Art Project

I'm currently working on an art project that fuses sound and light. If you have any ideas, please throw them my way!

Perhaps sound, with its series of compressions and relaxations (since it's a longitudinal wave, rather than a transverse one), can be harnessed to catalyze a series of molecular motions that I hope to somehow capture in the form of light, giving an optical play. What you see today on Windows Media Player uses this idea, basically. Hence that's not a truly original idea. However, if I can come up with an experimental setup that can showcase this, without the use of any computational software, that will be fantastic.

Luckily for me, I met a sound technology engineer (irony: I didn't want to use any computational software; but I can live with that) on my summer engineering program, here in Germany. He's now on board and I now have three people (including myself, and a NYC-based sculptor, whom I met on the train while returning to NewHaven from NYC, when I went for Singapore Day @ the Grand Central Park in April) on the team. The project (and hopefully, exhibition) is going to be great *if* we work well together. I can't wait to see what's going to evolve from this rather random collaboration.

Wien (Vienna)

The past two days has seen me stomping around Vienna, with my beloved rucksack.

At the café across the street from the King’s Palace, I had topfelstrudel, a startlingly good confection made with vanilla and white cheese, whose variety remains unbeknownst to me. Of course, its price was ridiculously high but the experience was worth the cost – entire walls sheathed with silver mirrors that reached the floor, sleek ebony furniture, translucent curtains that allowed a few lucky rays of the late afternoon sun into the classically designed yet stylish (in modern terms) room. As usual, I checked if the flower on the dining table was real. It was! A lovely, fresh flower in bright yellow and muted pink tones, with its green but drying stem dipped in a small pool of water that was in a porcelain vase. It looked slightly out of place in the room, though; I had expected black flowers with either white stripes or gray polka dots. Whatever – it is merely a matter of personal taste. The topfelstrudel was good.

My newly minted friends then whirled me off to a multitude of places, whose names I can unearth but do not care much about. Hence, I will describe the places, and you will know their functions and appearances, but not their names. If you absolutely must know, please e-mail and I will find out for you!

A post savings bank (something like Singapore’s POSB), designed by a modernist:

It was gray, imposing, and dull-looking. However, move a little closer and you will see the aluminum studs encased within small concave hemispheric hollows that had been carved into the marble. It looked like a punk-turned-architect had gotten hold of the blueprint after it had been submitted and accepted.

A charming Hundertwasserhaus, designed by Hundertwasser, an architect with a truly creative streak in him:

It was exploding with a multitude of shades, tones, and textures. None of the walls was straight, and the tiles were uneven. Symmetry was disallowed in that space. The entire house looked like a mess that emanated with beauty – the sort of beauty that emanates from a kindly old grandmother with a crooked nose that she broke when she was just a little girl.

The Belvedere Art Gallery:

Beautiful oil paintings created by Claude Monet and Gustav Klimt (creator of the infamous The Kiss, a painting that had aroused the ire and angst of the public when it was first exhibited); stunning sculptures of docks men and Venus, shrouded by her mist of mystery and beauty.

Check it out at: http://www.belvedere.at/jart/prj3/belvedere/main.jart

The Wiener Staatsoper Opera House, Werther:

Watched and cried! The soprano was crazy. Staggering on the stage, committing suicide – all the works of a typical opera, even seemingly as degenerate as a soap opera on TV. HOWEVER, the soprano made all the difference. All the notes and tangible emotions were executed with perfection. The most impressive feature was how he made every intangible emotion raw, intensified, and unbelievably sincere. Sincerity is the keystone that is lacking in many operas. This opera, Werther, overflowed with sincerity.

As a passing remark: The street outside the opera house was filled with pests, dressed in beautiful, well-fitted, shimmering, but ridiculous outfits from the Baroque period. Why ridiculous, you ask. Those men (non-performers) were selling tickets for that evening’s concert/ballet/opera, performed by groups of relatively untalented individuals dressed in a similar fashion (as I perceived from the photos that those salespersons had thrust in my face). Why untalented, you ask. If the musicians/performers were talented, they would not need to dress up in ridiculous outfits and pretend to be fine gentry engaging in musical endeavors. Nein! They were charlatans, dressed up like clowns to attract unknowing tourists.

The Vienna street/music festival at the Donau (Danube) River:

I loved the street culture. Excellent music, though I must say that the Viennese cannot really dance well. Alternatively, perhaps it was that they were not drunk enough since the night was still young. I left quite early at 11.10pm, since it was just throngs of people who were not doing anything effective. At least dance! You get to burn calories!

The fireworks reminded me of…Singapore’s National Day. Back in 1998, I had the chance to attend a National Day rehearsal (all I remember from it was the fireworks and the free delicious Kentucky Fried chicken that they distributed for lunch; I have not changed much, have I? I still look at the world with a child’s eye, seeing just colors, hearing just sounds, tasting just food; not remembering names; remembering faces; OH YES! I saw a high school schoolmate at the Munich Hauptbahnhof Central Train Station last week, and I called out to her; she did not remember me…I have an excellent memory).

Returning to fireworks: the fireworks seemed so close, as though you could touch them if you wanted to. Just like many things in life.

Stephansdom - the tallest church in Austria, established in 1147, building was completed in 1570. St. Stephen's Cathedral (German: Stephansdom) in Vienna, Austria, is the seat of a Roman Catholic Archbishop, a beloved symbol of Vienna, and the site of many important events in Austria's national life.

The day I went, many important luminaries were present (asides from me, of course...). Turned out that it was the funeral of the previous president of the Austrian Republic (Republik Österreich). You might have seen the funeral on TV; it was huge news in Austria and the funeral was even screened in the subway station.

Kurt Josef Waldheim (21 December 1918 – 14 June 2007) was an Austrian diplomat and conservative politician. At the time of his death from congestive heart failure at age 88,^[1] Waldheim was the oldest living former Secretary-General of the United Nations and the oldest living former Austrian President, having served in these roles from 1972 to 1981 and 1986 to 1992, respectively. While running for president in Austria in 1985 he attained international notoriety because he falsified in his memoirs both the duration and the nature of his service as a Wehrmacht intelligence officer during World War II.

Text courtesy of: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kurt_Waldheim

Stephansdom I


Vienna Secession - Marks the change in phase of art, style, academia, and administration in Vienna. The inscription goes: to every age its art; to art its freedom. If you ask me, I think that "To every age its science; to science its freedom/shackles." also makes great sense. Lovely golden dome. It's nicely termed "golden cabbage". Just as The Esplanade in Singapore is called the "durian".

The Vienna Secession (also known as Secessionsstil, or Sezessionsstil in Austria) was part of the highly varied Secessionism movement that is now covered by the general term Art Nouveau. It was formed in 1897 by a group of 19 Vienna artists who had resigned from the Association of Austrian Artists, housed in the Vienna Künstlerhaus. The first president of the Secession was Gustav Klimt.

The Vienna Secession was founded on April 3, 1897 by artists Gustav Klimt, Koloman Moser, Josef Hoffmann, Joseph Maria Olbrich, Max Kurzweil, Otto Wagner, and others. The Secession artists objected to the prevailing conservatism of the Vienna Künstlerhaus with its traditional orientation toward Historicism. The Berlin and Munich Secession movements preceded the Vienna Secession, which held its first exhibition in 1898.

Text courtesy of: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vienna_Secession

Österreichische Postsparkasse
Austria's savings bank. Built in 1903, designed by Otto Wagner; it's an 8-storey brick structure featuring a thin Sterzing marble skin (hmm... It's like Yale's Beinecke Library), studded with aluminum. Inside, the main hall rises to a curved, frosted-glass ceiling, pierced by its supportive iron columns, while the floor consists of ultra-thick glass blocks, allowing light to flood into the administrative heart below.

Text courtesy of: Wallpaper* City Guide, by PHAIDON. Beautiful pictures and descriptions in this series of travel books. For the modern (and rich) person. I could not afford anything that was recommended in this book! Maybe... 10 years later?
Stephansdom: Funeral procession for Ex-president Kurt Waldheim; born 21 December 1918 in St. Andra-Wodern; diplomat, minister, representative to the UN, president. Died 14 June 2007. If you click on this photo, you can download a larger version, in which you can see the Viennese flags with the coats of arms of important blue-blood families emblazoned on them.
Stephansdom- blazing with lights that had been installed by the media.
Stephansdom - The gorgeous, complex altar.

Stephansdom - Gothic Cathedral
Donau Street Festival - View of Donau (Danube) River from Bridge
Donau Street Festival - The Sunset. Gorgeous.
Donau Street Festival - You can see a rainbow at the bottom right hand region.

Hundertwasserhaus - See the crazy design? Trees all over the place. Multitudes of colors.


A beautiful altar, Orthodox church.
Sunset - With a few rays of sunlight illuminating the famous Hochhaus Neue Donau, which is the tallest residential building in Vienna. It was designed by Harry Seidler.
Sunset - I could not help but fall in love with it! In the foreground, you see white tents and specks of white, glowing lights: They're part of the street festival!

Cafe Griensteidl - opened in 1847, it was the meeting point of literary men such as Hermann Bar, Arthur Schnitzler, Karl Krauss, Hugo von Hofmannsthal or composers such as Hugo Wolf or Arnold Schoenberg; birth place of Viennese literature. People could live out their notions of decadence; pulled down in 1897; reopened in 1990, the old atmosphere has been replaced by a modernised version.

Courtesy of: http://www.univie.ac.at/Very-Vienna/magazin/artikel/36/sechsunddreissig.html

Staatsoper Opera House - The beautiful chandelier. I love chandeliers.

Staatsoper Opera House - watched the opera, Werther: the most unbelievably sincere (how ironic this sounds) opera I've been to. I'd say that the Wiener Staatsoper is superior to the Metropolitan Opera in NYC.

Random pond. Focus on the interplay between light, water, and the algae on the pond surface.

Obernach - Where I lived! The turquoise lake is a mere 20 meters away.

At the Opera House

Deutsches Museum - porcerlain/china display in the materials section. How scientific.

Karlsplatz I - City Center. There was a huge McDonald's sprawled right across the fountain, with the signs written in multiple languages! Globalization... ah.

Karlsplatz II - The setting sun was accompanied by a superb group of talented buskers, playing the cello, violin, viola and fiddle. I was on cloud #10.

Obernach - Where I stayed for 4 days. See the turquoise color? Even my inept 2 megapixel camera captured that mesmerizingly tantalizing shade of cyan.

Obernach - From the top of the mountain on which I hiked.

Obernach - The scenery was fabulous.

City Center. I liked the streetlamps, and am posting this picture on the pretense that these lamps have a historico-cultural relevance to Munich's history, which I am sure they do but about which I have no clue.

Obernach, the Oasis of Joy

It is official! Munich has been ranked the #1 city in the world, as reported by the International Herald Tribune (June 21, 2007). I have had my suspicions, and they are clearly well founded. According to the article (reproduced in full below, but with references since I do not want to be sued), “work-life balance seems to be the city’s mantra.”

Forty-five minutes away from the city center (München Hofbahnhof, where exasperated eyebrows and pursed lips mark the faces of office-workers during rush hour), peoples’ faces become more tender. Move further, towards the lakes that almost gently caress the Austrian border and you will either forget that heaven is a post-life location, or think that you are simply, dead).

As we drove along the road, and I was about to doze off from dizziness, a majestic turquoise lake emerged from between the shadows of those ramrod-straight trees that comprised the forest embracing the winding mountain road. It twinkled shyly, and then rose to crescendo of shimmering sparks. The dawn breeze incited the initially calm water to shake ever so frequently, and those ripples created the sort of magnifying effect that would send you into a trance if you were not careful.

We had a nice home – in Germany, they are called Pensions. Comfortable rooms, nice folks, good company, fantastic dinners (I had a HUGE pig’s thigh, enveloped in brown sauce-like stew; a fascinating Bavarian-style kaiserschwamm, which was shredded pancakes with applesauce and raisins, fried to a crisp perfection; red wine) and breakfasts (Pâté, a large selection of cheeses, freshly baked Brotchen – a miniature bun, very delicious!, homemade marmalade, hazelnut paste).

And the best thing is: 20 meters away, you have that fantastic shimmering turquoise lake. Slip into your flip-flops (as I did), and you can take a 2-hour walk that would bring you through seas of meadows filled with fragrant wildflowers, lined by gigantic mountains that would catch the late afternoon light that shrouded the sky, clouds, and entire atmosphere with an unearthly golden light) and you would eventually reach a dark forest (I call it the Black Forest) that had a nice, though rather dangerous, path that would bring you back home. Of course, I was a complete idiot and went on this trek with flip flops. As idiotic as I was when I did the hike (800 meters, vertically!) in dress shoes. Sigh.

If I had a choice, I would live in Munich.

Statistics

Here are the top 20:

1. Munich
2. Copenhagen
3. Zurich
4. Tokyo (first Asian country)
5. Vienna (where I am going tomorrow)
6. Helsinki
7. Sydney
8. Stockholm
9. Honolulu
10. Madrid
11. Melbourne
12. Montreal
13. Barcelona
14. Kyoto (Japan again!)
15. Vancouver
16. Auckland
17. Singapore
18. Hamburg
19. Paris (I’m surprised!)
20. Geneva

The Criteria:

1. International, long-haul connections; Airport quality
2. Crime rate
3. State education quality
4. Health care quality
5. Sunshine hours, Warm temperatures
6. Communications, connectivity
7. Tolerance: gender, racial, sexual preferences
8. Ease of getting a drink at 1am
9. Cost and quality of public transport
10. Media strength; availability of international print media; degree of censorship (explains 17).
11. Access to nature.

#1: Munich emerges as Monocle's most liveable city

A general feeling of Gemütlichkeit boosts Munich to top spot

By William Boston Monocle Magazine

Published: June 19, 2007

After much tire-kicking, data-sifting and deliberation, Munich emerged as Monocle's most liveable city in the world. A winning combination of investment in infrastructure, high-quality housing, low crime, liberal politics, strong media and general feeling of Gemütlichkeit make it a city that should inspire others.

Leaning back in a wicker chair sipping caffe latte overlooking Leopoldstrasse as cars zip past under the watchful eyes of the lion-drawn quadriga atop the Victory Gate, you begin to understand Munich's contradictions. There is hardly a more German city or one more proud of its clichés - from Lederhosen-clad locals downing liter-mugs of beer in leafy parks to the clinical appearance of white-frocked scientists at the Max Planck research institute. But beneath the city's boundless ambition, Munich is surprisingly laid-back.

"There's a certain Italian ambience here," says Uschi Schnitzer, a 35-year-old event manager, putting down her book on a sunny afternoon in a café in Schwabing, one of the city's liveliest areas. "In winter you've got the mountains and in summer the cafés, beer gardens and lakes. What else do you need?"

Work-life balance seems to be the city's mantra. Make no mistake, people in this city work hard. With some of the highest apartment rents in Europe and all the shiny BMWs on the streets, they have to. But with high prices comes high quality, so it's no surprise that Munich has one of the fastest-growing economies and lowest unemployment and violent crime rates in Germany. The city works hard to promote innovation. "This city got biotech going in Germany," says Professor Axel Ullrich, 63, a leading international anti-cancer researcher and director of molecular biology at the Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry in Martinsried. The city is also home to corporate giants such as BMW, Siemens, Allianz, Microsoft, and is the center of the German film industry.

"Greater Munich is the most successful economic region in the country," says Lord Mayor Christian Ude, but he adds that commerce isn't everything. The most important urban development, he says, was opening the new Jewish Center with a synagogue and community center in central Munich. "Not only does the Jewish community regain its place in the heart of Munich, the Jewish Center is also an important contribution to the development of the city."

After work, Munich's masses enjoy the city's chill factor. The options are many, whether it's drinking beer in the English Garden or in the shade of the tall trees at Viktualienmarkt, sunbathing on the banks of the Isar river, attending the theatre or concerts, or hanging out in the smart bars around Gärtnerplatz or entertaining at home.

Take Christian Hundertmark, a graphic designer who goes by the name C100. A partner in c100studio.com - a design company whose clients include Oakley, Prada, Burton, Adidas and Levi's - and an avid snowboarder, he describes himself as both a workaholic and sportaholic. "I travel frequently to cities such as London or Barcelona because I know people, but I'm always glad to come back to Munich. I need the mix of big city and nature," he says.

Munich metrics

Population: 1.6 million (greater Munich).

International flights: Franz Josef Strauss International Airport is one of the best in Europe. On average there are 5,876 passenger flights a week to 224 international (42 long-haul) destinations.

Crime: murders, 13; domestic break-ins, 1,340 (2006).

State education: Munich has top-class state schools and universities such as the Ludwig Maximilian. Only 20 per cent of Munich students qualify to attend university.

Medical care: high-quality. Munich has 87 clinics, including the German Heart Centre.

Sunshine: annual average, 1,679 hours.

Temperatures: average temperatures range from -5.1°C in January to 22.8°C in July.

Wired: nearly 500 public Wi-Fi hotspots.

Tolerance: Munich is considered an island of liberal-mindedness in a sea of Bavarian conservatism. The Glockenbach district is popular with gay residents. The city has strong Turkish and Balkan communities.

Drinking and shopping: Many bars and clubs are open until 03.00; some don't really get going until then. The beer gardens tend to be open between 13.00 and 01.00. Shops close at 20.00.

Public transport: public transport is excellent. Buses and trams are well-lit and clean and run late.

Local media: Munich is home to Germany's largest public broadcasting network, ARD, and its largest commercial network, Pro7-Sat1 Media AG, and is also host to the Burda publishing group. The city's main newspaper, Süddeutsche Zeitung, sells around 445,000 copies a day and is read nationally, and respected for its intelligent, liberal analysis (a Sunday edition is due soonish).

International media: international newspapers and magazines available at the railway station, airport and some newsstands.

#17: Singapore's newly blossoming cultural landscape

Today's Singapore bears little resemblance to the city of 10 years ago

By Daven Wu Monocle Magazine

Published: June 19, 2007

Singapore's landscape is blossoming, with talented local architects making their mark alongside international stars such as Toyo Ito, Moshe Safdie and Kohn Pedersen Fox; and the arts scene has seen a flowering of museums, performing arts venues and galleries.

It's still conservative but this city state is enjoying a cultural boom.

Today's Singapore bears little resemblance to the city of just 10 years ago.

The landscape is blossoming, with talented local architects making their mark alongside international stars such as Toyo Ito, Moshe Safdie and Kohn Pedersen Fox; and the arts scene has seen a flowering of museums, performing arts venues and galleries. Really?

Much of this is the work of native Singaporeans who studied and worked abroad - in London, Tokyo, Vancouver, Sydney - and, for professional or personal reasons, have now come home.

The city now has a First World standard of living that is, save for exorbitant prices for cars and land, extremely affordable. It boasts one of the highest literacy rates in the world. Its communication, health, public housing and transportation systems are first-rate and the regulatory and financial systems are transparent and efficient. This I definitely agree with; of course.

Singapore metrics

Population: 4.48 million.

International flights: Singapore's Changi Airport is served by 80 airlines with over 4,000 flights a week to 180 cities in 57 countries.

Crime: murders, 17 (2006, all solved); domestic break-ins, 1,123.

Sunshine: annual average, 2,034 hours.

Temperatures: the average temperature rarely fluctuates from the 30C mark with slight dips during the monsoons from late November to January.

Wired: it's near impossible to find a place in Singapore that's not wired. Mobile coverage is excellent, even on the underground.

Tolerance: a policy of social and racial integration has resulted in a society that's remarkably harmonious. Gay sex remains a crime but the government adopts a cautious turn-a-blind-eye approach.

This survey is excerpted from issue five of Monocle magazine.

Why I want to learn German

That's an interesting question. It's part of my scheme to tackle all fields of knowledge, I guess. This explains why I took History of East Central Europe and persisted despite my evident inability to comprehend the material. And also why I want to take:
A) Computer Science despite my relative lack of interest in its pedagogic value (reason why: because it is essential in today's world; many scientists - especially structural biologists and biophysicists - have to use the Linux operating system and I feel like an idiot if I don't know how to).
B) Photography despite the horrifyingly long hours that I'll need to invest in the class (10 hours spent in the dark room developing the photos; but I guess it'll provide me with time for reflection, and contemplation.
C) Introduction to World Religions: because I am ignorant. At the Jewish Center this afternoon, I was involved in an intense discussion about Islam (speaking of which, I attended a very fascinating talk by Professor Rabie two days ago; I highly recommend his website http://yazour.com/english/cv.asp), Judaism and Christianity. I need to know more.
D) Either Greek or Roman Art and Architecture, because Greece and Rome are the hotbeds of human civilization and modern culture. That sentence was terrible as it's too general. After the class, I'll presumably sound more intelligent when I attempt to talk about this. Ask me about that next year!

What about you? Let's inspire each other!

Introduction

12:48am Munich - Clear skies, mild star-sprinkling.
Just came back from swimming at Michaelibad.

Supposedly, Germans eat plenty of wursts and wash them down with plenty of beer. This unhealthy diet is patently false. The typical family has a well-planned meal prepared with fresh ingredients. The nitrates conspiracy: the world has a large supply of nitrates, which are pumped into bratwurst tins/bottles/packages (my wurst bottle had a thick, crisp lining of precipitated nitrates). Instead, please consume the fresh cherries and sauerkraut, both of which contain health-promoting substances.

Frivolous spending of the day:
1. Peter Handke's Die Angst des Tormanns beim Elfmeter.
2. The Langenscheidt Series' Deutsche Grammatik - kurz und schmerzlos.
3. Langenscheidt Worterbuch.

Next Monday sees me proceeding to the Bavarian Alps for a water engineering project. Details will surface in a week's time, post-project.