1.28.2010

FrankFrank

I recently realized that two old men rule my life, both born in the 1920s and named Frank! FRANKLY (heheee) I dislike the name, on first thought it reminds me of a balding fat German man. I wonder what the first 'Frank' image is on google...


HAHA I'm right!


Frank #1: Frank O'Hara

Mad Men introduced him to me, and I immediately fell in love. He is one of a handful of New York School poets whose work parallels Surrealism, Abstract Expressionism, and Modernism. His writing style reminds me a lot of my own, or at least what I aspire to. My first favorite of his work is "Mayakovsky."

1
My heart's aflutter!
I am standing in the bath tub
crying. Mother, mother
who am I? If he
will just come back once
and kiss me on the face
his coarse hair brush
my temple, it's throbbing!

then I can put on my clothes
I guess, and walk the streets.

2
I love you. I love you,
but I'm turning to my verses
and my heart is closing
like a fist.

Words! be
sick as I am sick, swoon,
roll back your eyes, a pool,

and I'll stare down
at my wounded beauty
which at best is only a talent
for poetry.

Cannot please, cannot charm or win
what a poet!
and the clear water is thick

with bloody blows on its head.
I embraced a cloud,
but when I soared
it rained.

3
That's funny! there's blood on my chest
oh yes, I've been carrying bricks
what a funny place to rupture!
and now it is raining on the ailanthus
as I step out onto the window ledge
the tracks below me are smoky and
glistening with a passion for running
I leap into the leaves, green like the sea

4
Now I am quietly waiting for
the catastrophe of my personality
to seem beautiful again,
and interesting, and modern.

The country is grey and
brown and white in trees,
snows and skies of laughter
always diminishing, less funny
not just darker, not just grey.

It may be the coldest day of
the year, what does he think of
that? I mean, what do I? And if I do,
perhaps I am myself again.



If you skipped that, you should really go back and read it. I know it's long, but it's GOOD.



Frank #2: Frank Gehry

Gehry is an old favorite of mine, he is a HUGE influence in my design aesthetic. I blame him for my eccentricity. I love how he pokes fun at all the straight and narrow architects by turning architecture into whimsy. (Whether or not he does this on purpose, I don't know.) It's kind of like a gigantic, expensive, yet functional joke! I think he is my hero.

start: A standard Gehry sketch of crumpled papers...



finish: Voila! Building!


He truly is a genius.

1.26.2010

Wow I FINALLY developed these!

These are quite soft, I almost want to squish them. Andy and I went on a very cold, walk wet walk during our last days in the snow! It was very cold, and very wet, but enjoyable nonetheless.

























1.19.2010

Return to ACTIONville.

Hello!

After spending the last 4 months being surrounded by Yankees, I've begrudgingly returned to my hometown. I forgot how quaint and full of character our downtown is. I actually confused myself the other day calling it 'uptown,' seeing as I live south of the heart of the city. I had forgotten that in Jacksonville, the urban portion is always considered 'downtown,' no matter where you are in relation to it. I think that's kind of backwards. Anyway, our city tries to act like a big kid with its few taller buildings clad in glass staring out over the river, but there are so many surrounding run-down and abandoned buildings holding it back. It's quite a let down actually, with 5 huge colorful bridges (even neon lights!) leading to a half ghost town. Save for Art Walk Wednesdays, our downtown is inhabited by suit wearers on weekdays from 9-5, and other than that it is desolate and sketchy. It used to be quite vibrant, damn the urban sprawl. It has so much potential with its incredible historical architecture and the lovely (but polluted) St Johns (which ALSO has potential...).


Our tallest buildings at the center of the city.




"The train to nowhere that no one rides." - Ron Mans
a.k.a. Jacksonville's idea of public transportation that was expensive to build and is inconvenient to commuters, the Skyway.


I'm excited there are beginning to be more independent businesses opening. I feel this one in particular captures Jacksonville's antiquated feel.



I think this is an old conveyor belt attached to an abandoned industrial building, there are loads just like this.



Two of our bridges, the Hart (at top) and the Main St.

One day I'm going to come back and open a coffee shop. Hopefully by then it will have grown up a little more and there will be Skyway riders with places to ride to.