One of the links over there to the side is design*sponge, a great blog for the design-minded. A recent post on there was the interior space of actress Chloë Sevigny’s home. It was interesting so I clicked on the link to view more… and saw this!
…MORRISSEY?
I started a strange list of things to do or make when I get home. It began with food but is now turning into other activities and will soon become vague ideas such as “walk more.”
1. Eat some good rice. 2. Make some good deviled eggs (good as in, sin atún.) 3. Play racquetball. 4. Listen to the Shins.
I just added that last one after hearing “New Slang.” It has been a long time since I’ve heard the Shins. Fall 2004, to be exact.
I uploaded a few more photos from Bilbao and plan to upload a few more in the near future. I took a total of 468 photos on Friday, about 400 in Bilbao and then the rest back in Burgos since it was the first time I was out in the city when it was dark; it is never dark any earlier than 10:30pm. I uploaded a few of those as well and would love to take more night photos if I get a chance to before we leave. Only 5 more days and so much more studying to do!
As for Bilbao, I loved it and should probably just let the photos speak for themselves. I will note, however, that to me, the most appealing aspect was that it was a place that did not seem afraid of creativity, likely because of the revival the city encountered after the addition of the Guggenheim museum. The Guggenheim’s external artworks also feel like a part of the city, not just the museum. (I was the nerd that introduced the group to “Puppy” by Jeff Koons and actually knew to look around and find “Maman” by Louise Bourgeois.) One of the photos I have waiting to be resized and uploaded is of the Zubizuri bridge, a pedestrian bridge down the river from the Guggenheim and one of the examples that I feel is representative of this somewhat avant-garde attitude the city possesses. Something that certainly needs further analysis but is nonetheless interesting. Medieval cities like Burgos are great; Bilbao was unique.
I finally went to Bilbao on Friday, two days ago, and it quickly became my new favorite city. Nevermind what my old favorite city was… because I don’t know. However, before I can elaborate on the trip, I must write a paper about the piece seen above from the Museo de Burgos, seen below.
I feel like this cat’s expression accurately portrays my feelings about Madrid. It wasn’t bad, we went to two museums, the Prado and the Reina Sofia, both interesting in different ways but I wasn’t crazy about the city. It almost seemed similar to a large American city, just from my first impressions anyway. The leader of this study abroad trip is very knowledgeable about Picasso’s painting Guernica so we visited that first at the Reina Sofia after a guided tour of the Prado from a very colorful tour guide. I think the reason that the program director feels so strongly about the painting is because it displays the raw emotions of the tragic event with more clarity than even a photograph can provide… this is not the art that is meant to be beautiful, it is the art that is made to be meaningful.
I wanted to listen to music while getting dressed but I wasn’t really sure what I was in the mood for, so scrolling through I stopped on Belle & Sebastian. Turned out to be a good decision… sometimes certain music just seems so right, if that makes sense. Like listening to Broken Social Scene the other night… not a good band to mix with others on shuffle, but to listen to an entire album of theirs is so amazing. Actually, I listened to two albums. Mike got me the sandisk sansa express, which I’d been wanting for awhile now. I loaded a bunch of Broken Social Scene on there and listened for a few hours before finally falling asleep…
Speaking of musicians starting with “b,” although I don’t listen to her much, I have a better appreciation for Björk after seeing a Nan Goldin slideshow last summer at the Pompidou and hearing her voice to accompany it. I read a review of that particular body of work, “Heart beat,” that didn’t seem to have many good things to say about it but the reviewer was also comparing it to her previous work. Not having seen all of the earlier work, just selected photographs and certainly lacking the slide show effect, I thought it was quite impressive. Reviews are lame. People need to form their own opinions. Isn’t that one of the more remarkable things about art- that someone can’t decide for everyone else whether or not the work is good? There are no objective views because it always has the potential to jog memories and create different meanings for each individual viewer?
I found my old Andy Warhol stamps. As you can see, there are only two left. I have a cool idea about what I’ll do with them! I’m heading out now to see if I can find what I need for this project… this is the problem with leaving for Spain soon. I need to be getting ready to go but instead I keep coming up with new things to work on. Ugh!
I leave for Burgos, Spain on Sunday. I’ll be there for five weeks, studying medieval Spanish art and architecture and learning to speak Spanish. The program itself seems wonderful- it was actually the requirement of producing your own art to accompany each written assignment that sold me on the art history class! Burgos is only about an hour away from Bilbao. I wasn’t too concerned with visiting the Guggenheim there, I’m not sure why… perhaps because I have received frighteningly few details of the trip and I am more concerned with whether or not I am expected to bring my own towels. However, yesterday I checked out its website and it is suddenly a priority! Even though I am not certain of the career paths I will choose to pursue, I know the museum is so interesting because it houses everything I love… clever design, art (especially modern and contemporary) and undoubtedly amazing architecture.
|
