yesterday was the perfect philly fall day - sunny, temperate, slightly windy. so of course that led me to a center city outing. went to the fabric workshop and museum (which i'll talk about next) and then reading terminal to buy yummies from the amish (freakin' baking geniuses they are).
the museum - first i checked out the "1st Light" by Paul Chan. it's a video installation projected on the floor, made to appear like you're looking out a window, with everything in shadow. objects - like cellphones, ipods and cars - start floating upwards. even the rain from the clouds falls upwards. then half way through the video, people start falling down, like the images of people jumping from the world trade center on 9/11. it was sombering, but not as depressing as i thought it might be. perhaps the things floating up, like they were being saved, prevented the whole things from being too heavy.
the second exhibit was the reason why i went to the museum in the first place. jean shin's TEXTile is hundreds of computer keyboard keys embedded into a continuous fabric and is a transcript of the email correspondence between the artist and the museum staff. but this wasn't the most amusing part. the first three rows of embedded keys are active and when you type with them, your words show up on a screen at the end of the fabric, made to look like a continuation of the email correspondence. i read that the staff print out everything typed out each night and add it to a three-ring binder off to the side. the other amusing part was the use of the different command keys around the walls of the exhibit, kinda like a concrete poem. they ran from entrance to exit in this order: Esc, Pause/Break, Shift, Insert, Enter, Clear, Space, Insert, Control, Alt, Option, Help, End, Return, Home. the addition of the command keys on the wall was what put the piece over the top for me - i was actually giggling while walking through the space. maybe i can get some of the teens together and take them there on a friday. i think some of them would dig it too.
and finally, i started the light therapy thing yesterday. i actually felt a little nauseous after 30 minutes yesterday, so this morning i tried 15 instead (i read that people with fair eyes and skin may be more light-sensitive and therefore need less time). after the light-bathing, this morning i did the dishes, made matzo ball soup, wrote something new for the hypertext, folded laundry and then picked up the boy at the airport at 12:30. think it's kicking in already? i do ;-)
current mood: restless
current noise: "harold and kumar go to white castle"
the museum - first i checked out the "1st Light" by Paul Chan. it's a video installation projected on the floor, made to appear like you're looking out a window, with everything in shadow. objects - like cellphones, ipods and cars - start floating upwards. even the rain from the clouds falls upwards. then half way through the video, people start falling down, like the images of people jumping from the world trade center on 9/11. it was sombering, but not as depressing as i thought it might be. perhaps the things floating up, like they were being saved, prevented the whole things from being too heavy.
the second exhibit was the reason why i went to the museum in the first place. jean shin's TEXTile is hundreds of computer keyboard keys embedded into a continuous fabric and is a transcript of the email correspondence between the artist and the museum staff. but this wasn't the most amusing part. the first three rows of embedded keys are active and when you type with them, your words show up on a screen at the end of the fabric, made to look like a continuation of the email correspondence. i read that the staff print out everything typed out each night and add it to a three-ring binder off to the side. the other amusing part was the use of the different command keys around the walls of the exhibit, kinda like a concrete poem. they ran from entrance to exit in this order: Esc, Pause/Break, Shift, Insert, Enter, Clear, Space, Insert, Control, Alt, Option, Help, End, Return, Home. the addition of the command keys on the wall was what put the piece over the top for me - i was actually giggling while walking through the space. maybe i can get some of the teens together and take them there on a friday. i think some of them would dig it too.
and finally, i started the light therapy thing yesterday. i actually felt a little nauseous after 30 minutes yesterday, so this morning i tried 15 instead (i read that people with fair eyes and skin may be more light-sensitive and therefore need less time). after the light-bathing, this morning i did the dishes, made matzo ball soup, wrote something new for the hypertext, folded laundry and then picked up the boy at the airport at 12:30. think it's kicking in already? i do ;-)
current mood: restless
current noise: "harold and kumar go to white castle"
you'll have to tell me all about this "lightbox." I'm having SAD problems here too...at least i think that's it.