A R J E N T E E E E E E N U H H H

http://www.clarin.com/diario/2009/03/28/um/m-01886021.htm

An Article featuring us and our show. The culmination of our stay in Buenos Aires.

One thing I love about Argentina is their coffee. To have a coffee, you sit down in a cafe and take a moment (keep in mind an Argentine moment is at least 20 minutes) to enjoy it.

First, a bit about the coffee.The most commonly served coffee is the cortado, which is a shot of espresso with a bit of cream in it. The coffees are served in a ceramic cups with saucers (this was so strange to me at first) and you get a little cookie and a glass of water to clear your palate with after you’ve finished your espresso. Genius! This is a perfect equation for a coffee, because you always want something a little sweet with your coffee but don’t need one of those gigantic $2.00 biscottis, and everyone NEEDS to clean their palate after a coffee. This would save me so many nasty coffee breath encounters in the states.

Onward. Nobody here is seen walking around with coffee cups. And the kicker: I’ve only seen one Starbucks since I’ve lived here. I’ve trekked around the bulk of this city and there is only one. It’s 15 blocks away from cheLA on Entre Rios - a pretty busy street. Now at home, there are 2 Starbucks within a block of eachother by my house. It’s all a very welcome change.

Alas, the substitute big corporate coffee bad wolf in Argentina is called Havana. Although I wouldn’t call them all bad because they still serve coffee in “real” cups and have nice wood-bar cafes for you to enjoy your coffee in. However, they have recently adopted the “to-go” cup (advertisement pictured below) which upsets me greatly. The to-go cup murders the cultural ideal of enjoying coffee while sitting down, the importance placed on taking some time out of your day to enjoy your coffee. It makes you feel a tinge of guilt when you opt out. It’s wasteful. It speeds up everyone’s already too busy lives.

I guess all I can do is hope Argentina is too smart for this trick by the capitalist machine. Enjoy your coffee in a ceramic cup while you still can, before you order a coffee “for-here” and the “barista” looks at you like you just asked for a free cookie with your coffee, and then serves it to you in a disposable cup anyways. Cling to your beliefs! Prevail!

(Sigh)

“Where do you go to enjoy your coffee? In the office? In the street? On the Subway? Now Havana coffee is also available to-go”
**note: no “In your car?”

 

Hot cakes, hot cakes, get ‘em while they’re hot!

 

Intervenciones audiovisuales en el espacio • Instalaciones sonoras
Instalaciones de video en diferentes soportes • Performance • Musica

A Place Called Equilibrio es la culminación de un programa de residencia artistica de tres meses en el espacio chela, en Parque Patricios. El programa consta del encuentro de cinco graduados de ucla invitados a Buenos Aires y cuatro artistas locales que residen anualmente en el mismo espacio.

Esta muestra es parte de una instrospección en sus vidas, en su entorno, en el encuentro creado. A través de varias dicotomías e intersecciones, los dies artistas han explorado diferentes areas buscando el lugar en común, esta búsqueda es la construcción de un espacio de equilibrio.

A menudo, el tiempo pasa más rápido de lo que se espera, entonces es que los llamamos a no perder esta oportunidad y unirse a este evento de una sola noche. Los invitamos a su casa y espacio de trabajo, chela; para abrir al público el diálogo, exponer sus conexiones, relaciones, arte, comtemplación y reflexión a travéz de una serie de instalaciones e intervenciones audiovisuales y performáticas.

Artistas residentes:

Los Angeles—
Emily Osterstock, Ryan Glennan, Schuyler Lindberg, Ted Jahng, Jono Brandel

Buenos Aires—
Paulino Estela, Luciano Azzigotti, Joaquin Ezcurra, Santiago Nuñez,
Juan Pablo Ferlat

+ invitados.

Musicalizarán—
Magui Blaya y Los Sentimetal
Ted Jahng
P++

 

Potential designs for our end of Artist in Residence show, aplacecalledequilibrio.us/

if you’ve never heard of Gang Of Four or heard their music, i’m jealous because you get to listen to them for the first time, right now. i remember the first time i heard them (it was “What We All Want” from Solid Gold), and sometimes i wish i could relive my unfamiliarity, that newness of sound.

but there’s also the pleasure of rediscovering something (or someone) after an extended absence. in this way, i’m looking forward to going back to california; i can’t wait to look at Los Angeles with new eyes. it’s a little scary how well this Gang Of Four song describes how i imagine i’ll feel when i get back:

“at home he feels like a tourist/
he fills his head with culture/
he gives himself an ulcer…”

i’ve been reading this strange, dreadful novel, 2666, and its indirect but overwhelmingly apocalyptic tone has impressed itself deeply. (although i’m sure the “news” i read daily on CNN and the black-hole nihilism i perceive in the zombie junkies who barely exist in our neighborhood factor in as well.) anyway… at one point, a character in 2666 states that exile, even self-imposed exile, is to be in limbo, and i understand exactly. but limbo isn’t necessarily a negative thing; our “limbo” here in buenos aires has been wonderful.

Starting to get anxious for our end of trip exhibition. Needless to say I’m not demonstrating any kind of equilibrium as I just finished the website at 5.53AM…wowzers…

http://aplacecalledequilibrio.us/

There’s so much happening on Iguazu no wonder I couldn’t sleep this morning.

To see this exhibition?

Read the info blurbs and you’ll be itching to go just like me. Perhaps they should rename it “Made for Emily”. I just know I could spend hours in this exhibition. My brain would be so happy.

Please?

Alas, if I don’t make it to Spain in time, cheers to all of the artists who collaborated on this, and thanks Joaquin for leading me to it. Each project gives me heaps of food for thought.