I'll be home for Christmas......but not Thanksgiving

I have never missed a Thanksgiving....but this year i made the choice not to go home for the holiday. Although my parents were willing to fly me home I figured it would be easier just staying so 1, they wouldn't have to pay for a plane ticket and 2, i would be leaving about 2 weeks later. I didn't think it would hit me as hard as it did.
Thanksgiving use to be a really big event in my family. We would all go to my Grandparents where all most my uncles and aunts, my mother comes from a family of 10, all the grandkids, an great kids would gather for a big feast.  As of 2 years ago this ended when it became more and more difficult for my Grandma to keep up. So last year it was just me mom dad and sister, and i figured that would be the same this year, i was very wrong. Along with my immediate family by grandparents decided to join us along with my Uncle my sisters boyfriend and my cousin who i haven't seen since i was probably 6.  I was so bummed that I couldn't join the group that had formed at my house and spent the day watching T.V.   and making chicken for dinner.
Although this years holiday left me more tired from a bit of homesickness than Turkey I know it helped me grow more as I learn to live on my home and start facing the real world.

Don Giovanni

A few weeks ago i got the privilege to go and see my first Opera in person, Don Giovanni. Don Giovanni is a womanizing noble man who's life in the fast lane is soon cut short and undone by his own  hubris.  
For my second trip to the Benedum theater I opted for a seat in the balcony this time instead of Orchestra seating. I enjoyed being high up a lot more for this show, being able to see every thing that was going on stage without having to strain my neck to get a glimpse.  I was very surprised by this opera I went in expecting a sad story but almost immediately i found myself laughing throughout the show.  I was very pleased by home comical the opera was and the actors had no trouble making the audience laugh when needed.  An although like in any opera there is a death scene in the end, it wasn't an emotional heart wrenching scene, on the contrary i bet a number of people including myself were very pleased to see the lead actor perish and be pulled into hell.
Overall I had a good time at my first opera, and I am very glad I picked Don Giovanni as my first.

My time on the trolly

One of the major things here that i have never experienced before was public transportation.  Coming from such a  small town you can pretty much walk where ever you want to go, so having buses, taxies and a subway was a new thing for me.  An although it is great having all this so close, i have been here a month and still haven't had to put gas in my tank, I always seem to be on or need to get on a subway when something goes wrong.   First time was when i was on my way to an event at The Toonseum. I was on the subway when all of a sudden it stopped, the driver soon got on the radio telling us a barge hit the bridge the train goes over and we would have to get off at South Hills Junction, 4 stops away from where i had to get off.    Me being only 2 weeks in Pittsburgh I was terrified not knowing how i was going to get to work.  When i Subway stopped i ran to the first bus i saw, it took us over to downtown and i opted to get off right after the bridge. Thankfully I had walked around downtown a bit the week before and 1 hour later i finally made it to work and the trolley was running fine the way home.  Twice  the first time after a Steelers game and the second at Light Up Night, the trolleys were so packed it took forever just to get home. During light up night it took me over an hour and 20 min just to fit on one of the cars after waiting over 30min  for one to actually come through.
The last fun experience ive had so far was just a few weeks ago. After an event i walked to my usual subway station to find out it was closed down and cops surrounded the building, come to find out a car had derailed an i had to find my way to Steel Plaza. Not knowing where in hell that was i again hopped on a bus  it then taking me 30 min to get to the station and another hour to get home.
So other than those handful of times the trolly hasn't  been that bad, and i do enjoy having public transportation a lot, although i do wish the trains would actually go further into Pittsburgh, maybe some day....yeah right.

Action Abstraction take 1

Here is a  blog i am working on for the Toonseum. Im terrified that they wont like it since i worked really hard on it. Im not the best writer but it is something i greatly wish to improve in time.

This November The Toonseum will be featuring an exciting new artist into its halls. David LaBlanc will be showing Action Abstract, a new take of the comic book characters we have grown to know and love. Beginning at and early age David’s love for comics flourished and continued with him as he perused his education in the arts at Dartmouth/UMass, earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Illustration 1989 and his Masters in Education, 2004.  Later David became one of the found members of the Western Avenue Studios community, where he still maintains a studio pursuing his growing career as an artist, looking at past periods in the art world such as Abstract Expressionism and Pop Art to help fuel his passion.

The term Abstract Expressionism first sprang up in the streets of New York in the 1940’s and 50’s. The new artistic movement, also known as the New York School or Action Painting, was not defined to one style. They ranged from Jackson Pollock’s action paintings to William Dekooning’s fierce use of the human figure and even Mark Rothko’s large and overpowering use of color on the canvas. Although many of the ar tists showed different techniques within their works the artists of this new movement did share many common views.  The artists broke away from the more familiar and conservative forms of subject matter, instead diving into their own human psyche.  As WW2 ended so did the period of the Abstract Expressionists making way for a new style into the art world, Pop Art.

Pop art originally began in Britain in the 1950’s, quickly making its way to the shores of America during the 1960’s. Where the Abstract Expressionist were concerned with nature and delving into the human psyche, Pop Art immersed itself within human culture, embracing the media boom that came after WW2, looking to such things as newspapers, advertising, and comics. Robert Rauschenberg was one of the first artists to help establish some of the aspects that pertained to the movement, Pop Art. Being a bridge between the two worlds, using the expressive and “action” movements coined by the Abstract Expressionists and the imagery and involvement of the media that came with the Pop Artists.  Rauschenberg truly helped to propel the 60’s into the arms of the pop artists and helped inspire many of their works .Pop art in a sense made a giant U turn within the art world. Trashing the traditional norms that had been set in place, bringing back imagery and blurring the edges between what was then classified as high and low art. Probably one of the most influential and well-known pop artist of our time was Andy Warhol. Warhol like many other of the pop artists first started out as a commercial artist. Moving to New York from Pittsburgh PA, Warhol began working as an illustrator for newspapers and magazines and continued with this career until around 1960. It was then Warhol went in his pursuit of his career as an artist, creating some of his most iconic works in the history of Pop art.

It was between these to eras that another one came raging into the light, Comic books.  Comics had been around long before these 2 art forms took fold but it was in 1938 that they truly came of age and so began the first Golden Age in the comic book world. The golden age first brought us many of the superhero’s we know today, the first Action Comic having the now famous Superman on it’s cover. Others such as Wonder Women, Batman and Captain America took shape during this period. The Silver Age which came after WW2 in the 1950s, helped establish the value of comics and brought with it some of the most influential creators and artists of the comics world. Stan Lee, Jack Kirby and Neal Adams to name a few. Soon after came The Bronze Age, beginning around the 1970s and continuing through the 1980’s, kept many of the traditional superhero titles of the past periods but moved to more dark and real world problems for the hero’s to face. Then we enter the Modern Age of comics, also referred to as The Dark Age, starting in the 1980s and still going strong today.  This period introduced some darker and more complex characters such as Watchmen. More independent comics and graphic novels flourished and the creators became more well know and active within the industry.

With influence stemming from Jackson Pollock to Andy Warhol, David Leblanc combined his love of both the Abstract Expressionists, Pop Artists and the world of Comics to create yet another whirling action adventure through art, merging these 3 art forms in a new and creative way. Taking a cue from Robert Rauschenberg, David uses not just his paintbrush to create an image for the viewer but clips whether from comics photos or drawings to help empathize and create more depth and movement through out the pieces. Unlike Rauschenberg, Leblanc covers more of the underlying pieces with his paint, giving us only a hint of what lies underneath.  Creating a whirlwind of movement with the fast thick brush strokes, showing us his influence from the Abstract Expressionist, and truly capturing the title Action Abstraction within his work.

http://www.theartstory.org/movement-abstract-expressionism.htm

http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/abex/hd_abex.htm

http://www.moma.org/collection/theme.php?theme_id=10170

http://www.theartstory.org/movement-pop-art.htm

http://www.moma.org/collection/artist.php?artist_id=6246

Giselle

Last Sunday I was fortunate enough to go and see my first live ballet performance, Giselle.
Giselle is the story of a beautiful peasant girl name Giselle who falls madly in  love with a Albrecht a nobleman in disguise.  Along with Albrecht the Huntsman, also is in love with Giselle, suspects Albrecht is not what he seems and searches his house finding proof of his treachery. Reveling his true identity at the harvest festival Giselle goes mad an dies of a broken heart.
In Act 2 Albrecht visits Giselle's grave only to be trapped by the Willies, women who have been deceived by former fiances, and force him to dance to his death. But Giselle still in love with Albrecht dances with him through the night until the Willies lose there power saving him and forgiving Albrecht Giselle is free and able to rest in peace.
It was a beautiful performance,with the dancers graceful movements making them look weightless as they floated across the floor. Being close enough to see the sweat dip on their bodies I gained a new respect for the art of ballet having only seen past performances on the television I wasn't able to grasp the true extent of their physical endurance and amazing acting abilities one needs to posses to be a ballerina.
Indeed my favorite part of the whole performance was when Giselle when mad with grief. She was able to express this without seeming wild and crazy and really gaining sympathy and empathy from the audience for what she was going through.
Having only a month and half left here I've already decided I must see one more Ballet before I leave which fortunately will be The Nutcracker! I'm so excited to my next visit to the Benedum Theater and highly recommend anyone in the area try and catch a performance there soon.