notes, updates, adventures from the -topias

2009-05-07T16:08:00.000-07:00

One of the few photos recovered from the 2nd dark Tuesday. You can see the remains of another Utopian dream reduced to a pile of rubble. But wait, there's something in the bottom left hand corner!

It seems to be some angry Flushtopian! The bartender of Sleezer's, now out of work, with no place to go, left to wandering the musty halls of a forgotten ice skating rink, along with the engineers who make sure the boiler doesn't explode, and the trapped pigeons who just can't find the hole they originally squeezed through in search of a better place...

2009-05-01T18:45:00.001-07:00

while i was mixing drinks at sleezers, my mom clearly sited something terrible emerging from Meadow lake:

what could it have been?

2009-04-26T15:04:00.000-07:00

A kind of meta-mediation of our otherwise very hands-on-experiental discovery of Flushtopia

2009-04-19T11:16:00.000-07:00

ah! what a marvelous weekend on the water!

friday evening:

kush, sophie, justin and i kicked back and enjoyed the sun setting over flushtopia. it was absolutely beautiful (and the cocktails were delicious too). then we made a mad-trip on some double-bikes for some intense chinese food in flushing.

later, gisella, chuck, and chris d. showed up. we breathed the night air and constructed a cathedral-tent for ourselves with the rowboats kush has been painting. our improvised house was a stunning structure, i'd say. it was a wonderful and beautiful moment.

we snuggled into out sleeping bags, watched a cowboy movie, and drifted off to sleep.

on saturday:

we dismantled the cathedral-tent, and took the double-bikes to the diner, stopping traffic and turning heads the whole way. it was the year's first hot day, and the lake immediately filled with people, families, dates, and kids using boats and bikes to take a vacation from new york city. we invited some new friends out to flushtopia and grilled.... and discovered a flat-tailed rodent stow-away living on the island.

2009-04-19T04:17:00.001-07:00

The project is still going on..in different ways and forms..

The 4th of April the Islands were launched out from the boathouse where we had been working for two months and where “turist/infomation-disks” were mapping out, through text and images, this process. We hosted an event, though which was contested by the bad, rainy and stormy weather that day. Another event will therefor take place, but as well the environment is continously being explored and investigated - fx this weekend a camp-out takes places.
Because I am now in Denmark though, i can only follw the experience via skype..it looks like this:

2009-04-09T20:50:00.000-07:00

Today was a great day at the 'topias. I picked up a nice, big, silt anchor in Lindenhurst, and then Doug and I did a major 'depot run for rope, chain, and such. We assembled a massive conglomerate anchor, and then Doug, Chuck, and Justin rowed a three-boat convoy out there while I circled on DorkBike patrol. Pretty much the lake pushed us where it wanted us to be, and once we had been shoved out of the boat house's way, we dropped our quadro-power anchor into the depths.

The lake couldn't a picked a better spot. Right in front of the parking lot, public access instead of that smarmy yacht club scene, and the world's fair glistening in its rusted wreckage behind it.

It was a windy and sunny day. We all got pretty wet (I fell in all the way to my neck), and chuck spent most of the day standing just below the surface of the water on his oil slick island.

Hopping from tipsy island to tipsy island, trying to make every connection as redundant as possible, getting all the islands online, we were networking in the wild towards windburn and wet feet.

More photos here!

It feels good to have all those islands back out there, and I feel confident they'll stay there this time. I think (hope) we've learned something about anchoring islands in mud, and now that the weather has turned for the spring, there are tons of people noticing and asking about the islands.

Now we have to figure out how to capture those people and get them out there...

2009-04-09T05:39:00.000-07:00

Tuesday was another rough day at the lake.

As Chuck and I approached the Boat Hours I noticed a couple of Hydro Bikes parked rather suspiciously under the bridge. Pretty soon we realized all of the Hydro Bikes and some boats were washed ashore in various parts of the lake. We got punked... By punks... We first rescued the Hydro Bikes. As we approached the two under the bridge, Chuck motioned to my left, I looked over and there was a gentleman with a black hoody on crouching in the reeds watching our every move. That pretty much set the tone for the day.

After the unexpected hour and a half delay Chuck and I got to work on the most pressing issues of Flushtopia, the oil rig, a chair stuck in the bottom of the lake ready to ruin the rowing team’s day, and a sign that had been torn to bits also stuck in the lake. We came up with a great plan, we (or Chuck rather) would use Sleazer’s (Sleazer’s is the Flushtopia bar made from all the scraps) as a platform to pull the two things stuck in the muck ashore.

I rowed him out, and sort of realized Sleazer’s was not that easy to drag as it’s barely above the water line. Chuck began with the sign. Little by little it came up, until Chuck pulled a giant bag that was attached to the flag that had filled with water onto the boat. Sleazer’s was put to the test as an additional 100 pounds was thrown onto it’s bow... Chuck was sinking, and didn’t realize it until we was up to his chest. He acted quickly and and hit the floor of Sleazer’s (it’s always a rough day when you hit the floor of Sleazer’s) in order to stabilize the raft. Crisis averted. Chuck managed to pull the Sign and the chair with his brute force and the precarious balance Sleazer’s provided. Mission accomplished. We felt good knowing people wouldn’t be killing themselves running into our failed constructions. But we actually felt pretty bad, because it was cold, totally windy, and we just lost all the daylight before we got to rescue the rig.

We quickly jumped on the rig, which had been washed ashore on the fateful opening day. It was pretty messed up and needed some serious work. We started taking things apart, adding screws, and managed to get a barrel strapped to the rig that might stay on... It looked pretty suspicious, as we were next to the parking lot, in total darkness with power drills and a giant wooden oil rig facade... But there are few rules in these parts. I rowed over in one of the boats, Chuck knee deep in water in low cut blue shorts in sub 40 degree weather managed to get me tied on. I paddled with all my might, the wind had really picked up at this point. The familiar white caps were appearing. I made it about 15 feet, then the wind Really picked up. I was blown back to shore immediately. I looked at Chuck, then he started explaining how we can tow the rig along the dock but began cursing and saying his feet were bleeding. He soon disappeared. I couldn’t feel my feet either. My hands were blistered to hell. It was time to go. The rig will have to survive the elements on shore for a few more days.

I would like to add some updates about the recent crime wave in Flushtopia. I talked to Kush today (Thursday the 9th), and he explained how people had tried to steal a boat the other day by tying it to their pick-up truck. Also kids this afternoon came by and tried to make off with some spray paint... The Hydro Boats are locked up till further notice...

2009-04-08T20:51:00.001-07:00

Check out Rachelle's Photos of pre-damage islands, that placid night of high hopes and energy before Nature Kicked Our Ass.

2009-04-06T14:52:00.000-07:00

well, april 4th was a pretty intense day.

we had been working long hours in the days leading up to it. the day before was half wild rainstorms, and half that annoying kind of drip. exhausted, hungry and cranky, we met at my place late that night and planned the final touches.

when chris and john arrived at flushtopia early the next morning, they found it spread out all over the lake. the winds has severed the anchors and blew half of this islands (the biggest!) to the edges. all of our days of work seemed to have been undone in a night.

the water was clearly too dangerous to be in. even the boathouse next door's motored boats wouldn't attempt to hit that water. chris and john immediately jumped into island-rescue mode and grabbed a row boat and tried to pull the flushtopia-sign island in, but where no match for the wind.

after half an hour of island-rescue attempts, we cancelled the 'opening' ...

it's hard for me to articulate the rest of the day, i think it was an intense one for each of us, and i'm sure each of us would say something different about it all.

it was cold, windy, frustrating, and somewhat disappointing, of course. but it was also exhilarating. i suppose the 'opening' could be counted as a failure ( - though postponed). but this project as never been about an opening. it's not a display, and it doesn't exist simply to be visited on a calm afternoon.

this project is about action. it's about people. it's about using (and re-using) urban space in a new way. it's about our expanding group making and using the city together. it's about expanding the boundaries of the physical and social spaces we live in.

i'd say saturday was a total success.

it showed our action/people/space project is strong, is working, is real. the facade broke apart, but we where there, fighting the elements and hauling it all back together. we grabbed oars, poles, ropes and hauled it all back. it took all day. it was cold. it was wet. we climbed through the mud. we yelled at each other. we were angry. justin grilled for those who showed up. chuck stood in bare feet serving an improvised cocktail at sleaze'rs. it was terrible, it was wonderful.

we've activated the space, and the space has activated us. who else is lucky enough to do this in new york city?

now our job is to keep the space activated. to keep using it. to keep being changing it and being changed by it. to keep expanding. let's anchor it all down and begin breathing life into it all!

2009-04-02T09:54:00.000-07:00

Okay chicos. So I found this passage, and although it's a bit traditional and spiritual, I couldn't help but think about us. Substitute "Europe" with "Queens/NY/The Americas/The World/Etc."

No man is an island, entire of itself
every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main
if a clod be washed away by the sea,
Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were,

as well as if a manor of thy friends or of thine own were
any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind
and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls
it tolls for thee.

-John Donne

2009-04-01T20:34:00.000-07:00

2009-03-29T13:31:00.000-07:00

ISLANDS FOR SALE

2009-03-29T07:17:00.000-07:00

the hot dog house volcano mountain is getting very scaley.

2009-03-25T16:39:00.000-07:00

Today I discovered another atoll surrounded by/born from Robert Moses meat ax cuts. It is in the Bronx, where I went to interview a quiet amazing and visionary nonforprofit group - "more garden coalition". They want to do start a community-farm-----

2009-03-25T11:48:00.001-07:00

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN ARTISTS ANNEX AN ISLAND?

HOW TO ENCOURAGE ANNEXATION OF OUR ISLANDS:

-an annexation kit by the side of the lake (rope, seeds, ladder)

-an invitation, poster, ad

-a rumor started amongst the people who use the park

more...

2009-03-24T16:54:00.000-07:00

I went to the boathouse today and spend some hours with Kush.
He help me, fixed my breaks! I can't wait to see him dress up in a tie and suit, and I can unveil that he also is pretty excited about the event on the 4th. Not to speak of the day when his bikes-inventions will roll ties and suits around on the street.

2009-03-24T12:53:00.000-07:00

this is a strange island.

2009-03-23T11:41:00.000-07:00

Yes! We, Giselda, Brian and I, build a disastrous precarious floating thing..maybe to begin with thought of as for a projection screen..but soon more a weird source for new ideas........

Maybe we made an invention for a big sail?

(the truth is that we launched our thing and it immediately collapsed, and need some work)

2009-03-22T18:18:00.000-07:00

Duck, Duck...

Goose!

The day started with a somewhat freaky drive down the LIE and Van Wyck hoping this barrell (which, tomorrow, will replace one of our sinking boats to support volcano island) wouldn't roll off my car.

Everyone had noodles and sushi from the magical cheap noodles and suchi lady by the Museum.

Chris went for a brief, wet, and windy paddle in an old shipping crate:

And we put some more kinks and the beginning of a hotdog stand in the volcano:

Also, Goose and Eva and Chris test-launched a very precarious island for the movie screen, but I didn't have my camera out.

Now, I feel wind-burnt and thumb-smashed and good and tired. Ready for more tomorrow!

The rest of my photos from the day here.

2009-03-22T08:41:00.000-07:00

While we were building yesterday, I saw these two guyes having their own little island to conquest, claim, invent and adventure.

2009-03-22T07:01:00.000-07:00

A series of quotes that suggest a funny/interesting frame within which to project our experiences of the place we are in and a part of;. ..I guess inspired by Chris that found this amazing poster from the worlds fair. An amazing beautiful two-colour poster, and a beautiful posts in general of yesterdays action..

"To be moderne is to find ourselves in an environment that promises us adventure, power, joy, growth, transformation of ourselves and the world - and, at the same time, that threatens to destroy everything we have, everything we know, everything we are. Modern environments and experiences cut across all boundaries of geography and etnicity, of class and nationality, of religion and ideology.: in this sense, modernity can be said to unite all mankind. But it is a paradoxical unity, a unity of disunity: it pours us all into a maelstroem of perpetual disintegration and renewal, of struggle and contradiction, of ambiguity and anguish." (Berman:1982 s. 15)

MOSES: "When you operate in an overbuilt metropolis, you have to hack your way through it with a meat ax. I'm just going to keep right on building. You do the best you can to stop it." http://www.metrojacksonville.com/photos/index.php?level=picture&id=1917 (R. Samuel:2007 s. 290)

MOSES: "Am I not the man who blotted out the Valley of Ashes and gave mankind beauty in its place?" http://www.alamedainfo.com/New_York_Worlds_Fair_1964_Unisphere_02.jpg (R. Samuel:2007 s 312)

"Robert Moses..whose career in modern public life streched from the early 1910s to the late 1960s, who is probably the greatest creator of symbolic forms in twentieth century new york, whose constructions had a destructive and disastrous impact on my early life, and whose specter still haunts my city today." (Berman:1982 s. 289)

AS HIS SECRETARY, WHO LOVED HIM, SAID: "Moses loved the public but, and this i have been thinking about, forgot the people" http://www.metrojacksonville.com/photos/thumbs/lrg-1921-robert-moses.jpg (Berman:1982 s. 304)

"... it must also be noticed that the artist were first - here, as elsewhere, unacknowledged legislators of the world. Their initiatives showed that obscure and decaying old places could turn out to be - or could be turned into - remarkable public spaces"...."they would find (the potential to move twentieth century hearts and minds) in a place where very few of the modernists of the 50'ies would have dreamt of looking for it: they found it in the everyday life of the streets." (Berman s.314)

Quotes from: "all that is solid melts into AIR", Marshall Berman 1982 and "End of the Innocence", Lawrence R. Samuel, 2007)

2009-03-22T04:39:00.000-07:00

I just learned this about the World's Fair: it was 'dedicated to "Man's Achievement on a Shrinking Globe in an Expanding Universe."' (wikipedia).

That seems totally appropriate to what we're doing, at least in our frenetic minds. A few edits for the naughts, and we get:

"Flushtopia: Dedicated to The People's Potential on a Shrinking Globe in an Expanding Universe."

or

"Flushtopia: expanding the universe in a shrinking globe"

2009-03-22T04:18:00.001-07:00

(for more photos from the day, check out the flickr set, starting here)

Today, Serena Kuo came to film the anti-fascist culture club building islands in Flushtopia. She got some interviews, caught some island action, and got a tour of the amazing abandoned ice-rink. Thanks, Serena! We're hoping to project the piece onto an island movie screen as part of the Island Events.

Of course, while we were filming at the ice-rink, the major action of the day occured back at the islands, when a new barrel that Doug and Brian inserted under Volcano Island burst through the wood, shattering 2x4s, and forcing Brian to hold onto our still-flimsy volcano armature to keep from falling into the icy, ashy not-so-deeps of Meadow Lake.

You see, the boats we were told we could use to support island, not surprisingly marked "TRASH," "DO NOT RENT," and the like, are not the Sturdy Mastadons Of Denmark. (I hate to think what shooting the Dam would have been like in one of these Feeble Flushing Floaters.) So, there have been quite a few weekends spent making, reinforcing, sinking, rescuing, and reconfiguring these islands (most of which I missed, so I re-enter the picture as the naive and energetic youth, surrounded by wizened islanders who have learned all-too-well the pitfalls of play-it-vy-ear carpentry on the water (and on floats that don't float).

Brian was our Constant Hero of The Day, getting two separate pairs of sneakers wet in the name of Untouched Island Development. And we had some new visitors: Goose, Ethan, and Luke, who helped Eva and Elizabeth put together The Lump.

And Ethan got certified Asbestos Free.

I had to leave before the launch of The Lump, and the Rum to follow, so someone else will have to fill in the sunset details of the day, as my jetlag kicked in and I was out by 8:00!

More photos here.

2009-03-19T14:13:00.000-07:00

yesterday eva, kush and i went to move the tent. it's a big sail.

we discovered that someone's been using it - and left a strange object.....

2009-03-19T13:50:00.000-07:00

2009-03-19T13:09:00.000-07:00

the big island we began making from steve's old boats was a disaster. those boats are clearly not designed for handling any weight ... and our 'design' was especially bad. so a few days ago eva and colin and i spend a day fighting the island. wrestling it to the dock. getting up it up on land, and removing the dead boats. then we replaced them with foam pontoons made of insulation .... and it works great - so far.

we were cold and angry. but i'd say it was a little fun, too (in a cold and angry kind of way)

2009-03-19T13:04:00.000-07:00

here are some photos from the tent launch. it's a VERY photogenic tent. if you haven't seen it out there yet, it looks incredible!

2009-03-12T05:35:00.000-07:00

And so I launch our tent, a foggy day in the sunset....

2009-03-10T21:27:00.000-07:00

last weekend, chris d., eva and i went out to the lakes to get some work done --- we had big plans for big building. we were met there by ryann, who wanted to interview us about 'cycling subculture', and we ended up talking for the entire day. kush was there too - and he described his vision for a new new york ----> where the roads are filled with Human Powered Vehicles (that can also be lived in!) and showed us drawings too, which include a visionary gearing/weight system that is build into the drivechain. it was fascinating, and thoroughly inspiring.

our long talk began with cycling subculture, but expanded outward, rather than inward. we spent hours sitting & talking, exploring & critiquing and reworking the possibilities and potentials of peoples' relationship to urban space.

what a perfect addition to this expansive islands project.

afterwards, elizabeth came and she and eva continued working on the neon tent, and we made a wagon and transported salvaged materials from the ice rink to the lakes. in our last minutes there, we had to toss the rafts into the lake so the boathouse could use the docks the next day. they work perfectly .... or so we thought.

2009-03-02T20:03:00.001-08:00

ISLANDS FOR SALE!

ive been making some small islands to sell (for profit) in the style of sporting event beer vendors. here are the rough beginnings...im still working on the harness. oh, im thinking of wearing this around on april 4th.

2009-03-02T14:12:00.000-08:00

ISLAND OF TREASURES FOUND IN THE ICE-SKATING HALL

ISLAND OF TREASURES FOUND IN THE ICE-SKATING HALL

2009-02-28T20:26:00.000-08:00

a four-boat island

Today, Douglas Paulson, Eva La Cour, Chris Domenic, Christopher Robbins, and Colin / Emcee C.M. Master of None spent most of the day attaching four paddle-boats together to create a base for an island.

We each had very different techniques: Eva and Colin had a minimalist angled approach, very sparing of wood, and with nice bird-mouth notches cut into the 2x4s; Doug went for a very uniform grid structure; I made it u as I went along: place a 2x4 here, wedge one there, cut and drill, and ended up with something that looks like a jumbled pile of wood but actually held together; and Chris D. made these neat little back wedges that slotted in quite beautifully and reminded me of the neat modular squares you can break off of some chocolate bars. You know, like the hershey's way, not the snickers.

I got to the boathouse early this morning, so while I waited I became quite transfixed by the orange foam used to plug up the holes in the boat house we're working at.

And I was amazed to find a PRINCESSES bicycle that pulled out all its star princess power to amass one sparkling mother of a bike. Essentially the DOMINGO, PAVAROTTI, CARRERAS and LANZA of the disney princess genre, the Four Princesses of the Apocalypse are brought together in suc brilliance I'd think it would melt the paint right off the bike, we have - shelly assures me, in order - Snow White, Belle, Cinderella, and Sleeping Beauty.

I always thought Cinderella was a brunette - how else would she get left behind during the ball?

Anyway, you can see more shots of the process of building islands for the Undiscovered Atoll for the Queens Museum here.

2009-02-28T19:12:00.001-08:00

building a big raft day
=-=-=--=-=--==-

today was a super productive day at the lake. and cold and colder and colder too....

emcee c.m. master of none, eva, the two chris-es and i began building a big - and hopefully soon to be bigger - platform on the dock of the boathouse. we used some of steve (the boathouse guy)'s busted pedal-boats as pontoons and just built built built. there wasn't really a plan, and we really didn't talk much about it, just cut/drilled/pieced/drilled/cut....

i busted apart a big palate for it's long 2x4s.
chris d. made a pontoon out of a barrel.
eva foamed-out big flat raft and met some chinese welders.
chris r. was the retro-fit expert.
emcee c.m. made the toughest cuts.

afterwards, we went for pizza and beer, and had a great talk about everything. we discussed what we each think is going on here in this multi-faceted effort.... and discussed possible ways to try to present all of it's many layers to the viewer.

i'm super excited about all of it.

2009-02-26T15:16:00.000-08:00

Collin-Hockey

2009-02-26T13:09:00.001-08:00

And by the way:

We got tools at the boathouse now!

E and E walked a shoping card full of tools from the Ice-Rink to the boathouse yesterday.....

2009-02-26T12:59:00.000-08:00

walking outside the boathouse, and Kush' cage...

...

Maybe it will eventually get to look like this drawing...

E is trying to get her little dog into the water..ice...water..

2009-02-19T13:31:00.000-08:00

we met steve the boathouse guy today... boats! bikes! space! + we've got a key!

we can use these for building barges and platforms too!

2009-02-18T17:48:00.000-08:00

yesterday i began to transform a a dolly into a rolling pile of materials ... to be rolled, pushed, & pulled from the ice rink to the lake.

-=-=-=-=-=-==
eva was there making the tallest table you ever saw
-=-=--=-==--=

=--=-=-==-=--=-==
and emcee c.m., master of none made a play room
-=-=-=--==-=-=--=

meanwhile: nearby someone else was working on a dismantling project of their own.

2009-02-16T11:56:00.000-08:00

I want my Island to be a social process and play at the core of a historical out-dated dream of the future, surrounded in the Corona Park by the other monumental remains from the New York Worlds Fair, a half a decade ago. An illustration of the contrast between "utopia", operated on the architects drawing-tables from the 60'eies, payed by Disney, Ford, and GM; and the "utopia" as being a potential contemporary term for social action and commitment here and now.
The Iceskating Hall though, was a functioning rink all up until last year. However it is hard to believe as the inside today clearly is falling apart too and as the treasures in the Hall obviously haven't seen the daylight for years.

Shoes, Skates, closes, paperback books, vinyl records, projection-screens, hats, imitation grass, barrels, sawing machines, paint, wood, massage chairs..

Should we make a TREASURE ISLAND?

2009-02-13T11:28:00.000-08:00

yesterday, chuck and chris d. and i collected a huge pile of materials ....

--and began dismantling some walls.

2009-02-13T05:44:00.000-08:00

E and E exploring

2009-02-09T19:28:00.000-08:00

2009-02-09T17:00:00.000-08:00

collecting materials / building

W I S D O M

2009-02-08T08:13:00.000-08:00

COMING SOON!!

2009-02-08T08:11:00.001-08:00

1664

2009-02-08T07:53:00.000-08:00

Islands are coming soon..

2009-02-05T18:12:00.000-08:00

a day in the rink

2009-02-05T14:14:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone

After a day in the rink today by myself, I thought I should write something.
I made a terrible "pile of stuff" Island - it might have to get re-dismantled. Though it was great to be out there.
...I guess the idea was to make an island which obviously looked as a pile and then make and attach two big oars.... (???)

It is really amazing what amount of stuff and dust there is to use/get inspired by..found (i guess you found it yesterday too) hundreds of skates in all sizes!
Though I was thinking that some instructions would be good; to have a "common understanding" of what it means to "dismantle within a good environment among the staff of the Queens museum". That is, some direction lines..
And maybe we do need some long 2 by 4 wood?
And foam/barrels/floating elements? Or?
And a saw! - a extra bigger hand saw
And a good hammer
And a permanent radio!
Also I was today wondering that i might be possible that the super nice ingenior has welding equipment..I thought of welding some long legs to some of the beautyful white chairs...

I have also hided a video camera out there - It would be great to use it when we were more people there at a time.

I will upload some images later tonight or tomorrow on the wiki/blog

all the Best, Eva

day 1: exploring; beginning material recovery; pontoons

2009-02-05T10:38:00.000-08:00

chris, chris, jacob, eva and i spent the day exploring the ice rink, finding materials /thinking about possibilities / building some pontoons / beginning construction

2009-01-27T09:22:00.001-08:00

(in the elevator of the queens museum)

couch mountain!

2009-01-19T08:43:00.000-08:00

Steve, Rachelle and I did our first stab at couch mountain this weekend. Got some help from people in the snow!

Doug was there too

water bottle islands

2008-11-30T15:49:00.000-08:00

a visit to the lake..

2008-11-26T13:21:00.000-08:00

2008-11-14T20:25:00.000-08:00