New Things.

While the summer was spent mostly enjoying post-grad life, certain things loomed on my calendar. Some good, some terrifying. The maelstrom of activity swept in quickly and furiously and soon I found myself immersed once again in academic stuff. The first thing was the advent of the Fall semester and my professorial debut. This work is extremely satisfying for me. I get to read and write all day and then perform my results four times a week. I have to work hard on finding a balance between how I learned and how to communicate it in a less intense and fun way. It's a challenge, but one that I am well prepared for (thanks Tufts!) and overwhelmingly happy to have before me. 

After waiting six months to see it, Christian Marclay's The Clock finally arrived in Boston. How lucky I am to be here. Alex and I attended the first 24 hour screening last week and it was more than magical. Read his marvelous account of our late night stalking through the MFA: "How We Finally Saw The Clock."

Incredibly, there were clips from my somewhat obscure favorite movie, Sid and Nancy, during the big midnight sequence. Of course I was nearly jumping out of my seat. YES!! It was hard to leave, but we did around 12:30 knowing that we'd be back. We had to get to part two of the evening's adventure: Saus: Belgian frites and waffles. Just what you want for a midnight snack while wandering Boston in an inspired daze. Yum. The elation from our museum experience was potent. I've been walking around with a dopey grin for days, so good.

San Sebastian

The final event of the season, on my calendar since March, waits for me across the ocean. In just a few days I will present my musings on the abbey church Santa Maria de Ripoll, internationally. That's right. And then I will actually get to see the church in person. I'm afraid I might pass out in the monastery, overwhelmed. 

The final draft of my conference paper has been approved by my third advisor, a dear colleague, and my biggest supporter, Alex. The powerpoint is packed with fun images and I am ready! but still, Yikes. 

Kursaal Palace, where you'll find me next week.

There are so many presentations that I want to see:

Rivero Gil's «Aleluyas de la defensa de Euzkadi»: Comic Strip Images of Spain's Civil War and the Education of a New Citizenry Donna Southard, Department of Spanish and Portuguese, University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, USA
Theatre and the Action-Image: The Interaction between Image and Action in Theatrical Communication, Richard Murphet, School of Performing Arts Faculty of Victorian College of the Arts and Music, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia

Images in Anatolian Carpets Lect Ayla Canay, Fashion Design, Anadolu Univercity, Eskisehir, Kadir Sevim, Turkey
Evaluation of the Symbolic Expressions in Anatolian Seljuk Tiles and Ceramics in Terms of Clothing Culture Ece Kanışkan, Fashion Design Department Industrial Design School, Ece Kanışkan, Industrial Design School, Fashion design department, Anadolu University, Eskişehir, Zehra Cobanli, Fine Art Faculty, Anadolu Universitesi, Turkey
In Search of “Aura” and “Immanence” in Telematic Art Dr. Matthew Burtner, Interactive Media Research Group Department of Music, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, USA
Overview: Presentation of a theoretical research paper: In search of “Aura” and “Immanence” in Telematic Art preceded by a multimedia performance of excerpts from the author’s telematic opera “Auksalaq.”
Making Embroidery Speak: Images and Words in Miao Embroidery Zhaohua Ho, Textiles and Clothing Department, Fu Jen Catholic University, New Taipei City, Taiwan
The Unstable Image: Contingent Entropic Zones Alan Dunning, Media Arts +Digital Technologies Programme / Department of Computer Science, Alberta College of Art and Design / University of Calgary, Prof. Paul Woodrow, Department of Art, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada
Open Wholeness: Architecture as an Identity Carrier of Cities and Regions Dr. Beate Niemann, NIEMANN + STEEGE Ltd., University Leipzig, Urban Development Institute, Duesseldorf, Schaedler Priscilla, Düsseldorf, Germany