"vines are your friends"

the green walls of musée du quai branly, paris. january 2008.

i love the lush, mossy green walls of the musée du quai branly--wouldn't it be great to see them all over nyc? there's one on the upper east side--pure yoga--and i've heard rumors of one at a restaurant in chinatown or on the lower east side. are there others? i attended a panel discussion last night in the hopes of finding out a bit more on the state of things here, green wall-wise.

while taking a few snapshots of the lovely interior green wall on site (below, and here), i had the luck to be standing next to the contractor who put together the beautiful array, cody lacroix of new york city green roof and landscape, and he was kind enough to chat with me about the installation, what he thought what worked or didn't about this one (needs more watering, deeper, better planters and maybe a different irrigation system), and offer insight into the cost and viability of green walls. the simple story is (and another panelist concurred), green walls have a glorious upside-- beauty, energy savings from the insulation, and cleaner air. and they're terrific for (and most successful when) promoting native plants (think local!). but "green walls" still require a lot more research, especially in terms of irrigation systems and modular systems. each execution is labor intensive, requiring a good bit of experimentation and tinkering...so, the downside is not surprising: it's cost prohibitive (roughly $150/square foot), whether indoor or out. even in a thriving economy, it's a big ask.

simpler systems, like green screens (think trellises), where vines can proliferate are more affordable--"they are not new or exotic" but have a greater chance of being "successful."

cody lacroix's calming, green wall. nyu center for architecture. 536 laguardia place, nyc. on view through april 11, 2009.

right now, "green walls" seem to be more an idea than a movement, but here's hoping that especially (and at least) commercially it...well...grows. bad pun, but judging from the "standing room only" attendance at last night's event, it's also a well shared sentiment.

saturday: "milk", grits and a fried egg

sunshiney saturday spent in the slope.

my lovely friend zovig and i decided to check out the takashi murakami exhibit at the brooklyn museum. it was "cuteness!" for sure. i'm not at all a fan of the louis vuitton collaboration, but those "superflat eye love" designs were quite appealing on a larger scale...i especially loved the color combinations in the "eye love" and jellyfish eyes series, on silk...it's all so much more striking on that fabric...i also liked milk, 727-727 (i actually loved all the paintings that were "sanded" ), cosmos (1998), and this daruma (i open wide my eyes but see no scenery. i fix my gaze upon my heart, 2007). the exhibition is bright and cheery and ominous and overwhelming...odd and funny and interactive...it is, to a degree, kid-friendly, if you're prepared to deal with questions about anatomical correctness/distortions. we had a little "overheard in ny" moment while standing in front of inochi (boy--maybe 7 years old: "mommy, his penis is on his stomach!" mommy: "why yes, it is..."). ha.

walking into the "vuitton exhibit/store" and taking the kooky wallpapered staircase to the floor below, which is a funhouse all its own--toys and t-shirts and other collectibles, all impeccably sorted and contained-- it struck me what a kick this show must have been to put together--and how sad it would be to have to watch all come down (show ends on july 13, btw)...

if you're as interested in behind the scenes stuff as i am, check out the terrific flickr slideshow that the museum has posted on its site...

and if you'd like a peek into the kaikai kiki studio sanctum, check out this ny sun article and its accompanying slideshow...

after the museum, zovig and i moseyed over to fifth ave...and stopped for brunch at stone park cafe. it took me about 3 seconds to decide that i wanted the hangtown fry: eggs, oysters, bacon and vermont cheddar cheese...how good does that sound?! but then...i took a longer look at the menu... i saw that they had grits, with shrimp and a fried egg. i remembered being deeply envious of the shrimp with grits at bar americain, which my sister ordered the last time we brunched together...so i changed my mind and went for the "anson mills white grits, with shrimp and fried egg."

the fact that the grits' brand name was proclaimed on the menu--as if i should recognize it--aroused my curiosity, so when i got home i did a little research. there's quite an interesting story to tell! turns out that the anson mills white grits come to us thanks to one man, glenn roberts, who was so deeply interested in the history of the south, especially its culinary history (cheers!) that he set out to revive--by organically growing, harvesting, and milling--varieties of corn, rice and wheat that were nearly extinct. he was able to find and harvest a "famous" carolina gourdseed white corn (that was "revered for its high mineral and floral characteristics, and its creamy mouthfeel"), which dated all the way back to the 1600s. this is the white corn that was milled into the grits that became my brunch!

and they really were creamy...i've only had grits a couple of time in my life (LOVE the cheddar grits at freemans...ooohhh. those are very different...toothsome...GRITTY) but this dish was nearly like a pudding. thick and rich and creamy, completely indulgent. i will admit, a little smoky, salty bacon would have livened it up. but it was very, very good.

anson mills white grits...
Originally uploaded by ata08