Indeterminate

I am at the end of my break.

From last Wednesday to today I have been on holiday and I cannot quite tell you what I have done. I am trying to think of the causes and this is what I have come up with.

First, my movement was constricted to about a mile and half radius from my apartment. This is actually the norm for my semester but something about the holiday and the travel plans of my classmates allowed this fact to blur any distinction in my activities.

Second, is that for the past five days (I am sincerely incredulous that such time has passed) I have only had one appointment, Thanksgiving dinner with some friends. The rest of the time I had no commitments. This contributed to me, somehow, slipping out of the normal conventions of time. The best example I can give for this is that conventional names for meals could only be loosely applied to my day. Breakfast might be the first meal of my day but that could be at three in the afternoon.

Third, winter has really begin to set in. The gloomy weather, filtered sunlight, and early sunsets have created a landscape that only varies between two states: night and twilight. As soon as the sun rises, it looks like it has begun to set. Again, this allowed me for just a bit, to exist outside of time.

Anyways, I am speaking of the break in a really existential way but please don't worry. I spent a lot of time with friends and had an amazing break, I just don't know where it went.

Drawing Class

So last Friday was our final Analog Drawing class. We were assigned an article on the "Innocent Eye" (the current mode of pedagogy in most architecture schools) and were to create a Pecha-Kucha style presentation in response to the article. Pecha Kucha is a way of quickly presenting an idea, 15-20 slides, 15 seconds each... great for architects because everyone knows how much they can talk.

Anyways, Thursday rolls around and I still had no idea what I was going to do for my presentation. The article was fairly strait forward, tracing the history of the current mode of education back to the 18th century to prove that it is not as natural as its proponents would suggest.

Anyways, Friday morning (Go time) rolls around and I wake up early to put together a presentation. Still confused I take a shower and have a stroke of brilliance. I got out of the shower at 7:15 and had exactly an hour to implement my idea. Here is the results...

So thinking about the article I realized that the best response would be in the form of a narrative. To tell this narrative I used drawing as a medium, figuring it would be approapriate to show how much I learned in my drawing class. Anyways, this is the story about a guy named Johnny Appleseed. (Preface: you might be tempted to think of this as autobiographical but that would be a mistake)


However, Johnny just happened to grow up in San Diego and go to school in Santa Barbara.


What both of these places have in common is that they are in California, the sun shines all of the time, and you never have to wear more than two layers.


One day Johnny had an idea that might give some direction to his life and possibly utilize a disparate set of talents.


Johnny wants to become and architect. (Depicted above is Frank Loyd Wright's "Falling Water")


Anyways, Johnny set about trying to fulfill this dream. The biggest difficulty came when Johnny realized that he knew nothing about architecture school.


Somehow or another Johnny is accepted to a few schools and he chooses to move to Ithaca, NY to attend Cornell University.


Upon the commencement of his stories, Johnny is introduced to a discipline that is not as strait forward as one would think.


He is also introduced to architecture school culture. Which is a bit of a shock.


He is also introduced to his future as a designer. Which is also a shock.


Johnny begins to realize that he knows very little. (Notice in high school you know everything)


However, the positive side is that Johnny's knowledge about architecture school is increasing rapidly. The stepped nature of the plot is due to a spike every Wednesday in theory class. Julia and Maegan did their undergraduate work as architecture students.


So, Johnny had set out to obtain a pair of "innocent eyes."


Fortunately Johnny was educated from an early age in a way that Maholy-Nagy and Gyogry Kepes would approve of.


The conclusion of the story is that Johnny has been exposed to this mode of design education for a while. However, having entered into a semester where it has been much more deliberate and intense, he is not yet able to critique the efficacy and bias of this pedagogical imperative and is far from a place where he might offer an alternative that would embrace the postmodern virtues (no that is not an oxymoron) that characterize our age.

-

So that was my presentation. My classmates loved it and my teacher implored that I never show those drawing to any of the other architecture faculty.

I need two hands to count....

the amount of Northface jackets I see in this cafe.

the hours I could have been working this weekend.

the number of leaves left on the tree outside the window.

the degrees it is above freezing.

the number of people sleeping in Rand at this very moment.

the number of meals I have had oatmeal for in the last few days.

the number of pages I have left to write for tomorrow.

the circulation possibilities of the Arts Quad.

the days before it snows again.

the number of classes left in the semester.

the number of times I have exercised this semester (Wait!... one, two... six. Ok, we're ok)

the times I have slept through both of my alarms.

the number of times I have overheard the word "postmodernism" ... today (It is only 10:20am)

It is that time of year again....

That's right, tis the season, of Girl Scout Cookies.

On Wednesday I had just finished with my theory lecture and was walking into Rand Hall, home of the architecture studios. Just inside, on the first floor, there were three little blond girls and one mom. They were busily employed setting up a table and had lugged up to Rand as many boxes as those little arms could carry. Judging by the number of boxes behind the table, they must have made at least a dozen trips to the car.

This was the scene as it unfolded at approximately 11:45am. When I came back down the stairs just before noon, they were gone.

Let's just say it was a smart move by a few future entrepreneurs. Keep in mind that most architecture students spend about 75% of their time in Rand and I am not just talking about waking hours. So when these cute little ambassador's of a timeless tradition set up shop, they cleared their inventory in about 15 minutes.

The guy who walked into Rand behind me, a Master's student, asked if they would accept a check. "Yes? Great I will take seven boxes of Thin Mints." As I was walking up the stairs I was nearly trampled by student's rushing to the opportunity below.

I just thought this a great anecdote in terms of the work environment here.

The Avant-Garde

"White on white" by Kazimir Malevich

"Fountain" by Marcel Duchamp

Wednesday, I was sitting in a lecture by a young architect from Los Angeles who works primarily on installations. The lecture was titled "The spaces between a mouse and a hammer" and presented some remarkably forward thinking projects. I was excited by the work but also by a new idea, that I am joining the avant-garde. After all, I have spent all semester designing buildings that don't look or function like buildings and can appreciate the artistic and philosophical advances made by Malevich and Duchamp in the above pieces. What else do you need?

Anyways, my mind began to wander and I began to unpack what that meant. What does it mean to be part of the avant-garde? How can one elevate oneself to such a position within society?

Well, if you must know, there are two ways to get in. One option is to pay outrageous sums of money for an ivy-league education in design. The other option is be naturally intuitive, intelligent, and creative. Fortunately, in either case the results are the same: low paying jobs and general lack of appreciation.

Now, if you make it that far you will probably notice that other people your age are actually getting paid and the logical question to ask is: "What concession is there to being in the avant-garde? What do we get out of all this?" The answer: a false sense of superiority.

Luckily, you and all your friends from design school get to enjoy this together (at the same time shielding you from any outside critics) and while you might have to roll up that avant-garde scarf to use as a pillow at night, it might just be worth it. Gallery openings, installation art, New York or Los Angeles, who cares if you don't have money to pay rent or buy groceries, you are part of the avant-garde and doesn't it just feeeeel good to be a starving artist?

No? Wow you are even more prepared for position than you thought. That is right, you just entered into the realm of "tortured creative soul." You are a captain of the front guard. Your life may be a living hell but at least you are not living like the rest of those zombies in America, oblivious to their own enslavement and the true nature of the world. (Notice we are back to the false sense of superiority)

Lecture Series

Daniel Libeskind of Studio Daniel Libeskind

Thom Mayne of Mophosis
(Two weeks ago named as part of Obama's Committee on the Arts and Humanities)

Last week was a big week for the AAP Lecture series as two big name architects joined us on campus: Daniel Libeskind and Thom Mayne. What I found truly amazing, was how different they were. Both are fairly successful. Both dress in the architect's black. However they embodied two completely different models of working.

Libeskind, first of all, made the mistake of presenting a generic presentation to a highly intellectual, architectural audience. He also spoke singularly and possessively of his work: "I do this" or "I do that." Thom Mayne had a much more advanced presentation (still based on his studio's work) but also spoke collectively about the design process: "We choose" or "We tried."

If you really want a breakdown of how they view the architectural practice just look at what they chose to name their respective studios.

Ready for the Weekend

Last week went by incredibly quickly... actually all of my weeks are going quickly... anyways, when Friday rolled around, specifically 7:00pm on Friday night when I finally got to leave campus, I realized a whole week had passed in what felt like two days. Someone could have told me it was Wednesday and I would have no problem believing it.

I also realized that it had been at least two days since my last solid meal. Along with some of my classmates, I set out immediately to rectify the situation. We went down to a sports bar in the Commons and I had the best, worst burger of my life. By that I mean that the food was in truth, sub par. However, when most of my nutrients for the week were either eaten out of a box or a cup, the burnt "California Burger" was unbelievably sumptuous.

After dinner we attempted to elongate our Friday in any way we could and it ended up being a great night.

"This is what we do to pussies"

On Saturday morning I came into studio to find this and other LoLcatz-type pictures everywhere. Ever wonder who makes all of those silly pictures? It is B.Arch students who try to work on a Friday night. Come on kids, Friday is the one night we can actually not feel guilty about having a little down time. Saturday we have to work again but Friday is all ours.


The weather actually took a positive turn this weekend. Saturday I was walking around in a long sleeve shirt and Sunday I actually wore shorts!

And now I am getting ready to go out for dinner and then... see Brian Regan at the State St. Theatre! WOOO!

Here Comes the Cold

I have been in the extreme cold before and that is why it is surprising that I have found so many occasions in the past two days to let go of my dignity. I think it is having to find the ideal medium of warm clothing, so as to brave the cold but also be prepared to sweat while walking up hill and shed layers upon arrival. Anyways here are my top three moments:

Embarrassing moment 1:
Walking home from studio at night I had to say goodbye to Kari because it was too cold to hold the phone. It was around two in the morning and in my semi-hypothermic state I try to wrap my scarf to cover my entire face. The problem was that breathing into my scarf caused my glasses to fog and I fell into giant pile of leaves on the side of the walkway.

Embarrassing moment 2:
This morning I missed the bus and had to walk to class. Normally I don't mind walking but it was near freezing outside. I decided to break into a jog to get the blood flowing and halfway up the Slope I realized that was only bringing the cold air into my lungs at an accelerated rate. Never before have I been cold ON THE INSIDE... I thought I might die.

Embarrassing moment 3:
Walking home tonight I zipped my jacket up all the way and put my face inside to the effect that I looked like Darth Vader without his mask.

The Small World of Architecture

In case you are curious here is the latest list of rankings for architecture schools. People tend to agree/disagree with the system based on where their institution ends up.
"2010 Best Architecture Schools in the United States"


Also worth noting are some of the current superstars in architecture. Koolhaus designed Cornell's new architecture building. I went to a lecture by Shigeru Ban a couple of weeks ago and Tom Mayne is going to be lecturing at Cornell on Thursday.
"10 Most Creative People in Architecture"