Polaroids hang across the small student gallery space.

In the corner, a small boom box playing DJ Shadow next to a snack table with four dollar champagne bottles and a jug of orange juice next to it. DJ Shadow is an alternative to the folk music or other typical music they play at openings, thought the girl.

The polaroids are of smashed up Fruit Loops with a rolled up a dollar bill next to a small mirror.

She likes the explosions of colors that concentrate on the wooden floor of the polaroids and think the drug reference is not an integral aspect to the piece. But a peer from her class asks her if she is a cokehead. The girl says no, and pretends to not be embarassed. She’s not so cool nor clever to make a drug reference. She really doesn’t even touch the stuff, so yea. Why did she include it? Why not just the explosions of Fruit Loops? The chaos of color?

Her peer acknowledges that she may  have just played on the girl’s weakness and her self-consciousness. Sorry, the peer says, I like to create awkward moments. And leaves.

What do you expect really from art school? Boundaries are pushed frequently and that includes at times of socializing.

The girl has a mentor who is unaware of her admiration for him. She sees him wander into the student gallery and leaves him at his leisure and to look at the work.

As he nears the door, she walks by him and asks for a critique. He asks about the numbers on the walls.

Numbers?

Those numbers, they are a nice addition to the work. Do they  have meaning? Where do those numbers come from?

They aren’t apart of the work. She hadn’t even noticed them– not while she was hanging up the work, nor during the two hours of the opening that evening. She doesn’t mind that there is a silence in their conversation. All she notices suddenly are numbers placed sporadically througout the wall space.

“1+2″

“2+2″

“5.”

“10.”

The ones that are not formulic are nice because they are assertive and definitive with periods at the end. They are, in fact, a nice addition to the work. Simple but with the feeling of ubiquity, just as the polaroids portray. But she did not do them.

They must be from another student. I don’t know where they came from, she says disappointed.

The professor doesn’t seem to have any sympathy, nor does he appear to change his feelings about the work.

She’s alright with that.

The professor leaves, and there are a few of her friends left in the gallery.

She doesn’t feel like drinking orange juice and champagne anymore.

Later that week, she takes the polaroids down from the gallery space walls and leaves the number behind. This is not because she is nostalgic. She simply doesn’t know what direction to take them. The fire alarm goes off.

Sorry, sorry!

The boy getting ready for his show in the same space is burning a ham sandwich in the toaster oven that he has set up outside of the room. Why has he set up a toaster over outside of the gallery space? You don’t really ask questions like this in art school. You just let them happen. And so the ham sandwich burns along with a few firemen coming to the school to see why they were called. No one rats on the boy. It’s all left to happen.

Okay, she sighs at the end of it all.

She decides to erase a few numbers, but the task is much harder than she imagined it to be.

So she leaves the numbers there too.

She thinks how she can incoporate numbers into her work. After all, numbers and formuls are beautiful to look at. You feel like you are apart of something, looking at something that has apparent complexity. Their curves, patterns, sexy lines. But she feels selfish. Numbers are just numbers. They make up so much, and suceed in doing so much as well. They have their own business and go about doing it in their own nature and free will. Where she would begin, she has no idea. To put them out as models for viewers to enjoy for their gazing would be superficial and wrong.

She stops dreaming of numbers and decides to grab a beer.

When she finishes her beer in the student lounge, she grabs her polaroid camera and goes for a walk. In the alley way, she sees a shattered bottle. Her eyes leave the ground and follow drips that drape the cement wall by it.

The glass bottle, an explosion. The drips, its narrative, she whispers to herself.

Numbers. What was she thinking? She sticks to explosions and the objects that were their previous bodies.

It’s been a long and eventful year.  Wishing everyone a happy and healthy holiday season as I look forward to being more active with my photography in 2010.

Taken with a Polaroid SX-70 Alpha 1 using type 600 film.

Decorated the living room with some Polaroids last night =)

Happy Winter Solstice everyone! I’m missing my mom’s tong yuen terribly now. I can almost smell it in my head but I can’t taste it I just called home and my sis picked up. She told me everyone’s gathering at our place today – tong yuen for lunch and a feast for dinner. I am so jealous! I’ve always loved family gatherings – all the eating, laughing & playing with kids. *Sniff*

It’s okay… I’m gonna stuff myself silly with tong yuen when I get home, hahahaha. I’m already prepared to put on 5kg for the trip this time.

My mum told me, “Come home and be a queen for a while. Sleep, eat, and just do nothing.” And that, ladies and gentlemen, is exactly what I’m gonna do.

I got this receipe from a co-worker who made these delicious delights to a picnic on one summer day.

(Picture from howto.com)

1 kilo of minced meat
a big onion
a few cloves of garlic
3 eggs
salt and pepper
2½ desilitres of breadcrumbs engorged in white wine
(you can also add cooked or smashed potatoes)

Mix and fry or bake in the oven.

I’m looking for inner peace and harmony that comes with little earth quakes. I’m looking for a person or people who share a lifetime of experiences with me. I’m looking for feeling as alive as possible. I’m looking for doing exactly what I want with my own life and ways how to do it. I’m looking for a way to understand… myself and be me as genuinenly as possible.

Pleasant Valley, NY – I’m watching Denzel Washington fill the shoes of Walter Matthau in the 2009 remake of “The Taking of Pelham 123.” Washington is hanging in there. He’s sporting different facial hair and some artsy glasses. Other than that, his mannerisms, and the role, is very similar to “Inside Man,” “Deja Vu” and “Out of Time.” I guess that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

So far, director Tony Scott is doing a descent job. The circular camera movement is starting to make me dizzy though. James Gandolfini, Mr. Tony Soparano himself,  is a far better mayor than Lee Wallace. There’s just something about that mug.

The film is set in a New York City subway car. The Impossible Project is running a contest also set in New York, but above ground.

Tomorrow the project will select a bunch of Polaroids to be presented “on the billboard in Times Square as well as on this site.” Pretty cool, huh? I’m no expert at photography but I figure, what the heck, let me submit a couple. Here are the Polaroid’s up for consideration:

- east coast paper boy

This creative shoot was shot by Lasse Bak Mejlvang for Saga Magazine, dubbed “Helsinki” it features model Julia Valimaki in some great clothes and funky poses. Taking creativity to another level this is no normal shoot, using Polaroids, stuffed animals, and luxe fashion combinations the creativity in these shots are undeniable. Fantastic, I like.

Check the best shots from the shoot below:

Styling: Vibe Dabelsteen

Photography By: Lasse Bak Mejlvang

]]> http://leblanixleblanc.wordpress.com/2009/12/16/mulberry-in-la-party/ Wed, 16 Dec 2009 23:17:58 +0000 leblanixleblanc http://leblanixleblanc.wordpress.com/2009/12/16/mulberry-in-la-party/

. . . and oh! oh!  * SNOW *

{click pics for tricks}

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Unclear

James Thornett

Velvet images

and …

Whipitup’s best stitching and sewing books of 09

Chicago Reader’s best little food books of 09

L.A. Times’ best crime fiction of 09

Dash Snow started taking polaroid pictures when he was 13 only so he could remember his parties the next day. He then became one of NYC’s greatest artists and exhibited at The Royal Academy in London, the Saatchi Gallery, the Palais de Tokyo in Paris and more.

He died last summer at age 23.

See more at  http://s69344.gridserver.com/dash_snow_1

Shortbus: follows the shortcomings of several sexual ‘misfits’: a gay couple on the rocks, dominatrix that can’t connect and sex therapist that’s never orgasmed… Be warned, don’t watch it with your parents as some scenes are pretty much porn. The opening of this is among the most unforgettable of any movie, as are many of the zany characters you meet, and several of the scenes – it’s pretty much a one-of-a-kind. Despite being chocked-full of taboo and graphic (real!) sex Shortbus does a fantastic job of remaining funny and charming for the duration, because the emphasis is on the people and their emotions, not the sex. There’s some funky animations of NYC and most of the characters are likable. The film remains interesting as each person’s story progresses and the climactic ending is really upbeat and fitting with the movie as a whole. It’s not for the prudish, and because of the warnings on the box you’ll probably feel a bit dirty just buying this – although it’s totally worth the momentary shame! Extraordinary comedy about sexual emotions!

Score: 7/10

I found this amazing website today–you can make any picture into a polaroid!

click here

Check it outttt

Stephanie♥Rae

Art from Burbank in his favorite Ode to Love Tee sent this funny pic in. Happy Holidays!

I Love instant Polaroids and am sad that the one I own doesn’t work very well. For the last few years I’ve really been toying with the idea of using polaroids again (as I did in 1997) but seen as polaroid have discontinued their production it has been difficult. But I’m still determined so by the end of this month I will have a Fuji Instax. ☺

I’ve been thinking polaroids would be an interesting tool for the project I’m doing now.
About 6-7 years ago I took some images with a polaroid camera and before the image had dried I had scratched onto it creating unique marks that scarred the image. This idea is something I’d like to incorporate into some of the work I’m doing now, to emphisise the atmosphere or an abstract intrusion on someone elses space.

With these ideas running through my head I thought It would be good for me to brave the rain ☂ and visit the ATLAS Gallery on Baker St. I knew about the exhibition as I’ve been on thier site many times admiring the exhibitions they’ve had on though I hadn’t been to visit there before. The exhibition titled POLAROID EXP 09.10.09 which marks the last expiry date of the instant film sold. It featured artists such as Andy Warhol, Walker Evans, Marc Quinn, David Bailey, Helmut Newton, Mary Ellen Mark, André Kertész and many more. Its a very samll exhibition and gallery but the images were just beautiful and really had you in mourning for the fantastic process. Dispite the awful weather outside the images made you forget and feel inspired, content with excitement and creative. Its a shame the weather didnt agree with my mood or I would have been outside making work.

You can get more info at http://www.atlasgallery.com