Yogi, I think we're lost... "Yeah, but we're makin' great time!" (Yogi Berra)
letters from theHomefront
October 11th, 2008
Maybe this should be called "Summer 2008"...
I hope this update finds you all well. I seem to have been moving so fast lately that I've lost track of many things that have happened even recently. It was good to go through all of my photos to make this page as a reminder of events, people, and places from the last few months. Originally, I had thought to include some images from my October trip to Haiti, but that will have to wait until a future installment. The summer began with assisting Ron Pokrasso at the Santa Reparata International School of Art in Florence, Italy for his monotype, solarplate, and Imagon class. It was a great experience with a lot of talented students and Ron is a consummate professional with an amazing talent to create and help others create at their highest potential. After helping him, I was back in the states to get packed up and ready to return to SRISA to teach a class in experimental bookmaking. It was an excellent group of students who came from a variety of creative backgrounds and specialties. I was impressed and pleasantly surprised by the work produced in that short month and glad for the opportunity to participate.The class went extremely quickly and it seemed like I was on the plane heading for Dubai before I knew it.
When I got off the plane in Dubai, it was about 1:00 in the morning. I was greeted by the Marhaba Service (look for the girl in the yellow dress, they said), which meets arrivals and helps them through customs and baggage. I was surprised at the customs gate to be able to skip the line other travelers had to wait in and go straight to an agent. In the UAE, working for the government is quite helpful in many different ways. I've been getting a lot of questions about Dubai in e-mails, so some of you might recognize bits of text here and there. To be honest, things still don't seem to have slowed down all that much just yet, but I though it best to get this e-mail out before too long. Below are pictures leading up to the Dubai arrival and writing about my time so far. It's been an eye-opening experience that will lead to artwork that is different than anything I've done before. Hope you all like the update- let me know if there is anyone who would like to be added to the e-mail list. I plan to do one of these every 6 months or so, so feel free to bother me about it if I wait too long...
Josh
South Dakota studio
Chad on the farm (last summer)
Grandma and Jen
Fred after a good brushing
(...but you can call me Josh)
Heidi at Wrigley Field 
Amsterdam airport
Amsterdam, 4am
Firenze
Marco
Dubai
Dubai is kind of a polar opposite to Alaska- not just the temps, but in a lot of other ways, as well. Everything is in a state of flux- when I drive home from the university, my route has changed 3 times already from the construction going on. I watch construction crews from my balcony, even through the night- right next to me is an apartment building that only has the foundation concreted in. It will probably be up and finished by spring. In the distance is what will be the world's tallest building, which is still going up. There is a strange superficiality to it in a lot of ways- everyone here mentions it in passing, like it's just a part of life here. Strange, really.
I drive around Dubai and Sharjah (neighboring Emirate) to find things left behind by the pace of growth here. I have a studio here at home where I wash them off and am starting to figure out what to do with them. My place is 1500 square ft, which is crazy big. I still haven't moved into the bedroom yet, since I don't have enough furniture for it at this point.
I am IKEA nester.
At my flat
(to Oscar on Inkteraction) Yup, that's the new flat in the picture. I have a room that is trying to become a studio (somewhat like having all of the ingredients to cook and the oven's only just been turned on at this point). I drive around Dubai collecting discarded things and put them in the room after a quick rinse. (readymade palimpsest?) I agree with you on the loss of creative record in the contemporary world. Hmmm... if it were possible to Cmd-Z an engraved line would it still be the same line?
Ski Dubai
Gas is about $1.60 US per gallon. SUVs rule the roads. Traffic is absolutely wild. Folks here drive in ways that would be arrestable offenses in most countries, but I'm getting used to it. (Hopefully I don't bring these habits back when I visit...) I drive a Blazer now and got stuck in the desert my 2nd day out. (A pile of stuff looked like it needed to be made into something...)
We're on break for the next week here for the Eid holiday, which comes after Ramadan. I'll be able to drink water in public during daylight hours soon and (more importantly) have the ever-present coffee mug at my side in the studio classes I teach. The students here come in being able to render unbelievably well- it must be something in the water. I can't wait to see where the Print and Drawing classes are by the end of semester.
Ramadan is different- I have to hide when I drink water or eat. There is a place for non-muslim faculty lovingly called the "Infidel Lounge" where we break fast during daytime. I have a chevy blazer 4x4 now and drive around Dubai collecting stuff to make work out of. No work yet... I do have cacti in my window boxes, though. Got 3 intaglio presses and will have screen running by next semester along with solarplate.
It's weird how things get into the air. Someone in Florence showed me that Muto video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uuGaqLT-gO4) and I used it for book arts there to show image narrative, now in printmaking for drypoint plate flexibiliy. I am hooked on Robot Chicken- can't stop myself. I just got a flat screen. Man, I think I'm turning into some kind of adult, or something. At least in the flat- I actually have a color scheme for my living room! (burgundy and ochre, in case you were wondering...) IKEA is like crack now. My only saving grace is the dining room area (next to living room) which will never have a regular table and chairs. Instead, I use it for my studio and have plastic tarps down under some dingy carpets to paint on. I haven't painted on carpet floors since undergrad- I forgot how nice it is to have that underfoot.
Stuck in the desert (2hrs, 47mins)...
...it's this hot...
...rescued by Ahmed from the insurance company.
I'll write again soon...
