Friday Show

Hello Everyone-

So here's the word about Friday. Pretty uneventful I applied at a few more jobs, called on a few jobs as well as looked at a flat and went to the Irish museum of Modern Art, as well as the Photography Archive in Temple Bar where there were 4 MFA photography shows going on. The Irish Museum, I'm not sure that this museum gets much in the way of funding because it was really waining compared to the other museums. But I saw lots of great modern blocks of painted squres etc. And there was a great exhibit about Louis leBrocquy, he was a painter in Ireland for a long time and this gallery had a retrospect of his show, there was some beautiful modern paintings! I also saw a Joao Penalva show. His art includes mixed media, digital video, and plain old photography and painting. He did this great show in London entitled "Mr. Ruskin's Hair" in which he had a real lock of John Ruskin's hair in a frame, and then he created 6 fakes and hung them up all together. In London someone stole one of them off the wall. Fortunately they just stole a fake so only Penalva knows which one is the real one. This was exhibited in the gallery. Interesting and funny idea. He also had a table with 3 thimbles set up, one with a pea under it as part of this exhibit.

Another set of great work by Penalva was "David's Mother's White Bowl" This was a project where he asked his students to each bring in something to photograph, a man named David brought in a white bowl. The story behind it was creepy. David's mother had her friend over, along with a friend of that friend who was visiting from out of town who was blind. The mother seved some strawberries in the bowl. After the strawberries were gone the blind woman picked up the bowl. And said, "this is a lovely bowl, I can tell just by feeling it." "It is slightly irregularaly shaped." and David's mother said oh it isn't anything special I got it second hand somewhere. And the blind woman said, "Well, it's a lovely bowl, how I wish I could see so that I could see the white bowl, and the one black speck in the surface." yeah I know ESP for sure. So there were a few little stories and photographed objects so pretty interesting weird stuff.

The MFA shows were good to. There was one photographing illeagally in the Berlin Airport in several places. There was a photo exhibit focusing on the Natural History museum with all the taxidermied animals and our interaction with them. There was a third one on the suburuban sprawl of Dublin and human interaction with nature and our now "natural surroundings" out in the burbs. The fourt exhibit was about the sexual identity being lost when one works in a job not usually associated with one's sex, for instance police force or military. So not too many opinions yet on this one. It just opened so I think I might go back in a few weeks.

And I also got asked for a 3rd time how to find a street. I didn't know so I let the gentleman look at my map. Apparently I don't look as lost as I feel sometimes. Or I look irish.

I was talking with someone at the hostel last night, and he was telling me about this antique store in the city centere that I could go to and find out where in Ireland the last name Culliton originates from. So I might check it out, who knows.

So the museum of Decorative Crafts and a headband, those are my goals of today. As well as look at 2 more flats. I also have another candy bar in my Irish candy bar tour, made by cadbury called a Double Decker: milk chocolate with nougatine, and crisp crucnchy cereal filling. They like their biscuits and cereal filling over here! I need to try some digestive crackers as well, one of these days!

I found a mini notebook as well! I have been looking for one casually since I got here, I have gone into drug stores, grocery marts, dollar stores or (2 euro stores) as they are called over here, but to know avail finally at a Spar, which is a small convenience grocery store I found one. I was so excited I told the young woman at the counter, and I'm pretty sure she thought I was crazy, no more loose pieces of paper yippee. Now I can make lists like mad!

xoxo,
christie

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