In figure drawing class, one of the first things you learn about posture is that when a person shifts their weight onto one leg more than the other, the hip on the weight-bearing side goes up, on the non weight-bearing side, the hip goes down. To correct for this imbalance, at the same time the shoulder on the weight bearing side shifts down, and the shoulder on the non weight-bearing side goes up.
In merengue (and a few other Latin dances) you intentionally do the opposite... you stick your hip out in the opposite direction than you are stepping.
Merengueros apparently never take figure drawing classes. Or perhaps that's what makes it dancing as opposed to just stepping back and forth.
Friday, May 1, 2009
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Email from a listserv, Part II
"Don't forget that tomorrow (Wednesday) we are screening the film "The Greatest Silence, Rape in the Congo" which documents the brutal sexual violence faced by women in eastern DR Congo due to the war. There will be pizza, soda, and snacks!"
Not sure what it is, but something about the tone of this email seems off to me. snicker snicker snicker.
Not sure what it is, but something about the tone of this email seems off to me. snicker snicker snicker.
Email from a listserv
"The College Summit, which targets “kids who are better than their numbers” in schools with low college-going rates, has their own interactive writing curriculum..."
Love emails from writing programs that have grammar mistakes, snicker snicker snicker...
Love emails from writing programs that have grammar mistakes, snicker snicker snicker...
Sunday, March 29, 2009
life lessons from salsa (groan)
Yeah, yeah, yeah, it's one of those. And it's not even necessarily consistent with the whole 'visual' theme. Um... well... I have no justification for posting this on the blog, the content is trite and not consistent with the theme. And here it is anyway.
- It's ok to follow sometimes. Also ok to lead.
- For that matter, gender bending seems to be easier for females.(I guess that's not so much a life lesson as it is a cultural observation).
- I have to ask for what I want (as in, asking a guy to dance instead of sitting on the sidelines and twiddling my thumbs).
- Even when I'm following, I should be able to stand on my own two feet even if the lead were to suddenly disappear.
- Leading does not mean forcing the follow to do a move. Leading means asking, the follow has the right to refuse.
- As soon as I start to worry about impressing other people on the dance floor, I get nervous and start messing up. I also stop enjoying the dance.
- When I have a good connection with a dance partner it's almost as if I can't tell who is doing what, who is leading and who is following. It becomes more of a collaboration. The division becomes blurred.
- I can't connect with a dance partner if my arms are completely limp and without energy (if I shut down).
- I also can't connect if I'm trying to arm-wrestle the guy (if I block his energy).
- There's a difference between helping and rescuing.
- The point of learning the moves is to be able to forget them.
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Logo envy...
...thanks to Monterey Bay, California.
I've always, always liked the Monterey Bay Aquarium logo, but what I discovered on this trip was that the aquarium is actually in what used to be canneries on Cannary Row of Steinbeck fame and that the city's logo for Cannary Row is adorable. Yes, that's a sardine key, folks!
I've always, always liked the Monterey Bay Aquarium logo, but what I discovered on this trip was that the aquarium is actually in what used to be canneries on Cannary Row of Steinbeck fame and that the city's logo for Cannary Row is adorable. Yes, that's a sardine key, folks!
Friday, March 20, 2009
random thoughts
I recently had a conversation with a couple of people about art school, which has caused me to be rather reflective on the whole experience this week. I can't help but think that while art school really opened my eyes to new and fascinating types of art and really improved my thinking about it, it sure did make me completely neurotic about painting. The thought of ending my 'lapse' from the art world and to start painting again strikes a deep chord of fear in my heart. I don't think art school was a healthy place for me to be in my early 20s, too many overblown, fragile egos competing against one another. And I include the faculty in this assessment.
~~~
I tried to explain cost disease during the same discussion and failed miserably. I failed miserably not only because I was constantly being interrupted but I just explained key concepts of the theory entirely wrong! I need to go back and hit the books again.
~~~
From a graphic design standpoint, scrapbookers have it all wrong. I think I've harped on this before. When displaying artwork or photographs, you want to set up the page to present the artwork without distraction, that means everything else on the page is minimized. The best graphic design is invisible. Well, that's a good general rule of thumb, there are exceptions. Scrapbooking is not one of those exceptions.
~~~
I recently read this article from the Chronicle of Philanthropy email newsletter:
Downturn Spurs New Offerings at Museums
Lean economic times have museums experimenting with creative strategies for getting people through the doors, The New York Times reports as part of a special section of museum stories.
Yoga nights at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and a get-together for cyclists at UCLA’s Hammer Museum are among the nontraditional offerings as major museums seek new audiences amid declining endowments, donations, and sales.
“We can’t just be about art anymore,” the Hammer Museum’s director, Ann Philbin, said. “Museums are the new community centers.”
Now, it's the last quote that bothers me. I can understand the problem that museums are facing, but at least we can tie the new community events into the mission of preserving and presenting art somehow, can't we? That statement belies an implicit attitude that art just isn't important anymore. Doesn't seem that much of a stretch (no pun intended) to link the spiritual aspects of yoga to the aesthetic sensibilities of artwork, but to completely downplay the role of artwork entirely... can we say mission drift?
If museums want to be community centers, where's the free wireless, yo?
~~~
I tried to explain cost disease during the same discussion and failed miserably. I failed miserably not only because I was constantly being interrupted but I just explained key concepts of the theory entirely wrong! I need to go back and hit the books again.
~~~
From a graphic design standpoint, scrapbookers have it all wrong. I think I've harped on this before. When displaying artwork or photographs, you want to set up the page to present the artwork without distraction, that means everything else on the page is minimized. The best graphic design is invisible. Well, that's a good general rule of thumb, there are exceptions. Scrapbooking is not one of those exceptions.
~~~
I recently read this article from the Chronicle of Philanthropy email newsletter:
Downturn Spurs New Offerings at Museums
Lean economic times have museums experimenting with creative strategies for getting people through the doors, The New York Times reports as part of a special section of museum stories.
Yoga nights at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and a get-together for cyclists at UCLA’s Hammer Museum are among the nontraditional offerings as major museums seek new audiences amid declining endowments, donations, and sales.
“We can’t just be about art anymore,” the Hammer Museum’s director, Ann Philbin, said. “Museums are the new community centers.”
Now, it's the last quote that bothers me. I can understand the problem that museums are facing, but at least we can tie the new community events into the mission of preserving and presenting art somehow, can't we? That statement belies an implicit attitude that art just isn't important anymore. Doesn't seem that much of a stretch (no pun intended) to link the spiritual aspects of yoga to the aesthetic sensibilities of artwork, but to completely downplay the role of artwork entirely... can we say mission drift?
If museums want to be community centers, where's the free wireless, yo?
Monday, February 16, 2009
Paula Scher always inspires me.
This video is about 20 minutes long, so be sure to start it when you can settle in for awhile, but it's well worth it.
What I really love about her message here is that creativity is not linked to money. Business people always seem to want to purchase creativity dollar for dollar, but it doesn't work that way. It's driven by more ephemeral things, and can't be pinned down.
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