C.A.T. ART CLUB TOUR, MARCH 12

On March 12, 19:00 hours, I lead our Contemporary Artistic Technologies Art Club on a tour of the Whitney Museum.

Jamie Vandenberg & Contemporary Artistic Technologies at Whitney Museum Biennial 2010

We began on the second floor.  It was here that I  introduced several of the key Magic Concepts from our Chelsea Workshop Educational series.  We started with our first Book, The Post-Post Feminist Nude.  By the time we reached the Magic Concepts outlined in the Architect Engineer Abstract Painting, it  became clear to us that there exists a deep thirst for this knowledge.  I was personally very moved by the great throng of students that quickly formed around us.  Eager ears, eyes, and minds opened up to hear, see, and learn.  However, as most of us know, an assembly of citizens that becomes too large can be quite  dangerous.  As we did not wish to contribute to what had clearly become a fire hazard with the aide of the institution’s hired help, we quietly dispersed the large crowd and moved to the next floor for a meditative stretch break.  We continued our museum art club tour on the forth floor with a botanical drawing exercise using our book the Sophisticated Naive Folk Drawing for guidance.  We ended our evening of  cultural education in the lower level cafe.

I sipped a lovely glass of light, Old World Chardonnay , while simultaneously taking in the rich, dark notes emanating from the jazz fusion performance on stage.  I opened up and  let my mind wander.  I contemplated the possible tropical destinations for my next vacation.  I thought triumphantly of  the  crates of wonderful French Burgundy I was able to purchase at Sotheby’s last wine auction.  And then for some reason, my mind thought of Haiti. Obviously it would not be a suitable place for my upcoming vacation, there were few luxury hotels to begin with before the very natural disaster .  But I did recall  several facts that seemed to all fall together to create a startling notion in my minds eye.  I recalled that Haiti had to pay back  damages plus interest  to France for burning plantation fields, destroying colonial government buildings, and the loss of  property that each Haitian slave represented. I have heard that many in Haiti are dreadfully thirsty.  Perhaps, along with the coordination of American Military cargo ships,   France could send a tax deductible gift of it’s very finest.  Some people in Haiti might be in need of dry, clean clothing before the upcoming rainy season.  And just maybe, the Whitney Museum still has left over inventory from the last Biennial Artist T-shirt line.  The t-shirts could bridge a GAP between the former Banana Republic and our Old Navy.  Remember, students sometimes it is not simply enough to Create Success but we must also create understanding.

Yours truly,

Jamie Vandenberg

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