#chinese american museum dc
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Stats 2: Electric Boogaloo
Our 256 works are comprised of.... 132 paintings, 36 drawings / digital artworks / comics, 26 installation pieces, 20 sculptures, 11 buildings, 11 public artworks, 10 photographs, 4 prints, 3 cave arts, 2 textile arts, and 1 thing I classified as a collage instead of anything else!
More stats below!
Most popular city: New York, with 13 pieces, followed by Paris with 8, and Chicago is third with 7! Washington DC has 6, Florence, Madrid, and London all have 5, Philadelphia has 4, Dublin, Edinburgh, Mexico City each have three, and all the following cities have two: Boston, Cairo, Calgary, Cordoba, Helsinki, Houston, Jerusalem, Los Angeles, Munich, Ottawa, Prague, Vienna, Warsaw
Most popular museum: somehow the Art Institute of Chicago has the most with 6 pieces! Followed by the Museum of Modern Art with 5 pieces! The Museo del Prado has 4, the Philadelphia Museum of Art has 3, and the Ateneum, Louvre, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Museo Dolores Olmedo, National Gallery of Canada, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, Tate Britain, Tretyakov Gallery, and the Uffizi Gallery each have 2! In addition, the single works are spread out amongst 16 city level galleries (ie the Phoenix Art Museum), 5 state/provincial (ie Queensland Art Gallery), 25 national (ie National Gallery Prague), 8 museums named after benefactors (ie the Hirshhorn Museum), 7 museums dedicated to a specific artist (ie the Van Gogh Museum) and numerous other institutions! Churches, palaces, increasingly specific museums, museums that are named after their location rather than their governmental level... and of course a whole lot of private collections and pieces we were unable to find the location of!
Countries! 50 pieces are in the US! 13 in France! 12 in Spain! 7 in England, 6 in Canada and Italy, 5 in Russia, 4 in Ireland, Mexico, and Australia, 3 each in Germany, Austria, and Scotland, and 2 each in China, the Netherlands, Israel, Finland, Wales, Poland, Japan, Egypt, and India, and 1 each in Portugal, Ecuador, Thailand, Singapore, Belgium, Argentina, Sweden, the Czech Republic, Norway, Bangladesh, Saudi Arabia, and the Vatican!
Demographics! I revoked John Singer Sargents American status for these because he was born in Europe, and spent most of his life travelling around Europe. I tried my best to track down the correct numbers but honestly some of these are likely to be slightly off. I went with easily publicly available information like Wikipedia and where that failed the author's website. I also tracked people's birth countries in addition to where they lived / worked for most of their lives. Anyway! We have 74 pieces by American artists! 27 French, 22 English, 14 Russian, 13 Spanish, 11 Canadian, 9 Italian, 8 Chinese, 8 German, 6 Irish, 6 Polish, 6 Mexican, 5 Greek (four of those are Ancient Greece), 5 Ukrainian, 5 Japanese, 4 Australian, 4 Belgian, 4 Indian, 3 Serbian, 3 Armenian, 3 Dutch, 3 Austria, 3 Latvian, 3 Swedish, 2 each from Finland, Scotland, Malaysia, Cuba, the Czech Republic, and Norway, and one each from Israel (specifically), Portugal, Ecuador, Thailand, Switzerland, Denmark, Iran, Colombia, Chile, Estonia, and Egypt (albeit Ancient Egypt)
Including the one Israeli artist, we have 7 Jewish artists represented, as well as 4 Black, 6 Indigenous (one is half Kichwa, one is Sami, one is Haida, one is Ojibwe, and two are Australian Aboriginals. One of those is Kokatha and Nukunu, and the other one was a group project with eight artists who did the majority of the work, and 6 of those are from Erub Island but the articles did not specify further except that at least one of the eight is non-Indigenous), 1 Chicana, and 1 Asian-American (which I am specifying because I felt very stupid adding tallies to an Asian column when I already said there are 8 Chinese artists and 5 Japanese and 2 Malaysians and....). We also do have 16 artists that publicly identify as queer in some fashion! I have listed 9 works by gay men, 2 works by lesbians, and 5 that have chosen to use "queer" instead of other labels.
And on that note.... we have 155 works by men, 51 by women, and 2 by nonbinary artists!
Most represented artists! Frida Kahlo and René Magritte tied with four works each! Félix González-Torres, Francisco Goya, John Singer Sargent each have three! And the artists that have 2 artworks each are... Claude Monet, Dragan Bibin, Edmund Blair Leighton, Francisco de Zurbarán, Gustav Klimt, Holly Warburton, Hugo Simberg, Ilya Repin, Ivan Aivazovsky, Jacques-Louis David, Jenny Holzer, Louis Wain, Pablo Picasso, Sun Yuan & Peng Yu, Victo Ngai, Vincent van Gogh, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, and Leonardo da Vinci (although the second is debated attribution)! That means that 205 of the works are not by any of the above! Some have unknown artists (we've got THREE CAVE ARTS) but most are just... really varied!
And lastly, years painted (as sorted by year finished and not year started). Who else loves when something is listed as "13th century"?? Not me, that's who. This is going to be a lot of numbers, and there's no real way to make it more readable. so..... feel free to skip!
The oldest two submissions are from circa 40,000 years before present, and 30 to 32 thousand years before present! Six more artworks came to exist before 0 (CE or AD depending on who you're talking to), and 7 before 1000! 2 from the 1200s, 6 from the 1400s, 8 from the 1500s, 3 from the 1600s, and 5 from the 1700s! Several of those already listed were started in a previous ....age category (for instance, one has no specified date other than 7300 BC to 700 AD) but once we hit 1600, everything is usually finished in a relatively short timespan. 6 are from 1800-1850, 9 from 1850-1880, and the 1880s are extremely busy. 1 from 1881, 3 from 1882, 1 from 1883-1885, 5 from 1886, and two each from the next four years (1887-1890)! 6 from 1891-1895, and 5 from 1896-1900!
We've got 3 from 1901 or 1902, 4 from 1903, two each from 1906 and 1907, and one each from 1908 and 1909! 3 from 1910-1915, 3 from 1917, 2 from 1918 and one from 1919! 6 are from the Roaring Twenties, three of them specifically from 1928! 4 from 1931-1935, and only 3 from the latter half of the 30s! There's 3 from WWII, and 4 from 1946-1949, 5 from 1951-1954 but only 3 from '55-'59. 5 from the sixties, 7 spread out through the 70s, and 10 from the 80s, two each from 81, 82 and 84. The 90s have a lot of duplicate and triplicate years, totaling 20 overall! 11 are from 90-95, the other 9 are 96-99. 7 from 2001-2005, and 8 from 2006-2009. 9 from 2010-2014, 3 from 2015, 6 from 2016, 5 from 2017, 1 from 2018, 3 from 2019, 5 from 2020, 1 from 2021, 4 from 2022, 11 from 2023, and 3 ongoing projects! Whew! If anyone wants it listed By Year instead of in groups like this, that'll be most readable in like... list form and that's way too long for a stats post.
Congrats on making it to the end! If you got this far, uh, let me know if you want to see the spreadsheet after the tournament, I guess. I'm very proud of it.
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hey thanks again @im-chinese-believe-it-or-not for the WIP tag, I will continue to post WIPs whenever given the opportunity lol
Here is the start of black widow babe, which is obviously a Marvel au with nix as the winter soldier.
Babe's on a mission. He has an aspiring politician to honey trap, get information out of and then take out of play, his discretion as to what that means. It's not the first time he's ever been out in Washington DC. But he’s not being closely monitored this time. He’s already proven himself with a handful of successful missions, working with another Widow and then by himself. It's mostly been information retrieval, with a couple of assassinations, and two other honey pot operations. He's had enough field experience that they say he doesn’t need a full-time babysitter anymore.
It's enough that he gets a little leeway, anyway. He’s got cash and he hasn't taken the DC sights in all that much. What harm could it do to take an extra couple of days? All his handlers need to know is that it took longer to get the guy alone than they wanted. That happens all the time. He’s not going to take so long that they start asking more questions than that.
So Babe decides to enjoy himself a little. He walks down the National Mall, looks at the monuments, and pokes around in the Museum of Natural History and the National Air and Space Museum. He gets a hot dog from a food truck. He goes to a movie, goes out to dinner, gets drinks in a bar. It’s nice. He lets himself indulge the fantasy a little. It feels like he could just be a normal American twenty-something, maybe a college kid, taking a vacation. Like he really is just Edward Heffron who grew up with his mom and dad and little sister Anna in the suburbs of Philadelphia.
He takes another day, and after getting pancakes and bacon for breakfast, he wanders into the Smithsonian Museum of American History. That’s where he finds out that the Soldier has a name.
The Winter Soldier, it turns out, was called Lewis Nixon. Lewis Nixon III, if you want to get technical, and he grew up ultra-rich—and American—in the 1920s and 30s. Babe discovers this when he spots the Soldier's face smiling back out at him from one of the panels. It says he was Captain America's best friend, and that they met while training for the super soldier program where Captain America got his superpowers.
And it says Lewis Nixon died in 1945, the only one of the Howling Commandos to give his life for his country.
If the Soldier died in 1945, who was it drilling hand-to-hand into Babe in the Red Room just a few weeks ago?
Aaand I'm p sure everyone is being tagged already lol but if you wanna do it, do it. I will also throw tags to my wife and bff @batmanschmatman and @toastandvegemite just in case you wanna take it to your fandom lol
#band of brothers#babe heffron#lewis nixon#wip tag#my wips#jessi talks#and they do hook up if you're wondering lol but it's more out of desperation than anything#nix is still hung up on dick#gene doesn't appear in this excerpt but he is the falcon so 8v#jessi writes
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Day 19 Worthington DC 0.53 am
Last night, I went to dinner with gallery. I only had two glasses of wine because I knew I had to wake up early to catch the bus at 7.00 am. I worried and even dreamt of the bus breaking down or getting lost. In the end, it was a restless night. The morning was rainy, the subway was delayed, and I had to walk in the rain to catch the bus, which was quite chaotic. The storm was raging all the way. After the bus leaked, there were intermittent water drips, which was annoying. But it wasn't as annoying as the Chinese lovebirds cuddling behind me. However, when we reached the hotel, all the fatigue disappeared. It was beautiful and lovely. Thanks to Apexart for booking such a nice hotel for me.
Worthington DC is beautiful, clean, and orderly. It feels somewhat praditpradoi, haha. The architectural patterns are impressive, emphasizing functionality. It's different from NY, where the design focuses more on practicality. For example, the subway signs in DC, even though they use the Times New Roman font (or avoid copyright issues), are vertically aligned and attached to large poles to avoid obstructing the view in interior spaces. However, it's hard to read. I walked through the area feeling like a sperm, I should hurry to find the golden egg.
While in NY, they use Helvetica font in yellow on black backgrounds, hanging every 20 meters, showing that the designers think more about the users than the designers themselves. So, who's the designer first?
The library is huge and beautifully organized. Soccer was so much fun. There was a bit of issue when entering the field because I brought too big bags with and had to find a place to store it before entering. The game was enjoyable, even though I didn't know this team before. There were a lot of kids. Most people who came were families, couples, following the American perfect family—fathers drinking beer, mothers taking care of their children alone (in some families). Fa invited her husband and close friends. They were all friendly. I had a great time with Fa. She's lovely, cheerful, and good at explaining things. It suits her job as a museum curator perfectly.
When leaving the stadium, there was a huge traffic jam, and I had to stand waiting for the bus amidst strong winds. And of course, someone had to comment that my clothes didn't seem warm enough for 2 degrees. It was true. I was trembling so much that I couldn't bear it and decided to walk out to the subway. It seemed that the buses were stuck on the road with the cars driven by locals. It took me 20 minutes to walk through the area, which seemed deserted and desolate, even though there were only 1 million people living here. It was completely quiet at 9 pm. The more I walked, the colder and lonelier I felt. I missed New York. I missed the subway, which is more easily to find than this. At least, if I had to walk a long way underground, it's still warm. When I reached the hotel, I sat at the bar and drank a glass to lift my spirits. I chatted with Thai people and felt less lonely. Then I went up to my room to sleep.
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Things to Do in January in the DMV 2024!
Start the new year with a First Day Hike or a New Year’s Day 5K! Too cold for your liking? Stay warm inside The Kennedy Center while enjoying Disney’s “Frozen” Broadway production. Holiday revelry may have passed, but there’s no need to hibernate in January.
Disney’s Frozen
The Kennedy Center
2700 F St NW
Washington, DC
January 1 – 21
An unforgettable theatrical experience filled with powerful performances, sensational special effects, stunning sets, and costumes, Frozen is a spectacular Broadway musical playing for a limited time at the Kennedy Center.
New Year’s Day 5K
Maybe you’ve overindulged over the holidays. Get a running start on a healthy 2024 by running a 5K on New Year’s Day! Fredericksburg, Ashburn, Reston, Gaithersburg, Arlington, and several other cities in the D.C. area will offer up their streets for a cold-weather frolic into fitness. Click on the link above to search a location near you, or check out these links for races in these cities:
Arlington, Va.
Ashburn, Va.
Fredericksburg, Va.
Gaithersburg, Md.
Reston, Va.
First Day Hikes
If hiking is more your speed, check out the First Day Hikes (ranger-led or self-guided) available as part of a nationwide initiative led by America’s State Parks.
First Day Hikes in Maryland
First Day Hikes in Virginia
First Day Hikes in West Virginia
January 1
Winter Lantern Festival
Lerner Town Square
8025 Galleria Drive
Tysons, Va.
January 1 – February 12
Experience a dazzling landscape of lights! Over 1,000 Chinese lanterns – all handmade by artisans – display their light and warmth for your amazement and for great photo ops!
Twelfth Night at Kenmore
Historic Kenmore
1201 Washington Ave.
Fredericksburg, Va.
January 5 – 7
View dramatic scenes by costumed actors in the first-floor rooms of Kenmore with special musical performances by Colonial Faire. Experience the candlelight, music, and decorations of a colonial Christmas – and the uncertainty of Revolution.
Women Soldiers in the American Civil War
National Museum of Civil War Medicine
48 East Patrick Street
Frederick, Md.
January 6
Civil War scholars explore an unusual and courageous group of soldiers seldom discussed in the annals of Civil War history. Although women were forbidden by social custom and army regulations to enter military service in the Union and Confederate armies, a surprising number of women disguised themselves as young men and “went for a soldier.” Come learn about the best documented of these woman combatants.
Interfusion Festival
Crystal Gateway Marriott
700 Richmond Hwy.
Arlington, Va.
January 11 – 15
“Building resilience is what enables us to not only rise, but ultimately, thrive.” Founded in 2016 under The Institute for Integrative Wellness, this festival includes educational offerings in positive psychology, meditation, and expressive arts. The Interfusion Festival aims to bring awareness of practices that may help combat mental health crises.
Martin Luther King Jr. Day Celebration
Richard Montgomery High School
250 Richard Montgomery Drive
Rockville, Md.
January 13
This year celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day in a meaningful way. This Rockville event will showcase a panel discussion with city and county justice, equity, diversity and inclusion professionals. You can also watch a screening of the award-winning documentary “Finding Fellowship” followed by a Q&A discussion with Rev. Gerard Green, enjoy a drum performance by Soul in Motion, and sign up for service projects through a variety of nonprofit organizations participating in the Salute to Nonprofits. For the kids: a performance by Groovy Nate.
Super MAGFest
Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center
201 Waterfront Street
Oxon Hill, MD
January 18 – 24
MAGFest (Music And Gaming Festival) celebrates video game music, gaming, and the gaming community with the goals of education, appreciation, and preservation of the culture and history of video games. The event runs 24 hours a day and offers consoles, arcades, tabletop, LAN, live video game cover bands, chiptunes, vendors, guest speakers, and more.
Washington Auto Show
Walter E Washington Convention Center
801 Mount Vernon Place, NW
Washington, D.C.
January 19 – 28
Discover the future of transportation as electrifying innovations take center stage. This show promises an immersive journey into the world of electric mobility through the brand-new DC eDrives Experience at the 2024 Washington, D.C. Auto Show. The Washington, D.C. Auto Show is the largest public show in the nation’s capital.
Monster Jam
Capital One Arena
601 F St., NW
Washington, D.C.
January 27 – 28
Check out the action-packed motorsports with world-class driver athletes competing in intense competitions at Monster Jam. The trucks’ engines generate 1,500 horsepower due to a supercharger that forces air and fuel into the engine. The Monster Jam Pit Party (requiring a separate admission ticket) allows you to see these massive trucks up close and participate in Q & As with the drivers.
#jamierichards#realestatetips#realestateagent#realtorjamier#realtor#january#things to do in january#january 2024#2024#dmv#things to do#things to do in dmv#dmv activities#dmv activities in january
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I have been assigned James Hampton c 1950-1964, Throne of the Third Heaven of the Nations’ Millennium General.
5 Facts
Many parts of the throne are made from discarded things such as tables, chairs, light bulbs and vases.
It took Hampton 14 years to assemble the throne based on visions he had
Hampton died before he was able to finish The Throne
The Throne of the Third Heaven can be found in The Smithsonian’s American Art Museum in Washington, DC.
Hampton worked as a janitor and secretly built the large Throne in a garage that he had rented.
3. Write a short paragraph (4 sentences) answering these questions: Did the way you think about the art change from the first time you looked at it? Do you see anything different in the art now?
While looking at the artwork at first many words came to mind such as elegant, luxurious, but overall complex. The way I thought of the art didn’t change but did captivate my attention. While reviewing the facts about this extraordinary painting I was able to see that it was indeed complex due to it being constructed in a span of 14 years. It’s an artwork that shows effort, time, dedication and an overall vision. This fine art displays a heaven like scenery with the gold and silver foils symbolizing various religious art that is captivating to the eye.
ART AND WRITING -
The art work that I selected from my life hangs on the wall of my bedroom. It’s mainly important to me because my 84 year old grandmother gave it to me as a gift. She said that when she saw it at the thrift store it reminded her of me. I never put much thought into the painting since it seems beautiful to me. While carefully examining the art work I can see that on the upper left hand corner there is a red Chinese symbol also known as a seal. There is also a lotus flower that rises through the water that may symbolize rebirth or cleansing. The lotus flower is a popular subject in Chinese paintings.
3. WRITING A SELF-PORTRAIT
I’m a 32-year-old female that lives in Labelle Florida. I was born in Clewiston but lived in Labelle shortly after being born. My mother is Mexican and my father is Puerto Rican which makes my ethnicity to be half Mexican and half Puerto Rican. I work as an early childhood specialist in the small town I live in. I'm not currently a member of any organized group at the moment. I believe what makes me unique is being a persistent person when trying to get goals or event tasks completed. In addition, I see myself as a motivated person that tries to motivate others as well as a fun person to be around with.
4. ART PROJECT (SELF-PORTRAIT)
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Portion of a side thing
Trying to write more and more... check this out!
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In New York’s Museum of Modern Art, on the fourth floor, there is a work by Jacob Lawerence entitled Migration Series. It consists of 60 18 x 12” hardboard panels with casein tempera draped over, each serving as a piece of a chronological retelling of the exodus of African Americans from the South to the North of the United States. Thirty of these panels are currently in the Phillips Collection, about five hours away in Washington DC. The only panels that are on display in the MOMA are the odd numbered panels. Whichever curator made this decision brought new life into this work. One would think that leaving out critical portions of Black America’s story would render it illegible - At worst, it’d fail to do justice to a story that deservedly is owed some. Instead, the story is perfectly understandable. Lawerence’s work as an educator aggregates almost instantaneously towards the viewer, or student, themselves. Of course we know this story. Spare us the details of when which boat got where at which time. We know. In that instant we realize how ingratiated the terror behind this story has become for us. How second nature the retelling of this struggle is. It’s one thing to learn of the terror, it’s another to desensitize oneself to it, it’s something wholly different to assume its existence altogether.
“I can’t steal this shit.” Edmond thought. The unassuming 26 year old was walking around the most famous contemporary art museum in America, looking for a painting to steal.
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How much more room is there to scorn middle-management America? Where the “strategists” and “analysts” schedule calls with their limbic-fibrosis-psycho-“there-I-am!”-apists to confirm whether the fact that the call they’re pretending to pay attention to is actually shocking their cortexes to the point where the inner linings of their lungs are starting to feel the fucking nothingness?
This is the position Edmond found himself in. Like when children are found in wells. Years removed from higher education, which was nice. He had studied Philosophy and Communications, which he had felt was a stupider version of Philosophy. He was, by all accounts, very normal. He is normal! Why speak of him like he’s dead? He’s lost, and this is the position he found himself in. Like when children are found in wells.
He genuinely enjoyed his time in school. He was constantly charmed by the fact that his Philosophy classes were full of generationally wealthy Chinese immigrants trying to understand Kierkegaard, surely thrown off by the Feurbachist asking questions to ask questions. He loved that his Communications classes were full of pretty girls who didn’t give a shit and athletes. After graduation, he quickly realized that most job titles starting with “junior” and ending with “ist” were applicable to his education. He applied to most postings that didn’t require a cover letter, and did everything he could to leave his parents, whom he loved, but needed a break from.
He moved to New York with a job that paid 55 thousand dollars a year, and found a studio in Astoria. He made friends with a select group of his coworkers who were around his age. It felt like college. In a way, it was less work. Everything was fine. Until he realized he had moved to moved, and worked to move, and the only way to work to move was to work, and he realized that much of America works to work.
This opaque sense he had came in waves, like fogs do. Some days it subsisted, he could see nothing, so he drove on autopilot. At other times the fog would still be there, and he’d blast through it with optimism and stupidity. Maybe he was feeling good that day. He felt proud of his Powerpoints and client-side communications.
Sometimes the fog wasn’t there at all. Those were the worst days. Because he knew the position he was in was detestible. And the fog does nothing but obstruct. What was worse than seeing the truth behind your whole life and how little control you had over it, and submitting to the idea that the only way to move is forward?
-
This is not a story of a man falling in despair. By the end, Edmond will be the same man he was: A man who has been nowhere but the depths of despair already. Luckily for him, this is extremely common. He’ll flirt a bit with the prospect of being a different person - also very normal - and he’ll soon realize it meant nothing.
This was the line of thought that Edmond’s close friend, Kian, had every time him and Edmond would speak. Kian was 29 to Edmond’s 26, and felt connected to Edmond because of this. He had felt he found a friend who was, more or less, the exact same person 3 years removed. Kian could watch his life play out in near real-time, watching this kid have the same bullshit thoughts and make the same bullshit mistakes he just did a few seconds ago!
Kian did genuinely enjoy Edmond’s company, though. They had met at a desperate turning point in each other’s lives, looking for new friends at a local tennis gathering that took place in Queens every Sunday. They bonded over the grogginess they felt from waking up so early, the hilarity that everyone else was geriatric, and the general life position they found themselves in.
Kian oftentimes would present business ideas to Edmond. More often than not, they’d involve exploiting the internet’s subsistence of a feedback loop. He was sure that a methodological approach of stealing other people’s content and breaking it down into bite-sized chunks would rake in heaps of money for the both of them.
“You’ll be the editor - OK, wait. OK. I’ll find the clips, right? Or, you can find the clips! Whatever. Doesn’t really matter to me. So, you’ll find the clips and be the editor, and then I’ll run the page, and we can split it 50/50.” Kian would manage to drivel out, five drinks of a few different drinks in.
Edmond would smile. He felt himself he was living the exact life Kian had lived. He was amused that Kian would anemically lecture him on how to ask his boss for a salary raise, but still manage to believe in the concept of a “billion dollar idea.” Edmond felt he had life to look forward to when he saw his friend.
“I’m thinking of stealing a painting, you know,” Edmond interrupted, “At the MOMA.”
Kian floundered out something of a laugh and burped. His eyes were drawn to the dart board in the bar they were in.
“I have the plan figured out itself. I have a few plans, actually. There are a few optimal spots that I’m looking into. That’s the thing actually - I haven’t decided which painting yet.”
Halfway into Edmond’s sentence, Kian hiccuped like a 40s’ drunk, and his entire face carbonated. He blew a bubble out his mouth, which connected with the bubble popping out of his nostril, and scrunched his eyes.
“What are you talking about?”
“It’s crazy, huh?” Edmond said.
Kian tilted his head and threw an amused look on. He scoffed,
“I don’t really understand your humor sometimes.”
“I swear to God I am not joking. Kian,” Edmond held his hand, hilariously enough, “I swear to God I am planning on stealing a painting at the MOMA.”
Kian snapped back. “What does that even mean?”
“Why are you so, like, befuddled?”
“Because it’s fucking weird, man! Imagine I told you I’m gonna’ rob a bank! You’d just immediately be like ‘Cool?’ I’m processing what the fuck is going on right now.”
“It’s not a big deal.”
“You’re fucking with me.” Kian started laughing.
“Listen. The definition of an ‘object of cultural heritage’, which is what the feds call - “
Kian burst out laughing, “The ‘Feds?’ What are you, a fucking gangster, dude?”
“Which is what the feds call art, right? They call it an ‘object of cultural heritage.’ The strict definition is if the work either “A”, is over 100 years old and worth in excess of 5,000 bucks, or “B”, worth at least 100,000 dollars. Ok? There are a multitude of paintings in the city - Funny enough, in the MOMA, that do not qualify under both of those definitions. Now, whatever. I’m sure I’m missing something here. Sure, there’s some legal fine print that’ll fuck me over and the courtroom artist will take out their brown pencil to color in the shit I’ll do all over myself when I hear my sentencing. But!” Edmond leaned in, “I’m a first time offender, and I’m not trafficking the painting over state lines, let alone international lines. I’m not even selling the work. I’m looting a moderately priced painting for fun.”
Kian started laughing again. He chose to believe that this situation was not real. His head swayed like a timepiece.
“I’m gonna’ get another round.”
In those 90 seconds or so of waiting, Edmond found himself in that exciting point of the plane all artists do. It’s joyous to lie in that space where your work exists purely as a medium for the idea. Where you scribble motifs and phrases - even string along full sentences at some point. This is the point where the artist feels most at harmony with the idea. Because all they’re tasked to do - There is no “task”, actually. It’s what makes it all the more pure - All the artist does now with the idea is vaguely conceptualize it. It is as exciting as when the medium first makes contact with the dead. But then the dead tell you the terrible news you contacted the medium to help you hear in the first place, and you start to materialize your work. You realize the horror behind the entire project to begin with, but your stubbornness, curiousity, idiocy, or psychosis (depending on who you are) mimic a phantom representation of that ideal abstraction and, like a demon, convince you to finish your screenplay. Ultimately, the artist fails, or they don’t, but they do. They find themselves a time later within the fallout of their work. The immediacy of revisiting the aftermath of whatever you thought was a good idea a few months ago makes you work backwards. You feel disgust, then shame, then the remembrance of things past - in a bad way, then the remembrance of things past - in a curious way, then you analyze the plan, and have a thought, but you drop the thought, then you vow to drop it, because it’s good for you, but you don’t.
It depends on the person, but the artist will return. They’ll try to conjure up the spirit of the idea again - This time as a necromancer.
Kian comes back. He hands a beer to Edmond, who is giddy.
“This is very real, man. This is real. This is fucking real.” Edmond chatters through this teeth.
Kian leans in solemnly.
“Edmond, I want you to be honest with me. I thought about it a bit when I left. Do you need help?”
“You’re in?”
“No - Do you need help? Do you need money? Do you need…psychological help?”
Edmond’s impulse to jump at that accusation is halted by his foresight.
“Kian. I’m OK. I’m the Edmond you know. But this is something I’ve done research on, and I’m doing. It’s OK if you don’t want to hear anymore. I wouldn’t want to implicate you.”
“This is very difficult for me to process.”
“Why are you talking like a book?”
“I’m not sure where it’s coming from. That it.”
Edmond had an answer, but now’s not the time. Ultimately, of course there was a deeper reason. But it’s not like he was going to kill anyone. There was no manifesto. Of course there was a reason. But all he’s doing is stealing a painting at the Museum of Modern Art, on 53rd St, between 6th and 5th Avenue.
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Jaume Plensa’s Silver Adagio at Planet Word pen&Ink and watercolor by Meera Rao #SmithsonianEngagementCalendar2022 week 9 Feb 20-26 We went to the Planet Word museum with our 8 year old granddaughter who was excited to show off the place. It’s a really fun ‘museum where language comes to life’ and is perfect for language/book nerds :) There are unique interactive exhibits on various topics like history of English, languages around the world, language of humor, poetry, advertising, music, children’s first words, and more! There is playful poetry written on the bathroom walls ! Our granddaughter‘s favorite was a ‘secret book room’ in the museum that is ‘hidden’ behind a wall of shelf :) At the entrance is a sculpture ‘Silver Adagio’ by Jaume Plensa. It is made up of stainless steel symbols from ‘9 different language systems : Latin, Greek, Cyrillic, Hebrew, Arabic, Hindi, Tamil, Chinese and Assamese’. I was impressed there were three languages from India in that sculpture! It was fun to find them ! I read that Plensa’s sculptures often focuses on what it means to be a human ‘particularly in an increasingly globalized world. The meditative pose of the figure reminds us that we are not merely bodies but spirits that use languages to express themselves and connect to others.’ The photo of the pin back button ‘Black Lives Matter’ is from the ‘Million Man March 2015’ that commemorated the 20th anniversary of the first Million Man March on the National Mall in Washington DC. It is from the collection of National Museum of African American History and Culture. Thousands gathered and marched demanding an end to violence against black Americans. The button “features the phrase ‘Black Lives Matter’ which has become a movement and a rallying cry against racial violence and injustice. Plensa’s sculpture ‘speaks’ to the very same issue. I could not have planned the pairing for the week - pure serendipity! #latepost #repurposed #SmithsonianEngagementCalendar #sketchingthepandemic #sketchbook #artjournal https://www.instagram.com/p/CdmfZUIs64eboTHa-cNuRAUn3v2VTMTdQbtzSI0/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=
#smithsonianengagementcalendar2022#latepost#repurposed#smithsonianengagementcalendar#sketchingthepandemic#sketchbook#artjournal
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#poetry#Chinese#American history#San Francisco#Gold Rush#Chinese-American history#National Museum of American History#Smithsonian#Washington DC
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Lee Price is an American contemporary figurative realist painter. She received a BFA from the Moore College of Art in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Her art has been recognized by several awards, and in 2003 she was commissioned to design and construct diorama backdrops for a permanent exhibit in the National Museum of Natural History—the most visited of the Smithsonian museums in Washington DC.
Working with her photographer Tom Moore, she painstakingly reproduces the images using oil on linen canvas’.
Lee Price said in an interview with The Other Journal: "My paintings are self-portraits. In most of my paintings, what I want to get across is a sense of distraction. How we grasp for things that distract us from being present when the present is too uncomfortable for us to sit with. How this "checking out" (or compulsion) often creates more harm than if we had just sat with the discomfort in the first place. I think the best ones show not only the negative aspects of this behavior but also the comfort that's found in doing it... and the absurdity of it.
In regard to women/food issues, I think that many women are brought up, both through our immediate families and through society, to nurture others at the expense of our own needs. We hide our appetites, not just for food but in many areas of our lives, and then consume in secret. In some of my most recent works the women seem to be coming out of the closet, eyeing the viewer - not censoring their hunger".
Full, 2007
Self Portrait In Tub With Chinese Food, 2009
Snack, 2009
#lee price#art#modern art#woman artist#women in art#art history#contemporary art#realism#painting#portrait#self portrait#realist painter#21st century art#Women Artists#women in art history#About Artist
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This week, I visited the Museum of the American Indian with my Mom while she was in town. I had visited the museum previously with my class for pre-hispanic Art & Design as well. When I went with my class, I was looking for what is now going to be my final presentation in the class. We looked specifically at pre-hispanic art, which I’m particularly interested in since my Dad’s family is Latin American. Upon arrival and into the exhibit, the first thing that catches my eye is a canvas taking up almost the entire wall, depicting two women, one Native and one white, presumably Christian sitting in a modern style Chinese restaurant, eating fortune cookies.
As we moved into the pre-hispanic art, I saw a figure that I recognized from a trip to pre columbian art at the Met freshman year for Objects as History, where we learned about the ancient statues of female deities whose stories were that they died during childbirth and came back from the dead to kill children. I was always interested in these stories and decided to do my final about them and their modern day variations like La Llorona. I appreciated the clear labels for each piece as it was displayed behind the glass, specifically the use of mini graphic outlines of each piece next to its label.
When I returned with my mom, I was excited to show her the statue of the Mexica and Taino female deities, one of whom Cuban women still pray to today for luck during pregnancy.
I love this museum because, maybe since it's a Smithsonian, it feels like a DC museum and reminds me of home. Like the Met, it's a gorgeous, huge, old building but it's much less busy. I also love the large statues of the four women outside the front, each one representing a continent and portraying the struggles and strengths of each. I think modern museums like the MoMA and Whitney lack this historic charm, unfortunately.
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News Roundup 12/22/20
by Kyle Anzalone
US News
The new Covid bailout bill will authorize $900 billion in spending. Each American will get a small $600 check, however, the major bailouts go to those well connected in DC. The bill authorizes the Smithsonian to build two new museums, a presidential library, and ‘normalizes’ relations with Sudan. The bill is nearly 6,000 pages and Congress is being given just hours to read it before voting. [Link]
Rep. Justin Amash introduces a bill that would require national emergencies to get Congressional approval after 60 days. The US has 35 ongoing national emergencies that give the president more executive power. Some of the national emergencies date back to the Carter administration. [Link]
A mother was threatened with arrest for attempting to pick up her children from school without an ID. [Link]
The US placed sanctions on three Nicaraguan officials and three Cuban businesses. [Link]
Great Power
Biden’s chief-of-staff says the incoming administration will go beyond sanctioning Russia for a hack they have no evidence Russia committed. [Link]
The US issued travel bans against several Chinese officials. [Link]
The US, Japan, and France held war games in the Philippines Sea. [Link]
Afghanistan
A roadside bomb killed five doctors in Kabul. [Link]
A journalist was killed by gunmen in Afghanistan. The Taliban denied they were involved in the killing. [Link]
The Afghan government said recent operations killed 29 Taliban fighters. [Link]
Middle East
The Israeli parliament voted to hold a new election on March 23rd. [Link]
Turkey jailed a Kurdish member of parliament for 22 years. [Link]
The US returns Sudan’s sovereign immunity and gives the country access to nearly $1 billion in aid. [Link]
Read More
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Stronger Together
Weekend Roundup of Resources for our Community
Ay! What’s good Brooklyn? How are you feeling?
As we enter the month of May still under social distancing, we know that the days are getting warmer and we yearn to be with our people more and more each day. However, once we continue practicing physical distance and social solidarity to keep our community whole, the sun, laughter, social engagements, and more will feel incredibly warm and beautiful. Right now, our community needs us and we should do what we best in NYC, spread love and help each other. Check out new opportunities to support and be supported in this week’s roundup.
If you have questions, or have more you wish to see or to spotlight, reach out. We want to hear from you so email [email protected].
Also, text 'COVID' to 692-692 to get important COVID-19 related updates sent straight to your phone. You can text 'COVIDESP' to get updates in Spanish.
Local Business Highlights of the Week:
Prepared foods, groceries, and bar items are now available for pick up from Glady's and sister restaurant, Mo’s Original. Pickups will be scheduled every Wednesday and Saturday. All orders will be picked up at Mo's Original in Crown Heights.
Tom’s Diner, our favorite family owned diner since 1936, is serving your favorite classic food options and breakfasts all day from 8 am-3 pm on weekdays and 8 am-5 pm on weekends. Take out and no contact delivery is available by ordering here.
Census
A reminder to complete the 2020 Census today at my2020census.gov.
Resources for families
NYC Children has created a resource page regarding family resources, parent/caretaker questions, family court and child care assistance.
The Arab American Association of New York (AAANY) has set up a relief network to assist families and businesses in Bay Ridge with the practical and financial challenges of the COVID-19 crisis through grants and distributions of food, supplies, and PPE (personal protective gear). TO apply for service, visit their survey form.
The Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum (APIAHF) is a national policy organization that has developed a Language Resources page for the coronavirus. Languages include, Arabic, Bengali/Bangla, Burmese, Chinese, Chuukese, English, Farsi, Fijian, Gujarati, Hakha Chin, Hawaiian, Hindi, Hmong, Llocano, Indonesian, Japanese.
C19 Help Squad is currently taking requests for both financial help purchasing food, medicine, necessary supplies, bills, rent and other expenses as well as local assistance such as welfare checks or grocery/supply delivery.
If you are a Veteran, Military member, spouse/ partner or immediate family member or Gold Star Family member, fill out the Veterans Mutual Aid survey if you are in need of groceries, need help with housing. For more information, visit the NYC Veterans Alliance.
Resources for the Undocumented Community
We Speak NYC is offering FREE weekly online classes. Join a class to meet new people, learn about New York City services available to all New York City residents, regardless of immigration status, and practice speaking English. Classes meet once a week, every week at the time listed.
ActionNYC is for every immigrant New Yorker. It offers free, safe immigration legal help in a network of trusted community organizations and schools.
The New York Immigration Coalition has developed a resource page of newly released government information in a variety of languages. To find out more, visit their COVID-19 Community Resources.
Undocu Workers Fund NYC will de distributing $200 via Venmo, Zelle or Paypal to undocumented individuals who work in the food industry in Manhattan or Brooklyn. Visit their page to find out more information about eligibility.
If you are undocumented yourself or have family members who are undocumented and have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, click on the link below to fill out the request form provided by the Bentancourt Macia Family Scholarship Foundation.
Resources for artists, freelancers, and gig workers
Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) is a federal program that was included in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act. The program provides support for Americans who are unable to work due to the Coronavirus pandemic, but do not qualify for traditional Unemployment Insurance (UI).
NYFA is administering $1,250,000 in aid to Tri-State Relief Fund to Support Non-Salaried Workers in the Visual Arts. They will distribute one-time unrestricted cash grants of $2,000 each to: freelance, contract, or non-salaried archivists, art handlers, artist/photographer’s assistants, cataloguers, database specialists, digital assets specialists, image scanners/digitizers, and registrars. Please click here for a full list of eligibility requirements and required application materials.
Volunteer Opportunities
Bed-Stuy Strong is a group of neighbors helping neighbors in a spirit of solidarity. Find out how you are able to donate, help, or in need of assistance by visiting their website.
#Brooklyn Shows Love Mutual Aid Project is a mutual aid project to any and all Brooklynites who need grocery/supply deliveries, medication pick-up/drop-offs, tenant/rent-strike organizing support, and other forms of material aid. For more information visit their website, and to sign up to volunteer click here.
Volunteer to support home-bound seniors with Heights and Hill in partnership with City Councilman Brad Lander.
Buildings & Residents
For Tenants/Landlords - Disinfection Guidance for Buildings: Check out these guidelines on how to maintain your building during COVID-19.
Property Tax issues: Got property tax issues? Check out the Department of Finance (DOF) who administers a number of benefits in the form of tax exemptions, abatements, and money-saving programs.
Remember to Follow Our Elected Officials For News:
Stay up to date with information provided by Governor Cuomo. Follow our New York State governor on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram for up to date information regarding new health guidelines closures, and executive orders.
The Mayor has a new Daily Message available on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube every morning. If your constituents have questions, comments or concerns, they want him to respond to, they can send them using the hashtag #AskMyMayor
The Office of the Brooklyn Borough President provides the most up-to-date information and resources to Brooklynites. Follow these pages regularly and follow Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams on social media for real-time updates.
Interested to see what is happening on the federal level? Follow New York State Senator Chuck Schumer on Twitter and Instagram for updates on COVID-19 and information on New York State.
Follow federal updates regarding COVID-19 from Senator Gillibrand. You can follow Gillibrand on Twitter and Instagram.
Proudly serving the Hudson Valley House Representative Maloney is working hard for his constituents during the current pandemic. For more information follow Maloney on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
Congresswoman for the 9th District, Yvette D. Clark is working hard in Congress to support our local communities. Follow the Congresswoman on her Twitter to receive updates on what is going on in Washington DC and resources available in your ‘hood!
Follow updates from Council Member Carlos Mechaca, representing District 38-Sunset Park, Red Hook, Greenwood Heights, and portions of Borough Park, Dyker Heights and Windsor Terrace on Facebook for more information regarding COVID-19.
Follow updates from Council Member Stephen T. Levin on Facebook and Twitter. Levein represents District 33-Brooklyn Heights, DUMBO, Williamsburg, Greenpoint, Boerum Hill and Bedford–Stuyvesant.
Follow Updates from Council Member Alicka Ampry-Samuel on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Ampry-Samuel represents District 41-Bedford Stuyvesant, Ocean Hill-Brownsville, East Flatbush, and Crown Heights.
Deana Lawson (American, born 1979). Oath, 2013. Pigment print. Brooklyn Museum, William K. Jacobs, Jr. Fund, 2015.6.1. © Deana Lawson (Photo: Image courtesy of the artist)
#covid-19#covid#coronavirus#strongertogether#brooklynstrong#brooklyn museum#brooklyn#resources#undocumented#artists#community#community resources
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Keegan Xavi in NYC, Day #?? I’ve got 9 days left
I got back from DC last night. Got off the bus on 8th, asked someone which was was 7th Ave So I wouldn’t walk in the wrong direction. Walked to Herald Square, jumped on a yellow line, was home in like 10 minutes. Maybe 15. Walked in the door. I was home. And it felt more like home since I got here because for the first time last night I got comfortable enough to act like I was at home. Which meant the floor exploded with my instant piles as I unpacked: shoes off and in the pile, paper souvenirs for possible collage projects over here, dirty laundry there, coat goes here - not in the closet, but over the arm of a chair. When I am comfortable I am messy lol But I finally got comfortable enough to relax a little and just like I do at home, I sat in silence and just THOUGHT about things. The problem was back home, I no longer liked the things I was thinking about it and was desperate for NEW thoughts, ideas, higher vibrations of intellect and emotion. A lot of those things I HAD to think about, cuz that’s just life... but my thoughts were getting fucking stale to me and I am so grateful for this head change.
D.C.:
- it’s so like downtown Mpls with its trees, bushes, flowers, etc, and antiquated bank-looking buildings everywhere... but also kinda desolate the way downtown mpls is on the weekend. no one actually lives in the area I was in. Everyone was a visitor/tourist like me and I heard maybe 5 or 6 different languages while there. That part reminds me of LA and what I miss about there. The Architect Hotel was super cute, efficient and to the point, just a bed in a clean room with nice moldings and trim. teh first night was overcast, but still good for walking. went to the chinese american museum, then got lost getting to Dupont circle, but found it, went to a bookstore, bought a salad, went back to the hotel.
the next day i was MISERABLE because it poured all day. I mean, I was out there pounding pavement, but was not a happy camper at all. but i’m a soldier, I figured it out. The MLK Jr. Memorial Library was super peaceful and had exhibits on the 4th and 5th floor and an outdoor terrace area that had a bit of an awning so you could sit there even while it rained. I didn’t sit there tho, just passed thru. The exhibits were actually heart-breaking . The one that talked about the Civil Rights Movement and King’s assassination was just sad because ... how much has really changed? We seem to be going backwards, actually. When I teach I always want to make connections so young people can understand why learning about the past is important for the future, and I am doing my best to learn what to say anymore.
Blah. Let’s keep it moving.
The other exhibit was also depressing - signs form around the world from people who did not have homes. My father was homeless for years before he died. He was a genius man in so many ways, but never assimilated into American culture. I don’t know how he would’ve done in his birth country either. He may have been a strange man in any time or place. But yeah...
I really loved the movie “Everything, Everywhere, All At Once”. That was good.
Then the next morning, I was just DOWN when I woke up. It wasn’t pouring the way it had on Saturday, but still drizzly and that’s how my mood felt. grey and drizzly lol I did not want to go to yoga class AT ALLLLL..... but I actually got there super early cuz it was boring just sitting in that tiny hotel room brooding on how grey I felt. And it was like an ADVANCED YOGA CLASS... I’ve been doing my lil 5-Tibetan routine for years, but it’s super chill... but this class.. well, I am sore today and it felt good.. just what I needed. And the rest of the day just got better.
So Casey Smith came and picked me up and our time together was so uplifting for me. I adore honest, funny, and intelligent people. Our lunch was at the perfect outdoor taco spot with the cutest dog that ever existed (ever) at the table over from us. Talking to another apexart fellow was so helpful because no one else would understand the uniqueness and intensity of this particular program. He gave me a brief tour of the neighborhood including the white house, that church where TFG held the bible upside down, BLM Plaza, then an art school where he used to teach at. It was like go go go, but we got a lot in before I got dropped off at my bus. I hope Casey and I get to hang out again someday. Sofija too... I’d love to see her again.
So this morning I got up and took my time getting ready (like hours and lots of coffee time) before I ventured out for household basics. This part also felt like being at “home”. Trashbags, tp, etc. I also picked some Murphy’s Oil Soap because that’s what I’d do to these floors if they were mine. Outside, union Square is poppin!! I went to Trader Joe’s, then to CVS for the stuff Trader Joe’s doesn’t have, then through the farmer’s market before sitting on the steps for a little while. So sunny and beautiful today. That little breather in DC was kinda like a dream-within-a-dream thing. It gave me space to process outside of NY before I go back home. Very helpful.
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Brice Marden at Gagosian Athens
August 27, 2020
BRICE MARDEN
Marbles and Drawings
September 24–December 19, 2020
22 Anapiron Polemou Street, Athens
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My work has always been involved with nature, no matter how abstract. Sometimes it’s more formal and less directly related to the real world. But there’s always been some sort of engagement with nature.
—Brice Marden
Gagosian is pleased to present Marbles and Drawings, an exhibition of paintings and works on paper by Brice Marden. This will be Marden’s first solo exhibition in Greece in four decades and it will inaugurate the new location of the Athens gallery, an elegant stand-alone building in the center of the city.
In 1981, while summering on the island of Hydra, Marden began painting on small fragments of marble from local quarries. These compositions marked a transitional moment in his career. Continuing his long-standing engagement with classical Greek themes—exemplified by earlier monumental oil-and-beeswax paintings such as Thira (1979–80), which feature rich tones and columnar blocks inspired by ancient temples—the marble imparts Marden’s elemental motifs and geometric shapes with a certain luminosity.
Since that time, Marden has continued to make marble paintings, describing his strategy as “taking an accident and turning it into a form.” He partially tints the stone ground with thin, translucent layers of oil paint, producing serenely colored rectangles alongside bars of black and gray. These compositions work in harmony with each stone’s inherent texture and veining pattern; some even preserve traces of ruled graphite markers.
To complement the marbles, Marden has selected a small group of ink drawings on paper. In Extended Eagles Mere Drawing (1990), a grid of black lines is interwoven with linear strands and patches of deep yellows, greens, and reds. In Untitled (1990), Marden looks to the traditional methods of Chinese calligraphy; working from top to bottom and right to left, he fills the paper with columns of glyphic marks that loosen the strictures of the grid with a gestural freedom.
Also on view for the first time will be Free Painting 3 (2017), a six-panel painting. Marden builds up the surface of each monochromatic square panel with thinly applied layers of deep reds, blues, greens, and yellows. He allows the residue from each square to run downward, transforming the open space beneath into a sort of secular predellato reveal vital aspects of his painting process.
On Thursday, September 24, to celebrate the opening of the exhibition, the gallery will have extended hours from 11am to 9pm.
Brice Marden was born in 1938 in Bronxville, New York, and lives and works in New York. Collections include Tate, London; Kunstmuseum Basel; Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art; Museum of Modern Art, New York; Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York; Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; Philadelphia Museum of Art; Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, DC; Art Institute of Chicago; Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago; Saint Louis Art Museum; Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; and Musée des beaux-arts du Canada, Ottawa. Exhibitions include the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York (1975); Paintings, Drawings, Etchings 1975–80, Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam (1981, traveled to Whitechapel Art Gallery, London); Cold Mountain, Dia Center for the Arts, New York (1991, traveled to Walker Art Center, Minneapolis; Menil Collection, Houston; and Städtisches Kunstmuseum, Bonn, Germany); A Retrospective of Paintings and Drawings, Museum of Modern Art, New York (2006–07, traveled to San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and Hamburger Bahnhof–Museum für Gegenwart, Berlin); Morocco, Musée Yves Saint Laurent, Marrakech, Morocco (2019); and Think of Them as Spaces: Brice Marden’s Drawings, Menil Collection, Houston (2020, traveling to Kunstmuseum Basel in 2021).
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Brice Marden, Helen’s Immediately, 2011, oil on marble, 19 1/2 × 31 1/2 × 7/8 inches (49.5 × 80 × 2.1 cm) © 2020 Brice Marden/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
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My journey beyond MBA into Canada (Blog#10)
After graduation we went to Orlando to see Disney/Universal. That trip burned a hole in my pocket. Washington DC was the last leg and luckily the museums in DC are free to public unlike New York. We survived on McDonald's for couple of days as I simply ran out of money.
Signing bonus was a new concept. I had assumed that I would get that money the moment I accept the offer letter. Only to realize that I would actually get it 45 days after joining. I was running dangerously low on cash so I requested Cartesian to give me 50% of my signing bonus upfront which they trustingly did.
Location: Cartesian also gave me options for my location. Boston was too far up north and cold. Philadelphia was tough. New York was costly. Washington DC has nice summer and I was familiar with Northern Virginia due to its proximity to Williamsburg. So I selected DC.
My friend Vipul helped me get a lease at his apartment complex in Herndon, VA. My wife joined me in US to join me while rest of my family left for India. Doing grocery was a problem. Walking to the store and carrying big bags was too laborious. Ever since I drove Chris’s car I wanted to buy a Subaru Forester but as I had no credit history and my income hasn’t come yet no one was ready to give me auto loan. I approached Bank of America but they declined – even though I showed my offer letter with salary information they wouldn’t lend me a single cent unless I agree for 20% APR.
Once again, Vipul introduced me to Digital Federal Credit Union (DCU). DCU gave me the full $20,000 at competitive 2.29% APR. I searched online to shortlist few cars. Hilariously changed 3 buses and a Metro with my wife and traveled to Manassas, VA to buy my Forester. Now I could reach places within minutes – such a big relief!
2015: Luckily my first project was with Time Warner Cable and their office was a mile away from my apartment. I would come back home to have lunch or walk to office.
Life was good.
It became better as I got news from Larry that USCIS cleared my RFE and my H1-B was approved. Huge sigh of relief! The H1-B came into effect in October. I noticed that my take home pay decreased as now I had to pay into Social Security and Medicare.
I felt that this system was unfair. As foreign national working in US I was a non-resident alien but for tax purposes I was a resident alien. I could not benefit from SSN or Medicare but I had to contribute into those programs. Additionally, every time I exit US, I had to get my passport stamped and answer lot of questions at port of entry. Cartesian also had to file paperwork to USCIS whenever I changed apartments as my address of residence was listed in my petition.
2016: Having money felt great but my wife couldn’t work in US. We thought of starting a family but I wanted her to earn and be financially independent. I thought “If I can come to US and get work after US education, my wife and sister can do that as well”. We put our family plans on hold. Raising kids would mean a gap of 5+ years for my wife which could prove insurmountable in rejoining workforce.
She liked William & Mary’s Masters of Accounting. She enrolled in Northern Virginia Community College to get prerequisite credits. My wife and sister took the GMAT/TOEFL and applied to schools.
My wife got admits from George Mason, American University and W&M. My sister got admits from CUNY Baruch, Fordham, Johns Hopkins, American and Bentley for Masters in Marketing Analytics. Even though CUNY was 1/3rd the cost of Fordham and Johns Hopkins is a huge brand name, I advised my sister to enroll in Fordham as it is STEM certified. STEM allows international students to be eligible for 2 years of extended OPT in addition to the initial 1. This provides 3 years to find an employer who would file for H-1B.
For obvious reasons, my wife selected W&M. Since I could work from home, I decided to move back to Williamsburg to lower our living cost and be together. I did not have sufficient money for my wife’s education. Luckily I learned about Mpower Finance. They provided $25,000 without collateral at 11.99% APR both to my wife and my sister. This was a game changer. I took a personal loan from DCU for the remainder amount. I paid my sister’s monthly rent in NYC. By fall both enrolled in their respective schools. I asked Cartesian to apply for my Green Card (GC) but they asked to revisit in 2017
2017: I visited India in Oct and that’s when my mother fell and broke her shoulder. It became clear to me that I need to live together with my parents. I asked Cartesian again for GC but they refused to apply. To be fair I still had another year on my H-1B and could renew it for 3 more years. Usually companies exhaust 6 years of H-1B before sponsoring for GC. The problem is that USCIS puts a cap on number of GC applications per country. Which means that India with a population of 1.3 Billion gets the same number of GC slots as Lithuania – a country of 3 million. This cap puts a wait time of 10 to 15 years for Indians and Chinese to get GC in best case estimate. Worst case puts the waiting period at 45 years!
Even if I received GC, I still couldn’t stay with my parents. I started exploring other options and learned about Canadian Permanent Residency. My wife and I applied to Canada’s point based PR. During application I got to know another Indian applicant. He was 38 years old, had two kids. Worked in US on H-1B for 7 years. (2 renewals + 1 extended year) His company exploited him and gave him $138,000 while his American coworkers made $200,000+ He couldn’t leave his job as his company was filing for his GC, because of his age he scored less points in the Canadian PR process. He was in a pickle.
I decided I didn’t want to be in his shoes after 5 years. By mid-2017, my wife faced rejections at interviews due to companies unwilling to sponsor H-1B. Luckily she contacted Tim who owns La Tienda at Toano, VA and is a W&M Alumni. They hired her for a yearlong internship during the course of her OPT. My sister also found a job at NYC but the hours were killing her. Rampant racism existed in her company. English Hons fresh out of school American citizens are fast tracked into Managers while Indian employees who had considerable experience in SPSS, SAS etc. and had a MS in Marketing / Analytics were made to work at grassroots. I decided to leave US when my wife’s internship and her OPT would conclude in July 2018. By December we had received our Canadian PR.
I owed my parents $80,000 for my MBA. I had little money saved. So I decided to buy a property in India. I would pay the mortgage on it and my parents would rent it out. The rent would provide them additional income to support cost of living.
2018: I was bleeding money from all ends – rent, auto loan, mortgage, education loan and taxes. Additionally, I couldn’t plan for retirement or invest in a property while in US.
Since both of us were earning and our cost of living was low. I decided to use snowball effect. First, paid off my wife’s education loan by making lump sum payments every month. That freed up the money going towards that loan. We used that additional money and attacked the next – auto loan was now repaid. Only mortgage remained as we moved to Canada in July 2018.
In September my H-1B expired. I resigned from Cartesian as a full-time employee and rejoined as independent contractor. This worked in my favour as I was able to get a 20% hike. I was promoted to Manager. I did not miss forgoing benefits like medical etc. as those are provided in Canada under universal healthcare.
We setup base in Toronto and my wife landed a job soon. We used the snowball effect once more to pay off my mortgage in India. After 4 years or so I recouped my Return on Investment on my MBA.
2019/2020: I was debt free and started saving money. Paying rent in the Greater Toronto Area was expensive and paying the same amount in mortgage made more sense. We bought a house and started a family. My sister also applied for her PR and joined us. I applied for my parent’s Super Visa – which allowed them to stay up to 2 years in Canada at each entry. After 6 long years we all were together again.
In conclusion, I feel lucky that I was able to successfully use my MBA to transition into consulting, change geography and attain higher purchasing power.
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Bibliography
1. Borthwick, J. D., “Chinese Camp in the Mines”, 1851, Three Years in California (1851-54), Edinburgh, London: W. Blackwood & Sons, 1857. California as I Saw It: First Person Narratives of California’s Early Years, 1849 to 1900, https://oac.cdlib.org/ark:/13030/hb8b69n97f/?brand=oac4.
2. “Chinese Americans of Northern California, California Humanities, 1979.
3. “Chinese Exclusion”, The Prison Mirror, July 27, 1887.
4. “Chinese Exclusion Act (1882)”, Teaching With Documents: Using Primary Sources From the National Archives. [Washington, DC: National Archives and Records Administration, 1989.] pp. 82-85.
5. Chinese Immigrants at the San Francisco custom-house / P. Frenzeny. California San Francisco, 1877. Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/93510092/.
6. “Chinese Whispers”, Shaping San Francisco. Internet Archive, recorded April 10, 2013, streaming audio. https://archive.org/details/ChineseWhispersApril102013.
7. “Colorado - the anti-Chinese riot in Denver, on October 31st Chinese being beaten and property destroyed by large mob”, wood engraving, Library of Congress, 1880, 2001696514. Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/2001696514/.
8. “Congressional Sidelights”, The Saint Paul Globe, January 23, 1902.
9. “Female Detainee Cases” 1882, http://www.frederickbee.com/4994.html.
10 .“Flyers from the Chinese Boycott Case”, The Constitution Community, 1870.
11. Harte, Bret, “The Heathen Chinee,” 1870, Library of Congress, in The White Devil’s Daughters: The Women Who Fought Slavery in San Francisco’s Chinatown.
12. History.com Staff. “Chinese Exclusion Act.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, August 24, 2018, www.history.com/topics/immigration/chinese-exclusion-act-1882.
13. Julia F. Siler, ‘“I May Go to Sleep Tonight and Then Find Myself in Hell,”’ in The White Devil's Daughters: The Women Who Fought Slavery in San Francisco's Chinatown (Toronto CA: Knopf, 2019), 153.
14.Julia F. Siler, ‘“Forcing Me into the Life,”’ in The White Devil's Daughters: The Women Who Fought Slavery in San Francisco's Chinatown (Toronto CA: Knopf, 2019), 144.
15. Julia F. Siler, ‘“No Ordinary Person,”’ in The White Devil's Daughters: The Women Who Fought Slavery in San Francisco's Chinatown (Toronto CA: Knopf, 2019), 32.
16. Kum, Sing. "Letter by a Chinese Girl (1876)." In Chinese American Voices: From the Gold Rush to the Present, edited by Yung Judy, Chang Gordon H., and Lai Him Mark, 15-16. University of California Press, 2006.
17. “Marriage certificate & court summons”, 1919, UC Berkeley, Bancroft Library, https://oac.cdlib.org/ark:/13030/hb4p3003cf/?brand=oac4.
18. “Not Under the Geary Law,” The Dalles Chronicle, June 2, 1893.
19. Pughe, J. S. , Artist. How John may dodge the exclusion act / J.S. Pughe. United States, 1905. N.Y.: J. Ottmann Lith. Co., Puck Bldg. Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/2011645718/.
20. Shober & Carqueville. The magic washer, manufactured by Geo. Dee, Dixon, Illinois. The Chinese must go. United States, ca. 1886. Chicago: Shober & Carqueville Lith Co. Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/93500013/.
21. The African American Policy Forum. “Chinese Exclusion Act.” AAPF, http://aapf.org/chinese-exclusion-act.
22. “The Chinese Must Go! poster, 1885. Washington State Historical Society,” 1885, New-York Historical Society Museum & Library, Chinese American Exclusion/Inclusion, https://web.archive.org/web/20160412233254/http://chineseamerican.nyhistory.org/explore/united-states-china-1783-1905/.
23. Wales, James Albert, Artist. Where both platforms agree--no vote--no use to either party / J.A. Wales. United States, 1880. New York: Published by Keppler & Schwarzmann. Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/90707286/.
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