Assignment No. 1: Curating an Experience (Haroon Adalat)

The following post was my original draft for our initial curation assignment. Since then, I've updated the order, while adding an outline for how to approach the "experience," on a special Tumblr I made for this assignment; you can access it here. It only applies to the first portion of the assignment (on architecture), and does not concern the second "experience," which remains as it was below.

EXPERIENCE ONE: ARCHITECTURE AS CHARACTER
*I understand we are to embed our video media, but I prefer to hyperlink them, if that's okay.

VIDEO
- Excerpt from Last Year at Marienbad (1961, Alain Resnais and Alain-Robbe Grillet)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3KylTOoqtF4

- Excerpt from Playtime (1967, Jacques Tati)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aH2vsYWwmRU

IMAGE
- The Anguish of Departure (1914, Giorgio de Chirico)
- in the same vein, a still from Antonioni's L'avventura (1960)



TEXT
An excerpt from Marcel Proust's Remembrance of Things Past:
"Perhaps the immobility of the things that surround us is forced upon them by our conviction that they are themselves and not anything else, by the immobility of our conception of them. For it always happened that when I awoke like this, and my mind struggled in an unsuccessful attempt to discover where I was, everything revolved around me through the darkness: things, places, years. My body, still too heavy with sleep to move, would endeavour to construe from the pattern of its tiredness the position of its various limbs, in order to deduce therefrom the direction of the wall, the location of the furniture, to the piece together and give a name to the house in which it lay."

AUDIO
- The first movement of John Adam's Harmonielehre
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AUiv0jJl9zU SITE

SITE
- Live coverage of the Golden Gate Bridge
http://webcam.goldengate.org/webcam.jpg

CURATOR'S STATEMENT Throughout my life, I've rarely been invested in architecture as a form in itself. Nevertheless, it's become increasingly apparent how significant even the simplest of concrete slabs add lyricism to other arts (would we have Lubitsch's Trouble in Paradise without Art Deco?), and more practically, as the spaces we most often occupy for shelter, comfort, work, etc. It shouldn't be surprising how evocative and engaging architectural forms and spaces can be, and I have attempted to bring various examples of other arts attempting to recreate the phenomenon of architecture. (1) The video clips are pulled from two films that could not be more disparate from one another – Playtime being a "minimalist" comedy and Marienbad a baroque mystery – but both scenes convey an overwhelming quality of architecture: our buildings, rooms, walls, and windows are boundaries, either from each other (as in Playtime) or meaning and context (the entirety of Marienbad concentrates on how such sumptuous realms consume identities). (2) De Chirico's The Anguish of Depature is emblematic of his vast, lonely landscapes, dotted with stark buildings and monuments, which like entries in Antonioni's filmography, strike a melancholy rarely matched. (3) While I find Proust's words a concise summation of this experience's aesthetic, (4) John Adam's musical contribution may seem the most awkward piece. The story goes that Mr. Adams was in San Francisco suffering from a creative block; when crossing the Bay Bridge, he imagined seeing a sailing oil tanker shoot into the sky like a rocket. Does such inspiration, linked to such a monument, come through the bars of his music? (5) Lastly, our modern-day 24/7 culture watches over its landmarks with a vigilant eye at the Golden Gate Bridge live webcam site.


EXPERIENCE TWO: AN (AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL) EXPERIENCE OF EUREKA, CALIFORNIA

AUDIO
Nick Drake's "River Man" from Five Leaves Left
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9HRo-9mqrQ

IMAGES


top: early illustrated map of the City of Eureka; bottom: misty fields in Eureka

TEXT
On the weather in Eureka:
The area experiences coastal influence fog year round. Annual precipitation averages 39.50 inches (987.5 mm). Measurable precipitation falls on an average of 121 days each year. The wettest year was 1983 with 67.21 inches (1680.25 mm) and the driest year was 1976 with 21.71 inches (542.75 mm). The greatest monthly precipitation was 23.21 inches (580.25 mm) in December 2002. The greatest 24-hour precipitation was 6.79 inches (169.75 mm) on December 27, 2002. Snowfall on the coast is very rare, averaging only 0.3 inch (22.5 mm); however, on February 4, 1989, 2.0 inches (5 cm) fell in Eureka and additional snow that month brought the monthly total to 3.5 inches (9 cm).

SITE
Google Maps directions between San Francisco and Eureka
http://bit.ly/d2QdNF

CURATOR'S STATEMENT
This "experience" certainly falls prey to the pitfalls of any poor autobiography: one is extending a memory no one may particularly want or is capable of recreating. In this case, it's my past two visits of Humboldt County as a guest of one of my friends. As a site, Eureka, the city, is a large area to digest - one with a dynamic geography and unique population. Hence, I've narrowed it down to some key "textures," the same which make it autobiographical: Nick Drake's music, the feel of "old, downtown" Eureka, the mists of fields, an explanation of those mists, and the (rather long) route from San Francisco to Eureka. Why this site? Curating with specific locations led to some interesting, albeit commonplace, places for my friends and myself (i.e. the Castro Theatre, the neighborhoods we always visit in the city, my hometown). Instead, as a relatively "mundane" destination, Eureka sparked a number of key moments of the last few years, like the discovery of one of my favorite musicians and the realization that I like small-town America over my urban home. Such reminiscences were difficult to shape through images, sound or text - not enough personal or public media - so clearly, the cracks in my approach may capsize this "experience."

Paul Washburn: Assignment #1: Curating Experience

Experience #1: Paradise Valley




The icy evil that struck his father down
and ravished his mother into madness
trapped him in violence of a punished self
struggling to break free.

As Home Boy, as Dee-troit Red,
he fled his name, became the quarry of
his own obsessed pursuit.

He conked his hair and Lindy-hopped,
zoot-suited jiver, swinging those chicks
in the hot rose and reefer glow.

His injured childhood bullied him.
He skirmished in the Upas trees
and cannibal flowers of the American Dream--

but could not hurt the enemy
powered against him there.

-Robert Hayden



http://www.johnscarpethouse.com/
http://www.paradisevalleyblues.com/tour/hastingsindex.html

Curator's Statement:
Even as it continues to burn, the music still hasn't stopped in Paradise Valley. Poet Robert Hayden and John Lee Hooker both lived in Paradise Valley, once the cultural center of the African American community in Detroit. With businesses thriving up and down Hastings street, it was decided in the late 1960's that a majority of Paradise Valley would be razed to make way for a freeway. Bisected by I-75, the community was not able to survive and lays nearly completely abandoned today. Pheasants roam free among cherry trees and grassy fields in the shadows of rotting auto plants, but on Sundays in the summer the music returns to Paradise in the form of John's Carpet House. A community blues jam like no other, this abandoned corner of the city hosts one of the best shows in Detroit.


Experience 2: United Nations Lobby Display

Location: United Nations



Upon walking inside heads of state discover:

http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrcouncil/



We can all help each other be heard.



We are important to each other (and can laugh together for fun and for therapy).

And if you don't agree yet, Ron will straighten you out. We're all on the same team.

Curator's Statement:
I don't know how much laughing goes on at a place like the UN, but it seems to me levity on occasion could help expedite matters for the common good. Those in power need to concentrate less of self-preservation and more on how to include everyone as an equal when it comes to global decision-making. The elements of the presentation may perpetuate silliness, but in context I hope they incite both laughter and meditation.

Alberto Mayer Curating the Experince

Who's Bus? Our Bus!

Hell no We wont Go !

Who's streets? Our streets!

What do we want Justice! When do we want Now!

Experience #I The Street Belong to Us

Curator Statement:
As long as we have the streets, we have the right to assemble, the right to protest and the right to hold the powers at hand, accountable to us. The streets it is where we meet, where we really experience life. Where we see first hand,what we don't always want to see but where we are confronted with the world out side of our selves.

In memory of Howard Zinn
War and Social Justice




Segmnet II

Site Specific

The Mission District

Britney Roque's Assignment #1: Curating Experience

Experience ONE: A Field of Daisies

“Daisies are like sunshine to the ground.” – Drew Barrymore

The Daisies – James Stephens
In the scented bud of the morning—O,
When the windy grass went rippling far,
I saw my dear one walking slow,
In the field where the daisies are.
We did not laugh and we did not speak
As we wandered happily to and fro;
I kissed my dear on either cheek,
In the bud of the morning—O.
A lark sang up from the breezy land,
A lark sang down from a cloud afar,
And she and I went hand in hand
In the field where the daisies are.

http://www.daisyparadise.com/
http://www.gardenguides.com/69215-meaning-daisy-flowers.html

Curator's Statement: This experience centers around daisies and attempts to construct a full sensory experience of the flower. When you think of a daisy, you think of purity, innocence and the emotion that it evokes is light and happy. The video depicts the flowers in a serene atmosphere that is relaxing and calming. The audio is a beautiful piano arrangement which I think really personifies the spirit of the daisy; a very sweet and lovely melody. I’ve also included a poem called “The Daisies” by James Stephens, which I first learned as a song in a voice class – again, with a light tone. All these pieces together create an experience as though you are walking though a field of daisies on a bright sunny day.

Experience TWO: The Orpheum Theatre, San Francisco

“…an ornate Moorish fantasy where the painted plaster lions and baroque Spanish columns were as a much a part of the show as the jugglers, clowns and movies.” - Jesse Hamlin, San Francisco Chronicle



http://www.shnsf.com/theatres/orpheum

Curator's Statement: The Orpheum is a site where I spend a lot of my time, as it is my workplace and it didn't take long for me to love its beautiful Spanish architecture and history behind it. This theatre is a true diamond in the rough, located in the middle of the Tenderloin. On the street you see junkies and filth, but inside, it is like stepping into a palace with its red carpet and white columns. The experience of seeing a live show is unlike any other. Each show you see is special because in that moment in time, with the orchestra, the actors, the audience, it is unique and there is nothing about it that can be repeated.

Film Festival Trailers!

Here is a collection of select film festival trailers that may inform and inspire us.

*Film Society of Lincoln Center: Official 46th New York Film Festival Trailer*

Cool trailer- mostly graphics, music, quotes filmmakers and films. *Also note fb comment, “Not to be too PC, and all of the filmmakers quoted are great. But would it have killed them to include a woman, or a person of color?” Yes, something to be mindful of.

*Columbia University Film Festival 2008*

*SFIAAFF*

The last few years they have been doing animated trailers, made by Moon. Last year they went artsty and included graphical elements that were also part of their print design.

2006





2008 (note blurry, may be youtube upload?)


2011


2009 (more artsy- blurry version)


*SIFF 2009*

This one is more like a film itself, very cool, and ambitious!

*Bicycle Film Festival 2009*

A cute little action, play on bikes.


*Tallgrass Film Festival 2008 trailer *

*Digital Artifact: Call for Submissions 2009 for Issue 3: We Made This for you Out of Nothing*

Poetry Projection Project

*ThirdI ~ SFSAIFF 2009 *

Note they usually take clips from films in the festival and use South Asian contemporary themed music made by a group they partner with.

******************************************

*SFSU Film Finals * past (note the sponsors mentioned at the end...maybe they will support us this year? and Facebook page use)


2008 Trailer

2009 Trailer

Skye McLennan's Assignment 1: Curating Experience

EXPERIENCE #1:

"Loneliness"

"

" I just feel like all I do, all day long, is just manage myself, try to fuckin' connect with people. But it's like, no matter how much energy you pour into getting to the station on time, or getting on the right train, there's still no fuckin' guarantee that anybody's gonna be there for you to pick you up when you get there." –Six Feet Under

"We're born alone, we live alone, we die alone. Only through our love and friendship can we create the illusion for the moment that we're not alone."-Orsen Wells

Curator Explanation: I have the quote "happiness only real when shared" on my foot, it was a huge lesson for me, and when I watched Into the Wild I realized how important human interaction is. How we live and thrive off of it. The character in Into the Wild seeks to escape people and "runaway" only to realize that he has no one to share with, and starts to understand the true issues with loneliness. The quote from Six Feet Under, reminds how hard it is to connect with people, to make those relationships. And the song by M83 symbolizes that overwhelming feeling. The pictures again symbolize those things, and the final video, a music video for the song "Luv Deluxe" by Cinnamon Chasers, shows what extremes we will go to cure our loneliness, even if it kills us, mentally and physically. The worst human condition is that we are constantly looking for our soulmate or anyone, to share life with. I want this experience to remind people how important it is to make connections, and how valuable we are in each others lives, and how easily we can effect each other.

EXPERIENCE #2: This experience would take place in a vast desert

A DESERT IS A PLACE WITHOUT EXPECTATION.- NADINE GORDIMER

Curator Explantation: This experience would take place is a vast and never-ending desert. I wanted to portray that vastness, and continuation in the pieces I represented. The desert can feel endless, but also intoxicating and breathtaking. You are in a such a empty and vast space, the opportunity for creative exploration is endless. And the intenseness of the rave scenes from the Digitalism video, bring that across. The world is yours, it's endless its free and it's at your hands. When your in a desert you almost feel like you have become the "Creator" I want that to come across, and want the viewer to feel these things when they are sitting in the desert listening to these songs and images.

Chris Loukides's Assignment 1: Curating Experience

Experience ONE: Hot Air Ballooning

Watch as the Balloon taking of behind you gets farther and farther away as you both float peacefully along high above Winters, California. You can see the dense fog over the hills which made flying in the Napa Valley impossible.

The only things that breaks the peaceful stillness is the occasional blasting of the burner that keeps you afloat.

You make it across the mountain range into the Napa Valley. The fog has burnt off and your pilot spots a possible landing area.

The Balloonist's Prayer 

The winds have welcomed you with softness. 

The sun has blessed you with his warm hands. 

You have flown so high and so well 

that God joined you in laughter 

and set you gently back into 

the loving arms of Mother Earth.

More on the science and equipment of hot air ballooning.

Curators Statement: 

Since this multimedia experience was to be based on images, sound, and motion, I wanted to cover something that effected all the senses of a person. My first job was for a hot air balloon company and I got to experience three balloons rides myself and felt that kind of experience was perfect for this sense driven assignment. The beauty of this planet's landscapes really comes through from the altitude of a hot air balloon. I wanted to show this beauty and wonder with the images I chose. I wanted to try and express the amazement that happens when your on a balloon floating along the same wind as another. I wanted to share the idea of, "wow that balloon over there sure is high and looks so majestic. Wait I'm on a balloon just like it, wow they must be thinking the same thing." A balloon ride is an amazing shift in perspective and really causes the mind to think of different perspectives in altitude and location. I also really like how balloons stand out so sharply but their floating is so peaceful. With the sound clip and video I really wanted to share the actually relationship all the passengers and the pilot has with the balloon and their surroundings. To go along with the sound and use of the burner I added a link to the more technical side of ballooning for anyone who is interested in learning more. The different levels of wind currents and the use of the parachute vent is very amazing. Hope you enjoyed.

Experience TWO: Another Use for Golden Gate Park

First a brief history and aerial photographs to show the vastness of Golden Gate Park.

And now a foggy morning in current day Golden Gate Park.

Foggy Morning from Christopher Loukides on Vimeo.

- The Fog Retreats -

As the sun rises

the morning's fog dissolves

gloom and grey are transformed

the nocturnal recede with the night

scavengers are revealed

the raccoons hide away

warmth and color take over

the city's concrete riders intrude 

Golden Gate Park Skate Montage from Christopher Loukides on Vimeo.

The park offers so much to the people of San Francisco. The city's plans for a skate park in Golden Gate Park should not be abandoned. The park should further its recreational uses for the many diverse people who have always enjoyed it.

Curators Statement: 

I chose golden gate park for the site based portion of this assignment because I live so close to it, enjoy it so much, and have spent so much time there. I also wanted to use this multimedia experience to draw attention to the untraditional ways the park is used for recreation and fun. I wanted to persuade the viewer that skateboarding in the park doesn't have to be damaging and disturbing. With the photos showing the grand scale of the park there is no reason why a skate park can't find a place there. The link at the end shows a group of people who oppose the building of a golden gate park skate park. As the skate montage shows the park is already used widely for skateboarding and having a place designated for skateboarding alone would only make it safer and better for the city of San Francisco.