days six, seven, eight: party at the moontower
i kicked off my time in austin, day six of my trip, with an early 7am class at practice yoga austin. i practice my own yoga at home nearly every day, but it was nice to be in a class. i’ve been working with erica treais-holm in detroit for a while now. we met one of her classes, and then started working together for 1:1s so i could finally understand my recurring injuries and daily practice better. she also helped me develop a daily routine for this trip. i was anticipating driving thousands of miles feeling a little differently on my body than it did 20 years ago when i’d cruise across these united states to portland or olympia during my PNW years.
i’m also working every week day while i’m traveling. i am the experience coordinator for IDEO in detroit, which basically means i take care of the designers that are traveling to detroit to work with ford—i tell everyone where to stay and eat, who they need to know, and what they need to see. my job is to be an ambassador for detroit. i don’t know that i could have designed a more perfect position for myself. when i discussed the possibility of taking this art trip with katie, the woman who brought me into IDEO, her immediate response was to question how she can help make it successful for me. katie is inherently supportive of the direction i’m growing my art career, and understands if i’m inspired, i can inspire our visiting designers. i’m so thankful i found a job i love that gives me freedom and balance to explore what fuels me.
the special thing about my time in austin was my dad was also visiting. if you can believe it, we both planned trips to austin, texas for the exact same dates without knowing the other would be there. wild!
on the morning of my second day, i went to the blanton museum on the campus of U of T. it’s small, but mighty. i noticed more women artists than i usually see in museums—maybe this is their m.o. or maybe, hopefully, this is a slow sea change happening in the art world.
above: thomas glassford, jo baer, frida baranek, cildo meireles. not pictured, but i was enamored with: mary corse
i was so captivated with the collection at the blanton that i nearly forgot the reason i came to the museum—to see ellsworth kelly’s ‘austin’. it was the reason—and i drove myself there, parked the car, paid for admission, stuck my backpack in a locker, and walked out of the museum and up to the door that was so heavy i thought it was locked. i did all those things but i was not prepared for the feeling of being inside. it was muted and soothing. i was nearly paralyzed, and with gratitude to the docent who noticed and engaged with me, i was lead slowly through each simple element with just a bit of background to give me a deeper appreciation of what was experiencing.
as if my first james turrell skyspace weren’t enough back in houston, i scooped up 4 tickets for my dad and our friends annie and heid to see the color inside, the skyspace at U of T in austin. while we were waiting for the daylight to fade and the show to begin, i looked across the oval room and thought i recognized someone. i’m always doing that—going to places where i don’t know anyone and thinking i know everyone. i gave the person one more glance just to be sure, and then i knew i knew him! it was my friend matt that i had worked with 13 years ago at jerusalem garden in ann arbor. unreal!
i’ve been thinking about my recent visits to the two skyspace installations. i appreciate the simplicity of materials and lines, and that the only not simple part of them is the humans within the spaces. a major part of the experience is interacting with other humans—tolerating, ignoring, enjoying, or however you define interacting. in houston, on the upper level, the seating places every body at eye level, with only faces showing, staring in at one another, and thusly, you have choices to make about where to look. in austin, you are in a small room with about 20 other people, and you can hear everything, even whispers.
an interesting place: you are in a beautiful, contemplative space, but you are not alone.
on my last day in austin, i ventured to the contemporary austin’s marcus sculpture park at laguna gloria.
firstly, dog friendly, like EVERYWHERE in austin. but a sculpture garden? fairly rare. what a wonderful way to live—dogs everywhere.
apologies. i digress.
the sculpture park at laguna gloria was a complete joy for someone who consumes contemporary art as voraciously as i do. and again, many women artits. i like this. most notably, at the end of a scruffy path, i discovered my first nancy holt.
time span was installed in 1981, and expresses holt’s interest in human perception, the natural environment, and the passage of time. every april 5th—the artist’s birthday and the date time span was completed—the afternoon sun shines through the wheel to frame a plaque on the ground that is inscribed with the date.
floating on the elation of seeing nancy holt’s work IRL, i drifted around the sculpture park and discovered more clever works.
tom friedman, looking up
ursula von rydingsvard, luna
marianne vitale, common crossings
ugo rondinone, the true
on my last evening in austin, i took my first art class of this trip. i learned how to work with alcohol inks from julie pelaez at craft. working with a medium that is so unpredictable and not easily controlled is therapeutic, and dare i say…simply fun. i’ve gotten away from the trap of take-a-workshop then buy-all-the-supplies, but i did, in fact, scoop up everything i needed to continue exploring with alcohol inks immediately after this class. i’ll be honest, on this trip, i am seeking an art practice that i can enjoy without the urge to make things for any reason other than the joy it brings. maybe that’s alcohol inks. or maybe they get their own shelf with all the other art supplies when i get home.
that’s why we explore, right? to go see…if.
logisitcs
food—i LOVED lou’s in austin. former service station (as we know i love), great coffee, otherworldly breakfast tacos, inventive healthy salads, and so very dog-friendly…even for austin standards.
research—i’ll be seeing more nancy holt and more ugo rondinone later this trip if you want to brush up.