Stendhal Syndrome

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In the nineteenth century a French author named Stendhal was traveling in Florence Italy and he was so overwhelmed by all the art and beauty that he became dizzy, faint and physically sick. After a second solid day of chasing art in Miami I believe I might have suffered from this Stendhal Syndrome.

This sketch was done in the convention center. This installation caught my attention because inside people were sitting and gently playing a drum. The piece was called Circleprototemple by Ernesto Neto. A thin shear red fabric was stretched over wooden forms which created what in my mind resembled a heart or very large strawberry. This wasn’t an organized performance, rather curious passers by would enter the oval portal and sit on the wooden benches inside. A single drum mallet was suspended from a bungee chord over the drum. If the mallet was lifted and dropped it would bounce up and down striking the drum. Some people went inside not to play the drum, but to sit and finger their iPhones and PDA’s . I was surprised when Orlando photographer Grazyna Kleinman stopped by while I was sketching. She told me about her crazy night of partying till 4am. She was running on pure adrenaline. As we spoke an exhibitor told me to move my chair out into the exhibit floor walkway. He felt I was blocking a painting by Brian Calvin called group smoke.

I got two press passes to see SCOPE, a huge collection of work from contemporary artists in a large outdoor tent. Here I found the work of an artist whose paintings truly caused my heart to race. His name was Karim Hamid and he paints large figurative works with oils on board. His work is expressionistic and resembles the work of Francis Bacon to some extent. This work fired off something inside me, a new flame ignited. This is why I had come to Miami!

Later, Terry and I offered Brian Feldman a ride out to Miami’s South Beach. He had a case of Art and culture induced hiccups. He spent the whole ride telling us about the performances he was planning for the 2011 Orlando Fringe Festival. Every sentence was interrupted by a new and peculiar hiccup. Each interrupted thought caused us all to laugh to the point where it became hard to breath. I tried to share with him a time honored family cure but the incantation alone didn’t work without a cup of water.

Terry and I met two couples for dinner at a Cuban Thai Restaurant after dropping Brian off at South Beach. He was still hiccuping when he jumped out of the car. I had a spicy and delicious Pad Thai. When we called it a night and started the drive back to our friends home for the night, I suddenly felt ill. My stomach churned and I felt my innards turning to mud. Terry drove around the block and dropped me back at the restaurant. I ran back inside. Too much rich food, art and running around. I wouldn’t be documenting any naked bonfire parties this night.

Art Basel Miami

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As soon as I entered the Miami Convention center I searched for the media accreditation area. It was up an escalator on the second floor of section D. I had drafted my own press pass request letter with a nice Analog Artist Digital World letterhead. I was shocked when the young girl at the reception desk accepted my credentials and send me back to have my photo taken which was then printed out on a crispy new press pass. Blogs are slowly gaining ground as legitimate news media. Entering the convention floor, I had my bags checked by security. Terry, her friend Elayne and Bob had purchased tickets while I got my press pass so I tapped out a text message to Terry to find out if they were on the Convention floor yet. Actress Susan Serandon walked past me with an entourage. When I spotted Terry I told her about my star sighting and she quickly wandered off to gawk. I texted Brian Feldman to let him know I got my press pass. He had coached me on who to contact about getting the pass.

I wandered off in search of a spot to sketch. The narrow halls didn’t offer much room for me to sit myself without getting tripped on. Art covered every wall so it was hard to find a spot to sketch from without sitting in front of a painting. I finally found this grassy knoll of artificial grass. I set up my chair and sketched the people relaxing around me. The painting on the wall opposite wall was the work of Eddie Martinez done in mixed media. Figge von Rosen Gallery had a series of photos on the wall of Mexicans dressed in colorful traditional outfits. A couple next to me were discussing the Picasso’s and Magritte’s they had just seen. To my right there was some metalic silver looking fabric suspended on a stick. The stick would spin and the fabric would loft up, looking like a spinning pizza and then a UFO. This huge show often left me wondering, just what is art these days. Every woman wandering the halls looked like a fashion model. I have never seen so many beautiful people all gathered in one place in my life. Someone estimated the valve of all the artwork assembled in Art Basel at over three Billion dollars. If you looked at the value of all the women’s high heeled shoes walking Art Basel they might rival that value.

Art Basel

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Tomorrow I leave for Art Basel in Miami. Art Basel is happening between December 2nd and 5th. Art Basel Miami Beach is the most important art show in the United States. As the sister event of Switzerland’s Art Basel, the most prestigious art show worldwide for the past 41 years, Art Basel Miami Beach combines an international selection of top galleries with an exciting program of special exhibitions, parties and crossover events featuring music, film, architecture and design. Exhibition sites are located in the city’s beautiful Art Deco District, within walking distance of the beach and many hotels.

I went to Art Basel last year and felt like I saw and experienced only a fraction of the art available. The world class art on display in the convention center alone is too much to digest in one day. I wandered in circles often finding myself back at the spot where I began. I am convinced a GPS is needed to navigate this endless maze of art. An iPhone Art Basel application is available and I hope it helps. This year I need to pace myself like a marathon runner while keeping my pen and sketchbook always ready. I need to keep my mind open and let the sketches flow. Last year I did this sketch of this huge sculpture by Thomas Housago. It is solidly built with rusting metal. The legs were made from quarter inch thick solid steel plates. The sculpture dominated the space at the base of a stairwell near the bookshop. An Andy Warhol look alike stood waiting for a friend. Two pigeons rested on a pipe high above and as I sketched them I realized they never moved. The pigeons were themselves a sculpture. The Rubell Family Collection was one of the many satellite exhibits that surrounded Art Basel. Let the festivities begin, I am back Miami!

Miami International Book Fair

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0n the second day of the Miami International Book Fair, Elayne Pines, our hostess had one more author interview to do for her syndicated radio show “The Book Report.” I did this sketch from outside the authors lounge which I had been denied access to. In this courtyard near the children’s area, authors would sit at tables and sign books for the lines of people who gathered. Some people would arrive really early and sit on the pavement to wait. This book festival has grown quickly over the years but it maintains it’s grassroots simplicity. Authors love coming to the fair because for once they are treated like rock stars.

Later that day I got a text from Brian Feldman who wanted my help to get into the book fair. I won’t go into the details of that clandestine mission, which involved a homeless man, a sketch and hiding from security behind a CNN TV broadcast truck. When Brian arrived, Terry and I were waiting outside an auditorium to see Salmun Rushdie. Brian waited in line with us for a while working his iPhone the whole time trying to get me in to sketch a Spanish singer that night. He didn’t have any luck getting tickets and he wandered off to look at all the tents full of books. He had to leave before the book fair closed to get to another “Going Green” performance at the Adrienne Arsht Center. Brian had arranged another performance in Miami where he willautograph 1500 head shots for anyone who wants one.

While walking the book fair I paid close attention to every graphic novel I saw. I finally had to buy a graphic novel by Nicolas De Crecy called “Glacial Period.” I have been talking to an author about collaborating on a graphic novel, so I am opening myself up to the possibility.

Miami International Book Fair

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The Miami International Book Fair is a huge event that sprawls taking up four city blocks. Elayne Pines who host a radio show called “The Book Report” was conducting interviews with authors all during the day. She lead us to building one of Miami Dade College where she would conduct her interviews on the second floor. Terry was her assistant for the day. I was left on my own to wander the booths and sketch. The fair was in part sponsored by the Mexico Tourist Information Association. In the center of the sketch there is a Red Mariachi Clown who wandered through the crowd. Later that day, Salman Rushdie, the well known author of Satanic Verses, was walking in the same intersection towards the authors lounge in building one. Wide eyed fans approached him, letting him know how his writings had affected their lives. Since Elayne wanted to interview him, we ended up becoming part of his entourage following him into the building.

After the sketch was finished we went to an authors panel discussion on “The Facebook Effect.” David Kirkpatrick has been writing about Facebook since it began as a college meeting site. He pointed out that this is the only company to go from 0 to 600 thousand users in 6.5 years. He pointed out inaccuracies in the recent movie. The founder, Mark Zuckerberg, did not form the site after loosing a girlfriend, he had a girlfriend the whole time. More importantly David was highly impressed by Mark and he felt Mark was inaccurately portrayed as an asshole. Marks friend didn’t walk away from the company empty handed but became an accidental billionaire.

By next year FB should have a billion users. Zuckerberg doesn’t focus his energies on advertising or marketing, he hires people who do. Instead, all his energy goes into making immediate improvements to the program. This process of making immediate improvements and changing to meet new demands is what is making Facebook an unstoppable force. Another author, Dale Lamanga told hon he built a multi-million dollar business by simply selling tweezers. He stressed the importance of delegating responsibilities and empowering workers. He pointed out how important it is to focus on three things consistently, product, sales and management.

The third author, Larry Kramer discussed the idea of convergence. How all forms of media are now available on one platform. The iPad makes it possible for children to learn in new ways, a book might have a picture of a ball and when touched, the word ball appears and the audio plays. Newspapers that try to only promote the printed product fail if they do not also put their best content online. Consumers are in total control of where and when they will read and watch content. For content creators who embrace the new trends this is a very exciting time to market work in new and limitless ways.

Going Green the Wong Way

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Getting to the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in Miami was an adventure in battling congested urban traffic. Terry and I followed Elaine Pines who was a native Miami dweller. We hoped to get to downtown Miami from Miami Beach in 45 minutes. There were five accidents as we drove down I-95. Traffic slowed to a crawl. We considered scrubbing the whole theater experience since we were running late. Orlando performance artist Brian Feldman was performing in the theater lobby for an hour before Kristina’s Wong’s show. Brian and Kristina had met last summer at Atlantic Center for the Arts in New Smyrna Beach. Terry dropped me off at the theater steps and I jogged inside. I picked up our tickets and then asked the box office assistant where Brian was performing. He looked at me with a blank stare and said, “Brian Feldman? I’m sorry, I don’t recognize the name.” I thanked him anyway and searched the lobby. After I searched in the men’s room (you never know where Brian might perform!), I found him right near the Carnival Studio Theater entrance. Beside him was a 5 gallon gasoline container. Brian lifted the container and took a long drink. Behind him, a large mosaic mural by Cundo Bermudez called “Ways of Performing” decorated the wall. He rested for a bit, coughing between long draughts. The arriving audience patrons that slowly crowded into the lobby never seemed to notice Brian. I, on the other hand, found the image of him sucking down gasoline timely and funny.I knew there wasn’t much time to sketch so I rushed to get lines on the page.

Kristina’s show, Going Green the W0ng Way, directed by Paul Tei, began with an image of Earth projected on a large screen. Hundreds of plastic grocery bags were piled up and toys were lined up along the back of the stage. The show was a no holds barred hilarious experience. She had no problems with self-deprecating humor. Everyone in the audience had a plastic grocery bag on their seat with a water bottle filled with beans that made for a fun alternative to clapping. The first act began with Wong shouting her environmental beliefs into a megaphone to her middle school classmates. She broke into a fast-paced rap that outlined her devotion to Mother Earth.

One of the show’s funniest moments came as she demonstrated the wonders of a reusable tampon called The DivaCup. Her attempts to demonstrate this environmentally friendly product were embarrassingly funny. The story she later told about trying to reduce her carbon footprint by driving a car that ran on vegetable oil was endlessly funny. The car became a money pit, with endless trips to mechanics. She related the inner workings of the LA bus and subway system with so much detail, it became a spoof on how insane the inner workings were. I found it ironic that Terry and I had to battle so much traffic congestion in order to get to the show.

The environmentally friendly messages were driven home with humor. Life’s bittersweet ironies were mined and exposed. The show never missed a beat. I laughed the whole time as I discovered more about Wong and the World she wanted to save. There are two more performances: Saturday, November 20th at 7pm and the same day at 10pm in the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County, Carnival Studio Theater (1300 N. Biscayne Blvd. Miami). Cost is $30-35.

The Miami Herald Press

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The day after Thanksgiving, Elaine, our hostess had to go in to work at the Miami Herald. She had some last minute errands to run for an event she was planning called “The Herald Hunt”. At 6AM every female in the house made a bee line to the mall to shop on Black Friday. Elaine came back from the shopping madness and as agreed she took me to the Herald to sketch the printing press. She was a bit nervous about getting me in since security was beefed up in the building.
Shown in the sketch is the silent room where workers periodically check to see if the printing press needed adjusting. They would leave the room and run up the steps to make adjustments to the press. The foreman suggested I wear earplugs and I took his suggestion. The noise is deafening. A long line of printed items flowed up a conveyor belt through a hole in the ceiling. Elaine explained that papers are bound up on this upper floor. Sketching opportunities were endless. I walked past the machinist shop and sparks were flying as the machinists worked.
After a while the foreman stopped by and looked over my shoulder. Rather than try to shout over the noise, he gave me a thumbs up.

Lotto Pool – Brian Feldman

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I traveled to Miami Beach to see Brian Feldman’s first performance there. Brian sat in the lobby of the Carlton Hotel in South Beach 1433 Collins Avenue. There he sat at a small table decorated with Lotto playslips. The goal of this performance was to pool $1 from as many people as possible and then purchase the number of tickets corresponding to the number of people who entered the pool. The hotel owner had reservations about allowing Brian to stage his performance here. He was concerned that it might seem like Brian was selling tickets right in the lobby. Brian had to keep a low profile to keep from being booted out.

This same evening, there was a Pool Art Fair being held in the hotel in conjunction with Art Basel Miami Beach. Art Basel Miami Beachis a huge art fair with gallery owners from around the world displaying their wares. Much of the best art work in the world is flown into Miami for this event and it it almost impossible to see it all. Terry and I both gave Brian a dollar and had to sign a “Lotto Pool” agreement. If one of the lotto tickets purchased won then Brian would purchase a piece of art from the Pool Fair or a parallel fair of Art Basel Miami Beach and he would divide the work by cutting (if a canvas or paper) or breaking (if sculpture or mixed media) the purchased art into the number of pieces corresponding to the number of individuals in the lotto pool.

Part of me wanted to win and another part didn’t want to win. I didn’t want to be a part of destroying a great work of art and yet it might be fun to see some bad art cut up. A friend told me a parable about two women who went before a king both claiming to be a baby’s mother. When the king could not get to the bottom of the issue with just questions, he decided to cut the child in half and give each woman half. One woman pleaded and said she would relinquish her claim if he spared the child’s life. The king then knew she must be the true mother. With that in mind, I let out a sigh of relief when Brian sent me an e-mail informing me that none of the lotto tickets purchased had won. At least I got a decent sketch.

The Herald Hunt

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An estimated 5000 people showed up for the Miami Herald Hunt. The hunt offers teams of players a chance to win a 7 day Costa Caribbean cruise if they can find all the clues located around downtown Miami. The insanity began with a print out in the Miami Herald. There opening multiple choice questions were posted which would help locate coordinates on the supplied map to help pinpoint where clues were located. Here is one of those questions…
In August Sen Mel Martinez resigned as one of Florida’s U.S. Senators. Whom did Gov. Charlie Crist appoint to replace him.
D. Gloria Estifan.
G. A live six foot nurse shark.
H. Some Lackey.
Well it wasn’t Gloria, and not a nurse shark, so it had to be some lackey. Even I got this one right. The answer of H was then combined with a number given by Pulitzer prize winning author Dave Barry from the main stage to give a coordinate on the hunt map. This clue lead us to Trinity Cathedral a block away. Most of the crowd scattered. Terry and I were working with Hailey and she was the one who quickly got the map coordinates in place. As soon as the hunt began however some Carolers stepped out on the stage and started singing “Hark the Herald Angels Sing”. Well hark means listen and this event was put on by the Herald so we stayed and listened. It soon became obvious that the two singers dressed as angels were not singing all the verses. They only sang verses 3, 5 and 11. In the paper 3511 was one of the clues. I thought, hey this is easy! We were off and running.
When we got to the Trinity Cathedral however we got bogged down. There volunteers gave each team a rubber bracelet and said “put it on your wrist”. P 3 was stamped on to the bracelet. While everyone sat around looking at page 3 in the paper, trying to solve a letter jumble, I decided to just count the number of letters in “Put it on your wrist.” That made the answer 16. I was excited and sure I was right but the rest of the team didn’t agree. After half an hour of agonizing we decided to move on having not solved the puzzle. We even went so far as to count the number of bracelets on a mosaic located at the front of the cathedral but that was a false lead. After the event was over I found out 16 was the correct answer but for an entirely different reason. The jumble had “Put it on your wrist” within the jumbled letters and if you put the bracelet on the answer 16 letters were contained in the space. Ugh!!!
At this point I felt our team had no chance of winning and I started hunting for a sketch instead. At the Arsht Center Plaza, Juliet began calling out to Romeo from a balcony high above the crowd. She was so high up that Romeo has trouble hearing her and he yelled out that Juliet should call him. This clue lead astute hunters to a fake ad in the paper for an Italian restaurant called “The House of Montague“. When the phone number in the add was called a message said “Where fore art thou has four syllables No, yes, no, yes.” In other words pay attention to the second and fourth syllables. fore thou or 4000.
Another clue was given in the theater where a young white man named Jack was lying on the stage with a sword stuck in his chest. His friends tried to figure out who murdered Jack before the police arrived. As the actors were reenacting the events of the evening the house lights went out and the audience was told to stay seated while they fixed the problem. When the lights came back on the actors became concerned that something had changed. The murdered Jack had been replaced by a black actor. The answer to this puzzle was Black Jack or 21.
Other clues scattered about downtown consisted of an IV bottle and stand located outside the theater and a radio broadcast of a field goal. The answers would be 4 and 3. These were to help solve a Sudoku puzzle found down by the docks. Since my main goal now was no longer to win but to sketch, I returned to the main stage to sketch the carolers who had been performing every 15 minutes during the the event. As I was sketching, Dave Barry walked onto the stage and offered the final clue of the Hunt. He said, “I’d like to give you the final clue but it’s just too gross.” A gross is a dozen dozen or 144, two gross would be 288 this lead to a 6th clue in the paper that said “If words were inches”. The insanely clever souls that had solved the 5 clues from around the city then counted the words in the 5 clues and got the answer of 48 words. 48 inches is 4 feet. On the Herald Hunt map, 4 feet were drawn near the theater and several teams sprinted in that direction. The location offered 4 bricks which were inscribed with the names of 4 made up donors all named Foot. The winners had to figure out the donors ages from dates inscribed on the bricks and from that they could assemble a phone number which when called announced them as the winners. Of course I never got that far, I was too busy sketching. Perhaps next year the Orlando team will be more of a contender.
It is a shame Orlando does not have such an exciting, fun, quirky way to get people excited about the arts and discovering the treasures of downtown. When the event was over I met Dave Barry and had him sign my sketch.

Black Friday – Miami

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I did not head to the malls at 6AM like everyone else in the house. I was only convinced that I was missing a sketch opportunity late in the day by Margaret Nolan via facebook. I had already drawn The Miami Herald presses so I should have been satisfied. But when Terry and Elaine said they were going back for a second round of shopping, I decided to go. I thought I would be battling huge crowds but the mall was relatively quiet. The sound system piped in constant Christmas music like,”It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year”. I swear that song is haunting me.
When I started to sketch the sun had already started to set. Christmas lights started to light up on palm trees and on topiaries. Some shoppers looked exhausted while teens patrolled chatting on iPhones. Santa had set up shop in an outdoor booth behind me, but I wasn’t in a mood to face him just yet. Besides he looked nothing like the Macy’s Parade Santa so he must have been an impostor. A mall security guard came over and looked over my shoulder. My stomach muscles tensed. He said “Wow did you do that just now?” Part of me wanted to be a smart-ass, but I just replied “Yes, thanks.”