Australia

Our departure day has finally arrived. In 30 hours or so, I'll be settling into a hotel in Melbourne. Here is a picture of the New South Wales coast. I hope to update this blog with further posts from Australias.

El Mercado

Mexico City existence owes itself to the buying and selling of goods since the time the city was called Tenochtitlan. Even some of the fruits and vegetables from that time are still being sold. So, it is with little wonder that they are interesting environments in which to buy one's groceries and to observe the comings and goings of the populace. Now if Mexico could erase (or at least diminish) the scourge of Coca-Cola...

Installation - Things of my life

Currently, I have an installation up at a friend's office. It is titled 'Things of my life' and is a mish-mash of photographs and different things that I've collected from each of the countries in which I've lived (USA, Australia, Japan, England, & México). If you would like to visit drop me an email and we can arrange something. There will be another 'party' at the office in a week or two, so stay in touch.

Basketball

Every once in a while, on a Saturday morning, I find myself in the Palo Solo pueblito of México City to play basketball. It is an interesting experience to say the least...

Morrisey Concert

Morrissey recently came to México City to give a concert. He sang mostly newer songs, but the bravado and charisma were ever present. It must be an amazing feeling to come to a country like México, which is so far removed from England, and have every one singing along with you! I really enjoyed myself - as did the 10.000 or so others. (I´m including the cups of Coke as México is the number 1 consumer of the high fructose corn syrup drink and was recently named the 2nd fattest country in the world.)

Movies and future posts

The cinema is a magical place. Somewhere whereI can envelope myself in a story and think through a visual medium.

I've recently seen three productions, two of which involve a Méxican touch. The first was the movie Babel (Méxican director, set, actors): I imagine much has been written about this film in the 'blogosphere' (an interesting term in itself), so I'll just mention that it has interesting stories of people in situations where cultural differences are at the forefront of their interactions. The next movie I saw was Science of Sleep by Michel Gondry and starring Gael Garcia Bernal (Méxican-and is on at least five or six covers here in México at the moment). This film showed me the importance of the setting - anybody have a plane ticket to Paris for me and my girlfriend? Lastly, I saw The Departed. This film provided me with enough images of death to last until the new year. I think it added about 100 (maybe more) images of people being shot, tortured, beaten, to my lifetime total of probably over 100,000 seen on the t.v. or silver screen.

In a request to all: I've been doing this blog for a few months now and I have grown attached to it. If you are reading this and you are not me, please leave comment on this post or drop me a line at info {@} jeremyclouser.com and tell me what you think of it.

In the next week or so I will be posting images of a basketball game on a court overlooking makeshift concrete housing next to luxury highrises, images from an exhibtion/installation that I have up at the moment at a friend's architectual office and a report/musings/image(s) from a Morrissey concert that I recently went to. Stay Tuned!

Recent Digital Snaps From D.F.

These are some digital photos taken throughout México City other the past month or so. As you can see I'm fascinated by the urban conversation that is graffiti and stenciling.

Wilhelm Sasnal

Wilhelm Sasnal is one of my favourite artists. I came across his work while I was living in London. His work is to me a mix of playfulness and erudite comment; something that is extremely difficult to do well. His paintings are well out of my price range, but I hope to one day be able to hang one in my house.

People (?) You Meet on Insurgentes

Insurgentes Avenue, which is an east-west divider of Mexico City, holds all types of visual stimuli for the pedestrian. The place where the photographs accompanying this text were taken is a uniform store. It is a shop that has not changed for, what seems to the casual observer, 20 years, which makes its existence fragile. I feel that it could disappear at any moment. If you would like to see it, it is located opposite the Alvaro Obregon Metrobus stop.

An Exhibition for Tomorrow Night

I've been away for awhile. Hopefully my regular readers haven't missed me too much. If you have, then you can find me at this exhibit tomorrow night.

Found Magazine

Found Magazine is one of those things that thrive thanks to the internet. It collects those pieces of paper that we see blowing about the street from people all over the world. I submitted something I found at school.

Here is the link:

http://www.foundmagazine.com/find/1036

Watch out because you may end up spending alot of time perusing the website.

Stamps

This is a collection of stamps from letter that were sent to me over two years in Japan.

Watch Out!

The photographer of this photgraph was in the right place at the right time to satisfy our morbid curiosity.

Copies

This is what my copies are wrapped in.

Symbols of Love

A set of playing cards

This is a set of poster playing cards that I found in excellent condition in a thrift in Pennsylvania. It captures the 'look' of a particular point in time perfectly.

Public Transport

One of the characteristics of the Japanese Public Transportation is that people of every social class use it - giving it legitimacy.

Traditional Views

This is an example of a learning tool that shows an interesting side of particular countries. Are they stereotypical?

This is not garbage!

This is something I kept from a weekend in the South Coast of England. (I could murder some fish and chips right about now.)

Kashii Shrine

This a sticker representing a local shrine from where I lived in Japan

More of this?

Everyone needs it.

Lucer

I found this and I think it is supposed to mean 'Loser'.

Found photo of unexpected moment

I love this image because it has great composition and captures the gentleman in unexpected moment.

Contemplation

This is one of my favorite artistic images. The contrast of the black and white and the expression on the woman's face intrigues me greatly.

Stress!

This is a painting I bought in Mexico that uses a clay base.

Iron Mike Tyson

This is a photo I of Mike Tyson in Mexico City that I found in the La Lagunilla market.

Shoalhaven Heads

In December my girlfriend and I will be travelling to Australia, specifically the South Coast of NSW, Sydney and Melbourne. Suggestions of things to do are welcome.

Is there any hope left?

Even though I only really follow the Chicago White Sox through box scores, I consider myself a fan. With only a week or so to go, and the White Sox 5 or 6 games behind Minnesota, I'm wondering if there is any hope left for a playoff position.

Photos of Photos from a Sunday Afternoon

This is a series of photos that I took while reading the Sunday papers a couple of weeks ago. They show the interesting things of that you can see while alive.

i

This is a poster that has been floating around D.F. recently. It has been added to the growing pile of detritus that is tucked away in the closet. If you want any of it let me know!

Pen Tests

This piece of refuse was picked up in a 'tangui' in Mexico City. I love the fact that people come by and leave their traces on a common piece of paper.

Gratis

Everybody loves things for free! (Although doesn't everything come with a cost?)

Pulled off of a lamp post

While I was in Berlin a couple of years ago, I saw that some had decorated the city with these 6 stickers. I subsequently took them and put them into a new context (the pages of my book).

Nothing 'Delicate' About Smoking

Here is a pack of Mexican smokes with the misleading name of 'DELICADOS'.

Found on Myspace

I found this picture on Myspace and I'm amazed it's absurdity and seriousness.

No Right Turn

The MA in Photography and Urban Cultures at Goldsmiths College is having an exhibit and here is the flyer

SITAC V - 2006

This is the flyer for the "Fifth International Symposium on Contemporary Art Theory that takes place in Mexico City. It should be quite interesting.

While going for a walk...

Francis Alys (there are two dots above the y in his last name) recently had an exhibit in Mexico City and one of the displays showed his magnetic dogs that pick up detritus while walking through the city. He has done many interesting things including moving mountains and seeing how long it would take to get arrested while carrying a loaded gun in the street.

Dear Visitor

As you may know in Mexico there is ongoing disagreement about the outcome of the July 2nd Presidential Election. Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador is contesting the preliminary results. To put pressure on the decision makers he has gathered supporters to block one of the main arteries of the city, Paseo de la Reforma. This has caused a dramatic drop in the number of tourists, who are a major source of funds for the city. In order not to frighten them too much they have put out this notice of awareness.

Chairs

Here are 6 blended polaroids of 3 chairs that are in our apartment.

Year of the Snake

When I was a teacher in Japan I experienced a different way of 'clocking' in at work. Each teacher had an 'inkan' or a stamp with their name on the bottom. Mine is pictured here and I was lucky because most of my 'Gaijin' (foreign) friends had their names in 'Katakana' (Japanese writing of foreign words) whilst I had mine in 'Kanji' (Chinese characters). I wish I could say that I wrote the characters that you see here, but they were written by the friendly librarian, with whom I remember drinking black coffee and eating tiny cookies.

On a personal note, it is my birthday today and I was born in the year of the snake.

Something Related to BP's Closure of its Alaskan Pipeline

This a postcard that I bought in a San Francisco thrift (charity) shop that commerates the opening of Alaska's first pipeline. The accompanying text is from the rear of the postcard and touts the engineering feats and private investment (hmmm).

Un Cigarillo Mas Por Favor

Here is a news item that was in the Reforma Newspaper the other day that is humourous and disturbing.

A paper bag worth keeping

This is a paper bag that is used by a small corner grocer in Amsterdam. The colo(u)r, and texture of the bag combined with the simple shapes of vegetables printed on the outside, make for a European souvenir that contains memories of shopping and personal interaction. (If I remember correctly, I bought some cheese)

Wilkum

Welcome to the Exploration of the Affable Excess, where you will find many different types of posts, but all related to everyday occurrences.