Lieneke Mous, Vlog #3

The first week of classes are complete. And so is Vlog #3!

Interested to see and hear what we did? Here's the YouTube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qufBDYnuGMQ&feature=youtu.be

Boom! Vlog Numero 2!

And heeeeeere's Vlog #2, enjoy! (If you can't stand politics, skip the first half :-))
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QgKpM3QsRP8

Not just a blogger, now also a "vlogger"

Olaaaaa! I just released my first VLOG! aka "video blog"

See link below, and let me know what you think! (It's also for mobile viewing)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snDHR0MntSg

Hustle

To illustrate this story, I have used a photo taken by

Andre Galhardo, Oct '11 in Rio-Centro

A man enters the bus, carrying a huge load of neatly organized little plastic pouches of candies, cookies, and chewing gum. He walks toward the bus driver (entering from the back), gives him some money, turns around, hangs up his portable shop, and starts his speech. It entails something along the lines of that he could be stealing, killing, and doing drugs, but instead he sells candy. Then he quickly explains all the mentos flavors he has and how much they cost, and that there's something for everyone. He talks fast, almost like an auctioneer. Probably because he's not allowed to ride with us very long. 

People start waving and calling on him, and telling him what they want. Within a matter of minutes the majority of this bus has purchased something off of this guy and it soon sounds like a movie theater with all the crackling plastic pouches.

Within about three stops the bus driver is getting anxious and tells the guy several times that it's time to get off. But, he's still hustling. He needs to get everything he can out of this trip. He paid some fare after all. He does pick up shop and starts walking to the back of the bus while trying to keep his balance. People still decide to purchase so every now and then he hangs up his goods on the railing. I see the bus driver looking in the rear view mirror more and more agitated. Every now and then verbally spurring the candy salesmen that he has got to go. Finally, our hustler feels that everyone who wanted to buy bought. It's time to get off. He did good business. With lots of different colored bills (mainly bills of 2 reais), he departs. Good business for this man! Indeed, he could be killing, dealing, or stealing; instead, he's selling. 

Pfew, I almost feel out of breath with this whole spectacle. The bus driver's semi peace returns, the bus continues through the busy traffic, and I look out the window at all the pedestrians who do whatever they do, as I listen to the "fizzling" little plastic pouches while I sometimes look on my google maps tracker (which is the only thing that works w/o wifi on my iPhone) to check how far along we are by now...

"Art Looking"

We go to a museum and we look at art... We look at something one individual created in the past, whom likely lived for creating what they did and did it with passion; with heart and soul.

Years or decades later it is available for us to view in a museum or gallery. Of course, that's what the artist wants, doesn't he/she? Yes. Artists are vein enough that they want others to see what they made even though they made it for themselves in the first place.

People view art. I am in Museu Arte de Moderna (MAM), the Modern Art Museum of Rio de Janeiro. I am visiting the exhibit about Alberto Giacometti and his wife. I sit down and observe. 

Photo of Giacometti and "Tall Woman," photo taken by myself in the MAM Rio

One woman first looks up at the object, and then at the tag with the description of the work. She looks the art up and down again and then passes on to the next. She comes across as if she's a real art aficionado. Perfect glasses, hair, pretty shoes, arms crossed (I have to add that it was VERY cold in the museum).  Sometimes she points at the work or the tag.

Another woman--some years older than the former--yawns and walks around a bit uninterested. She's getting her "art in," but probably won't visit anything like this in another year. She could be the former woman's mother. "This is what my daughter enjoys doing so I join her."

Another lady walks around with a searching look, she stays at a distance from most works. It's almost like she's selecting works she wants to get to know and see, and saves her energy and thoughts for those select works.

Generally people walk slowly. They do talk a lot, discussing the work, or just saying ooh and aah, yet always with a subdued voice. There's an overall mumbling in the cold, large museum space.

An older lady is with, what it seems like, her husband. They seem European. She bends to read a tag, then looks up, walks around a case and smiles at the small bronze sculptures. She finds eye contact with me and gives me a big smile as her eyes sparkle. She seems excited to be here.

An older and a younger man notice the museum walls. They're concrete and left untreated. There are marks of leaks and such. They talk about those for a minute. He mumbles and speaks fast Portuguese so I don't know exactly what he says, but his non-verbals are clear; "studying" the museum walls. Interesting, because I noticed the exact same thing right before I sat down on the black bench. I thought about the time in the development of theater and concert dance when directors and choreographers decided to strip the theater from all the theatrical elements...

A couple sits next to me on the bench and exchange little, soft kisses. One two three four five six seven eight nine ten eleven... It's getting rhythmic, and, frankly, a little inappropriate. So, you're not here for the art? Then they exchange a few words while still holding hands. The conversation in Portuguese is not about the art. She complains about some woman, he listens and tells her it's okay.

Two ladies in the distance walk while engaging in conversation and using a lot of circling hand gestures to illustrate their thoughts.

The guard keeps looking in my direction. She may wonder, who is this lady? What is she doing? Hey mind your own business, I'm writing about other people looking, or not looking, at Giacometti's art.

All guards are female btw. Interesting? I don't know. Another topic probably.

Here I'm walking around and imagine the Skip Hill Art exhibit, and how people would point, whisper, illustrate, and kiss :-)

The couple gets up. Enough with the gossiping. They go take a brief look at the mini sculptures the smiling lady looked at earlier. It's called "Walking Man, Standing Woman, Head on Base"

The Walking Man by Alberto Giacometti, Jungle Magazine