Brooklyn Nightlife

When I was in my teens I got introduced to NYC nightlife. When I was about 14, there was a club for underage kids in Staten Island that would play freestyle and hip-hop and have live performances. I meet my friends there every weekend for at least six months. A few years later my friends and I started to go to clubs in Manhattan, but less often. We would mostly go to Limelight and Palladium, but I also remember going to a few other places such as Club USA and Sound Factory. The primary visuals were through different lighting techniques. I remember that the Palladium had a pool full of balls and Club USA had a slide going from the first floor to the second floor. The fact that the Limelight was an old church also added the visuals inside. At this time it was popular for girls to dance in cages on pedestals. At this time in my life going out was more about being with friends and about the music. I liked going to Tuesday Goth night at the Limelight, but I only got to go a few times because my friends weren't really into that. I went to see live concerts as well, but the visuals were provided by the performers and varied accordingly.

After college I got interested in going out at night again and started to go out every weekend. My friends and I went out mostly to small bars that had dance space. We became regulars at two bars in the lower east side, Ludlow Bar and Plant Bar. There were not too many visual aspects and we were going out for the music and the people. Ludlow bar played mostly old hip-hip hop and dancehall reggae. The crowd was racially diverse and down to earth. Plant Bar played more electronic and house music with a little hip-hop and 80's mixed in. This place had more of a white crowd and it was also down to earth. We would also go to bigger clubs, other parties or live venues depending on the DJ.

During these times, my friends and I had plans to see DJ Shadow one night. He was supposed to be playing somewhere in Dumbo, but when we got there a sign said that the show was cancelled. The sign on the door that said if you wanted to go to a party you could go to an apartment around the corner. We figured, "why not?" and ended up spending the night with some artists in their loft space. It was completely gorgeous with various lighting and structures built. They told us that they were throwing a party at the Lunatarium in the near future and we decided to go. It became another spot, but it was more expensive and the crowd was not as friendly. The big draw to these parties was the visuals. The music was good, but did not compare to the visual attraction. There would be tents set up with lights, various life size sculptural art, video art projected, large hammocks hanging from the ceiling to swing on, etc. and it was in a warehouse building in Dumbo that had a few of the bridge and the skyline.

I ended up moving to Japan, but my friend who was always with me during these times continued going out every weekend. She found out about warehouse parties in Bushwick that were called "Danger" parties. When I got back, I went out sometimes and enjoyed these Danger parties. We also recognized one of the guys from Lunatarium and found out about their parties (Winkel and Baltick). The last time I went to a Danger party they had a party on a boat in Bushwick with a 1930's theme. A band in costume playing 1920's music greeted you when you arrived on the boat which had a DJ and video art inside, an old time band up top, a tarot card reader, two people bbquing and party goers of whom a few were dressed up as though it was the 30's. In order to get to this boat you had to go to the address sent via email which was a warehouse in Bushwick that had a woman hanging from the ceiling performing in costume and a man playing an old wooden piano. That's where you pay the 20 dollars to get your ticket to get on the bus that brought you to the boat.

It seems as though these warehouse parties are growing. I now also get emails from a group of at least two women who also throw very visual parties and are a part of an organization that actually gives classes and offers opportunities to get involved. In fact, the New York Times recently published an article on these parties - http://nyti.ms/cbsq2D

The following are some pictures taken on New Year's Eve 2008 at a Winkel and Baltick party.

If I was to analyze the visual aspect of these parties and relate it to social justice/awareness/issues, the first thing I would say is that it does not draw a diverse crowd. A friend of mine who is African-American does not want to go to these parties anymore for this reason. The crowd is predominantly white. It feels like the parties are put on by and for people who move to New York City in hopes to be involved in something artistic and creative. I would also guess that the people involved have had opportunities for high levels of education, but this is hard to see just by looking. I do not think it's a conscious decision to create a somewhat homogenous event.

Graffiti - The Bronx vs. Williamsburg

Sometimes I take train through the South Bronx when I do fieldwork with my job, evaluating arts education programs. As I look outside the subway I notice the graffiti. It adds colors to the neutral landscape of concrete, brick and metal fire escapes. I started documenting some of the graffiti I see, but not only because I like the way it looks. It's also because of the stark contrast between the graffiti in the Bronx and the graffiti in my neighborhood, Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

There are some similarities. Both areas do have murals on the walls. However, the murals in the bronx are usually for a specific institution such as a school (below, left) or store. I found one piece done for a store in Williamsburg as well (below, right).

The walls in the Bronx are mostly filled with tags. Some are are easy to read and others take more effort. Some tags are just writing and some are colored for more emphasis. I noticed that the tags I saw along the 4 train line were interesting to read. As in the photo below, they said things like, "Mute" or "Sad". Other photos I took also included tags such as "Melo", "Piff", "Easy." The words reflect the culture in the South Bronx. Meanwhile, the graffiti in Williamsburg was much more illustrative. There are characters and images that look like more traditional paintings. The graffiti in Williamsburg represents the culture of the neighborhood as well.

When I compare the graffiti, it both seems to be generated from a mutual interest of self-expression. For me, I think both are attractive to look at, but I can also see that the graffiti in Williamsburg as something that would be more respected by society due to the style. I think about how hip-hop was born in the Bronx, but then the graffiti in Williamsburg feels more sophisticated in relation to societal norms of viewing art. When I see the contrast I think of the contrast in class and education between the two neighborhoods and how it's reflected in the graffiti. The graffiti artists in Williamsburg may have innate illustrative talent, but I also wonder whether they are more likely to have an education background that included a higher level of visual art instruction. We all know that the education of children in the South Bronx, in and out of school, does not compare to the level of education among the residents of gentrified Williamsburg. I think this would be a great photo study to explore because of these reasons.

Visual Images from the Food Industry

When I was 15, my friends (especially the guys) were interested in watching documentaries called "Faces of Death", which documented brutal and/or unusual deaths of humans and animals. When I watched it there was a clip from a slaughterhouse. It was my first visual exposure to how cows are killed for food and it changed my life. I did not eat meat of cows, lamb, pigs or any other animals again until last year, after temporarily listening to an acupuncturist who incorrectly told me it would help a health problem I have. I am now back to avoiding meat.

Current issues in the food industry have brought awareness to genetically modifying animals so that they are many times the weight they would be naturally. Food turkeys are albino. Factory farms have grown into unsanitary conditions, in addition to being places of utter torture. Nutrition and other health concerns have finally grabbed the attention of the masses.

My knowledge of animal rights was updated last summer when I visited an animal sanctuary. I was not expecting the intense stores that I heard from the people who run the place. I heard stories of abuse of factory farm animals, as well as the results of racing horses. There were other random stories as well. In addition to listening to all of this I also saw the results. There was a gigantic pig, a chicken that could not stand due to its massive of body weight, a horse without eyes, a chicken with the bones of its wings exposed, and strange looking albino turkeys. I would like to document the images I've seen. As a start, I recently I briefly volunteered at an animal sanctuary in Woodstock, NY (existence was primarily focused on rescuing factory farm animals) in exchange for a few photos (see below).

However, the problem with animal abuse is not only within the food industry. All chemicals are tested on animals, from shampoo to Coca-Cola. The images I've seen have gone beyond food and into other aspects of life such as Elephant training for tourism in Thailand, animal testing for cosmetics, cock fights, bull fights, horses that are raced until they are crippled, and visiting animal sanctuaries in Upstate New York. It's traumatizing to see and hear about these things, but not as traumatizing as the truth behind the imagery.

TEENS ON SUBWAY OBSERVATION**

On my way home from dinner tonight, about 8 teenage boys got on the L train at Union Square going into Brooklyn. They were of different heights and probably early high school, possibly middle school age. They all wore jeans and either sneakers or Timberland-type boots. Some of them had jeans that were hanging below the waistline and some had baseball hats on; fashion was linked to hip-hop culture. They wore mostly neutral colors and their skin colors varied from white to dark. They were particularly easy to observe because they were so loud; playfully loud. They were repeatedly saying, "Ohhhh"... gradually increasing in volume.

As our train left the station they were yelling about a girl who had no shirt on, as if she was on the platform in Union Square. After that I could not understand what they were talking about even when I tried. A few of them hung on the bars and slightly swung from the bars. If their volume started to decrease some of them would start yelling again. Most of the other people on the train ignored them and some looked their way out of curiosity.

When I observe NYC teenagers on the subway or around my apartment, they often speak loudly. I try and listen, but I often cannot fully understand what they are saying. They may say words to describe what is happening in the moment, or possibly talking about their friends, but not much more. When I saw these boys on the train, I couldn't understand what they were talking about at all. I wondered if they had an inside joke that they were talking about, like many teenagers may, but I could not tell. There is something in that sub-culture that I am not completely literate to.

Interior Design

When I go out to eat at a restaurant, I love when it's nicely designed. The food is most important, but I find that they go together. I wonder if the design of the restaurant can make the food taste better? Interior design is an important marketing strategy for most businesses. For example, red and yellow stand out the most and, combined with florescent lights, don't make people want to relax and stay a while. This is perfect for McDonald's fast food; a logo that stands out in a crowd and a restaurant that makes people want to leave quickly.

For homes, popular colors are often pastel colors to accent the room. I have lived with white walls for most of the past 15 years. I am not a homeowner, so I often think that I will be moving in a short amount of time and never invest in painting the walls. However, after so long of being tired of white walls, I've decided to do something about it and decided to do something dramatic. I painted the wall that starts in my living room and goes through the hall to the bedroom dark red. It's amazing how a color can influence it's surroundings. I'm starting to wonder if I should have chosen a calming color and somehow made it work. Maybe I just need to get used to it?

Office Space

If there were not so many social issues to attend to in the world, wouldn't cubicles be illegal? If you put a child facing the wall in public school you can get into a lot of trouble. They say that this is corporal punishment. Yet, so many adults sit like that 8 hours a day, 40 hours a week, for years and years. I do not understand how some people view this as healthy and normal.

I am currently employed in my first office job that has cubicles. I evaluate arts education programs and I cherish the days I'm able to do fieldwork. The whole office is grey and the wall are about 5 feet high. I now work there part time. Working there full time was visually disturbing for me. Although some people who work there do not think much of the visual environment, it negatively impacted my mood and my job as a whole. I will never again work in an atmosphere so visually confining. It is true that the computer opens up the visual space and acts as an outlet to the outside. For me, it's not enough.

If cubicles were to be considered a necessity, I would think that people would protest so that their cubicles are a somewhat decent color to look at, instead of drab neutrals. Most people would not paint their house a drab neutral without accenting the room with something to offset it. Yet, the visual culture of offices continues to perpetuate the experience of forcing people to endure such sights.

FACEBOOK - TEEN OBSERVATION**

My little sister Christina, who is 16, has an ipod, a laptop, can't remember life without cell phones and is an avid Facebook user. She has 453 Facebook friends, most of whom indicate that they are in her high school network. Since I am her Facebook friend I can view a certain aspect of her life whenever I want. Facebook allows me to see what her life is like outside of the family. I can tell who her closest friends are by seeing them repeatedly in photographs. She has 162 photos that she did not post herself and about 170 that she posted. I really have access to a small clip of a documentary of her life with her friends.

The photos include typical teen photos friends, always smiling and looking like they're having a good time. There are also other photos of the girls making sexy poses, such as at the mall with mannequins or at the beach in bikinis. When I was her age, we didn't pose in bikini's together. I'm not sure if it's the result of mass media or if it's just that we are different. She lives in New Jersey and she goes to a high school with a good reputation. She has had photography classes and you can see some of the photos get more experimental through the point of view or composition.

When I look at her wall or view the photo comments I can see bits and pieces of conversations she has with her friends. I know that her and her girl friends tell each other some form of "I love you" on a regular basis and they tell each other that they are pretty. They sometimes post little web cam videos that are about 30-60 seconds long saying nothing much besides "hello" and possibly "I love you".

I can tell that most of her friends are white, but there are some other nationalities/ethnicities mixed in, some of which are not easy to tell just by a photograph. Two of the boys that seem to be a part of her group of friends are black, but their ethnicity is hard to tell. One time at the dinner table at my father's house (she's my father's daughter) she agreed with me that something he said sounded racist. It made me think of a photo on her Facebook page lounging next to a black boy at a friend's house.

Without Facebook I would not know these things about Christina. Some of her other Facebook friends her own age must have the same experience if they choose to click around her Facebook pages. I wonder if it brings her and her friends together, if it adds space or if it adds a superficial dimension to their relationships. I think of high school as a time of being self-conscious. If this is true for most teenagers, how does Facebook play into that? One fact that cannot be argued is that growing up with Facebook as a part of your life is different than when it was not an option. What does it mean for those who do not have access to Facebook in today's society, like many kids growing up in low-income households? It is adding to the cultural capital that helps more affluent children to succeed as adults? These are questions I can ask, but I at this point I do not have the answers.