"public space is leaving home..."

2007-05-23T00:12:00.000-04:00

DESIGNER MAIL :: RAIC + Canada Post

Congratulations to Canada Post for creating a stamp collection featuring architecture that is not the Parliament building of Canada! Exhibiting the works of Douglas Cardinal's St. Mary’s Church (1969); Arthur Erickson's University of Lethbridge (1971); Raymond Moriyama's Ontario Science Centre (1969); and Moshe Safdie's National Gallery of Canada (1988), these stamps are a long overdue celebration of architecture in Canada. Also, all four architects have recieved the highest honour in architecture and the highest civilian order in Canada: the RAIC gold medal + the Order of Canada.

Make stamp collecting cool again! > Canada Post

paperSPACE:: How to Make a Zero Backwards by Richard Kehl

soundSPACE:: Handsome Furs: Plague Park (2007) II song:: What We Had.

2006-11-03T05:58:00.000-05:00

Wings of Desire:That's me.
I finally left the nest...but not indefinitely.

Post-thesis has been *wonderful*! Most likely because I've managed to weasel my way out of another chilly winter in exchange for an opportunity to work at a fantastic architecture office in sunny San Diego, California.

Word of the Month: Gnarly.

2006-08-28T18:58:00.000-04:00

Dance Revolution ::
Does anyone remember that 80's toy "Body Rap"?...
Well, Pjotro IS Body Rap.

**thanks Jer! photo: http://dyn.ifilm.com

2006-08-26T16:31:00.000-04:00

funny :: no more crying: KT Tatara.

2006-08-21T23:39:00.000-04:00

Supermarket Sweep :: Jack Bishop

If my thesis were a series of paintings I could only hope it would look this good!A recent graduate from NSCAD University in Nova Scotia, Jack Bishop appears as though he's already generating a lot of buzz in the Canadian arts scene - and rightly so! (note: Bishop, if you're reading this...seriously...joint venture?!...)

2006-08-15T22:49:00.000-04:00

funny ::
Other Music & Shittiest Mixtape Boombox Blast.
The Human Giant is (left to right): Rob Huebel, Aziz Ansari, Jason Woliner, Paul Scheer
Weakness:: Boy-band choreography & cheap suits.

**Some fun dance vids for you kids:
“A million ways to be Cruel.” & “Here it Goes Again.”
HearMORE:: OKGo!

2006-08-09T23:37:00.000-04:00

+ Sold & on Hold :: I am left with little but a bed - that will also be gone in a few days - to eat on... *sigh*

+ SongSPACE :: "In the aeroplane over the sea".
by: Neutral Milk Hotel: In the Aeroplane Over the Sea (1998).

footnote: "Content" will return after thesis...until then please bear with my ruminations on life...

2006-08-08T02:11:00.000-04:00

Wolf-something::

Friday night where were you? It doesn’t matter that it was a long weekend you should’ve been at Barrymore’s. Playing for a polite yet eager crowd Holy Fuck, Frog Eyes and Wolf Parade banded together to perform the rock show of the month (yes, I've prematurely declared it!).
First up was Holy Fuck (Toronto). I first saw them play at Kosmic 2005 and was impressed by their creative collaborations of obscure and traditional electronic devices (many of them) ranging from mini-keyboards to analog sound editing machines. Their dance-worthy anthems had the crowd (and the floor!) moving by the end of the first song – unusual for most opening bands! They didn’t disappoint and even managed to prompt the audience to cheer for an encore performance – which inevitably didn’t happen.
Soon after Frog Eyes (Victoria) took the stage. I had heard a little bit of buzz surrounding them but nothing that really stood out so I waited in anticipation...and waited...and waited…and about after the first few songs I was taken.
{1. “v. taken: To get into one's possession by force, skill, or artifice, especially: a. To capture physically; seize: take an enemy fortress…” }
Lead singer Carey Mercer was intense! His unconventional vocals added depth to the already layered sounds of bassist Michael Rak, Drummer Melanie Campbell and keyboardist Spencer Krug (Wolf Parade). In fact, Carey was so engrossed by his own music that he barely even glanced at the crowd while performing until he stopped to tell everyone it was the eve of his 5 year anniversary with wife/drummer Melanie – *cheers all around*. Finally there was Wolf Parade. I don’t know what to say about them that you haven’t already heard so I’ll just tell you about how amazing they were. They were amazing. During their set they spoke very little if none inbetween songs and overall they sounded great but their performance was a bit uneventful – no kicking or breaking things...basically, no drunken madness - but they did play some new songs! Nonetheless, the entire showcase was fabulous and what could only make that anymore wonderful…..Melos, baby!

HearMORE:: Wolf Parade on Myspace + Frog Eyes on Myspace + Holy Fuck on Myspace
ReadMORE:: ‘Pitchfork’ articles Wolf Parade, Frog Eyes, Holy Fuck.
SeeMORE:: my photos on Flickr

2006-08-02T14:52:00.000-04:00

Left in my own ruins:

It's time once again to do the thing that I detest most: moving. As an idea it's wonderful. As a physical act it's the most tedious and time consuming activity that I hope to never do again...*yeah right*.
MobileSPACE:: The Office of Mobile Design.

2006-07-26T16:44:00.000-04:00

Distractions:
models: in process. stuff...
As of a few weeks ago...my thoughts are primarily reserved for thesis!
In the meantime may I divert your attention to the following?:

DesignerSPACE:: Art//Architecture//Furniture
+ A-Z studio: explore artist/"lifestyle" designer Andrea Zittel’s world.
+ Pechet and Robb Studio (site of the month!): SweaterLodge for the 2006 Venice Biennale.
+ Context: ‘William and Mary’ side chair. Looks like: extruded sections of chairs, tables, etc. W&M chair is really the most notable and only thing worth looking at.

FilmSPACE:: Documentary
+ Why We Fight: Eugene Jarecki, 2005. A documentary about how the relationship between the U.S. Government and the Military-Industrial Complex affects the public perception of society, war, and ‘freedom’.

ReadingSPACE:: Journal Article
+ Canadian Architect: "Luce-idity" . About: Luce et Studio in San Diego, California. Written by: Sheryl Boyle, Assistant Professor at the Carleton School of Architecture.

SoundSPACE:: Fun Music!
+ CCS (Cansei de Ser Sexy): S/T 2005. Sounds like: teen-heat paired w/ electro-beats. Best song titles: Let's Make Love and Listen to Death From Above, Music Is My Hot, Hot Sex, and Art Bitch.
+ The Dymaxions: How the Sick May Help Themselves 2005.
Sounds like: "dymaixion-ism"? Best song titles: Prepare to continue the challenge of a lifetime(tracks: a-d).
+ Colour Revolt: S/T 2005 EP. Sounds like: post-mental breakdown. Best song title: Mattresses Underwater.
+ Midlake: The Trials of Van Occupanther 2006. Sounds like: neo - Flaming Lips. Best song title: Van Occupanther.
+ Nintendo Keychains: Re-issue please! I totally want the "in" one that warps you to secret levels!

OnSTAGE: I had a 'one show' limit at the Bluesfest this year and I decided to see Mark Kozelek of Sun Kil Moon and the Red House Painters. I love, love, love Ghosts of the Great Highway but Kozelek’s live show was a bit of a disappointment. I think the venue, which housed multiple stages and being scheduled to perform early in the evening, distracted Kozelek from executing his performance. Unlike Ghosts of the Great Highway, his set didn't seem to take the listener on any sort of musical journey.
Normally, his songs are rich with narratives that conjure images of heartbreak and rural landscapes. Unfortunately, his performance was remarkably neutral. What he chose to play was well performed but overall it was lacking enthusiam. I think a more intimate crowd would be better suited to his style seeing as he was a pleasant and quite showman. I don't regret going but I was left longing for more.

Want more? :: The official website for Mark Kozelek.

2006-07-02T00:22:00.000-04:00

2006 @ Parliament Hill
Happy Birthd-eh Canada!

2006-06-28T19:28:00.000-04:00

Northern Lights up the Prix de Rome ::

Congratulations! to Jack and Tony at Kobayashi + Zedda Architects Ltd. (Whitehorse, YT) for winning the Professional Prix de Rome in Architecture for 2006.
The award is given annually to “…a young architect or practitioner of architecture, an architecture firm or an architectural design firm that has completed its first buildings and demonstrated exceptional artistic potential.”
Their plans to travel to the circumpolar regions of the north including Iceland, Greenland, Russia, Norway and Finland will allow them to observe architectural design which share similar geographic and climatic conditions to that of Northern Canada.
Jack and Tony are thoughtful young architects with an unparalleled architectural vision which combines a strong modern silhouette with subtle references to traditional First Nations vernacular. Architecturally their attention to detail, sustainable design and their bold use of colour aim to compliment and engage their unique building environment.

ReadMORE::
+ Prix de Rome 2006 News Release
+ Kobayashi + Zedda Web Site
+ Publication: KZA's: Ordish Andeson House, Canadian Architect July 2005

2006-06-27T03:39:00.000-04:00

(re)Writing my Master('s) Piece. In the meantime...

ReadingSPACE ::
+ Unboxed:Engagements in Social Space, edited by Jen Budney & Adrian Blackwell
Essays based on a lecture series held at Carleton University(2002) in co-ordination with Gallery 101(Ottawa). Includes text by: Adrian Blackwell, Vito Acconci and Lucy Orta.
+ Reading Pictures: What we think about when we look at art, written by Alberto Manguel
Manguel approaches this book from a layman's view of art by attempting to figure out how people interpret, decipher and 'read' images.

SongSPACE ::
+ Omaha by Tapes 'n Tapes: The Loon.

2006-06-20T04:39:00.000-04:00

Super Dutch ::

+ You may remember Maarten Baas’ fantastically clever furniture series: Smoke - where Baas burned & preserved pieces of replica furniture (of which I L-O-V-E Gaudi’s 1902 Calvet Armchair while MacKintosh’s 1902 Hill House 1 Chair comes a close 2nd). Now Baas is at it again with his new collection titled: Clay. For this collection Baas uses hand-molded industrial clay as a primary working material formed around metal ‘skeletons’. Upon my first impression I was reminded of Alberto Giacometti’s sculptures (although different in material, they share a similar texture and form). Regardless, as individual pieces Baas has created intriguing, playful and awkwardly elegant furniture.

2006-06-18T22:36:00.000-04:00

Love or Hate? ::
. I missed my opportunity to see this movie in Ottawa (boo!). So, I'd like to hear what you thought of it!
. Personally I like Frank. He's an artist. Spatially I think he questions our typical notions and relationships to space with original provocations (throughout his career). Also I think his work challenges the current building/technology industry to create new ways to use tools, construction techniques and materials.
. People give Gehry a hard time for things like the "Bilbao Effect" but never question the various *beautiful* 'Co-Mo' buildings which plague many of our urban landscapes.
. I do agree that some of his recent commercial decisions may be a wee-bit excessive -ex. Brad Pitt...but he hasn't let it influence his architecture (yet) *fingers crossed*.

. Gehry is an evolving space-maker who seems as though is still in the process of learning and experimenting.
And really, in the end isn't that what all architects dream of doing?

MoreCRITIQUES:
+CBC //+Metacritic //+Globe and Mail//+ Torontoist
MoreGEHRY:
+ Sony Pictures : includes info and trailer

2006-06-18T00:12:00.000-04:00

ScreenSPACE:: Purple Rose of Cairo (1985)
Written and directed by Woody Allen.

+ Intelligent, whimsical, romantic and comedic. This is a film about ‘making love’ – real or imagined. Set during the Great Depression, Mia Farrow’s character is a soft and honest married woman trapped in an abusive relationship. Her escape from her hardship comes in the form of movies – of which she regularly attends. Her dedication and love of film causes her to become a real-life love interest of an onscreen character. What ensues is a humourous tale of love and deceit which leaves you sadly perplexed but definitely hopeful.

2006-06-17T13:59:00.000-04:00

Retired: PF Flyers
*sigh*...emotional attachment can be an unpredictable phenomenon. Sometimes taken for granted an attachment for something isn't always apparent until you have to part with it. My most recent attachment came in the form of shoes - yes, shoes. Although they've been a part of my daily routine for almost two years, I suppose their most valued characteristic was that they became associated with my travels through Europe. No longer were they just a 'cool' pair of shoes but they had become a symbol of my personal growth. Like a photograph they captured moments of a narrative. Untold and seemingly insignificant stories could be revealed through their numerous abrasions and patchwork repair. Ironically they will only exist in this photo(above)...hasta la vista.

2006-06-11T20:46:00.000-04:00

Scared Sacred:

In Scared Sacred director Velcrow Ripper chooses to accomplish one thing: to reveal the possibility of reconciliation through the use of some of the most horrific and terrifying events of our recent history. Since each resolution is unique to the situation and/or person(s), Ripper exposes the viewer to the alternatives of reconciliation either from within the people themselves or through other forms of belief systems.

He touches upon many (9 to be exact) events which occured in various countries beginning in India with a faulty Carbide factory and ending in Israel with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. He tackles these sensitive and politically charged issues in this documentary by allowing the viewer to learn about each tragedy through the personal recollections of the survivors. While also serving as a personal journey to reconcile his own feelings of unanswered questions regarding loss, hatred, politics and war; Ripper uses the meditations of these people to inspire others to have the ability to forgive and move beyond their own personal tragedies.

His simple message of acceptance and forgiveness is a much needed one in our current society. Although laden with enormous doubt and sadness, Scared Sacred carves out a narrow path of hope for our past and current ills.

ReadMORE:: Velcrow Ripper’s Blog

2006-06-09T19:45:00.000-04:00

Winner:

Under the direction of Jean-Pierre Chupin and with the help of the Laboratoire d'étude de l'architecture potentielle de l'Université de Montréal (LEAP); the compilation of Canadian competition entries and information has been documented in the web-based Canadian Competitions Catalogue.
Both a database for perusing Canadian-run competitions as well as providing a search engine for locating specific competitions the CCC's extensive archive of information dates back to as early as 1946!

ReadMORE ::
+ Canadian Architect
+ Canadian Competitions Catalogue Website (English)

2006-06-01T03:24:00.000-04:00

Special Exhibition: Seven Years’ War

The Defeat of the French Fireships attacking the British Fleet at Anchor before Quebec, 28 June 1759 // Painting by Dominic Serres // Courtesy of Library and Archives Canada, C-4291.

SeeIT! ::
+ Currently showing at the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa, ON.
ReadMORE! ::
+ The Canadian War Museum featured in Canadian Architect Magazine (Sept.2005)
+ More on The Seven Years' War.

2006-05-31T20:30:00.000-04:00

“Bleed the Walls of Paint”

Beginning May 28th 2006 :: Paintings by Mitchell F. Chan at The Manx Pub on Elgin Street, Ottawa.

+ Given the poor lighting conditions Chan's richly textured paintings prevailed with the thoughtful articulation of highly abstract and spatially diverse canvases. This series - which is also showing at the Pilot (Toronto) until June 15th – borrows from a similar colour palette of dark-red hues to enable Chan and his viewers to explore and interpret at different scales; the various forms and narratives latent within each painting.

+ For purchase, inquiries or praise: mitchellfchan@gmail.com

2006-05-21T01:56:00.000-04:00

(Da Vinci's code) :: *click* *buzz* *ring* ?

(taken at the Louvre, Feb 2005)

Amongst a myriad of cell phone and digital cameras the Mona Lisa surrenders itself to an ambitious crowd which stands just a few feet away from the lesser known paintings of Raphael, Giuseppe Arcimboldo, and other da Vinci art work!

2006-05-17T03:11:00.000-04:00

'00-'06 : A first-year prediction revisited: still indisputable.

"Go home!" : thesis. thesis. thesis.

SongSPACE :: The Funeral by Band of Horses: Everything All the Time
ReadingSPACE :: The Spaces of Postmodernity: Readings in Human Geography Editors: Mchael J. Dear + Steven Flusty
The Dirt! :: Koolhaas vs. Prince-Ramus (ohhhhh...archi-drama!)

2006-05-10T02:03:00.000-04:00

...blog hiatus ::
...working in studio: busy. busy. busy. {will return shortly} *promise*

2006-04-23T23:52:00.001-04:00

fit in │ STAND OUT!

Congratulations to the Carleton School of Industrial Design for putting on a lovely show at the CUAG. Graduating class products ranged from solar powered sprinklers to cyber-cartographic devices. The level of refinement of the work was impressive and concise!

PlayingFavourites::
+ NCC Signage Group: Willow Watson’s idea was a simple yet poetic design for exterior signage units. Two rectangular frames were bound along on edge: one panel held information/images; while the other panel was void of signage and thus framed a view of the city.
+ I.C.A.N Group: Ilana Ben-Ari’s ‘Connexions’ was a musical puzzle for the visually impaired intended to improve children’s spatial concepts, orientation and communication.

Aces are wild ::
The first year ID class had a mini-exhibition as well which documented their projects throughout the year which included product photography, material investigation, etc. On sale was their first project: playing cards! Each student was given a product to use in their card design and some of the results were cleverly depicted!

Playingfavourites:: (see photo above)
+ Sun Lim’s 2 of hearts/light bulb
+ Rebecca Brunette’s Ace of clubs/airplane
+ Dana Dabros’ 8 of diamonds/Etch-A-Sketch

Note: One of the group projects involved interior explorations/environments where one solution included a multi-surfaced object to hang coats, shoes, etc. Though the symbolic use of antlers was undefined - possibly a new trend in animal accessories? (see: April 8.06. entry on E.Ginder)

Visit Carleton’s Industrial Design Graduation Exhibition at Carleton University’s Art Gallery (CUAG) from April 22 – 25: 10am-5pm.
Industry Recognition Reception on Monday April 24 from 4 pm - 6 pm. Dave Popovich (Smart Technologies) and Carole Champion (Ottawa Manufacturers Network and Ontario Centres of Excellence) are the guest speakers.

2006-04-21T01:02:00.000-04:00

Why?...

I need not explain my horror...

2006-04-17T22:55:00.000-04:00

Canadian Gothic + Joe's World ::

Andrew Wyeth is best known for 'Christina's World' (1948), a painting that arguably rivals Grant Wood's 'American Gothic' (1930) as one of the most popular American paintings of the 20th century.

Although the diverse amount of representations inspired from either painting increases daily; we couldn’t resist the temptation of participating in its romantic lure.

photos: Thomas Nemeskeri, Mark Baechler

2006-04-17T22:40:00.000-04:00

"Is Easter Getting Fuzzy?..." -St.Giles Church, Ottawa

Easter eggs, dilapidated houses + hay bales.

2006-04-08T05:21:00.000-04:00

FUTURE FURNISHING? ::
Cottage aesthetic + Baroque embellishment :: Erich Ginder

Blurring the line between art and design, Erich Ginder Studio has created a series of objects called the Ghost Collection - an eerie group of ornaments which take on functions such as coat hangers and lighting fixtures. Latent in Ginder’s work is a mysterious sensibility which makes them both enchanting + creepy all at the same time!

ReadingSPACE :: Architecture after Modernism by Diane Ghirardo.
SongSPACE :: Cowbell by Tapes ‘n Tapes: The Loon // For the Actor by Mates of State: Bring it Back // Over and Over Again(lost and found) by

2006-04-06T22:09:00.000-04:00

Cooking up some cool ideas ::
I stumbled upon this website while looking at album art on the net.

2006-04-05T01:49:00.000-04:00

Sinking Skins :: Ernesto Neto

*pics (http://www.konsthall.malmo.se/o.o.i.s/2741) except far left (me!)

Valentines Day is for lovers & last year’s was named Paris.

Upon my arrival at the Centre Pompidou I was immediately torn. Observing the architecture of the building was as much a priority as the artwork which was contained within the space itself. Yet after a few short minutes of navigating through the labyrinth-like galleries, I quickly noticed how I began to lose myself amongst the overwhelming variety of international contemporary artwork.

After wiping the drool from my chin I continued to make my way through the museum. Enticed by an unusual scent, I inquisitively turned the corner and was confronted by the belly of an amorphic object hung by the ceiling. This was the genius of Brazilian artist Ernesto Neto. This particular piece consisted of translucent, nylon-type fabric that was shaped into numerous flagella-like extensions that were filled with heavy masses of spice. Each extension remained in careful balance hovering just above the ground. Its only movement was revealed in the small patches of spice which passed through the material and reformed on the ground below. Unaware as to whether I was supposed to interact with the art; I left it untouched in fear of having the piece explode and hearing some awful security guard tell me: “you broke it you buy it” while standing covered in foot-thick puddles of spice.

I later learned that much of Neto’s work had been created with the intention that it would be touched and inhabited by its users. Inspired by the ideology of neo-concretism, Neto rejects modernism’s ideas of autonomous geometric abstraction in replacement of an interactive and organic artistic experience.

“…it is important to Neto that the viewer should actively interact with and physically experience his work by feeling, smelling, and touching it.” - Malmö Konsthall exhibition

He has described his work as an extension and exploration of the body. Much of what he creates appears as a representation of the body where new relationships are formed depending on the interaction with the viewer. Ernesto’s work is sensuous + playful yet retains the ability to continuously generate new meaning with its users. Had I known this prior to seeing his work, cinnamon would’ve had a whole new meaning to Valentine’s Day.

ReadMORE! :: websites about Ernesto Neto

http://www.konsthall.malmo.se/o.o.i.s/2741
http://www.bombsite.com/neto/neto3.html

2006-04-02T05:03:00.000-04:00

What is a Meligrove?...

It’s sometimes hard to admit when you’re wrong. Ok, it’s always hard to admit when you’re wrong. So after seeing the highly touted Meligrove Band at Zaphods this past Thursday I must admit that I was wrong. I was wrong about their sound. I was wrong about their image and I was wrong about their authenticity.

From the onset I was a skeptical listener – blame it on the cover art! – assuming that the band would seemingly spew retro pop-infused songs exhibiting influences borrowed from Ben Folds Five and Pink Floyd. My first half-hearted preview of the album wouldn’t garner a fair estimation of their musicianship but at the same time what I had perused didn’t exactly make me a 'Meligrove fanatic'. So when I was asked to go to their show you could imagine my total lack of enthusiasm. But I was willing to give them a try seeing that their onstage presence was supposedly a lot more convincing than their recorded effort.

From the first note of their opening song until the final encore, I was astonished that I had never even given their album a second chance! During the show I found myself holding back from a full-out mano a mano dance party as they progressed through their set. The Meligrove’s singer/pianist/guitarist Jason Nunes, guitarist/synth/trumpeter Andrew Scott, Drummer Darcy Rego and Bassist Michael Small’s humorous flare onstage resulted in a rendition of the Magnum P.I. theme song and condensed versions of hair-rock introductions from drummer Darcy Rego. Their execution of beautifully complex vocal and musical arrangements made up for their sometimes painfully naive lyrics – “…ohh I, I think about it, ohh I, I dream about it, oh I never want to be alone again. I love you and I hope you’ll come through..." *cringe* Regardless, their sensual combustion of strings which revealed shifting piano chords and intricate percussions made for uniquely fresh pop songs that were both easy and infectious.

Recently signed to V2 Records and produced by Jose Contreras (of By Divine Right), the Meligrove Band has attempted to capture its raw energy and sound on their latest album Planets Conspire. The album listens like a continuous songscape with all the songs drawn from a similar palette of events. Although I still prefer their live act to their recorded version, I have been known to be wrong…

Highlights ::
1. “Our Love Will Make the World Go Round”
2. “Everyone’s a Winner”
3. Trumpets, Pianos + Tambourines!
4. ‘Rockstar’ stories about shooting ranges in Texas
5. Andrew Scott’s Moustache

Hear it! :: www.meligroveband.com // www.myspace.com/meligroveband

2006-03-29T23:13:00.000-05:00

2 roomies + 2 different incidents

ReadingSPACE: Eastern Harbour District: Architecture & Urbanism by Marlies Buurman, Bernard Hulsman, Hans Ibelings, Allard Jolles, Ed Melet, Ton Schaap, et al.
SongSPACE: Hot Snakes: Suicide Invoice
InteractiveSPACE: Sushi Samurai ! Thanks A LOT Cwangdom ! Like I have time for more addictive types of procrastination!

2006-03-29T20:01:00.000-05:00

I ADORE you but….

Morrissey must have forgotten to take his prudence pills a couple of days ago after posting this statement on his True to You site:

"We will not include any Canadian dates on our world tour to promote our new album. This is in protest against the barbaric slaughter of over 325,000 baby seals which is now underway.I fully realise that the absence of any Morrissey concerts in Canada is unlikely to bring the Canadian economy to its knees, but it is our small protest against this horrific slaughter - which is the largest slaughter of marine animal species found anywhere on the planet.

The Canadian Prime Minister says the so-called "cull" is economically and environmentally justified, but this is untrue.The seal population has looked after itself for thousand of years without human intervention, and, as the world knows, this slaughter is about one thing only: making money. The Canadian government will stream all of the pelts into the fashion industry and this is the reason why the baby seals are killed with spiked clubs that crush their skulls - any damage to their pelts is avoided.

The Canadian Prime Minister also states that the slaughter is necessary because it provides jobs for local communities, but this is an ignorant reason for allowing such barbaric and cruel slaughter of beings that are denied life simply because somebody somewhere might want to wear their skin.Construction of German gas chambers also provided work for someone - this is not a moral or sound reason for allowing suffering.If you can, please boycott Canadian goods. It WILL make a difference. As things stand, Canada has placed itself alongside China as the cruelest and most self-serving nation."

Huh?!!! Gas chambers??? China???Boycott Canadian goods???....

I am SO incredibly disappointed- there are better ways of protesting other than absurd gestures + absence…

Jan. 4. 2006: taken from: http://true-to-you.net/morrissey_news_060104_01

Q: HOW DO YOU DEFINE YOURSELF POLITICALLY, OR DO YOU AT ALL?
Moz: “I don't consider myself to be political, even though to sing or to write are political acts, of sorts. The proof of your political thinking is usually in your conduct. I find myself opposing barbarism, that's all… I see no difference between Blair or Bush and Saddam Hussein - all egotistical dictators. Perhaps the only difference is that Blair and Bush do it with a smile. Murder and smile .... as Shakespeare said. Good people do not succeed in politics - it's impossible…”

Sounds like Moz has overlooked a small little factor: that he has already engaged himself in political debate by making statements regarding the war and the killing of animals. Morrissey’s a "superstar" - a *hero* - people love him, *I* love him and he has tremendous influence on his fans. He has the "power" to make change – be it big or small. Sorry Morrissey you are 100% political. To protest is to be part of a political system. It’s not bad, it’s inevitable. It’s self-defeating to think that you can separate yourself from politics or political debate - especially if you’re voicing your opinion onto others and asking them to support your cause...

Read Retorts ::

http://www.myspace.com/morrissey {The debate’s getting heated! Go Team ‘Barbara & Ryan’!}
http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/news/06-03/27.shtml {excerpt: “Uh, Morrissey? You do realize that you recently played three shows in America, where George W. Bush is President, right? And he's responsible for way worse things than killing baby seals, right? OK, just checking.” }

2006-03-21T21:34:00.000-05:00

“Space Invaders” :: it’s not what you think…

22a :: (initiated in 1996): Named after their original studio “location” in the industrial area of Poblenou, Barcelona; this curatorial/artist group seek out new ways to promote artistic production and to question traditional exhibiting models.

Space Invaders :: “The central, driving idea is to invade the space of others or just as well of common spaces, so as to share, co-inhabit, live with, communicate, participate in, interact. If the art space is desacralized, if art is wrenched out of its specific space, all that is left for us is the street, the public space, the social space, in the purest and most direct confrontation with reality…”

The project Fuerte Europa (Fortress Europe), by artist Anee-Britt Rage, proved to be a significant piece of work which exemplified 22a’s objectives. The politically provocative event included flying 15 kites with the faces of extreme right European politicians (Haider, Le Pen, Anglada, ...) on the beaches of Barceloneta and Bogatell. This was supplemented with the dispersion of literature regarding xenophobia in Europe and the decline of various right-wing movements around the world.

Initiatives like 22a demonstrate how a new sociology of public space can emerge through the integration of an unsuspecting public + an unequivocally socially-engaging piece of art. The strength of 22a stems from it’s ability to separate itself from the other more common forms of public art - such as graffiti art – in two main ways: 1) It's transient status: the event and 2) It's ability to spatially transform it's surroundings through its materiality.

InvadedSPACE ::
Similarly, there has recently been a couple of “Space Invaders” outside of my studio in the main foyer of the Architecture Graduate building! Student prank or serious stuff? ...

ReadingSPACE ::
Space Invaders: Artistic Interventions in Barcelona by 22a
Navigate it!: http://www.22a.org/ (in Spanish only)

Architecturaluncanny would like to note that she likes the installations and that prior to having them in the school she was thinking that she was getting “BDBD” or what is more commonly known as: Badly Designed Building Depression (BDBD: n. depression and/or decrease of inspirational or motivational faculties due to a lack of stimulation, heat, daylight, practicality, personality/character, in your space of work!).

Thank goodness for my classmates or I would’ve stabbed myself in the eyeballs with my drafting pencils a long, long time ago!

Note: (for non-Carleton people) there are two separate buildings at our School of Architecture. I assume that they wanted to grant the Masters of Architecture kids the new sterile building for all their hard work and $’s invested over the past 4 – 5 years…thanks, Carleton...boooo!

2006-03-19T02:37:00.000-05:00

+ ReadingSPACE: Urban Futures

Someone somewhere is on the floor howling (other than me)! Possibly a satirical stab at the practice of contemporary architecture?

An intimate photo of Richard Meier’s Museu d'Art Contemporani de Barcelona is the subject of contention. It’s not the façade in the photo that makes it so intriguing; rather, it’s the lonesome man with his dog in the bottom right corner of the cover. Now I haven’t read through this whole book yet and I’m not entirely familiar with author Malcolm Miles’ attitude towards specific architects or architectural movements but I’m pretty sure that the dog in the photo is preparing to take the biggest *crap* ever on the plaza in front of Meier’s museum!

Don't get me wrong, I’ve been to this museum before and although it wasn’t as spatially interesting as I had anticipated, it captured some nice moments within different areas of the building. Contextually, the museum stands in stark contrast to its surrounding fabric. As you make your way through the narrow winding streets of Barcelona you arrive at this unexpected intervention.

It is located in the Raval area of Barcelona which is just beyond the remains of the medieval Roman city: Ciutat Vella. The Raval is notorious for its somewhat 'sketchy' reputation but as a way of enriching its organizational space, the city of Barcelona has taken great measures towards building various cultural institutions in unique - and sometimes controversial - locations throughout the city. Meier’s museum is just one of many examples of this and it seems to work. Its purpose is to attract visitors internationally and locally to an otherwise "undesirable" part of the city in order to dispel notions of negativity associated with the Raval.

Since the 1992 Summer Olympics, Barcelona has been rigorously involved in an effort to generate planning initiatives which attempt to address issues concerning economic and social disparity. While it is debatable whether some projects were succesful (Diagonal Mar), Barcelona’s perseverance to invest architecturally in innovative planning + design are admirable.

As for the cover art: There are few places for dogs to *crap* in around Barcelona seeing that much of the surface is paved with stone or brick. Possible interpretations of the photo could include: a need for more green space? Or possibly it's a criticism of the institutionalization/privatization of art? Or maybe it's just an audacious protest for more public washrooms which, I might add, are totally impossible to find! What I do know though, is that it is in no way a reflection of what is contained within the pages of this book.

So how is this at all related to the content of the book? ....Well, it isn't *really*...

+ Read it! :: Urban Futures: Critical Commentaries on Shaping the City by Malcolm Miles 2003.

+ Say it! :: taken from the article: “Public art: a Renewable Resource” by Patricia Phillips from the book: Urban Futures: Critical commentaries on shaping the city by Malcolm Miles

“Public art balances at the boundaries, spaces between public and private, architecture and art, object and environment. In reality and rhetoric, it operates in the seams and margins.”

“Art is not a thing; it is a dynamic exchange of invention, production, delivery, reception and action rather than a stable collection of formal characteristics. It questions what occurs when people encounter and experience it. “

“Art is thrillingly imprecise. it can shape a public space of imagination and suggests a sense of consequence of individual desires and actions within a community. But it is not risk-free or precisely programmed.”

2006-03-11T01:01:00.000-05:00

"Bite Me."

Amongst all the name calling, I’ve recently been labeled a: “Nikki Wong”.

According to Wikipedia, the Canadian-produced cartoon 6Teen is a “…series (that) chronicles the adventures of six sixteen year old friends at their local mall.” It goes on to explain that “Each character is tailored to resemble a range of subcultures or subtypes of teenagers… and targets issues that teens deal with on a daily basis, while still remaining entertaining. The result is that the teenaged target audience can relate to the characters and their lives at the mall.”

What’s freighting is it assumes that the general audience can identify with these types of characters and moreover that it is an ideal lifestyle to aspire to! (media imitating reality or reality imitating media?)

Unfortunately, I cannot fully deny the aforementioned accusations. I did grow up in the suburbs. I did go to a high school across from a mall. And I did eat my lunch there almost everyday…BUT for the record I never worked in the mall!

6Teen illustrates contemporary suburban adolescent culture but does its representation critique or reinforce these ideas?

+Watch it!: (airing only in Canada) on Teletoon. also, Mallrats + Dawn of the Dead + Clueless , related to mall culture.
+Navigate it: 6Teen’s website – Use i-Pods, cell phones and the fictitious mall map (allan thinks it’s suspiciously similar to the West Edmonton Mall!) to work your way through episode highlights and character profiles!

+Say It! :: (shopping related quotes)

"For me, shopping is like masturbating public." - Slavoj Zizek

"They came, they saw, they did a little shopping." -Graffiti on Berlin Wall

"...commodities are in love with money but 'the course of true love never did run smooth." - Karl Marx

2006-03-10T02:19:00.000-05:00

Bruce in Barrhaven:

Well it looks like Barrhaven, Ottawa has instantly become ‘hip’ due to the master manipulator of image himself: Bruce Mau. From the only two photos I’ve seen of the newly renovated Indigo bookstore, it looks alright. Nothing totally revolutionary and seemingly more wallpaper than architecture, it’s still about a billion times better than what it was.

I guess the most important thing here is that Indigo actually put forth the effort to re-brand their image in order to generate more physical movement + interest in their stores.I was recently talking to a friend (and old boss) of mine who owns the fabulous City Lights Bookshop in London,ON and she was telling me that it is now becoming more difficult to attract buyers seeing that most people buy books over the internet.

Unfortunately what the internet lacks is the interaction between unique characters and the process of discovery. When looking for a novel, the ability to navigate through intricate spaces and items are tangible and sensorial acts that activate and stimulate your mind – basically, you’re not just a mindless robot making transactions with a generic interface! Yeah, internet is convenient, but what are you making time for instead? Watching more t.v. or surfing the net?

Discovery occurs through serendipity, if you don’t allow yourself the opportunity to discover, you may just be missing out on something interesting!

Live it!: taken from Bruce Mau's "An Incomplete Manifesto for Growth":

1. Allow events to change you. You have to be willing to grow. Growth is different from something that happens to you. You produce it. You live it. The prerequisites for growth: the openness to experience events and the willingness to be changed by them.
.
2. Forget about good. Good is a known quantity. Good is what we all agree on. Growth is not necessarily good. Growth is an exploration of unlit recesses that may or may not yield to our research. As long as you stick to good you'll never have real growth.
.
3. Process is more important than outcome. When the outcome drives the process we will only ever go to where we've already been. If process drives outcome we may not know where we’re going, but we will know we want to be there.
.
.
.

ReadingSPACE:
+ book: Mutations // Rem Koolhaas Harvard Project on the City

SongSPACE:
+compact disc: Sunny Day Real Estate :: LP2

+for some reason I can't link to City Lights' myspace account on the sidebar - probably because I loathe that site for reasons I cannot even begin to explain! - but please check it out: http://www.myspace.com/citylightsbookshop

2006-03-08T19:29:00.000-05:00

"Beniyork"

OnSite Review Magazine: 14::2005::architecture and land.

OnSite Review is a bi-annual magazine which describes itself as “a magazine about architects and architecture in Canada.” Funny, because the reason why I bought this issue was for an article on Benidorm, Spain. Oh in a place like Canada where various cultures are so complexly intertwined and where globalization oversees our manifold lifestyles, who really knows what identifies Canada as Canadian anymore!
But I digress, back to the magazine. I was interested in this article not only because I had visited and experienced Benidorm myself, but because my professor Rafael Gomez-Moriana had written it. The four page article demonstrates in both image and text the lack of architectural investment made in this Southeastern coastal city. Punctuated by enormous point towers Benidorm looks more like something from a kitschy American resort town amplified a million times in height, density and tourists. It asserts the highest building in Spain – the 186m high Gran Hotel Bali which pales by comparison to the CN Tower which towers at 553m. Although dwarfed by other internationally renowned structures, could Benidorm be developing a strategy which to expand upon? And by presuming it’s authority on tourism, generate taller buildings in the future thus creating a template that could influence other Spanish coastal cities? (hopefully not!).

“In Benidorm, there is no architecture: there is ‘the tallest building in Spain’ which is also ‘the tallest hotel in Europe’…but there are no buildings that stand out architecturally. Architectural guidebooks to Spain do not list any of its buildings, making Benidorm an exceptional city without exceptional buildings.”

(Gomez-Moriana 18)

By turning your back on the city (literally) your vision surrenders itself to an all encompassing view of the Mediterranean Sea. This calm is what the city lacks. More a spectacle than what should be a complete celebration of its natural surroundings, I’m content in knowing that (so far *fingers crossed*) it permeates Canada only through the medium of paper.

+ see (the madness) for youself! :: Benidorm

+ read :: OnSite Review Magazine (their site needs *help* - don't let it dissuade you though, the mag is good).

ReadingSPACE:

+ book: Up Against the Sprawl: Public Policy and the Making of Southern California :: Ed. Jennifer Wolch/Manuel Pastor Jr./Peter Dreier // Everything you ever wanted to know about the original ex-urban city - research analysis geared towards policy makers - hence can sometimes be a bit dry, but is very thorough in dealing with issues regarding: fiscal policies, racial inequalities, implementing strategies ["smart growth" models].

2006-03-05T00:02:00.000-05:00

so sneaky!

Like many of my other postcards which I’ve collected over the years, my Theodore Gericault postcard serves it purpose better as a reluctant bookmark than that of a brief note written to an overzealous friend awaiting my return from a "fabulous" trip. Today I found it lodged in Joseph Beuys: Diverging Critiques – Liverpool University Press & Tate Gallery Liverpool.

“EVERY HUMAN BEING IS AN ARTIST who – from his state of freedom – the position of freedom that he experiences at first-hand – learns to determine the other positions in THE TOTAL ARTWORK OF THE FUTURE SOCIAL ORDER. Self-determination and participation in the cultural sphere (freedom); in the structuring of laws (democracy); and in the sphere of economics (socialism). Self-administration and decentralization (threefold structure) occurs…”

Beuys wanted to define the actuality of art as an ethical model that allowed for the freedom of co-operative action within society.

In regards to an expanded conception of sculpture he states:

“This intentionality is nothing less than the exploration of dynamic relations between ‘reality as permanent’ and ‘reality as fluent’. When formed as an open-ended presence, a work of art defines a generation of real occasions by fixing reality in an ever-changing movement forward towards infinity.

HeadSPACE:

READ/SEE THIS: Vitamin D : New Perspectives in Drawing by Emma Dexter
Note (for you music nerds): when flipping through this, I saw an entry for Devendra Banhart – “neo psych/folk hippie singer/songwriter” – not really my style (musically or artistically), but interesting nonetheless!

++ Dammit! ++
Just as I heard about this band, Test Icicles, they decide to break up! Anyhow, check them out because they still get royalties!:

+review: Pitchfork: Test Icicles

+buy: Test Icicles Webpage

2006-03-04T01:21:00.000-05:00

ReadingSPACE:
+book: Joel Garreau: Edge City
+book: Anthony Vidler: Warped Space: "Terminal Transfer Martha Rosler's Passages"

SongSPACE:
You Say Party! We Say Die!: Hit the Floor! : "The gap (between the rich and the poor)" + "Jazz crabs"

::: Pitchfork Review
::: YSP!WSD! on MySpace

2006-03-02T13:07:00.000-05:00

I am deaf. Though for good reason. Last night I had the opportunity to see From Fiction and boy did I ever take it! The guys from FF (guitarists Quinten Ede and Adam Barnes, bassist Owen Marchildon and drummer Rob Gordon) played a fantastically energetic ear-busting, body-contorting show at Zaphod Beeblebrox to a disappointingly small but loyal crowd. Until now I had not seen FF live but I had listened to their four-song self-titled debut EP and had heard raving reviews about their live shows.

As a performance they win for the ‘best use of stage’ award, ‘best group dynamic’ award and ‘highest projection of instruments in the air’ award. On the downside, the sound at the show seemed to overwhelm their music to the point where their delicate musical detailing, which for me separates their music from other instro-punk bands, was sometimes lost amongst the noise of their own instruments.

Interestingly, although FF describes their music as an additive process where individual ideas come together to create a whole song, there seems to be a conscious effort in maintaining a sort of irregularity in their compositions. By deconstructing the typical relationships between vocals and instrumentation and within the music itself FF are able to amalgamate these differences into a beautifully self-destructing sound.

The equally talented headliner Sylvie was more conservative in their “rockstar” performance but played a solid set of songs which seemed to transcend their recorded versions. Formed out of the now defunct Despistado, vocalist/guitarist Joel Passmore, guitarist Chris Notenboom, Bassist Riva Farrell Racette, and drummer Jeff Romanyk have convened with some stunningly dissonant + melodic music. Sylvie’s more accessible sound generated dancing girls at the front of the stage and a lot of head-bobbing on the floor. I would definitely recommend seeing them when they drop by your town!

Highlights:
1. A pause in the show due to broken car windshield glass lodged in Joel’s (Sylvie) shoe.
2. ‘Fourth Quarter Report’ (FF) – Awesome!.
3. Rob Gordon’s moustache.

www.fromfiction.com
www.sylviemusic.com
www.zaphodbeeblebrox.com/

2006-03-01T00:20:00.000-05:00

ReadingSpace:
+essay : Terrain Vague: Ignasi de Sola-Morales Rubio
+book : The Urban Condition: Space, Community, and Self in the Contemporary Metropolis: Ghent Urban Studies Team [GUST]

2006-02-28T14:06:00.000-05:00

Fuksasism!

(image from: http://archidose.blogspot.com/)

With a name like Massimiliano Fuksas how can you NOT be famous? Amongst yawning audience members at the National Gallery of Canada(possibly due to the low lighting and speaker volume???), Fuksas counteracted with delightfully energetic and poetic musings about his architectural practice. He prepared what seemed like an endless amount of drool-worthy slides highlighting his most prominent projects of his career.

See more, learn more:
http://www.fuksas.it/html/entrada.html

Of particular interest:
Maison des Arts in Bordeaux, France (1992-1995)
New Milan Trade Fair in Pero-Rho (Milan), Italy (2002-2005)

If that's not enough to make you a believer, imagine you've had a national postage stamp made in commemoration of your lifetime achievements and you're not even dead yet, c'mon! You've got to be a pretty damn decent designer to pull that off!

2006-02-27T14:29:00.000-05:00

"I love destroying asphalt and maybe you'd like to join the party."

-Richard Register

2006-02-25T15:57:00.000-05:00

I smelled garbage at the CCA...

The exhibition currently showing at the Canadian Centre for Architecture(CCA) in Montreal, dealt with sens(ation/uality/ing) of the city. It was an interesting overview of some very unique ideas and approaches to progress the way we interact with our environment. Highlights included projects by Buro Kiefer (Flamigstrasse), Maya Lin ( "Eclipstic" Ice Rink in Grand Rapids) and the photographs of John R Gossage (Triptych 1985).

http://www.buero-kiefer.de/projekte/buero-kiefer.de_projekte.html (Buero Kiefer's Park/Playground)
http://www.metropolismag.com/html/content_0302/lin/ (Maya Lin's Grand Rapids Ice Rink)
http://cca.qc.ca/pages/Niveau3.asp?page=expoempire&lang=eng (Canadian Centre for Architecture)

We also went to see the art of Anselm Kiefer in the travelling exhibition: Heaven and Earth.
http://www.macm.org/en/expositions/16.html

Kiefer's body of work was an extraordinary look at his metaphorical re-creations of emotional, historical, philosophical and mythological relationships in both sculpture and painting.

The most popular and anticipated piece, ‘Buch mit Flügeln’, 1992-1994, ‘(Book with Wings)’, seemed less monumental compared to the more commanding pieces of painting which tended to challenge your personal space due to their immense scale and covert subject matter. Furthermore, the juxtaposition of symbolically traditional materials in his work presented unique relationships between the viewer and work as well as within the imagery contained in the pieces themselves.

A reoccurring and central theme was the 'book' which Kiefer explains:
"The book, the idea of a book or the image of a book, is a symbol of learning, of transmitting knowledge . . . I make my own books to find my way through the old stories.”
Many of Kiefers 'books' were represented in his sculptures. Displayed under glass cabinets, a series of books (approx. 4'x2' in size) made of canvas were layered with what looked like thick black tar. They were mysteriously ambiguous in both context and content and this ambiguity was further empasized by the inability to interact with these objects which we usually engage with.

Overall, I was impressed with the work. It seemed both whimsical and melancholy, surreal and static.

As commented on http://www.zekesgallery.blogspot.com/, I was also surprised to learn that the paintings which involved WWII subject matter, were created as recently as 2004! I'd agree that this subject matter is a bit 'tired' in respect to bringing awareness to the events which occurred at that time but there is still value in exploring these ideas. Like many new artists who use 'old' techniques, subject matter etc. there is an opportunity to re-invent how our preconceptions about these things can be altered in order to set up new ideological relationships and eccentricities.

I wasn't too familiar with his projects prior to the show but since seeing his exhibition it has piqued my interest to learn more about him!

(would be a good start: http://www.amazon.ca/exec/obidos/ASIN/3791333879/qid=1140904467/sr=2-1/ref=sr_2_17_1/701-7813210-3687533)!!!

note (from my roommate): The opening of the Frank Gehry's Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain exhibited the work of Anselm Kiefer in the main gallery.

2006-02-23T11:58:00.000-05:00

Choosing? Don't think

"Here's a suggestion for the next time you need to make a complicated decision: stop thinking," writes Alok Jha in The Guardian. "According to a new study, thinking too hard about a problem leads to poor choices -- difficult decisions are best handled by our unconscious minds." Ap Dijksterhuis, a psychologist at the University of Amsterdam, asked volunteers to pick their favourite car based on four attributes; most picked the car with the most plus points. When he supplied 12 attributes, people could identify the best car only a quarter of the time. "Conscious thinkers were better able to make the best choice among simple products, whereas unconscious thinkers were better able to make the best choice among complex products," he writes in the journal Science. The unconscious mind, he says, does not seem to suffer a capacity limit: "large amounts of information can be integrated into an evaluative summary judgment."

Posted on 22.02.06:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com

You can make an argument for/of anything and in this case....I agree!

2006-02-20T02:44:00.000-05:00

Taken from: Fulcrum: an annual of poetry and aesthetics
Poetry and Truth: Indian Poetry in English. no.4 2005

H. Masud Taj was born in 1956 in Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh. He was educated in Bombay and in Panchgani (at the same school as Manohar Shetty). He recites poems by hear, in sequence, the recitation a return to an early Urdu tradition; and he has only lately begun to collect his poems in print. He lives in Ottawa and works as an architect and calligrapher.

Note: Taj also teaches at Carleton University School of Architecture.

The Travelling Nonvegetarian

The man who spoke with suitcases
Said wisdom was hydrogen peroxide,
Wore a white wig of fibre optic cables,
And dentures that were pure African ivory.
When he smiled, elephants burst into tears.

The man who spoke with suitcases
Said homing pigeons were edible pagers
And grey parrots that spoke too many languages
Tasted no better than those that were dumb,
And all birds on TV were cyber-tandooris

The man who spoke with suitcases
Said the onion was the final package
That packed the process of packing itself,
Which explained the missing mass of the universe
And the tears onion-peelers and stargazers shed.

The man who spoke with suitcases
Said the banana skin was a continuum of zippers,
And all coconuts were neo-colonials
Smashed on occasions of celebration;
All brown outside, all white within.

The man who spoke with suitcases
Said neckties were nooses, wristwatches handcuffs,
And honest heroes who wore underpants outside
Were neurotics packaged in designer masks
Which they removed only to eat.

The man who spoke with suitcases
Said brinjals were boiled with equine eyeballs,
Applied gold glitter-dust to horses’ eyebrows,
And powder-coated his finger and toe nails.
He ate candle-lit dinners in fireproof stables.

The man who spoke with suitcases
Said hunchbacks were born-again backpackers,
And slim briefcases made of crocodile skins
Were chromium-plated mouths to snap off space
To declare at the last border crossing.

2006-02-20T02:22:00.000-05:00

This is what creative architecture students do in their spare time.
A photo of a photo that I bought from a couple students at my school!

2006-02-16T17:50:00.000-05:00

pro·cras·ti·nate: v. tr.
2. To postpone or delay needlessly.

http://www.west8.nl/ (West 8 landscape/urban design)
www.oma.nl (Rem Koolhaas)
http://194.185.232.3/ (Renzo Piano)
www.mirallestagliabue.com (Enric Miralles)
www.morphosis.net/

http://www.macba.es/controller.php (Barcelona Contemporary Art Museum)
http://www.cnac-gp.fr/Pompidou/Accueil.nsf/tunnel?OpenForm (Centre Pompidou)

www.cdnarchitect.com/ (Canadian Architect Magazine)
www.ukula.com/ (Music, Fashion, Lifestyle Magazine)
http://www.commarts.com/ (Communication Arts Magazine)
http://www.artinamericamagazine.com/ (Art in America Magazine)

2006-02-11T20:22:00.000-05:00

Wow, I really am officially old now...

2005-12-31T14:16:00.000-05:00

Happy New Years!

On my way to the smallest town I know to do who knows what with minimal company. It's different from my usual new year's tradition which consisted of drinking, dancing, drinking, boys, drinking...you get the idea. I guess it's just a reality of getting old + boring.

Drink, be safe and countdown with Mary J. Blige on TV...

2005-12-29T01:44:00.000-05:00

RE: my profile

profile: n. ...2. a short biographical or character sketch...

The one thing I hate more than generalizing all my likes, dislikes and life experiences is the thought of being judged by my generalized likes, dislikes and life experiences.

Heart Shaped Hurt:

Prior to the holidays I, like many other students, was working my ass off trying to complete a model (amongst other things) for my mid-term reviews. During this exhausting and sleepless period I had managed to give myself a nice little blood blister on the palm of my hand while attempting to cut a piece of copper rod with what could have been kid-proof scissors. Interestingly enough the damage turned out to look a lot like a heart and the once painful and unattractive blister turned into a beloved scar. Now, three and a half weeks later with the blister healed and minimal trace of its existence, I have but one question: Why doesn't someone permanently mark the forgotten scars acquired on their body and create a human archive of misfortune?...Maybe it's just asking for certain casualty...

2005-12-24T02:35:00.000-05:00

Hope you're having a good time getting all cheery on eggnog + rum!

2005-12-23T19:23:00.000-05:00

About *me* ::

Hola! ...I'm a Barceholic...

The 5-year Plan: Ok, so I am assuming that if you’ve made it this far you probably want to know a little bit more about me. I’m a graduate student studying Architecture at Carleton University. I also have a degree in Psychology from the University of Western Ontario which should’ve been a BFA seeing that I spent the majority of my time in a darkroom while keeping my nose close to many an art book. My time at Carleton has been a rich and insightful education. I have become my own worst critic who constantly challenges and reinvents the limits of my creative capacity. I’ve learned to think critically and pursue intuitive processes of making in all aspects of my work.

I’m a hybrid. I’m placeless. I’m (sub)urban. I'm still learning...

I hope to make beautiful things: architecture, sculpture, and photography.

Design permeates all aspects of our lives – practical or superfluous it’s all important and takes on many forms which are expressions of an idea or ideal.

I have convinced myself that I will someday have a retrospective in the Centre Pompidou in Paris. Why the CP? Well, it may not be the most prolific building I’ve ever experienced but it houses some of the most inspirational and progressive artists, designers and architects of the past century. If being in the likes of Joseph Beuys, Eva Hesse, Marcel Duchamp, Alberto Giacometti, REM Koolhaas, and Renzo Piano doesn’t make you wish you had paid more attention to all those Bob Ross videos, than I don’t know what would. How I am going to achieve this is still questionable...

Reality Check: Here is some information about my thesis for you nerds interested in the renewal of the “suburban” (Insert preferred buzz word: edge city/ post-suburban/ x-urban etc.) landscape in relation to its pubic realm. This may sound banal and indicative of a ‘Seaside’ New Urbanistic approach. Believe me: it’s not.

Now the problem with generating a new language or typology for the suburban territory is a difficult, but important issue. Yes, we all love the idea of the centralized downtown core, but we have to acknowledge a need for the redefinition of the suburbs since it is a continuously expanding area that is undergoing a transformation with the introduction of the ‘Big Box Store’ communities (for example: Wal-Mart mega stores and co.). Large enclosed malls that were once the focus and often the most used ‘public’ space of the suburbs are now shifting in program to accommodate the movement of commercial enterprises outwards to the periphery of the city.

The problem I have here is a lack of executed and innovative idea(s) in this area of my research. Finding some kind of precedent for a strategy to approach the suburbs in order to create a meaningful pubic realm has been difficult…

Some of the following intellectuals and texts are my current inspirations which will hopefully lead me extract some sort of approach in dealing with my suburban nightmare...

Allen, Stan. “Field Conditions.” Points + Lines: Diagrams and Projects for the City. New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 1999. 92-135.
Deutsche, Rosalyn. “Agoraphobia”. Evictions: Art and Spatial Politics. Cambridge: The MIT Press, 1996.
Deutsche, Rosalyn. “Uneven Development: Public Art in New York City.” Out of Site: A Social Criticism of Architecture. Ed. Diane Ghirardo. Seattle: Bay Press,1991. 157-216.
Easterling, Keller. Organization Space: Landscapes, Highways, and Houses in America. Cambridge: The MIT Press, 1999.
Koolhaas, Rem. “Generic City.” S,M,L,XL. Ed. Jennifer Sigler. New York: Monacelli Press, 1995. 1248-1994.
Lerup, Lars. After the City. Cambridge: The MIT Press, 2000.
Miles, Malcolm. Art Space and the City: public art and urban futures. New York:
Routledge, 1997.

The Rest: Well, that’s the ultra-skinny profile of my life right now…books, semi-conscious dreamscapes and hours spent in front of the computer…dammit, I need to get out more…

2005-12-15T00:18:00.000-05:00

Calatrava in Bilbao, Spain (left) + Seville, Spain (right)

Guggenheim. Bilbao, Spain

2005-12-13T02:30:00.000-05:00

Valencia, Spain
Santiago Calatrava's City of Arts and Sciences

2005-12-13T02:29:00.000-05:00

Studio balcony, Barcelona

2005-12-13T01:49:00.000-05:00

Valencia, Spain

2005-12-12T17:49:00.000-05:00

On the train in Cordoba, Spain.

2005-12-12T17:31:00.000-05:00

Ciutat Vella, Barcelona

Beginning in January 1st 2005 until April 4th 2005, 15 students from my program went to Barcelona, Spain to study architecture. What I learned was a hell of a lot more than just architecture. Rather, a way of life substantially different from what I’ve known and become accustomed to. Due to Francisco Franco’s reign in 1939, the then culturally and politically repressed people of Barcelona turned to anarchistic protest in the 70’s to rupture Franco’s dictatorship. It worked, thankfully. Although the people of Barcelona seem to have a strong identity with their province (place) and their culture, it seems that there is a sense of tension or anxiety to its relatively new reconstruction. But it’s just that, which makes it such a wonderful place to be. The old and new are juxtaposed just about everywhere you go, which makes for a complex and multi-layered experience. I won’t go on too much about how amazing the many cultural institutions, exhibits, architecture, city organization, general urban lifestyle etc. are, instead I’ve posted up a few pics. Enjoy...