karaoke research

went to go pick up some karaoke equipment for an installation piece in the show I am working on...this place was so cheesy, I could resist taking a few pictures. I didn't get nearly enough to capture that surreal feeling that comes with being in a nightclub in middle of the day. not only that but they were in middle of renovating which made it extra bizarre..lots of sketchy gangster looking guys in black suits sitting behind desks and on cell phones

not out of the woods yet

I have been crazy busy last few weeks guest editing the April issue of Contemporary Art and Investment magazine (special issue to go with my show) and FINALLY sent things off to Hangzhou for printing on Monday. whew! I even took a day off and stayed away from the computer...until about 10pm when I suddenly remembered some important corrections to be made and got on MSN with Zuo Jing to let him know. then on wednesday I heard from Zuo Jing that they were in the thick of proofreading and still making lots of corrections...and then today I got news that none of the fonts on the file we sent worked--eeks--a major situation! After frantic MSN messaging and a few phone alls it seems it is all on track now, no other solution than to have they (the magazine team in HZ) go through and change every bit of text on all 80 pages to a new font that is nearly exactly the same as the one we used, only different in name. It is a HUGE pain in the ass but I am being assured by my designer (here in Beijing) that it will all look the same and it is no problem. Everyday is precious...we are now at least 4 days behind schedule. Hope it all works out in the end...fingers crossed we can actually go to the printer tomorrow!!!

two great things that go great together

art + karaoke. I hope to make this connection even more transparent with a piece by C & C Karaoke Factory in my upcoming show...mum is the word for now but keep tuned! these from Liu Wei's opening at CAAW the other night. yep, it's rawhide and nope, he didn't make it himself. he is just the 'concept' man.









for more photos see my flickr

magazine stuff

当代艺术与投资Contemporary Art and Investment magazine editor Zuo Jing is in town...and carol and liu ding are back from New Zealand. We all met up to go over things with the magazine. only 2 or 3 more days before we go print--eeks!

同达生态园Tongda ecosystem park restaurant

管艺

陈劭雄

Chen Shaoxiong's opening at Universal Studios Beijing

大世界

metal madness

pictures of the HUGE window frame Constantine is building in his shop in Oakland right now. This is just the window, there is a 15 foot doorway that goes below it. this piece weighs 1 ton.

bombs away!

Tonight is the last night of the Chinese New Year festival and the skies are ablaze with fireworks. It is like world war III is going on outside my door. 4th of july times ten, easily: super loud M-80s (though probably bigger), strings of firecrackers, whizzy sounding things, bottle rockets, we've got it all and more. it is hard to get photos at night but I tried anyway. I love the this one below--full on crazy firework action going on right outside my window!

and then there was snow

after that smidgeon of rain the other day, a day went by with nothing and then, suddenly, total downpour. I mean total. It rained literally ALL DAY non stop, a constant steady flow, very bay area style. the puddles at the curb grew larger and larger to the point where they made crossing some intersections downright impossible. on it went into the night and when I woke up this morning and looked outside there was SNOW! the rooftops of the hutongs across the street from me were covered with a picturesque light dusting - my first experience of snow in Beijing ever!

下雨 from above

Yesterday I looked up from my computer and out the window and saw the strangest thing. What was this foreign substance all over the ground, this material that made things wet and the air thick and dense with moisture??? Oh, IT HAD RAINED!!! I have been here over 4 months and have only seen precipitation once maybe twice (I missed the snowfall around new year's). It is so dry here that the rain, however brief and scant, was such a welcome sight. that was until I went outside and discovered the dangerous mess it causes...months of dust accumulation + rain = mud. anyway, I enjoyed it while it lasted, today things are all dried up and it looks like nothing ever happened. back to normal...


by the way, I live in those buildings there across the street