September nineteenth brings with it some new experiences. As you know, yesterday was my birthday and it was an amazing one at that. I don't know if it was because I turned thirty or if it was because I am temporary or it is simply occurred because I have very good friends, but it was hands down one of the best days of my life. I woke up yesterday morning with Megan in my arms: always a fantastic way to start the day. She wished me a happy birthday and we opened presents while mom listened in on skype despite the 7 hour time difference. As the morning grew old, Megan kept asking the time and around 10:25 suggested I may want to put pants on. This roused my suspicion to say the least but at 10:35 I heard a knock on the door and opened it to see a group of my floor mates singing a Danish happy birthday song and waiving little Danish flags.
As soon as they were done singing, we headed to the kitchen where they had prepared an amazing and very large breakfast. It was truly touching. I nearly was brought to tears that these people, who have known me for only a short time would care enough to do such a thing. Sitting at the middle of the table was a birthday card they had made for me telling me that they were going to be making dinner for me and having a party so be sure to be back by seven.
After breakfast, Megan passed out for a while but when she woke back up (I had to pull her physically out of bed) we hit Copenhagen and walked around town until 6:30 hitting the Castle, the Palace, and of course the little mermaid.
We got back home close to 7 and got ready for the dinner and party my Danish floor mates had prepared for me. Jon, the resident chef (and professional one) had made curried chicken and rice for the whole floor. Dinner was wonderful with champagne and wine and just general goodness.
After the meal, the dished were cleared and the party started. These things always begin a little slow but once they start moving....look out! This was no different. We danced on the tables, drank a lot, laughed and had fun.
Previously, my friends had made mention of a long standing Danish tradition. At 25 if you are not married, they cover you and your belongings in cinnamon. At thirty, if you are still unwed it is pepper. Well Megan disappeared to the room for a bit and when she was gone for too long I decided to leave the party and hunt her down. I opened my door and Megan looks up from the floor and says "You're going to wish you locked your door." It was then the smell hit me. My friends had covered my floor and bed and bathroom in pepper! (I can still smell it.) I have to admit that I found even this touching.
About 11:00 the music cut off and they brought in my "present." This was, despite being wrapped, very obviously a man in drag. I could only imagine but since my friend Tim was missing I assumed. And was proven right when he began to strip for me with large artificial breasts (see the pictures).
This was hilarious. And everyone loved it.
Around 12, Hans (one of my Danish friends) decided to change clothes. This was an inexplicable act but inexplicably, Megan and I followed suit. I donned a coat and tie over my teeshirt and Megan was assigned a dress from Charlotte. We returned to the party and Megan looked very sexy. I looked like a cast off from "Saved by the Bell."
At some point, and we are a little fuzzy, Charlotte managed to get my room keys and once again, my room was doused in pepper. Please see photos of me vacuuming. After this I was confident I was not going to be peppered again if for no other reason than the kitchen is now completely out of pepper.
When the booze ran out, we all went down to the bar to have a few more. I drank for free down there which was very nice of the bartenders.
All in all this was a birthday that will stay in mind forever. I will always remember the feeling of belonging, and happiness that my Danish floor mates gave me. It was better than any gift they could have bought and I will have this forever.
I am so glad Megan was able to experience this with me. I would have had a hard time explaining it and I think could only be lost in trying to. But since she gave me the best present of coming up to visit, we now have this memory to share.
Ah, and at one point I gave Megan an engagement ring, made from a cocktail straw, on the wrong finger, on the wrong hand, but the sentiment was the same :)
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Western Denmark Study Tour
I know I know, you are all saying, "But Tom, haven't you already been on a Western Denmark Study Tour?" And I say, "Yes children, but that was for furniture design, and this is for architecture." Although there was the occasional moment of overlap it was generally a new experience. And when things did happen to overlap, it only served to make me look like I've researched the site.
So here's what happened.
Thursday morning, we met at Israels Plads at 7:30 in the a.m. This was a little annoying because IP is not too easy to get to from my place. I mean it is only 4 blocks away from my studio, but, well...in writing this I realize I sound a little whiny because honestly it wasn't that hard to get to. I just hate walking with luggage.
So I get to Israels Plads adorned in my camera bag, my satchel bag and my Italian Army surplus bag. Much to my elation, I saw my old friend Jasper the bus driver, whom you remember from previous study tours. Throwing my bag on the bus I greeted him with a big hug and proceeded inside the coach. I spread out my things over two seats to ensure that I wouldn't have a partner sitting with me and then exited once again to let the bus fill up. You see, if you are sitting in a seat with your stuff on the one next to you, then people will ask you if a) that is your stuff, and b) can they sit there. I hate seatmates. They get in my way when I try to sleep etc...So if you are not on the bus and your stuff is good and spread out, people automatically assume there are already two in the row. I know it is not quite Machiavellian but it works.
Once everyone was loaded up, we went underway. Our first Stop was Jystrup Savvwaerk. This is a co-housing project built upon the foundations of an old sawmill. It was interesting to see. A number of Danes prefer to live this way.The complex housed 17 families amd god knows how many cats. The savvwaerk exemplifies this concept that is huge here regarding shared spaces. All the units were tied together with a communal indoor/outdoor space that people had veritable farms growing in. It was kind of impressive. The outdoors were brought inside by the ubiquitous skylights and louvres and the tenants took advantage.
Next was Orbaek Kirke. A church "built by accretion" as my prof put it. This is a regular occurance in Denmark where a church will be added upon every so often until 800 years later it is marked as an historical landmark and not allowed to be altered. Which brings up an interesting point to me. If these churches are so important because they were added upon over a period of 800 years, why do we feel important enough to say, "Well, there will be no more altering now. It s too historic." Isn't this impeded the process which in fact provided the genesis for what made the church so important?
Or maybe it's just me. On to Faaborg.
This museum was pretty cool. Every room was painted a different color. Now what this does is change the way in which you view art. When you think about your standard museum: MOMA, Guggenheim, Getty, etc. the walls are all white. But when, for example, the wall is a bright red, all of a sudden red is all you see. The artwork takes on a new appearance as the reds pop out of the canvas. It forces one to look at paintings in a whole new way. I almost think that artists should each get an extra 2 feet on every side of the canvas wherever their art is hung, just to select the color that most appropriately brings out their project.
Spent the night in Kolding. Which was interesting. I hit the streets with my friend Mike Mannhard (great name right?) and his new friend Cameron. They are both a touch on the hippie side, which allowed me ample opportunity for ridicule which they took in stride. Nothing like a good natured hippie. Anyway, we walked around a bit, going from pub to pub when Mike suggested we go look at the castle. At nighttime this was a great experience. The castle is located on a hill overlooking a lake which provided us with a great view of the city. After taking this in, and after spending about 5 minutes making shadowpuppets agains the walls of the castle, we walked to the nearest bar. After a brief sojourn there, I walked home, albeit not directly (damn medieval street layouts make no sense whatsoever) and went to bed.
Friday morning we got up and, low and behold, went to the castle. This place is a pretty neat project. It is a complete restoration but instead of trying to emulate the original building, the architects decided it would be better to make it very clear what was original and what is a representation. On the exterior, where the walls are brick, that is the original, however, the shingled parts are all restorative. It gets interesting inside as well where in one situation the designer represents the structure that once was through lights. Series of bulbs hang down suggesting the once present groin vaulting and column structure. It was a tad garish, but an interesting idea.
Next up was the Trapholt Museum. You remember this from my summer studies. It was the chair museum. Moving on.
Aarhus University. Yes we have been here before too. This was the place that had the auditorium with the "cowches." This time, however, we spent the bulk of the time outside, observing the landscapes.
That was it for friday.
Saturday was jam packed. We got up and headed for a crematorium. This was a striking place. A very interesting design but the fact of the thing is that I felt like I was inside a giant kiln. A little odd but none-the-less that is how it felt.
Aarhus Radhus: Been here done that. Didn't like it the first time, still don't.
ARoS Museum. This was an amazing building. The Museum itself is part of the landscape. A major footpath walks right through the center of the building so say this was your route to work, well then every morning and night you walk through the museum. This Museum houses one of the works of Ron Mueck called "Boy". Mueck is a hyper realist and one of the strongest ones at that. I suggest you look up his work.
We walked through the city and did some sketching. My sketch book is far better than it was this summer. I have been putting a ton of effort (most days) into it. There are good pages and bad but I am proud of it.
The last place we went to was the Musholm Bugt Feriecenter. This was another co-housing complex, but this one was meant to house the families of those with children afflicted with MS. It was a moving project. The architecture reflected the unity of those who occupied it. I don't know how quite to explain it. Once in a while you here architecture described in strange terms. I would call this one respectful. Not respectful in the concept that it is courteous to its occupants, but more respectful in the way that the architecture is in awe of its occupants.
Christ I am beginning to talk like an architect.
Anyway, today I am going to my first Danish soccer game. Should be interesting.
All for now.
5 days till Megan!
Also, check out the pictures to the left...I've been playing with some new editing techniques. I think a couple of them are pretty interesting.
So here's what happened.
Thursday morning, we met at Israels Plads at 7:30 in the a.m. This was a little annoying because IP is not too easy to get to from my place. I mean it is only 4 blocks away from my studio, but, well...in writing this I realize I sound a little whiny because honestly it wasn't that hard to get to. I just hate walking with luggage.
So I get to Israels Plads adorned in my camera bag, my satchel bag and my Italian Army surplus bag. Much to my elation, I saw my old friend Jasper the bus driver, whom you remember from previous study tours. Throwing my bag on the bus I greeted him with a big hug and proceeded inside the coach. I spread out my things over two seats to ensure that I wouldn't have a partner sitting with me and then exited once again to let the bus fill up. You see, if you are sitting in a seat with your stuff on the one next to you, then people will ask you if a) that is your stuff, and b) can they sit there. I hate seatmates. They get in my way when I try to sleep etc...So if you are not on the bus and your stuff is good and spread out, people automatically assume there are already two in the row. I know it is not quite Machiavellian but it works.
Once everyone was loaded up, we went underway. Our first Stop was Jystrup Savvwaerk. This is a co-housing project built upon the foundations of an old sawmill. It was interesting to see. A number of Danes prefer to live this way.The complex housed 17 families amd god knows how many cats. The savvwaerk exemplifies this concept that is huge here regarding shared spaces. All the units were tied together with a communal indoor/outdoor space that people had veritable farms growing in. It was kind of impressive. The outdoors were brought inside by the ubiquitous skylights and louvres and the tenants took advantage.
Next was Orbaek Kirke. A church "built by accretion" as my prof put it. This is a regular occurance in Denmark where a church will be added upon every so often until 800 years later it is marked as an historical landmark and not allowed to be altered. Which brings up an interesting point to me. If these churches are so important because they were added upon over a period of 800 years, why do we feel important enough to say, "Well, there will be no more altering now. It s too historic." Isn't this impeded the process which in fact provided the genesis for what made the church so important?
Or maybe it's just me. On to Faaborg.
This museum was pretty cool. Every room was painted a different color. Now what this does is change the way in which you view art. When you think about your standard museum: MOMA, Guggenheim, Getty, etc. the walls are all white. But when, for example, the wall is a bright red, all of a sudden red is all you see. The artwork takes on a new appearance as the reds pop out of the canvas. It forces one to look at paintings in a whole new way. I almost think that artists should each get an extra 2 feet on every side of the canvas wherever their art is hung, just to select the color that most appropriately brings out their project.
Spent the night in Kolding. Which was interesting. I hit the streets with my friend Mike Mannhard (great name right?) and his new friend Cameron. They are both a touch on the hippie side, which allowed me ample opportunity for ridicule which they took in stride. Nothing like a good natured hippie. Anyway, we walked around a bit, going from pub to pub when Mike suggested we go look at the castle. At nighttime this was a great experience. The castle is located on a hill overlooking a lake which provided us with a great view of the city. After taking this in, and after spending about 5 minutes making shadowpuppets agains the walls of the castle, we walked to the nearest bar. After a brief sojourn there, I walked home, albeit not directly (damn medieval street layouts make no sense whatsoever) and went to bed.
Friday morning we got up and, low and behold, went to the castle. This place is a pretty neat project. It is a complete restoration but instead of trying to emulate the original building, the architects decided it would be better to make it very clear what was original and what is a representation. On the exterior, where the walls are brick, that is the original, however, the shingled parts are all restorative. It gets interesting inside as well where in one situation the designer represents the structure that once was through lights. Series of bulbs hang down suggesting the once present groin vaulting and column structure. It was a tad garish, but an interesting idea.
Next up was the Trapholt Museum. You remember this from my summer studies. It was the chair museum. Moving on.
Aarhus University. Yes we have been here before too. This was the place that had the auditorium with the "cowches." This time, however, we spent the bulk of the time outside, observing the landscapes.
That was it for friday.
Saturday was jam packed. We got up and headed for a crematorium. This was a striking place. A very interesting design but the fact of the thing is that I felt like I was inside a giant kiln. A little odd but none-the-less that is how it felt.
Aarhus Radhus: Been here done that. Didn't like it the first time, still don't.
ARoS Museum. This was an amazing building. The Museum itself is part of the landscape. A major footpath walks right through the center of the building so say this was your route to work, well then every morning and night you walk through the museum. This Museum houses one of the works of Ron Mueck called "Boy". Mueck is a hyper realist and one of the strongest ones at that. I suggest you look up his work.
We walked through the city and did some sketching. My sketch book is far better than it was this summer. I have been putting a ton of effort (most days) into it. There are good pages and bad but I am proud of it.
The last place we went to was the Musholm Bugt Feriecenter. This was another co-housing complex, but this one was meant to house the families of those with children afflicted with MS. It was a moving project. The architecture reflected the unity of those who occupied it. I don't know how quite to explain it. Once in a while you here architecture described in strange terms. I would call this one respectful. Not respectful in the concept that it is courteous to its occupants, but more respectful in the way that the architecture is in awe of its occupants.
Christ I am beginning to talk like an architect.
Anyway, today I am going to my first Danish soccer game. Should be interesting.
All for now.
5 days till Megan!
Also, check out the pictures to the left...I've been playing with some new editing techniques. I think a couple of them are pretty interesting.
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Ok I've been negligent
Of course I am aware that I haven't written on here in a while. There has not been too much going on that I would deem exciting which always awakes a kind of lethargy in me that is not real conducive to daily routine. However, in the back of my mind for the last couple of weeks are Rob's echoing opines of "I've heard blogs generally last 6 months before they are orphaned." So I don't know if it is out of guilt, or shame or just a return to routine that I am now writing, but alas, here I am.
I want to start this post with a little something I learned recently about Danish culture. I have noticed, throughout my entire time here, that there seems to be an enormous amount of babies in strollers actively being pramulated about the city (clever pun right?) At first I just jumped to the conclusion that in the land of six and a half foot tall beautiful blonde people, they just couldn't keep from playing "good touch/bad touch." Well, as it turns out, there is actually a much more ingrained sociological reason for so many babies being out and about.
In the 19th century, there was a terrific outbreak of cholera here in Copenhagen and indeed all of Scandinavia. People were doing everything they could to avoid the disease. True to form, the government stepped in with advice for all the people. To prevent the disease from spreading to new-borns and babies, it was necessary to never let these children sleep inside during the daytime. So now as a result, if you are a mother and you leave a child at home to nap inside, you are almost viewed upon with a type of inherent disdain. Ergo, babies are everywhere! (including this picture I took of a baby, in its stroller, napping ALONE in the driveway of its house.)
Let's see what else...classes are going very well. I am glad to be back into the swing of work. I was terribly bored for a bit there and as you know, idle hands lead to something or other, I forget. But as for now I am enjoying myself again.
Plus Megan is visiting me for my birthday so Yay for that one!
I leave tomorrow for the first of my three study tours of the semester. We leave from Israels Plads at 7:30 a.m. for a tour of western Denmark. True I did it before, but I venture to think that this time will involve fewer furniture show rooms and factories, with quite a bit more architecture. My goal for this semester is to really improve on my sketchbooking skills. We will see how it works out.
I will try to post everyday while on the tour, but sometimes, those connections are spotty.
So, there you have it.
I want to start this post with a little something I learned recently about Danish culture. I have noticed, throughout my entire time here, that there seems to be an enormous amount of babies in strollers actively being pramulated about the city (clever pun right?) At first I just jumped to the conclusion that in the land of six and a half foot tall beautiful blonde people, they just couldn't keep from playing "good touch/bad touch." Well, as it turns out, there is actually a much more ingrained sociological reason for so many babies being out and about.
In the 19th century, there was a terrific outbreak of cholera here in Copenhagen and indeed all of Scandinavia. People were doing everything they could to avoid the disease. True to form, the government stepped in with advice for all the people. To prevent the disease from spreading to new-borns and babies, it was necessary to never let these children sleep inside during the daytime. So now as a result, if you are a mother and you leave a child at home to nap inside, you are almost viewed upon with a type of inherent disdain. Ergo, babies are everywhere! (including this picture I took of a baby, in its stroller, napping ALONE in the driveway of its house.)Let's see what else...classes are going very well. I am glad to be back into the swing of work. I was terribly bored for a bit there and as you know, idle hands lead to something or other, I forget. But as for now I am enjoying myself again.
Plus Megan is visiting me for my birthday so Yay for that one!
I leave tomorrow for the first of my three study tours of the semester. We leave from Israels Plads at 7:30 a.m. for a tour of western Denmark. True I did it before, but I venture to think that this time will involve fewer furniture show rooms and factories, with quite a bit more architecture. My goal for this semester is to really improve on my sketchbooking skills. We will see how it works out.
I will try to post everyday while on the tour, but sometimes, those connections are spotty.
So, there you have it.
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