Hmm, Very Interesting…My Favorites 2013

David Choi

Here it is: my list of 2013 favorites! This year it's exclusive to the internet and it's a long list. I must say, 2013 was the year I completely fell in love with the internet. I liked it a whole, whole lot before, but this year, wow, I saw and read so many interesting things every single day. This post covers only a fraction...

Jewelry

David Choi's work (top image) is my absolute favorite jewelry of the year. Those fabricated forms are pretty wonderful. I also love the work of Begoña Prats and Helena Lehtinen.

Art

The Topography of Tears by Rose-Lynn Fisher, a collection of photographs that examine different kinds of tears, took my breath away.

Berndnaut Smilde creates cloud installations in beautiful spaces…while Share Your Sun, a project by Ólafur Elíasson, gives everyone a chance to participate by posting images of the sun where they live. Light Echoes (video below) by Aaron Koblin and Ben Tricklebank is a fantastic video of digital imagery projected by a moving train on the ground below. After watching the video I became very interested in the work of Aaron Koblin, too.



I also love this video of the first encounter after years of separation of once partners/artistic collaborators, Marina Abramovic and Ulay. It happens at her MOMA retrospective and it moves me every time I see it.

Street Art and Graffiti

Ian Strange (above image) has roots in street art and graffiti and also creates incredible installations, photography and video.  I am especially drawn to his "Suburban" project. I also discovered the graphic, large-scale installations and paintings of L'Atlas (below image) and the graphic yet fluid illustration and wall work of Cannon Dill.

Abandoned Spaces

I became interested in ghost buildings when I was living in Antwerp, Belgium and since then have been collecting images of them. I was really happy to see this post on Hyperallergic that features the phenomena that "remain as an unintentional texture of memory..."

I saw two posts on abandoned buildings that I revisited throughout the year...haunting images from "Creedmoor State Hospital," (above image) and others that focus on "Family Life Frozen in Time" by Niki Feijen. 

Music

Zola Jesus, whose music is intelligent and emotional, has an incredible voice and really knows how to use it. (I was also lucky to see her live this past fall and it was a thrilling show.) And, I'm always happy to read about my absolute favorite musician ever, Björk. This post in particular describes a concise "History and Style of a Music Maverick." 

Maps and Information

"Where You Are" is a collection of maps by a variety of artists, writers and thinkers, each inspired by personal experience. I've not seen the book in person but I've spent lots of time on the website where you can examine each map. 

I became a little obsessed with the US Wind Map (above image) which shows live wind patterns. I was also a little obsessed with all the wonderful diagrams and charts on Information is Beautiful, a website that features information in all sorts of beautiful ways. Finally, I was impressed with "The Beauty of Mathematics" which shows lovely depictions of math as found in our every day lives. 

Writing

How to Write: A Year in Advice from Franzen, King, Hosseini, and More is an inspiring article about process and creation from different writers' points of view, but the information can be applied to any discipline, in my opinion. I've been taking notice of poetry recently and really enjoyed "What is Poem?", an article that explains poetry and how to appreciate it better in simple terms. My favorite part comes right at the end and centers on a one-word poem. 

I can't remember if I've shared this on the blog before because I've talked about it with so many friends...it feels like maybe I wrote about it here, too. I read Letters to a Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke (above image) when I was in Iceland. I spent a lovely morning in the library in Skagaströnd reading these letters and as soon as I was done, I read them again. Then I read them a few more times over the course of my residency and since returning to the US. They don't take long to read and are simply beautiful and inspiring.

Interesting Articles

"When the Conscious Listens to the Unconscious" and "Haruki Murakami: Talent is Nothing Without Focus and Endurance" are two articles that got me excited about what I do while also giving me a tremendous sense of calm, an "I'm-on-the-right-path feeling." The first one is all about intuition and theory, while the second one talks about the importance of working hard and being tenacious. 

Podcasts and Videos

The above video is a mesmerizing time-lapse of a container ship delivering cargo in Rotterdam. I saw it on NOTCOT at the beginning of the year and was transfixed. The accompanying music is also really good.

I don't remember how I found Brene Brown's "The Power of Vulnerability" TED talk, but I am so happy I did. I've listened to it several times and find it inspiring every time. Vulnerability is always the right choice… "You Are Here", "The Soul Patch" and "Letting Go" are all Radiolab podcasts I listened to while I was embroidering my "Island." They are fascinating and brought tears to my eyes. 

Nature

Last, but certainly not least, I really hope to see total cloud inversion one day as shown in "A Sea of Clouds Fills the Grand Cayon." (above image)

That's a long list and I see I've used the word "inspiring" a lot. These links were truly inspiring for me and continue to be. I hope you visit each one and enjoy them as much as I do. Tomorrow I will post my Icelandic favorites!

...and here are the lists for 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2012 Belgium.

Thanks for reading.

So What's It About?

These new embroidered works will explore opposites and duality, landscape and travel, both literally and figuratively. I will create islands or continents, imaginary places born of things that I experienced in reality. As I intuitively build abstract compositions with needle and thread, I will contemplate ideas of internal and external landscapes as well as maps, all based on actual travel and also emotional or metaphysical travel.

satellite images of places I have been

Greece, France, Belgium, Britain, Italy, Iceland

I am working with white to reference the snow of Iceland, honesty, and the beginning of something new. I am using an embroidered knot for its inherent texture, pattern, and layering possibilities, to reference lichen and other similar Icelandic plant life, and to symbolize the act of not forgetting. I am using only one type of stitch, the Colonial knot, as a way to focus and add to the meditative or contemplative process.

This is what I am able articulate at this early stage in the process. As I work each day, the meaning will become more clear to me and I will be sure to share it with you.

To chart the first week's progress, please visit Flickr. I have posted images from each day of week one and next week I will add more.

Thanks for reading.

The Maps

Center

The final series of work for Observation/Translation is the three map necklaces. I wrote about making them a few weeks ago and put them together last week. I spent hours soldering jump rings to all those bows and then the bows to that tiny chain. I haven't soldered like that in while. I felt like a machine, in a good way. The three finished pieces are delicate and have nice movement with the bows floating around.

Capital

Neighborhood

Thanks for reading.

Beyond Fashion Week Part 3

The other group of work I have started in my sweet studio at Beyond Fashion is based on walks I have taken around my neighborhood, in Antwerp, and in Brussels. I rely on maps more than I ever have since arriving in Belgium and I'm getting really good at reading them, with help from the handy compass I wear around my neck everyday. (Thanks Galen!) I am also relying on observations to help me remember where I've been so I can get myself back instead of lost. These points are often street names or landmarks, but can also be anything from graffiti to something unusual that gives me pause. I make special note of these things in my mind; I deliberately commit them to memory. Recently I researched the meaning of the bow and remembered that it is often used to remember things, i.e. tying a bow around one's finger to remember something important. Realizing this was a big moment for me since my work has become about memory and I already use the bow. I have studied my maps and written down the details of three different walks and the specific points that I chose to remember. The pieces about these walks will be necklaces of bows and chains with each bow marking an important place. 

More images on Flickr.

Thanks for reading.

mykonos

i finished my first map yesterday, the island of mykonos in greece. i stitched the beaches and places i visited and some of the roads i drove to find them. i also stitched the ferry routes to and from the island.

thanks for reading.

stitched maps

i started an embroidery class called stitched maps today. the instructor is melinda barta. we learned about materials, tools, and basic stitching and i made this little sampler. it starts with back stitching and ends with french and colonial knots. my favorites, besides the knots which i could make endlessly, are the satin stitch (the little green pod) and couching (the blue spiral). it was incredibly fun and i am totally hooked!

we will be stitching actual maps over the next two weeks...tomorrow i will start my first which i am pretty sure is going to be the island of mykonos in greece.

i am also very excited to organize my needles since i now know there are so many different kinds.

thanks for reading.