TED 2011 Senior Fellow

Emeka Okafor, Marvin Hall, and me at TED Global 2009

I feel very lucky to be a TED 2011 Senior Fellow, which means more TLC from the TED family and the privilege of attending four more conferences over the next two years. It begins in a few days when I’m headed to TED 2011 to join the giant ice cream social, give a talk about I Wish This Was, and soak in inspiration from all shades of life and love. Thanks to the program, which you can apply to right here, I’ve met a lot of remarkable people, particularly the fellows. Staying in touch with excited people in science, music, engineering, filmmaking, activism and beyond is an enlightening window and good reminder of how much we often, or can, overlap. The one and only Cesar Harada and I currently live a few blocks away from each other and share everything from coconut cupcakes to giant helium balloon-making tips. Support his oil-eating robots on Kickstarter today!

Feb 21st, 2011 | Notebook |

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See You in Santiago

The kind of night where a stimulating new city falls into soft focus compared to reuniting with old friends. Stray dogs follow us down big mellow sidewalks.

Feb 18th, 2011 | Notebook |

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Urban Innovation Challenge Fellowship in New Orleans

I’m so happy to be selected as an Urban Innovation Challenge Fellow by Tulane University and the Rockefeller Foundation! The fellowship supports ideas to solve social challenges in areas of urban revitalization, public education, health, and economic development with a $45,000 stipend and generous support from Tulane University for the next year. With a mentorship from the great people at Tulane City Center, my colleagues and I will develop Neighborland which, in a nutshell, is the digital version of I Wish This Was and will help people shape future businesses and beyond in their neighborhoods. Neighborland is also very much a group effort with Head of Product Dan Parham, Chief Engineer Tee Parham, and vital help from James Reeves, Chris Palmatier, Alan Williams, and others. Years ago we played minimal techno in sweaty clubs; today we’re making a startup in sweaty neighborhoods. To an exciting year collaborating with residents, community organizations, small businesses, local government, and many other passionate people in New Orleans and beyond to help make our neighborhoods more ours. Thank you Stephanie Barksdale for leading this new annual fellowship.

Feb 15th, 2011 | Notebook |



Before I Die… begins

Photos by Subtext Projects

If you’re in the Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas metropolitan area, I hope you might contribute to my newest project in progress, which is featured in Subtext Projects’ FREERIDING show at East/West Galleries. I transformed a wall of the gallery into a giant chalkboard stenciled with the phrase, “Before I die I want to _____.” People can use chalk to write on the wall and remember what is important to them. This project is also about sharing and discovering the hopes and aspirations of the people around you. In addition to the gallery show, Before I Die is being installed on neglected buildings in New Orleans in hopes of improving both our physical environment and our individual well-being while understanding our neighbors in a different and enlightening way. More to come.

FREERIDING features works about exchange, and each piece reflects an act of giving or taking. The exhibit is open until February 10th, 2011. Thank you Subtext Projects curator Leslie Murrell for the kind invitation and gallery director Vance Wingate for the generous installation assistance. Before I Die will continue to expand in public spaces and through individual limited edition pieces in the coming weeks. Life is short. What is important to you?

Jan 27th, 2011 | Notebook |

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Common Space

I’m honored to be invited by the Alaska Design Forum to be a part of Common Space, a program that explores ideas of shared space and community engagement. It includes a symposium, an exhibit, and design labs in five Alaskan cities with an artist/designer working on-site in each location. I will be doing what I love most – developing an interactive public art project with the good people of Fairbanks in April 2011. They also sent me a package with curling shoes, firewood, a hose clamp, and a .22 caliber shell box. Someone’s got a new look for the Spring…

Jan 26th, 2011 | Notebook |

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A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

It’s Good To Be Here, stenciled with temporary spray chalk, at The Orange Couch

Jan 21st, 2011 | Notebook |

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Sticker of the Week

Sexy and smart, I dig it. From I Wish This Was, New Orleans.

Jan 15th, 2011 | Notebook |

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How Well We Have Loved

Public art by Jetsonorama in the deserts of Arizona

“We recognize our own mortality, and we are reminded that in the fleeting time we have on this Earth, what matters is not wealth, or status, or power, or fame – but rather, how well we have loved, and what small part we have played in making the lives of other people better.” – Barack Obama, speaking in Tucson

Jan 13th, 2011 | Notebook |

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A New Stencil

A new stencil for a new public art project coming soon…

Jan 5th, 2011 | Notebook |

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Into the Desert

Music in the hair and wind on full blast… I’m headed to an abandoned city in the middle of the desert for research and reflection. Back in January.

Dec 13th, 2010 | Notebook |

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A Place of One’s Own

“A place of one’s own – where one can be alone – is essential. And that place, however small and humble or large and spacious, should be made one’s very own in the fullest sense of the phrase. That means not only should it be sacred to one’s self, but it should be used as an expression of one’s personality… It is no small pleasure, bit by bit, to make the room, by well-thought-out additions, more efficient, more comfortable, more native to one’s self, until it exactly expresses what one is and what one wants to do there, and reaches the acme of usefulness, beauty, and pleasure for its occupant. For just as the fish must have its water, and the bird its air, so you and I must have the immediate environment native to us for comfort, pleasure, and harmonious self-development.” – C.G.L. Du Cann, Teach Yourself to Live, 1955

Dec 12th, 2010 | Notebook |

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All I Want for Christmas is a Becak

bechak

bechak_window

Medan

Dec 11th, 2010 | Notebook |

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Blight Stat Meeting

Welcome to the City of New Orleans’ sexy Blight Stat Meeting, where over fifty citizens showed up at 8am on a Thursday to represent their neighborhoods and watch 14 city officials discuss their progress in Mayor Landrieu’s new program to crack down on blight. People told stories of the horror-movie houses in their neighborhood that are unsafe, lowering property values, and generally unpleasant to look at. These blighted property owners are often on their 7th, 8th or 9th hearings and granted yet another “reset”, or period of time to do right, if they show any slight gesture at improvements. The process also involves a strand of steps and departments whose one misstep will send the property-in-question back to the beginning of the line. Of 137 properties reviewed to move on to the Sheriff Sale stage (foreclosure auction), 24 were rejected because they failed to notifiy “all interested parties”. Interesting to see what property owners have gotten away with over the past few years. It’s like innocent until proven guilty ten times.  The new administration seems to be making lots of positive changes. In the meanwhile, how can we transform these neglected spaces into constructive ones so our neighborhoods are more dignified, more beautiful, and more ours…

Dec 10th, 2010 | Notebook |

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I Wish This Was / I Wish This Were

As the I Wish This Was project has gained momentum, I’ve received a few comments from people who are telling me that “I wish this was” should be “I wish this were” because this would be the proper use of the subjunctive mood. I hear you, and the last thing I want is to be an enemy of proper grammar. Long discussions on the topic suggest that both usages are acceptable. This project is about striking up a casual conversation in the city, and most people, including smart ones, say “I wish this was” in daily conversation. And it just sounds right in this context. I hope you understand! Don’t hurt me!

Dec 10th, 2010 | Notebook |

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LiloRann

Image from LiloRann

Proud to be a part of LiloRann, a project exploring land degradation in the deserts of North Gujarat, India, the state where TED Fellow Anab Jain grew up. She and her design studio Superflux started this project, which launched today and will continue to develop in the coming months. Stay tuned…

Dec 8th, 2010 | Notebook |

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At the Opening

A few entertaining shots from the opening reception of the Ethnographic Terminalia exhibit at Du Mois Gallery. The show featured photographs of I Wish This Was and offered free stickers for people to go buck wild on abandoned buildings and beyond. This time, “beyond” meant themselves and their drinks.

Dec 5th, 2010 | Notebook |

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Mahjong

mahjong_1

Certain sights, smells, sounds, and tastes send each of us back to our childhood. One sound that always makes me feel warm and fuzzy: the crisp, milky clack of mahjong pieces coming together.

Dec 4th, 2010 | Notebook |

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Can I Get Some Jesus with that Frosty

Dec 3rd, 2010 | Notebook |

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Once Upon A Time

Mexico Beach

If you’re in a mellow mood, find a pillow and listen to Candy read the first chapter of one of her favorite books, A Little History of the World by E.H. Gombrich, on Oliver Blank‘s Kiosk radio show (11 minutes in). The theme of his third episode is Bedtime Stories, and Olly orchestrates the perfect bed of poignant music for feeling drifty and dreamy as Candy reads “Once Upon A Time”. It aired on Helsinki’s Basso Radio and you can download the free podcast here.

“Behind every ‘Once upon a time’ there is always another.’” – E.H. Gombrich, Dec 2nd, 2010 | Notebook, Projects |

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Gutted

I crush on shotgun houses so it was a treat when a neighbor showed me his newly purchased house a block away – a foreclosed triplex camelback shotgun with classic high ceilings, sliding doors, swimming pool (!), and a balcony. Deteriorating parts are paired with solid details that have stood the test of time. Yes there was a beehive of bees living under the floorboards… but there’s a swimming pool! Walking by, you’d never know.

Dec 2nd, 2010 | Notebook |

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A Portrait

Photograph by Randal Ford

It’s good to be in Fast Company’s Masters of Design 2010 issue and in the same company as Christien Meindertsma, Emily Pilloton, Michael Murphy, Eviana Hartman, Bobby C. Martin Jr., and Ma Ke. Thanks Alissa Walker for the feature, and thanks Randal Ford for taking this photograph of me. It was nearly 100 degrees in New Orleans when he shot me blissed out below my stencil. Mind over matter! Sometimes I lie on beaches. And sometimes I lie on sidewalks. It’s good to be here.

Nov 14th, 2010 | Notebook |



Blight

Around Central City, New Orleans

Around the corner from me, The Marigny, New Orleans

New Orleans has some of the most beautiful architecture in the world, yet it also has one of the highest percentages of blighted properties in the country. I receive weekly emails on blight hearings in my neighborhood. This week’s status of ongoing properties at Code Enforcement:

2230 Chartres Street
Guilty. No Show. $500/day

2017 North Rampart Street
Guilty. $500/day

615 Mandeville Street
Guilty. $500/day

1030 Port Street
Decision was rescinded due to a change of ownership

621 Kerlerec Street
Guilty. No Show. $500 daily fine if work is not done by 10/30/2010

1518 Pauger Street (Accessory)
Compliant. No Prosecution

824-26 Marigny Street
Guilty. No Show. Fine: $100 daily

1119-21 St. Anthony (Pool)
Guilty. No Show. Fine: $100 daily

How can so many people afford to let their properties rot? At the Faubourg Marigny Improvement Association’s general meeting they remind us how important it is for a local resident to attend the hearings and meetings to let officials know these properties affect the health, safety, and quality of life in our neighborhood. It is a typical scene to see a pristinely restored shotgun house next to one that looks like it should be in a horror movie. I have project ideas for blighted properties in the works. Some community leaders are for it. Some are afraid it will incite graffiti wars and lewd comments. And others recommend I find the owners and contact them for permission. I think about how to find their information through the city government’s tax records. And then I think, does that look like someone who cares about how their house looks in the neighborhood?

A man who lives across the street from it says, “Yeah we’ve been staring at that since forever. Do it. I’ll help you paint!” That’s the permission I want.

Update: I did contact the owner of the blighted property and found out that it’s actually a sad story – a single mother who wanted to help and invest in New Orleans after Katrina, but the contractors stole her money and she’s been struggling to overcome obstacles since. Lesson learned. Every house has a story.

Nov 7th, 2010 | Notebook |



Tonight’s Special

Tonight’s project-in-progress. Printing, cutting, folding, and taping to candlelight and cinematic music.

Nov 5th, 2010 | Notebook |

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Kiosk Radio Show

Bywater, New Orleans

I read poignant excerpts from Ray Bradbury’s The Martian Chronicles on Oliver Blank’s astro-fantastic Kiosk radio show, which aired on Helsinki’s Basso Radio over the weekend. The podcast – Episode 2: Space – is free for download here. His own cinematic album can be found here, and we’re currently collaborating on an EP of his music and my reading of stories, including The Idiotic Building.

“‘It is good to renew one’s wonder,’ said the philosopher. ‘Space travel has again made children of us all.’” - Ray Bradbury, The Martian Chronicles, 1950

Nov 2nd, 2010 | Notebook |

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Poster Offensive Show

Photo by Poster Offensive, more on their flickr

The Poster Offensive show opened on Friday and I heard it was grand. The exhibit features political posters by over fifty artists and includes my Food Insecurity poster. If you’re in Minneapolis check it out Oct 28 – Nov 7, 2010.

Nov 1st, 2010 | Notebook |

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Things To Do Before You Die

On any beach where the water feels good, sit in that space where the waves tap the shore, and lie down, hands behind your head, so the ocean gushes softly past your feet, your waist, and sometimes your head.

Oct 26th, 2010 | Notebook |

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Maps in Small Spaces

Washington D.C.

Oct 25th, 2010 | Notebook |

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On Life

“My aim was always to write a story about how love and friendship fitted into people’s lives, particularly as they started to realize time was short and mortality was a fact… I was never interested in looking at that story of brave slaves who rebelled and escaped. I’m fascinated by the extent to which people don’t run away, and I think if you look around us that is the remarkable fact – how much we accept what fate has given us. Sometimes it’s just passivity; sometimes it’s just simply perspective – we don’t have the perspective to think about running away. And ultimately I was looking for a metaphor for how we face mortality. We can’t escape from the fact that we only have a limited amount of time.” - Kazuo Ishiguro, talking about his book Never Let Me Go

Oct 22nd, 2010 | Notebook |

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The Electric Kool-Aid House

Oct 21st, 2010 | Notebook |

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Toaster Ovens & Hair Extensions

Johannesburg

Warm things up and get your hair did too.

Oct 20th, 2010 | Notebook |



Sexy Cutting Room Floor

Outtakes of the Sexy Trees of the Marigny Calendar. Coming soon…

Oct 19th, 2010 | Notebook |



The Spearmint House

Oct 15th, 2010 | Notebook |

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Signs of life

stockholm_bulletin

Stockholm

0101_frenchmenst

New Orleans

New York City

Helsinki

Istanbul

turku_4

Turku

Barcelona

Oct 5th, 2010 | Notebook |

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On Death

“Who will die first? This question comes up from time to time, like where are the car keys. It ends a sentence, prolongs a glance between us. I wonder if the thought itself is part of the nature of physical love, a reverse Darwinism that awards sadness and fear to the survivor.” – Don DeLillo, White Noise, 1984

Oct 4th, 2010 | Notebook |

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Underwear & Firecrackers

Johor Bahru

They talked about spicing things up in the bedroom so…

Oct 1st, 2010 | Notebook |

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Knowing What You’re Getting

Cameron Highlands

Johannesburg
Barcelona

Atami

New York City

Sep 30th, 2010 | Notebook |

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On Language

Diepsloot, Johannesburg

“He was… feeling a little impatient with academic writing, having waded through so much of it in the course of his studies, and was convinced that it should be perfectly possible to explain most things to an intelligent child without jargon or pompous language.” – preface of A Little History of the World by E.H. Gombrich, 1935

Sep 29th, 2010 | Notebook |



Talk to the Hand

Helsinki

Tallinn

Stockholm

Tokyo

Tokyo

Atami

Osaka

Taipei

With a smile the woman invites. With a gaping mouth, a mad brow, a finger point, or a sweaty mix of all three, the men beg you to stay away. And one just wants to show you how meanly he can fly.

Sep 28th, 2010 | Notebook |

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Touch This

New York City

Sep 28th, 2010 | Notebook |

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People Trying to Sit

Tokyo

Singapore

Istanbul

Johannesburg

We need more places to sit in public space.

Sep 27th, 2010 | Notebook |



Drive-by Groceries

Where can my neighbors and I walk to buy groceries? Either a Mardi Gras party supplies store that has doubled as a selective-but-expanding grocery since Katrina, or Mr. Okra who drives his truck around like the ice cream man. Everyone has stories to tell about the old supermarket collecting dust since Katrina and the food co-op in the long but promising making for years (I’m an optimistic paying member). What is certain is that today, the biggest selection for fresh produce is on a new set of wheels. If the government wants to stimulate the economy they should make it easier for street vendors like Mr. Okra to grow their businesses. Did you know Bloomingdale’s, D’Agostino groceries, and Macy’s all started as street vendors? It’s all in this guide. Listen for Mr. Okra’s hypnotic voice on loudspeaker: “I got cantalouuoupe! I got watermeloooon! I got blueberrieeees!” And then giddily run.

Thanks to Hypothetical Development, here’s my homage to Mr. Okra and an endless supply of fresh foods for our neighborhood…

Sep 26th, 2010 | Notebook |

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Fake Chinese Life

Found in the dust bins – a still from a stop-motion animation that’s floating on another hard drive somewhere. It all made sense, really.

Sep 25th, 2010 | Notebook |

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Hard Times and Misery Saloon

Galveston

Sep 25th, 2010 | Notebook |

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A Popular Place to Sit

Istanbul, Turkey

The Blue Mosque glows, a vendor serves tea from his portable canister, a group of old men start singing, and a man crouches on the ground to take the perfect photograph of his ladyfriend. The evening is cooler. They sit down and talk about the future. He listens. She laughs. They could rest and enjoy the place slowly and freely, and they could sit as near or as far from the grumpy lady as they so desired.

We need more places to sit in public space.


Sep 24th, 2010 | Notebook |



Time and Collection

New York City

Oxford

Helsinki

Singapore

Johor Bahru

New Orleans

Lima OH

As a complement to Time and Erosion…

Sep 23rd, 2010 | Notebook |

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Time and Erosion

Yeliou

Tallinn

Oxford

Istanbul

New Orleans

As a complement to Time and Collection…

Sep 22nd, 2010 | Notebook |

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Magic Meat Market

Durban

Sep 21st, 2010 | Notebook |



On Cities

Prague
Johannesburg

Taipei

Dubai

Cape Town

Istanbul

Helsinki

Tokyo

New York City

“But as the city has been losing functions it has been reasserting its most ancient one: a place where people come together, face-to-face. More than ever, the center is the place for news and gossip, for the creation of ideas, for marketing them and swiping them, for hatching deals, for starting parades. This is the stuff of the public life of the city – by no means wholly admirable, often abrasive, noisy, contentious, without apparent purpose. But this human congress is the genius of the place, its reason for being, its great marginal edge. This is the engine, the city’s true export. Whatever makes this congress easier, more spontaneous, more enjoyable is not at all a frill. It is the heart of the center of the city.” – William Whyte, City: Rediscovering the Center, 1988

Sep 20th, 2010 | Notebook |



Three Great Bike Helmets

Samurai warrior helmets, Osaka

Sep 19th, 2010 | Notebook |

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Waiting For Love Again

Port Arthur, Texas

Drive across America and you’ll see the sweep and carnage of 20th century history: port cities, train cities, Main Street USA, WWII, highways, white flight, urban renewal, car & suburbia enchantment, car & suburbia enchantment backlash… And now every state has cities with old downtowns lined with empty little storefronts for little rent. Dignified buildings wait. Someday they will be loved again.

Sep 15th, 2010 | Notebook |

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