I Think Geek

Thursday 28th January 2010 - 2:27:48 PM

LED belt buckle

I just received my very fun (and very geeky) LED scrolling message belt buckle, which I had ordered from www.thinkgeek.com a few days ago! I programmed it to display CHANGE * FOREVER, in line with my current series of art videos. It takes some figuring out how to program the letters, but once I got the hang of it I was clicking away at the buttons. I’ll wear the buckle at the Nuit Blanche 2010 press conference to promote my Change - Forever | Forever - Change event, so if you’re there say hi!

The buckle can display several messages, so I’m now looking for inspiration - what other words or sentences could I program in? I have 512 characters to play with. If you have any ideas, leave me a comment. I’ll make a video of the best suggestion.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AryEV6BpBrE

A Close Call - Getting Scammed by Fake Translator

Wednesday 13th January 2010 - 5:36:31 PM

I should have known better. In fact, I do know better. But then, my previous experiences with Craigslist have been so pleasant and fruitful (like the awesome little fridge I got for peanuts, and finding the Art+Culture job). But yesterday I became complacent, and it nearly cost me over $200.

homer-doh

I needed someone to translate a document for me from English to French, so I went to Craigslist to see if I could find some talent, after all translators offer their services there by the dozen. Three people answered my initial call, but then one guy decided the document I needed translating was too long, and the second one stopped responding, so I went with the third guy, who seemed qualified and very eager. And cheap - that should have set my alarm bells ringing right there.

persie-screengrab

So, last week I send him the document, he quotes me a price, and I give him the go-ahead. A few days later he says he’s ready and wants to get paid via AlertPay, a service similar to Paypal.

alertpay-screengrab

This was a bit of a pain in the butt, because I needed to set up an AlertPay account - I usually use PayPal - but the company seemed fine, very secure, and they’re located in Montreal. But already then, I was getting a funny feeling. Anyway, like a trusting, naive dummy I pay the guy using my credit card hooked up to the AlertPay account (at least I was that bright). He mails me back saying he’s waiting for the transaction to clear and he’s sending out the translation by the end of the day. Needless to say, I didn’t receive anything yesterday. I mailed him again this morning. Nothing. Now I get a very, very bad feeling. So, I google the guy’s email address, and - voilà! - I get a return: the blog of someone in Vancouver (my hero!) who nearly got scammed by the same person! I dropped everything and called both my credit card company and Alertpay, who have agreed to reverse the charges. Phew. Close call.

So, the moral of the story: Craigslist is great, but make sure you deal locally and actually meet the person you’re going to trade with. I know they say that on the website. But it bears repeating.

And to return the favor, I’m posting this cautionary tale, hoping that if someone else is about to be scammed by the same jerk and they google the donkey (think of another word for donkey), this post will show up. For your convenience here’s the pertinent info:

Name of offender (possibly not real anyway, but just in case): Chris Parker, aka Jean Claude Persie
Emails used by this individual: deluxkicks@yahoo.com and french_englishtranslation@yahoo.com
His AlertPay name: Cyves Delux

Roast in hell, douchebag!

12 Projects - 2010 Calendar

Friday 18th December 2009 - 5:30:21 PM

12 projects calendar 2010

Every year I prepare a calendar in pdf format and send it to all my friends. This year the calendar features twelve creative projects which I worked on over the last twelve months. The projects include a virtual astronomical art exhibition in Second Life, a mail art collection, two Shopdropping projects, some video art, an installation for which I baked 150 pretzels, a series of monoprints, and more. 


To download the calendar, please link to this webpage:
http://www.bettinaforget.com/BF-calendar2010.html

To open and print this calendar you’ll need Adobe Acrobat. The calendar’s format is a vertical 8.5″ x 11″, but it will also print nicely on A4.

Happy 2010!

Pause

Sunday 29th November 2009 - 6:06:07 PM

shambhala

Recently I’ve been going to meditation sessions at the Shambhala Meditation Centre which is conveniently located in the building right next to my studio. Juggling three jobs (artist, gallerist, webmistress) and running my astronomy club means that the little wheels inside my head are in perpetual motion at all times of the day - and also often at night when I have better things to do like, say, sleep. Since I’m not going to give up on any of my creative pursuits I was scouting for a solution which didn’t involve medication or three stiff Martinis.

Turns out I’m really enjoying meditation, maybe because I spent so many years living in Asia that the scent of incense and the quiet creaking of the floor boards just instantly hits my inner ‘pause’ button. I hope that eventually I will find a way to stop my feet from falling asleep while sitting in the lotus position, and that my periods of true inner stillness will last for more than a few minutes at a time. But in the meantime I enjoy the challenge of letting go of all thoughts, and realizing what a buzzing beehive my brain is.

Which is why I was especially delighted to come across the video 4′33″ by avant-garde composer John Cage (thank you, Bob, for posting that link!). In this three-movement piece, which lasts four minutes and 33 seconds, Cage asks the orchestra to remain perfectly silent. The only sounds should be the turning of the pages by the conductor, the ambient noise in the room, and the sounds produced by the members of the audience. The YouTube video below captures a performance of 4′33″ by a full orchestra at London’s Barbican Centre. I was immediately struck by the meditative quality of this piece, as every performer and the entire audience of the Barbican fell completely silent. Only in the pauses between the sets did the Barbican erupt in the small coughs and sneezes which permeate all music performances. And after 4′33″: thunderous applause. I think it’s a brilliant piece, and I’m going to send a letter to Montreal’s OSM asking for a John Cage festival.

Sit back and enjoy:

cage 4'33

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUJagb7hL0E

Cutting the Iron Curtain

Wednesday 25th November 2009 - 10:45:30 PM

pretzel-blog

I’ve finally gotten around to editing together the bits of footage I shot during the Cutting the Iron Curtain event. It’s up on YouTube - check it out here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYCoyfIlcSs

Baking the Iron Curtain

Sunday 8th November 2009 - 12:56:10 PM

When I realized that the 20th anniversary of the Fall of the Berlin Wall was upon us, I decided right away to do…. something. My first instinct was to build an actual wall somewhere and have a demolition party, but on reflection this seemed impractical. After a few days of pondering I decided that what I really wanted to do was to re-create the sense of celebration, generosity and reunion which the fall of the Berlin Wall inspired on November 9th, 1989. My Plan B: an “iron curtain”, made entirely out of traditional German pretzels.

Of course, pretzels are more of a Bavarian thing, and being from Hamburg I had never baked a pretzel in my life. I decided not to announce my event until I had successfully baked up a few batches of pretzels. I got to work. As it turns out, I make an awesome pretzel! It helps if you don’t cut corners: the pretzels dough needs to rise twice, the pretzels need to be boiled in water mixed with baking soda, and then sprinkled with coarse sea salt. Here’s a photo doc of my first baking stint:

backstube 1

backstube 2

backstube 3

backstube 4

backstube 5

If you want to try your hand at pretzel baking, here’s my recipe (makes 24 pretzels - which is a lot…):

4 teaspoons of yeast
4 tablespoons of brown sugar
4 pints of warm milk
8 - 9 cups of flour
8 cups of water
4 teaspoons of baking soda
coarse sea salt

Mix the warm milk (zap in the microwave for a minute) with the yeast and the sugar and let the yeast come to life for about 15 minutes. The surface of the milk will become frothy.

Mix the milk with the flour and knead through thoroughly for a least five minutes until the dough is silky. Place the dough in a greased mixing bowl and let it rise in a warm place for about an hour.

The dough should have doubled by now. Knead it through one more time and cut the ball into 24 pieces. Roll each piece into a stubby roll and leave them to rise for another 15 minutes. Throw a kitchen towel over the rolls to keep them moist.

Pre-heat your oven to 425°F. Pour water and baking soda into a large pot and bring to simmer.
Roll out the stubbies until they are thick as your thumb. Shape them into pretzels.

Carefully place the pretzels onto a large spoon or spatula and lower them into the water. I do about three pretzels at a time. Don’t bump them or they’ll come out crooked. Let them simmer for about a minute.

Take the pretzels out of the water and place them on a rack to dry off. Sprinkle with sea salt.

Place the pretzels on a greased baking tray and bake for about 10 - 15 minutes, until golden-brown.
Enjoy!

If baking is not your thing, and if you happen to be in Montreal tomorrow and Tuesday, swing by the Visual Voice Gallery and cut yourself a pretzel from my Iron Curtain. Here’s the link to the event’s webpage:
http://www.visualvoicegallery.com/artists2009/VVG-artist-22-BF-Berlin.html

Reveal! A Call for Entries for www.artandculture.com artists

Saturday 24th October 2009 - 1:11:01 PM

reveal call

As much as I enjoy the steady stream of young, up-and-coming artists which exhibit at my gallery, once in a while I like to curate my own show. For December I have slated an exhibition at Visual Voice titled “Reveal! Inside the Artist’s Mind“, which will showcase pages form artists’ sketchbooks. Killing two birds with one stone, I’m combining my enthusiasm for www.artandculture.com with my exhibition idea, making the Call for Entries open to all Art+Culture members, across the disciplines. The aim of this exhibition is to reveal how artists work out their creative ideas. After all, art doesn’t just ‘happen’ - that’s the myth. The reality is that artists spend much time pondering, doodling, researching, and chewing on their pencils. And much of that is worked out in the artists’ notebooks, be it visual artists, film makers, poets, choreographers, - everyone keeps a visual diary of some sort.

So, if you’re interested in participating, if you want to share a few pages of your sketchbook and reveal what’s going on in your mind, check out the Call for Entries which is posted on Art+Culture here.

My 10 Plums

Wednesday 21st October 2009 - 3:24:38 PM

my10plums

Recently I discovered this cool website: 10 Plums. It lets you create ‘mixes’ of images, videos, book, weblinks, etc and then share them with your friends. I just created a media-mix which is a ‘Cultural Diary’ of what I’ve been up to over the last week or so - from a review of a ballet I saw to the weblink to my new favourite bagel joint.

Here’s my mix: http://www.10plums.com/users/69/lists/209

If you create one yourself, let me know!

Belgorientation - Art and Music Rock the House!

Sunday 11th October 2009 - 9:53:28 PM

drumdance

Yesterday afternoon the Belgo building hummed with activity. The sounds of drums, cellos, saxophones and voices echoed through the corridors as art lovers pushed in and out of exhibition spaces. Scott Thomson’s site-specific music event BELGOrientation rocked the house!

The Belgo Report has two videos up on its YouTube stream, both recorded at the Visual Voice Art Gallery:
“Cello and Spectator”, featuring cellist Mélanie Auclair and dancer Emmanuel Jouthe:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFYcY8eoOVM, and
“Drumdance”, featuring dancers Julie Lassonde & Nicolas Filion and percussionist Pierre Tanguay:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxvY4Sf97zA

Rumour has it that the performance in Galerie B-312 included the use of a live chicken! If you saw that one (or if - better yet - you have video footage), please leave a note in the comment section.

For a more extended review of the event at Visual Voice, check out my article on Art+Culture here.

The Cellphone Slouch

Wednesday 23rd September 2009 - 4:44:02 PM

top10cellphone

My cellphone basically serves as ballast most of the time. I just can’t seem to remember to charge it. Or, if I do remember, I forget it on the charger when I leave the studio. Or my minutes on the phonecard run out before I get a chance to use them. Or I leave the phone in the bottom of my volumous bag where I don’t hear it ring.

It’s a cute phone, really, and I don’t know why I do this. Maybe it’s a Freudian thing. Maybe I just don’t like to be reachable all the time. Also, I’m always in my studio, so just call me there…

Anyway, my bad behaviour resulted in a small series of artworks titled Top Ten Uses for My Cellphone (once the batteries have died again). I created these for the art show currently running at the Visual Voice Gallery where I asked ten artists to create an artwork based on a top ten list of their favourite things. Here’s the link to the exhibit.

Okay, I’m now going to put my phone on the charger. Seriously.