I didn’t really want to write any details about my and Nannette’s exhibition until all was said and done in case we didn’t pull it off in the way that we wanted.  But now that a successful opening has come and gone, I am happy to tell our tale.   I went to Budapest with only the goal to finish a video project Nannette and I began last summer, do a couple of drawings, and see a few museums…maybe hit the spring baths.  In short, I was going to take a break over break–treat it like a mini residency.  Instead, pretty much as soon as I arrived, we started hatching major plans.  We planned to both make work for the entire week and put a show together in addition to the video (which quickly transpired into an installation).  We had hints of possible venue spaces at the beginning of the week, but it wasn’t until Monday (or Tuesday?) that we secured the venue (for a Thursday night opening…).  Nothing like cutting it close, right?

Nannette’s background is in photography and video, but she is a closet draw-er and makes these gorgeous ink drawings on crayon resist with faint, meticulous etching which she never shows to anyone.  I was flattered that she showed them to me and excited she was considering exhibiting them.  So she got down to work on a larger-scale series of those drawings and a photography project based on rivers.  Meanwhile we were going to the office every day and working on the video together, and I was furiously drawing in the mornings and evenings- (into the mornings again).  It turns out that the venue, Chinese Characters, has the perfect back space for video projection, and was the perfect width to create a reflecting pool for the video (which contributes enormously to the content of the piece).  We we aided immensely by David, who did a lot of the heavy-lifting during the installation, including making the structure for the pool.  Working collaboratively all week was wonderful, as even our 2D work influenced each other’s to a strong degree.  We brainstormed titles for awhile and came up with fekete leves (where the sky used to be). Fekete leves literally means “black soup” in Hungarian (Magyar).  When used as slang, it implies a sense of foreboding or bad things to come.  Where the sky used to be is the name of the video project, upon which the rest of the show hinged.

Here are some snapshots from the show.  Sorry about the quality of these images.  I only had my aged point-and-shoot, but Nannette got some great install shots with her camera, so as soon as I get those images, I’ll update this post.  Thanks to everyone who came out to the opening!  For those who didn’t make it, the orb-looking images on black are C-prints by Nannette, and she also has the black ink drawings (installation) on resist with scratching.  We each made one of the white “north” drawings and collaborated on the video and installation.  Mine are the small gouache and ink drawings on blue paper.

front right corner

entrance from Vittula into the gallery space with two of Nannette's C-prints flanking two of my drawings

a C-print and my other four drawings- along the left wall

her drawing installation

the near and far left walls of the space

view from the entrance (the video installation is through the black curtains)

North 1 and North 2 (Nannette-left, me-right)

Where the Sky Used to Be- video installation with reflecting pond

Thank you to Nannette and David for putting me up (and putting up with me) all week, to Tim of Chinese Characters/Klub Vittula for providing the space, libations and an open mind, and to Fabian for DJ-ing and acting as impromptu photographer.  Next I’ll post images of the six drawings I made while there and maybe a couple of shots from the opening.

See ya!

One of the things that gets me the most about Hungarian is something that correlates in a sort-of hysterical reversal with English.  When you enter a shop, for example, you generally say “szia!” (pronounced exactly like “see ya!”).  When you leave the same shop, it is very customary to exclaim “hello!” (meaning “bye!”).

Here is a wonderful cafe around the corner I can’t wait to go back to:

the inside of the cafe

The tiny chair in front cracks me up.

Hello!

There’s no sun on this particular Sunday.  We tried to go out to Szentendre, which is an artist community, but our day trip was rained out.  It’s too bad, but we’ll get there on a nicer day soon.  We did get a chance to see some Roman ruins before the rain started falling.  I like the way they contrast with the contemporary architecture.

Michael, Beata, and Maxie Honey Bunny checking out the ruins

We are meeting some really great people here, and have been checking out the local nightlife.  Last night I got dinner with a friend and met Michael and some other people at Corvinteto.  It’s a really amazing hang-out spot on the roof of a grocery store.  Someone told me it used to be a Socialist department store, but I’m not sure about that… I don’t have any photos, but on the beautiful breezy evening with an amazing view of the Budapest skyline with really nice people, drinking fröccs (a mix of wine and soda water- basically spritz), it was the perfect way to spend a Saturday night.  We ended the evening by getting some lángos (traditional Hungarian fried dough served with garlic, cheese, sour cream, etc.)  I had the garlicy version and it was perfect.

Here are a couple of drawings I have been working on…

...having something to do with Virginia Woolf

two Amelia Earhart drawings

Where are these weird little guys coming from?  Tomorrow I am meeting a friend to go art supply shopping.  The main art shop is closed until Friday, so that is a bit of an impediment, but we will prevail!  I want to get some oil paint to translate some of the little island images into larger paintings.  Right now Michael is cooking up some pasta with sauteed garlic and Hungarian spicy sauce.  It smells amazing, so I am going to go eat!

Here are some images of my situation.  I am staying in an apartment in the Jewish Quarter of Budapest.  It is a side street, but still realtively active, as there are plenty of shops and restaurants.  At first I was relieved that we had a 24-hour convenience store (here called a “non-stop”, which is displayed on the storefront in English) across the street, but then realized that all of the commotion I heard through my window the night before was people hanging out at the non-stop.  I am relieved to have brought my earplugs.  Here are some images of the apartment:

the living room (not that we spend much time watching TV- a little of The Office here and there)

there’s a kitchen- hooray!

the courtyard

our little terrace, good for unwinding

my studio space

I have a roommate, who I get along with really well. Mark had a chance to meet him too.  This residency is unique in that explicit studio space is not designated.  Since the living conditions are a lot nicer than some other residencies, it’s an okay trade-off.  It was difficult to negotiate at first, but since Beata, the woman who runs the program, found us a studio space outside the apartment, we decided that my roommate would work there and I would work in the apartment.  The arrangement seems to suit our particular practices nicely.  Finally, and importantly, here is where I get to eat breakfast every morning:

Mint Cafe and the nice people who serve up my espresso each morning

I have a voucher for breakfast each morning (cereal, rolls, jams, margarine, orange juice and tea or coffee), so I don’t pay each time.  So, even though I have already paid, it feels as though I am getting it for free.  Ege’szege’dre! (Hungarian for Cheers!)

Speaking of unfamiliar languages, I think when in a foreign land, the words we learn to say really reveal what we value.  For instance, I now know how to ask for soda water and a large black coffee in Italian, German, and Hungarian.