Art, Food, Life and Whatnot

Back to where it all started

2008-12-26T22:25:00.000-08:00

December 27, 2008
Taipei, Taiwan

Its not often that when one engages in work that involves travel and also somewhat Documentry in nature that we get to return to where we have been. Most certainly, we would never be able to find that same shot again. That is the nature of things.

Yet, as I am here in taipei, I have returned to some of the markets I have photographed in previous years. I am mostly doing it as an excrise. After all, how many shots of markets of taipei do I really need to prove my thesis? Its time for new territory, new land, new countries.

With all that being said, I still thought that it would be a worth while excrise. If nothing else, just to go through the motion, just to see how a familiar place gets rendered.

As I have not seen the film from these last two days of shooting there is no results to be reported on yet. But what I can tell you is about my experience this morning at the fish market- I was disturbed.

I have photographed this particular market befor and I was always quiet fine. Something about the smell, blood, and sheer volume of the dead living things that were present today there got to me. Usually the crowd and mayhem of the market gives me an adriline rush, not so today. Yet once I walked out of the fish section into the meat and poultry section I was fine, as if it was any other day.

I don't get it. What is it about the fish market that got to me today? Any suggestion?
Charlie Grosso
www.charliegrosso.com
310-592-0895

Apeture Portfolio Prize, Almost

2008-12-18T00:51:00.000-08:00

December 18, 2008
Taipei, Taiwan

I got an email a few days ago to notify me the winner of the Aperture Portfolio Prize and the list of 5 runners up. Sadly, my name was not amongst the 6. Aperture had reviewed over 1000 portfolios for the prize this year and I had made it to the final round of reviews, but at last, my name did not make it to the top six. Sad, so sad.

I hope all of my other grant / fellowship submission will be greeted with kinder fate.

The first course they should teach you in art school should be how to deal with disappointment and how to armor yourself with an iron will. Without it, your fate as an artist of any discipline is doomed.

I also caught a glimpse of my fellow artist friend Kesha Bruce's recent blog entry and it was a list of her accomplishments for 2008, the list was extensive and I am proud of her for having accomplished to much.

But between not having made it to the final round (there is no prize for almost, it is not a subcategory on your CV) but not onto the top 6 names for Aperture and looking over Kesha's accomplishments, I can't help but feel a little bit like a loser today.

So it goes, here comes the end of the year blues....

"Obey Consume Repeat!"

2008-12-13T02:25:00.000-08:00

Dec 14, 2008
Taipei, Taiwan

We left Japan this morning and headed for Taipei. Home with my mom for the rest of the year. A much needed break and the unparalleled comfort only mom can provide.

Here are some of my overall impression of Japan:

1. Japan is one large mall/covered arcade. Every train station has a department store attached to it, all urban centers in Japan (Osaka, Tokyo, Kyoto) are all centered around places to shop (i.e multiple department stores within blocks of each other).

2. You could get lost in all major train stations and or live there for days.

3. My favorite things in Japan is the Shinkansen, and the best bargain you can have in Japan is the JR Pass.

4. Sushi is incredibly fresh in Japan, even the 20% off ones that you buy at the super market after 5pm.

5. Japan has a really interesting relationship with sex, marriage prostitution, evident in the multiple red-light districts that is a part of every city or how high school girls will sleep with men for easy money to pay for things such as their cell phone bills or a new outfit.

6. The Japanese are incredibly polite but the politeness is a facade.

7. The Japanese culture is for the good of the many and not for the will of the individual, obedience is highly valued, they don't even jay-walk.

OBEY CONSUME REPEAT feels like a good summary of my glimpse into the Japanese culture.

Japan certainly has many virtues, nearly a 99% literacy rate, and nearly 100% employment rate as well. It is extremely clean and modern, certainly a city of the future in many aspects. It is unparalleled in many of technological advances, such as a cell phone that can record and play TV shows, or with direct link to your credit card for you to make purchases simply by waving your phone at a censor. Yet the combination between advanced technology, obedience / lack of individual will, "strange" relationship with sex, pornography, marriage, rampant consumerism .... the combination only makes me think of movies such as Blade Runner or Novels such as The Handmaid's Tale. None of which depicts a future that I am excited for or eager to participate in.

I think I will skirt the modernized cities of the world for a little while. I think I prefer something with a little bit of rawness, something with a bit of an edge to it for the next destination.

Tsukiji, Muder and No More Tourists

2008-12-13T01:30:00.000-08:00

Dec 12, 2008
Tokyo, Japan

I went back to Tsukiji one more time this morning for another round of photography before we depart Japan on the 14th. I keep on wanting to write a blog here to sum up an overall impression of the world's largest fish market. Yet, still, much as I was a bit lost for words two weeks ago during my first visit, I am still unable to find the words to fully describe what Tsukiji is like. I hope that there will be an image or two that I have caught on film that does in some ways describe the feeling of Tsukiji.

Here are some preliminary thoughts, first of all, I might be one of the last foreign tourists allowed to photograph the market for the rest of 2008, or ever maybe. Tsukiji will be closed to foreign tourists from Dec 15, 2008 - Jan 17, 2009. The workers complains that tourists disrupting their work flow, tourists are not aware of their surrounding and the electric flatbed carts that workers drive at top speed to transport the fish. Which are all fair complains, when you think about it, it is a place of work after all and not some sort of static museum made for observation. On top of it, there is a plan to move Tsukiji to a new facility that they are building. Whether the move will actually happen or not is still debate able, but there is an irony in that I photographed Fulton Fish Market (New York City) before it moved to its new shiny home up in the Bronx.

There is a contrast in the worker at the market, the older generation verse the young. The older generation moves at a slower speed, time is different for them. They walk around their stall with their hands folded behind their back, gently inspecting their goods, quietly awaits. While the younger generation drives the flatbed carts at top speed through the market delivering the fish to its next point of processing. The young pushes the froze tuna through the band saw, cutting it into smaller pieces while the older seasoned fisherman takes the meter long Oroshi hocho and meticulous decapitate the tuna into 4 large sections.

I was amazed to watch over half of a warehouse full of tuna be auction off and moved to their next location in less than 25 minutes. Or the careful silence the bidder takes in inspecting each tuna's belly with a flash light or how they cut off a bit of flesh from the tail section and rub it between their fingers to determine the fat content of that tuna. All of my thoughts are still a little scattered and some what random, but it will be intelligible soon, I hope.

We later meet up with a friend, a film editor who is currently working in Tokyo, on a film called "Map of the Sounds of Tokyo" which is about an employee of a fish market who also doubles as a contract killer....

I feel all things are starting to converge together....

Karato Ichiba vs Tsukiji

2008-12-07T16:02:00.000-08:00

Dec 6, 2008
Shimonoseki, Japan

A 3+ hour train ride down to the very western edge of the Honshu providence of Japan to chase down another supposedly fablouse fish market. Now mind you that I have traveled quiet out of the way for markets before and despite the fear that the market would disappoint, so far I have yet to be disappointed. Well, perhaps because it was a sunday, perhaps no fish markets now would ever be that impressive compared to Tsukiji, but the Karato Ichiba was a bit of a let down.

There just wasn't much going on. There were mostly vendors selling fresh sushi, you are given a plate and tonges to pick your own, prices range any where from 100 Yen - 500 Yen depending on the fish. After sampling a few, despite the cheaper price and the fact that it was made all but minutes ago, I must say that nothing has yet come close to what I sampled after 2.5 hours in line just outside of Tsukiji.

There were a couple of vendors selling fish as it is, but only a couple. It just wasn't what I was hoping for. Maybe a at 4 am on a weekday would be different, for the time being, back to Tsukiji it is.

Convenient Store Dinner

2008-12-07T03:51:00.000-08:00

Dec 5, 2008
Kyoto, Japan

As anyone who have traveled through the developed nations in Asia would know that the Asian convenient stores are full of ready to eat food. The variety is unparalleled, the "appeared" freshness is nothing like the lone hot dog that runs a mile on the turner at the AM/PM back in the US.

Seeing as how there are a convenient store on every corner, we thought that we would see if we could make tonight's dinner solely based out of what is available at a local Lawson's Station.

1. Boss Coffee - for 110 Yen - and you can choose from hot or cold, we thought we should see how the canned coffee hold up -
Verdict: exactly what you would expect it to be. Coffee flavored somewhat sweet drink that could potentially fool you into thinking that you are having coffee, will do in a pinch or on a sever budget.

2. Rice Triangle - 120 Yen - They all have different fillings and there is not enough Chinese letters on the label for me to figure out what is inside, so it a trial and error method here - this blue label actually contains tuna - as in tuna mixed with a bit of mayo tuna - much like a tuna fish sandwich but with out bread and with rice instead.
Verdict - very edible and would eat again.

3. Chicken Nuggets - 210 Yen - There were 4 different flavors available and we just randomly picked one. It is all white meat nugget and not any worst than what you would get from a fast food place.
Verdict - ok - but neither of us were that excited about it to eat it again.

4. Baozi - 110 Yen - This is a Chinese food item, essentially a bread outer shell with minced pork inside. It can be very delicious when its good.
Verdict - sadly to say this one from Lawson's was not very good and it gives baozi a bad name.

5. Rice Triangle - 120 Yen - this one has salmon on the inside.
Verdict - very edible and would eat again.

6. Mystery package with a picture of grilled salmon on the outside - 168 Yen - I had thought that inside contains a piece of grilled salmon, and of course I had to try it. Well, it turns out to be another rice triangle with a large chunk of salmon.
Verdict - it is just as editable as the cheaper variety - difference being that the salmon that is inside of this rice ball is a complete piece and not just bits and pieces.

7. Fried Chicken on a Stick - 100 Yen - All dark meat and tastes like friend chicken from a convenient store.
Verdict - ok - nothing exciting.

8. Donuts - 105 Yen - It turned out to be filled with whipped cream - so its more like a hostess cupcake than a donuts.
Verdict - alright - especially if you are not picky about the quality of your desert.

9. Desert cup - 110 Yen - I thought this was going to be like flan, I have had similar desert cups in Taipei, it was pretty much what I thought it would be - a mix between flan and pudding with a slight eggy crust on top.
Verdict - what I thought it would be, sweet, caramel, flan like substance made from egg. Yes, I would eat again.

So dinner for two from Lawson station came in under 1000 Yen. Everything really kinda tasted like it came from a convenient store, but then again it did. I think the only that I would consider eating would be the rice triangles. I don't know that a home made version of it would be much different than what could be bought, not to mention that the rice triangle is relatively health compared to everything else you could get.

I don't eat at the convenient store in the US at all. I am not sure why I thought convenient store food would be much improved in Japan, but I see plenty of people eat there and if nothing else, it was a fun experiment.

Food Costs in Japan

2008-12-04T17:56:00.000-08:00

Dec 4, 2008
Kyoto, Japan

The impression of Japan is that it is an expensive country to live and travel in. I certainly am feeling like I am burning through money a bit here. Although I do think that a trip through Europe or US would be just as expensive, if not more so.

As I have traveled, I have always found ways to cut down on costs and be some what thrifty, but I am having a rather hard time here practicing some tried and true money saving methods. For one thing, none of the budget places, hostels or ryokans actually have a kitchen for the guests to use that includes a stove. Which means that not much cooking is really possible. When a bowl of ramen costs 650Yen and up (current exchange is 95.4Yen = 1USD and with banks fees factored in, its more like 93Yen = 1USD), which means that the simplest meal you can have will cost you nearly $8. If some amount of cooking was possible, it sure would help with the budget travel.

Here are some of the sample food costs here in Japan:
A single apple = 88 Yen - 180 Yen (88Yen was on the smaller side, the larger ones are the size of an infant's head)
Bread = 188 Yen ( there was a special at the market that day where the price for 3 slices, 4 slices, 5 slices or 6 slices are bread all costs the same)
6 eggs = 298 Yen
Cream Cheese, 6 small single serving = 460 Yen
Pork Cutlet Sandwich = 360 Yen
Lunch Bowl sold at Train Stations = 840 Yen
7 piece of sushi outside of Tsujiki Market = 3500 Yen
Coffee = 200 Yen - 529 Yen (all simple drip coffee, nothing fancy, the cost of coffee is certainly killing me a bit here)
Pastry = 180 Yen and up
Water = FREE! The tap water is of such great quality there that you at least don't have to buy water, and it tastes great!

So, thank god for free and clean water, but maybe I should think about cutting back on the need for fresh fruit and coffee.

Girls here come in pairs, at minimum

2008-12-04T17:54:00.000-08:00

Dec 3, 2008
Kyoto, Japan

Our friend Brian explained the Japanese mentality as an desire for not stick out. Individuality is ok but only when expressed along side of another. So if your friends are practicing the same kind of individual expression as you, then all is well.

With that in mind, I have been observant and I see that the girls come in pairs, at least. When you spot two girls together, on the train, out and about, they are coordinated, if not matching. They are sporting the same style and have made themselves (clothing, make up, accessories and etc) all to be of the same. Its like they are a matching pair.

This can quickly become a fun game to play - sit somewhere and see if you can spot the matching friend in the crowd.

Then, there are the school girls who are in uniforms. You would think that once they are in uniforms they all would look the same. Not so much. There is always little modifiers that are added on to the uniform to express that sense of individuality, except the group all share the same identify. For instance, there is this group of school girls all in uniforms but all of the girls all of converse style sneakers on, only that all of them are of different colors and patterns. Then, there was another group which all had "kicks" on by either nike or puma, same style but different color and patterns.

Is individuality is individuality when it is conformed within the will of the group? Can we all still be the unique snowflake that we are when we are all look the same?

Geisha spotting in Gion, or is it wild life hunting?

2008-12-04T17:51:00.000-08:00

Dec 2, 2008
Kyoto, Japan

I think one of the must do thing for all of those who travel through Japan is at least an attempt to walk through the Gion district and have a sighing or two of Geishas as the culture and practice has captured the imagination of the West.

But as there are less than 100 geishas and 80 maiko left in Kyoto, less than 1000 of geishas and maiko in all of Japan, standing on the streets of Gion district in hopes to spot one of them begins to feel like a wild animal sighting of sorts. This feeling only deepens as double decker tour buses pulls through the narrow alley way full of tourists, Japanese and foreign.

At last, I see one! Dressed in full make up, hair and kimono, hustling down the street in small quick steps, my instinct is to pull out the camera and attempt a shot, but as all the other wild animal enthusiasts who have gathered near by flashes away, I quickly see that the Geishas do not really enjoy being photographed.

Out of respect (and also I rather suck as a paparazzi and I was not geared properly for wild life photography) I put my camera away after one lousy shot and started to take photos (albeit random and crappy) images of the gawkers instead. I think I really just wanted to annoy them in attempts to make them understand why the gawking and flashing cameras without any regard for the Geishas might just be a bit rude. I can't say if I was successful at annoying them and making my point know but I did get a few confused and dirty looks.

Plastic Food Models and Fake Foods

2008-12-04T17:44:00.000-08:00

December 1, 2008
Kyoto, Japan

There are plastic food models outside of many Japanese restaurants to show you what the restaurant offers and what the costs are. Some of these food models looks amazingly realistic and delicious. Which got me thinking about a culture where much of your visual sensory experience relating to your meal is "fake" or "simulated." What effect does that has on the national psyche? the collective unconsciousness?

Then I got to wonder about the traveling sales men who goes from restaurant to restaurants to sell the owners updated or new models of the plastic foods. Where is the factory where they make these plastic foods? What about the factory workers who have to make the models and assemble them? Do you think the sales men has a big glossy catalog of plastic food options to choose from? Or do you think that the models are custom made to order for each restaurant? After all, I have seen quiet a bit of diversity in the arrangement of each models, even if the restaurants are all selling similar foods. Or do you think its a do it yourself kit that you can order? You get as many parts as you needs along with a large bottle of lacquer and you can arrange for the portions and presentation of the plastic foods as you see fit for your restaurant and when you are done, you pour the lacquer over it and wait for it to dry.

Then there are these miniature plush food replicas. Is it merely decorative? Or is it some sort of luck and prosperity kinda of talisman?

I am rather fascinated by all of these fake foods and if effect it has on the unconsciousness.

Sex Vending Machine

2008-12-04T17:41:00.000-08:00

Nov 30, 2008
Tokyo, Japan

There are these vending machines eatery here in Japan where you order what you would like the eat from the selections listed on the machine, you put your money into it, it provides you with change and a ticket. You then give the ticket to one of the person working at the restaurant and they will shortly bring you what you have ordered.

At first I thought this was a great idea. You eliminate the need for an additional person to work as a cashier, the workers are not handling food and money at the same time, there is less chance of mistakes in changes made and most likely its a lot easier to tally out for the day. A rather efficient system to say the least.

Then I got to thinking, what if one day (maybe this already exists somewhere) you could order sex from a machine!? You can choose from a blond, a brunette, a red head, or from different nationalities, the type of service in which you would like to have, and the duration in which you would like the service to be.

We are already being fed by machines in many respects, we already live in a world in which we interact with technology more than we interact with other humans. Do you think a future in which where another one of our most primal needs is being fulfilled in such clean and dispensable way is too far off?

Think about how much simpler the industry of prostitution would be if the transactions can be done via a dispensary. There would be no haggling, the government would be able to tax the industry, there would be greater chance for fair pay for the workers, there would be less abuse by pimps because it would eliminate the need for pimps for many of the workers.

Hmmm.....Don just made the best suggestion of all here though, maybe we should actually make one, a sex vending machine as described above, as a piece of sculptural art....now we are on to something!

"He is going to DIE!"

2008-11-29T21:24:00.000-08:00

Nov 30, 2008
Tokyo, Japan

Last night we went out with our friend Brian and some other friends of his from his building for dinner and a little karoke. We walked out of the building with 6 child in toll, all under the age of 8, only to come upon a group of small children all about the same age. This small group of children that had gathered were talking about something in a very animated manner, but not as if they are excited but more concerned. One girl had a small dog on a pink leash and another girl had a butter fly net while 3 of the other kids are on bicycles. I was intrigued by whatever drama that was unfolding between the children and I made a mention of it to Brian. He then translated the last thing we heard one of the girl has said, "He is going to DIE!"

I only wish I had a picture of this for you!

Still no service on the blackberry and there will be none until I am in Taipei. *Sigh* The bank is still refusing to give me money although the BofA costumer rep did assure me that there is no problem with my card and that they are not holding my money hostage. Still have not fully proceeded any or all of the information that my brain has gathered here so far in these 48 hours - but I do think that we have got a handle on the subway system and after　ｔｏｍｏｒｒｏｗ　ａｍ　ｂａｃｋ　ａｔ　Ｔｓｕｋｉｊｉ，　ｗｅ　ｗｉｌｌ　ｂｅ　ｏｆｆ　ｔｏ　Ｋｙｏｔｏ　ｆｏｒ　ａ　ｆｅｗ　ｄａｙｓ．　
Ｉ　ｈａｔｅ　ｆｏｒｅｉｇｎ　ｋｅｙｂｏａｒｄｓ！

Tsukiji and First Impressions

2008-11-28T22:07:00.000-08:00

Nov 29, 2008
Tokyo, Japan

First full day here in Tokyo and of course the first order of the day is to Tsukiji,the world largest fish market. I have been wanting to see this market ever since "Wok the Dog" became the project that it currently is. So naturally there is a lot of anticipation and a lot of expectation riding on today. After being some what disappointed in the markets that I found in Argentina, I was trying not get my hopes up, trying not to have any expectation.

We got off the subway and I smelled fish! My heart quickened and I was immediately excited by what could be waiting for me. Lets just say that I will be spending every available day shooting at Tsukiji for all the mornings that we will be here in Tokyo. It lived up to any expectation that I might have had.

After about 2 hours at the market, we wondered around for some coffee, shared a bowl of noodles for breakfast number 1 and proceeded to wait in line for a spot at a tiny sushi restaurant just outside of Tsukiji for some of the freshest sushi in the world! We waited 2.5 hours for a seat! Yes, it was amazing! As we waited in line, I had a silly thought, "What if they ran out of fish?"

We are in one of the most technologically advanced cities in the world and yet we have had nothing but tech troubles here. Our blackberries do not work since Japan is on their own cell network, I can't get money out of the ATM because Bank of America is stupid. So I am having a bit of crackberry withdrawl here. It seems rather ironic that I can get money out of the ATM in the boarder town on Laos without needing to inform BofA of my travel plans and yet here in Japan, they wish to hold my money hostage as a means to protect me. Blackberry was happily delivering me emails at the base camp of Mt Everest but not here in Tokyo. Ironies of ironies.

First impression of Tokyo is that its a lot like Taipei, Taiwan. With the only difference being that I can only understand about a third of what is going on and have virtually no ability to converse with anyone. I have wanted to see Japan ever since I was a child, how strange is it to find that it is a lot like HOME?

Well...that is the first impression at any rate. There will be more concert thoughts on Tsukiji and everything else later, after a little recovery from the jet lag and crackberry withdrawal.

A Life Open to the World

2008-11-25T08:44:00.000-08:00

Nov 25, 2008
Los Angeles, Ca

The recent issue of The New Yorker has an article about Jeffery Alford and Naomi Duguid. They are cookbook authors but a more accurate description would be culinary anthropologists or culinary geographers. They have published 6 cookbooks since 1995 and I currently own "Hot, Sour, Salty, Sweet" while the rest are logged into my 28 page wish list on Amazon.

The thing that really caught my attention in the profile piece about Alford and Duguid is not just the partnership that they have and how they essentially raised two child on the road but their attitude towards traveling..."they travel light, on anything headed in the right direction - a riverboat, a mountain bus...when nothing shows up, they hitchhike or rent a bike or walk....[Duguid] call this 'staying vulnerable' to the people, the place, and the possibility of a new taste where ever they get dropped off...they talk about arriving in a place and having no idea of what they'll find there. The awe that comes with that - it's always present."

This idea of staying vulnerable to possibilities is I think one of my favorite things about traveling and why I think I am always itching to get back on the road. Yet something happens once the plane hits the tarmac at LAX - somehow the mind shifts and I becomes less vulnerable. Why do we feel less safe at "home" than we do in a strange land? Is it because when we are here, we feel that we are measured by our accomplishments and if we don't have enough then we must fake it? Especially in a place like Los Angeles?

How do we stay vulnerable to possibilities and yet still protect ourselves?

Where to next is a frequent question that I get at my Q&A sections and I have been thinking of South / Central America and Africa. Yet I have had Central Asia and Mongolia stuck in my teeth for over a year now - and Burma since this summer. The article ends with Alford and Durguid writing a cookbook that is focused on Burma. Burma again - is the Universe trying to tell me something? Meanwhile, I am tentatively slated to go down to Mexico / Cuba next spring and Chile next winter. But all of this could change depending on my grant status.

As I try to define and refine the "partnership" I wish to have, I can't help but look at the Alford/Durguid model to be a measuring stick of sorts. The profile describes them to be opposites yet symbiotic. They were able to agree on all the big important life questions within days after they meet in the low oxygen city of Lhasa at 3600km.

Irrespective of what the final definition is, what I do know is that I would like a life that is open to the world, where I am vulnerable to possibilities, adventures, regardless whether I am in LA, New York or a nameless town in middle of no where.

Nov 24, 2008, The New Yorker, The Hungry Travellers by Jane Kramer

The Revolution Starts Here

2008-11-23T08:32:00.000-08:00

Nov 23, 2008
Los Angeles, Ca

I am off to Japan in a few days - two weeks there for more images for "Wok the Dog" and then home to Taiwan to spend the last couple weeks of the year with my family. Which means that I will be back to chronicling adventures on the road here real soon.

But first things first. I did a photo shoot on Thursday for an update of my commerical portfolio (yes, I work as a commerical photographer as well) and one of the shots I executed was inspired by John Lennon and Yoko Ono's honeymoon protest where they were in their bed at their honeymoon suite for all the media to see. They effectively turned something that is supposed to private into something public, an event that is a celebration of their love and union into an event with greater global implications. Not to mention that is not a bad piece of performance art.

All of this got me to think about "where does the revolution start?"

In the minds and hearts? Then does that not really begin in the subconscious? In sleep - while you are dreaming?

This began simply as an exercise to update my commerical work and now I feel like maybe there is some truth in it. The revolution starts here - in our minds - in a fundamental place - bed - in this case.

I have always felt a bit like a rebel when it comes to my commercial photography. I can shoot pretty girls in clothes, standing there, all day long. But I reject it somehow. I want the images to have a message, to have a narrative, to have meaning. To be more than just a body, a pretty face and the product of the day. I strive for something more, a sense of humor, a bit of intrigue, irony and sarcasm, a message that does not distract from the ultimate goal of advertising and yet provides you with just a little bit more.

If President Elect Obama is really ushering is a Brave New World, then I hope that we will start seeing advertising to go beyond the traditional and communicate a better message.

A Generation of Thieves

2008-11-14T09:23:00.000-08:00

Nov 14, 2008
Los Angeles, Ca

I had a discussion with a friend of mine via IM yesterday about Intellectual Property and its applicable laws protecting it. Then last night, as I was slugging my way through The New Yorker, I noted a book that is mentioned in the "Briefly Noted" section of the magazine.

The book is called "Remix" by Lawrence Lessig,
"As Lessig, a law professor at Stanford, sees it, if intellectual-property law is left as it is an entire generation will be criminalized. He argues that the ways in which young people break copyright laws help them to become the sort of people we want them to be—creative and collaborative. Kids today are simply not going to give up downloading music and using copyrighted material in YouTube videos: they belong to a culture for which “remix” is “the essential art.” Lessig’s proposals for revising copyright are compelling, because they rethink intellectual-property rights without abandoning them. He argues that hybrids that combine the “commercial and sharing” economies can create value for both sides (as Harry Potter fan sites and Lostpedia have done); indeed, one problem is media companies’ appropriating the work of fans without returning the favor. “When both benefit,” Lessig writes, “how do we say who is riding for free?”

I believe that as artists and creators we should be able to benefit from the "art" that which we create. After all, this choice of a life is a gamble, there is no guarantee that you will ever be successful, or even be able to pay your rent in the life time in which you spent creating the "art." But I think certain amount of content should be available for "free" for other users to amend, absorb and repatriate into something new, even if the new "art" is unlike the original at all. Which brings to mind the Creative Commons model and or how NIN offers tracks of their songs for download without charge online and you can remix and re post to be shared by other fans.

As I wonder about this model of "collective creating" and how I could incorporate it into my life as an artist - slightly difficult since my primary medium is rather "fixed" - I came up with an idea. What if a collaborative process was offered, I could either provide digital files of a selection of images, or actual prints, and a small group of artists (working in both photography and other mediums) utilized the "base" in which I have provided and do what they will to it. Then we will have collectively created something new.

But here is where the sticking point in Intellectual Property Law begins - who would own that piece of new art that is created? Or do all participating artists goes into this with the agreement that we are all owners of the new art?

Does the idea of "ownership" only truly matters when there is a perceived value for the "object"?

Art does have value. Radiohead proved that the fan will pay for the music by independently releasing their last album with the "pay what you will" system. NIN gave away its latest album for free online - Trent Reznor said "This one is on me!" I paid for the Radiohead album because I wanted to be heard that art has value. I happily accepted Trent's download and respected him all the more for acknowledging the fans who have supported him for nearly 20 years.

Is it the corporation in between who will rake in the largest profits from our angst and demented dreams that we have a problem with then?

I don't have the answers to any of these questions. But I am excited about the idea of "collectively creating," think I will buy Lessig's book and see his opinion on IP laws, and believe that the more we give the more we will be given in return.

Babies and James Bond

2008-11-13T09:42:00.000-08:00

Nov 13, 2008
Los Angeles, Ca

I never pictured myself as a mother. I don't want children cause they don't really make any sense to me. I wanted to be James Bond plus MacGyver . To be working for a "greater" cause, ruthless and suave, unshaken by anything. Women are never mad that Bond could never committee and they are simply happy to have the pleasure and privilege to have been the ONE for the night. Bond girls knew that Bond is never meant to be the husband who takes out the trash and mows the lawn. I wanted to be MacGyver just in case when the issued gadgets fail, I could make my own instead. How liberating life can be when all you need is a coke can and a stick of gum to get you out of any situation?

Last night at our friend Elif's, I watched her interact with her 4 year old son, Anatol. If I ever had a moment in which I wanted a child, I think I felt it last night. It is not a child that I want, but what I envied was the bond and connection between the two of them. All Anatol ever needs is his mother, it wouldn't matter that there are riots on the street or the house is on fire, as long as he can be held by his mom, all is well. To see that contentment and pure joy in Elif when she is with her boy - so untainted by anything - it made me wish for the purity of that love.

Looking at Anatol, I can't help but be excited for him and yet sad at the same time. There is still so much for him to experience, to learn. First love, first kiss, first car, first epiphany, first everything. Yet, he still has to learn about heart break, disappointment, rejection and bell bottom pants. Elif's heart will travel with him through all the ups and downs and I wonder if this is not a devil's bargain after all.

Maybe that is why I wanted to be James Bond. It is easier when your life is your own and there is no one waiting for you at home. Bond might be more glamorous and exciting, but maybe he is not the brave one after all.

Home is the edge of the world in the mind of god

2008-11-12T09:03:00.000-08:00

Nov 12, 2008
Los Angeles, Ca

I have been having much trouble with the concept of home of late as you may know. There is desire to not just see the world, to go to some of the most outer edges. Tibet, base camp of Mt Everest case in point. The top of the world! Now its the end of the world, Patagonia.

Ironically, few days after I returned from Argentina, the Patagonia catalog arrived at the house. I have never made any purchases from them before as I am far more of a fan of NorthFace products, but somehow, somewhere, they got my name and a catalog came.

The catalog have little essays inside with some great images accompany them about Chile, conservation in Patagonia and etc. There is this one essay by Jeff Johnson, titled "Home."

"I had sailed from California to Chile, a four-month journey that led me far off the beaten path. An extended stay on Easter Island had been the turning point for me as I finally let go of the trappings back home - a slow and difficult process. But it was here, floating in a river on the every edge of Patagonia, that I realized home is not a physical reference to a specific place on earth but a boardening of the consciousness. Home is, after all, where you are."

Yes, Home, maybe just that, where you are and nothing more. Not the trappings of cable TV or running water, not the smell of coffee or the warmth of your duvet. But home is the unspoken love in my mom's hug or the embrace of a loved one.

I sometimes wonder if my desire to see the world, and the extreme ends of the world is not to somehow to have a peak inside our significance by seeing "...the Earth; the Solar System; the Universe; the Mind of God.” as Thorton Wilder described in Our Town.

Land Reform - Do the East only dreams of the West?

2008-11-08T10:09:00.000-08:00

Nov 8, 2008
Los Angeles, Ca

A friend of mine and I are applying for the Dorthea Lang- Paul Taylor Documentary Prize offered by Duke University. The prize funds a collaborative documentary project for a writer and a photographer. We had been discussing our interests and what our pitch for a month now. We wanted to ask a question, a question that would need research, time and dedication on our part instead of simply using the grant money to merely document a foregone conclusion. We both felt that it would be a more interesting way to approach the project. After all, if we already knew the answer, then is not the documentary simply a way to prove that we are right?

We wanted see about a comparative analysis of American market culture compared to the emerging market culture of China (food market that is). As China industrializes and the middle class expands, do they shift towards the American style of sanitized supermarkets and give up on the traditional markets that I have spent the last few years photographing? Or is there something so deeply ingrained to their attachment of that style of markets - knowing that the chicken is freshly killed that day - that China would never become a version of America as they industrialize.

As American becomes more and more conscience of their food choices and the impact their purchases has, farmer's market thrive, Buy Local and Grass Fed gains momentum. What will the future of American markets be like? Will it ever become a clean version of the traditional markets in China. Will Americans ever be brave enough to look at death in the face and see an animal killed for their benefit and be ok with it?

Are the developing nations have another example to look at, another model to emulate than the West? Without it, will it be able to dream of a different dream of prosperity and progress?

As we finalize our grant application here, NPR had a news story this week about land reforms in China:

" In China, land issues and peasant rebellions have traditionally brought down imperial dynasties. Land reform was at the heart of the Communist Revolution in 1949.

Now China's leaders have quietly announced a new rural revolution, making it easier for farmers to lease or trade their land-use rights. This will transform life for the country's 700 million farmers...

Under the new reforms, Beiping village is the first in the province to set up a cooperative. It will lease farmers' land, consolidate the patchwork of plots, then modernize and mechanize farming.

In return, it promises each farmer 440 pounds of grain a year or the cash equivalent at market prices. After three years, each will also receive a share of the cooperatives profits. They won't have to do anything for it, unless they want to work for the collective, earning about $8 a day.

Chinese farmers don't actually own their land, but they do have land-use rights — and these reforms make it easier for farmers to lease these rights or sell them to agribusiness. Any land transferred can only be used for farming, in order to guarantee China's food security...

'Our leaders are rolling out policies to help farmers get rich," Liu says. "They want to close the gap between the city and the countryside. They want to urbanize the countryside. The small fields will become big fields, and we'll have rows and rows of houses like in the city...'

Details aside, these reforms are far-reaching — China's Communist leaders rose to power by liberating peasant farmers from the reviled landlord class; now they're promising to liberate peasants from the land itself."

(All Things Considered, NPR, Louisa Lim)

I curious as to what China dreams of becoming.

The Rebuttal

2008-11-08T09:56:00.000-08:00

Nov 8, 2008
Los Angeles, CA

Here is my reply to the letter of objection sent to Gastronomica magazine:

The point of my project is to raise cultural awareness and cause viewers to rethink ideas about Western cultural superiority. My work questions whether we have modernized and sterilized our food industry to the point where we have lost something of value that less-developed nations still retain. How can we impose our own standards of right and wrong on those who must eat, on those who do not see a dog as a companion but as food, given their cultural norms?

Most of my images do, in fact, depict local and grass-fed livestock, because the majority of the cultures I photograph know little of the industrialized killing machine we have created here in the States. Experience has taught me that markets like those depicted in my photos waste far less than we do and make use of every part of the slaughtered animal. Their practices represent a far more profound display of respect for the sentient being that gave up its life than does the standard Western approach of only eating select parts and discarding the rest.

I urge Gastronomica readers to put aside outrage and take another look at my work, and at the fuller body of work that is offered on my Web site (www.charliestudio.com/). We must look beyond our immediate surroundings and think about the global society.

====

Brave New World

2008-11-04T17:39:00.000-08:00

Nov 4, 2008
Los Angeles, CA

First time in over 2 years do I regret not having a live TV. All I can do is hit the refresh button on CNN with more frequency than necessary.

This has been long in coming. I feel that we are at the precipice of a revolution, of a Brave New World. 8 years of bad leadership and bad policies, domestic and foreign, 8 years of fear. Enough!

I have never been this excited before for an election, been this excited to exercise my right to vote. I voted today believing that I am choosing a better future.

The World is waking up, I can feel it in my bones, in my heart, all around me. Not just how the fate of the World is dependent on the outcome of this election, or how active voter turn out as been. But in other ways as well. We have finally awaken to problems that are around us, from global warming to buying locally, in all ways, we are finally AWAKE!

I am excited to be a able to contribute to the dialogue.

Despite my excitement for the Presidential outcome tonight, the phrase "Brave New World" is stuck in my head. So I wikied a refresher on the novel since its been over 14 years since I have read Huxley's novel. At the end of the wiki article, I found this which I thought was interesting:

Social critic Neil Postman contrasts the worlds of 1984 and Brave New World in the foreword of his 1985 book Amusing Ourselves to Death. He writes:

What Orwell feared were those who would ban books. What Huxley feared was that there would be no reason to ban a book, for there would be no one who wanted to read one. Orwell feared those who would deprive us of information. Huxley feared those who would give us so much that we would be reduced to passivity and egoism. Orwell feared that the truth would be concealed from us. Huxley feared the truth would be drowned in a sea of irrelevance. Orwell feared we would become a captive culture. Huxley feared we would become a trivial culture, preoccupied with some equivalent of the feelies, the orgy porgy, and the centrifugal bumblepuppy. As Huxley remarked in Brave New World Revisited, the civil libertarians and rationalists who are ever on the alert to oppose tyranny "failed to take into account man's almost infinite appetite for distractions." In 1984, Orwell added, people are controlled by inflicting pain. In Brave New World, they are controlled by inflicting pleasure. In short, Orwell feared that what we fear will ruin us. Huxley feared that what we desire will ruin us.

Neither version of the future is what I hope for us all, yet, over 70 years since the publication of both novels, the prediction of the future is too eerily close for comfort.

I dream a better future for us all!

First Hate Mail

2008-11-03T16:45:00.000-08:00

Nov 3, 2008
Los Angeles, Ca

As many of you may know, I was featured in Gastronomica magazine's Summer 08 issue for my series "Wok the Dog." It opens with a 250 word introduction written by me and a 7 page spread with images that were chosen from the series by Gastronomica.

The editor from the journal today had sent me an email, wanting me to respond to a letter of objection that she received regarding my work and series. My first hate mail!

Here is the letter:

Dear Gastronomica,

It was with great excitement that I awaited my first issue of Gastronomica: what I expected to be an epicurean resource. After receiving it recently, I wish to forward some rather despondent input. On so many levels it is hard to capture, I have issues with Charlie Grosso’s Market and Meat, photographic sample of her Wok the Dog project.

This is, at a minimum, sensationalist journalism but, more realistically, work that is the result of an individual’s fascination with the macabre. This opinion is exemplified by Ms. Grosso’s revolting and callous picture titles. Additionally, I see no connection between the statement “…but we have lost our connection not only to the vendors who sell us our food, but to life itself, to the animal our dinner once was” and the photographs shown, which depict the goriest elements of slaughter; not any correlation to the actual sentient being. It would have been so much more powerful, appropriate and value added if, after that statement, she had shown or detailed information on the Buy Local or Grass Fed movements, which actually do connect you with your food, where it comes from, and the vendors who provide it to the market.

Ultimately, the magazine carries much responsibility for giving this type of eccentricity exposure, so I have cancelled my subscription.

I wish to change the world with my art, what I dedicate this brief time that I have. I have gotten some real heart felt and positive responds from all sorts of different people regrading the series. The responds make me feel like I am on the right track and making some sort of impact. But this, a letter and a cancelled subscription, I almost feel that is just as a good responds as any that I have gotten. Maybe we should gauge the impact we make by the hate mail that we receive instead?!

The editor has requested a responds from me and I will post that here in the next day or two. Stay tuned.....

Selling to the Wrong Side of the Street

2008-11-01T17:58:00.000-07:00

Nov 1, 2008
Los Angeles, Ca

I had asked for a consult with a photographer friend of mine, Jim McHugh. He is an amazing photographer and a kind of a mentor. I wanted to see what his opinion is of "What is next?!"

You may ask, why is Jim McHugh qualify to give such opinion? He has years of experience in the commercial world, has done very well in these last few years when he decided to venture into the art world, not to mention the experience and wisdom that comes with time and age. He was an advocate of my work early on and saw their potential before anyone else did.

Jim's opinion is that I am selling to the wrong side of the street. If I could transform my work somehow so that it is no longer just photography - it being the bastard child of the art world - and sell myself as a fine artist - then it would really be something!

It all makes perfect sense. In a way, I knew this already. I think that is why we talked about the scratch and sniff idea and to incorporate interactive and multi-media elements to the work and presentation.

Its interesting to look at the art market and see the fuss over "new media" and understand how there is this nearly arbitrary line drawn. Shepard Fairy for instance and the popularity of street art. It can be just as easily replicated as photography, after all, its a stencil, but the medium is relatively new and because of its influence in popular culture and its social-political guerilla-ness, he can command 5 figures for his art. Bravo! I applaud him for how far he has come. I simply find the irony in the art world's acceptance and preference of one medium over another "interesting."

You know how you are often asked to describe your art and what it is about, or the style of it? I am fully aware of the nuances of my work, yet I don't want to describe it to others. I want them to see it themselves. Jim described my work exactly as I hoped for it be described. Its not documentary or reportage, cause its not in their faces. Its not of crying children and dying men. Its studied, it takes a step back, it has a narrative and you want to be involved in it. You want to know more. Its quiet in a way and its a little melancholy. It felt so good to have someone describe your work the way you think it should. Not only do they "get it" - fully appreciate why you think its good or special - but they have the language to say such.

So, need to create new work, need to start re-inventing as an "artist", more grants and more gallery show. That is what is next!

Plan on Being Suprised

2008-11-01T17:29:00.000-07:00

Nov 1, 2008
Los Angeles, Ca

Home again. 10 planned days and then 1 extra due to a canceled flight in Argentina was really not what I expected at all. As I mentioned before, the markets here are not what I was secretly hoping for. I was able to get myself out of that frame of mind and not be disappointed by whatever expectation I may have. After all, I want "Wok the Dog" to be about how people really do interact with their food and for it to be a social-political examination at the very basic action that governs our lives.

Yet I must admit, the interesting thing about Argentina and their markets is from the point of economics. There are large European chains in BA, such as Carrefour but its the small businesses that really seems to be everywhere. It makes you wonder about the fate of these small business over the next 10 years as Argentina strives to become a first class nation. I do wonder about countries who strive for modernity and advancement - if one day, they will all become a version of America. Or is it possible to dream of a different way of being a first world country?

"Do androids dream of electric sheep?"

Then what is the purpose of this journey then you ask? I had left in hopes of new images for the series, or inspiration for a new series that I can began...I am not sure that I came home with either but I was able to really reconnect with an old friend in new ways. Relationship is about relating right? The time we invest in each other and in our relationship with one another. I think that sometimes we get too preoccupied with simply investing time in our significant others that we forget that we need to invest real time in our friends as well. An occasion dinner in which you catch up on event highlights is not always enough.

If nothing else, I got reconnect with one of my favorite person and we got to share new experiences together. Maybe this trip was about living and not about working.

Bellamie and I talked a lot of about being "damaged" in these past 10 days. My thought was always that there are of us who are and then there are those you who are not damaged. She begged a differ and believes that we are all damaged. What is the point then I ask? The challenge is in how we deal with our damage, our scar tissues and how we move on from that. In the light of this view, I suddenly understand why we live in a city full of work-a-hoilics. Its easier to work than to deal with our challenges, our wounds.

Perhaps that reason why the shooting was not great on this trip is so that I can live for a moment, deal with my damageness again (as it never goes away apparently) and invest real time in my relationship with my friend.

Art Everywhere

2008-10-19T08:59:00.000-07:00

Oct 19, 2008
Buenos Aires, Argentina

I think my favorit thing about BA here so far is that there are art everywhere. The city is not colorful per se, but there are street art decordating every block in this city. They are mostly graffitti style "painitngs" - aka street art - but none two are alike and they are rarely graffitti over. Its as if there are more than the handful of street artists coloring the streets and that there is a great amount of respect from all for the art that is on the walls.

Another thing I really enjoyed is at the weekend street markets there are some really beatiful art that is being sold for very reasonable price. Its a relief from other places where all you ever see for sale are crappy toursist trinkets that are mass prouced out of some factory.

The food here, beef, is delicious, yet at the sametime, I wonder about why the cusines is so limited? What is the reason for such limited range

We are heading down south to pargue faunistica peninsula valdes - i dont know if the markets will have much variance once we are out of BA but I sure am interested to see. Its journey and not the destination right?