The next day, Delft and letting go of the academic

So as things would have it I got up this morning with plans to travel to Delft for a art opening after two days of whatever and what else. After losing everything in the machine and still having the material I needed for the Rotterdam Residency and upcoming projects I said to myself "move on." I even found a copy on tape of a new videowork I had finsihed that I had left in my camcorder. Only thing is that there is a brief sound piece that accompanies the piece and I will have to create a new version when I reload the video into the machine. So the original which was only to be released in PAL version anyway will remain the "Detroit" version, with those three versions already taken and in Belgium. This new "Rotterdam" version will include a sound piece from sounds collected around the residency and be in NTSC version only. More to come on this after Open Studio, May 30th

Delft.....and finally great service in the Netherlands

I was invited by a member of Het Tijdelijk Verblijf, an artist residency program in Delft to an "opening" of artist who created site-specific work and did murals on a wonderful blue building near the Delft Centraal Train Station. I arrived in Delft around 12:30pm about 4 hours before the opening was to begin. This gave me the oppurtunity to walk around Delft again, take some more pictures and have some um..coffee. It was a much better day in Delft then my last time which was rainy, windy and cold. Today the sun was shining and sunny days are rare here. People were out at cafe's, walking around and a few tourist (like l live here-lol) were about. I stopped in and had lunch at this wonderful bar and grill called "BAR SIL" (www.BAR-SIL.nl). Two (cute) waiter/bartenders greeted me with excitement "Hello, how are you?" That's the "we know you're American" greeting in NL. I ordered a coffee and asked if they served lunch. With grand exsuberance one of the waiters shouted "WE DO! Go back in the kitchen and see what we have. There's two ladies back there, one cooking and the other learning to cook and they'll get you whatever you like." Since I had a coffee coming I choose not to go back in the kitchen, which I'm regreting now since the study of food is part of this residency and sat inside..while everyone else was outside. I wanted to sit inside to enjoy my lunch, without all the noise and only the sound of Detroit Techno playing very very low. I order the salmon sandwich, sit with my notebook, a real notebook, not a machine and waited for my sandwich. It came in about 10min which I thought was good being that only 4 people were running the bar and they had about 20 or more tables outside to handle. The sandwich was wonderful. On toasted brown bread, with capers, pickles and a very light dressing with slice of fresh raw salmon. I ordered another coffee and enjoyed the rest of my lunch and flirted...i mean, chatted with the waiters some, paid and went on my way. I plan to go back.

Service in the Netherlands can at times can be frustrating. Why do (periodically) you have to go through 3 processes that take 15min to 20min that can be done 1 action in 3min? But BAR-SIL you have it down to an art form. Good to see that here. Although I think the cost of coffee is a little high (2,10 euro) and the cost of the sandwich too cheap (5,90 euro) and I'm not basing this on the dollar. It as still worth it just for the service. So if in lowlands make a trip to Delft and BAR-SIL

Around 4pm I finally head over to the opening. I really do not like the concept of openings and felt like even though I was invited it was more like "why are you here?" So I had the traditional glass of wine and got on the train back to Rotterdam. I just think it's the Dutch (outside of Amsterdam) way..WE ARE THE BORG. There is a reason I'm attracted to the Belgian art scene/movements. What I'm noticing here in Netherlands is that academic and rules of art play a strong role in the way art is made and presented. Regonition is the key and the proof that you're an artist. Not the fact that you have ideas. I've been showing in Belgium since 2003 and have a fair understanding I believe of what is and has been happening there. Where the Dutch are liberal in policy it sometimes doesn't translate to the personal. Now the Flemish and French in Belgium are free-spirits although thier polcies are ultra-right. The contemporary art scene in Belgium seems to use art history and practices to advance the ideas of art to create new ideas. What I've seen in Netherlands is interpretations of what makes art important. This may sound mean but it's meant to be lighthearted. The Dutch (as a culture) remind me of The Borg from Star Trek (Resistance is furtile. You WILL Assemulate!). Amsterdam hides that. Rotterdam does not. Those attitudes are making for some great performance concepts and I still have a lot to learn about the culture.

Quick Notes From what WAS lost

12 days of music gone has got me listening to internet radio with options for the next 2 years. Going to take the time to discover some new music and see what that does.

I had some wonder pictures from Antwerp and holiday in Ostend but lost those. I will post some pics soon that .....I'm going to say Heini Obst took. I go back to Antwerp in mid-May for intervention projects and will yes, take more pics.

I guess I'm feeling better.

Next Blog: Distributing Experience, BLAIR and Queens Day

The crash heard around my head

I was synching my ipod to my laptop. Somewhere along the line a glitch happened that sent 12 days of mp3 to my desktop which the hard drive (outside of Itunes) couldn't handle. Finder wouldn't load but everything else would still work but it was extremely slow. It wouldn't allow me to get back to a startup screen, just that crazing spinning thing that Macs give when they are "confused". So I had to reload the software which means I lost a lot of the material I had been collecting during my residency..even losing the blog entry I had been working on for this entry. All photos, computer sketeches, 12 days of music and some sound work is all gone! Luckly I have most of the information I've been developing here and for future projects on a flash drive and I know my music (which I'll have to reload whenever I return to Detroit) is in good hands with my friend Atiba back in Detroit. So I'm taking this as a way to start over....gain a new focus and change the scope of my time here in Europe. The last few days in Rotterdam have been a little strange. Weird things happening, disappering and find this a very hard place to create in. So in the next few days I'm going to make a major change to my plans here in Europe, start taking more photos and developing the projects at hand. More to come.

River Mass and HeadNods

8, April 2009 (12:24pm)

Well the time in Europe has begun. Starting in Rotterdam with the residency.  Rotterdam is an interesting place and attitude. It's an easy walk. I think if you just walked continually you could see the whole city in 4 hours.  However, if you have a fear of bridges like yours truly...thank the heavens for the subway, trams and water taxis. I 've been trying to get a feel for the area in which the residency is located.  I always tend to end up in  basically the same type of "hood's" in Europe with each residency, mostly Turkish, around water and cities of industry.  I have a fantastic view of the River Mass on two sides of my studio.....however a great chill comes with that view.  I'm trying to figure out why Chicago calls itself the windy city. Rotterdam has it beat by miles.  This is the second largest port on the planet.  The water is wide (and not all that clean). Since I've been here (arrived Friday, April 3) the winds have been at a steady pace. Now imagine a somewhat drafty studio apartment and a large river on both sides of you. it's great though to get up every morning and see nothing but sky and water.

Most people say I'm a wimp but in simple terms I'M FROM DETROIT! We enjoy HEAT Up-south. There is no gas heat in the Netherlands. It's all electronic and electricity is expensive. So people have become accustomed to not turning up the heat. Whereas we heat a whole house in the states here in the Netherlands (or at least with the people I know) they heat a room and bear the rest.  Oh and this also means no dryers for clothes.  You hang dry here.

People here are generally friendly and curious. They're not afraid to stare at you hard and have overheard a couple of times some say to the affect "it's an American".  They won't ask you much or even make acknowledgement that they've made eye contact.  You know how we are in the states, a quick hello, flash a smile, or in the black community the headnod.  Not here, they stare and say nothing.  I keep doing my regular thing. A quick hello and a smile.  I tend to start laughing.  I really think it's that "bah humbug AMERICA/AMERICAN thing" and especially one who's not overweight and walks with an attitude like he runs the place. What really troubles me though is the reaction from the black community. I've seen this in Belgium and now really in the Netherlands.   They  stare because it is pretty obvious to them that you're not directly from the Muthaland or Caribbean but I still believe that the obligatory black headnod is universal. Not here.  They look, look back at you and keep moving.  I learned years ago that to really be an American in Europe you have to have and keep confidence or they will eat you alive. 

The people here at  The Poortgebouw are great. Couple of other Americans, French, Columbian, Turkish, Canadian etc... make up this place. Very non-traditional and open.

next blog: Easter weekend w/ the Belgium Avant-Garde (Antwerp and Oostende)