Thursday, April 5, 2012

new book case, new order

There has been a delay with the bookcase. It moved from our bedroom into the living room. All the books have been re-arranged and are on new shelves. I haven't been able to settle down and read as I just finished an artist residency with the Bronx Museum of the Arts. But I did pick up the first book and it's by James Baldwin, "Notes of a Native Son". The book I have was printed in 1968 and it came into my hands when I was 15 years old. My father's bodega is in Washington Heights and he often bought home books from tenants who moved or had passed away. Most were on philosophy, the black power movement, and progressive thought overall. Those books were a social study themselves. Because of the titles I got a sense of the people who lived in the neighborhood at that time. My dad has had that store since 1968 and seen the changes first hand most notably the lose of an active intellectual presence. Through the years, many have not survived the wear and tear of the economic times. Glad to have been able to hold onto this book. Baldwin does not mince words: He makes Beef Wellington with them keeping the meat just cooked enough, but red deep inside.

About Me

Alicia Grullon's projects consist of performances and photography in public spaces. She is interested in the connections between art and activism. She has exhibited at Mount Holyoke College’s Five College Women’s Studies Research Center, Raritan Community College, Masur Museum of Art, the Peekskill Arts Festival, Samuel Dorsky Museum at the State University of New York at New Paltz, Hunter College Gallery and The University of Rhode Island. Awards include: Franklin Furnace Fund for Performance Art 2007-08, Chashama Visual Arts Award, Research Associateship at Mount Holyoke College, and Arts Council Korea International Artist Residency at Stone and Water Gallery in Anyang, South Korea. She’s participated in 2008’s Art in Odd Places Pedestrian and Jamaica Flux 2010 at the Jamaica Center for Arts and Learning.