As I still have some photos to edit...I'm going to do this blog in 2 parts.
Ben, Linda and I went to the Museum of Contemporary Arts (MOCA) in L.A. today. I was told by my friend Terri that the Art in the Streets exhibit was one of the biggest in the world right now...and I believe it.
In San Diego, I've had a chance to see great pieces here and there in the city. From Space invader to Shephard Fairey and many others...I was amazed to find out how much is actually here.
Shephard Fairey - more popularly known
for his iconic images of Barack
Obama and the face of Andre the
Giant (also seen in this image)
So what is Street Art anyways? Well as someone just learning about it myself, it's not just graffiti. It has evolved into different facets. The spray can is still a quinessential tool, but cut outs, paper, glue and lot of other tools come into the mix. Some of it is destructive, some of it is made to deteriorate rather quickly. At Art in the Streets, you see the timeline and how it has evolved. You see street art making bold statements, such as Banksy's "I Hate Mondays." In this image, a kid in Darfur, seemingly starving and in need is wearing a rugged, oversized t-shirt with bright lettering "I Hate Mondays." The colorful lettering pops out of the image against the drab neutrals used throughout. It has that visual and subject matter contrast I've come to appreciate in Banksy's work.
On the other end of the spectrum, artists like Space Invader create small aliens out of tile (similar to those from the early arcade game, Space Invader) and places them all over in conspicuous places. His work is on the more light-hearted end of the spectrum, and most of the fun is in trying to find them :).
If the photos peak your interest, I encourage you to do 2 things (if you haven't already):
1) Rent the movie "Exit through the Gift Shop" - excellent film that will quickly get you up to speed, and entertain you the whole way through
2) Pay a visit to the Geffen MOCA in LA between now and August 8th (if you're anywhere nearby)
I hope you enjoy the photos. As I have time, I will come back and add photos, artist names and descriptions. Visit my website at www.ThePhotoBus.com/StreetArt to see more, or click on any of the images to go directly to the gallery photo. Drop me a line and let me know what you think!
Back at the lodge after my cruise through Milford Sound. Mason Jennings is playing now while I type. A nice touch.
Wow, it is COLD on the water. There were times I wondered if I'd get frostbite if I stayed out any longer. It's been an hour and 15 minutes since the cruise and my ears are still cold.
Waiting for the bus now. It's 11:13AM computer time (12:13PM New Zealand). My bus comes at 2:15PM, and then it's a 4 and a half hour trip back to Queenstown, where I meet Jude at the grocery store at 7:30PM.
The only way into Milford Sound by automobile, the tunnel was built
with pick axes and man power. A few men died while building this tunnel;
the result of avalanches from the steep terrain.
If you look carefully, you can see evidence
of the manmade chisel work!
Jude must still be on the bus back to Queenstown. He left at 9:30AM, so he should arrive around 2PM. He's planning on going Parasailing, which should be fun. He said it was a bit cheaper than it would be at Torrey Pines. I imagine he will be flying tandem, so not too much to worry about there. I just hope he gets some photos and videos. I'd love to see it secondhand.
The cruise was nice. I went by foot to the wharf again (which is about a 20 minute hike). A guy from India that now lives in NYC stopped and picked me up on the way. After I gave him directions to the wharf and to the petrol station, I think he felt guilted into asking me for a lift. When I said "Okay" he soon after said "Well, that wasn't too far. I should have just left you there to walk." New Yorkers have a funny way of showing affection.
Back to the cruise...
So, I got on and went straight to the nose of the boat. We left the wharf just before 9AM. Because we were the first boat, the water was nice and calm. I froze for a bit, but met some nice folks from Minnesota, and a couple from Argentina. Man, this guy had the coolest eyes. He looked like that child (now grown-up) from that famous national geographic cover (with the red hood and the bright green eyes). Had I not felt way too silly asking, I would have taken a photo of him as well. Nonetheless, we had some great conversation. Turns out he just got back from a track as well, and had the same beautiful, snowy conditions we had on ours that one day. He gave me some great tips about the glacier (glassier) hikes. Apparently the "half-day" trip spends 3 hours on the trail; 1 hour on the glacier. Whereas, the the full day trail spends a fair amount of time on the ice; goes much higher, and gets out of all the nasty, grey ice. Looks like we'll be signing up for the full day. Also funny, this couple said they were also doing the same hike we're going to be doing around Mount Cook, "Mueller Hut", that we'll be doing; likely around the same time. Maybe we'll meet again.
On the cruise, there wasn't really much wild life to be found. Go figure, the animals were smart enough to realize that it was "bloody cold" outside and to seek shelter elsewhere. I got some good shots of the waterfall, and this one that I absolutely LOVE. It has one of the mountains catching the sunlight taking up the majority of the frame on the right, and in the wee distance on the bottom left you can see other fjord-scaped mountains layering in shades of blue against one another. I used a polarizer, so all the bush is vivid green, and the sky vivid blue. Ah...more Mason Jennings. This time "California". Ha...how nice.
Well, I hiked back to the Lodge. Since I was here yesterday, the staff knows my face. I don't think they will suspect I am no longer a "lodger," which is excellent because the sand flies, unlike dracula, love to suck your blood during the light hours. With any luck, that one girl will come back and play another mini-concert in the common room. Otherwise...I'm sure I'll find good ways to use the next hour.
One of the Hut Wardens on the Routeburn Track told us about this video called Shadowlands. They have it here in the gift shop and was very tempted to buy it, but I looked on Amazon and saw they have one used for 12.99 US (here it's $35 NZ); plus it would just be one more thing to haul back. The cinematography looks pretty amazing. I think it'll do a great job of showing you where we are.
Last night was fairly uneventful (besides the important stuff like getting our clothes clean and dry). Turns out you had the right time when you asked me what time it was here. This computer (in fact all the computers here) are exactly 1 hour earlier (so Jude and I ended up missing the last ferry). No worries though. I decided to take the first small boat which leaves at 8:50AM (7:50AM computer time).
At sunset, Jude and I went down to the wharf. We missed the shuttle because we were on the phone rescheduling everything, but it was a nice walk down. I ended up going down to the water and getting some pretty great photos of the fjords. Luckily I couldn't find Jude, which afforded me to find this cool spot where these trees had drifted up from the lake. I kept yelling for him, but all I heard was some bird like whistle. I kind of had a feeling it was him, but after 3 tries I figured he'd finally let me know where he was. Wrong. I decided to head to the Pub and on the way I hear "You ready?" from the tree tops. Jude makes a pretty good bird.
After a couple "Black Beers" and some bad pizza, we played some darts and caught the shuttle back for the evening.
Well here it is, 7:30AM (6:30AM computer time)...looks like the breakfast cafe is open...I bet you know where I'm headed.
