LINK- Hula + Hula

http://hulahula.com.mx/

I'm kindof a sucker for things that are cute and look handmade. This site doesn't look like it was updated recently, which is too bad, but their work is all so pretty!

LINK- Because I Like Free Things

The League of Moveable Type: nice! free fonts, open licenses

http://theleagueofmoveabletype.com/

Open Clip Art: Ok, clip art is unnecessary. But, if I ever need it, it's nice to know it's there, and free, and I'm not tied to whatever Windows currently has to offer. And sometimes it's nice to look at just for reference.

http://openclipart.org/

Blindsightedblindsidedblindsitedblindcited- The Laboratory Dancers

This dance performance, which I saw on Friday, February 12 at the Hamlin Park Fieldhouse, exhibited two new works by choreographers/dancers Alexandra Subak and Emily Lukasewski.

The first piece, "Omgroflttyl", by Emily Lukasewski, was about the influence of advertising on our society, specifically the negative impact this has on our self-esteem and self-image. It was a relatively literal interpretation, with shiny costumes and a band of very-nearly-the-same dancers, who danced together as a group, performed the same movements, occasionally felt the same anxieties- this being the group who had bought into societies expectations on how we look and act and feel. On the side, a single girl sat on a chair, flipping through a magazine, with ads falling out, eventually taping her face with packing tape into the 'correct' shapes and proportions, until she was wearing a whole mask of tape and lipstick was smeared all around her mouth- this being the girl whose life is destroyed by the weight of society's expectations. This piece was flashy, and the interpretation was pretty obvious, even for those not well-versed in dance making.

The second piece, "Alloveragainalloveragainallover", by Alexandra Subak, was much more subtle, the colors were more subdued, and it focused more intensely on not measuring up or meeting our full potentials. Our society has a stigma against those who don't fully reach their potential, on those who choose to work in 'dead-end' jobs, and are content there, not making as much money as they could. This piece felt like running into a brick wall- as a society, we keep hammering away at what we think we should be achieving and what we think we should be creating and living up to, and it just becomes so much to live up to, that it's almost too much very often. This choreography in this piece didn't make the point as clear, and it felt very often repetitive, and a little too long. I felt like the point could have been made more clearly or more succintly.

Social, Class, and Art Conference

Panel 2: Addressing Social Dilemmas (image by Marlene Dumas)

This panel included three art historians talking about the work of Marlene Dumas (white South African), Charles Alston (Harlem Renaissance), and the Congo/Women exhibit, as well as a photographer, Shane Welch, talking about his own work with a 'family' group living on Lower Wacker Dr.

Charles Alston was a painter, sculptor, and muralist of the Harlem Renaissance who began his work under the Works Progress Administration during the FDR years, and continued working for many years after, through the Harlem Renaissance, and into the New Negro Movement. His work is distinguished by use of geometric shapes, and disproportionate bodies and body parts within a work. His work was influenced by Locke, W.E.B. DuBois, and Booker T. Washington. One piece of significance that he created was "Crucifix", which portrayed a Black Jesus, rather than a white one. Alston recognized that Jesus had, in fact, not been white, and that he was only made that way so that his audiences would better relate; in creating a piece for a Black audience, Alston saw it as appropriate to paint Jesus as Black.

Marlene Dumas was a white South African woman, raised in privilege, who worked to gather the pieces of her country fragmented by apartheid through art. In 1975 Dumas left South Africa for Amsterdam so that she could more freely engage the ideas that she desired to in her art, without being too criticized for stirring the pot and raising questions that white South Africans did not want to address. Consequently, most of her work used Afrikaaner models, and centered on the themes of race, identity, and longing for her homeland.

Welch's work required him to get involved with a 'family' group on Lower Wacker, earn their trust, get permission to photograph them, and occasionally, spend the night with them. While I only caught the second half of this panel speech, I thought the stories he spun in with the pictures about the different things that these people did to survive were sometimes more interesting than the actual images. While I was aware that there are people living on Lower Wacker, I knew essentially nothing about it other than the obvious: that they are all homeless. As a privileged white college woman, I hadn't thought about them much past that. Obviously there must have been some reason they weren't trying to gain entry to a homeless shelter (answer: drugs), but I was startled by how this was just how life was to these people; I was startled by their complete lack of interest in getting clean or even creating a better life for themselves. I hadn't thought about how these people coalesce into 'family' groups, complete with a pet cat.

Nicolette Caldwell discussed the work of the 'Congo/Women' photographic series and exhibit, which she had seen when it was opened in Chicago last year. She discussed, in conjunction with the photographs, the lifestyles that the Congo People, specifically women, must live in the shadow of a Civil War that is over officially, but never really ended, as well as struggles over the copper, cobalt, diamond, and coal resources to be found in the country. The thing that really struck me about this piece was her discussion of a quote, by Susan Sontag, about how 'images of ward are uneffective due to oversaturation' and that 'those who are affected are so overwhelmed by their inability to do anything' individually, that they end up doing nothing. Personally, I think this is a big issue- I know that I have personally felt like this before, where I'm so overwhelmed by the problems of the world, that I don't know how to pick and choose, or even how to affect change in one tiny part of the world. Unfortunately, I don't think that she really addressed the problems that this quote created, she was obviously moved by this exhibition, enough that she wrote her thesis paper about it, but raising awareness can only do so much without any solid ideas for how people are to change this problem, or how to act on their feelings about what is happening.

LINK- Interesting Kids Furniture

http://weburbanist.com/2008/08/23/10-pieces-of-unusually-cool-kids-furniture-part-six-in-an-eight-part-unusual-furniture-series/

I'm partial to the accordian dresser! And it's neat how the pieces of the P'kolino play table can be reconfigured into other pieces of furniture depending on need.

XOCO by Rick Bayless

Rick Bayless, restauranteur of fine Mexican food, opened his new restaurant, Xoco, last fall. Bayless' take on Mexican street food resides on the corner of Clark St. in River North, next to his two other restaurants, Frontera and Topolobambo. The visual difference between Xoco and it's neighbors is the bright blue canopies covering only the windows in a round shape, rather than long boxy canopies, as well as the large windows that look directly into the kitchen, so that you can watch the cooks prepare the Mexican hot chocolate and churros fresh every day. Xoco also loudly proclaims some of the menu items in the windows- “CHURROS” and “CHOCOLATE”.

Inside, it's very easy to figure what to do. Directly to the right of the entrance is the line, with notes on where the ingredients are coming from (local, organic farms), and there are paper menus to pick up and peruse, in addition to a large blackboard with the menu handwritten in chalk. The paper menu displays the distressed logo in white on a burgundy background, the color of which can be found on some of the walls throughout the restaurant. Inside the menu, items are listed in a handwriting typeface, printed in the same burgundy color of the cover on cream paper flecked with burgundy pieces. They type choice, the flecking in the paper, and the distressed logo all come together to help give the menu a more handmade feel, which combined with the chalk menu all build up the intended feeling of a street corner vendor, but with more high class ingredients and better cooking equipment.

As you make it to the front of the line (they won't take your order until there is room for you to be seated, unless you're getting take out), you can see into the open kitchen, arranged as a line, all in stainless steel, with painted blue walls behind. Being able to see into the kitchen allows you to watch the preparation of all the food, including your own if you choose to wait up at the front. Having eaten from a street vendors before, I know that there are two ways to get your food- either it's all pre-made and wrapped up, so that you're buying a churro in a bag, or a churro off a pile of churros, or they prepare your taco in front of you, browning the meat, warming the tortilla, dropping in the tomatoes, and so this method of preparing the food in front of the customer is very similar to that second type of vendor. You know your food is all fresh, and it's going to come to you warm and delicious. That being said, this is a licensed restaurant, and when you get your food, it comes on either a thick white porcelain plate, or in a wire basket with paper lining. Since you are ushered to your seat once your order is placed, the wait staff brings your food out to you to keep too many customers from standing around the line waiting on food.

Once seated with your food, you notice that the walls are primarily a golden yellow color on the top, and around the ceiling, but below table level, the walls are painted a burgundy color. The colors have the subtle richness that I would associate with 'Mexican' without being overwhelming, or too nationalistic for a restaurant owned by a well-renowned white chef. The subtlety helps me to feel warm and comfortable in this restaurant, it definitely feels like it should be warm Mexican food, and not anything else; Italian or Asian food would feel out of place in this color scheme, cheap diner food would be overwhelmed by the amount of attention paid to color and design.

Even the food is vividly colored. The guacamole is the bright green of avocados, with flecks of fresh red tomatoes and white onions, the fresh nachos are an almost translucent version of the gold on the walls. The sandwiches have fresh green lettuce, harvest-orange chorizo meat, warm manila colored bread, and vivid red and green dipping sauces. The food is laid out on a brown counter, which really helps the color of the food stand out and look as fresh as it is.

While the color of the restaurant is definitely more dominant, you'll also notice photographs laid out around the room, in neat orderly rows at on the yellow-painted portion of the wall. These photographs are all black and white, and all the same size and by the same two artists. They are all set up and equal distance apart from each other in their single row. Each picture portrays some piece of Mexican culture, most often relating to food, and the street vendors that were the inspiration for this restaurant. These images definitely help to contextualize Bayless' selection of menu items, as well as the various inspirations and cultural signifiers of this food.

The clothing of the employees also fits into the theme. The wait staff who bring the food out, and the cashiers, all wear black pants, with black aprons and brown shirts, which feature the distressed name logo on the back, and an image of a romanticized turn-of-the-century Mexican cowboy, dressed almost as if they were Santa Ana, on the front. The black aprons are a subtle signifier that this food is more than just traditional street food, this is a nicer dining establishment, while the tee-shirts help to keep the image of the restaurant firmly rooted in Mexico.

Architecturally, the restaurant is laid out in a long rectangle. The short head end of the rectangle is the side that is set next to Bayless' sister restaurants on N. Clark St, while the long side spans half of the block on Illinois Street, where the entrance is. At the head is the rail-line kitchen with the ordering line back up to the door, and free water is available about halfway down the line next to the kitchen. Past the kitchen is the seating, most of which is at diner-style counters that face up to the window or a wall, with a few lower tables scattered throughout. In the center of the dining room is and egg-shaped section walled off, when standing on one of the flat edges you find the doors to the single-occupancy bathrooms, while the other edges of the egg all have dining counters running along them. Inside the bathrooms, you find more of the visual theme and cues from the main dining room; the bathrooms have gold walls, with burgundy painted below waist height, there are a few photographs from the series, and a relatively plain but nicer, shallow, white porcelain sink and matching toilet with flush-intensity options. I feel like the long and narrow setup of the restaurant does help to build the atmosphere, to build the idea of both a nice restaurant, but also the atmosphere of the street food served. Sitting in rows at a counter reminds me of sitting on a curb sharing a funnel cake at a festival, or standing up against a wall smoking while people pass by on the street. While the counter seating was probably necessary to fit as many seats in as they did, I think it really helps with the atmosphere, especially since they didn't cop out on it- there's enough regular seating to follow accessibility requirements, but the bathrooms were erected in the center of the dining area to provide more wall space to erect counters against.

Overall, I think the designers did a good job of thinking about all of the elements involved in creating the atmosphere for this restaurant. They were given a tricky job- a restaurant serving street food at about $10 a torta, or sandwich- and they turned around and created an atmosphere warm and inviting, with enough nods towards street vendor culture that the white, urban downtown office workers would understand where the foods and flavors were coming from, without feeling like they were slumming around having to depart from their safe neighborhoods, or feeling like they were being ripped off price-wise. Rick Bayless' name will get customers into the restaurant, but it's ultimately the delicious food and well-designed comfortable atmosphere that will keep them coming back.

LINK- @font-face

http://craigmod.com/journal/font-face/

How cool! I remember learning how to specify which font a website should display in my Authoring Interactive Media class, and I remember learning that you should specify a couple typefaces (ending with "serif" or "sans-serif") to make sure that you've named one that the user has on their computer. But, now you can use any font you want! As long as you have it on your computer, or it's posted on the web, you can use it in your website.

Garbage Warrior, Pt. 1

"Garbage Warrior", a documentary, follows the story of Michael Reynolds, a radically sustainable architect living and working in New Mexico, specifically the Taos area. Reynolds grew up in a strictly Baptist family, and as he grew up, as many of those who give up that conservative upbringing tend to do in my experience, he became radically liberal, dedicating his life's work to creating and building self-sustainable "Earthships". Reynolds "Earthships" were built over many years, with many failures along the way- including houses that he built to be too warm, even without any separate system designed to use gas or electricity to create heat (he packs old tires with soil to hold on to heat through 'thermal mass', this keeps the homes cold during the winter). Needless to say, his radical methods and his failures have led to ongoing battles with governmental officials and malpractice lawsuits (during the period when he still held his architect licenses). Reynolds is willing to give any piece of so-called trash a chance at becoming a building material; his structures are spotted with multi-colored glass bottles, beer can bricks, and old tires.

Needless to say, at first I was a bit skeptical- I understand that closed systems can be created, I have a friend who attended the Maine Maritime Academy for a year learning how to do just that- but could a house like this really be translated into an environment like Wisconsin, where I grew up, where we would be just as likely to have school canceled for being too cold outside as we were to have a snow day, if not more likely? Apparently, winters in Taos can get relatively cold, 0degrees at worst, and "Earthships" built in other climes have documented that the houses sustain a minimum 64degrees in -17degree weather. With my biggest worry about the "Earthships" allayed, I wondered how they could prevent becoming too hot in the summer. Apparently, it is possible to keep the houses cool through 'geothermal cooling'.

I thought that this documentary was much more interesting than the lecture with Jean Gang. While her work is important in terms of the aesthetic of an already-standing city, Reynolds work, I think is much more important in the long run. While I'm not quite ready yet to give up all of the things that I've had growing up, I recognize the importance of being able to take things seen as garbage, and to turn around and use them as is in the process of building something new, rather than use extensive amounts of energy to turn an old can into a new can, or to just throw that can away. While I understand that his work is very largely focused on building completely self-sustainable systems, I think it would be very cool to see some of his ideas and philosophies incorporated into new construction in cities or suburban areas.

"We haven't begun to think of the ideas, but we won't if we don't have some sort of forum for it."- Michael Reynolds, discussing his bill proposed to the New Mexico legislature allowing for an architectural testing site.

Columbia's New Media Production Center

Columbia's Media Production Center, their first 'new' building, was just completed this year, and is already in use. I think it's pretty to look at, with the many different colored windows, the whole front wall of windows. It seems very modern in the way that trendy lofts, and new student housing (ie, DePaul's Loft-Rite, Dwight Lofts, etc) is modern- the same sort of furniture and shapes throughout, as well as the now ever-prevalent exposed ceiling ducting (this time, painted black, except in the pantry, where it's still shiny silver). When I first walked in there were a few students sitting in the theater/lounge area to the right of the entrance. Several carpeted large steps are set up (with normal sized stairs to the side), with a platform and tables at the top, and a movie screen across from the seating. In compliance with their LEED rating, I noticed that some of the lights turned on over my head as I sat looking around, though since it was an open space, I'm not sure whether it was motion detected or time detected..

The building was much smaller than I had expected. There was really just the lounge space on the right of the entrance, and to the left was the very large stage area, with a few (about 3?) classrooms branching off in the area near, dressing rooms, a makeup room, and a costume room (all locked). One thing that did bother me, and this is totally personal bias, was the narrow vertical lights built into the wall along the ramp down from the top of the steps- these reminded me of the banks of tall narrow vertical windows that were built into my high school.

The only thing about the building that really struck me as 'female' persay (having been designed by architect Jean Gang) was the colored windows built into the facade, though that seems to be in keeping with the general modern design of the building. Other than that- concrete, exposed ducting, hard nubby carpets- these things all tend to be more 'male' or utilitarian to me.