It was raining hard. My camera was getting soaked. The end of March in NYC was not proving to be a fair weathered affair. It mattered not, since Steinunn Thórarinsdóttir, was installing her new sculptures at Dag Hammarskjöld Plaza. There was something both attractive an repelling about these ambiguous figures standing, sitting, and kneeling, through out the square that leads to the United Nations building. Whatever it was, their presence was real, and as the installation continued for the next several days, their presence was acknowledge by everyone who entered that square.

What I can tell you for certain is that, Steinunn, is a great woman, a great person, always present, something that is reflected very much in her art… and if you had been wondering what art is, these last few years, then this installation titled, “Borders” is for you.

“The New York City Department of Parks & Recreation is pleased to announce the exhibition BORDERS by Steinunn Thórarinsdóttir in Dag Hammarskjöld Plaza from March 24 through September 30, 2011. The installation features twenty-six androgynous, life-size sculptures, thirteen aluminum and thirteen cast iron, which extend throughout the park from First to Second Avenue on East 47th Street. BORDERS will be the park’s largest exhibition to date and the first exhibition to incorporate the entire park.

“Dag Hammarskjold Plaza is the gateway to the United Nations and a hub of international activity that serves thousands of people and hosts hundreds of political events each year,” said Parks & Recreation Commissioner Adrian Benepe. “The new public art installation, BORDERS, will connect many diverse constituencies to new artistic experiences. It will foster conversation and provide a significant backdrop for daily events at this public space.”

For Christmas I received the best present I have gotten in a really long time…

It was an awesome terra bite drive from the Panman Team. For those of you who don’t know, that’s a lot of space to put lots of media files.  What could make a girl happier? (O.K. flowers are cool. I love  flowers, but you get the point .)

Anyway, as a result of this really great gift, I was inspired to clean up my old storage drives, and during this process I started watching all the work I had shot and edited over the years. (Admittedly some pieces were better than others.) Nevertheless, as we approached a new year, I thought it was appropriate to take a look back …… not just on the last year, but the last ten.

This is a medley. Not just a year in review, but a cleansing of my drives and releasing of content I have been holding onto for years.  Hopefully it is a fond farewell. I like what I have done in the past, but as they say, your only as good as your last story… So alas, I must press on.

This year has been a huge period of change for me. I find myself in a completely different place than I was in January 2009, and I look around with amazement. The only constant in life is change, and therefore I must go with the flow and facilitate that momentum within my work.

I want to re-approach my traditional way of creating content and start the New Year off fresh, with a cleansed pallet.

I am not looking to banish the past, but rather release it. I want to evoke the storyteller inside me and really think about new ways to create and live, but first this process was necessary.

Oh one last thing…

There are a few shots I borrowed from other members of the Panman team, so thanks guys for making me look good….again.

The music is from the “IN C REMIXED” project. I highly recommend music lovers check it out.  Jad Abumrad, a composer and radio producer created the version I used. Among other things he’s one of the hosts and creators of RADIO LAB. I insist if you haven’t heard it, you must. It’s my lifeblood.  If you’re curious, start with THIS EPISODE, but listen to them all. You’ll Laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll learn something new. This is the direction I hope to take my story telling.
-Abianne Prince

Cinémonde is all about great drink, great food, and great film. The screening on December 14th, at  the School of Visual Arts Theater (on 23rd Street, bet. 8th & 9th Aves, in NYC) featured WONDERFUL WORLD, directed by Josh Goldin, starring Matthew Broderick, Sannaa Lathan and Michael K. Williams.

It was a smashing event. Not only did we have the pleasure of watching two fantastic films but we were able to engage some of the people who make this soiree possible. One such person was the director of the School of Visual Arts Theater, Gene Stavis.

James Knowles speaks with Chef Nata Traub about her childhood summers in France, and her love of Mediterranean flavors. Nata Traub has amazed and excited Cinémonde’s guests with her delightful dishes and exquisite taste.

The Rogé is the beautiful bronze statue, created by James Knowes, CEO and Artist in Residence of the Roger Smith Hotel. It is the award given to the filmmakers as a way of recognizing their artistic achievement.

Last but certainly  not least we spoke with the director, Josh Goldin. Lets go Behind the scenes and check it out.

Kata with charcoal. Photo by Adam Wallace

When this performance was exhibited at the LAB Gallery, I had just received news that a close family member had become an expectant mother. I was deeply moved by this performance, not only because of my excitement about a new family member, but also because of the elegance and beauty by which Kata presented the experience of her pregnancy. The performance provoked me to think about the nature of motherhood. Here are some of my thoughts.

When a woman imagines having a family, the notion is lucid and naive. No matter her previous thoughts, the reality of what that experience will truly be like is intangible and distant by its very nature.

Life moves forward, but somewhere in between, your perception of the world changes forever. You no longer can conceive of yourself first. Now you have been given the knowledge that you will be a mother in 40 weeks time, and the only thing in the world that you can think of is how you can give every ounce of your being to this new life growing inside you.

As humans, we are locked in our own minds. We perceive the world through the narrow lens experience and genetics have allotted us. But for this moment in time, these 40 weeks, you extend your vision beyond the ledge of your own corner of existence and for once honestly know what it feels like to be another. You create the other, and project onto and into the other; and they onto you.

Your perception of time shatters. It is no longer about your life, but the one to come.

Everything happens quickly, and yet the process has a framework that is slow and methodical: one step at a time, building, changing and morphing. A force so strong yet so fragile.

Circles completed and corners eroded.

Having no children of my own, I can only speculate. But I believe every woman wonders and waits patiently for the moment when they will give every once of their being to another.

I hope this video captures a fraction of that beauty and honesty.

-Abianne Prince