nostalgia // seoul snapshots

in

i first met my friend dana through an old co-worker. dana is from seoul, south korea and last year she came to new york for a few months. we became pals and kept in touch over email when she went back to korea. in october, i got to go to shanghai for work and extended my layover in seoul to stay with dana. seoul reminded me of an asian san francisco as it's super hilly and incredibly modern/cosmopolitan. there was amazing food, shopping, art and culture there. it was the trendiest place i've ever been with the trendiest people i've ever seen. there was shopping everywhere you looked! for example, i bought a turtleneck in the subway.

dana was an incredible, thoughtful host and greeted me with a package of goodies -- korean candies, postcards, magnets and a disposable camera. i hadn't used one in ten years but it was the perfect way to document my time there (although many of the photos sadly didn't come out). dana showed me kindness that seems to embody her culture -- through out the trip she showered me with desserts, treats and candies. she also taught me a lot about life there and we spent much of our time together comparing notes on our different cultures. for example, creative pursuits are not widely supported in seoul especially as a profession. hearing this made me feel especially lucky to live in a country where art making is both widely pursued and supported. that trip taught me not to take that for granted. dana and i continue to keep in touch through the interwebs, sharing insights and experiences from afar.

nostalgia // james turrell // across the globe

in
james turrell // key lime // 1994 // the israel museum

james turrell // key lime // 1994 // the israel museum

some thoughts: forever in awe of james turrell, whose work i saw in 3 different cities in recent times -- at the guggenheim in new york city, at the lacma in los angeles, and now at the israel museum in jerusalem. although i didn't eat turkey this year since i was in israel, i feel pretty thankful (and grateful) for inspiring transcontinental experiences like this. what i love about turrell is that his art completely engulfs the viewer in his colorful installations. when sitting in these spaces, one is able to appreciate some sweet silence amidst a characteristically noisy museum.

these works challenge the way in which the audience experiences and sees light: "treating light as a material in his impressive and magical works, turrell examines accepted conventions of consciousness and sight. in his spectacular installations, the spiritual and the technological intersect as light is framed, multiplied, altered, and isolated."

nostalgia // a (wearable) piece of history

in

hypebeast's gavin brown says a jacket tagged by jean-michel basquiat and stephen sprouse was recently auctioned off // "new york’s underground art scene of the 1980′s was an environment charged with artistic potential, at the center of which was the popular after-hours club danceteria. the club was often frequented by the likes of andy warhol, keith haring, run dmc, the beastie boys and the young madonna. a relic of that time and place is this jacket, the result of an elevator attendant of the club who invited celebrity guests and artists to leave their mark on this jacket that she wore. of these, the most notable is the prolific graffiti artist jean michel-basquiat, and fashion designer and artist stephen sprouse. estimated at $7-10,000, the jacket finally went for $9,100 for what is a last remaining mark of two creative powerhouses of the 20th century."

time to save up for the next fashion relic!

* images via hypebeast *

nostalgia // when barry met keith haring

in
keith haring // untitled // 1985 from artnet

keith haring // untitled // 1985 from artnet

in 1985 my cousin barry met keith haring outside of his pop shop in new york city and asked him to sign his denim shirt. the above, unrelated artwork was created around the same time // here's what happened when barry met haring: "in 1985 i happened to ride my bike past the pop shop on lafayette the day it opened. a small crowd of 15 or 20 people were huddled around keith haring who was signing prints, t-shirts and other merchandise they just bought from haring's new store. having always loved his work but not carrying a lock to ditch my bike and run to buy something, i asked him if he could draw a crawling baby on my back. we talked for a minute about how wonderful the new store was and that i was always a big fan of the murals he used to do in the subways and at construction sites on the black paper they covered up old advertisements with. he agreed and said he especially liked those posters. i still have the shirt he signed. i keep it in a box with the new york times announcement of his death from 1990."