beijing okay

2011-11-06T11:58:00.001+08:00

QUILT

sewn fabric, oil paint, staples on stretcher bars

30x30cm

GOLD

Oil, pencil & turmeric on linen

30x30cm

SCREEN

Oil, canvas, thread, eye hooks, stretcher bars

30x30cm

POINTS

Oil, chalk, charcoal on canvas

30x30cm

---

I've been quiet for a while, toying around with new ideas.

It's a slight departure, more towards a kind of "non painting." I'm interested in designing the painting as a kind of object, and it seems a natural segue to abstraction. I think it relates. Work that looks experimental and not quite finished is always going to be what attracts me.

Note: GOLD was hard to photograph correctly, but the colors are more or less correct. In POINTS, the square of the canvas contains another square tracing the actual stretcher bars using chalk. It's hard to see in the photograph.

2011-10-03T10:28:00.000+08:00

I figured out a wonderful new Japanese VPN for those living in China called Packetix.net, which is from a Japanese university. I think they should have a Chinese website to help out citizens here who need a free internet. Instructions for installation are here. I struggled with paid and free services, and now that I got to work, it's very fast and efficient. Thank you Japan!

2011-09-12T14:01:00.000+08:00

Our friend Emilie is visiting from Austria and, at the same time, Ariel's father Nelson is here as well.  The house is busy and alive and it feels wonderful.  Even Beijing's unseasonal cold and gray skies don't seem to affect it.  Pictures to follow.

Yesterday was the 10th anniversary of September 11th, and Story Corps created these extremely beautiful, sad animations that deserve to be watched.

2011-09-05T20:02:00.000+08:00

untitled, oil on canvas, 20x30cm

---

Based on a 70s horror movie poster. Faceless star explosion children.

2011-09-05T16:58:00.000+08:00

Indian lemon pickles

---

A lovely, easy pickle that comes about from some experimenting.  This can be made with limes, but add an additional week.

6 lemons

1 1/2 tablespoon salt

1 teaspoon turmeric

 Cut each lemon into eight wedges, then halve these, making 16 equal pieces.  Add along with any juices to a glass jar with a tight fitting lid.  Add turmeric and salt directly to jar, cover and shake well until pieces are coated.  Set on windowsill and let sit for ten days, shaking each day.  

Lemons will extrude juices, which in turn marinate the skin and the mixture will darken over time.  After ten days, try a piece.  It should be completely edible and fairly soft.  The next step will be adding spices.

1 tablespoon red chili powder

1 tablespoon fenugreek seed, whole

1 teaspoon black mustard seed

1/2 teaspoon asafoetida

1 tablespoon palm sugar (jaggery) 

1/4 cup vegetable oil

Add a tablespoon of oil to a small pan and fry whole spices and asafoetida until mustard pops.  Remove from heat and lightly crush in a mortar and pestle along with jaggery.  Add mixture along with chili and oil directly to lemons.  Cover and shake well.  Pickles can be eaten next day, although will be more mature in another week.  Eat with curd rice for something really delicious.

2011-09-05T14:28:00.000+08:00

LET'S HEAR IT FOR RICHARD TUTTLE 

(An example of someone I wasn't aware that I like as much as I do. I played the documentary "Herb and Dorothy" for my class this morning, and they had some choice examples of his drawings and paintings.)

2011-09-03T18:14:00.000+08:00

~Me, by Ariel. Taken a couple of weeks ago.~

2011-08-27T10:39:00.002+08:00

untitled (Coral)

30x40cm 

acrylic and oil on canvas 

---

When my brother and I were young, our mom had a room installation in the  house with neon abstract paintings, cut out images and wooden carnival  animal heads.  It completely took over the entire space.  I'd love to  recreate that feeling, but with a less skilled, more childish feel.

I know, this is a departure.  I've been working on several messy, bright paintings like the one above this week while listening to Maria Minerva.  I'm not 100% sure how I feel about this particular painting, but I really enjoy falling out of my very controlled zone.

Besides the fluorescent palette, I let technique go and replaced it with garishness.  Stippling, a technique I never use, has created piles of oil paint, making the surface very textural in a way I usually dislike.  The overall effect is a little Lisa Frank, drowning.  Or drunken Key West art walk.  Or Dade-County Youth fair. At best, maybe a Floridan Andreas Golder?

Thoughts?

2011-08-25T18:41:00.001+08:00

I had a successful dinner party a couple of nights ago and wanted to share a recipe I've created.  The style of cooking is related to the Sichuanese stir fried chili and chicken cubes ( 辣子鸡丁), but with a distinctive Indonesian feel. Stir-fried dishes are really about timing, so pay attention to proper heat and cutting before you start cooking.  This is not an exact science, so play with the recipe a bit.

---

Stir fried chicken cubes in peanut sambal 

~you'll need~

* four chicken legs with attached thigh 

* 1/2 oil for frying

* About 4 heaping tablespoons of peanut sambal paste (try for a Thai or Indonesian brand at an Asian grocery.  Dry cakes are best.  Should contain such ingredients as lime leaves, chili, shallot, palm sugar) 

* teaspoon salt

* pinch of MSG (optional, but don't knock it!  It's magic with fried food) 

* 3/4 cup unsalted peanuts

* Two fistfuls asian shallot

* 1" piece of ginger, diced

* bit of green onion, green part, sliced in long pieces 

* 2 fresh Thai red chilis, split lengthwise

Using a sharp cleaver, break the chicken legs and thighs into bite sized pieces.  Most pieces will have a small bit of bone and meat attached: this is correct. Discard any bits of bone or skin that has come loose.  Do not add salt at this point, as it will dry out the meat.  

Heat oil in a wok on high heat.   Once oil is hot, add chicken in 4-6 small batches with a large slotted spoon. Chicken should cause the oil to "flare up" on contact.  Stir and fry until mostly cooked through, around 2-3 minutes per batch and set aside. Continue until all chicken is cooked. Remove oil from heat but keep in wok because you will refry soon.

Mix salt, msg and sambal paste in small bowl and set aside.  Peel and slice shallots, ginger and chili.

Once chicken has sat for at least five minutes, reheat the oil on high heat.  Refry all piece in small batches again.  The chicken fat from the previous frying that is in the wok will make the chicken pieces crispy.  Remove when chicken is cooked golden brown and yummy.  Next, fry peanuts until cooked and set aside.  Remove and reserve oil.

 Make sure all your cutting is done.  Heat one tablespoon of reserved oil on high heat in wok.  Stir fry shallots very quickly until they start to brown.  Add sambal mixture and cook in the oil.  Next, add ginger then splash in a 1/4 cup water to hot wok to prevent sticking and to bring up the flavors.  Then, add chicken and mix well with sauce, careful not to allow mixture to stick to bottom.  Add a tiny bit more water if needed.  Lastly, add peanuts and heat them up with the whole mixure.  Once water evaporates and sambal thickens, remove from heat and turn over on large serving tray.  Top with chopped green onions and lengthwise sliced chili.  Serve with rice and salad. 

NOTES

* do not substitute chicken breasts in this recipe, unless you enjoy bone dry little morsels!

* Strain out reserved chicken fat using a thin mesh strainer and save in fridge. This is delicious when making stirfry and beats plain oil any day.

2011-08-20T11:33:00.001+08:00

blue crystals

oil on canvas

60x50cm

--

Shiny, glittery, nonrepresentational.  I finished this in a few hours, giving it a choppy, effortless, thick-lined feel. 

I'm not sure about how I'm titling these latest paintings. Maybe I shouldn't just say what they should physically represent but rather allow it to be an abstraction? "Untitled" is a bit harsh. Ideas?

2011-08-17T13:51:00.000+08:00

*~~* 

I made this tote bag from the pair of leftover wool trousers legs and a really cute hand held manual sewing machine. Simple and a bit wonky, but functional.

2011-08-15T13:13:00.000+08:00

artificial wood grain

chalk on primed canvas

30x30cm

---

 Textural drawing, inspired in part by Chinese false wood grain ceramic pillows I'd seen at the national museum.

2011-08-12T08:29:00.001+08:00

 feathers, lace, fur

oil and marker on canvas

60x50cm

---

This is a much larger, much more freely painted piece than I usually do. It started off about two months ago as a more contained and realistic illustration based on a collage from Vogue magazine clippings. However, I think this abstracted, monstrous result, finished in around two hours while listening to extra loud John Maus, is far more appealing.

2011-08-11T18:06:00.003+08:00

Attn: Catalina

I made the suit pants into short shorts, as we planned. Why am I so shocked? Perhaps it was the 90 cent fee and high quality outcome. Or perhaps it's just my milk white thighs. Hmmm...

2011-08-10T12:12:00.000+08:00

Song Dong's bed frame maze, which spilled into another room

 HOTO, a tremendous pagoda bejeweled with gem-like LED counters

"Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust," in the main hall 

 Ariel giving me peace signs, eerily

--

There is a very good show up at Ullen's that Ariel and I went to see featuring two very accomplished sculptors. 

Song Dong is the current Chinese art world darling, and for good reason.  His large scale installations and sculptures made up of broken down Communist-era furniture are just so completely topical.  The unfortunately titled "Wisdom of the Poor" contains carefully arranged flotsam that is so evocative of the traditional Beijing hutong; arranged round bricks of coal, neat piles of spare wood, a carefully leaning piece of discarded furniture, which all lead to a maze like room composed of carefully stacked wooden frame beds.  A vitrine of soap cakes, artfully arranged in colorful, building block patterns, saved and appreciated, is every bit about poverty.

Japanese artist Tatsuo Miyajima had several aggressive LCD light pieces, the most affecting being another poorly titled piece, ("Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust") which was a large room simply covered in blinking counting down lights. As they count down to one, they disappear, but seem to reappear twice elsewhere. This adds up until a "critical mass" of lights is created, and they suddenly completely shut off plunging the entire room into darkness. An affecting, spiritual piece.

2011-08-05T18:34:00.001+08:00

This French collaborative piece features a metal ball that, when touched, enables the user to be "played" like a musical instrument when others then touch the user.  It encourages contact.

Spiraling powdered Styrofoam in an enclosed chamber, a la MSG Newness

--

The day after I got back to Beijing, I saw the electrifying Translife New Media art triennial at the China National Art Museum. The work was so varied and is impressive that it's hard to describe it all. Touch sensitive fiber optic sculpture, a deprivation chamber, music created by "reading" Amazonian electric fish, eerie windmills made of sand filled plastic bottles, moldy lemons that produce poetry. I had this feeling of confused wonder that reminded me of when I used to visit the Miami Museum of Science as a kid. Some pieces created a sort of mad scientist environment, complete with test tubes and dry ice. (I saw a Korean artist at Pin gallery in 798 that had a similar but more "end of the world" feel with chipped scientific glass and metal equipment attached to wooden pulleys.) This is really worth checking out.

2011-07-23T23:35:00.001+08:00

lace patterns

marker and acrylic on wood

10"x10"

I made this in the Hollywood house while Chad and Cat's new doors were being installed. It's based on old lace pattern drawings, which, out of context, form slightly generic, flowery, amorphous shapes. I'm finding myself interested in this kind of abstraction. Chad said it reminded him of a spice rack from the early 60s, made more complete with "marjoram" in cursive.

2011-07-20T05:25:00.000+08:00

Adoration of the Facades opening credits, 2005

---

I stumbled on this video on Chad's hard drive, which is something I did for some MSG project that was left uncompleted. I barely remember doing it, but I kind of like it's potential. It feels mean without tiring, conspicuous irony.

2011-07-18T00:28:00.000+08:00

Felix Gonzalez-Torres mint

2011-07-15T23:47:00.001+08:00

*~双~*

2011-07-15T23:46:00.000+08:00

VISITS

Silvia came and left
So did Chelsea
Saw Daniel again
Cousins and aunt are down now
Chao, beyond all rational explanation, is coming to Miami
Also, the weather is beautiful

2011-07-08T01:12:00.000+08:00

Witchcraft.  Inside I found a container of lamb fat that smelled just like Beijing. 

Sizing up a discarded Haagen-Das freezer. Didn't take it.

 Well made dirty martini on C&C's porch.

Picking mangoes with mom. We got nearly thirty.

Tri-rail headed downtown.

Leif's lego camera.

Clean fishies.

Fried fishies.

 Strangely powdery cafe con leche at La Carreta.

Ariel's sandy shoulder.

Both at once? 

Platanos maduros cooking in cast iron.

Redundancy in blue on Hollywood Beach 

1856 with a filled, circular window

SOUTH FLORIDA is great, but summers are rainy.  America itself is quiet, poor and recession-y.  Miami is, as usual, love-hate.  I miss Beijing, mostly for it's ease of getting around and food, but the weather here is tropical, sticky beautiful-ness.  I've been reading, cooking, family-ing, playing with Leif, talking, perfecting martinis, fattening up, meeting friends and biking (when I get the chance).

2011-07-06T22:42:00.000+08:00

Who wants to join me in an ashram in Kerala? Costs are incredibly cheap, around $10-15 a day. Maybe this upcoming winter?

2011-06-20T21:36:00.002+08:00

Taken yesterday morning on my walk around Hollywood Florida

2011-06-19T20:20:00.000+08:00

I'm in FLORIDA seeing family and trying to rest. It's nice to talk to and be around artists.

Oh, but that Beijing feeling. I already miss that crowded, everyday-on-top-of-everyone-else type of necessary communication in China, contrasted with football field length parking lots of lonely commuting.

Outside the house are house upon house. Territorial.

2011-06-16T09:22:00.000+08:00

diamonds

oil, glitter, rhinestones on canvas

30x30cm

2011-06-05T09:48:00.000+08:00

paisley

oil on fabric

20x20cm

I've been attracted to paisley recently and have been trying patterned painting on pre-existing fabric.  (Like previous paintings "Pastoral" and "French Roses.")  Ariel said this painting is very Peter Max, but it's probably just because it's paisley.  The colors may be brighter than appear on screen.

After some thought, I'm just not feeling the last painting I posted. I love the idea of "Franch Style"; a portmanteau of a noun and adjective, close but incorrect enough to be uncomfortable, but I want to try again for a more successful result.

2011-05-30T12:30:00.000+08:00

franch style faguo fengge

acrylic, marker, oil and graphite on canvas

20x40cm

---

As I move into more messy, more aggressive and more graphic painting, I still feel that the work fits into the same context of other pieces I've created this year. This painting, along with previous works like Pastoral and LV, are like failed luxury. The bottom phrase Faguo fengge is the Chinese romanization of 法国风格, which means "French style," unlike the intentionally incorrect "Franch."

2011-05-30T12:19:00.000+08:00

This weekend I saw a solo show from Spanish duo Bestue Vives in Magician Space in 798. The work had a great, simultaneously clever and dumb humor that was completely infectious. Above is a Dada art-asshole comedic piece, Acciones en Casa, which is well worth watching.

2011-05-25T18:28:00.005+08:00

LV

gouache and marker on canvas

20x20cm

 paisley

Acrylic, marker and oil on fabric

30x30cm

torn checkerboard

oil and glitter on canvas

20x20

---

Three new paintings. I've been looking at patterns, aggressive color combinations and design.

2011-05-18T13:27:00.001+08:00

English First apparently also teaches Chinese classes in Beijing.

Although I'm not sure I'd agree with learning Chinese through them when private tutoring and small schools are literally everywhere, they have a wonderful ad campaign that should really draw in students! There is basically no competition against this kind of slick ad amongst the low budget or uncreative Chinese teaching companies in Beijing.

2011-05-14T08:48:00.000+08:00

---

Outsider painting from Yvette's Bridal shop in Panama City, Florida. She has an eye-melting website selling a lot more of these pieces; a conflagration of midi music, broken design, poor attempts at foreign languages, occult gibberish and photos of the "artistes." Price of above? An even one million dollars.

2011-05-01T13:28:00.000+08:00

Pastoral

oil on fabric

40x40cm

I've been working on this for longer than I usually do with my work, on and off for a few months. It's also a bit larger than I usually work and contains more detail amongst the messiness. The paint is applied thickly and resembles blue icing.

2011-04-23T13:42:00.000+08:00

FREE HIM

2011-04-20T14:01:00.001+08:00

I recently saw Wild Combination, a documentary about musician Arthur Russell. I can't recommend this guy enough.

2011-04-17T13:38:00.002+08:00

milk mold

30cm x30cm

oil on canvas

goldpants

9"x11"

collage on paper

2011-04-11T18:56:00.002+08:00

This weekend I saw an exciting large video piece called "Yellow Signal" at the Ullen's Center from artist Wang Jianwei.  

The piece was exhibited in the tremendous, cavernous back room of the museum and consists of five separated "rooms" with silent projections above each side of each entrance, making it only possible to see two at once.  The videos show scenes and settings like a crowded migrant worker's dormitory, a turbulent courtroom scene, a sports arena a military medical examination and a housing community.  The sets are all filled with characters acting in disturbing ways in each setting, like frantically practicing ping pong in the sports arena or violently criticizing the accused in the court setting.  The characters also move from set to set, creating a "storyline" of sorts and giving the effect that the entire piece is performed live.  The color yellow, which is in the name of the piece and is notable in the stage lighting, has pornographic or forbidden undertones in Chinese, so this may also tie in.

Also notable was the Faurschou show of photographs of Lucian Freud by David Dawson as well a painting of said photographer.  I remember the last and only time I saw a Freud painting in person I was 16 or so and it was the rather infamous Leigh Bowery series.


David and Eli, 2003-4

Not so notable was the preposterously self important Diane von Furstenberg "Journey of a Dress," which features endless paintings and photographs of the designer over the past few decades along with "you go girl" type inspirational drivel slapped all over the walls. 

2011-04-09T21:35:00.002+08:00

Mung bean pakora with green chutney

---

I've been cooking lots of Indian food lately for friends, especially Northern styles, and thought I'd share recipes I've come up with from lots of experimentation, online searches and this friendly auntie's website.  This is an absolutely delicious snack and can be made in advance and fried and put together when company comes over or if you just want something wonderful.

mung bean pakora

--

you'll need

1 cup whole mung beans, soaked overnight

medium onion, diced

teaspoon ground coriander seed

3-4 tablespoons flour 

1/2 teaspoon red chili powder

teaspoon salt

pinch of whole cilantro leaves 

teaspoon chaat masala*

1/2 teaspoon asafetida*

oil for frying
  

In food processor or blender, coarsely grind mung beans until most, but not all beans, are pulverized.  Scoop mixture into bowl.  Add flour a tablespoon at a time or until batter is stiff enough to form.  Add all remaining ingredients and mix together well.  Heat a few inches worth of oil in a saucepan on medium.  While oil is reaching temperature, roll 1 inch sized balls and pat into fat disks (see above picture)  Fry 5 or 6 at a time until outside is deep golden colored, around 3-4 minutes.  Set aside on paper towels.  (Batter keeps for a couple of days.)

perfect green chutney

--

you'll need

chopped cilantro leaves and stems, around 3 loose cups

3-4 chopped small green chili

juice of one whole lemon

tablespoon diced ginger

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon sugar 

1 tablespoon whole cumin seed

1 tablespoon oil 

1/2 teaspoon asafetida* 

Heat oil in pan and gently fry asafetida and cumin seed. Once the cumin is toasted, remove from heat and allow to cool in pan. Add all ingredients to blender and top with cooled oil and cumin seed mixture. Blend well. Add more cilantro, if needed, to achieve a chunky and less liquid texture. Serve with above pakoras.

* chaat masala can be bought or made from scratch and asafetida can be found in Indian markets. There is no specific substitute, so you can leave them out if you cannot find them.

2011-04-06T14:34:00.000+08:00

This performance from artist Gong Linna is the antithesis of the  earlier Spring Festival gala video I posted, although it was also part  of the festivities.  The public really responded to this performance  after Chinese pop star Wang Fei posted this particular video on her  blog.  It went viral, and the requisite parodies and video responses  have piled up.

This piece's title, 忐忑 (tan3 te4), is a literary Chinese adjective meaning anxious.

2011-04-06T14:10:00.002+08:00

A beautiful photograph, taken in an obscure, ruined village in Hebei province by my guter Freund Emilie. (click on me)

2011-04-06T14:03:00.000+08:00

春天来了 

Spring's finally arrived

Sakura blossoms and magnolia, courtesy of Mr. Ariel.

2011-02-27T08:40:00.002+08:00

The yearly CCTV Spring Festival Gala is usually peppered with cheesy trends, but this particular video is a smash up of such disparate references that it turns into complete, druggie lunacy. Wow.

2011-02-19T12:00:00.000+08:00

Sad Love Song, Andreas Golder


Pastry Bag, Song Yuanyuan

-/-

I saw a few nice shows at Caoshangdi yesterday.  Galerie Urs Meile had a great show from the rather famous Andreas Golder.  Huge, hideous and confrontational work with a clever mocking of classical themes.  I especially liked the layout of the main hall with several huge paintings and crudely painted leather lounge in the center, "artifing" it and making it useless for sitting on and contemplating the work.

A lesser known gallery, 01100001, had some surprising painting by Chinese artist Song Yuanyuan. Lots of depictions of construction materials with "zoom-in" panels. Somehow the construction materials, Christmas trees and sofas depicted seem anatomical, or naked in some way. Very "photography painting." Several of the works combined grotesque images with desirable ones, all in domestic settings.

2011-02-18T10:51:00.003+08:00


All smiles over subpar Margaritas. Bangkok.

Ariel at Utopia, an unbelievable bar. Luang Prabang, Laos.

Ariel on our hotel balcony. Vientiane, Laos.

Map consultation. Luang Prabang, Laos.

Crumbling French colonial. Vientiane, Laos.

Drinks at Tiger Hut. Ko Chang, Thailand.

Public bus. Bangkok. (Courtesy of Chao)

Laotian hotpot/grill. Vang Vieng, Laos.

Chao at Buddha park. Outside Vientiane, Laos.

Finished papaya salad. Ko Chang, Thailand.

Hammock outside of our hut. Vang Vieng, Laos.

A slightly sturdier hut with drying clothes. Ko Chang, Thailand.

Marketplace in Luang Prabang.  (Chad, you'd love this.)

View of northern Laos from the bus. (Courtesy of Chao.)

Street food, Bangkok.  (Squid tom yum and crab cake with fried basil. YUM!)

Ariel and I looking tanned.  Bangkok.

---
And so...

Beijing is bone-chillingly cold and it snowed recently, ending over 100 days with no precipitation.  (True desert!)  This is markedly different with every single destination in Southeast Asia, which is where Beijingers with know-how, creativity and cash flock during Spring Festival rather than taking filthy trains to grey cities.

Our particular dash from winter was far more relaxed and vacation-y than the last trip to Malaysia and Indonesia, which had some hair raising moments.  This is probably because Thailand and Laos are positively loaded with tourism and can feel very "Australian Spring Break."

THAILAND is not exactly how I remembered it; last time I was there Bangkok was full of passionate protesters.  It's still a love-hate place; messy, absolutely trashy tourists, culturally obtuse and congested beyond belief, but so dedicated to spectacular street food that it's all forgivable.  Thailand is good with chill-on-the-beach tourism and offers the best values in Asia.  People are accessible and friendly.  We went to Ko Chang, an island half a day away from the capital with laughably beautiful beaches and palm thatched huts by the side of the ocean.  Fried fish and beer.  Absolutely perfect.

LAOS was new to everyone, and was not quite what I expected.  It felt more like an Asia escape rather than what it actually is, which is one of the continent's poorest and most corrupt countries. (And Communist to boot.)  Since the tourist scene is so clearly defined, you feel quite separate from the locals.  Foreigners fall in love with the country, and the bars and restaurants of the nicest areas are staffed by European owners serving clever cocktails and Laotian inspired dishes for very low prices.  Culturally, it's like a Thai village, with some strong similarities in language and food.  Laotians are far more conservative and quiet than Thai, and tend to ignore rather than pester.

Also, check out Ariel on Facebook for better photos!

2011-01-22T11:16:00.000+08:00

Hello all, quick hello from Vientiane, the capital of Laos! The city is a lot more developed than I expected, although mostly within tourist spots. The seperation between locals & foreigners feels very Colonial, quite unlike Thailand. The capital is full of charming, dilapidated French colonial buildings and Communist style monuments, also dilapidated. Locals seem surprisingly unSoutheast Asian in that they are meek and seem nervous around white foreigners, who are numerous in the city centre. This city has the strongest & most authentic cafe culture I've seen in Asia.

2011-01-02T16:00:00.000+08:00

bodies 

oil on canvas

20x20cm

 French roses

oil on fabric

20x20cm

leather shoes

oil on canvas

20x20cm

 untitled

collage on paper

 20x30cm

玻璃

oil on canvas 

 40x30cm

untitled

oil and acrylic on canvas

 20x30cm

 crystals

oil and glitter on canvas

20x20cm 

---

I've been working on a new group of paintings for the last few months.  Using fashion magazines, collage references and pattern studies, I'm working my way out of my earlier work into a kind of 2D work that is more like small visual projects.  I feel some of my earlier paintings "fit" within this group, such as wedding and this collage, along with a reworked version of leather shoes, which is pictured above.

I'm happy with the way this is heading. And feedback would be lovely, although the quality of the above photographs is lacking.

2010-12-25T11:06:00.000+08:00

(Our spread)

HAPPY HOLIDAYS EVERYONE!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

圣诞快乐！

2010-11-17T09:34:00.000+08:00

And so... 

The last few months I've been living cheaply and banking some money, seeing increasingly good art, painting and working.

Chad's been gone for some time now.  I still miss him, our wandering adventures, our dinner meetings after work...

I think I'm finally adjusted, have a renewed visa, a pleasantly redecorated apartment and some new (and exciting!) paintings I've been working on.

I'm busier with classes with semester than the last one.  I'm teaching a course about contextual shifts within art, which is a nice change of pace, but requires fumbled explanations of postmodernism to a classroom of students who barely understand English.  (Oops)  It's still fun because my students really care.

Winter is very much here, but it's infinitely more pleasant than last year.  The weather has been strangely clear and beautiful most of the time, and really not too cold.  I finally got to see the full red leaves of autumn, something that I was never able to see in Beijing. 

Several months after Indonesia and Malaysia, I really want to travel again.  I have this India guidebook just sitting on my shelf... 

2010-08-29T19:00:00.003+08:00

UPDATES:

I'm back from an unexpected, nerve-wracking visa run to Hong Kong. It's a shoppy, fashionable place with a beautiful cityscape and a surprising amount of seedy Pakistanis and Africans offering drugs or massages. Or tailored suits.

Chad is settled, happy, and overcoming jetlag. We saw art today, and 798 really delivered with a few choice shows. I'm very glad he's here.

Classes start soon, so summer vacation is coming to an end.

2010-08-14T09:08:00.000+08:00

SO, we're back in Kuala Lumpur after a harrowing bus ride to Solo and some ridiculous nonsense we had to deal with at the airport. I'm going to wait before writing more about my month in Indonesia, but suffice to say I'm happy to have an air-conditioned, reasonable, hassle-free, artificial break in Malaysia before heading back to Beijing.

<3

2010-08-14T09:00:00.000+08:00

Traveling by bus, especially in Sumatra, you're bound to see signs which are actually in Indonesian languages, but act like English homophones.  It makes things even stranger that Bahasa Indonesia has no concrete spelling, so the same word can be spelled many ways, or there can be regional, dialect variations.  This also means that any recognizable English loan words (like "business") could easily be spelled two or three different ways.  I'm sure this is also true with the hundreds of languages in Indonesia, most of which use Westernized script.

English homophones I've seen on signs in Sumatra:

Cat oven (I believe this means "kiln")

Door smeer (This means a car/motorcycle polish)

Air (This means water or any liquid)

Semen (This means "cement")

Tie rod (Can't figure this one out!)

2010-08-10T13:05:00.016+08:00

Bali, in various pictures

-~`*`~-

2010-08-08T13:04:00.000+08:00

ARIEL enjoys our lush garden in Kuta beach.

ROSS sunburn-edly waits for warung food.

CHAO dramatically overlooks the Wild Buffalo temple, in a borrowed sarong.

-<>-

2010-08-06T10:01:00.000+08:00

So, I'm in The Aquarius Hotel on Kuta beach drinking insipid tea and rather delicious oatmeal waiting for the two others to wake up.  We're all quite happy with this place; very resorty, but the most beautiful beach I've ever seen with frothy, crystal clear water and powdery sand.  It's a much welcome fun and dumb and relaxing atmosphere, and is reminiscent of Florida beach towns.  Now that I've seen the two tourist meccas on the island, I can make some general observations: 

** Even though Ubud is the "cultural capital," you can eat actual Indonesian food at warung in Kuta.  Unless you want overpriced nasi goreng or hideous things like "Balinese tapas," you have to actually leave Ubud to eat.  

** Balinese dance and gamlean are so beautiful, especially when seen in Ubud palace.  The beaches are all Tom Petty covers delivered with thick accents.

** Relationships between Balinese and foreigners seem to be more meaningful, deep and friendlier in Kuta as compared to Ubud. This may be due to the economic discrepancy between the two kinds of tourists that frequent these areas.  Certainly, the locals in the tourist sector are more friendly here and give the impression that it's not only about milking you for cash.
 

** Ubud is a thousand times more beautiful as a city than the poorly planned, overdeveloped Kuta.  Even north towards fancier digs, Ubud has a more rewarding and "Balinese" landscape.
 

** North of Kuta in Seminyak or Legian, you notice that the expatrate community living in and around the area seems larger than Ubud.
 

** Ubud: hippie, new-agers taking crystal infused spiritual classes, eating overpriced cranberry muffins, being nervous and pretending not to be in Bali. South Bali: Surfer type, beautiful people who miss Australia while eating overpriced brick oven pizza and pretending not to be in Bali.

The honest truth is that I do not ultimately enjoy touristy places. Less simulated reality is healthy, even if it isn't pretty.

Tomorrow we leave to Candikunning and the lakes and hill towns of north Bali for a few days. Also, a botanical garden and volcanic sand beach! Hopefully it won't be overrun.

2010-08-03T12:38:00.000+08:00

We've been in Bali for about five days now and have been mostly in the so called cultural center of Ubud and one night in some horrific beach town in the south filled with middle aged Australians dancing frenetically to Bob Marley covers delivered in slurred English. There is a lot to say about Bali, not all good, but I think Ariel puts it best in his email to family back in Miami:

"Hey guys,

Bali is great but too damn expensive and touristy. There's a lot of things that I hate about it, but it's so damn pretty at times that you really want to stay for years. On the other hand, the locals are cash fiends and most people want nothing from you except for money, and that obviously leaves a bad taste in your mouth. Bali is best if you're an indulgent, naive person willing to spend at least a hundred dollars US a day. Backpackers it seems, deserted this bitch a long time ago and won't be coming back anytime soon.

Out of all the places we've been to in Southeast Asia, Bali is the least friendly to it's tourists, (especially those who aren't desperately and stupidly throwing away money) and that's not a great feeling when you're on vacation and genuinely interested in the culture you've come to explore. Bali is best it seems, for rich old ladies who think "Eat Pray Love" is the greatest story ever told, or people who've never been to asia before and never want to come back after. Sometimes it feels about as hokey and removed from any reality as the World Showcase in Epcot center. At present, I sit somewhere between moderately happy and terribly underwhelmed. And nearly broke."

I'd also like to add: where is this money going?  Every single tourist facility in Bali overcharges (and occasionally just cheats tourists) dramatically, but the basic infrastructure here is below that of anywhere in Java, more comparable to Sumatra.  My father told me that the Balinese say that beggars on the island are from Java, but that is total nonsense.  Outside of tourist zones, the Balinese use poor roads, throw trash literally everywhere, have sidewalks with gaping holes and have large amounts of dogs with mange and disease wandering around.  Besides hostility, what lasting effects has tourism actually brought? 

More on this later, as I formulate a more fair assessment of the place.  On a positive note, the temples, culture, babi guleng (roast pork) and especially music are magnificent.

2010-07-28T14:00:00.000+08:00

Indonesia food is delicious. 

1 - Ayam goreng (Indonesian style fried chicken with mint basil, spicy bean paste and rice)

2 - Gudeng telur (Rich, stewed jackfruit with a hard boiled Chinese style tea egg, with fried buffalo skin and tofu sambal)

3 - A rojak vendor's display (sliced fruit salad with a tangy, salty, spicy dressing)

Not pictured, but much beloved: tempe sambal, (fried, fermented bean curd slices coated in a chili sauce) roti bakar, (pan fried bread with a variety of different fillings, including chocolate sprinkles, peanuts, cheese or jam) bakso, (meatball soup with bits of fried tofu, glass noodles and fried shallots) es campur, (refreshing shaved ice with fruits, syrup, preserved tangerine, croutons, young coconut, etc.) ikan goreng, (fried fish, usually with sambal and lime) and nasi goreng (fried rice! Cheap and everywhere).

Regional variation means you'll try many different versions as you travel. (Guess which one of the above was influenced by the Dutch!)

2010-07-26T09:31:00.001+08:00

Flower tiles and a preparing gamelan orchestra


Chao in our 60s bungalow-type homestay lobby

Prambanan's Shiva temple

Public artness

Endless transportation

Gamelan on display

A certain photographer at Prambanan

The Sultan's daughters

Restored pleasure palace of the 18th century Sultan

Deco train station

---

YOGJAKARTA

This is the culture center of Java, and it's fairly obvious.  Marred a bit by unchecked, rip off tourism, it's still a lovely, small city arranged around the kraton, or Sultan's palace, who still officially runs the show.  Lots of old converted Dutch buildings intermingled with intricate Javanese wooden porches, endless crappy batik sellers with that ubiquitous call of "hello mister!"  A lot less heavy traffic, with becak bicycle rickshaws and horse drawn carriages for tourists. 

Today we leave for Borobudur, which is possibly the largest Buddhist temple in the world, built over a thousand years ago.

2010-07-18T22:06:00.000+08:00

 VISIT LAKE TOBA

Consider this for your next vacation and you won't regret it. Breathtaking views, resort style Batak houses for surprisingly cheap, the kindest people ever and a totally unique culture, all on a tiny island floating in the center of a tremendous volcanic lake in Sumatra. They need and want your business. Come.

Oh, and be sure to try pepes ikan (steamed fish with coriander, lemongrass, candlenut, coconut, green chili, etc. wrapped in banana leaves) at Juwita's Cafe. Possibly the best food on earth made by the loveliest woman ever.

2010-07-16T13:36:00.000+08:00

Greetings from the island of Sumatra.  We've been having issues with several details including domestic flights, ferry failures and Chao's card getting hopelessly trapped in an HSBC machine because of a (frequent) power outage. 

This country is markedly different from Malaysia considering the similarities in Malay-Indo culture/language/food.  Everything is much, much more third world and overwhelming, more Cambodia than China.  We're adjusting.

Recent travel: We just left two blissful days in Bukit Lawang village, where we trekked in the rainforest, saw a mother and baby orangutan in the wild (!) and climbed on all fours into a bat filled cave.  That, and stayed in a gorgeous traditional house with a view of the jungle and rushing river.  Breathtaking and humid.

We're currently in the north Sumatran city of Medan, famous for rat filled sewers and the smell of burning trash.  (Also a couple of old mosques, I've heard.)  However, owing to Indonesia's jaw dropping economic disparity, the city center is blanketed with air conditioned malls, which we are naturally enjoying.  We're having more issues with Air Asia, but after some kind of resolution we are quickly heading to Lake Toba, where we will swim in a volcanic lake and see Batak houses.

More to come! 

2010-07-12T09:27:00.000+08:00

-- In Malaysia, no shoes inside most buildings or temples. --

2010-07-09T20:16:00.000+08:00

UPDATES: We had a small change of plans since we went yesterday to buy our ferry ticket to Indonesia and found out that the ferry to Sumatra from Penang Island has been canceled permanently. So what this means is that we must fly, an unnecessary expense and a delay. The cheapest flight we could find leaves on the 13th, giving us a little less time in Sumatra. However, we could do worse with our surroundings; tropical weather, crumbling Deco architecture, garish Chinese temples, endless lounging, mountain view beaches and iced drinks in lazy warung shopfronts. This island has a great feel, a little like a larger Hoi An in Vietnam. Why, then, am I anxious to leave?

A slower pace is clearly healthier.

2010-07-09T09:38:00.001+08:00

<3- One of Ariel's three daily lunches. -<3

Penang Island, Malaysia

2010-07-08T09:26:00.001+08:00

About a thirty minute bus ride outside of Kuala Lumpur lies the Batu Caves, a Hindu temple complex inside a huge cave with a great number of stairs and a huge statue of a deity out front.  The complex is most important during the Thaipusam festival, when devotees celebrate the son of Shiva by piercing all sorts of things through their bodies and faces.  Outside of festival time, it seems to fall to disrepair with rather unimpressive religious tableau and more construction material and bags of cement than Hindu objects.

There were a lot of tourists when we arrived, mostly Chinese from various countries and Australians. As you walk up the steps to the mouth of the cave, you're more or less greeted by about twenty monkeys that eye you suspiciously. The cave interior itself is massive, dark, blanketed in sleeping bats and impressive.

2010-07-05T10:53:00.000+08:00

ARIEL always wears cool sunglasses for all occasions.

ROSS likes photographing stupefyingly delicious food.

CHAO enjoys architecture, walking and raincoats.

-more to come-

2010-07-04T09:07:00.000+08:00

ARRIVED

I'm sitting in front of a computer in a Chinatown guesthouse in Kuala Lumpur that doesn't block my blog and doesn't have Chinese text support, both of which I'm not used to. We haven't seen the city yet since we arrived late last night, but today is day one of a six week trip around Malaysia and Indonesia.

First impressions are that this city is strictly divided into three major groups: Malays, Indians and Chinese with exotic looking groups in between. This is my first Asian city with such a diverse ethnic population. Far more to come. (with pictures!)

2010-06-15T18:23:00.001+08:00

untitled

oil on paper

---

(click for larger picture)

I haven't been posting my recent paintings, but I have a few in the works. This one is a quick, small oil sketch over an advertisment for wedding services.

2010-06-12T11:02:00.000+08:00

This is a nice sambal (chili sauce used in Malay and Indonesian food) that I've come up with.  Use it as a dipping sauce for fried tofu, a salad dressing good with  cabbage and thai eggplants, a fish marinate, or as a sauce for BBQ,  churrasco or roast pork.

GREEN SAMBAL

you'll need

-

ten green chilies, whole

five shallots

five garlic cloves

juice of two limes, one teaspoon reserved

about two teaspoons shrimp paste

scant teaspoon ginger julienne

about a tablespoon of peanut, coconut or canola oil 

pinch of turmeric 

pinch of salt

set aside to blend

-

one tablespoon white vinegar

reserved lime juice

two stalks of thai basil (around 10 leaves)

half as much peppermint leaves

Using a mortar and pestle, crush chilies, shallots and garlic roughly.  Fry all three in oil on low heat until flavor is released and shallots and garlic start to brown.  Add lime juice, shrimp paste, turmeric and salt and cook together for one to two minutes.  Set aside to cool.

Once cool, Add mixture along with ingredients to blend (if you'd prefer a chunker sambal, you may used a mortar and pestle) Blend until combined and a paste is formed.  Will store in refrigerator for a week.

2010-06-08T12:37:00.002+08:00

A fantastic story for a film.

2010-06-07T11:37:00.002+08:00

杜拉拉升职记 Go Lala go!

(Where exactly is she going?)

(NOTE: This film is already months old, but I'd like to add an English review where none exists)

---

Lala, a recent graduate, sends out her resume sitting in her over-sized, over-decorated apartment and then timidly hunts down an office in Beijing's financial district for an interview with her somehow naive ponytail and white nurse shoes. She gets the job, and starts bottom rung in an indistinct foreign run company, scraping by using her charm, food rationing skills and perceived business savvy to slowly climb the ranks, eventually having a relationship with her higher up, procuring the requisite car and apartment and traveling to a cardboard version of Thailand for company vacations along with whatever else you're supposed to do with money in contemporary China, including becoming jaded with it.

Go Lala go! is directed by the very popular Xu Jinglei (徐静蕾), who also stars in the role at Lala. To say this is a vanity project would be to state the obvious, and critizing it as such is also meaningless. It features every possible A list celebrity from the Chinese speaking world as well as two zombified American bosses, played by Caucasian actors whose only purpose is to speak Mandarin. (something Chinese absolutely fetishize.) Characters operate in a sanitized, absolutely false version of Beijing, set entirely amongst plastic skyscrapers and shiny malls, offensive considering the real poverty and distinctive local culture so noticeable in this city. (Regardless, movies are about escapism and so it does this well.) It's safe to say the film has absolutely nothing new to say about anything, but the film itself isn't important; it's the tone and persevered message.

There is not a single film that more encapsulates the attitudes of Beijing's new middle class or anyone wishing to join their ranks more completely than this movie. "Rags to riches" this certainly is. It illustrates the drive and desire to "make it" in a way that we no longer portray with a straight face in Western movies, and equates material/financial stability with a strong desire to achieve, but also a kind of moral superiority. The fact that this film spawned counterfeit "Lala" movies is the proverbial cherry on top, making it a pitch perfect critique of China's mindless, "wild west," uncreative, unchecked growth.

Swirling martial arts epics have as much to do with China today as Merchant Ivory films have to do with contemporary England. Go Lala go! is about as ugly and accurate as possible.

2010-06-01T15:42:00.002+08:00

[Hu Jin's (胡晋) tiny, but arresting, blue tiger cub. Part of an altogether kitschy collection of tiger-themed Chinese ink painting.]

---

Today Ariel and I saw a rather great collection of Czech sculpture from the sixties to the eighties at the National Art Museum of China, along with a few not so great Soviet Realist oil paintings, redeemable only for that dramatic grotesqueness that can be interesting. 

Some highlights include Jiri Kolar's "egg object," which is a collaged egg with three circular panels each covered with cut out flowers and bird's plumage, all with the technicolor look of 50s "Life" magazines, and Eva Kmentova's "plants:" an evocative watercolor of hand shapes with multiple sprouting fingers.

2010-05-31T09:41:00.000+08:00

Yesterday I hosted a dinner for a few friends that was so easy and quick that I actually had time to concentrate on wine and conversation.  Nearly everything I made was recipe free and fusion, either conveniently prepared well in advance or put together almost instantly, making it more creative than previous ventures.

---

The menu

1 - cucumber, lychee and bean sprout salad with a pickled chili dressing

2 - Chinese style braised beef with radish leaves and potatoes

3 - Indian pickled eggplant

4 - tomato, watermelon and mint salad with yogurt and homemade chaat masala

5 - Fried butterfish with lime, shallots, fish sauce, green chili, coriander and Thai basil

6- Caramelized sweet and sour bitter melon

---

Now I just have to work on food presentation and food photography!

2010-05-31T09:15:00.001+08:00

A recent bright, sunny day on our open balcony.

~*~

2010-05-22T19:37:00.000+08:00

---

North Indian/Pakistani vegetarian from my newly busy kitchen: bhatoora (fried Pakistani yogurt leavened bread), chickpea masala, palak panner, brown rice lentil pilao, pineapple and pickled chili raiti, lime pickles, green mango pickles, yogurt with chat masala & a furiously hungry Ariel!

2010-05-15T11:40:00.000+08:00

HOW TO TEACH CHINESE STUDENTS ENGLISH

怎么教中国学生英文 

After teaching in Beijing for several years, I want to compile what I've learned into an easy how to for anyone else about to teach here.  Specifically, this is for anyone teaching at a high school or college level.  Teaching elementary school students is quite different.

Through years of lecture, test taking, book reading style teaching, your students will have little actual communication skills.  Do not be surprised if your students cannot understand you when you speak or are unable to answer simple questions, even if they've studied English for over five years.  You need to coax something out of them over time.  Patience is key.

Culturally, you will be dealing with terminally shy students.  Most students at this age are unbelievably nervous speaking English in front of you and their peers.  Some students will completely ignore you when you ask them questions in class, which is mostly a way to deal with their nervousness.  As cliche as it sounds, face is important in China. 

Because of the level of competition, the Chinese education system encourages constant correction.  If a student speaks aloud in class, other students will interrupt them quickly to try to correct their pronunciation or grammar.  Discourage this by telling students that you are the English teacher and you can handle all corrections.

Even if told otherwise, teach grammar.  Schools want you to focus on oral English, exclusively, but your students will undoubtedly have huge grammar issues.  Teach them English so they will be understood by native speakers, no matter what you've been told. 

Depending on where you teach, your student demographic could easily be almost exclusively wealthy students.  This is especially true of college study abroad programs or "special study" departments in major universities.  In China, it's common for wealthy families to pay extra to allow their children to study in an English only special schools, especially if their sons and daughters cannot pass entrance exams.  

Many of your students are the only child in the family, and so can be surprisingly sheltered and spoiled.  Do not be surprised if students sleep in class, read or do something off topic.  You must earn their respect and have a strict hand when needed.  Also, remember that most Chinese students do not choose their majors and are studying exactly what their parents what them to, and are therefore unmotivated.

From the beginning, students expect entertainment.  The quality of English teaching in China varies greatly, and many students want the clownish, loud foreign teacher they've heard about or assume we all are.  Students will treat you very differently than Chinese teachers.  You have to work hard to earn respect.

Stereotyping is common in China, so expect this to be applied to you or your culture.  Even very educated Chinese can be surprisingly unaware of the outside world.  Don't be surprised if asked odd questions.

Many, and possibly most, Chinese English teachers do not have real spoken English skills.  Do not be surprised when English teachers speak to you in Chinese first.  Sometimes, the school staff in will actively avoid you just to avoid the embarrassment of being unable to communicate with you.  It can be lonely.

Expect special treatment.  Some students will give you pull you aside before or after class for conversations away from peers, invite you out for dinner or ask for your phone number.  Chinese staff will treat you outside of the group, like a special prize or "trophy teacher."  Sometimes this can be difficult to deal with because you are occasionally treated less like an actual teacher and more like a symbol.

Knowing Chinese can be a detriment.  If you show that you can speak and understand Chinese, you'll get stuck responding in English to questions posed in Chinese.  Firmly asking students to use NO CHINESE is necessary.

Have a lot of patience, always. Best advice of all!

-<3-

2010-05-08T10:46:00.001+08:00

How're you doing, 爱美丽?

2010-05-08T10:25:00.002+08:00

印度餐

1 - lamb vindaloo, rajma kidney bean curry, chicken in yogurt and almond butter, mango chutney

2 - lentil dhal with brown rice, mango salad with chaat masala and lemon, spiced tea (chai)

3 - lamb kofta, black eyed pea curry, pineapple-lime raita, cucumber with mustard oil & green chili salad, mango pickles, naan bread from our local Xinjiang place.

－－－

Ever since I cooked Indian for Emilie's going away party, I've been obsessed with Indian food. It's a wonderful, versatile, full cuisine that may be my absolute favorite.

2010-04-13T19:26:00.000+08:00

Emilie and me on a park excursion, cherry blossoms at the Old Summer Palace, a cheeky boy in our neighborhood, Chao with a summery hat

(Photos courtesy of Ariel)

~~~

Emilie has been visiting this month, so we've been seeing Beijing as the weather warms up.   We might have a new roommate soon, Xi Zhong Zhong, a filmmaker who we met almost two years ago in Vietnam.  Also, I'm nursing a cold, so lots of soup and ginger tea to counter this.

I'm working on two interesting paintings, which I'll post once more progress is made. 

Ariel and I are planning a long trip to India this summer along with a friend, Chao. We're thinking about taking a train to the south of China and finding an inexpensive way to somehow just get there. I've been immersing myself in Indian themes, including reading Mark Twain's amazing account of his visit to the country in the later years of his life.

What are you up to?

2010-04-01T16:37:00.002+08:00

(Me, courtesy of Chao)

2010-03-27T15:41:00.002+08:00

减肥茶

Weight loss tea

Chinese, like Americans, love diet plans.  Average diets are much more oily and meaty than previous years, so Chinese are bulking up.  To combat this, there are many new products on the market, many ridiculous, designed to help you lose weight.  

Weight loss teas (减肥茶，or literally "lose/subtract weight tea") are a common, sane form of weight control and look much like Western bag teas, with a Western price to match. All of the ingredients in such tea are very Chinese, and are traditionally drank without any weight loss goals in mind.  (Strangely, all ingredients in these teas are easily bought for much cheaper at local markets or drugstores here.) 

From experience, these tea ingredients are great for digestion, helping upset stomachs, relieving bloating and keeping regular.

Pu'er tea （普洱茶）
Cassia seed （决明子）
Hawthorn berries （山楂）
Lotus leaf （荷叶）
Chrysanthemum（菊花）

2010-03-26T18:52:00.005+08:00

Oops... almost right.

2010-03-25T14:58:00.001+08:00

北京师范大学辅仁郊区

Beijing Normal University Furen campus

---

I'm teaching a few classes at this beautiful institution this semester. The campus itself has an incredible history: it was part of a massive mansion built in the mid 18th century by a possibly corrupt minister named He Shen. He was later executed and the entire mansion was passed amongst royal family until it was finally bequeathed nearly one hundred years later to Prince Gong, the then emperor's brother.

In 1921, part of the compound was bought by the Catholic Church and made into Furen Catholic University. During the cultural Revolution it became, of all things, an air conditioning factory. (If you look carefully, you'll notice rubbed out slogans exalting Mao painted on the facade.

Now Fu Ren campus is completely seperated from Prince Gong's mansion, which is still mostly intact and protected. The campus is shabby, at best, but glimmers of it's past glory can be seen.

Anyway, my students are fun and have a high English level! Looking forward to the semester.

More pictures...

A restored, but unused, building facing a sparse rock garden.

A pretty pavilion set amongst a garden.

2010-03-24T08:55:00.001+08:00

Emilie, when you visit lets...

eat jasmine soft serve ice cream at Wangfujing.
visit at least one obscure temple on the outskirts.
devour food at a lao Beijing place on Gulou.
have cheap cocktails on Nanluo.
(hopefully) see plum blossoms in a park.

2010-03-21T18:37:00.001+08:00

Protesting, Chinese style

---

Walking home from work a couple of days ago I discovered these signs of political protest on a shop around Qianhai.  What I could make out is a familiar horror story in contemporary China; the forced reclaiming of old houses to make way for new construction.  Although the government gives residents cash for the demolished house, many times the house in question is so undervalued that residents cannot afford an apartment in Beijing's inflated real estate market.  

Among the cluster of signs above, the most notable are the characters below Mao's portrait that read "怀念毛主席," or "yearning for Chairman Mao."  Nearly all such silent, passive-aggressive protest evokes Mao's name, something that is nearly as unheard of in contemporary China as protesting in the first place.  To many Chinese, Mao is the symbol of an earlier, backward time, even if his face is emblazoned on all currency.

This is not the first time I've noticed this kind of protesting in  Beijing; there is also a shop near Gulou located directly next to a  large military headquarters with a sign that reads in English: "FOREIGN  JOURNALISTS, PLEASE HELP."  They also prominently feature a portrait of Mao in the window.

How am I implicated by living and working in such a place?

2010-03-20T13:45:00.001+08:00

Beijing is dyed a sickly yellow.

2010-03-18T20:25:00.002+08:00

西安王家
Xi'an King

With only a handful of tables and minimal decoration, this easy to pass up, ubiquitous looking hole-in-the-wall serves snacks specific to Shaanxi as well as other house specialties. Their pork and green pepper stuffed sandwiches (肉夹馍) are the best outside of the city that bears their name with homemade buns and perfectly fatty, tasty filling. Also try their potato salad (土豆沙拉); Creamy and fluffy with shredded daikon and carrot, it's frequently ordered and sometimes sold out. Other snacks to try include spinach in ginger juice (姜汁菠菜), their specialty "omelet" (鸡蛋方) and a variety of cold noodles.

It's usually packed for lunch, so be prepared to share a table with strangers if you come alone.

From 北新桥 exit B head north along 雍和宫大街 for around 100 meters. The restaurant will be on your right side.

2010-03-18T18:18:00.000+08:00

If say something malevolent or gossip about a person not present you can say:

天知地知你知我知 (tian1 zhi1 di4 zhi1 ni3 zhi1 wo3 zhi1)

The literal translation is "Heaven knows, earth knows, you know, I know." This implies that although there are four "people" present, it's unimportant because it'll be kept a secret.

2010-03-15T19:31:00.003+08:00

(It snowed all day yesterday.  Pretty!)

***

This Sunday, the gang and I had a busy day at the 798 art district. Highlights:

Kehinde Wiley's paintings of African soccer players at UCCA. (Disappointingly, the actual paintings did not arrive at the opening, so copies were on display.)
H.H. Lim's "Gone with the Wind" installation, also at UCCA. (Which consisted of ceiling fans "cutting" provocatively through slits in walls, cars and furniture, all of which is surrounded by slightly pointless painting.)
Tony Oursler's solo exhibit at Faurschou. (Ambitious, large show with two new, site specific video pieces including a talking Mao projection.)
798 Photo Gallery's "Linger." (A group show that suspiciously resembled a solo show of eerie, sad plastic looking girls in photographic collage scenes.)
Iberia Center's "Asian Landmark" group show. (Spy cameras, a motion sensor robotic lotus blossom, light sculptures, video and a life sized tractor made out of faux fir. Really delightful!)

2010-03-13T07:27:00.000+08:00

(millions of unaffordable, cream colored things)

MUJI 無印良品

Beijing is now overrun with the Japanese "lifestyle store" MUJI, which is common in Japan but high luxury in Beijing. This is where you can spend 65RMB ($9.50) on a perfectly simple, unfired clay incense holder. It's like IKEA, but much more desirable.

It's a bit worrying that a two floor superstore selling, among other things, hand brooms and lint rollers at literally ten times the price in regular Chinese stores, can do successful business. How wide is this income gap?

Language note: The Japanese name can be read in Chinese perfectly with the exact same meaning. In simplified characters, it's 无印良品, or "unlabeled" (无印) "fine products" (良品).

2010-03-11T14:12:00.003+08:00

Ariel on the subway

爱你帅哥 <3

2010-03-10T19:03:00.000+08:00

顺路。

- Two recent photographs taken on the way to other places. -

2010-03-10T09:18:00.003+08:00

犀利哥
"Brother Sharp"

One of the more interesting recent internet celebrities in China is "Brother Sharp," a possibly mentally ill, homeless man from Ningbo.  He's been praised as a Bohemian style icon, wearing clothes reclaimed from the trash, having unkempt hair and a certain style, attempted by others using gobs more money.

The whole affair is pretty telling; the haves try to copy the "look" of the have-nots.  In China specifically, there is no real history of thrift stores or punk music or any kind of fashion rebellion in this way.  Any attempt is usually a kind of elaborate, expensive, safe, imported costuming, so "Brother Sharp" actually doing it is exciting, albeit he's unaware of the situation.  The inevitable backlash, a "Brother Sharp" make-over and intervention, is already in the works.

Some pictures:

The Chinese reads "Everytime I see him, I give him 10RMB, which he uses on cigarettes.  He also has women's clothing, all of which come from the trash."

The Chinese reads: "The first time I saw him, he was collecting cigarette butts to smoke. I asked him, 'Are you hungry?' He said, 'Yes.' Then I asked, 'If I give you 10RMB, can you go buy food yourself?' (I wanted to see if he could provide for himself.) He said, "Alright, but I'm actually going to use this money to buy cigarettes."

The Chinese reads "Perhaps his road is long, or perhaps it's short, but his future is uncertain."

2010-03-10T08:49:00.001+08:00

“我用“裸体俯卧撑”记录历史”
"I use nude push-ups to record history."

(A translation of an article about a local artist. His photographs are commonly found in Beijing galleries.)

2010-03-09T16:09:00.003+08:00

An old, abandoned Lada.

(Xisi district)

西四区

The West and South of Beijing are nowhere near as wealthy as the east and parts of the suburban north. Somehow these portions, notably the center west part, have been left behind dramatically in economic development.

Xisi is a surprisingly depressed area not far from my home in distance, but much further away in other ways. Some streets and hutong look unchanged for many years, and there are several temples and markets overflowing onto the streets selling mostly construction equipment and lighting supplies. The beautiful, but unkempt, "white pagoda temple" is nearby, so you can see nuns occasionally walking the streets.

2010-03-07T11:04:00.001+08:00

Lots of issues with internet usage in China... I'm testing a site that allows me to post through a 3rd party program. Hopefully this works.

UPDATE: Due to recent blocks, we've paid for a private VPN located in America. We can use everything and it's much faster and easier than it ever was before. (Why didn't I do this before?)

2010-03-05T09:04:00.001+08:00

BBQ night
---
(Thanks for the picture, Alesh)

2010-03-01T10:46:00.002+08:00

Something wonderful Ariel has found...

i love you

2010-03-01T08:00:00.000+08:00

ATTENTION TO THE HEALTH ADVOCATE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION ESTABLISH HARMONIOUS HUMANITYS GARDEN
collage on paper
30x20cm
---

(This is a collage using stickers on a found booklet from China Oil. The phrase comes from a poorly translated motto outside of a large office building.)

ALSO: I've updated my painting site.

2010-02-28T19:12:00.001+08:00

-<+>-

Skimming through the classified, I stumbled upon this little gem. It's a one bedroom house located walking distance to my current apartment, tucked within traditional Chinese courtyards. Not included, for some reason, was a picture of the living room. The price is a bit too steep at 7000RMB (around $1000) a month, considering it's much smaller than my current place.

Hmmm...

Anyway, maybe it's time for a move?

2010-02-28T11:35:00.002+08:00

---

Gulou street, which is right by my house, is a very popular walking street with lots of clothing shops, a rock club, Chinese style barbecue joints, and traditional courtyards converted into businesses. Walking further into the hutong, you'll reach nanluoguxiang, another shopping street with fashionable clothes and vintage toy shops. (My father called it "cute street.")

These two notable shopfronts were spotted walking from my house to the drum tower. "Let Love Be Your Energy" is a clothing boutique and the white sign on the second picture says "不营业," which means "not a business." (It must be unfortunate to live right on a popular shopping street.)

2010-02-26T15:19:00.003+08:00

untitled

20x20cm
oil on canvas
-

I made this before leaving to America. The image is from a small plastic mirror I've had for a while now. The naiveity and odd sadness of it appealed to me.