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LLAP X-LAB

It’s been real X-Lab, live long and prosper.

RIP Leonard Nimoy, aka Mr. Spock.

Art Has Met Science and Spirituality in a Changing Economy

"We are embedded in the cyclical processes of nature"

"The paradigm shift towards a systemic world view is crucial because without it there will be no future"

"There is no science without creativity"

"By adjusting my wavelengths I would disappear and reappear in the same room, but in a parallel universe"

"The meaning of life is to develop"

"We have lost our homeostasis"

"It's not to do, it's to be. It's so simple, yet complex"

"You become what you hate"

"Evil exists because there is goodness"

"As long as we have intelligence, we doubt"

"Doubt is not a disease, it is a symptom of lack of understanding"

"Man should be conscious of his body"

Thanks to a little birdie, I was provided with access to watch the last installment of Art Meets Science and Spirituality in a Changing Economy and I was actually surprised that I didn't get to hear from my favorite person, Lawrence Weiner. Besides that, it played out exactly how I expected it to, with discussions of nature, the ecosystem, and fear. Such topics you wouldn't initially think of when the overall topic for this symposium was The Paradigm Shift. However, Marina did briefly mention the idea of parallel universes, which i thought was interesting to hear from her considering that she's the Artist of the group, whereas the Scientist, Capra, brought up ecology and that it is the context of our society, without it, we fail to succeed.

Lawrence Weiner

"If you take these materials and put them together what would the product look like?"

"What if Madonna and Einstein had a baby, what would the baby be like?"

"All the work that I do is with materials that are available to everybody."

"Work has no metaphor."

"A piece doesn't have to be built to be presented in language."

"Language allows for inherency to remain."

"An art center...has a place to pose questions...now that is something."

"Art has no definition, it has a history, it has no qualifications necessary, it has no need for a reference point to anything else, art is one of those things that appears in the world because someone decides they are going to pose a question...and that's what makes it art."

"That's the point of art, it doesn't answer any questions, but it gives them the means to answer their particular question at that moment."

"If there is no hierarchy, then there is no racism, because then there is no logic to it."

"Art is about things that you don't know"

"My job is finding those things and having the time to present those things that somebody may not have noticed."

"The only way to get time is to buy it."

"The market has nothing to do with the function of art."

"Art is sensual, and sensual is a different take on materials."

"When I don't like the way a certain thing looks, I reinvent it."

http://youtu.be/AscU8wKzbbE - The Means To Answer Questions

Manifesto

For our project we plan to rewrite Bruce Mao's Manifesto in a sense. We won't have nearly as many parts to it though. Since last week, we have been approaching life through a different lens, an awareness lens and it's been different, but in a good way. I feel like by being aware of just about everything, makes what you are doing that more enjoyable. With that, we have also been paying more focus to the awareness while teaching and/or learning. Most of the time when it comes to explaining things it's more so easier said than done, however I think its quite the opposite in this case. As this experience continues my awareness levels are through the roof and I find myself understanding things more easily while learning, and being able to convey ideas better while teaching. I tend to struggle while explaining things, yet I think I have been able to do a better job, putting more thought into what I'm going to say before saying it.

Focus. Eyes closed. This is something that I've started doing since we started this awareness experience and it has really helped me. A lot of the time I find myself 'out of focus', unintentionally not paying attention to what people say, some would just call it selective hearing or simply ignoring someone. The real reason that I do it is because I can really pay attention and understand better without being distracted by what my eyes see. It's kind of weird saying this because I consider myself a visual learner, yet when people are talking, I find it easier to really hear them if my attention is purely through listening and nothing else.

Therefore I'll be the stormtrooper in the middle in this case and I am fine with that.

Farewell to Art, Science, & Spirituality

I was really looking forward to how this symposium was going to conclude, but unfortunately that's not going to be the case because it was removed from Youtube and has been blocked from the US. My guess on how this symposium was going to go was that they were going to discuss the topic for a bit in the beginning and eventually drift off into related topics with Lawrence Weiner chiming in a few times throughout along with other people asking questions. I guess this is what I get for procrastinating to watch it.

Not quite sure why these videos in particular would be censored from the US, considering that the content of the videos is in no way inappropriate or speaking badly about anyone, nor have I seen or heard anything about Gaiam, so I am wondering what the real reason behind removing these videos is?

R. Sheldrake + S. Rinpoche + L. Weiner

"What constitutes dignity for your own existence"

"Creativity bridges the gap between form and actions"

"We ignore death and eternity"

"We are creatures of habit"

"We should stop getting so rich"

"You're supposed to like what you're doing and if you don't then you're supposed to change it"

"The house has many mansions but they're all built the same way"

"Do as I say and not as I do"

"If it doesn't get funded, it doesn't get done"

"We are having a power meeting of the economy can help sustain art, science and spirituality"

Rinpoche encourages people to have an open mind about the afterlife, there is a continuity, what you are is what you have been, and what you will be is what you do now. I won't delve into my personal beliefs, but it's hard to understand what happens next since there is no evidence.

Lawrence Weiner is back! This time on the panel as the Artist, and actively engaging in the discussion, one of the only artist to contribute a large amount to the conversation, and it seems like he always has something mind blowing to say. He also mentioned that we continue to find ourself with the same problem, each panel successfully, we don't escape this problem, and that we are still looking at the world in the same way that we have always viewed the world and are not willing to be open about looking at it through a different pair of eyes.

Similar to what I have said in prior posts, that they continue to discuss these topics but what is actually being accomplished from talking about it? Yes, it brings awareness to those who were present and those who watch the videos, but actions speak louder than words. There would be more meaning behind it all if something were actually done rather than just have talked about it.

In this video, the Scientist switched participation roles with the Artist, yet I think in this case it was okay, because Weiner always has a lot to say, he has contributed in every panel discussion even when he was in the audience and I applaud him for that because instead of beating around the bush, he's bold and gets to the point, which is something that they need to do more of rather than continue to answer questions in such political fashion.

Towards the end, a gentleman (above) in the audience want to go back to the basics and talk about the name of the symposium Art Meets Science & Spirituality in a Changing Economy and that none of our existing systems are adequate for the future and that we need to shed our ideologies and move forward. X is good for this, Y is good for that and so on.

"I doubt if the changes will happen right there at the conference" - Rupert Sheldrake

Outrenoir

Before reading about the video and the work that Pierre Soulages did, I asked myself, why is he using black paint? He answered the question in the video and said, "I don't paint with black, I work with the light that reflects it." He was talking about painting in the dark and painting in dark caves and that its a primal instinct for him to do so.

He doesn't use traditional paint brushes, instead he uses objects like wooden sticks, rubber scrapers, old brushes with dried paint, painting knives made from leather soles, pieces of wood with splinters all over etc. He uses whatever he has around him.

In the end of the video he talks about the artwork that he ends up destroying because he had worked so long on it and it didn't quite turn out the way he had expected so he burns them, goes to sleep, and starts over the next day. Everything that he saves he has accepted and that's the work that gets displayed. That's an interesting process, and I say that because I wonder how bad the work that he destroys really is? At the same time though, he's at a point in his life where he knows what he likes and doesn't like, even if a piece that he did is comparable to what he saves and has accepted. Despite that, however, the initial idea that he works with the light that reflects black is really compelling, yet slightly hard to understand, but I don't consider myself an artist, yet, who's to say I'm not? What I see is black paint with different types of textures created with various tools to create what lies behind him. Although I do not perceive his work the same way that he does, I still appreciate what he does.

A Brief History of John Baldessari

"John Baldessari is so successful that he carries absolutely nothing in his pockets" I thought this was insane when I heard it because it seems rather surreal that someone could honestly be given everything and not have to pay for a single thing. Because I have become so accustomed to always having a minimum of three things on me at all times (phone, wallet, car keys) I automatically feel unbalanced when I don't have one of the three on me, especially my phone. Without my phone I feel naked, it just feels wrong and it seems like if I don't have it with me something will happen or have happened and I will/would have no way of knowing until I am reunited with my phone, and of course I then find no issues at all, and am relieved.

Enough about me, back to Baldessari, the man who has a peep hole for normal people and one for just himself because he's 6'7", and all he wants to know is how to Clint Eastwood is. Instead he will be known as the man who put dots over people's faces, the master of Appropriation. When defined it sounds more like plagiarism, but when seen through art it makes more sense.

He didn't take the initial photo of the two men, but he did apply the dots as well as the orange stonehenge in the background, thus making it his own. He did this with many more photos and it's actually quite interesting.

In the 70s he decided to burn everything he ever made and put it in a bronze urn in the shape of a book.

Baldessari is known as a mentor, a friend, and one of the most inspirational artists of his generation. He thinks that younger artists only need to know 3 things:

1) Talent is cheap

2) You have to be possessed which you can't will

3) Being at the right place at the right time

The video was so good that I had to watch it again, the best parts of the video are when he responds to the statements made by Tom Waits, and therefore I shall end with the greatest one.

TW: "Ladies think his name sounds sexy" JB: "I can live with that"

http://youtu.be/eU7V4GyEuXA

Varela + Bielecki + van der Heyden

"What we perceive is created by our own mental processes"

"Space is...you can make it and you can have it"

"The quality of space is inseparable by the way we are constituted"

"Vision is the greatest obstacle of knowing"

"There is a circularity between subject and object"

"Spirituality is an inevitable part of being human"

Every form of knowing, or every form of ignorance is contextual"

"It's most important that we meet as people and not as categories"

"We have progressed on a material level but on an non-material level, we are less than barbaric"

"We don't really effect much in the world as a whole, we initiate ideas, and hope some common sense can come out of it"

"I don't believe in information anymore, I think its just an absolute nonsense idea"

The most interesting thing about Francisco Varela is that not only is he a scientist he is also a buddhist, which is something you don't see everyday. Typically, they're on either ends of the spectrum, however he's both and it really changes his perception on everything. He talks about colors and how humans perceive them, yet animals will see colors in a different way, a way that we could never experience color. Mother Tessa Bielecki even said that she cannot tell when he's speaking from a scientific perspective or a religious perspective. This statement ties back to the very initial statement prior to having watched any of the videos, on the notion that you would never be able to tell who said what if you had no visual of the person making the statement.

Bielecki has a perception on working, and work within the western civilization, and that it is more of an addiction than anything else. If you actually step back, and look at it in that context, I can definitely understand what she means because as a society we see work as something that we have to do, and if you think of the way addicts perceive drugs, as something that they need to do, then yes, I would agree to disagree with her statement, because we're not doing this because we want to, we're doing it because we have to and if we don't, then we fail.

After finishing the video, I was really trying to figure out why Jacques van der Heyden's contributions to the discussion were so minimal. So far, I think Rauschenberg has contributed the most with Cage at a close second amongst the Artists of the panels. I'm beginning to wonder if their impact within these discussions are beneficial? Could they do without the artists? Would it make a difference? The way that I have perceived this entire video is that the discussion is about 90 percent between the Scientist and the Spiritualist with about a 10 percent contribution from the Artist and the Economist. Again, how would this change, if at all, if they were not present?

Prigogine + Cage + Smith + Weiner + Chamberlain

I watched the second installment of Art Meets Science and Spirituality in a Changing Economy and again, the concepts that they discuss are hard to grasp. Not only because of the topic but also because it was hard to understand Prigogine's thick accent. I tried turning the subtitles on but that made it worse because it would add in incorrect words to the point that you couldn't really decipher what was being said. From what I've understood, Smith believes that the current relationship between Science and Religion is poor, however Prigogine, the thermo dynamicist does believe that they should have a relationship, which I thought was interesting considering that they are on opposite sides of the spectrum.

When John Cage did get a chance to speak, he was talking about the notion of chance and that we should return to the nature of chance, yet Prigogine would disagree because chance is an essentially part of nature but it is not the only part.

Prigogine was talking for so long that when he asked Smith a question he couldn't even remember what the issue was that he was asking him about. I agree though, because at about halfway into this video, Prigogine has talked about 90% of the time while Cage and Smith have contributed a mere 10%.

Now Lawrence Weiner is pissed! He's upset that the panel cannot answer the man in the audience's question about what should we do about having children, and a somewhat irrelevant response to the question but relevant to the overall topic about how art doesn't fit within this conference because he doesn't believe that these artist have an answer for any of the questions that have been asked. He also said that, all art that you see it is just a means for artists to have something to sell, to buy their time and spend their time on something that society deems meaningless.

I noticed that Cage wasn't physically present on the panel, and instead John Chamberlain was, yet he didn't say much throughout the video except when Weiner was done talking, he went on to say that 40,000 children will have died today, and 40,000 will die tomorrow from preventable ailments. Which is interesting to hear him say, because even though these ailments can be prevented, these third world countries where all of these deaths are taking place do not have access to treatments and medicines that would make these ailments preventable, thus for them they are far from preventable.

Overall, it seems that nothing really gets achieved in these videos, they bring up ideas and their own personal opinions, but then what? Questions are asked, but never really answered.

"Time is circular, it has no end"

"Things are constantly changing"

"A square represents the four directions of space"

"Our imagination is a false instrument in the sense that it cannot image the way in which nature actually is"

"We live in a timeless universe and that is something that is hard for me to believe"

"Chaos is a type of unstable order"

"The goal is to feel alienated in this world"

"We are a flawed species"

Avengers + Basketball

Now, let's bring them together. Designed by a Chinese company, Li-Ning, they developed four color ways for each of the Avenger characters. I don't particularly like the look of these shoes, but I do like the individual features of them. Except for the Thor shoes, because they look more like a Tiffany Blue design, rather than a Thor design.

These ones are a little better when it comes to the type of shoe, the Nike Air Foamposite One, a very comfortable and stylish shoe might I add. the design on the shoe however, is more so a comic book, which is cool, but I'd prefer an individual color way or one that ties them altogether into a compelling way.

Moving to a different medium that collaborates Avengers with basketball is a video game that I am very familiar with, yet I didn't know about this portion of the game. NBA2K14 added in a mod that allows you to play as some of your favorite superheroes. Including members from both the Justice League (JLA) and the Avengers. A little Marvel vs. DC action.

Avengers + Art

I figured since I found something with basketball and art, I could find Avengers artwork and they're all done in watercolor.

Except for this one, which I was lucky to find because it's a collect of American Traditional tattoos with my favorite group of superheroes. American Traditional would have to be my favorite style of tattooing because they always turn out awesome. (despite being tattoo-less) A few years ago I started watching this show on Spike called Ink Master, a tattooing competition that puts tattoo contenders up against each other to earn the title of Ink Master. Essentially they test you on the basic fundamentals of tattooing and if you're one of the three finalists, you move on to the finale, which is a 35 hour back piece, and those always turn out great.

Basketball + Art

5 years ago Miami hosted an exhibition, The Art of Basketball, displaying some of the leagues most popular players as well as pieces that are inspired by the culture of the sport. Curated by James and Carla Murray, this exhibition featured many artists such as: Billi Kid, Ahol Sniffs Glue, Chillski, Ewok One 5MH, the curators themselves and many more. The gallery featured custom drawn/painted basketballs and custom/hand painted backboards.

Although I have never really been a fan of art (modern, contemporary, etc.), something that I can relate to, something that I love and am passionate about changes that perspective, because these pieces are amazing! I only chose a few from what I could find, but I'll post the link to the site where I found all of these wonderful works of art.

Aesthetically, not very compelling, however, this one really stood out to me after I read a little about it because although it may be a simple image, it was constructed completely out of tupperware.

http://www.sneakerfreaker.com/articles/the-art-of-basketball/

Art + Architecture

This is the Nishi Building in Canberra Australia. The building is known as “Australia’s most radically sustainable mixed-use building and apartment complex," you would never expect the entrance to look quite like this.

Made of repurposed floors from old homes remnants from the construction site, and basketball courts. Yes, basketball courts, which is what caught my attention from the beginning. 2,150 pieces of timber utilized in this entrance, along with concrete and steel for the framework. As much as I push to utilize natural light, I love the way this stairway is lit.

You can really see how the lighting does the stairs justice in this photo.

Prior to construction they had to install every single board and suspension rod, .It is amazing what people are capable of doing, and as I said before about natural light, it works well here.

Lastly, it's a great way of repurposing old wood and not to mention an outstanding work of art. A lot of buildings are typically known for their aesthetically pleasing facades, yet this building would definitely fall into the category of interiorly and exteriorly pleasing. This is Art.

Introducing the Nike RISE ‘House of Mamba’ LED court

I thought it was ironic that we were talking about doing a project involving basketball and movement, and thanks to Shawn’s post on ‘Ball Is Life’, this LED application would be very useful in the ideas that we discussed. There would obviously have to be some adjustments to how the system works to accommodate either just player movement or ball movement. I think it would be fun to see how it would play out in both scenarios. This is really cool! I wish they would bring something like this to the US, it could be very useful in developing the fundamental skills of basketball. Even Kobe said, "he didn't even know this kind of technology was possible! “It's amazing what can be done nowadays." I pretty much feel the same way, except he was thinking about utilizing it for game use, which I would disagree with because it would be too much of a distraction for the players. Practice, yes, game, no.

However, since we do not have access to this technology for the project, we would more than likely use paint or something like it. Lots of ideas to consider!

Yves Klein + Claude Parent

Structural Components for the Air Conditioned City

Air Conditioned City

Fontaine de Varsovie

"Air Roof" for the Air conditioned city

Klein's Memorial designed by Parent, commissioned by Klein's mother and wife, but it has still not been built.

Magnum Opus

Louis Kahn's work displays what architecture critic Sarah Williams Goldhagen describes as a “cognitively rich, metaphorically complex, multi-sensorial approach.” Kahn has been honored by New Republic magazine as being one of the greatest intellectual contributors to his field in the past 100 years (there are several fields on the list).

Known as the architect's architect, while his contemporaries were trying to create lighter buildings Kahn wanted to make buildings that were heavy, monumental, and built from brick and concrete. Most notable designs such as the National Assembly Building and the Salk Institute. Khan really wanted to emphasize the context of the building, instead of taking away from the surrounding buildings, his buildings would support them. Essentially the idea behind this is that he designed his buildings in a sense that they could be placed anywhere in the world and still fit in properly with any building.

The National Assembly Building could arguably be his best work, considered to be his "magnum opus", it represents power, strength, and is beyond monumental.

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