2017.10.23 07:00 - Ai Weiwei’s art

The Guardian for this meeting was Eden Haiku. The comments are by Eden Haiku.

Mornings of noisy humans 

Eden Haiku: Hello Riddle :)
Riddle Sideways: Hello
Riddle Sideways: Computer has been sickly most of the weekend. Let's see how it goes today
Eden Haiku: Oh, hope it works fine Riddle.
Riddle Sideways: Laptop is warming up in the bull pen
Eden Haiku: Good morning Eliza :)
Eliza Madrigal: Morning! :)
Riddle Sideways: Eliza
Eden Haiku: "Unbearable noise" ? Is that your new title sweetheart?
Riddle Sideways: a special group?
Eliza Madrigal: it is a nod to the book discussions in the afternoon... the story that 'the great flood' was the god's response to noisy humans
Eliza Madrigal: :)
Adams Rubble: Hello Everyone :)
Eden Haiku: Hello Adams :) What a lovely outfit!
Eliza Madrigal: Hi Adams :)
Adams Rubble: TY Eden :)
Riddle Sideways: Hi Adams
Eden Haiku: Oh, I see. Thanks Eliza...
Eliza Madrigal: Steven Greenblatt used the phrase, and it just struck me as funny
Eden Haiku: Noisy humans hehe
Eden Haiku: God would think we should just shut up?
Riddle Sideways: thought it might be a Tinnitus reference
Eliza Madrigal: population control
Eliza Madrigal: eep
Eliza Madrigal: I've missed being here in the mornings - how is everything?
Riddle Sideways: early
Eliza Madrigal grins
Riddle Sideways: Sun not even up yet

Annoying neighbor

Eden Haiku: Annoyed by the downstairs neighbor ...
Eliza Madrigal: ooooh nice
Eliza Madrigal: uh oh, what did they do?
Eden Haiku: The old man keeps putting his own stuff in the common stairway,,,
Eden Haiku: He also keeps his door open...
Eden Haiku: I will have an excellent opportunity to hone my new non-violent communication skills...:)
Eliza Madrigal: boundary/personal space issues
Eliza Madrigal: new ones?
Eliza Madrigal: (skills)
Riddle Sideways: YELL at him, non-violently
Eliza Madrigal: hahha
Eden Haiku: He used to travel to France many months a year so we put up with his few eccentricities...

Non-violent communication new skills

Riddle Sideways: how did the workshop go?
Eden Haiku: But now, he seems worse...His French girlfriend broke up...
Eliza Madrigal: oh dear
Eden Haiku: The workshop was fantastic Riddle, loved every minute of it.
Adams Rubble: :)
Adams Rubble:new skills not a moment too soon
Riddle Sideways: and learned to beat people verbally up, non-violently
Eden Haiku: The couple who was coaching us was really good. Fun and precise and concise. We were a large group of 25.

Eliza Madrigal: quite curious... what sorts of techniques did you get to work with?

--BELL--

Eden Haiku: Young people from video games businesses or construction sites, an older woman who practiced Reiki, an artist and her boyfriend. People living 1000 kilometers away in Gaspesia who traveled here for the workshop.
Eliza Madrigal: nice that there is traction
Eden Haiku: Techniques are to notice facts, scan our feelings, give ourselves auto-empathy, give the other side empathy, listen, understand the need beyond the action, then find some middle ground.
Eden Haiku: It takes a lot of agility!
Eliza Madrigal: seeing the need beyond the action in itself, not easy
Riddle Sideways: wow, yes
Riddle Sideways: just the first one is hard... notice the facts
Eden Haiku: No. in order to find the need we have to ask questions, try hypothesis.
Eden Haiku:There is a closed list of about 30 needs common to every human.
Eliza Madrigal: and you must keep these in mind?
Eden Haiku: They gave us a list but it's awkward in the beginning, looking down on a paper :)
Eliza Madrigal: :)
Adams Rubble: :)
Eden Haiku: But I had a "ha" moment
Eden Haiku: About the relationship with my sister
Eliza Madrigal: oh
Riddle Sideways: great
Eden Haiku: It seems "the sacred" is a basic need for all humans[sacredness would be a more appropriate translation as Eliza will hint later]
Eden Haiku: And that need wasn't nurtured when she said...[I edited out the last of the sentence]
Eden Haiku: I now see she needed to step back from her own mourning feelings and getting ¨scientific" was her way to cope...
Eliza Madrigal: making distance
Eden Haiku: Yes :)
Eliza Madrigal: that's a precious insight Eden
Eliza Madrigal: it may reveal other patterns with her perhaps... too
Adams Rubble: so often our issues with siblings involves parents. So nice you had a start in understanding :)
Eden Haiku: Here is an online link to an inventory of needs: https://www.cnvc.org/Training/needs-inventory
Eliza Madrigal: thank you, beginning to remember this now
Eden Haiku: Enough of me now. What is going on with you Eliza, Adams, Riddle?

The need for sacredness

Eliza Madrigal: I'm a jumble of too many things, will help me to listen :)
Adams Rubble: thank you Eden. We are learning from you Eden so not enough of you :)
Riddle Sideways: thank you
Eliza Madrigal: :)
Riddle Sideways: don't see sacred
Eden Haiku: No, I see it’s not there. The couple from Quebec City added some needs. The need for sacred resonates strongly here:)
Eliza Madrigal likes the addition

--BELL--

Eden Haiku: All needs are intrinsic according to Marshall Rosenberg. They do not involve another person.
Eden Haiku: It seems any upsetting emotion that comes up is triggered by a need that is not nurtured...
Eliza Madrigal: I'm thinking that just the process... just going through the steps in mind, might enable someone to be more 'there' with/to someone
Eden Haiku: Yes Eliza. It's hard though to really listen and to "unlearn" the way we communicate...
Riddle Sideways:so hard to evaluate those 30 needs in one's self, but to try to read them all from another [so true Riddle!]
Eliza Madrigal: I noticed with my grandfather yesterday... and this may relate to your neighbor too... that since his girlfriend moved away (too quickly, hadn't been talking about her financial situation and then made big decisions fast), he is much heavier and more negative...
Eliza Madrigal: we sort of stared at each other with little to say, I felt defensive 'in general'...on guard
Eliza Madrigal: when he left I felt anxious and sad, even though I did know what was going on underneath
Eliza Madrigal: I don't want to go back to feeling I need to set limits with him... she has been such a light to his mood and behavior
Eliza Madrigal: :)
Eden Haiku: Oh, your grandfather, yes, the situation might be similar...You felt sad... You need connection with him maybe? I had started typing this before: But you are very good at listening Eliza. I wonder if PaB would still exist if it wasn't for you. All these reading sessions you organize, that's excellent to keep the group together. I'm so sorry I cannot attend for now :(
Eliza Madrigal: aw, thank you. I don't feel like a good listener at all
Eliza Madrigal: but I hope you're right :)
Eden Haiku: Back to your grandfather. Setting limits, yes, similar to my downstairs neighbor...
Eden Haiku:I hate having to set limits...but he kind of calls for them...
Eliza Madrigal: exactly
Eliza Madrigal: PaB is alive. :) The new sessions aren't me, I should say, too!
Eden Haiku: Haven't read them yet as you can tell :)
Eliza Madrigal smiles
Eliza Madrigal:feels good to have more sessions than one can attend again
Eliza Madrigal: exhibits... so much
Eliza Madrigal: :)
Eden Haiku: And exhibits, that’s very true!
Eden Haiku: Our need for beauty :)
Eliza Madrigal: meaning
Eden Haiku: Our need for art and poetry :)
Eden Haiku: And meaning yes!
Eden Haiku: And fun!
Eliza Madrigal: perhaps 'sacredness' is one of the base categories... seems it could be
Riddle Sideways: ummm, found out about a new exhibit by one of our members openning probably wednesday
Riddle Sideways: expect an email
Eden Haiku: Oh, what is it Riddle?
Eden Haiku: Ah, a cliffhanger!
Eliza Madrigal: :))
Adams Rubble: :)
Riddle Sideways: ummm,, should let the email explain. is not like the previous shows

--BELL--

Eden Haiku: The "sacredness"of the bell and of the 90 seconds of stepping back...
Riddle Sideways: yes
Eliza Madrigal: appreciative being
Eden Haiku: Fine Riddle :)
Adams Rubble: Ohh, you are talking about Xirana's
Adams Rubble: Catalonia
Eden Haiku: Ah!!!
Riddle Sideways: darn
Riddle Sideways: thought it was a secret
Eliza Madrigal: oh, excellent
Adams Rubble: she sent out an email
Adams Rubble: :)
Eliza Madrigal: a secret invitation to everybody
Eden Haiku: Will make sure to check my yahoo emails :)
Adams Rubble: was it a secret?
Riddle Sideways: oh, should check email
Riddle Sideways: on other computer
Eliza Madrigal: what a good idea. I've followed the news but am a little lost, so it will be helpful

A chance encounter with Ai Weiwei little story

Eliza Madrigal:Also, am reminded to ask about Ai Wei Wei encounter, Eden
Eliza Madrigal: :)
Eden Haiku: Oh yes Eliza. We are crisscrossing PaB and Twitter paths :)
Riddle Sideways: ㋡
Eliza Madrigal: ^.^
Eden Haiku: Ok, so the story takes place in Paris May 2016
Eden Haiku: The Seine is flooding the riverbanks
Eden Haiku: No boats are allowed anymore
Eden Haiku: My friend and I walk to the museum L'Orangerie
Eden Haiku: To see an exhibit about poet Apollinaire and his artist friends
Eden Haiku: He was also an art critic
Eden Haiku:As I wait to drink a sip to the water fountain
Eden Haiku: There is a huge Chinese man who seems out from an ancient painting who also waits for the water fountain
Eliza Madrigal: !
Eden Haiku: As a child is drinking a lot of water
Eden Haiku: I use the time to polish my shoes powdered with dust from the Tuileries garden [forgot to add, there was a special machine by the water fountain to do that and it was rather playful]
Eden Haiku: The huge Chinese man smiles at me, indicating he 's wearing sandals so he can’t play that game as he waits
Eliza Madrigal: :)
Eden Haiku: In the twinkle in his eyes, I realize he's the famous artist
Eden Haiku: I can't remember his name then, I drink and walk away
Eden Haiku:Then I tell my friend I think he was the famous Chinese artist
Eden Haiku: He can't remember his name either
Eden Haiku: Later, I check for pictures
Eden Haiku: Yes, it was him
Adams Rubble: :)
Riddle Sideways: funny. to think that even famous people drink water [missed that Riddle, giggling as I’m editing the log ]
Eliza Madrigal: I love to hear that someone is as good natured in spontaneous encounter as they seem to be in their work, public life
Eden Haiku: Sorry, it's kind of boring to tell but it was really fun to feel like a child with the most famous artist in the world who’s really just a child himself :)
Riddle Sideways: from public fountains
Eliza Madrigal: no not boring at all!
Riddle Sideways: indeed, not boring
Eden Haiku: I'm so eager to see his movioe "Human Flow' about migrants
Eliza Madrigal: feel perhaps overly happy imagining it
Eden Haiku: I told him on Twitter. He smiled :)
Eliza Madrigal: me too...there is a documentary about him too
Adams Rubble echoes "not boring"
Eliza Madrigal: how cute
Eden Haiku: Yes, had seen the documentry a few months before that chance encounter
Eliza Madrigal: loved seeing his cats
Eliza Madrigal: opening doors
Eliza Madrigal: :)
Eliza Madrigal: so much meaningful take away from his life but I think about the cats all the time
Eden Haiku: He was dressed in plain dark loose clothes but there was some "ancient Chinese" air about him that intrigued me...
Eliza Madrigal: mmm
Eden Haiku: Yes, Eliza, the cats :)

--BELL--

Ai Weiwei’s installation in Alcatraz

Riddle Sideways: saw the documentary long ago, before going to the installation in Alcatraz
Riddle Sideways: always think of the Legos
Eden Haiku: oh, what installation was it Riddle?
Eliza Madrigal: oh, I remember your sharing about that
Eden Haiku: Googled it :)
Riddle Sideways: can't search for link now, but had his art installed in the prison cells and workshops
Eliza Madrigal: https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2014/sep/24/ai-weiwei-alcatraz-lego-extraordinary
Eliza Madrigal: guess that's how we all spent the pause, lol
Riddle Sideways: :))
Eden Haiku: hehe
Eliza Madrigal: must have been powerful in person
Riddle Sideways: yes
Eden Haiku: https://www.google.ca/search?q=ai+weiwei+alcatraz+exhibit&rlz=1C5CHFA_enCA549FR666&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj9ls2PgofXAhWF6YMKHUAIBlIQ_AUICigB&biw=1366&bih=670
Eden Haiku: I love the way Ai Weiwei is so contemporary and universal and at the same time so connected to his Chinese roots and culture
Eliza Madrigal: makes his voice seem very stable in these times
Eden Haiku: True!
Eden Haiku: The Alcatraz colorful flying dragons are so breathtaking! You are lucky Riddle! I never saw any of his exhibits or installations except in documentaries
Riddle Sideways: the dragon was Huge. overhead
Eden Haiku: wow
Adams Rubble:we wandered into an exhibit in an armory in NYC by accident some years ago and were introduced to his work
Adams Rubble: then we saw his zodiac animals in NYC and later in Princeton at the Woodrow Wilson School
Riddle Sideways: great luck
Eliza Madrigal: how lucky!
Eden Haiku: Wow!
Adams Rubble: nice that he took the time to smile :)
Eliza Madrigal:unfortunately Miami has the distinction of being the place where one of his vases was smashed...
Riddle Sideways: oh! had not heard
Eden Haiku: yes, I realize that. He works so much but he kept his inner child payful :)
Eden Haiku: Smashed Eliza?
Eliza Madrigal: yes... it was an opening exhibit for our new museum, and one of thepeople attending smashed it thinking they were making an artistic statement (they said)
Eden Haiku: Silly!
Eden Haiku: And violent!!!!
Eliza Madrigal: so unfortunate... and perhaps why we've had so few great exhibits there
Eliza Madrigal: the main draw is the architecture of the building
Riddle Sideways: brb
Adams Rubble: Ai Weiwei smashed many vases himelf as a project
Eliza Madrigal: line from the NY times: A Florida painter says he smashed an ancient vase modified by dissident Chinese artist Ai Weiwei in a "spontaneous protest" over the lack of local talent on display at the Miami's museums.
Eden Haiku: I missed by a week or so his exhibit of white paper dragons in the Bon Marché, a huge department strore in Paris a few years ago.
Adams Rubble: I never really understood that
Eliza Madrigal loves the idea of white paper dragons soaring overhead

--BELL--

Eliza Madrigal: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CbHRU9k2zNA
Eden Haiku: The white paper dragons and other beasts: https://www.google.ca/search?q=ai+weiwei+exhibition+le+bon+marche&rlz=1C5CHFA_enCA549FR666&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwie9cXhhIfXAhXs5IMKHdWaA_QQ_AUICigB&biw=1366&bih=670
Eliza Madrigal: how beautiful, ty
Adams Rubble: have a nice day everyone :)
Eden Haiku: Bye Adams, have a nice day!
Eliza Madrigal: me too, have a lovely day
Adams Rubble: Thank you for the session :)
Eden Haiku: Bye Eliza, enjoy your day!
Adams Rubble: bye for now
Riddle Sideways: back
Riddle Sideways: and by
Eliza Madrigal: very thankful for session today, nourishment :)
Eden Haiku: Welcome back Riddle and bye for now! Have a great day!
Eliza Madrigal: <3
Eden Haiku: Nice hairstyle Eliza, just noticed :)
Riddle Sideways: ㋡
Eden Haiku: Happy recycling Riddle :)
Riddle Sideways: thank you