HURRICANE IRENE: BEHOLD MOTHER NATURE'S FURY

Hurricane Irene left NYC this morning and thankfully we're still standing strong for the most part. The only inconvenience was losing hot water which is still MIA. Here are some pictures from around the neighborhood.

East River Walk

Washed up debris on the East River Walk

Car Park under the FDR Drive

Garage in the mandatory evacuation zone below my building

The ground is saturated from recent rain, surprised we didn't loose more trees

Avenue C is rarely this deserted

Interesting that the name Irene is derived from the Greek word εἰρήνη (eiréné) meaning "peace"

I wish you could stay Echo: Jaume Plensa at Madison Square Park Conservancy

May 2011 The Madison Square Park Conservancy presented Jaume Plensa’s long-awaited New York City public space debut, ECHO. The conservancy has had several incredible sculptures through out the past few years, but Echo, is extraordinary in size and transcends this green space into a tranquil sanctuary in the middle of one of the world's busiest cities and is by far my favorite. 

Seems everyone I know has taken pictures of Echo including myself, but I wanted to find a way to show it in a different way. I decided to attempt a time lapse video with my Canon TSi, using an Aputure Timer Remote Cord and Sequimago, a free Applescript, that creates image sequences without QuickTime Pro. 

I made many mistakes, this being my first time lapse video, but the end result is interesting. On my next attempt with time lapse I'll set everything on the camera, including white balance, to manual, because I did experience some exposure issues. I shot a picture every 4 seconds. There's a total of 601 images sequenced at 15 FPS which results in a HD quality 38 second video. The video jumps a bit too much for my taste so next time I may change the interval to 2 or 3 seconds to achieve smoother movement. 

Near the end of shooting Echo two automatic lawn sprinklers went off unexpectedly taking turns soaking the camera and lens, but it's a nice addition to the surreal imagery. My son was assisting me with the shoot and sprung into action when he saw what was happening. We tag teamed back and forth blocking the stream of spray the best we could with a bag and his back and by the end we were soaked, but we were laughing hysterically!

Echo has been extended until September 11, 2011. If you have a chance I highly recommend visiting her before she leaves.

I hope Hurricane Irene goes easy on you Echo.

TAKES ME A DAY TO REMEMBER A DAY: Saturday, August 13, 2011

5:36 AM

Why am I up this early?

9:00 am

The kid's new after school, we enrolled Saturday (It's free which seems to good to be true, but it is) It use to be a bath house for Lower Manhattan. In the early 1900's, only one in 79 families had a bath tub. It was designed by Brunner & Aiken, and modeled after the public baths of ancient Rome. 

Asser Levy Recreation Facility: Photo courtesy of Wikipedia

10:00 am

Adjacent to the new after school playground, "Mommy, that man isn't breathing." Humph, should I be worried? I haven't had coffee yet and there is another responsible adult on the next bench, we decide to leave.

4:00 pm

The two boys have the same name and have known of each other for about 8 years, Saturday they met in person for the first time. He has the most beautiful kind blue eyes. I asked if I could take his portrait.

 5:00 pm

Senna, a documentary about Brazilian Formula One racing driver Ayrton Senna, who won the world championship three times opens at Sunshine Cinema. To support the opening of the film they brought some of the cars out to the streets of Lower Manhattan. VROOOOOOM!!!

6:00 pm

On 2nd Avenue this car was waiting on the bride and groom.

6:30 PM

4 Men at the Church's front door, 2nd Avenue, East Village

DOLLAR, DOLLAR BILL Y'ALL : Hans-Peter Feldman, The Hugo Boss Prize 2010

I've never really cared for the color green indoors, but this room gave me reason to re-think that design call and you have until November 2, 2011 to venture in to the Guggenheim and stand in this room and make your own judgement. 100,000 overlapping one dollar bills, appearing like shingles, pinned to the walls and you know what? It really feels pretty damn good to stand there and look at it. The kid and I even counted areas to try and determine how much was accumulated on each wall, because it's hard to believe 100,00 bills are really there. 

Last November German conceptual artist Hans-Peter Feldmann was named the winner of the eighth Biennal Hugo Boss Prize, an award bestowed by the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation and sponsored by Hugo Boss for significant achievement in contemporary art. Some other famous artists associated with this award are Mathew Barney (Winner 1996), William Kentridge and Pipilotti Rist (Nominated 1998). 

For receiving the award there is the gift of $100,000 and an exhibition at the Guggenheim. Hans-Peter Feldmann has decided to show us the money, literally.

Photo From :The World of Interiors November 2009

It took museum art handlers roughly 13 days to pin the bills to the museum walls and it's quite a nice aesthetic. It reminded me of a page I ripped out of the November 2009 issue of The World of Interiors. (A fantastic publication by the way, that I use to swipe from work after everyone had thumbed through it) I saw this wall above and thought I have to do this in my apartment. It's a shame that most of us New Yorkers have one bedroom apartments and so many ideas that we want to execute just can't come to fruition, but I have kept this page in my inspiration book because one day I will do it and I'm still thinking about what material I will use for it as I would like for it to be recycled or recyclable, sustainable...

Well now, how about money?

ME AND MY SHADOWS

August Morning 7 am

I'm not a morning person, just ask the people who know me well. On many mornings the lyrics to Amanda Palmer's Have to Drive would be my theme song...

"I suffer mornings most of all, I feel so powerless and small, by ten o'clock I'm back in bed fighting the jury in my head" 

Though it dawned on me recently that some of my favorite experiences happen in the early morning. Wondrous sunrises, waking to my son sleeping in the morning light when he's crawled in next to me in the middle of the night or making a beautiful breakfast for friends and family.

July Morning 6 am

Last Thursday morning I woke at 6 am, the sun coming in the window so strong that I was dreaming I was on the beach. I peeked out an eyelid and found a horse's head. A shadow on the wall made by the clothes I'd not put away the night before. Procrastination pays off once again. I took this visual in and rolled over, closed my eyes to go back to sleep. My mind said to my sleepyhead, "there's a shadow horse on your wall...take a picture." I did take the shot and I went right back to sleep...5 minutes later I peeked out again and he was gone. 

Shadows are fascinating to me. At times haunting and fleeting. My favorite shadows are the ones produced naturally from the Sun. In the winter the sun plays at our windows only a short time, then disappears from view. The spring and summer sun lingers given the position of our apartment windows.  If we're patient we can watch the shadows grow, play and then disappear. 

November Morning 7:04 am

Our apartment has allowed us an awe-inspiring daily front row seat.

Amanda Palmer Have to Drive Studio Version