My Igloo-Mermaid Life

Finally Netflixing Vanya on 42nd Street, I was surprised by this impassioned plea that somehow (how?!) didn't make an impression on me when I read the play:

(Vanya to Yelena) But why are you languishing, my dear? My splendor? Wake up! Pulse with life! You? When the blood of mermaids courses through your veins?! Wake up to your mermaid life. For once in your life, let yourself go. Rise to the heights, and then plunge to the frothy brine.

Indeed. And with that, I shed the stained, smelly, cumbersome baggage of the past month and enter April -- which surely will be better!

April 1st was blessed with the christening of UKENDT aka IGLOO, the new installation at Materials & Applications in Silverlake. The official line about the project by Danish artist Anja Franke is:

IGLOO perverts hot and cold, tropical and arctic to create an experiential phenomenon in a time of rapid flux. An icon of cold weather for a hot Los Angeles summer.

Very clever idea, fantastically executed in the space where Bubbles once lived. Due to circumstances I shall no longer dwell on, I was unable to help out this time around -- but I am not one to miss an opening party. Popsicles and Klondike bars were offered, along with cold beer; also, alternating DJs donned galoshes and climbed into the nearby pond to spin atmospheric tunes that completed the scene. It was very peaceful and cool sitting on the soft benches inside, watching the steady drips of water from the ceiling, half-believing a giant ice structure was melting slowly in the middle of LA.

Anja was supercool. She was very pleased with the final product and enjoyed the building process with the volunteers. We talked about how cool it would be if she constructed a compound of igloos in the courtyard of P.S. 1 in Long Island City, NY as part of their annual summer installations. A friend/fan approached her, praising her piece and offering her a square of chocolate, "It's chocolate with masala." After a beat, he made the very polite gesture of offering me -- a complete stranger -- a square as well, since I was standing with her. Of course I said thank you, yes! Yum - what is masala? Anyway, it is divine in chocolate. He joined our conversation again later -- but stared blankly at me and then immediately excused himself when I gushed (with complete sincerity), "That was so good! I just love what they're doing with chocolate these days; such fantastic innovations!"

The year of enchantment continues...