"I like too many things and get all confused and hung-up running from one falling star to another till I drop. This is the night, what it does to you. I had nothing to offer anybody except my own confusion."
-Jack Kerouac

ikb

Today, I read an article on Style.com about the resurgence of Yves Klein's International Klein Blue in the Spring 2007 collections. The first time that I had ever heard about IKB was several years ago during a trip to Centre Pompidou. I've always been fascinated with color palettes (one of my all-time favorite Mister Rodgers episodes was the one about how crayons are made), and the fact that Yves Klein invented his very own color caught my attention.

Yves Klein. (French, 1928-1962). Blue Monochrome. 1961. Dry pigment in synthetic polymer medium on cotton over plywood, 6' 4 7/8" x 55 1/8" (195.1 x 140 cm). The Sidney and Harriet Janis Collection. © 2006 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris.

Anthropométrie de l’époque bleue (ANT 82), 1960. Pigment pur et résine synthétique sur papier monté sur toile, 155 x 281 cm. Achat, 1984. AM 1984-279. © Adagp, Paris 2006

I had a conversation about IKB a few months ago at a bar. I'm not sure how the topic came up, but the person I was talking to thought that the concept of IKB was extremely pretentious and inaccessible to the average viewer. I don't necessarily think that it's inaccessible. People interpret and appreciate art in many different ways. I look at some things and ask myself what the hell the artist was thinking. Take Picasso for example. The man was a genius. I just saw Picasso and American Art exhibit at the Whitney. Picasso is not one of my favorite artists but seeing all of his pieces from the 20^th century next to works from a range of American artists made me admire the way in which his vision influenced so many others.

But back to IKB... I love the color. Tout simplemement.

Emanuel Ungaro, Spring 2007 Ready-to-Wear collection. Source: Style.com




Stella McCartney, Spring 2007 Ready-to-Wear collection. Source: Style.com



Chaiken, Spring 2007 Ready-to-Wear collection. Source: Style.com

It's late. I don't plan on sorting my ramblings into paragraphs this evening. I'm just that lazy. I have no idea what kind of direction this blog is going to take. I'm pretty schizophrenic in terms of interests these days, so it's kind of like a verbal deluge at times. Right now, I'm at home in Erie, so I have a little bit more time to spend on writing every day. Not like it really matters - I'm the only person reading this blog - but I really want it to be useful. If not useful to me, then at least mildly interesting to whomever might stumble upon it. Granted it will be a jumble of ideas for the next couple weeks; I am optimistic that it will eventually become more cohesive. Or maybe not. Maybe I'm hoping that my life in general becomes more cohesive. I honestly can't complain about anything right now. 2006 is winding down and it has definitely been full of highs and lows. I'm not so much up to detailing these highs and lows, but, at this very moment, I'm on a high note. I start a new job January 15th and I guess that I'm both excited and nervous. To be expected, right? It's vaguely reminiscent of starting the first day of school all over again. I realize that I went through this a little less than two years ago, but honestly, setting foot in a new place never gets any less intimidating. Like I said, this isn't the first time that I'm in a place where I hardly know a soul. I definitely hope that it's not the last either. I've come to the conclusion that I thrive on this type of situation. I get distracted easily. I like the anonymity of it all. Maybe that's why I decided to come to New York. After living in a moderately sized town and then going to college in a pretty small town, I was ready for a change. Sometimes, I wish that I could be the center of attention. Most of the time, I just enjoy being able to exist in my own little world, doing exactly as I please. In Manhattan, I can come and go freely (most of the time) and nobody could really care less. I enjoy that for the time being. This is an abrupt end but it's no longer late, it's early so I have to get to sleep. Goodnight.

redux

Below are several images from an extracurricular photography class that I took during my last semester at Allegheny College. This class was my foray into art, and although I haven't pursued photography since, I really enjoyed learning the basics back then. It was one of those things where I became totally engrossed in my assignments. Instead of spending extra time on my requisite courses, I found myself logging numerous hours in the dark room or with digital photo editors. Now that 2006 is almost over, I’ve been reevaluating things (cheesy, I know), and am trying to set aside more time to pursue things that I wouldn’t ordinarily consider.

This photo was taken in a kitchen window of my old house in Meadville, PA. The postcard was a souvenir from le Musee Pompidou and the glasses were a gift from my work (I've since lost them. Who accidentally throws away Chloe sunglasses?!??). Not quite sure why I put those two things together but I was pleased with the end product. You can't really see it here, but in the high res version, the development of the details of the mesh screen of the window and the grain of the windowsill were my main accomplishment with this photo. As a beginner, I had some trouble with achieving absolute lights and darks but things kind of clicked here. On a side note, I just love this postcard by the French artist, Ben. Most of his work that I'm familiar with consists of simple phrases like this one. Official site of Ben Vautier

This picture was also taken in Meadville, PA. I was just wandering around, looking for anything to photograph, and came across a little tree growing against a concrete wall. I thought it was kind of cool that it could exist there surrounded by gravel. That's about it. I ended up photoshopping this and juxtaposing the graffiti with elements from other photos that I took for the class.

This is the final project from the class. Our assignment was to create a CD cover. I can't remember if we were actually required to use the pictures that we had taken throughout the class but that's what I did. I ended up using the title, "Aller Retour" which translates to "Roundtrip." The end product doesn't really make too much sense but I guess that the name was appropriate because the image does include my work from the beginning of the class to the end.

Anyway, this is one of my first blog postings and I plan to continue adding lots of other useless content in the days to come.

Rien que pour le plaisir!

La questionnaire

Here is a portion of the famous Proust Questionnaire. Marcel Proust answered these questions when he was only thirteen. His answers were a bit more intellectual than mine but I thought that it would be fun to fill this out anyway. I think that I'll do a post with the second set later on.

What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?
I would hate to ever be cutoff from the people I love.

Where would you like to live?
Someplace that keeps me on my toes - New York City and Paris come to mind at this point in time.

What is your idea of earthly happiness?
Being loved, knowing that you have made a positive impact on the lives of others.

To what faults do you feel most indulgent?
Wasting away perfectly good afternoons.

Who are your favorite heroes of fiction?
Harry Potter & Buddy the Elf. Ha, but seriously, I don’t really know… I liked Santiago from “The Old Man and the Sea.”

Who are your favorite characters in history?

Who are your favorite heroines in real life?

I like people who are honest, ambitious, and who don’t take themselves too seriously.

Who are your favorite heroines of fiction?

Who doesn’t love Holly Golightly and Maria VonTrapp?

Your favorite painter?
Matisse, Klimt, Pollock, to name a few.

Your favorite musician?
Good question - I honestly don't have an all-time favorite.

The quality you most admire in a man?
Kindness.

The quality you most admire in a woman?
Kindness.

Your favorite virtue?
Honesty.

Your favorite occupation?
Traveling, exploring, day dreaming.

Who would you have liked to be?
I am optimistic that at this point in my life, I don't have to face that question. I'm still not sure what I want to be when I grow up...

Proust's original handwritten questionnaire:

Fin.