Savage published by Dewi Lewis Publishing.

All photographs by Charles Fréger. See more of Fréger's Wild Men over on National Geographic.

marina abramović + ulay

I posted about Marina Abramović's The Artist is Present back in 2010 when the I stumbled upon the Tumblr Marina Abramović Made Me Cry. (By the way, recognize this lovely lady? Yep, it's Jemima Kirke...) What I didn't know is that Abramović's past lover, Ulay, also sat across from the artist during her stint at MoMa.

From The Design Observer:

A love story that spans decades is made poignant in this short video. In the late 1970s, Marina Abramović and Ulay fell in love and created art together. As they ended their relationship, they created art in that too. With Marina walking from the Yellow Sea and Ulay from the Gobi Desert, they each walked over 1000 miles to meet on the Great Wall of China. They hugged for a final time and left each other.

"At her 2010 MoMa retrospective Marina performed ‘The Artist Is Present’ as part of the show, where she shared a minute of silence with each stranger who sat in front of her. Ulay arrived without her knowing and this is what happened." (via zen garage)

I don't know about you, but that interaction made me cry...

the event of a thread, ann hamilton

I love everything Ann Hamilton creates. This installation, the event of a thread, at the Park Ave Armory is no exception. If you're in New York, go swing. You have until Jan. 6th...


[via Melissa de la Fuente]

the couple

The Couple

I spotted a version of this print by Ashley G over at my friend Celia's house yesterday and fell in LOVE. After a look at Ms. Goldberg's Etsy shop, here are a few others that I want to put up on our walls...

Welcome

All My Little Friends

A Moment of Solitude

Let's Stay Home

Hello June

The Neighborhood