Metro meter on train. Hi-Tech device!
More random graffiti
Still more random graffiti
SAIC refugees just trying to find their way to Amsterdam
Train art!
Showing posts with label Brussels. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Brussels. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Day 9 - Night Train to Amsterdam
Here's some snippets from the trip to Amsterdam...more leftovers really.
Day 9 - La Cambre Arts School & Au Revoir Bruxelles
It's day nine and now the time feels like it's flying. We are already headed to another destination that is sure to entice the senses...in one form or another. Amsterdam is just a short three hour train ride away and we're leaving early this evening after we finish our activities for the day. But first, we're off to check out a local school on par with what the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC for short in case you haven't noticed already) is all about. We're seeing what kind of experience our Belgian contemporaries are having and use those to think about what we've seen and done in Brussels and Antwerp. This should leave us with an overall feeling of the Belgian arts scene before we leave for the Netherlands tonight.
La Cambre rests at the outskirts of the city and is surrounded by lush forestry and I can only imagine having the serene environs to reflect amongst while studying art. The school itself is a part of larger university and was founded in 1927 by architect and decorator Henry van de Velde. They have a variety of programs and you can peruse their site to see what peaks your interest. As for our trip, we specifically made the trek to visit their film, video and new media department for comparison to SAIC's. They have some stimulating techniques and equipment for creating stop motion animations. The school itself is a dual degree program in which students receive first an undergraduate degree and then follow that up with graduate studies for emphasis in a variety of disciplines. Most programs provide five years of study to achieve a Master of Fine Arts degree.
We got a sneak peak into the fashion department as well and were able to see what they're up to. One project involved a crash course not too dissimilar from Project Runway exercises and involved creating fashion from dry cleaner garment bags. Interesting stuff to say the least!
La Cambre rests at the outskirts of the city and is surrounded by lush forestry and I can only imagine having the serene environs to reflect amongst while studying art. The school itself is a part of larger university and was founded in 1927 by architect and decorator Henry van de Velde. They have a variety of programs and you can peruse their site to see what peaks your interest. As for our trip, we specifically made the trek to visit their film, video and new media department for comparison to SAIC's. They have some stimulating techniques and equipment for creating stop motion animations. The school itself is a dual degree program in which students receive first an undergraduate degree and then follow that up with graduate studies for emphasis in a variety of disciplines. Most programs provide five years of study to achieve a Master of Fine Arts degree.
We got a sneak peak into the fashion department as well and were able to see what they're up to. One project involved a crash course not too dissimilar from Project Runway exercises and involved creating fashion from dry cleaner garment bags. Interesting stuff to say the least!
La Cambre surrounding environs
Detail from group portrait around 1974
Tiny stage for stop-action animation projects
Set up for bottom lit animations produced with sand and light
Computerized stop animation sequencer
Stop animation lab with green screen capabilities
The aforementioned stop-action capabilities
Poster for the classic Fritz Lang movie
Fashion from dry cleaning garment bag
Bring out the Gimp!
Sewing machine row
Hot off the presses
Panormamic view from La Cambre photo studio
David with green screen
"not working"
Monday, January 16, 2012
Day 7.5 - That Brussels State of Mind
Today marks one week of traveling now and Brussels is definitely an amazing place. If you like texture in your architecture, you are sure to be amazed. The city has offered up the best of everything so far, as you can plainly see from the previous posts. Some things I haven't mentioned yet include beer, chocolate and the general atmosphere of the city and its environs...so here we go...
Brussels seems very crunchy to me. I can only elaborate on that to the effect that the architecture is very ornate and the streets are heavily laden with cobblestones, so the effect is one of enormous and varied textures colliding with each other to produce this "crunchy" feeling as you move through the neighborhoods and streets. The closest comparisons I can draw European city wise are Prague in the Czech Republic and Krakow in Poland. All three are these architecturally rich cities with intricate histories that whisper to you every step of the way. You definitely feel as though you've stepped into the past in some sections and in others you're astounded by how things just mesh and work out...much better than they seem to in The States for the most part. I couldn't even draw a comparison to a U.S. city from the three I mentioned...I suppose the closest would be Washington D.C. or New Orleans...and that's still quite the stretch of the imagination.
As for the beer...if you're a beer drinker, you should already know that the Belgians have got it down to a science. There are sooooo many different styles, flavors and of course alcohol contents that often it's impossible to make a choice and you just end up drinking several kind in one night. There are so many in fact that I'm not even going to attempt to go into any kind of detail. I'll just direct you to the website of the Delerium Cafe, which has over 2,000 beer selections on its menu...and no, that's not a typo, there are really TWO THOUSAND beers on the menu. See it HERE. By the way, the place is huge too and just across the alley way, there is an absinthe bar that falls under the same corporate roof?
NOW, on to the chocolate. You can't even imagine how good the chocolate is here...seriously. People always describe insanely good chocolate as melting in your mouth. If that's the case with the best chocolate I've had prior to experiencing Brussels, then the only apt description is that it melts into your soul. It is seriously THAT good! And just when you thought a praline was a praline...actually, a praline in The States is something completely different, which involved sugar coated pecans. A Belgian praline is chocolate wrapped around something...anything, as long as it's a soft fondue center. Imagine those packages of candies that your parents used to get when you were a kid during the holidays. You picked a square, pulled out a piece of chocolate and prayed for caramel, only here, caramel is a waste of time when there are so many other varieties. You're just going to have to trust me on this one. My personal favorite is the raspberry flavored one I found somewhere and hazelnut comes in a close second...and I used to not even care for hazelnut. That's how good they do it here. Like anything else in life, you'll have to experience it for yourself.
Now that I've written my appetite up into a longing for beer and chocolate (not at the same instance), it's time to end this post and move along before I really do some damage to my psyche by discussing things currently out of my reach.
Brussels seems very crunchy to me. I can only elaborate on that to the effect that the architecture is very ornate and the streets are heavily laden with cobblestones, so the effect is one of enormous and varied textures colliding with each other to produce this "crunchy" feeling as you move through the neighborhoods and streets. The closest comparisons I can draw European city wise are Prague in the Czech Republic and Krakow in Poland. All three are these architecturally rich cities with intricate histories that whisper to you every step of the way. You definitely feel as though you've stepped into the past in some sections and in others you're astounded by how things just mesh and work out...much better than they seem to in The States for the most part. I couldn't even draw a comparison to a U.S. city from the three I mentioned...I suppose the closest would be Washington D.C. or New Orleans...and that's still quite the stretch of the imagination.
As for the beer...if you're a beer drinker, you should already know that the Belgians have got it down to a science. There are sooooo many different styles, flavors and of course alcohol contents that often it's impossible to make a choice and you just end up drinking several kind in one night. There are so many in fact that I'm not even going to attempt to go into any kind of detail. I'll just direct you to the website of the Delerium Cafe, which has over 2,000 beer selections on its menu...and no, that's not a typo, there are really TWO THOUSAND beers on the menu. See it HERE. By the way, the place is huge too and just across the alley way, there is an absinthe bar that falls under the same corporate roof?
NOW, on to the chocolate. You can't even imagine how good the chocolate is here...seriously. People always describe insanely good chocolate as melting in your mouth. If that's the case with the best chocolate I've had prior to experiencing Brussels, then the only apt description is that it melts into your soul. It is seriously THAT good! And just when you thought a praline was a praline...actually, a praline in The States is something completely different, which involved sugar coated pecans. A Belgian praline is chocolate wrapped around something...anything, as long as it's a soft fondue center. Imagine those packages of candies that your parents used to get when you were a kid during the holidays. You picked a square, pulled out a piece of chocolate and prayed for caramel, only here, caramel is a waste of time when there are so many other varieties. You're just going to have to trust me on this one. My personal favorite is the raspberry flavored one I found somewhere and hazelnut comes in a close second...and I used to not even care for hazelnut. That's how good they do it here. Like anything else in life, you'll have to experience it for yourself.
Now that I've written my appetite up into a longing for beer and chocolate (not at the same instance), it's time to end this post and move along before I really do some damage to my psyche by discussing things currently out of my reach.
Day 7 - Left Overs
Didn't I tell you that left overs were delightfully tasty?!
Abstract Portrait of Jessica
Heather's bag and coat juxtaposition of abstraction
Strip club window maquette, enticing, isn't it?
Another maquette aims to please!
Carlos Ruiz in profile
Day 7 - Part Two - Constant
Welcome back to Day 7 on the tour and blog. We're at the Constant Association for Art and Media. Constant is a non-profit institution which specializes in multi-disciplinary new media and functions as a lab to provide not only the space, but the technology and expertise to artists in Belgium and from abroad. Their knack is especially unique because they prefer to us open-source software for the creation of their media base projects. They are constantly defining and re-defining the creation of all types of digital work, ranging from print to web to installation based video and sound exhibits. It's really amazing what they do and the workflow that they've championed is to be admired and functions as an outstanding example to many artists and global entities who strive to produce contemporary thought provoking work. Check them out HERE.
Introduction to sound by Constant technician
Discussing the ins-and-outs of open source tools
for the creation of all things in digital media
Old-school analog fonts. These are actually available
on the Argos website in digital format for your use
My own artistic rendering of what else, but "P"s
Day 7 - Argos & Constant
It's officially the one-week mark and we've already seen and done a ton of stuff. There's still much more on the menu, so why should today be any different than the last six? It's go go go and those two letters are even in the title of the first place we'll see today; Argos. Later, we'll be visiting a place called Constant, which specializes in contemporary digital multi-media and more specifically with open source software and coding used by artists.
Argos is an internationally renown contemporary art institution here in Brussels whose primary focus is in the audiovisual and visual arts. The have an immense library that can be used for artists or other institution to research art theory, artistic practices and methodologies, and of course various disciplines throughout the twentieth and current centuries. It's almost worth the trip to check out the library alone. I found it hard to pull myself away from the bookshelves, so if you're interested in anything since around DaDa, you'll be smitten as a kitten. They also are a space for exhibitions, performances and installations. According to their website: "The essence of the operation consists of an audiovisual collection, supported, completed and contextualised by a full-fledged functioning as centre for the arts and area of expertise."
While there, we had the great experience of viewing a trio of wonderful videos from the Argos collection. The first was an experimental documentary type film which was simply in progress drawings of Palestinian camps near Jerusalem with voice overs of residents and their experiences in what were once simple camps and became full fledged neighborhoods controlled by the Israeli state. The stories were poignant and enlightening as children, teenagers, and elderly "inhabitants" relay their experiences.
The second video tugged a little on the heartstrings in a very unexpected way. A home for the elderly in Roundhay, England has been visited by a donkey on loan from Leeds's Elisabeth Svendsen Donkey Centre as a morale boosting effort. Reports show that the results are extremely encouraging and the video provides direct evidence as we view an old man with a condition that makes him unable to move and use his mouth. The two just seem to get each other as they interact on screen and there's a moment where the relationship is simultaneously heartwarming and heartbreaking. An article published in 2007 on the piece in the Yorkshire Evening Post recalls, "It's quite a surreal thing seeing a donkey getting led in and backed out
of all the rooms, but I think it's a great idea. Simon is quite a star here and they love him to bits."
We screened work by Shelly Silver entitled 5 Lessons and 9 Questions about Chinatown. Silver's experimental style is at once invigorating, informative and humorous while generating thought-provoking dialogue free of judgement or criticism. It's a little hard to explain it in depth, but you can see some of it HERE. It definitely makes one want to learn more about Silver and her ground-breaking methods.
Lastly, we were treated to a home slide show of sorts by Herman Daled, a great friend (and collector) of artist and experimental filmmaker Marcel Broodthaers. Broodthaers' work fits perfectly in with our trip and several of his works are actually on display at the Art Institute of Chicago right now in an exhibit on conceptual photography entitled Light Years: Conceptual Art and The Photograph, 1964-1977. If you have the time and means, I highly recommend this show. It will make you think of photography and art in
general in a whole new light. Pun Intended!
Stay tuned for information on our visit today to Constant!
Argos is an internationally renown contemporary art institution here in Brussels whose primary focus is in the audiovisual and visual arts. The have an immense library that can be used for artists or other institution to research art theory, artistic practices and methodologies, and of course various disciplines throughout the twentieth and current centuries. It's almost worth the trip to check out the library alone. I found it hard to pull myself away from the bookshelves, so if you're interested in anything since around DaDa, you'll be smitten as a kitten. They also are a space for exhibitions, performances and installations. According to their website: "The essence of the operation consists of an audiovisual collection, supported, completed and contextualised by a full-fledged functioning as centre for the arts and area of expertise."
While there, we had the great experience of viewing a trio of wonderful videos from the Argos collection. The first was an experimental documentary type film which was simply in progress drawings of Palestinian camps near Jerusalem with voice overs of residents and their experiences in what were once simple camps and became full fledged neighborhoods controlled by the Israeli state. The stories were poignant and enlightening as children, teenagers, and elderly "inhabitants" relay their experiences.
The second video tugged a little on the heartstrings in a very unexpected way. A home for the elderly in Roundhay, England has been visited by a donkey on loan from Leeds's Elisabeth Svendsen Donkey Centre as a morale boosting effort. Reports show that the results are extremely encouraging and the video provides direct evidence as we view an old man with a condition that makes him unable to move and use his mouth. The two just seem to get each other as they interact on screen and there's a moment where the relationship is simultaneously heartwarming and heartbreaking. An article published in 2007 on the piece in the Yorkshire Evening Post recalls, "It's quite a surreal thing seeing a donkey getting led in and backed out
of all the rooms, but I think it's a great idea. Simon is quite a star here and they love him to bits."
We screened work by Shelly Silver entitled 5 Lessons and 9 Questions about Chinatown. Silver's experimental style is at once invigorating, informative and humorous while generating thought-provoking dialogue free of judgement or criticism. It's a little hard to explain it in depth, but you can see some of it HERE. It definitely makes one want to learn more about Silver and her ground-breaking methods.
Lastly, we were treated to a home slide show of sorts by Herman Daled, a great friend (and collector) of artist and experimental filmmaker Marcel Broodthaers. Broodthaers' work fits perfectly in with our trip and several of his works are actually on display at the Art Institute of Chicago right now in an exhibit on conceptual photography entitled Light Years: Conceptual Art and The Photograph, 1964-1977. If you have the time and means, I highly recommend this show. It will make you think of photography and art in
general in a whole new light. Pun Intended!
Stay tuned for information on our visit today to Constant!
Direction to Black Box Library, Argos Center
Abstract of Media Library door, Argos
Found photography of Argos Center exhibit, pre-installation
Self-explanatory, although 1 minute is way too long...
Dalem slide of himself and Broodthaers on North Sea beach
Dalem and Broodthaers on beach
Portrait of Dalem and Broodthaers at the North Sea
Entrance to Argos Media Library
Sunday, January 15, 2012
Day 6 - The Leftovers
Sometimes, leftovers are a delicious snack or just something nice to tide you over. Here's some tidbits from the rest of Day 6 in Brussels.
Walking, walking, walking, and more walking
Day 6 - Part 2 - Cinema Nova
After a bite to eat, today we ventured onward to the Cinema Nova, a non-profit organization dedicated to showcasing independent productions from independent filmmakers. We got a tour of the facility and an in-depth presentation by director Katia Rossini who has acted as a juror for the International Film Festival Rotterdam, which we'll be attending the last four days of our trip. You can see and hear snippets from her presentation in the video below.
Interior, Cinema Nova
Katia Rossini, Director of Cinema Nova
Day 6 - BOZAR & Cinema Nova
Day 6 and it's Sunday here in Brussels, but there's no rest for the art-minded as our group is off to see some exciting stuff today, starting with the Center for Fine Arts, Brussels, aka BOZAR, aka Paleis door Schone Kunsten (Dutch), aka Palais de Beaux-Arts (French). That's a lot of different names, but there's a reason for it that you'll soon learn as we did. The main exhibit we're interested in today is a show of artworks from Brazil. Featuring work from the 19th century through the new millennium, there are great examples of modern-esque painting & sculpture, contemporary installation art, along with several galleries full of Brazilian photographer's works from throughout the same timeframe.
First, a little bit about the building, because that's important as well. We re-visit our Belgian architectural friend Victor Horta for the morning--you'll remember him as the designer of the Comic Strip Center we visited earlier in the trip. Yes, he's very important to Belgian architectural history and should be considered a national commodity as his buildings champion the Art Nouveau style with their intricate detailing and resourceful use of space. I'm sure you'll hear more about him as the trip goes on. If you missed the link in the first post mentioning Mr. Horta, click HERE.
Entering the exhibit space, you first encounter the five galleries that are chock-full of large scale photographic prints in both black & white and color. You'll see some fantastic examples of what the photo arts scene in Brazil has to offer from across the decades, ranging from mid-nineteenth century colonial times to current day work. The large scale prints are heavily laden with detail and the output quality is as good as you'll see anywhere. The visual content of the works stretch the spectrum from abstract to documentarian to social commentary.
The second half of the exhibit follows the modernist tradition to be found in Brazil that parallel movements in the United States and Europe from the same time periods. Photographs were not allowed in that part of the show, so you only get one before the nice gentleman in the gallery reminded me of the forbidden nature of contemporary recording devices...aka iPhone 4S. Sorry about that. But, if you know anything about modern art in the US, then you can imagine the range of works found in the galleries. Everything that compares to constructivism to minimalism to expressionism to post-modernism could be found and speaks volumes about the global nature of art though out the last 150 years and the influence that world communities have had on each other and the formal aesthetics produced from such interactions. And that's all the "art speak" I have in me for you today...I'm sure you're thanking me. If you're curious enough to learn more about the aforementioned movements, click their names for links that provide more information.
In the next post, we'll discuss our time at the Cinema Nova and the works encountered there.
BOZAR, Brazil Exhibited Photo
BOZAR, Brazil Exhibited Photo
BOZAR, Brazil Exhibited Photo
BOZAR, Brazil Exhibited Photo
BOZAR, Brazil Exhibited Photo
BOZAR, Brazil Exhibited Photo
BOZAR, Brazil Exhibited Photo
BOZAR, Brazil Exhibited Photos - Colonial Period
BOZAR, Brazil Exhibited Photos - Colonial Period
BOZAR, Brazil Exhibited Photos - Colonial Period
Window looking out on uncovered
original architecture details outside
Window looking out on uncovered
original architecture details outside
Bird in Space...not Brancusi though
Modernist Brazilian work made from dyed
rice paper and printed text
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