Les Amoureux au Ban Public

While in Paris, Matías and I worked with two bicultural couples who are both part of this group for the Potential Spaces piece. One of these couples is featured in this documentary. Please watch.

How to communicate in a digital age with no common language

From a chat conversation with my friend at an artist residency in Beijing.

I asked him how he was getting on communicating himself.

his reply (translated into English) was: 

for example, when I got to eat I take pictures and if I go back ... i them to them.

"por ejemplo cuando voy a comer hago fotos del plato y si vuelvo...se la muestro"

http://www.flickr.com/photos/65987575@N03/6011654452/

Last Saturday I went to a march here, in Santiago, in support of stopping the construction of the HydroAysén in Chilean Patagonia. If you don't know what I am talking about I would tell you check out the New York Times, but from what I can tell (way down here) there has been little coverage of it in the States. Instead I'll suggest IPS News; fact there is an article that just came out today.

I took my camera with me, obviously - prepared for the worst. The protests here are usually riddled with destruction ... and tear gas. But surprisingly (and perhaps because so many children attended), it was peaceful (well, that is until night fell and the families left, but still there was less destruction than normal).

For sometime I have always loved playgrounds, taking pictures of playgrounds, cross-processing pictures of playgrounds - empty ones - at night... The other day I started bringing my camera with me to the plaza where I take Fu twice a day. One day this dog showed up and behind came a girl calling him "manchas" (spots). When I thought about what "manchas" are I thought it was really cute and then I thought about the translation and I thought, "well, not original, but at least it sounds more eloquent.

She started climbing on the bars where I was taking decidedly boring photos but enjoying myself nonetheless. We had a long discussion about the monkey bars - one of my favorites as well.

I snapped this at the beginning of our discussion. The colors are rich and it is as if she is in the middle of a kip or perhaps she is just floating.

Yesterday

Just a quick thought about recent global events:

Yesterday I received an email from the US Embassy in Chile, to be more cautious: "the enhanced potential for anti-American violence following recent counter-terrorism activity in Pakistan.  Given the uncertainty and volatility of the current situation, U.S. citizens in areas where recent events could cause anti-American violence are strongly urged to limit their travel outside of their homes and hotels and avoid mass gatherings and demonstrations." Ok, granted I don't actually live in a country where "recent events could cause anti-American violence", but it begs the question - why are we celebrating on the streets? what the hell did we win? More fear?

What I didn't have time for, but really wish I had.

Olafur Eliasson
Documentation of the exhibition at Martin-Gropius-Bau, Berlin, 2010