On Saturday we had brunch at Penny Farthing, a wonderful East Village tavern not too far from where my son is based in NYC, and then went to see “Diane Arbus: In the Beginning” at the Met Breuer. This exhibit includes 100 photographs from the first 7 years of her career, 1956 to 1962. The famous child with toy hand grenade in Central Park is here as well as the identical twins and luminous photographs of female impersonators she took at Club 82. She first took pictures from the audience’s vantage point in order to capture the performances but later ventured into the performers’ dressing rooms and that’s where the fascinating power of her work truly shines. Arbus’s interest in New Yorkers, their diversity and eccentricity, and later in fringe communities is apparent here. But we also discover her passion for cinema, how pictures are painted with light and shadow in order to create magical worlds. See “The Kiss” or “Clouds on Screen at a Drive-in Movie” below. Finally, the way her work is displayed at the Met Breuer is interesting. Each photograph is exhibited on a standalone flat pillar and therefore throngs of people interweave across all sides of each photograph, without a set trajectory. One is constantly bumping into other visitors and making eye contact. It’s a bit disorienting but perhaps a just tribute to an artist who never took the obvious path to anywhere.
Category: travels
Weekend in NYC
Visited my son at his place of work in NYC, where he is doing an internship. So proud of him. What an incredibly hot and humid day to be schlepping around New York tho. The heat didn’t subside even at night.
weekend in canada
what an amazing weekend in canada! i got to spend time with a dear friend from college and was blown away by her entire family’s warmth and hospitality. my mom and dad accompanied us, which made everything more special. i got to visit two of my cousins and their families, and my daughter got along beautifully with all her new found brothers and sisters. we attended the wedding of a wonderful young man whose parents are close rochester friends. throughout this trip, we enjoyed hakka chinese, chicken biryani, some serious barbecued meat, delicious homemade koftas and karhi, and pakistani mangoes that transported us back to lahore. my daughter got some gorgeous mehndi and bangles in order to celebrate the first weekend after eid and we got to try doubles (a sandwich made with flat fried bread filled with curried chick peas – popular street food in trinidad and tobago) as well as bolani (fried or baked afghan naan with a vegetable or ground beef filling). thank u to all the lovely family and friends we met on this super busy trip, especially our generous hosts. my only regret is that i didn’t take more pictures.
4th of july weekend with fam
wonderful 4th of july weekend with family which included a hike along ontario lake, chimney bluff state park.
a sky like this
i remember a sky like this, a dark canopy weighed down by millions of stars. luminous liquid pouring out of a vast sieve, i thought. absolute silence. my first night in gilgit. gilgit, an important stop on the silk road. how buddhism found its way to other parts of asia. i was a child then, but i could sense the hallowed beauty of that unforgettable sky.
[photograph by cory poole]
Fifth Avenue
i saw this short at the New York Indian Film Festival (NYIFF) a couple of days ago. it’s ingenious – from the poem which is the film’s centerpiece, to the imagery, to the most excellent music.
Fifth Avenue – a Poem by Hasan Mujtaba from Capital K Pictures on Vimeo.
A Thin Wall at NYIFF 2016
What a perfect trip to NYC! The film, A Thin Wall, looked and sounded beautiful when screened at Village East Cinema. It was part of the New York Indian Film Festival (NYIFF) which was extremely well attended and wonderfully organized. The screening was followed by a well moderated and energetic Q&A.
But best of all, I got to spend time with fabulous family and friends. Thank u so much for making this a glorious 1 1/2 days in NY (in order of meeting): my cuz Aliya Aslam who was my partner in crime this whole trip, my gorgeous friend Janet Isralsky and her artist son Brandon, Surbhi’s friend Srishti Sethi who’s studied immigration patterns resulting from the partition and was a joy to meet, my brother Shamoun who fit me in between business meetings and made sure to see me, the brilliant and v engaging Saadia Toor whose work I refer people to all the time and whom I felt I had known forever.
All in all, outstanding!
Family wedding in Toronto: Mehndi
A Thin Wall in NYC
A Thin Wall has been selected by the New York Indian Film Festival and will be screened on Tuesday May 10, 6.30 pm, at Theater 5, Village East Cinemas, 2nd Ave @ 12th Street, NYC. Check out NYIFF’s film schedule here. Hope u can make it NYC friends!
european tour 2016
my trip to europe was full of wonderful places and people. will post pictures of places by and by (i took more than 500 photos) but i wanted to pay special tribute to all the spectacular people i connected and reconnected with. here they are.
Home again!
Yesterday I flew from Amsterdam to Toronto. Excellent Icelandair flights, although the Reykjavík airport is in some disarray with new construction going on, crowded departure lounges, not enough seating, and long bus rides to one’s aircraft.
In Toronto, seamless organization: I skip the long immigration lines and check in at a standalone terminal with my Nexus card. Takes all of 2 minutes. After picking up my luggage, I ask the info desk how I can call my shuttle. I don’t have a phone. No problem, browse thru all the parking services available for Toronto airport, press a button and get connected to ur shuttle service for free. The shuttle picks me up in under 10 min.
I see people in shorts and T-shirts and wonder if they’re the hapless innocents who just landed from Cancun. No, it’s warm and balmy outside, even at 8pm.
I get to the parking lot and find my car – it’s like meeting an old friend. A quick stop at Kandahar Kabab for dinner and then off to Rochester.
Two hours later at the border, I tell the US immigration officer about my whirlwind trip to Europe. He asks me if I have anything to declare. I say no. “What? No duck or Belgian stuff?” he jokes. Another hour and I’m in Rochester’s familiar neighborhoods. Spring is in the air. I’m listening to classic rock on the radio. Oh, how good it is to be home!
Homemade shakshuka just for me
Nihal Rabbani: Arabic farewell breakfast with Mara – Shakshuka (eggs poached in a sauce of vine tomatoes with sliced red bell peppers, chopped onions, ground red paprika, cumin, black pepper, pink Himalayan salt, Moroccan olive oil, bay leaves, a cinnamon stick and cayenne pepper); chopped cilantro; different types of bread; Jordanian zaatar; organic Spanish olive oil; white grapes; hummus seasoned with coriander and lime juice (from the Moroccan deli stall at the open-air market); Arbequina olives, home-made labneh from goat yogurt curd; semi-mature Dutch cheese from Northern Holland, accompanied by pomegranate-raspberry juice. I’m kind of sad that this weekend went by so quickly!
Jazz at Café Engelbewaarder in Amsterdam
Today, some good jazz music at Café Engelbewaarder. Thx Nihal!
Rijks Museum in Amsterdam
At the Rijks Museum enjoying some vol au vent and Dutch apple cake 🙂
A Thin Wall summarized by Le Space’s Rachida Aziz
Loved this beautiful description of “A Thin Wall” by Rachida Aziz (Le Space, Brussels):
Avec les femmes de sa famille Mara Ahmed retrace l’histoire de la partition entre le Pakistan et l’Inde en 1947. Ou comment les frontières dessinés par les colonisateurs impérialistes ont déchirés des familles et des villages entiers. Des enfances brisés, des vies interrompues et des séquelles profondes. Au-delà de l’hommage à la résilience des femmes indiennes/Pakistanaises, ce documentaire est d’un poétique et d’une beauté inouï.
With the help of women in her family Mara Ahmed redraws the history of the partition between Pakistan and India in 1947, when borders drawn by imperialist colonizers tore up families and entire villages. Childhoods were broken and lives interrupted, with profound consequences. Besides being a tribute to the strength of Indian/Pakistani women, this documentary’s poetry and beauty are remarkable.
[Photograph from Le Space’s website]
