Say what you will about the man, but his passing still inspired some extraordinary celebratory international outbursts of group dance:
This flashmob in San Francisco:
And this tribute, put together in 10 hours, by Byron Garcia and the good residents of Cebu PDRC:
Ah, Vienna.
This is what the seat of Empire can look like!
Flatscreen TVs in the Cathedrals!
Ferris Wheel cars the size of single-wide trailers!
Disturbingly dazzlingly deep-fried dough-wrapped hotdogs!
All this culture and opulence, less than 2 hours from Brno…
So I guess this is how my new, disembodied, Prestige Worldwide life is gonna look for a bit: here I am in Brno, but I’ve got stuff to rep for in other places in the world. Last week, I had a piece in Pop Noir, Southern Exposure’s annual fundraiser, in San Francisco. This week, I have a piece in Cartographical Lure, Valentine Willie Fine Art’s new exhibition, opening in Kuala Lumpur! I believe that I’ll be showing with VWFA again early next year, but this is my first opportunity to work with them, so I’m pretty thrilled about it:
So if you happen to be in Malaysia this month, maybe catch this show!
the release:
Valentine Willie Fine Art, Kuala Lumpur
Cordially invite you to the opening of
CARTOGRAPHICAL LURE
Participating Artists: Bea Camacho, Chong Kim Chiew, Gan Siong King, Jason Wee, Jenifer Wofford, Krisna Murti, Mark Salvatus, Nadiah Bamadhaj and Tiffany Chung.
On Wednesday, 17 June 2009, 8.00 pm at
1st Floor, 17 Jalan Telawi 3, Bangsar Baru
59100 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
The exhibition runs from 17 June until 4 July 2009.
Works can be viewed online at www.vwfa.net/cartographicallure
*The website will be LIVE on the opening date.
Refreshments will be served
RSVP Liza +603 2284 2348 / liza@vwfa.net
Gallery and Resource Room opening hours:
Monday – Friday 12 noon to 8pm. Saturday 12 noon to 6pm
Closed on Sunday and public holidays
www.vwfa.net
It’s been almost 2 weeks since I left the US, and I’m adjusting to Brno pretty well. It was a little hard at first: it took a while to decompress from all the overwhelming insanity that accompanied my departure, and to adjust to a new culture and language.
Brno is fantastic, but not nearly as international as Prague, which is mostly good, a little bad. The good is that it’s utterly gorgeous but not touristy at all, and it retains its Moravian regional authenticity and Czech language. Bad in that because of the lack of other languages, I’m definitely struggling much more to get around, understand, and communicate. I needed to buy some hair conditioner the other day, and it took easily 20 minutes of staring at bottles, trying to find just one consistent descriptor that I could decipher. Oy.
Brno in the distance: view from Villa Tugendhat, considered to be Mies Van Der Rohe’s private residence masterpiece
It’s definitely motivating me to learn Czech faster, but as it’s a language with very little in common with neighboring ones I’m more familiar with (Spanish, French, Italian, German), I really can’t intuit the words or pronunciation easily at all. (A copy of David Sedaris’ “Me Talk Pretty One Day” would be very handy right now. I’m not even at the point with my Czech-learning foibles that Sedaris describes his French-learning foibles as “talking like an evil baby” yet: I’m still sub-larval. Lots of nouns and pointing: very few coherent phrases or full sentences.)
Younger Czechs tend to speak a bit more English which is much appreciated, but in somewhat limited supply. Culturally, Czechs are polite but reserved in casual conversation: little of that exuberant, goofy “hey, I can’t speak much English but I’ll just mangle the language and chat you up anyway” gregariousness that you find in, say, Italy or the Philippines. I appreciate the personal space here greatly, but feel a bit more isolated because of it. Plus I’m reminded that I’m also surprisingly shy with new languages/cultures, so I’m not my usual gregarious self, either.
The weather here wasn’t too accommodating at first (hence the overcast skies and the heavy coat I’m wearing in the previous post), but this week has returned to real, glorious summer sunshine and warmth. The city is really coming alive for me now: I’m a little confounded as to why it’s not more of a tourist destination. It’s incredibly lovely and mellow. And Erik’s place, where we’re staying, has a fantastic deck, with a phenomenal view.
City, church spire, cooling tower, smoke stacks, rainbows: gotta love it.
I’ve also begun running outdoors again, which makes me feel so much better. And it is connecting me to this city in the most marvelous way: having spent the past year on a treadmill at the Oakland YMCA was great, but, well, it was running on a treadmill at the Oakland YMCA.
I begin with a warm-up hustle down Masarykova, the street where we’re staying, then charge up the cobblestone paths that lead up to St Peter and Paul, the 12th century Gothic cathedral on Petrov hill (where I was in my previous post’s pic). After huffing and puffing my way up there (who knew that Brno had San Francisco-grade steep hills?), and getting fully warmed up, I go for a nice long sprint back down and along Husova or Pellicova (streets just go by a single name: there’s no “avenue” or “boulevard” appended) to the base of the next hill, to the park surrounding Špillberk, the 13th century castle-fortress-prison-museum. There’s an amazing series of up and down paths, both dirt and cobblestone, meandering around the park, leading up to yet another spectacular panoramic view. After tearing around there for awhile, I trot back into town, through Zelný Trh, the old cabbage market which is one of Brno’s two main squares, and then back to the apartment. The Czech word for beautiful is “krásný”, which is easy to remember because A, it makes me think of KQED/NPR’s Michael Krasny, and B, hella stuff is hella krásný here.
One of the stores that carries a modest selection of books in English has a copy of Haruki Murakami’s new book What I Talk About When I Talk About Running, which I think I’ll be picking up shortly. It might be about the perfect read for me right now. While I’m not as fixated on Murakami as I was a few years back, I still gravitate towards the weird logic that governs his fiction: I’ve read little of his nonfiction, though, so this seems like a timely book to start with. Exercise in general, and running around outdoors specifically, provides such clarity and comfort: having spent many years as a card-carrying member of the Sedentary And Proud club, I think I got the memo on the benefits of exercise a little late in the game. It’s harder to go stir-crazy when you’ve just exhausted/invigorated yourself.
There’s definitely been some stir-crazy-ness here, too: true, I haven’t been here very long, but I’m itching to feel a bit more purposefulness here. I didn’t move halfway around the world to be a couch potato on holiday. It’s likely to be a little longer than I’d thought before we move to Prague and have a place of our own (and I have a proper studio of some sort). I’m grateful for the soft landing and the lack of pressure for a change, but I’m itching to make my time as an artist here productive. Still, I’ve had the enormous luxury of time to focus on putting together applications for other arts opps here in Europe, so I really can’t complain. And it’s summer, so perhaps that is as it should be: soon enough the weather’s going to get drearier, and that’s when it will be much easier to justify staying indoors and making work again.
More soon: expect sporadic posts for a bit longer, as my wireless access is still a bit spotty.
Night view of St Peter and Paul Cathedral, from Špillberk
Aaand exhale.
Phew.
I’m here.
I made it to the Czech Republic, and am finally beginning to calm down and adjust to being here. It was most definitely a screwball month of pandemonium, tears and drama trying to make it out of the Bay Area with all loose ends as resolved as possible. I’m still working on getting a regular wireless connection for my laptop, but in the meantime, I’m making do with about an hour of access every dar or two. (This is not so bad, of course, but it is considerably less than I was online in the US.)
P and I are crashing at a colleague’s apartment in Brno for the next couple of weeks: we’ll be relocating to Prague soon, but no real details on that just yet. For the time being, just letting you good folks know that I’m here, and I’ll have more to say about all of this soon enough.
Well, it’s about time I officially let folks know:
I’m moving. To the Czech Republic. This month.
Many of you know a bit about it already: it’s been in the works for a little while now, but I had to square some other business before I could be public about it. Basically, the Pirate got an irresistible job offer there, and I’ve got some fellowship funds this year that I can stretch out for a while, so those 2 things, plus the fact that most universities are in hiring freezes right now (ie, no work for Woff), plus the strong dollar (or weaker Czech korun), and the fact we’re both big old travel bugs, means that I have really nothing to lose by leaving the Bay Area for awhile. And hell, if it’s cheaper to live in Prague than Oakland, it’s really a no-brainer. (Prague hyphy’s prolly gonna suffer in translation though.) I’ve got several big shows coming up, so to just get to focus on being an artist in Europe is a big deal!
It’s really exciting, and I’m definitely looking forward to working on connecting with more artists and galleries in Europe! And since I grew up outside the USA anyway, it feels like I’m returning to my, er, non-roots. It feels so thrilling to be embarking on an international life again. The part that feels the hardest, though, is giving up my friends and family: outside of my various travel and residency adventures, none of which have been longer than a few months, I haven’t lived anywhere else besides the Bay Area in over 20 years, and I’ve never lived more than 30 minutes from my family….ever. The Woffords aren’t an especially huggy bunch, but we do love each other a lot and take our proximity to one another for granted, so not being able to just pop over to my parents or sister’s places seems really weird. And my community of deep, dear friends here will be dearly missed, as well. Separation anxiety is kicking in already!
However. Prague beckons. So I’ll have to answer that call for a little bit, and skype all other calls until I’m back in the U.S. (Thank goodness for email and facebook. And expect a lot of waffling from another country, soon!)
In the meantime, I’m still here in the Bay Area until the end of May, but I’m beginning yet another farcical scramble to pack up my house and move out. Here’s what I could use your help with, gentle readers:
Studio Sale. Ends May 15:
I’ve got to pack all of my art up and put it in storage. So, no more Woff art available for quite a while, at least, not outside of the commercial galleries where I’ve got those upcoming shows.
So.
If you’ve had those vague “geez, it’d be nice to own a Wofford artwork” thoughts, it’s now or never, people.
I’ve got to put stuff in storage by around the 15th. I can set choice work aside for a few days longer if you need time to decide, but that’s it. Link to Studio Sale, including pricelist, here.
.
House Rental. Starts June 1:
My fabulous 3 bedroom Oakland/Emeryville house is available June 1. It’s being professionally property-managed in my absence, to keep things on the up and up. A link to photos and details is here. If you or a friend is interested, email me and I’ll put you in touch with my property manager, pronto.
New Friends/Contacts in Europe:
Just meeting new people and getting warmed up to a new place can take ages, starting cold. If you have any friends and art-world co-conspirators that you think would be great buddy material for Woff and Pirate, let me know! Introductions gladly appreciated. New friends are always great.
If you have friends/contacts in Europe (particularly in/near Prague, Vienna and Berlin) that you think would be Wofford-friendly, I’d much appreciate any introductions you can make! I’d particularly appreciate any professional contacts you may have in Europe. I definitely want to see if I can make a living as an artist in the system there, so any fellow artists, gallerists, curators or other appropriate co-conspirators you may know would be particularly helpful.
KIT:
Picture poor lonely little Woff, friendless in a foreign land, staring out her Prague window, in a state of Kafka-esque, Motel Cucaracha-esque, alienation. Imagine how much she’ll treasure your emails, and also finally have more time on her hands to respond!
.
lastly, there’s
Boomerang:
I’m not gone forever, folks! Just for a while. A year or so. So don’t write me off. I claim Bay Area.
And, as our dear friends Dug-out Doug (MacArthur) and the Governator (Schwarzenegger) have respectively threatened: 1,“I shall return.” and 2,“I’ll be back.”
For those of you who couldn’t afford my prints in The Villanueva Vignettes, this is your lucky week! The 6 large, limited-edition digital images are now heavily discounted as part of Sweet 16, SFMOMA Artist Gallery’s Annual Warehouse Sale. I’m not happy about discounting the work, but hey, that’s the reality of the economy, B, they’re gorgeous prints, C, the sale still benefits the gallery, and D, I can at least minimize my losses on the cost of printing them…so- my loss is your gain! Get your heinies over to the gallery to buy ‘em!
“Sweet 16 “ Annual Artists Warehouse Event
This annual fundraiser celebrates Bay Area art and presents a uniquely wide range of works by contemporary artists in one place over the course of 5 days. Think of it as a matchmaking event that unites art lovers with the long sought-after contemporary works they’ve dreamed of. Show exclusives include paintings, sculpture, drawings and affordable unframed works on paper priced $50 - $5,000.
Preview Reception, Wednesday, May 6th, 2009
6:00 - 9:00 p.m.
Tickets - $10, SFMOMA Members - Free
Thursday - Sunday is open to the public and admission is free of charge.
Sale Hours:
Thursday, May 7th, 12:00 - 8:00 p.m.
Friday, May 8th, 12:00 - 8:00 p.m. Artists live drawing event from 6-8 p.m.
Saturday, May 9th, 12 - 5:30 p.m. Meet designer Gary Hutton from 2-4 p.m.
Sunday, May 10th, 12 - 4 p.m. Family day with face painting, live music and activities.
The SFMOMA Artists Gallery’s 16th annual Warehouse event is an exclusive five-day fete that Cow Hollow cognoscenti line up for year after year. With affordable, original art priced $50-$5,000 (that’s up to 50% off regular prices) attendees can purchase paintings, sculpture, drawings and unframed works on paper by more than 300 emerging and established Bay Area artists. Proceeds benefit the artists, the gallery and SFMOMA.
The event starts Wednesday, May 6th at 6 pm with a $10 preview that is well worth the price of admission since it give buyers first crack at the sweet deals. SFMOMA members are admitted free. Thursday to Sunday the event is open to the general public and admission is free. Hours are Thursday, May 7th, 12:00 - 8:00 p.m.; Friday, May 8th, 12:00 - 8:00 p.m.; Saturday, May 9th, 12 - 5:30 p.m.; Sunday, May 10th, 12 - 4 p.m.
Friday, May 8 from 6-8 witness artists Bert Bergen, Charles Valoroso, and Tim Svenonius create fantastic drawings (sympathetic monsters, prehistoric animals, patriotic emblems, and you-name-its) all part of the gallery’s new live drawing event. The one-of-a-kind drawings will be offered for sale at very affordable prices.
Each year, the gallery selects an artist to create an original work to don the event poster and invitation. This year’s artist is John Yoyogi Fortes. His painting, “Sweet 16” will be auctioned off at the event with proceeds going to the artist and the Gallery.
Recently featured in the Museum of the African Diaspora’s show, “Decoding Identity: I Do It for My People,” Fortes has also been the recipient of grants from the Sacramento Metropolitan Arts Commission, the California Arts Council, and the Joan Mitchell Foundation in New York. This year, Fortes’ work was selected to be included in the Artrain USA National Touring Exhibition on American Diversity. Watch this talented artist in action on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EAz8Ymen1DI
Visit the gallery’s website at www.sfmoma.org or call 415/441-4777 for more information.
What a strange, exhilarating, sad weekend:
Manny Pacquiao, TKO Ricky Hatton.
Manong Al Robles, now resting in peace.
Not to dis the Pac-man’s accomplishments, but as far as I’m concerned, Al Robles is/was real strength: non-violent power, activism and poetry personified, and a deeper kind of inspiration for the Filipino community.
Your Bay Area weekend art fun for the beginning of May! Things that are awesome, and worth attending.
East Bay goes first:
My good friend Mr Hot Dog is finally fully cured, and has been packaged for release from the factory! His (and his fellow grads’) MFA show at Mills College opens on May 2.
Mills College MFA show:
Young Americans
Saturday May 2, 2009
7-9pm
Over yonder in the west bay, SF has a new biennial, it seems!
And it’s called PRESENT TENSE: ARTISTS REFLECT ON CONTEMPORARY CHINESE CULTURE. Presented by Kearny Street Workshop and the Chinese Culture Center, this exhibition showcases vibrant and diverse perspectives on contemporary Chinese culture. Based on the roster of artists and the savvy of the curators (Kevin Chen, Ellen Oh, and Abby Chen), I’m also delighted to see that it hasn’t been curated along predictable lines of authenticity and/or ethnicity. Featuring artists from the Bay Area and beyond, the show includes a wide array of media at the Center’s main gallery and in storefronts throughout Chinatown.
Present Tense:
VIP Preview & Reception: Friday, May 1 @ 6:30pm
General Opening Reception: Saturday, May 2 @ 1pm
Exhibition runs from May 1 - August 23, 2009
Gallery Hours: Tuesdays - Saturdays 10am - 4pm & Sundays 12 noon - 4pm
www.presenttense.us
Chinese Culture Center Gallery
750 Kearny St., 3rd Floor (inside the Hilton Hotel), SF
www.c-c-c.org
Meanwhile! Back at the ranch (by which I mean the 77 Geary corral), Patricia Sweetow Gallery is showing 3 excellent artists: Jina Valentine, Weston Teruya, and Arnold Kemp. It seems to be 3 solo projects, as opposed to one unified thematic: all 3 make smart, insightful, cryptic work, so I’m thrilled to see how their projects exist in conversation, nonetheless.
Valentine/Teruya/Kemp
May 2-June 13
reception May 2, 11 am-1pm
Patricia Sweetow Gallery
77 Geary St Mezzanine, San Francisco 94108
Lastly:
San Francisco Diwang Pinay has put together an event/showcase at Bayanihan Community Center.
I’ve donated a suite of the ‘Flor 1973-78′ mini-posters to help with fundraising for the silent auction.
SF Diwang Pinay
Sunday May 3
5 pm on
Bayanihan Community Center
1010 Mission St, San Francisco 94103
Here’s another Asian-American immigration narrative for the Joy Luck Hub blog carnival, from dear friend and galleonista-in-arms Johanna Poethig: American-born, raised in the Philippines, who moved to the US as a teenager.
Johanna (Poethig)”Putik”
My name means mud. My first venture across the big ocean was at 4 months old. My family took a ship to Manila and arrived in early 1957. I grew up in Malate to the sounds of roosters in the morning and pigs screaming at fiesta time. The rain stung my skin before the big typhoons. I got H Fever during the 1960’s epidemic from the mosquito with white stripes on its legs. I believed in aswang and the spirits of dead teachers roaming school halls. My first profanity was “putang ina mo”. My best friend in 3rd grade got mad at me after she learned the Americans killed Aguinaldo.
My parents had their customs. My Dad taught us the tricks of New York city street life as we made “hot mickies” over carabao grass. My mother tried desperately to keep me from eating with my hands. My mouth still waters for sour salty food on my fingers. In 5th grade I finally got to be in a school performance. The Ifugao ceremony where we all moved together around a fire did not require pairing me off with a boy half my size.
Fifteen years later I immigrated to Chicago. My batik dresses did not keep me warm in the sub-zero weather. I sprained my ankles walking in my winter boots. My fellow waitresses at the Mellow Yellow lunch spot in South Chicago called me a “virgin white”. I wore my malongs off my shoulder and snake vertebrae on my head. The lack of food at parties confused me. As time passed I searched for what was familiar to me; warmer weather, mixed up communities, Tagalog and nicknames. I have been back to Malate where the acacia tree of my old school still shades the children at recess.
Something that I learned a couple of years ago when I attended a weekend-long professional development workshop for artists is how desperately many of us need these kinds of services (and we don’t even know it!). Many other careers consider professional development an integral part of success: somehow, in the arts, there remains this bizarre romantic notion that success happens by magic because artists are special creatures, and acknowledging that this is a career, not just a life-pursuit, might compromise the mystique of what we do.
Granted, many of us have long been leery of cheesy Anthony Robbins-style corporate motivational seminar hokum, which never looked all that related to our endeavors. And granted, some creative personalities really don’t want or need PD. But for many others, it might have made things a whole lot easier a lot earlier if the process were demystified a bit, by other folks from within the arts.
Most of us who did that workshop (run by fellow artists and creatives from Creative Capital’s professional development program) were overwhelmed by how much it helped, and how little we knew (about what we didn’t know we even needed to know): at the time, I remember feeling like we had all just been air-lifted out of our own chaos! It felt way more like liberation than indoctrination, that’s for sure.
I’ve been thinking about a Seth Tobocman quote lately, which was intended in a slightly different context:
“You don’t have to fuck people over to survive.”
To paraphrase:
You don’t have to fuck people over or self-sabotage your life as an artist to succeed, either.
Therefore, it’s truly splendid news that the Center for Cultural Innovation and the San Francisco Creative Capacity Fund are supporting a number of affordable workshops for artists and arts orgs to learn how to grow and sustain themselves more capably. (I’m going to the Strategic Planning workshop this Monday the 27th: hopefully, I’ll see some of you there?)
Some of the offerings are below: a more comprehensive list of California workshops are here, at the CCI website, and local Bay Area workshops here, at the CCI/SFCCF website.
************************
Strategic Planning for Individual Artists:
From Vision to Reality
Amy Kweskin
Evolving your arts business begins with articulating goals that are ambitious, inspirational and accomplishable. You will learn how to use coaching tools that provide a foundation to the strategic planning process, keeping it grounded and solution-focused.
This workshop will cover:
* Strategic planning
* Mind-mapping, past, present and future
* Articulating goals in your stretch zone
* Using the GROW3 coaching tool to create a plan
* Thinking partnerships: peer coaching
Date: Monday, April 27, 2009
Time: 6:30-9:30pm
Location: SF State, 835 Market Street, 6th floor, San Francisco 94103
(next to Westfield Shopping Center, Powell Street BART/Muni stop)
Cost: $35 (BOA / CCI Members) / $40 Non-members
************************
Marketing 101: Creating a Marketing Plan that Works for You
CCI’s Marketing Plan Seminar for Individual Artists
Nancy Hytone Leb
Marketing is the key to developing any business. You know you need to do it but where do you start? Understanding the basic fundamentals and creating a marketing plan is the first step. In this 2-day workshop, you will begin to:
* Explore strategies that will help you identify your target audience
* Learn to communicate what your work is about
* Analyze the ever-evolving list of marketing tactics so you can determine the most strategic way to reach your audience.
We will cover the planning process in detail and provide you with definitions, concepts, tools and resources that you will need to create a marketing plan that meets your needs as an artist entrepreneur.
Dates: Wednesday, May 27 and Thursday, May 28
Time: 6:30-9:30pm
Location: SF State, 835 Market Street, 6th floor, San Francisco 94103
(next to Westfield Shopping Center, Powell Street BART/Muni stop)
Cost: $105 (BOA / CCI Members) / $120 Non-members
Double-duty on the strong women front, all around!
I just discovered that two other fierce friends of mine, Nicole Hsiang and Sasha St Denny, are both participating in this weekend’s San Francisco Women Against Rape (SFWAR) fundraising event, Walk Against Rape. They are both soliciting donations for their participation in the walk.
I’ve learned more about SFWAR through Nicole, who worked there for a long time. It’s an organization well-worth supporting. And Sasha put the need for supporting SFWAR simply and eloquently in her donations message:
As some of you may know, I recently started an internship with San Francisco Women Against Rape, the primary provider of rape crisis services and sexual violence prevention education programs in San Francisco. I had a sobering moment during one of our training sessions when the group of about 15 people was asked to walk across the room if they or someone they knew had been a victim of sexual violence. Without a moment’s hesitation, every single person walked to the other side of the room.
Rape is a difficult subject to talk about, but it is an epidemic that we cannot ignore. Please sponsor me as I join many others in the Walk Against Rape event to benefit SFWAR this Saturday, April 25th. By donating to SFWAR you are not only supporting survivors, but making a statement that rape will not be tolerated in your community.
No donation is too small!
Skip that cappuccino or pack your lunch for the day and know that your donation is helping us to make a difference!
You can make a donation to Sasha’s and Nicole’s fundraising pages here:
http://www.firstgiving.com/sashastdenny
http://www.firstgiving.com/nicolehsiang4
Or here:
I’m going to this! Hopefully, some of you are, as well.
Given that the phenomenally talented Sam Chanse and Nicole Maxali are both on the roster (and I’ve heard great things about Sarita and Dennis, as well), I’m thrilled to go catch this show!
Bindlestiff Studio presents
SINGLE SHOTS
A collection of solo performances featuring new works from
Samantha Chanse, Nicole Maxali, Sarita Ocón, and Dennis Rodis.
Samantha Chanse:
Back to the Graveyard, about a family dinner derailed, a reluctant artist, and an involuntary volunteer.
Nicole Maxali:
Identification, Please, about a search for self through drugs, sex, shoes, & Jesus!
Sarita Ocón:
Compromise, a darkly comic solo work about the performance of cultural identity.
Dennis Rodis:
Click, an eerie, twisted monologue about obsessive infatuation, Stevie Wonder, and frappuccinos, written by A. Samson Manalo.
Tickets $10 in advance (online), sliding scale $15-20 at the door.
Thursdays through Sundays, April 23-May 2
8:00 PM
The Thick House
1695 18th Street
San Francisco, CA 94107
Website: http://bindlestiffstudio.org/
Joy Luck, show me loove, up in the club!
(That’s the line Ice Cube forgot.)
(Which, come to think, is a song from the soundtrack to Mr. Cube’s cinematic masterwork “The Player’s Club“.)
(Which naturally, begs the question:
Does Joy Luck Club + Player’s Club = Movie:
1. The Joy Luck Player’s Club
2. The Mahjongg Playazz Klubb
3. The World of Suzie Wong
or
4. Fight Club?)
Anyhoo.
My 300 words, in response to Claire Light’s ‘Joy Luck Hub’ Blog Carnival call:
************
Not long after WWII, my lolo (grandfather) decided to move from Manila to Guam with his wife and 3 kids. He was offered an engineering job there with an American contractor at a time where good jobs were hard to come by, plus he was fed up with Manila cronyism, and wanted to make something of himself on his own terms.
Tito Sonny, Tita Lety, Mom, Lolo, Lola in Guam, 195os
My mom, tito and tita spent their preteen and teen years on Guam, attending a tiny missionary school there. It’s a little unclear financially how, but somehow Lolo sent all 3 kids off to college in the U.S.. My mom and aunt were probably the only 2 Filipinas/Asians in Walla Walla, Washington in the late 50’s: they quickly bonded with 2 Japanese-American sisters there as well. (The foursome have stayed dear friends their whole lives: Nobe and Kaz are very much my “aunties”, which actually brings this narrative dangerously close to JLC territory.)
After Walla Walla, my mom and Aunt Kaz moved to Portland to complete their nursing degrees. And then, in a reversal of the classic Filipina nurse immigration saga, Mom moved back to Manila, to work in the 7th Day Adventist Hospital there. My grandparents had gone back to Manila for awhile as well, so as their unmarried bunso, she was obligated to be with them, since my tito and tita had both married Americans and settled in the US.
Eventually, Mom returned to the US, and worked at a San Francisco hospital while living with her sister and her sister’s husband. My lolo died early of a heart attack not long after, leaving my lola alone on Guam: she soon moved to California to live with her children. Residency in Guam qualified everyone in the family for U.S. citizenship once they reached adulthood: my mom became an American citizen soon after she turned 18.
Tita Lety, Mom, Lolo, Lola, Tito Sonny in Guam, 1950s
It’s been twenty years, yo.
Aunties An-Mei, Lindo, Ying Ying and Suyuan have got to surrender the torch one of these days, right?
I absolutely adored Joy Luck Club (book and movie) as a wee pup long ago, when both first came out. But both have been subjected to their fair share of critique, particularly vis-a-vis representations of the Asian-American experience, in the twenty years since Amy Tan’s book was published. While I kinda doubt I could ever shake the sentimental hold that the J.L.C. has on me, I definitely wonder how I might respond more critically to it now, in a re-read. (Is it possible to be sentimental and critical simultaneously, I wonder?)
Therefore, this J.L.C.-inspired “Blog Carnival” project by writer Claire Light couldn’t be better timed:
++++++++++++++++++++++++++
From Claire, via Hyphen:
Help us honor and argue with The Joy Luck Club on the 20th Anniversary of its publication AND celebrate API Heritage Month in May! Send us your immigrant story in 300 words or less!
This year is the 20th Anniversary of the publication of The Joy Luck Club, the book that, for better or for worse, defined Asian America to a generation of readers, and opened up mainstream American fiction to Asian immigrant stories. (I celebrated its 15th in an essay in Issue 4.) I say “for better or for worse” because, although it was wonderful for people of my generation — who were reaching adulthood just as Joy Luck was hitting the bookstores — to finally see Asian immigrant families in fiction, the book also limited a generation of writers to a particular narrative.
We don’t all suffer an immigrant generation gap with our parents; many of us are 1.5s, and many of us are 3rd generation or deeper; many of our parents are culturally competent in the US; most of us didn’t grow up in Chinatowns. Half of us aren’t women; we aren’t all Chinese … or Japanese, or Korean; our cultures of origin don’t always center around cooking rice, or mahjong games in the kitchen, or the insulting mistakes our white boyfriends make at the dinner table; the racism we experience isn’t always the blatant kind.
So, for a book that didn’t intend to cause all the controversy or inspire all the ambivalence it has, I can’t think of a better way to honor its birthday than to talk back. For May, Asian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, let’s tell more stories … stories that aren’t like The Joy Luck Club at all.
I’m declaring a blog carnival of short, personal Asian American immigrant narratives.
These will be YOUR families’ immigration stories in 300 words or less.
Very short, so don’t try to tell the whole thing.
Pick out one important anecdote or detail that you think is unusual.
Some questions to get you started:
We’re looking for a diversity of stories: East Asian, Southeast Asian, South Asian, Central Asian, North Asian, women, men, transgendered people, all ages and generations, all regions of the States (and we’ll fudge “American” if you’re not from the States or even from North America), all kinds of stories, all ways of telling them.
Here’s the process:
Please post questions, comments and suggestions below in comments …
and PLEASE FORWARD THIS CALL for submissions to your Asian American friends!
Folks, start your engines.
(A direct, easier to cut-n-paste link to this same post on the Hyphen Magazine blog is here):
http://www.hyphenmagazine.com/blog/2009/04/the-joy-luck-hub-tell-us-your.html#more
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(woff confession: I went on Youtube loooking for The JLC clips right after prepping this post, and got ALL kinds of choked up watching it! OY. I’m still a sucker for it…)
I’ll post my family’s (well, my Mom’s side, anyway) story on my blog shortly, too.
I have some questions about that last line, though.
Swedish parishioners unveil Lego statue of Jesus
Sunday, April 12, 2009
(04-12) 08:20 PDT STOCKHOLM, (AP)
Parishioners at a church in Sweden celebrated Easter on Sunday by unveiling a 6-foot-tall (1.8-meter-tall) statue of Jesus that they had built out of 30,000 Lego blocks.
It took the 40 volunteers about 18 months to put all the tiny plastic blocks together, and their creation shows a standing Jesus facing forward with his arms outstretched.
The Protestant church was filled to capacity with about 400 worshippers on Sunday when the statue went on display behind the altar, and some of the children in the congregation couldn’t help but touch the white art work.
Church spokesman Per Wilder said the statue at the Onsta Gryta church in the central Swedish city of Vasteras is a copy of Danish sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen’s “Christus” statue on display in Copenhagen.
He also said that even though the statue is all white on the outside, many of the donated Legos that the church received were of other colors and were placed inside.
All artsy-yessing aside, how about two more big old YESses for the big green globs below representing Iowa and Vermont!
Iowa=YES
Vermont=YES
And a big YES to Steven Thrasher’s lovely piece in the New York Times.
Iowa’s Family Values
Renee Gertler at blankspace gallery=yes!
Arteri Malaysia=yes!
SoEx’s impending new digs=yes!
Tekniq at Marx & Zavattero=yes!
Woffords Paint in Guangzhou=yes!
Ooh, that’s a lot of yessing going on.
1.
So. First things first: if you haven’t gotten a chance to see Modality Room, Renee Gertler’s solo show at blankspace gallery in Oakland, get on it! It’s only on until April 27.
I got turned on to Renee’s work by Christine Wong Yap a couple of years ago: it’s smart, funny, imaginative, and ethereal. And, as with much sculpture, it doesn’t translate well in photography (at least not my crappy pictures taken opening night–Renee’s pics on her website do much better). The few times I’ve been lucky enough to see Renee’s work in person, I’ve fallen in love with it.
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2.
Next on the YES list is ARTERI, a fantastic new website/blog focused almost entirely on one of my favorite combo platters: contemporary art, Malaysia, and Southeast Asia. Since some of my favorite foods are nasi lemak and halo-halo, it would only stand to reason that this mix-mix is right up my alley, too.
My friend Simon is one of the creators of the site, and has invited me to post something on it, so perhaps I’ll get to participate on it as well (and nooo, that’s not why I think it’s awesome. Go check it out. You’ll see for yourself. It’s like the SEAsian sister to the Bay Area’s own Stretcher).
3.
And then there’s everyone’s favorite local/peripatetic space, Southern Exposure, staggering around the Mission from location to location these last few years. At long last, SoEx will be moving back in to permanent quarters over near the old Alabama Street ‘hood, sometime later this summer! YES. Staff and board have been working like demons to make sure that SoEx isn’t going anywhere for a long, long while, which given all the instability in the air these days, is truly comforting/delightful to hear.
4.
And then there are the fine ladies of Tekniq, self-billed as “the Bay Area’s best almost amateur dance troupe”. Yes! I’m so one of their new groupies! In honor of “I Want You To Want Me,” the new group show at Marx & Zavattero Gallery, the girls (Hunny-B, Spand-X, Swiz-ILL, Lunch Boxxx, and Sha Bang-Bang) put on their best faux semi-animal costumes, and broke it down for the crowd at the opening:
Heather and Steve let me hang out behind the gallery counter to shoot photo and video, since the crowd (to the left, off-camera) was pretty crushing already, but my photos don’t do their ridiculous choreographical majesty justice. I’m sure that if you join their Facebook page, there’ll be more Tekniq goodness posted there soon, though…
5.
Lastly, a big YES to Justin Hoover for organizing “Girls On Film“, a video screening at Ping Pong Space in Guangzhou, China, this Sunday! Justin was kind/delusional enough to include Woffords, Paint in the screening. (Because that’s what Guangzhou needs to see on Easter Sunday: Woffords making jackasses of themselves, eating paint.) The screening features works by Lucy Kalyani Lin, Gina Osterloh, Margaret Tedesco, and a number of other California artists.
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Hmm.
That’s a suspicious amount of affirmation for one post.
Maybe I should do a NONONONONO post, next.
And I’m back! As predicted, things got a little hectic in the time since my last post, but all went swimmingly and smoothly: busy, yes, but not completely nutso as in the past. I could get used to this kind of low-stress efficiency! Who knew?
Barrio Fiesta is now over and done with, my show at SFMOMA Artist Gallery Loft opened, I finished my project for Deadpan Exchange IV, and completed my temporary teaching gig at DVC. And last week was Spring Break at USF, so I had less prep to do than usual, so I’m feeling pretty relaxed and pleased with how it’s all been coming together.
DVC:
Finishing up crits for Advanced/Abstract Painting at DVC
Barrio Fiesta:
Barrio rehearsals (Niners jacket optional for Singkil)
Pandanggo Sa Ilaw: x-treme votive daredevils!
Kasamahan ka-selebrating after the final performance
Woohoo!
Opening Reception at SFMOMA Artist Gallery:
Renee de Cossio at the Artist Gallery is some kind of magical angelic being. She really pulled the Villanueva Vignettes together beautifully for the gallery’s loft space! Renee and Maria Medua are truly fabulous creatures.
Woff and the Mack Daddy himself in front of Juan Carlos’ painting downstairs at SFMOMA Artist Gallery
With Fran Brown, one of my much-loved DVC professors (I was a student there way before I ever taught there!)
Searching for Skylab in front of the Flor 1973 poster with Nicole Maxali (my model) and the Kasamahan-ers who came to my opening
Deadpan Exchange:
My project for Deadpan is already up on Wofflehouse now, since most of you won’t be popping over to Izmir for the opening, I suspect. It was a really fun project, intersecting my favorite pastimes (political shoe-throwing) and places (Philippines, Mexico, China, Spain, US). And I got done early, for a change! Will wonders never cease? I wish I could be at the opening so bad, but time and finances are their own reality these days.
I’m officially addicted to Electric Works. Since I’d never made fine art prints of any sort prior to the Flor/Villanueva projects, the thrill of a new art medium is in full bloom! I feel utterly grateful to have had an excuse to get to know and to work with Maizie, Richard, Noah and all the other fine folks there.
Worlds in collision! I needed reference photos of folks hurling shoes, so during Barrio, I took shoe-hurling reference photos of my USF student Hazel B. in full costume , and then drew her into my project as a representative of precolonial Philippines.
Woff and Hazel, Barrio 2K9
Wow…I can’t believe it’s already that time of year again. Truly crazy how soon it’s all come round! The fabulous students of USF’s Kasamahan are already putting on their annual Pilipino Cultural Night (PCN), Barrio Fiesta, this coming weekend! (A little ominous perhaps that it opens on Friday the 13th, but let’s all cross our fingers, avoiding stepping on any cracks, and not be too superstitious about all that.) While there has been no official Barrio Fiesta class like the one I taught last year, I’m still peripherally attached to the production as an advisor, of sorts. The usual pre-show pandemonium is in full-effect, but I’m confident that these guys will pull it off beautifully, as always.
The theme underpinning the show this year is Pinayism in the face of adversity, and the students are taking on some very charged subject matter–sexual trafficking– in the skits that are interspersed with the traditional dance numbers. I’m really proud of them for being willing to address such a dark subject while weaving in a message of strength and resilience. Can’t wait to see how it turns out.
So. If you’ve never been to a PCN, or it’s been a while since your last one, or hell, even if was only last year that you saw one, come support Kasamahan and come to one of their performances this coming weekend! The students really sacrifice a ton to put this thing on, and your support of all their talent and energy is much appreciated.
USF’s 36th Annual Pilipino Cultural Night - BARRIO FIESTA 2K9
USF Presentation Theater, 2350 Turk Blvd, San Francisco
Shows are Friday 3/13 and Saturday 3/14
Doors open @ 6:30PM, Show STARTS @ 7:00PM
Ticket Prices:
Student - $12
General - $20
Group - $10/tix for a group of 8 or more students.
If you would like to purchase tickets, or have any questions, contact us at USFKasamahan (at) gmail.com.
