You may not know, but Holland is tropical

Since I arrived, Holland has maintained an above 80 degree average. This trend has driven me to ice cream stands, cold beverages (mostly beer), and standing in front of the refrigerator too long. Despite the heat, it has been a rather successful two weeks. I have gotten a chance to meet a lot of artists and check out residencies here in Rotterdam. I look forward to returning next year for a longer stay, hopefully to work on a new project. As scheduled, I gave a lecture last week about my time in Finland. It coincided nicely with the World Cup Netherlands vs. Brazil game. We were expecting a good crowd so first we spruced up the garden a bit. One of the permanent residents, Marielle Buitendijk and I decided to collaborate...

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People began to show up and had a lot of fun interacting with the space we had created. On the bar and the ground I had posted small "reserved" stickers over areas I had cleaned the day before, a few bricks steps here, a spot to stand there, a few places to 'reserve' your drink. The whole night people were asking each other if they could sit or place their drink down...

Person A "Is this spot taken?
Person B "Uhhhh, I don't know, are they here yet?"
Person A "Who?"
Person B "I don't know."

From Rauma Blog

Around 8:30 the game began. Perhaps from the photos you can see who won!

From Rauma Blog

From Rauma Blog

The artist lectures followed this amazing game. There was no way to compete with the excitement of the win, but we did our best.

From Rauma Blog

...I went first

From Rauma Blog

From Rauma Blog

Followed by Jan Bokma
who traveled all the way from the north and installed his animation with audio for the event!

From Rauma Blog

Finally a studio visit with Gerben Meinders who is the current AIR.

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The night was completed by a great BBQ party.

From Rauma Blog

From Rauma Blog

"The Greatest BBQ ever!"

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A big THANK YOU goes out to the artists and the people of Het Wilde Weten for organizing this great event.

And on to the rest of Europe

Finland was amazing, it is hard to believe that it is over. I spent my last week with Mackenzie's former Finnish host family on a small island near Lahti. It was the most relaxing time in Finland by far. I now understand why the Finns all have summer homes.


Here is a picture of Janne and me fishing (didn't catch anything but beers)

From Rauma Blog

Here is a view from the island.

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On June 22nd I took the Viking ship over to Stockholm. To be honest I was totally shocked with how expensive Sweden was, however, for something that is totally worth the cost I highly recommend the Vasa Museum, which is now one of my favorite museums in the world.

According to Stockholm's visitor guide: "The Vasa is the only preserved seventeenth-century ship in the world, and a unique art treasure. More than 95 percent of the ship is original, and it is decorated with hundreds of carved sculptures. The 69 meter-long warship Vasa sank on its maiden voyage in the middle of Stockholm in 1628, and was salvaged 333 years later in 1961. For nearly half a century the ship has been slowly, deliberately and painstakingly restored to a state approaching its original glory. The three masts on the roof outside the specially built museum show the height of the ship's original masts"

Location:

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From Rauma Blog

From Rauma Blog

From Rauma Blog

After two days in Stockholm I made my way down to Copenhagen. My first impression of this city was that it was more run down than Stockholm, but soon it became more comfortable. You could find a wider variety off people and food and there seemed to be a good art scene. I visited a gallery of one of the Mita Meri artists that I met in Finland, IMO, as well as the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art. Both I would highly recommend if you happen to be in the city.

IMO Gallery: http://www.imo-projects.com/

Location:

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(It is in a large parking lot next to two other galleries)

Copenhagen has a nice system where you can get a discount on the entrance ticket if you buy the train ticket and museum entrance together, so make sure you go to the station and take advantage of this. Right now they have a killer Sophie Calle show up and the perment exhibition is great as well. Finally don't forget to bring a picnic lunch and sit on the hill by the sea once you are done with seeing everything.

http://www.louisiana.dk/dk

Location:

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In order to head down to Rotterdam I booked an over night train to Amsterdam. I could not get a sleeper car and so only got a seat. I assumed that it would be a reclining seat, but nope. It was a six-seat room- three chairs in a row facing each other, and nothing reclining about it. I sat for 16 hours trying not to put my feet on the person across from me. It was a test of endurance. But I made it. I then took one more train down to Rotterdam to find a huge studio waiting for me at Het Wilde Weten. Thanks to my good friend and collaborator Dirk Studio, I was invited to give a lecture and stay for two weeks. If you are around tomorrow please stop by!

Office of International Cooperation Lecture
Date: July 2, 2010
Time: 6pm (come early for World Cup- NL vs. Brazil!)
Location: Het Wilde Weten, Rotterdam

Here is the link for the location and more information:
http://www.hetwildeweten.nl/2010/artist-talk-%E2%80%93-bbq-%E2%80%93-exhibition/