Concert at Greek's Pizza

The View from Below
Originally uploaded by DerekSee

Tonight was bitter sweet. Stephanie invited me to a concert at Greek's Pizza (a place I had never heard of). We got some food and waited for the music to be played. A couple of artists performed, mainly just singer/guitarist. We came for DM Stith, who played last. Stephanie is friends with him from grad school. His music atmospheric. I think what really made it special was the addition of jazz trumpet, trombone, and saxophone. Randomly, the bassist is a guy I met when I was in Japan.

That was the sweet part, the bitter part was paying the cover charge, paying for James' cover charge, paying for James' and Stephanie's pizza, and then getting a parking ticket. Darn

Dream: Lost in Japan

Tokyo Map Dream
Originally uploaded by DerekSee

We are on one of Tokyo's high speed rails and I'm staring at a map. My family and a few strangers are traveling with me and relying on me to show them around. I stare blankly at the map. It's all in Kanji and I can't recognize any of the familiar locations. Even the shapes the trains make are odd and new. I try searching for Shinjuku, yet still no luck. The people in the group are expecting me to know about Japan and how to navigate. I ask a Japanese person about Shinjuku. They don't understand the words I'm saying. We get off at the next stop and wait. I run around frantically trying to figure out there we are and where we are going. The pink line, the red line, the brown line, the green line, they all blend together and seem to go nowhere. After failed trips and failed attempts to show my family I am at least slightly familiar with Japan and I'm not a fraud, I wake up.

I had a similar experience in real life of getting lost in Tokyo, the maps didn't show every stop because it was too complex. I am afraid I talk too much about Japan and don't really know that much about it. People ask me to make generalizations about a country I've only spent a month in, what do they expect. I'm afraid people can see right through me.

The Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago

Today Winnie and I took a trip downtown to check out some art. It sounded simple enough, just take the CTA to the museum. Of course, it ended up being much more difficult.

I picked up Winnie and we started driving. The only problem was that neither of us could remember how to get to Midway. We have both been there many many times, but we never really pay attention. After spotting a plane in the sky, we drive to wear we think it took off from. It didn't take long and we had found the airport. We had to circle around it until we found the train station, plus we had to get lunch and figure out where to get 1-Day passes (they no longer sell them in the train station). Turns out the nearest Currency Exchanged (yes, exchanged) ran out.

Finally we got on the train and I thought all was well. Well, we forgot to pay for parking. When we arrived at Roosevelt to transfer we walked up to the nearest person with a suitcase. She was heading to Midway and offered to take our money and pay for the parking. She actually did, the car wasn't towed or ticketed! I love the kindness of strangers!

The MCA was fantastic as always. The main exhibit was work by Olafur Eliasson. Fantastic! One highlight was a hallway filled with orange lights. Since they are monochromatic, it turned everything black and white. I've never seen an effect like that, the world turned into black and white. Another highlight featured a fan and a rope. The fan was hanging from a rope and swinging in all sorts of directions.

The next stop on our art adventure was the Michigan Ave. Art Festival. What a disappointment! It was closer to an arts and crafts festival. The only redeeming feature was the free ice cream.

After meeting up with Lindsey, we headed over to our last stop: the Chicago Cultural Center. Main exhibit: Art From China. It's the second time I've seen the exhibit. There was a good mix of work, from sculpture to photography. The highlight was a video located at the entrance. It showed the coordinated exercises and chants employees perform before work. Hilarious! We watched it twice.

Experiencing Art

The island of Naoshima in Kagawa, Japan offers many surprises. Reached only by ferry, Naoshima's charm comes from its partial isolation and intimacy. The streets are lined with a mix of traditional and modern Japanese homes, emphasis on the traditional. As we walked through the small town, we received tickets to what they said would be 6 recreated Edo period homes. The first one we entered honestly bored me, but only because I didn't understand what I was looking at..

The next home had a wonderful Japanese garden in front. After admiring the nicely trimmed landscaping, we removed our shoes and entered a dark room. Once my eyes adjusted I realized the center of the room was missing the bamboo floor and instead had a giant black pool. In the pool were many one-digit digital displays producing a seemingly random progression on numbers and letters. I was mesmerized. It didn't take long to realize these recreated Edo homes we fused with contemporary art! It was no wonder the first home was so confusing!

My favorite of the buildings held an installation by James Turrell. No more than eight people could enter the large building at any one time. Each person is led into the building by assistants because inside it is pitch black (it's very scary not being able to see your hands in front of you). They sit you down on a bench after winding through the dark hallways. I sat staring into the darkness wondering what would come next. My eyes played tricks on me. Blobs of blacks floated around as my eyes attempted to cope with the darkness. After three minutes a gray rectangle suddenly appeared in the distance. Then we stood up very quietly and began to walk through the darkness to the faint light in the distance. The assistants stopped us a few feet from the box and proceed to tell us what we just experienced. The gray box had actually been on since we entered the room, but it was so faint it took multiple minutes for our eyes to adjust to seeing it. To top it off it really wasn't a gray rectangle it was a window into another giant room, lit too look like an even toned shade of gray.

From the experience I realized you don't always see what is right in front of you and when you do sometimes you can't understand the depth. I've never experienced art in such an all encompassing and profound way. By looking at light on a wall, I found a new appreciation for the world and how I see it.

(Source)

Credits

The cinemas in Osaka are of the highest quality. The other day I went to see Terminator 4 (not my choice) at Toho Cinemas in Umeda (A). I was blown away by the cleanliness and quality of the experience, although that is what I should expect for a ticket that costs ¥1,800 (about $18). They use all digital projectors which produces the best quality image I've seen at a theater. Though impressed by the experience, I realize you can get the same in the US. What really surprised me was what happened after the movie.

The final scene ended and the screen went blank. I began to get up when I realized everyone else in the theater was still seated. Not only did they remain in their seats, they also stayed as quiet as they were during the movie (during which I didn't hear one cell phone). The entire audience quietly watched the all 6 minutes of credits roll by. Once the credits ended, the lights finally went up and the theater quitely emptied. As you left (being careful to pick up any and all trash you produced) a group of friendly employees collected your garbage at the door at sorted the cups, straws, lids, wrappers, bags, etc. into the proper recycling bins.

The experience highlighted a strong contrast between the culture in the US and Japan. Out of respect and tradition the Japanese watch the names of everyone involved in making a movie. It doesn't matter what type of movie, or its quality, each is shown it's proper respect. In the US you would be given evil stares by the cleaning staff if you were to watch all the credits.

For the same reasons as watching the credits, the theater is kept spotless. As I walked out I didn't see one misplaced piece of popcorn or forgotten napkin. The theater was left in the same condition it was found. The pride the Japanese show for their country and surroundings inspires me.

Who are the Japanese?

In an effort to develop my style, I am taking portraits.

Before now I have been too scared to take photos of strangers. Something about asking someone I did not know if I could take their photo frightened me. I now realize that if they say "no," I can just move on and take the next person's photo. It's still a little scary, but I'm getting over it. One of my goals for this trip is to capture Japan through its people.

Today at the park I took some fantastic portraits of the people. There whole park was filled with Japanese people. There were lots of races and marathons being run at the stadium, but many people were just there to enjoy their day. It made me realize how much personality and warmth the Japanese have. Everyone I talked to was friendly towards me.

I took photos of people buying plants, street musicians, children, parents, old men, old women, and anyone else I could find. It was a good day. It taught me quite a bit about the Japanese. They are some of the nicest and most genuine people I have ever met.

Osaka

Osaka is amazing. This city is the largest most chaotic metropolis I have ever seen. Yet with all the chaos, there is a peacefulness about it. The streets are small and the tiny cars are very quiet. It's so quiet, I feel like I am in the suburbs.

It is impossible to understand Osaka. The sprawling unnamed streets are teeming with little stores and restaurants. I spent half a day in just a four block area of Osaka. Just within that area there were enough little streets and stores to keep one busy for weeks. Then I find a random staircase and realize there is an entire underground world. This underworld is like a giant mall beneath the city. I just cannot get over how large Osaka is!

The program is going really well. I am really thinking about my concepts and what sort of work I want to produce. The other people on the trip are very passionate and are great to discuss ideas with. I am having so much fun!