Pictures from Trip
Here are three pictures from the first days of my trip. I promise more will come. Guess the two sites that I visited (they are fairly obvious). For one photograph, please read the English translation close to find the joke.
My trip goes well. Accessing my blogs is difficult. I will get as much information out to eveyone as soon as possible. Please remember that my host nation's government is restrictive. I will share the best of my trip when I get back in the states.
Commencement
Commencement went well. A professor that I had last semester read my name as I walked across the platform. I shook hands with a provost who encouraged me to study abroad. A lot of my family members attended commencement too. I look forward to what comes next.
The Bed of an Art Historian
This photograph is the first part of a new series that interests me. I used a scarf as a bed cover for two books that form a bed. Both books are on Alfredo Jaar, and they are important to my thesis. The top book has an image of Rwandan boys in an embrace at a refugee camp in 1994. I tucked them into bed and made a pillow for them too. Their nighttime reading is my thesis.
I made this work as a response to the work I did on my thesis. There were many nights that I spent writing and researching. From this hard work, I realized that there is little that I can do to help anyone like these boys. This is why the boys in the bed are non-corporeal, and they are as ephemeral as the cloud-like pillow beside them.
I am saddened by the content of my thesis but it compels me to stay determined. I hope that people find this image heartwarming. We must work together for positive changes in the world.
Work in Progress
These are a few images from my recent show. One other project still needs photographing.
Someone wrote in the gallery journal that the show "needs a lot of work." I am glad that someone understood the show. Why else title a show "Work in Progress?"
Clothing
I bought a new scarf that is large and has squares of black, brown, and gray intersected with perpendicular lines. I wear the scarf with a long-sleeve knitted shirt. I took a belt loop for the scarf’s ring. My aim is a western look that is useful. I will make the scarf into a sling or bandage if I need to perform first aid.
I recently designed a pocket pattern for a pair of jeans that I plan to sell. I admit that the design is slightly unoriginal. The approach for the design, however, is interesting. I applied extra lip balm to my lips and kissed a mirror to study the shape. I wanted to avoid a perfectly symmetrical pattern with the lips. I wrote in French on the opposite pocket "Laisse-moi baiser toi" (Let me kiss you). I used acrylic paint with a medium that makes the garment machine-washable.
The pocket design inspires me to work on garments based upon Oscar Wilde’s "Salomé" and Audrey Beardsley’s artwork. More will come later.
New Suit
I took some quick pictures wearing my new suit.
This photograph is the first part of a new series that interests me. I used a scarf as a bed cover for two books that form a bed. Both books are on Alfredo Jaar, and they are important to my thesis. The top book has an image of Rwandan boys in an embrace at a refugee camp in 1994. I tucked them into bed and made a pillow for them too. Their nighttime reading is my thesis.
