URBAN NOMADISM
Not everyone decides to join in playfully. Not right away.
Most people came in, look around, exclaim, "Awesome!" and promice to come by later, when Christmas shopping is over.
Some people come in and simply observe.
Geet in an engeneer from India. He comes by often to tell me stories about his country.
Marcus is a Math teacher with a passion for philosophy and chess:
He rarelly speaks, simply comes in to observe or to read his incomrehensible books seated in the window.
The lady in a black coat works in some office where"rules are very rigid". For now she is just watching, fashinated by the "vibe".
Paul is a classical "Chinese wise man".
He usually spends his time playing chess with various friends in cafes around the city.
He is my favorite source of information about local news, people whom we both know, China and Russia.
We hope to travel to China one day together.
Miso has little time to spare, for he works as a cameramen for the moovies. But he is also a pfotographer, I gave him a box which he has turned into a mini exhibition space for a series of photographs from a series "faces everywhere".
He has modified lighting which made the space look not like an office but like a theatre:
Valera is a businessman who used to work as an engineer in Russia. He dreams of buying an aeroplane so as to explore Canadina wilderness. Naturally, his attention was drawn to the toy of a broken aeroplane, he looked at it with interest, but then put it back, prefering to observe others. It seems to me that somehow he felt out of place.
Well, there is a byer for every product.
Helicopter, a few hours after it has been refused by Valerij has been adopted by a baby girl from Northern Europe.
More space for new toys...
Some come in just to show newly acquired happiness, as it is the case with this filmaker, who just god married and is leaving for Israel with his wife.
This girl is virtually homeless, she sleeps on sofas of friends and chance acquintances, which does not prevent her from being dressed beautifully-she always makes her own dresses using fascilities of "Scetch", a community run center which provides homeless people with possibility to saw and paint. At the moment she is writing a book about past, future and present, even though her life "is very complicated" as shge has explained me.
Private homeless artist's fashion show:
Very gracefull indeed!
Dan is a film student who gives support with video equipment. He cames in to make small interviews and we are planning to do things in the future.
Rabbi Zalzman came all the way from uptown to place properly the Mesusa , which I conserve as a memory of my grandmother.
He walked around observing everything with curiosity and sentenced: "Cute."
So now we are not only "Politically Correct" but also Kosher.
So far so good.
.
All of a sudden we had an improvised concert. One artist bought a guitar for his friend who is an orchestra conductor.
They decided to inaugurate the instrument at the Serendipity Space.
Orchestra Conductor happen to write very childish, happy songs and, breaking strings he performed for chance by passers entire evening.
Tony, drunk and happy, promiced to get him a piano and reassured him "You are good, man, you are good!"
I have invited a few people connected to music to play here, but many are concerned with the fact that it is ...too unusual. "People want to relax, to have a drink in the evening...", they say. This homeless fellow who usually walks up and down the street does not seem to mind "no beer".
He is happy to create musical background even in exchange for a cup of cofee.
:
Allan is the most immaginative storyteller who has wondered into my place.
Each time his story changes, becoming more and more unbelievable and unrealistic.
In the meantime, he has brought me by bike 700 National Geographic magazines, a true record, which made me produce immediately some new collages...
Pedro Daniel Pfaff has wondered into Serendipity space late one evening, pulled out from a bag a piece of paper and read me a few pages of his thoughts about art: PEDRO DANIEL PFAFF'S ESSAY ON ART
Signs composed from damp, old letraset donated by backwards rider, Leslie:
You never know what you will find. Once I was looking for Stefy at the pick up center and instead I have found Maria, a housewife who is abused by her husband. She was waiting for an appointment with social workers who will find her a safe home. We bagan to chat and she said that she is from South America. just to be social, I said that I would like to learn how to dance. "I will teach you!" she exclaimed readily. Having a place right around the corner was helpful.
Stefy and some other friends have joined in and all of a sudden a bleak day has been transformed into a beautiful time full of laughter.
My teacher insisted that I learn how to sway my hips "sexy" while dancing and according to her I got it 80 per cent right from the first time.
"If you will continue to practice every day by Christmas you will be perfect!"she reassured me. Stefy , being very religious, did not seem thrilled about that idea.
A few hours before my teacher was crying, desperate and lost in her personal drama. Being asked to be a teacher helped her to step out from her suffering. Maybe a good way of dealing with despair is to place people in a situation where they can do something they like, something that gives them self respect and self importance? As for me, the last thing on Earth that interested me were South American dances.
Even while dancing Stefy has to introduce religious elements into her moovements.
All of a sudden she broke out into a dance full of religious symbolism.
It had nothing to do with Latin dances, but my teacher hushed me, "She is having an inspiration!"
I discovered that latin dances are fun in a context which contains strong paradox.
What appears shallow and vulgar in a Discotheque has a totally different look as another capricious twist of daily serendipity...
