Thursday, September 1, 2011

What's New, Buenos Aires?

...and here I am again in the big city! Laura's apartment in Barrio Norte has been such a comfortable home for me in this city of 13 million people. It's very centrally located, so it's been easy for me to explore to my heart's content. I forgot how much I love walking until my feet feel like they're going to fall off. There's a lot of ground to cover, and, I've been covering it! Some of the places I've seen are....

The Casa Rosada (Pink House) where government happens. And the object that spurs the Evita soundtrack to play continually in my head...
Speaking of Evita, this is the museum devoted to her. Housed in a mansion in the swanky barrio (neighborhood) of Palermo are artifacts, clothes, photos and videos of Eva Peron's life. What I've realized being here, is that every political figure is loved AND hated. In the museum, they paint Evita in a very positive light, emphasizing the social policies and charity work she was a part of.
And STILL on Evita, here's her family's tomb in the very posh and beautiful Cemeterio de Recoleta.Back to Palermo, there's a beautiful botanical garden. It's very large and full of stray cats who are kept nice and fat by visitors. I love this statue in the garden:Near the Jardin Botanico, in Palermo, is a very old and very trendy shopping district, Palermo Viejo. Also near is the Parque 3 de Febrero, a very Parisian (they call Buenos Aires the Paris of the South, which...I realized after exploring certain barrios, it really is) park:Another barrio is the uber-modern Puerto Madero. Fashioned after London's Docklands, it boasts a very impressive skyline and a great mix of old and new architecture. The footbridge pictured below crosses a series of dykes that filter in the brown murky water of Rio de la Plata. It is The Woman's Bridge, the design is based on a position in the tango.
Along with the modern is the giant steel sculpture, Floralis Generica, in Recoleta. When functioning, it opens at dawn and closes at dusk.
And lastly, something seen frequently in this city, a demonstration. The men are carrying a massive Argentine flag which is in tatters. I'm not sure what the gathering was for, but they were followed by hundreds of drummers also carrying flags.
I have a bit more of ground to cover in this city before Saturday, when we head to the West of Argentina and on to Chile!

The Big Show

Well, it finally came. The exhibition of all my hard work for the residency. There was a great turnout from the local art community and also my lovely friends from Buenos Aires. I had a wonderful time and, from what I could gather, people seemed to like the work and were asking questions about the concept - which, in my opinion means it was a very successful show! Unfortunately, as I was talking to people the entire night, I wasn't behind the camera much, so there are only a few pictures that I have....One man asked me if certain poses were based on certain animals. He identified them correctly and then explained that he's been working at the La Plata Zoo for years. He said, in reference to the Sleep piece, that he looked at it and immediately recognized the pose as the pumas he sees daily. Pretty damn cool.
And thanks to these guys for coming from the big city :)