Is this home?

When you grow up in more than one place, the concept of "home" becomes rather fuzzy. It becomes sort of like a collection of things that are scattered around the globe. For me, "home" is jumping into the Adriatic Sea from a rock, it is the smell of Iowa grass in the spring, it is laying eyes on my family, whether it happens in Croatia, Germany, Italy, or the US...

Having become such a fragmented and fleeting concept, I have never really tried to establish a more cohesive home in any particular place. Everywhere I went through, I would dip into the surrounding culture deep enough to find enough things to keep me going for the time that I am there. But now, I am starting to feel a little different. I am finding enough nice things about Arizona that I'm considering staying here for a while. Maybe even making it a true home for myself.

I love the weather. I love the desert, I love the forests, and I love the Grand Canyon. The people around me are great. The Arts, Media and Engineering Program is starting to feel more like a family than a workplace, and the research is starting to be very interesting and rewarding. The art scene is just waiting to explode. And artVERGE is becoming something that I'd like to take very, very far. And let's not forget that Las Vegas is pretty close :-).

So maybe I stay here for a while, eh? I knew there was something special about Arizona as soon as I found out they don't do Daylight Savings Time here...

after the artWHAT?

When someone goes to organize an art event without ever having done it before, and bites off far more than they can chew, I'd say there are only two likely outcomes: fortuitous success and crash-and-burn failure. If you imagine things riding on the very edge between the two, and somehow falling on the fortuitous success side, you get a reasonably clear image of the "artWHAT?" event. It was magic...

About 6 days before the event, we were armed with a near $1,000 budget, a website, and the promotional designs that our team put together. Saturday before the show, a team of artists and volunteers got together to clean out about 6 barrels worth of scrap metal + extra junk from the east courtyard of the venue. On Monday, we put up some posters. On Tuesday, we got our postcards printed. On Wednesday, we finally found the models for the fashion show. On Thursday night, the lobby exhibit started to come together. Jon Stacy, the sculptor, took a look at the east courtyard and decided to call some friends. Friday afternoon, they brought a collection of sculptures and pedestals, and with some creative use of work lights and fabric they transformed the courtyard into something amazing. I spent most of the time running around helping whoever needed help, and trying to tie things together.

5 o'clock came around, tools were still being put away, food was still being put out, and people started showing up. I looked like crap, smelled every which way, and tried to avoid them. I wanted to go take a shower, but our technical director Siew Wong was stuck in a meeting and I wasn't going anywhere until he showed up. When I finally spotted him around 5:20pm I let out a long breath, got my clean clothes and experienced what was probably the most releiving shower the FAC men's restroom has ever seen. Next time, I might even remember to bring a towel.

I ran to Matthew's Center, brushed my teeth, and returned to the event. The panel discussion was underway, and all the panelists were there... good! Now, the video projection needed to be set-up... somewhere. I grabbed Siew and Aaron Cuthbertson, and we attacked the west courtyart. About 20 minutes later, I was watching my own ass shaking on a twenty foot high section of the Digital Arts Ranch wall. Thanks, Devi, for suggesting the height of the projection.

When that was done, the panel discussion was nearing its end, which was partly a good thing because all the soda was trapped inside with it. The soda was taken outside, the stage was cleared, and I was running around answering an artillery of requests. Five minutes before the live performance, I realized I never got to practice my M.C. lines and my jokes. I was about to give an act that only ever happened inside my head. I also realized I misplaced the microphone.

7:30 rolled around, and the show was supposed to start. I had finally found my microphone. The first act had finally finished setting up. After a very long breat, I finally walked on...

I think that considering the amount of technical preparation that we had time to put into the show (practically none), it went great. The performers did a wonderful job, the tech crew managed to tackle a sound board that went nuts in the middle of the show, and I somehow combined the roles of M.C., comic, and stage hand. The show happened, people laughed, people aplauded, and after Miranda did her act in honor of Ben Maggos, people cried.

When someone goes to organize an art event without ever having done it before, and bites off far more than they can chew, I'd say there are only two likely outcomes: fortuitous success and crash-and-burn failure. Only because of all the people that jumped in to fill all the gaps I created with my insane ambitiousness, this event had the fortune of success. My sencere thanks go to you all.

This event belongs to all of you that created it, all of you that supported it, all of you that showed our art, all of you that performed, and all of you that attended. And to Ben, who inspired it, and who would have celebrated his twenty-fifth birthday yesterday.

Happy birthday Ben. I hope you liked the event.