Monday, March 26, 2007

My Affair with Craig



Slowly, creepily, a web version of myself is coming into being.
The Arts Forum is a pleasant place to be. I tried several, but still opt for this one - it's so easily accessible and readable and pop-up free. And it's so interesting. Plus, Craigslist feels like a real community. It deals with almost every facet of life. People tell me it changed their lives; they found a mate there, or an apartment, or a job, or a job that led to an apartment that led to finding a mate. It's that simple.
So I guess it's just a matter of loyalty - and a homey feeling. The longer you're there, the less alienating the web becomes. people hide behind their handles - their online names - but you learn to recognize them eventually. And some people seem genuinely befriended, while others seem to attract nothing but hostilities.
Online debates heat up and burn out rapidly. New subjects range from the utterly bizarre to the daily SPAM to the heartbreakingly naive. Some threads are very educational and some are about other fields in art where I have no understanding and no interest. Art is vast.
They have a Sunday art thread and recently pushed into Saturday as well with a photography thread - people just post their pieces and get a lot of positive comments. Some art is interesting, but some makes for a huge yawn. There's also a rating system for posts, from -5 to +5. that's a bit odd, and people often get very emotional over "negs".
So where do I fit in in this web of whispers and moans? And how did I manage to get so addicted I actually check the thread every hour or two? Life is like the internet - ever changing and no certainties, so as i am writing this, i already get a glimpse of the future where Craigslist is no longer at the top of MYlist. Life is short and the internet long.

Friday, March 09, 2007

Berlitz, or: Humble Beginnings



If anything can go wrong, whisper the good souls, it will. A self-fulfilling prophecy for the weak at heart, while the true believers would go for the optimistic version: after so many mishaps, things can only get better.
So, after I meticulously damaged every piece, and then managed to fix it somehow, the hanging on Sunday managed to damage a few frames as well. Whatever. It's not the wrapping that counts, right? I mean, I've been to museums and galleries and seen very mediocre art packaged in very impressive frames. It should be the other way round, shouldn't it?.
The exhibition opened on Wednesday. The space is nice, in a provincial way; two corridors, and a lobby, where two images can be viewed from the street. Everybody said it looked great, but I found it hard to get rid of that junior high feeling.
Berlitz, on 51st street, is only two blocks away from MoMA, telling me in a symbolic way that I am just a few steps from fame (and fortune). This is my interpretation anyway. I had a few guests for the opening. Everybody got drunk (except me, of course). I think they had fun; I was too busy counting the money (relax. This is wishful thinking). To sum it up - a small step for the New York art community, a major milestone for Rona Morning Star's career. My ship has left the harbor. I hope the captain knows where we're going because I haven't got a clue.