SENSE Magazine by RJ

CONTENTS

Bringing the Inside - Out: Kaga, Japan

Noah Purifoyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Outdoor Desert Art Museum

Golden Hour

Clean Your Room!

WaterMarke Tower

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eagerness to shoot in earnest) and his

darkness hovers, and the photographer

anxiety (being pressured by the loss of

is close to finishing his roll. He closes

light). It’s like intimacy. He is driven by urge

one eye as if winking at the camera, and

and desire, but haunted by the possibility

moves his face closer to it. The camera’s

of losing that heated energy. When it

vision becomes his, and they become a

happens, the golden hour teaches the

single being. He sees the world through

photographer about impermanence. It

its eyes. He is lost in the flattened version

reminds him that even when things are

of the world, but in the images he makes

lost at least he can still remember.

finds a reflection of himself.

Like an empty bed or an open chair,

The photographer endures. He spends

photography retains a memory and

the hours that follow in the darkroom,

what remains is the presence of what-

bathing the sheets of paper that will reveal

used-to-be. Like the windows fogged

the memories of a time passed, waiting

by the dampness of heavy breathing

once more for the light of tomorrow’s first

or skin flavored by the musk of a lover’s

golden hour.

body, their presence vanishes in the morning. However, the photograph lets him remember like tattoos without ink. The photograph lets him cradle with both hands the disheveled sheets now straightened, or the clothes that melted into each other last night on the floor. Like all things worth having, they are ephemeral. Once again he is alone. Photography is inherently a lonely field and ideologically a singular practice. During the golden hour, the photographer is thrust in a time when he is most “with” himself. The day is nearing its end,

It’s almost 7 am, the glints of sunlight warm his face. His vision is blurry at first, but his eyes begin to focus. The hairs on his body gently catch the light. The dust in the air dance like gravity doesn’t exist. The golden hour arrives, quietly entering through the window blinds, but he know it’s there. It always is – every day.

Katelyn Rho

BRINGING THE INSIDE - OUT: KAGA, JAPAN How To Incorporate Japanese Traditional Elements Into Your Household

Just south of Kanazawa in an area called Kaga, a group of hotspring towns offer deep relaxation and a peek at old Japan—rice paddies and Meiji-era wooden houses, ancient cedar trees, and traditional crafts. The easiest to access without a car, and most picturesque, are Yamashiro Onsen and Yamanaka Onsen. Though close enough for a day trip from Kanazawa, these mountain villages feel seemingly remote. Each has a public onsen, Onsen translates to “hot springs,” but it also refers to the spas built up around them, where for about five dollars you can bathe away all your stress of a busy week of work. But to really soak up the beauty of this special region, one should book a night or two at a ryokan (Japanese-style inn), to fully immerse yourself in traditional Japanese hospitality.

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seems

counterintuitive,

Marc

Appleton

“It

seeing

the

outdoors.”

the

experience

livi

half

indoors

but

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BRINGING THE INSIDE - OUT

One magical experience that I will never forget is when I had the pleasure of staying at the award winning Beniya Mukayu designed by architect Kiyoshi Sey Takeyama. The combination of certain features

present

many

Japanese

residences as well as recreational spaces

around the world. In this photo of the

align with the theme of blurring the line

entrance to the Beniya Mukayu Ryokan

between indoor and outdoor spaces

in central Kaga, a sliver of a piece of

to create a wholesome experience with

glass that separates the house from the

nature in the comfort of your own home.

majestic and expansive garden is just a taste of the other subtle features this

Access to the outdoors (above), a

onsen has to offer.

concept aided by easily opened sliding doors and tall glass windows, is essential

A transitional space between outdoors

in Japanese architecture. This indoor-

and in, the genkan (below) is where one

outdoor aesthetic was greatly influenced

exchanges outdoor shoes for slippers

by modernist architects in California and

(which are removed before stepping on tatami floors). Genkan holds shoe cupboards as well as decorative objects such as ceramics, flowers or art. They may include or face the tokonoma (alcove), where scrolls and other artwork, as well as ikebana (traditional flower arrangements), are displayed.

H A O

IF R U

â&#x20AC;&#x2122;S Y O

Sophia Park

T R E ES

D R O O

TD U O

If someone asked you to go dumpster diving with them would you accept the invitation? If that’s not your cup of tea, how about thrifting? They aren’t the same thing, but the point is to ask yourself if you would bring home something that isn’t brand new. People are constantly consuming, from food to electricity to clothing. The demand for the next luxury is exponentially increasing every year. However, we need to be weary of the detrimental effects of asking for more, considering the current state of our planet, and the direction it’s headed. An easy way to soften the blow of consumption is to get a new old thing. Just because something has been used or been in someone else’s possession does not mean it loses any of its worth. With an open mind and a little creativity, it’s possible to make someone’s trash into treasure.

M U SE

ART 13

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Learn to see the value in discarded items; become a junkie like Noah Purifoy. Noah

Purifoy’s

outdoor

desert

art

museum displays the work he created out of found materials. Located in the desert of Joshua Tree, California, the Joshua Tree Outdoor Museum sprouted in 1989 when 70-year-old Noah Purifoy moved to a 10 acre stretch of desert that was given to

police brutality, segregation, and racism is

him by his friend and fellow artist, Debbie

what made a roadside argument between

Brewer. Purifoy’s iconic use of scraps and

a black motorcyclist and white police

“trash” began after the Watts Rebellion.

officers take off into a series of riots.

The week-long fire that erupted during

However, Purifoy and his collaborators,

the riots in August 1965 devastated

Judson Powell, Max Neufeldt, Arthur

the African American neighborhood in

Secunda, Ruth Saturnesky, and Debby

South Central LA. The build-up of racial

Brewer, found a way to use some of the

profiling,

$40 million worth of destroyed property

economic

marginalization,

to make art. Most people think burned wood, chairs, blackened nails, and rusty cans are trash, but this group of artists collected them to create something new.

NOAH PURIFOY’S OUTDOOR DESERT ART MUSEUM

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Purifoy and Powell organized 66 Signs

Purifoy’s sculptures in the exhibition were

of Neon, a collection of about 50 pieces

made of wood, metal, glass, and textiles;

that were made of salvaged material as an

the “garbage” was organized together in

interpretation of the events that occurred

a way that made something new, but they

in August. The work of 5 artists went on

still have a whisper of their past.

display at the Markham Junior High School as part of an arts festival, which led to the opportunity to tour 9 different universities across the country. Afterwards, 66 Signs of Neon was on display at a modern art gallery in Washington D.C. Since then, Purifoy made found objects his choice of medium and he never looked back. He used art as a way to express a need for social change, and reusing “trash” brings value back into the items, and this concept can extend into in our

The Joshua Tree Outdoor Museum is a collection of collections. Each piece is a conglomeration of found objects that have been thoughtfully put together, like Purifoy’s Carousel (on cover). Each wood sheet that makes up the shack is brightly colored in pink, teal, white, or blue. The ornaments on the outside of the building are also painted, giving it a very childish and playful feel. On the inside the first thing the viewer sees is the center, which looks like a workspace. The space is

personal lives.

recognizable because there is a round LACMA caught wind of Purifoy’s creativity

table, two old school desktop computers,

and insight, so in 2015, an exhibition called

and raggedy chair, all items that Purifoy

Junk Dada was curated to displayed his

salvaged. Surrounding the “workspace,”

work. Eight of his pieces were transported

there is an eclectic collection of skis,

from Joshua Tree to the museum. The

computers,

curator, Franklin Sirmans, felt that Purifoy

instruments, and other items that seem

was underrated, considering his large

to allude to media, communication, and

impact on artists such as David Hammons,

consumer waste.

clothes,

book

shelves,

Maren Hassinger, and Senga Nengudi. For this reason, he curated Junk Dada to give Purifoy’s pieces more exposure.

The work Purifoy made after the Watts Rebellion

resonated

with

NOAH PURIFOY’S OUTDOOR DESERT ART MUSEUM

him,

and

the practice of constructing art out of

Purifoy can turn charred debris into

found materials continued in sculptures

objects that are displayed in famous

following 66 Signs of Neon. Purifoy shares

museums, it is possible for you to tap into

that “[his] primary concern is others

your creativity to repurpose used items

getting into the act of doing something

in your everyday life. And hopefully we

creative,” because art is a powerful way

can all become environmentally aware

to discover one’s own creativity. If Noah

junkies together!

GOLDEN

RJ Ines

It’s 5 pm, and the sun dips low, slowly pouring its last drops of light in front of him. The drips of light embellish everything with a warm hue, marking the golden hour. He sets up frantically, opens the window, turns the stick that commands the blinds to rotate left and right. He tries to seduce the golden light to spend an hour with him inside the naked walls of the apartment. He flings together a stack of books. This, and an assortment of flat things will serve as a makeshift tripod because there is no time. He’s doing this alone. With only a pair of hands and his body, he goes back and forth to manually focus the camera lens. He’s loaded the black-and-white film and cranked the lever back. 36 shots. Here we go.

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The golden hour describes the time around sunset and sunrise during which the light casts a golden hue. Like fingers, the light softly grazes anything it wants: the hairs on bodies become white-hot against the darkness; the dust in the air dance like gravity doesn’t exist; bare skin

tension from his breath, the light and the

glints with iridescence. The light is soft and

shadows that color his skin transform into

diffused. Velvet shadows emerge shyly at

shapes that have no name. He rests his

first, but then erect themselves effortlessly

hands naturally on his thigh and gently

which give any photograph depth. This

squeezes the flesh like the skin of a lover.

“hour,” however, may last a few minutes, yet sometimes it feels infinite. He takes off his shirt for the first shot, letting the light wrap itself around his torso, and run along the curves and dips as he watches the room glow warmer. As he releases the

He adjusts the blinds again and lets the light bathe his entire body with gold as he watches the light lean toward the bed. The sun seems to move more quickly. The shadows appear deeper, the room quieter. He can hear the silent hum of electricity from the generator outside.

The

camera’s

glassy

stare

penetrates hard, but he is hypnotized as he begins to fall for its mechanical gaze which seems to admire him in all his vulnerability. It’s like intimately being alone with someone for the first time.

GOLDEN HOUR

For a moment everything appears to

and as an outlet to escape mortality. It

pause. Sounds dampen, and thoughts

represents the space between life and

slow. The light from the golden hour –

death. The golden hour represents a

soft and intangible – pulls the two people

time of opportunity and urgency. It is

closer as if – in a flight of urgency – its

simultaneously a time that commands

absence would mean disappearing from

the

each other.

eagerness to shoot in earnest) and his

photographer’s

presentness

(his

anxiety (being pressured by the loss of Light, the lifeblood of photography, is

light). It’s like intimacy. He is driven by

never gained during golden hour, only

urge and desire, but haunted by the

lost as time passes. The golden hour

possibility of losing that heated energy.

pushes and pulls the photographer in two

When it happens, the golden hour teaches

directions: the hour slows his perception,

the photographer about impermanence.

but forces him to work quickly. A

It reminds him that even when things are

tension forms, and this altered sense of

lost at least he can still remember.

temporality can break the photographer and his photographs. Catch this hour, and

Like an empty bed or an open chair,

the photographs can look as mesmerizing

photography retains a memory and

as the golden hour itself. Miss it, and

what remains is the presence of what-

the photos can look dull and lifeless.

used-to-be. Like the windows fogged

Inevitably, the light will fade and the

by the dampness of heavy breathing

photographer will run out of time. The

or skin flavored by the musk of a lover’s

golden hour always points back to loss.

body, their presence vanishes in the morning. However, the photograph lets

So he tries to immortalize the things he is

him remember like tattoos without ink.

attracted to – the things he wants to hold

The photograph lets him cradle with

close to himself, including himself. He

both hands the disheveled sheets now

gets tattoos on his body, carves names

straightened, or the clothes that melted

into trees. He photographs. Photography

into each other last night on the floor.

is a reflection of a desire to preserve,

Like all things worth having, they are

remains

the

presence

what-used-to-be.

Like an

what

s nse

empty

open

chair,

photography

retains

memory

bed

and

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GOLDEN HOUR

ephemeral. Once again he is alone. Photography is inherently a lonely field and ideologically a singular practice. During the golden hour, the photographer is thrust in a time when he is most “with” himself. The day is nearing its end, darkness hovers, and the photographer is close to finishing his roll. He closes one eye as if winking at the camera, and

The photographer endures. He spends

moves his face closer to it. The camera’s

the hours that follow in the darkroom,

vision becomes his, and they become a

bathing the sheets of paper that will reveal

single being. He sees the world through

the memories of a time passed, waiting

its eyes. He is lost in the flattened version

once more for the light of tomorrow’s first

of the world, but in the images he makes

golden hour.

finds a reflection of himself.

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Moris Sarkisyan

CLEAN YOUR ROOM! A Written Adaptation of Dr. Jordan B. Peterson’s Maps of Meaning Lectures

Plenty of young adults are struggling to navigate the increasingly perilous minefield of divisive politics in this day and age. In such times of uncertainty, what are the signposts they can use to really know if they’re on the right path? How can they be sure that their political inclination or upbringing is actually rooted in what benefits their community the most? A traditional approach calls for careful meditation or prayer as the first steps to take in any direction. Regardless of your path, the objective is very much a process of soul searching: what exactly are you orientated towards? The answer could very well be nothing, but without any particular direction, you end up running in circles and suffer as a consequence. That’s why you have to piece together a goal, so that you may know what will justify your suffering in the process of achieving it. Use your education to inform that and find your personal place to stand, because otherwise you get a goal handed to you on a plate, and, at worst, become a puppet of someone else’s goals.

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So for those who are trying to find their footing, one piece of advice that I always give is to start by cleaning your room. Organize your local landscape. Start taking control of yourself. See if you can stop saying things you know deep down to be lies. If you want to change the

The world presents itself as a series

world in some way, you have to start from

of puzzles, some of which are in your

yourself and then build outward—you

power to solve, some of which are not.

build competence that way. How can so

You have many puzzles that you could

many millennials expect to protest and

solve, but you don’t, and it weighs your

change the superstructure of the global

conscience down. That innate desire we

economic system if they can’t even keep

all have to better the world must first

their rooms organized?

be applied locally, in increments, so that your immediate world becomes clearer to you. In doing so, you’re a little better off because you’ve had the practice to take control of your life. You can now tackle something a little bit more difficult, and then something even more difficult than that, and so on. Aside from just building experience, you are also consciously humbling yourself, because you are

Clean Your Room!

not trying to exceed your domain of

in there. There’s just boxes and boxes

competence. This is why 18 year olds

like that in this house—absolute chaos.

should not be out in the streets trying

Not order, chaos. You might start asking

to fix the economy: a massive machine

yourself, is that their house, or is that their

that is complex far beyond anyone’s

being, i.e. their mind? The answer is that

understanding let alone that of a person

there is no difference. It follows that if you

who can’t clean their own bedroom.

want to organize your psyche, you can start by organizing your room. This person

To help visualize this idea even further,

now goes to tidy up his bed, cleans up all

let’s imagine you’re dealing with someone

the junk underneath, starts to organize

who’s hoarding. There’s tens of thousands

the papers on his desk: you get the

of things in the hoarder’s house, hundreds

idea. But in doing so, is our hoarder now

of boxes lying around, most of which are

organizing the objective world, or is he

buried under some clothing or folders.

organizing his field of being, i.e. his field

You open up a box and find some worn-

of total experience? Dr. Jung believed,

out pens, some old checks and passports,

and there’s also a Buddhist doctrine in

maybe a silver coin collection, unsettled

there as well, that at your highest level

dust…hell, there’s even a dead rodent

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of psychological integration, there is no

avoid any more pain than is necessary.

difference between you and what you

So I like the idea of using your room as

experience. It is very useful to think that

a starting point because you can do that

way, because at some point in your life

at the drop of a hat. All it really takes is

you might be asking, “What can I do to

for you to sit down and think, “I’m going

improve myself?” But let’s take one step

to make this room look better for half an

backward if you’re not quite there yet

hour, what should I do?” You have to ask,

either. The first question you might really

but you’d be surprised how quickly your

be asking is, “Why should I even bother to

mind will generate solutions. You mind is

improve myself in the first place?” I think

a very strange thing: as soon as you give

the answer to that is so that you don’t have

it an aim, a genuine one at that, it will

to suffer any more stupidly than you have

reconfigure the world in keeping that aim.

to. It’s not some casual self-help doctrine:

Your room is simply an externalization of

If you don’t organize yourself, you’ll pay

your mind. Straighten up what you can

for it in a big way, sometimes including

straighten up, and then you will know

the people around you. You might even

what to do next.

say that you don’t care about any of that. Well, that’s just not true, you actually do care about that. It is extremely rare to find someone that is in excruciating pain who would ever say, “Well, it would be no better if I was out of this”. You get your act together because you want to

Clean Your Room!

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page

Terrin Morris

WATERMARKE TOWER

On the thirty first floor of WaterMarke Tower is an apartment, well a studio, that is full of life and personality. Its designed with an aesthetic that is rare for downtown, but incredibly common across the rest of the United States. In a sea of modernity, it stands out in a crowd of downtown cool apartments. These apartments were designed to keep up with new innovation happening around downtown, but it seems they have alienated their audience.

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Downtown

has

been

sprouting

as diverse as Los Angeles couldn’t we

apartments faster than it can fill them.

all use a little originality. If all the other

This phenomenon has caused the largest

nooks and crannies in LA were as dry as

housing vacancy in all of Los Angeles.

downtown, I am positive that LA would

While California is in a full fledge housing

not foster the artists and creativity that

shortage, it seems that downtown can’t be

it does. Downtown Los Angeles is even

filled quickly enough. All the apartments

home to the Arts District. That means

are brand new and identical in feel and

there should be an over pouring of funky

modernity, which is what everyone wants?

creative housing for all these residents.

The aesthetic of modern sofas that cannot

be messed up no matter how hard you try

companies have a hard job attempting

is a constant theme amongst all these

to appeal to all of their residents. They’re

new living spaces. In sunny Los Angeles,

durable modern approach alienates a lot

these buildings don’t need to have any

of its residents, and furthermore potential

variations for weather, so they are often

residents. These environments should be

boxes. These shoe box style buildings line

more informal, comforting, and livable.

up in rows and offer differentiation only in

The current design problem involves

size. In fact, all the buildings popping up

alienating forms, useless furnishings, and

seem to be slight alternatives from one

a blunt divide between spaces rather than

another. Complete with concrete-slab

an inviting transition. A better design

style decks, these non-descript places

solution would use fresh colors, warm

have no homey factor whatsoever. They

neutrals, and soft lighting to convey a

seem to necessitate some cutting-edge

sense of comfort and even an invitation

Los Angeles innovators to bring their own

to stay a while.

can

understood

that

these

aluminum furnishings and bar-carts. In Downtown LA things can be chaotic We all could use a dose of the homey,

to say the least. One resident makes

comfortable domestic spaces we grew

her home on the 31st floor feel as cozy

up in. No need to be overt, but in a city

as possible. The studio is draped in

WaterMarke Tower

deep navy-blue velvet and bright white

of it, and stay totally sheltered in an area

furnishings. It has quirky furnishings paired

filled with pictures and knick-nacks and

with the elegant. The apartment features

lots of blankets. It’s a place where coffee is

a hodge-podge of furnishings that collide

endless and laughter is nearly constant. A

elegantly. It is clear that the studio’s décor

place with lots of books, and newspapers

and furniture was chosen with love and

delivered right to the front door. It’s

pride. The structure is airy with open walls

hopefully a place where people can be

and support structures that transition the

happy and enjoy downtime.

space rather than divide it. Careful to Everyone inhabiting these stale downtown

keep the aesthetic mature, Miss Morris

lofts should feel free to modify their space

is not afraid to add fun items from her

to what makes them comfortable. It often

travels in order to brighten the space.

seems like a lot of people get trapped

Miss Morris elaborates on her philosophy.

with an existing aesthetic of a bare bones “I think Downtown can be a scary place to

apartment. Decorating, however, should

live, I wanted to make a home for myself

make you comfortable on a daily basis,

that was more than the typical downtown

and at the same time it will impress

loft. It seems that most Downtown

others. So, nestle yourself in the clouds of

apartments in LA are modern to the point

downtown, or the outskirts, or the heart,

of discomfort. I think fondly of the warm

or wherever you want, but make it your

and quaint New York apartments that

own.

embellish the city and provide a reprieve for its residents.” Miss Morris often remarks that her home on the thirty first floor feels like a haven for her fast- paced life. The comfy furnishings help people feel comfortable to stay and enjoy the view. A guest can look out at downtown and see the heart

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