PEOPLE, PLACES, THINGS... breath in calm, breath out insulation!!

As Reece, has said, "Everyday is a festival in that house!!"  ...and this week was no different.

 It was completely an Alejandro Jodorowsky moments as the insulation went into the Big House.  I walked around the site with Rock n' roll playing in one place, then turning a corner and hearing La Bamba and the El Salvadorian dudes laughing while working away.  Every once in a while one or the other would  give out a yelp of glee or a  "owwwwww la" ...  I kept thinking they were calling me when they said Mira, which means to look in Spanish.    You can imagine how many times my head was turning once they found out my name actually is Mira!! hahaha.   Oh also I  can't forget to mention the  pregnant women who on late night walk with her husband and baby stroller  broke into the site so she can use the port-a-potty.  True dat, and this was also the week more public art showed up on the fence in the image of a sasquatch. Ya, I think it's fair to say Holy Mountain ain't got nottin' on the shenanigans at project 851.

Insulation alone is now blowing my mind.  Who knew there were so many types?  There's at least 5 types in the house (my terms not the boring construction terminology):

Creamsicle:  (hard like a frozen cube)

Bubblegum: (knock on that jaw breaker)

Icecream Sandwich: (this puppy is hard -- the chocolate sides are thin and the icecream thick)

Blacksheep of the family: (love the mix of this soft sheep)

Whitesheep of the family: (sista from another mother)

and a little Cotton Candy: (fluffy but don't eat it!)

Viva la fiesta and house building festivals.  Hope you had a great long weekend.

COMMUNITY -- whaaaaat? vs. let's all get along

This week I watched an exceptional series called "She's Gotta Have It" by Spike Lee.  Fort Greene, Brooklyn is where it takes place and once can see similar issues to our community.  This is just one of the reasons it makes it easy to fall in love with the work, along with the layers of messaging.  I had to chuckle when I walked down Hawks Ave past the pilot shooting in the hood, thinking about how we are constantly facing the cross over of real life and non-reality or reality projected through media becoming more and more of a constant.

She's Gotta Have It, is a Spike Lee re-make of Spike Lee's early work of the same name -- going from a movie to a Netflix Series.   There are so many issues discussed in the series like the  the Free Female Black Form, sexual identity, racism, gentrification, art, street art campaign "My Name isn't...", classism, feminism and so on.  Some of the magic moments come through in the poetic language used;  the weaving of messages in Episode 1 that comes full circle in Episode 10 (summed up nicely in the confused Art Critic, Julius Kemper's line "I want to know who she is?";  the evolution and challenges of life/identity in the visuals of the street art campaign leading to Nola Darlings path to freedom, to name a few.  One of my favourites is a line that repeats "you gotta get your shit together" delivered with wisdom from the place of a Grand Dame. 

The bottom line is that "She's Gotta Have It" deals with empowerment and worth watching over and over again, in my opinion.  For this weeks blog, I decided to take a page out of Spike Lee's series and how he plays with the Intro.  Usually, it's something you skip once you start getting into a show but in this series Lee plays with the visuals of the community and the photos of the people there are not the same in every intro. 

So here are some photos of the folks in this hood, some passing through, some returning to fond memories,  while others are deeply rooted threads in the fabric (not going anywhere!!).

Photo credit:  black and white of Mrs. Lau (the old chinese lady) by Esther Rausenberg                                                                                    Note: History of the Big House -  May 16, 2016  (under heading of Big House)                                                                                                       Octopus drone shot  -- Oct. 16th 2017 by Eesmayl Santos-Brault

PROGRESS...process to progress

Decided to add more public art to the Project.  Being a Risk Taker, rather than a developer, one finds there are times you are overjoyed and times you are overwhelmed; both resulting in times you might just need to cry.  When I stumbled upon the posters of a public art project I supported some years ago, it seemed appropriate to include them at the site. 

 Acceptable Reasons to Cry in Public, has been added to the fence, where Cameraman so generously contributed his image of the Big House, during it's more haunted looking phase of existence.  Today one of the posters was added to what I'm calling the public art fence.  There are 2 more that will be added as the Project 851 evolves, so keep an eye out as you pass by and watch the public art fence grow.

There is much layered meaning in mark making on a building site, not unlike an art process,  from technical skills, to problem solving, practicing and evolving to mastering one's work.  Sometimes X marks the spot; numbers and letters can let the one picking up the torch know what exists and/or needs to be done;  other times the lines help give you a visual of what is yet to come.  Of course, there is problem solving and testing ideas out, be it in a drawing or hooking up strings.  Finally, as you can see in the last photo, it's just something beautiful in and of itself.                 (ode to concrete and the marker)

Personally, I love the problem solving and maquette stages of mark making.  Working things out is a type of play and can be solitary but usually will include at least one other person along the way.  I find it challenging to visualize spacial relationships in my mind alone.  Taking an idea, or image/drawing, and making it a reality is a fascinating process.  The idea, in my mind, always seems to be BIGGER than it ends up being in reality and over the years I've learnt that about myself.   Learning about oneself and others is one of the more overjoying experiences I find (hahaha not to say it can't be overwhelming as well).

It's all about the learning and watching process become progress.

ART ...ode to light and focus on the feet

Starting with Fellini and ending with an Octopus seems a good way to honour feet.  Light is a reference to photography, where images are captured through waves; action of radiant energy.  In my view, the true and original definition of photography.

If you haven't had a chance to see "In Search of Fellini", I'd recommend it.  I love Fellini and the way he played with storytelling via film.  In Search of Fellini is a charming contemporary movie that references the Master, and even though is not as artistically cutting edge for it's time, is worth the watch.  It might just inspire a Fellini marathon of trying to understand some of the 28 creative works he made during his lifetime.

Dolce vita, was one of those films and the "sweet life" (or good life, or a life of heedless pleasure and luxury) seems to be a fun way to approach the elements of the Octopus.  The Infill of project 851 has affectionately been named the Octopus by my Mother, the head of our Fellini family.  When the three generations of our crazy family were looking at design ideas Mom spontaneously called the design we liked the Octopus and it stuck!

That seemed like ages ago and many tentacles have been waving ever since.

Speaking of tentacles, did you know an Octopus has three hearts, nine brains, and blue blood?  Two hearts pump blood to the gills, while a third circulates it to the rest of the body. The nervous system includes a central brain and a large ganglion at the base of each arm which controls movement.   When you start to look closely and research this creature you realize it's an alien of sorts.

I'm quite happy to include this 8 tentacled reference into the project and find joy in integrating it Fellini style where appropriate.  This week the Octopus made it's way into the Big House through designing lighting.  During the Eastside Culture Crawl I came across a great lighting designer at the Mergatroid building -- Robert from Sasamat Creative.  The crystal light spoke to me and we found a way to bring it home. 

Now another tick has been added to the decision making box  -- 9 crystal lights hanging at the Big House.  It will be made in the spirit of Dolce Vita and nod to the Octopus, shaped as an octagon...In Search of Fellini.