Peter and the Wolf

While i was researching and thinking, i came across the story "Peter and the Wolf" and realized how much i loved this story-or the music to be specific-when i was young. I don't have a clear idea what to do with it yet... this is the video of oscar-won short animated film Peter and the Wolf that was released recently, directed by Suzie Templeton.

Divination

(above) Bowie and Bolan, three days before Mrac Bolan's death.

Divination is the process of reading into the future, this can be preformed in a multitude of methods. Some of the most popular of these are palm reading, tarot cards, and reading coffee grounds.

An example of divination:

"David Bowie once went to receive some sort of divination, he was told that He, Jimi Hendrix, and Marc Bolan were some sort of mystic phenomenon that was only destined to be here for a few years. At the time it was laughable, as Hendrix was the only one who had passed. After Bolan's death Bowie was devastated and fairly scared. Luckily whoever the prophetic individual was turned out to be only 2/3 right as Bowie is still alive and performing today, some 25 years after Marc Bolan's death."

Ziggy Stardust, Bowie's persona at the time of this divination, did however die around the same time of Bolan's death, so in some sense the future interpretation was true.

The performance of divination is fascinating to me, and I constantly collect information on it whenever possible.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/31/nyregion/31palladium.html?_r=1&hpw
Man O man, the legal system is kind of fucked up...

animals!!!!

Just a few sites with different animals that I found that I thought were pretty interesting, with their... weirdnesses and all...

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/03/photogalleries/Antarctica-pictures/
http://www.animalpicturesarchive.com/view.php?tid=2&did=28333
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/2910849.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4288772.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/cumbria/7882040.stm

pedestals

this is the hyperlink to this neat little site of many many pedastals, more diverse than i thought there would be for shizel! pacificpedestals.com

Dream Machine

One of the things on our research scavenger hunt involved the recording of dreams. This got me thinking and I purchased a crappy little microcasette player to leave by my bed. Since then, every night when I wake up from a dream I just lean over and speak into the recorder. Also, it sometimes catches me sleeptalking which is always fun to revisit.

I transcribed the first night for your listening/reading pleasure.

Sweet dreams.

ASPHALT ART

Garrison Keillor Editorial in the Trib

Garrison Keillor had a piece in the Chicago Tribune published on Wednesday, March 25th with a headline of, "Spring reminds that we'd rather be artists." As first glance, this piece looks like it would be pro-artist and have a positive outlook about the lives of those in the arts. However, if you read farther along in the article, you'll come across one of the most scathing remarks about artistic trades that has been made in a very long time.

"In spring, a person's thoughts naturally turn toward what you would rather be doing than earning a living, and in America this usually means Being An Artist."

I guess no artists out there make a living...that's encouraging for someone who is about to go into the arts as a business, huh?

Read Keillor's musings here, yo.

- Justin

Beastie Feastie Photos!

Holy wow, guys. Amazing work all around. Here are some of the photos from our evening, which will be up on the Res College Ning shortly for all to see. The full set can be found (and printed/downloaded) on Flickr HERE. Enjoy!

Study Results

BEASTIE_FEASTIE_v.1.0

circles:34
squares: 20

green: 36
blue: 21

crunchy: 25
smooth: 21

Observations: Green keeps lead. Circles keep lead. Crunchy keeps lead.

human hamsterball!!!

Residents Wanted in Study

So, this is if we go in the more science-y direction...

In considering the invitations in conjunction with the theme I was reminded of those studies that universities do where the students get paid $50 or however much it is to participate in a study on sleep patterns or whatever.. So, I looked some up on Craigslist...

Paid Research

Subjects Wanted

Breakfast Food

There are some other interesting advertisements on that page too..

mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm potatoes :d

mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm pancakes :d

Animated Food

zoo & science lab

I looked for some images of the zoo & science labs. I couldn't find any labs with darker atmosphere but these are pretty much the idea of how it should look like..? and found some images about the human zoo. If we're doing the zoo theme, i think it will be nice to use some ropes or caution tapes to roll around the area like a fence (once everyone is in the middle or one area). So.. what theme are we sticking with??










a zoo that's set up like humans are in the cage (left)

Human Zoo exhibit in london (below)

Zoo know?

Just as a formal FYI to everyone, I can work really well with video and audio. If we can come up with some ways to incorporate those into the feast I could totally help handle it. I can do some thinking before class and see if anything rattles out of my brain.

More Thoughts on the Human Zoo

So, it turns out that someone actually already materialized Morris' "Human Zoo" theory and made a legit human zoo. The first link is to a poorly developed website for a zoo in Australia that appears to have done the human zoo as a fundraiser/reality television show. The second is a clip I found on YouTube where the Johannesburg Zoo had people dress up in endangered animal suits to draw attention to the issue of extinction.

http://www.humanzoo.com.au/thehumans.htm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YDO6Zxjzuss

As for what I'm going to contribute to the project - you guys know I'm pretty comfortable with food. I'd like to continue to look for interesting ideas and different approaches to the meal and the idea of experimentation. I'm really digging on Lococo's idea to mix things up as far as what we eat and when we eat it.

- J

Unusual Eating Experiences

So, out of curiosity and to follow up on the complete-darkness restaurant trend I'd mentioned earlier, I looked into the matter again, and was surprised to find that a lot of these places have popped up around the world.

I found a pretty comprehensive listing of blind eateries HERE, and it was interesting to note the differences between them. For instance, some use blind waitstaff, while others employ infrared goggles or just blindfolds, leading to a different sort of experience (being seen by others changes the dynamic quite a bit). Most emphasize the heightening of the senses that occurs when eating in the dark. Others, like Whale Inside, focus more on the loss of inhibitions (er, groping) that might happen in such a situation. Dans le Noir (In the Dark) has a very informative Q &A page.

All this led me to stumble across some more unusual dining experiences, including toilet restaurants, restaurants suspended from cranes, and (gasp) actually relevant to our project, this Hospital Restaurant in Latvia, which serves food resembling human organs as well as more traditional dishes designed to be eaten with scalpels, syringes, and IV drip bags, with the option of being fed while tied up in a straight jacket. Yikes.

The Sound of our Dinner,

is the atmosphere of our dinner. The Atmosphere of our Zoo...

In this respect, I'd like to add something to the sound of our Dinner.

I'm thinking of using a few different tools and instruments, but I could use some help/opinions for what the desired outcome of our "sound atmosphere" will look like...

Help paint me a picture and i'll perhaps my sound will sing you a nice tune,

perhaps from the clack of a spoon,

or the strum of a bass,

that yell from the goon,

it's more than half past noon,

Save me some space,

I hope you all are saving some face.

Floor Sixteen is a most Excellent Place.

Until next time comrades,

Christa/Javier,

Bye Bye

Sam

When I Think of Zoos...

... I think of a story about a thieving orangoutang.

As a child, I sucked my thumb and carried a blanket wherever I went.

One day when I was four years old, my parents took my younger brother and I to the zoo; obviously I went equipped with thumb in mouth and blanket in hand.

At the orangoutang house, I found a monkey version of myself. He too was equipped with a burlap sack that served as blanket, and a thumb in his mouth.

The orangoutang and I stared at each other, as others admired the similarities between us. Through the his cage bars that separate monkey from man, the orangoutang reached out his arms; one empty, one with his blanket. He wanted to trade.

I stepped up to the human restriction bar and held my blanket out only in curiosity, with no intention to trade. The crowd around us cheered, and my dad held me steady over the bar that humans are not supposed to pass.

Then the monkey and I became enemies. He grabbed my blanket and almost pulled it away from me, luckily my dad grabbed it back before the damage was done.

I stared at the orangoutang, and he stared back at me. My mother said "Okay everyone needs to wash their hands now." We proceeded to the restroom, but I kept my eyes locked on the dirty monkey that almost stole my blanket.

let's make pasta!!!

It may not sound good, but we'll see-- right? hopefully? maybe? please? pleeeaaaaaseee???? I think it sounds good!!!!

The sound of angels

This guy needs no introduction.

food sculpture!!!

awesome food sculpture that's slightly raw...

Bread!

check out the ballin- bread baker

Play with your Food

In the spirit of making art that incorporates eating, it seems pertinent to mention a few things I've come across recently. At the Sharjah Bienalle in the United Arab Emirates, Thai art collective SOI set up this unusual fruit stand that allowed visitors to fold printed paper fruit, then decide whether to keep it or exchange it for real fruit. Playful and provocative, the project raises questions about the economy of food (and of art) in an accessible and participatory way for both the art elite and everyday passers-by.

Rirkrit Tiravanija made a name for himself in contemporary art by, among other things, cooking and eating meals with people as a springboard for dialogue and connection. Just last year he hosted one such event here at SAIC's Sonny's Cafe. Hot on his heels is Corin Hewitt, who took over part of the Whitney Museum and turned it into his own kitchen/laboratory/studio. This NY Times article discusses Hewitt's practice, and also mentions many important precedents in the history of meal-making and food in contemporary art.

Finally, check out the lengths some people go to in making a visually appealing lunchbox!

What kinds of creative projects have you come across around the subject of eating and food? Post 'em!