Audits in Santiago

I have been incommunicado for a few weeks...sorry about that. I was on business travel again, defending a set of security audits. It always takes a lot of energy and effort and it is hard to keep up with the blog during the audits. Happily, we were successful.

In between preparing and sitting the audits, my friend and colleague Thom and I set out on a crisp and sunny clear Saturday morning to look around in downtown Santiago. First we walked through the Central Market, which is at its bustling brightest on a Saturday morning. Thom had real camera kit with him and his pics are probably better than mine. But I always have fun. I am adding to my photo database and now have a nice collection of brightly colored and richly textured market shots of produce for inspirations. I will be doing a market-inspired series of paintings when I finish two more floral compositions.

Some of these pics are pretty straightforward. But there were some interesting and less ordinary things seen too. The photo with American flag is one, apparently the flags are used as covers and wrappers for market produce, like a tarp. I know American readers might not be too impressed, but this is a different place and that is what we saw.

Santiago has more than a big share of dogs running about, but the market also has resident cats. Like this market cat, sitting atop a perch of potato bags, surveying the passers by.

Other photos below and also the two top shots are of the area between the market and heading towards and into an area known as Bella Vista. It has a very colourful character and style. Little nightclubs, restaurants and bars. Though not open during the day time when we passed through. Lovely mosaic artworks laid into the footpath (sidewalk). Creative painted old buildings with fun colours, painted patterns, and murals on them.

And last but not least, a cute shop cat seen wearing a red fleece cape to keep out the winter chill, carefully fastened around its neck, collar fashion. It was sitting on top of space blanket like reflective covers (over piles of clothes or things in the shop).

Sunday in Santiago

It was Sunday in Santiago. I was walking off a bad case of jetlag after another delayed flight the previous day turned into night, late night...and got me to my hotel so late I did not get my hoped for "catch up" rest. But how could I sleep away the day ? I missed breakfast due to the late arrival, so I got a strong cafe instead and planned a little outing to go out and get a bit of sunshine and fresh air. At the end of summer on a brilliantly sunny and hot day, the city was not really very busy. People were away on one of the last weekends of summer.

I took the Metro subway train to the centre of the city and into an area I hadn't been before...and had a nice long walk, along some rather quiet side streets. It was definitely feeling like a sleepy Sunday.

After a quiet solitary walk, I began to see people carrying bags of produce. And by and by, I came across a street market, which ran along a street perpendicular to where I had been walking. The market covered about 8 or more blocks of the street. It was a lively surprise on a quiet day.

Many of the market dealers had shaded awnings of black and white cabana stripes over their stalls and also used chalk board style signs for their produce or wares prices. One announced lemons for sale as "juicies". The prices looked not too bad. I love looking at the produce, it was stunning and vibrant. The greens, oranges, and reds are just outstanding. I snapped photos as I walked along the market, up one side then down along the other.

At one very crowded area of this market, I saw this character, a street musician who was singing into a microphone connected to an amp, with his sign thanking his street audience for appreciating his work ! I told him I did, put some coins into his cup...and asked if I could take his snap (he said yes !).

At the end of the market, I found the street sign--Esperanza. That's Hope Street, for you who are not spanish speakers

Laundry As Art

I have been thinking about domestic forms of art from time to time of late. And one of the areas that has occurred to me has its own symmetry and poetry is Laundry. "Laundry ?'" I can hear you saying... "What is that possibly about ?"

Well laundry, especially when involving drying laundry on a clothesline, offers an opportunity for creating a visual installation, albeit a short-lived one (because most people will bring the laundry in before dark, at least that is what I do !). And this installation might require a bit of creative thought too, because you have to work with what you have before you (unless you go find more clothes to launder to add to your "palette").

Anyhow, I chose to use what I had in the works, which was some kitchen and table linens. And I

have been thinking about color blocks, so I did not do anything overly fussy or fanciful with sequencing of the individual items, preferring to group them into blocks of color that had some strength in numbers.

And at the end of the life of one installation a new one of disorder

was created ! I like to think that this is what the clean items want

to do--get all crumpled and tangled up, a momentary chance of

free play before they get put into their place. Eventually, the individual subjects were assembled into the orderly neatly folded pile, ready to be taken to their waiting places. And there they wait until they are chosen to be the next towel to work in the kitchen, or the placemat for some night's dinner.

When I was in Santiago in March (around the 26th), I saw another art installation involving laundry. Actually I had seen the photo of it in a newspaper while flying to Santiago (they had local papers aboard the flight, I decided to practice my Spanish reading). I loved the photo, thinking that someone had done an amazingly life like painting of the folds in the cloth. When I found this exhibited at the Contemporary Art Museum (MAC) in Santiago, I was very surprised to see it was a real shirt, on a real line strung across the canvas ! And the backdrop was what was painted. It is called "Entre la cordillera y el jardin", which means between the line and the garden. I am sorry not to be able to find the artist credits, which I had in hand notes I now can't find ! Looked online too and no luck. If someone knows the artist's name, please post me a comment so I can provide proper credits.

It seems I am not the only person who sees potential for art in laundry !