The Walls Between Us

Mexican artist Bosco Sodi is preparing to create his first art installation in New York City, at Washington Square Park. Titled Muro, the installation will be built from 1,600 removable clay timbers, fired at Sodi’s studio in Oaxaca, Mexico, forming a two-meter-high by eight-meter-long wall. 

Muro will be displayed on September 7, 2017, for one day only. Park visitors will be able to take home a timber, each signed by the artist. The installation acts as a “communally co-owned work of art”, that expands on Sodi’s “ongoing interest in organic processes beyond the artist’s control”. The wall also elicits metaphors of overthrowing the primary function of a wall as a “device of separation”, and instead “empowers the community to remove this physical barrier and its inherent symbolism.” 

The symbolism of constructing and dismantling a wall in Trump’s hometown is a powerful call to action and resistance.

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My Favorite Color Is Autumn

It may not technically be Autumn for three more weeks, however it’s never too soon to start thinking about where and when to view colorful Fall foliage. If you follow this link, it will guide you to an excellent interactive 2017 Fall Foliage prediction map for North America. So don’t lolligag, Autumn days will fly by before you know it.

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Montreal : 18 Nuances De Gai

Artist Claude Cormier created an amazing polychromatic canopy covering one kilometer of  Montreal’s central pedestrian street Boulevard Sainte-Catherine for the ongoing Aires Libres Festival. The rainbow installation celebrates the city’s LGBT community, the 10th anniversary of the festival, and the 375th anniversary of Montreal. The event runs through the month of September.

all images ©Claude Cormier

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More Water Under The Bridge

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Everybody Loves Miniature Golf

The always amusing UK-based American artist Doug Fishbone continues to spread joy while tackling weighty issues. His ever popular installation Leisure Land Golf, which premiered at the 2015 Venice Biennale, is now showing at the York Gallery in York.

The fully-playable show is a cross between a serious art installation and a functioning mini-golf course. Each of the holes was created by a different artist and they all address grave issues, such as racism, climate change, rampant consumerism, and political oppression.

I’m sharing this story today because it is my late brother Steve’s birthday. A world traveler and explorer long before self-promoting travel bloggers, digital nomads and Instagram poseurs began to wring the joy out of wanderlust with their bourgeois drivel. During one of his sojourns in Africa, he realized that the continent lacked miniature golf courses and he began scheming to some day build some. Tragically, he was killed before he could make it happen. But, I know that he would have loved Doug Fishbone’s Leisure Land Golf. 

 

 

 

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Life of a library book

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Economy vs Business Class

The UK travel search web site Just The Flight figured out how much a flyer would have to spend on snacks and refreshments to make up the difference between economy and business class airfare. NB: 1 £ =  $1.29

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It’s Water Under The Bridge

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Middle East Pow Wow

The floating international street art festival known as POW! WOW! has recently wrapped up a visit to Israel and Jordan. The always exciting collaborative effort is documented in the entertaining video below from director Andrew Tran.

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New York Loses Its Voice

The Village Voice, New York City’s iconic alternative weekly newspaper, has announced the end of its print publication. Co-founded by writer Norman Mailer in 1955, the Pulitzer Prize winning free paper is shifting to a completely digital platform. The paper has long been a literal voice for oppressed communities and for progressive causes, both locally and nationally, as well as a home for arts and culture coverage. As someone who has been a life-long reader, I’ll miss it.

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