Month: May 2014
On Being, Mindful
This yearlong exploration of light has continued to surprise, delight and occasionally also startle:
“Thinking of your light exhibition. Did you know that one of the earliest forms of light for indoors was to stuff a wick-like material down the throat of an oily Icelandic sea bird and let it burn as it sat on the dinner table?”
Ick.
This was shared by collaborator Jeffrey Brice Ornstein who always has the best stories…. Oddly and coincidentally one of my 25 projects will feature the recent documentation of ‘an animal product as edible table lighting’… a life-altering experience for me, but more on that later.
Collaborator Amy Cranch recently forwarded a poem by Mary Oliver which celebrates – amongst other things – light. The poem reveres ordinary life, attention, and a recognition of the sublime within the mundane.
She tells me that this, along with innumerable other sources of inspiration, is fueling her ideas for our collaboration which she is in the process of creating with her husband, Marc L’Italien, and their talented support crew of dancers + videographer.
Mindful
Every day I see or hear something that more or less
kills me with delight, that leaves me like a needle
in the haystack of light. It was what I was born for – to look, to listen,
to lose myself inside this soft world – to instruct myself over and over
in joy, and acclamation. Nor am I talking about the exceptional,
the fearful, the dreadful, the very extravagant – but of the ordinary, the common, the very drab,
the daily presentations. Oh, good scholar, I say to myself, how can you help
but grow wise with such teachings as these – the untrimmable light
of the world, the ocean’s shine, the prayers that are made out of grass?
~ Mary Oliver, poet
Shedding Light on Cari Borja, clothing designer
Cari Borja has been in the business of making spectacular outfits since 2000.
In 2006 we became friends when I was in need of a very special piece for a big jewelry opening, and I commissioned her to make something.
In addition to a beautiful jacket, a beautiful friendship ensued. Here are a few snippets from a recent conversation;
Where did you start out in life?
I was born in an Army hospital in Shirley, MA… but I was conceived in Oahu!
What’s your first light memory?
Roller-skating. The disco ball and laser shows, the shadows. Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker’s light saber. And strangely that all came together at Roll-On-America in Leominster, Massachusetts.
Light has always been about reflections mirrored, illuminated and refracted. Whether it was the rhinestones on my roller-skating outfits refracted in someone’s face, the broken glass of the disco ball at the roller-rink during couples skate, illuminating those going by, or the glass windows of the skate shop that reflected the state of your hair during practice sessions… all of this, dependent on light and its rays.
You’re a designer – what do you remember as the first project you ever built?
The first art project memory I have is of a nativity scene collection I built when I was about 7 or 8 years old. There were very elaborate painted details on the folds of the garments and the faces of the children playing their parts…
Tell us a little about your philosophy and your work background.
Thinking about art, before vs after children, the importance of practicality – my mantra = DO MORE, BE MORE, DO/BE…
The biggest fear is losing your memory – recognizing the importance of doing with your own hands to help retain memory before it fades. It makes me think of the Kierkegaard quote:
Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.
I think about the way we layer memory and the importance of documentation, and the necessity of circling back around.
What’s the most fun part of what you do?
Hmm… I think of that Twyla Tharp quote that has to do with the everyday… which is especially true right now with developing my FashionFilmFood blog, but for sure in my clothes over the past decade…
Everything is raw material. Everything is relevant. Everything is usable. Everything feeds into my creativity. But without proper preparation, I cannot see it, retain it, use it.
~ Twyla Tharp
Inspirations?
[Mariano] Fortuny. Madeleine Vionnet. [her daughter] Royal! I learned a lot about color dressing Royal, via Baby Gap. Baby Gap was really the first with the fabulous sensibility of particular color combinations. That inspired me – especially for adults – those combinations had really only been used for kiddos until then.
What influences you most?
My influences are structurally organic. Punctum – the element within a photo that makes it *ART* rather than mere documentation… The infinite possibilities of reading, unlimited options available – which one to choose? – possibilities and unknowingness.
Thoughts on your business, describe Cari Borja in 2020.
Focused, traveling, doing everything that I love, with intervals of elsewhere… and books written, collections made, salon dinners around the world.
Be sure to check out Cari’s fabulous new blog FashionFilmFood to read about all of her latest adventures!
5050LIGHT 