Observing human behavior

Last week we had w workshop with Merry Conway. In many ways it was very interesting and exciting experience. After that I talked to her and she suggested I looked at work of William Whyte. (Seems that I have something in common with him). William Whyte liked to observe people…. He didn’t do it just for fun! He studied people’s behavior to design better, sensible and more usable public spaces. His ideas and work are quite amazing.

Check it out:
http://www.pps.org/info/placemakingtools/placemakers/wwhyte

I like his quotes:
“What attracts people most, it would appear, is other people.”

“One felicity leads to another. Good places tend to be all of a piece – and the reason can almost always be traced to a human being.”

“It is difficult to design a space that will not attract people. What is remarkable is how often this has been accomplished.”

My New York point of view

Architectural elements of the city play amazing game with light and reflection.

Bold and daring MoMA

Whenever I go to New York, I always find many things to see and do over there. Even after being there for just a day, I always came back home with couple hundreds od pictures and few new ideas… That’s why I keep adding things to my blog. I hope you will find it interesting, too. This time I want to concentrate on some provocative and intriguing installations from MoMA. One of them was:

Projects 87: Sigalit Landau
March 19–July 28, 2008

Dead Sea

http://www.moma.org/exhibitions/exhibitions.php?id=7821

Barbed Hula

Day Done

Barbed Salt Lamps

I think this installation is beautiful, not only because I’m fascinated with light and shadows, but also because of its use of the organic materials. These “lamps” were made of barbwire and cristalized salt form the Dead Sea. I did experiments with salt water (with glass of water, salt. etc.) for my science class in grammar school. Before seeing this installation I never thought one could make such large and beautiful objects… I guess you have to have sea of salt water to do so

I also liked video by Cheryl Donegan “Head”, but you have to see it in person to experience it fully:
( I can’t explain it…)

I’ve noticed people had different reactions to it.
I thought it was pretty clever and funny (from artist’s point of view).
You can aslo watch some of it on

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CurVtTusjqU&NR=1

“Dad, this is what I wanted you to see” – a visit to MoMA

Below you can see some of the highlight of the exhibitions at MoMA that I recently had a chance to see. I liked many installations and the special exhibit “Design and the Elastic Mind”, which dealt with new inventions/designs.
One of my most favorites was installation by Philip Worthington “Shadow Monsters”. It was an interactive installation with projection, light, sound and it changed one’s shiluette to a “monster like” shadow projection on the wall. Usually, shadow monsters are done in a simple way with a lamp to entertain kids before bedtime. There was a long line of people who who wanted their kids to experience shadow monsters….

This is how I would look like if I was a monster:

The interesting fact was that people were not only bringing kids to see it but also THEIR PARTENTS! I overheard a man talking to his dad in his late 70’s: “DAD, THIS IS WHAT I WANTED YOU TO SEE”. It occured to me that, while new-dynamic-media-projects may entertain kids and adoults, they are really a BIG DEAL for older generation, who might not easily imagine what’s possible nowdays! I could picture myself in 40 years….:) (or sooner)
There were many other beautiful installations which you should experience in person:

The only downside of my visit was overcrowding of the museum. Yes, I like people very much, but I hate when because of too many people present I can’t see anything peacefully. Last Friday when I went to MoMA, it was crowded as if they were giving away things for free… I guess there is a hope for us—artists since there are so many people interested in Modern Art  it’s a good news. (Or maybe it was just the begining of the weekend and the Spring Break for some, I don’t know…)

Also, long lines to bathrooms and poorly designed sinks (messy) made me question if this was really  a “modern” museum….

Up and down

Motion and shilouettes – areas of my interests

Lines – where to go?

Since my recent project involves people following various color shapes/paths I experimented with Jim Lambie’s artwork of on the first floor of the MoMA (New York).

Technology invades churches!

Technology invades churches!?
Just kidding…

St. Patrick Cathedral in New York
I thought it was interesting to see flat panel TVs on many columns of the cathedral. Everyone could see rector’s closeup or could see everything else what was going on at the central altar, it was all televised life. My friend told me that’s becoming a standard in all churches. Could new technology really improve our experience in the church? I was wandering if it improved mine?
I had mixed feeling. On one hand, the close up of the speaker’s facial expression helped me connect to what he was saying, but on the other hand, if that was someone not that interesting to me, I would be very distracted…

I felt as if I was watching the mass on TV (maybe because I’m used to thinking that of TV, as of something distant, another reality?) rather than participating in it in real life…..

Check out these short movies from the St. Patrick Cathedral in NY
http://agatas.com/st_patrick/

I guess you had to be there …..
I stopped by and surprisingly was very satisfied by exerience of being there at that time (Good Friday-Reflection on the Passion of Christ.) I’ve never heard any priest -”presider” speak so nicely, clearly, intelegently and etc…. (I just researched it and it was Prof. Dr. Romanus Cessario O.P.)
I also liked the professional chorus (tenor, baritone, soprano, etc.) which you can hear in the movie.

Fast Grand Central Theather

Recently I had a chance to spend some time in Grand Central Station in New York.

I was mesmerized by the dynamic atmosphere of the station, people coming and going in different directions, some standing in one place for a minute, taking pictures, others going slow, fast, draging their kids or lagguage.
It was like being in the theather (or ballet). I watched shiluettes/shapes/colors of the people moving and I’ve taken a lots of pictures which I want to study more closely later….

I also like the shadows people cast:

FREE HUGS in Harvard Sq

Yesterday, in Harvard Square in Cambridge I saw couple of young people walking with signs:
FREE HUGS!

This group of young girls and boys stopped on the street and hugged whoever wanted to be hugged… I thought it was pretty sweet, (although myself don’t like to be hugged/touched by people). I don’t know if this was done for a school project or if it was a spirit of holidays — it was interesting. Seeing strangers embrace each other on the street has brought a smile to my face. Harvard Sq is always full of people, most of them (as I do) rush through to get to their final destination. FREE HUGS stopped some of them for few seconds…

Non-verbal communication in action

This is a picture form somewhere else…

Dancing-texture

I have been thinking about dance little bit more. Inthe ballet I was concentrated more on the “negative space”. I found a good example of body creating rich and powerful lines and textures of gesture and clothing. It kind of ties with my interest of being able to see everything vs. not being able to see all details (screens, veils, etc.).
This is an example:

http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/god1/ho_1972.118.95.htm

Statuette of a veiled and masked dancer, Hellenistic, 3rd–2nd century B.C.
Greek
Bronze; H. 8 1/16 in. (20.5 cm)
METROPOLITAN MUSEUM NEW YORK: The complex motion of this dancer is conveyed exclusively through the interaction of the body with several layers of dress. Over an undergarment that falls in deep folds and trails heavily, the figure wears a lightweight mantle, drawn tautly over her head and body by the pressure applied to it by her right arm, left hand, and right leg. Its substance is conveyed by the alternation of the tubular folds pushing through from below and the freely curling softness of the fringe. The woman’s face is covered by the sheerest of veils, discernible at its edge below her hairline and at the cutouts for the eyes. Her extended right foot shows a laced slipper. This dancer has been convincingly identified as one of the professional entertainers, a combination of mime and dancer, for which the cosmopolitan city of Alexandria was famous in antiquity.