‘Instruments of Change’ is another killer exhibition curated by Thinkspace Projects at the Fullerton Museum Center. Dan and I went on the last weekend of February to view the exhibition and I’m glad we ventured into the OC to see it. Afterward, we walked over to a cute little place called Let It Brie for a glass of wine and one of their amazing charcuterie boards. Fingers crossed they make it through this shutdown.
I decided not to do a voice-over in this art vlog because at the moment I’m having trouble finding the words to talk about the work. While at the museum, I just looked at all the colors and detail of the pieces and murals. It left me with an impression, a feeling, and I’m not confident in the words I would find right now to describe my thoughts.
So instead, here is a great article about ‘Instruments of Change’ from the LA Times.
With everything shut down, I’m starting to appreciate art and museums on a whole new level. I can’t imagine I’m the only one who is being self-reflective and realizing just how much they take for granted. Every morning I wake up and return to a place of gratitude, no matter the situation, I choose to start from gratitude.
Sending a prayer to everyone being impacted by this pandemic,
and the hope that when we collectively move out of this shadow we are able to
embrace the light.
29 Rooms is an interactive art experience curated by Refinery 29 where artists and brands come together to create 29 Instagramable backdrops for your content creating enjoyment. I was really excited about 29 rooms, and super thankful my friend was able to get me in – but I’d be lying if I said that the “do it for the gram” attitude of the place didn’t leave a sour taste in my mouth.
The grammable art experiences seem to be popping up a lot these days, and my natural contrarian attitude wants to rebel against the museum of ice cream and happy place and say – no I won’t just go for the gram. I want to go for not only the visual stimulation but the intellectual stimulation. And not to say you can’t just go to something cause it’s just fun, cause I’m sure the museum of ice cream and happy place are fun for people. Maybe if I was better at posing in front of a camera I’d drink less of the haterade and be all about those fun and funky backdrops. But with 29 Rooms, we couldn’t even see all of the rooms because of limited time, mismanaged logistics, and the full-on photoshoots taking place in front of us.
I love getting that great Instagram moment as much as the next person, but I don’t want to do it at the expense of cultural enrichment. I’d like to know the who, what, and why behind what I experience. And sure, maybe some of the 29 Rooms were just sponsored pop-ups made by a collection of set designers who have no emotional investment in the mini-environment they created, but I know for a fact some of the rooms / installations were more than that and to not provide proper information educating people places the LGBTQ install on the same level of importance as the pink sand Shea Moisture install.
To give them some credit, there were small placards affixed to the wall next to the door of some of these rooms, but they were hard to read and considering the entire experience was just more of a mad dash to see what room you could get in, one ended up being more focused on trying to have an experience than finding the information on the room. I really wish they would have the info someplace online (I’ve yet to find it).
In my ideal world, 29 rooms would have time slots, and you’d walk through each room with about a minute or two to enjoy each space. Hell, make it 30 seconds, Yayoi Kasuma’s Infinity Rooms was 30 seconds and worth every moment. But I’m not the curator of 29 Rooms, and I just have to accept that our world is moving into a place where smart people can make money off those that want to enjoy an interactive highly Instagramable art experience. I just hate it when I become a pawn, and totally know I’m a pawn – and am a little ok with being a pawn.
Today I’m going wedding dress shopping! Yay. You can peek into my wedding style inspiration on Pinterest, but I doubt I will actually find a dress like any of the ones I’ve selected. My taste exceeds my budget. I’m approaching wedding dress shopping with an open mind and a desire to capture a sense of glamor and sophistication with a twist.
But here is a quick list of my favorites from the week, as it’s going to be a very busy day!
New Art Vlog: If you’re in Los Angeles try and check out the exhibition at Gabba Gallery. It closes tomorrow, February 4th but I loved the work of L.Croskey and Carly Ealey.
Taiko Drumming: I’ve had a busy and inspiring work week and to help me focus I’ve been listening to a lot of Taiko Drumming. Taiko is a traditional Japanese form of drumming. Whenever I’ve seen a Taiko performance live, the energy is intoxicating, I never want the performance to end. I highly recommend listening to and seeing Taiko drumming.
Kiehl’s Turmeric & Cranberry Seed Energizing Radiance Masque: Dan gave me this mask for Christmas. I had been wanting this mask for months and it has not disappointed me. It really helps to soften my skin with the cranberry seed exfoliation and adds a vibrancy to it. I’ve noticed how my sleeping and eating patterns can affect the quality of my skin and turn it sallow; this mask makes me look like a raw foodist.
