an evening at the Phoenix Art Museum

As I mentioned in my previous entry, I spent last week in Phoenix training for a potential strike at AT&T. The computer-based training program had an estimated completion time of 77 hours. Needless to say, I felt somewhat pressured to complete the course material over the span of my allotted 5-day period. I managed in just under 44.5 hours thanks to my previous experience at Qwest, which utilizes many of the same legacy systems and procedures.

Tuesday night afforded me the one reward for my head-down week. Every Tuesday is "free" night at the Phoenix art museum, located just around the corner from my hotel. After work, I headed straight for the museum and started with dinner at Arcadia Farms, the in-house restaurant. I ordered the Chicken, Wild Mushroom and Leek Crepes (which included goat cheese on a bed of spinach with a basil cream sauce). The crepes were delicious especially due to the fact that none of the delicate ingredients overpowered one another. It was a wonderful prelude to an overall beautiful gallery experience.

The museum encompasses almost the entire block. It benefits from recent additions that provide an open, airy space. My hotel is located adjacent to the Phoenix Museum of Art.

There was an installation on the top floor by a Japanese artist entitled "You Who Are Getting Obliterated in the Dancing Swarm of Fireflies." Essentially, it was a narrow corridor with highly reflective surfaces on the ceiling and floor with dark glass walls. The corridor was pitch black except for strings of LEDs that hung from the ceiling and glimmered in computer generated pulsations and patterns. The effect was very unsettling. Initially the darkness is overwhelming and you instinctively freeze for fear of colliding into one of the glass walls. Also, the arrangement of the confined space paradoxically makes you feel you are floating in an infinite sea of flickering (firefly) lights, with no visible support. I actually had to find the exit first, then back into the installation about 5 feet so that I could have a frame of reference to feel more secure. Once I did this I was able to comfortably enjoy the experience. It was AMAZING! I was overwhelmed by the infinite vastness of the darkness and the lights. I was lucky enough to be there by myself for quite a while to enjoy the experience. It was transformative.

I decided to go back after I explored other parts of the museum, but by that time, there was a crowd inside the installation and it suffered from the conversation, noise and presence of other people. Still, I won't be forgetting that experience anytime soon.

Also wonderful was a life-size projection of a white, leaf-less computer-generated tree that swayed to some imaginary wind, compressing and swirling the branches in a way that could not happen in the real world. It, too left an indelible impression upon me.

All in all, I feel very fortunate I was able to be there.

Below is the review for the installation from the Phoenix New Times:

"But take your date to Yayoi Kusama's You Who Are Getting Obliterated in the Dancing Swarm of Fireflies mixed-media installation with LED lights at Phoenix Art Museum and you will be sure to dazzle your date into a quick first kiss. The installation, housed in the Laurie and Drew Brown Gallery at the top floor of the newly expanded museum, is a dark room with mirrors lining the walls, ceiling, and floor. The only illumination comes from strings of dim lights that dangle from the ceiling and float only one foot above the mirrored floor.
The small light strings dim and fade between colors. The endless reflection creates a space with no visual boundaries that bombards us with an overwhelming sense of thrilling disorientation. Stepping into the seemingly infinite space will take your breath away. With such heightened excitement, latching onto your hot date and making the move is only natural.
And if you're shy about PDA, don't sweat it — Phoenix Art Museum volunteers allow only two people into the installation at a time and don't stick around to watch. And while the temptation may be to make the moment last, there are other people waiting in line to get some — so make it quick."

Lastly, the following URL will take you to a slideshow where you can catch a glimpse of the installation:

http://phxart.org/slideshow/index.html#/COL/72157606315913654/2677484675/

at&t's union contract and strike duty

This week I'm in Phoenix for a week of computer-based training to become a consumer services rep in the event of a strike at AT&T. Way back in July, I had been contacted by AT&T to assess my willingness to work in just such an instance. Numerous forms and e-mail exchanges later, I was informed that I might be summoned for training prior to the contract expiration date of April 4th. I was only informed last Thursday that I should report to Phoenix to begin training on Monday. AT&T picks up all expenses including airfare, car rental, meals and training in addition to paying me a respectable fee for my time. At the conclusion of my training this week, I fly back home to SLC, then two weeks down the road, I'll fly to CA for instructor-led training for yet another week. The day after that training concludes, the contract expires.

I can only conclude that AT&T is anticipating a strike to go to the expense and trouble of coordinating retired AT&T personnel in a large re-training effort. In today's economy it makes one wonder if AT&T is going to dramatically (enough) reduce benefits to the extent that it will provoke a strike or if they are just that pro-active in trying to maintain business as usual should one occur regardless of the terms of the contract. Either way, it's frightening to consider the ramifications of a strike, especially in view of the fact that I would be answering customers' calls who are hoping for help.

the utah bar exam

My wife, Joni, is responsible for the administration of the Bar Exam here in Utah. Twice a year, dread-filled, anxious law students take the Bar as the final hurdle (no pun intended) to becoming full-fledged, practicing attorneys. Surprisingly, only 126 examinees participated in the February session. July numbers typically hover above 300. (One wonders about the numbers coming out of larger metropolitan areas like California or New York for instance.) Can Utah really sustain the numbers of attorneys entering the workforce each year? Theoretically, projections show that eventually those attorneys of the Baby-Boomer generation will retire, creating a void that may not be met by the seemingly overabundant influx we are seeing. Personally, I feel the world has way too many of them. I was going to write more here, but I think that's a good note to end on. The world has way too many of them.

communications art

Every year, Communications Art magazine produces a Photography Annual featuring what they deem to be the best photographs of the year in the categories of Advertising, Self-promotion, Editorial, Unpublished, For Sale, Books, etc. The publication is very prestigious in the advertising industry and is widely read. The first time I saw their annual, I was overwhelmed by the quality of work represented and realized very quickly that my photographic skills needed development.

Over the years (I have lost count) I have submitted work in the hopes that at least once, the jurors would find my work worthy. Every year my work has fallen short (and this year's work is yet to be judged.) All submitted work is judged "blindly," with no identifiers tagged to the images. Many of the photographers who submit their work are world-renowned in the industry though and their work is easily identifiable. I like to dismiss my rejection each year with the statement, "It's all political." I realize by the quality of the work that it is not, but I derive comfort nonetheless in making that justification. Also, from my many years of rejection in submissions to other venues, I have come to realize that judging artwork to some extent is subjective and the composition of jurors and the nature of the work submitted don't always coalesce.

This year, I've taken a different approach to my submissions. I've entered two of my photographs as illustrations in Communications Art Illustration Annual. The two entries are digitally manipulated to the extent that they resemble artwork and may not merit consideration in the Photography Annual.

I have entered five more traditional photos in the Photography Annual. (As I write this, I realize it just wreaks of desparation).

All I can conclude in retrospect however, is that hope does indeed spring eternal. I continue to submit my images for consideration (at an expense that seems to creep up each year) despite repeated rejections over the course of many years. Somewhere I heard the definition of insanity is the persistance of a given behavior in spite of continued proven unsuccessful outcomes. Insanity? Perhaps. I choose to think of it unrelenting optimism and (deluded?) confidence in my artistic vision.