Marina and Ulay

    I've seen Marina Abramovic's work before (and it's truly lovely and absolutely fascinating).  I'm not a fan of performance art, usually.  I just never thought a lot of what is labeled "performance art" is actually art, just someone trying to be all "deep" and "meaningful".  But Abramovic's art was different; it's emotional, raw, exposing.  It's art in the sense of humans and our actions.  Her piece 72 Objects was what first caught my eye. In 1974,  Marina Abramovic stood in a room for 6 hours passively with a table that had 72 items on it.  Some of the items could cause pain, others pleasure.  Abramovic would allow people to use the objects in any way they please, without her having any repercussion.  After the six hours, Abramovic said this: "What I learned was that if you leave it up to the audience, they can kill you. I felt really violated – they cut up my clothes, stuck rose thorns in my stomach, one person aimed the gun at my head, and another took it away. It created an aggressive atmosphere. After exactly 6 hours, as planned, I stood up and started walking toward the audience. Everyone ran away, to escape an actual confrontation.:" 

72 Objects on the table

Abramovic in 1974

This is so fascinating, this ART is like a PSYCHOLOGICAL STUDY. Without punishment, people will do things that are hurtful but when we see confrontation we instinctively run. I mean that's so interesting.  I also ENVY the courage it takes to stand in a room and allow people to just do anything to you for 6 hours, as well as the complete and total exposure it causes.  It's art, it tells us more about human nature.  It truly reflects our instincts, our tendency towards violence. 
  I could go on and on about this, but I also wanted to talk about Marina Abramovic's partner, Ulay.  Ulay was also a well known performance artist in the 60's and 70's and focused on the body and space.  He began to work with Marina Abramovic in 1976.  They loved each other, and worked together until 1989.  They felt that their relationship had come to an end and decided to walk the Great Wall of China, meeting in the middle for a final hug and then to leave each other, never to see one another again. 
  Now, that in itself is a beautiful story.  Mutually leaving someone you love in the most beautiful, most sweet way.  But it gets even better.  
  Abramovic continued her career as a performance artist and in 2010 did a show called "The Artist is Present" at MoMa.  She sat at a table and would stare at the person who sat down across from her in complete silence for one minute.  Think about that, think about how much you can take in by staring at someone for one whole minute. Think of how unnatural that is, people never look at each other that long, it's personal, revealing.  You can tell a lot from a person's face.  During one of the shows, Ulay sat down at the table.  Abramovic had not known he was coming, they had not seen each other in years.  And for one minute, one minute, they sat and looked at one another. 

 Watch it, watch it ALL. Because it's beautiful.  The amount of memories stored in each other, the love, the craving, the acceptance, it's all beautiful and visible in their eyes.  The fact that they did not speak, that they just saw each other and just understood.  The few seconds after he's gone and new person sits down, she has to find herself again. It's so beautiful to see so much love, so much complete and total unplanned raw emotions, it's so complicated and so pure and amazing.  It's truly incredible. 

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David Sedaris: Books, Art and Weird Collections

  I love David Sedaris. Like love love him.  For those of you who don't know much/anything about this amazing man; David Sedaris is an author who has written numerous books, most of them are about his odd experiences while others are extremely dark and funny fiction.  His works include Me Talk Pretty One Day, Dress Your Family In Corduroy and Denim, Naked, Barrel Fever, Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk, Holidays on Ice, and Lets Talk About Diabetes with Owls.  He also tells his stories on NPR's "This American Life" and has concerts where he reads out his journals and stories.

  I don't remember exactly when I started reading his work, but both of my parents would teach his stories in their classes.  I've read all of his books at least once and saw him in concert last year for my birthday.  His hilarious, and although he has a following, not too many people (especially young people) truly appreciate his work. He and his sister, Amy Sedaris (you might know her from her acting she's so great), are both odd and quirky and dark and just all over fantastic.  David Sedaris' work is so great because he was raised in a pretty average family.  Raised in a big family in North Carolina, Sedaris imagined becoming a famous artist, singer, basically someone people knew.  He writes all about everything, coming out of the closet to a pair of swingers, kissing rich family member's asses, finding a dirty book in the forrest and dealing with parents.  The reason Sedaris is great is because he writes all about things that are normal (well, more or less normal) and creates a funny, heart-warming or even sad story out of an average event through his writing.  

  Recently, David Sedaris wrote a short story for the "New Yorker" about his youngest sister, Tiffany's, suicide.  The story is sweet, and twisted and funny and sad.  He is just so funny and odd. It's hard to explain.  I'm a huge lover of reading and literature (both of my parents wrote dissertations in english literature), and David Sedaris rekindles my love of books every time.  He's wording and style is inspiring and creative.  

  Also, he loves stuff thats so offbeat it makes me SO happy.  For example, Sedaris and his partner Hugh both share a love for odd things.  One of these is taxidermic animals and body parts, skeletons and Sedaris collects very weird art (one of his paintings that he writes about is a whippet dog with outrageously large nipples).  Sedaris also likes to hand out funny things to his audiences (for example, condoms). 

 Sedaris' experiences are interesting as well as his fictional stories.  There are just WAY too many non-fiction works, but one of my favorite fictional stories is a fake christmas letter in Holidays on Ice.  It perfectly illustrates his humor (dark is being nice) and very twisted.  He also is willing to laugh at himself and has on numerous occasions done odd things during readings, like wearing clown makeup on stage and not even explaining the purpose of this.  (On your left you'll see him wearing some bunny ears).   If for whatever reason your still not interested in reading or listening to David Sedaris' work, let me just paste some words together that all are in at least one of Sedaris' stories.  "Thats my midget", meth, turd, "She got hit by a truck", the Ship Shape, tanning, ice-milk, Oprah, negligee, apple-picking, pot, popular and Billy Holiday.  Also he's adorable and funny and just look at this face and imagine his twisted, crazy, HILARIOUS brain. 

Yeah, he's my favorite. 

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Music Mondays: Nostalgia

Nostalgia from evasoph

The perfect music for sitting on a grey day and your thinking of sunny ones. 

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Getting Over You (and Me)

 
This past year, from the beginning of January, I have been trying to get over this guy.

   First let me make it clear that we never were going out. Nor did we have any romantic relationship.  But I loved him.  Really, I did. And I'd been happy pining away, imagining things up until my friend called me and told me he got a girlfriend.  I was devastated is putting it nicely.  I went from hysterically laughing to sobbing to screaming to sobbing and laughing and repeated this all night.  I called my friends and sobbed, lay on the couch and sobbed.  Sobbed and sobbed.  It was horrible. I'd never felt so heartbroken.
  Some might say it's easier to get over a "crush", something that never really happened.  I've never dealt with a break-up (based on the fact that I've never dated anyone) but from my experience, trying to forget about something that never happened is really really difficult.  There's no closure, no goodbyes, no nothing because most of the time, the second half of the "relationship" has no fucking clue.  I remember my mom saying; "Eva, it's not like he cheated on you.  I mean, I understand that you liked him, but I mean, c'mon!"
  But in my mind, it was like he'd abandoned me, cheated on me and then left.  In my head, we were soulmates, he DID like me, it was a fact.  I'd basically created this whole romantic novel/movie in my head.  There was a backstory, a plot; boy meets girl, girl likes boy, boy doesn't realize, boy has mind blowing experience where he realizes that him and girl are meant to be.  Boy finds girl, boy and girl fall in love, the end.  Simple enough, right? WHY COULD'NT HE FOLLOW MY PLAN?!
  When we create this perfect relationship, this holy thing that envelopes us in passion and yearning, it truly feels real.  When the time comes that we have to face reality and break it off with this fantasy it's not only losing that perfect ideal but it's also losing a little of yourself.  I felt so confused because I had built myself around this crazy fairytale, and now I was forced to face the stark reality leaving me to ask myself "Who am I?"
  Now, getting over this boy was hard.  I truthfully don't think I'm completely done with that part yet. But I do know that I've refound myself. It took A LOT.  I went on a 6 week trip to Israel all summer, I tried to push myself, find my passions, get good at things, and yet every once in a while I'd feel this twinge, have a thought; "You weren't good enough.  You'll never be good enough."It's hard.  Because sometimes, I agree.  But, I have been lucky enough to find a part of me that combats these negative thoughts with positive ones.
  I know I'm not done yet, I still can't see pictures of him and his girlfriend (whom I still despise) without cringing and wanting to cry, but it's gotten better.  I've moved on.  I have other pots on the fire. At this point, I know not to upset myself.  I hope that soon I'll be able to see him and smile and say "So, how's life?"

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IT'S OKAY

IT'S OKAY by eva-goldstein-moore 

Mondays are hard, heres a tip and a collage. 

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October Rad Things

So I love October and sharing and acting like people actually want my advice so for this month, OCTOBERRRRR, I'm going to make a few lists of things I'm obsessed with at the moment because I'm obsessed with lots of things and because I love lists.

STYLE/CLOTHING
I wouldn't call myself a super duper crazy dresser, I like sticking with classics.  But I do LOVE certain accessories/shoes/stuff like that.  Usually I just stare at things and drool.
  Lately I've really been loving sort of simple things that have very odd details when you really really look at their detail.

I swear, that collection of stuff makes me just UGH.  You see what I mean when I say I like my clothes in a simple but very detailed way (like those pants, they're printed but not screaming "LOOOOK AT MeEEE" I love that.  OH and I plan to wear my eyeliner like that tomorrow!! (I'm so excitedd) 

MUSIC

   I saw Vampire Weekend in September and loved every moment of it.  They're this really great great band that I've been listening to since 6th grade and I was so excited to see them live!!! My personal favorite tracks from their newest album, Modern Vampires of the City are "Step", "Obvious Bicycle", and "Finger Back".  They were amazing live and have become pretty big, but if you still haven't heard them check them out! 

  I'm constantly trying to find new artists and tracks, so I'm constantly on the look out.  I recently heard The Drums, whom I instantly fell in love with.  I love that type of music that gives me summer vibes, and the Drums are like this mix of the Beach Boys and something magical.  I love their song "Saddest Summer" and basically every other song of theirs because they make me feel like the sun is shining.  

  Also, this new music video for the song "St. Justice" by Albert Hammond Junior makes me swoon in every way because the music is great as well as the b&w video. 

  I've also been getting into Bruce Springsteen... sooooo. 

ART

What I consider art MAY differ from your opinion, just a warning.

  Recently, a book was published called Heavenly Bodies which is all about these AMAZING skeletons they have uncovered in Rome.  These skeletons, belonging to priests and other holy people in the church, are dripping in rare jewels and gold and jewelry and they are SO elaborate it's spectacular.  

Apparently, Nuns decorated these skeletons and some were so old that they weren't able to find certain parts, like a hand for example, so they would take a hand from another body and use it instead.  It's incredible honestly. 

  Another project I've really admired is this piece by Jay Rey entitled "Nipples".  Jay Rey said the following; "we had to tackle ideas of gender for homework. My solution to the assignment was to tackle the issue of a male versus a female nipple and why a female nipple needs to be censored. They are nipples ya’ll, beyond being some what funny, I don’t know why they gotta be such a threat. Us art students deal with em on the daily." 

I really loved the statement this made about gender inequality and the interesting differences our culture sees in men and women and their bodies.  Claps to you Jay Rey!!! 

  I love to draw and have been collaging more which is great.  I also really envy this sketch journal, but I plan to start creating my own using these tips.  The idea of saving everything like this makes me so happy and I'm a self described hermit so it's perfect. 

MOVIES/T.V

I started watching "Breaking Bad" (yes I am late) and that's great but I've been too busy to watch much. Instead, I made a list of movies/tv shows that will give ya goosebumps for Halloween. 

Eva’s Creepy Spooky Spunky Halloween Night Entertainment Bonanza

• Beetlejuice (1988) 
• Twin Peaks (1990) 
• The Witches of Eastwick (1987) 
• Carrie  (1976) 
• Heathers (1988)
• Pan’s Labyrinth (2006)
• Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)
• Little Shop of Horrors (1986)
• Young Frankenstein (1974)
• Howls Moving Castle (2004)
• The Vanishing (1993)
• Pulp Fiction (1994)

That's all folks!!! I'll write when I can, hope you enjoy a few of these awesome things.

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