travel, images, and stories by Elena Dubas

Happy Halloween!

postcardpassport — Sun, 31 Oct 2010 20:56:20 +0000

After a very long hiatus of blogging, thought I would restart my postings by wishing everyone a Happy Halloween! Hope it’s a safe fun-filled day full of some tricks and lots of sweets!

“Searching for God”

postcardpassport — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 04:05:19 +0000

Recently, I had a photograph and a video piece accepted for a juried exhibit, called Searching for God in the Kuhn Fine Arts Gallery at The Ohio State University at Marion. The photograph, “Ganesh” and the 3-minute video piece were from my thesis show, Written Bodies, for my MFA degree from the Visual Studies Workshop. The photograph and edited video was taken during the 2007 Thaipusam Festival (an annual 3-day event) at Batu Caves in the suburbs of Kuala Lumpur (KL), Malaysia. I was not able to go to the opening reception on February 22nd, but the curator, Sarah Weinstock emailed photographs of the exhibition and an article about the exhibit that appeared in the local paper, Marion Star. Below are a few photos where my work can be seen…

My video piece is being show on the small tv in the background.

The title screen for my video can be seen on the tv.

My photograph is at the far left.

The exhibit closes on March 18th, 2010, so if you happen to be in the area, try to see it before it closes!

thrift store shopping

postcardpassport — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 04:54:32 +0000

I stopped in a thrift shop on Saturday on 5th Avenue in Brooklyn. There are many along 5th, some more pricier than others , but all with things that can catch your eye and sometimes have you reaching for your wallet. At least that’s the case for me. I love thrift shops, particularly the one’s where you have to sift through things and then sometimes are rewarded with a good find. So, I went in one of the more pricier one’s (I didn’t know at the time, but figured it out while I was looking at the prices.) They had a few boxes of already written on and sent postcards. Most were older postcards from New York but going all over the USA and even some were stamped for international travel. I flipped through them reading what was written. Two caught my eye. One from 1965 with a 4 cent stamp, about the sender Ed’s fishing trip. The other from 1974 with a 10 cent stamp, about a trip to NY. The line that made me smile, “More eye contact than I ever remember.” Some people may think I’m crazy for buying old unusable postcards, but I love postcards in general, especially one’s that show how things used to look like or cost and what people thought to write.

The Channel Gardens, Rockefeller Center, with flags of the United Nations in the background, New York City.

12 Sep 1974- Hal, My turn. ha! Muggy weather. City is much cleaner than last trip. More eye contact than I ever remember. See ya soon - Luv ya! Al (or Cil)

At night the wonder city lights up with a special glow. This view taken at dusk from across the East River, shows the U.N., Empire State, Chrysler and Pan American Buildings.

Oct 15 1965- Hello, Went fishing Sat caught 59 fish averaging 8 1/2 pounds. I caught biggest 12 1/2. Will see you in November. Ed

Some green, letters, and performance

postcardpassport — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 01:25:35 +0000

Wow, I skipped over most of October, completely missed November, and am barely making December! Time to play catch up and share some interesting and fun things I have done in the past months before 2009 comes to a close.

October was busy, I guess so busy that I never posted anything about it! But a lot of things were seen and done…I spent a couple of hours photographing and watching a performance piece at Greenwood Cemetery, finally checked out The High Line, helped fellow artists with a performance piece (R-A-L-L-Y) for LOUDspeaker, and celebrated Halloween in the city for the first time.

On October 10th I went with a friend to Greenwood Cemetery in Brooklyn (and only a few blocks from my home), as part of Open House New York (OHNY) to see the performance produced by Dance Theatre Etcetera’s: Angels and Accordions. The Open House New York, is an annual event where the public can go into places not normally open to the public from houses to stores in the five boroughs, all free of charge. There was also special talks, tours, performances and family-friendly workshops as part of the two day event. It was hard to choose which place to go to and some places required reservation, because of limited space. I missed out on two events that I would have liked to gone too (the Rare Book section at the nearby Brooklyn Public Library and a tour of The Atlantic Avenue Tunnel), because I rsvped too late. And I didn’t have time for the underground cheese caves at Murray’s Cheese in Greenwich Village, but hopefully they’ll be on the list again for the next Open House NY.

An easy walk from my apartment, the Greenwood Cemetery was founded in 1838 and has approximately 600,000 graves spread out over 478 acres. It also has the highest point in Brooklyn, Battle Hill, which rises about 200 feet above sea level. This visit was different then my past visit to the cemetery, because I had my camera in hand to photograph Dance Theatre Etcetera’s: Angels and Accordions, which is “part walking tour, part performance, part guided meditation.”

From the website: “Angels and Accordions takes thousands of visitors through Greenwood’s beautiful rolling hills and inside its otherwise-closed-and-locked mausoleums. Along the way they are congronted by images of “Angels” in stirring tableaux vivant in dialogue with the natural landscape and statuary of the cemetery. A number of largescale choreographed movement pieces punctuate the performance, accompanied throughout by a chorus of accordions, as visitors explore the permanent resting ground of notables from Leonard Bernstein to Jean-Michel Basquiat to Boss Tweed.”

It was an amazing and beautiful performance. I enjoyed the walk around the cemetery, seeing parts of the cemetery that were unlike other cemeteries I had been to, and to see some mausoleums and normally closed areas were opened. It was incredible to be able to see the inside of the structures housing graves sites and be able to photograph the beauty that is not often seen. To see more photos from this event, check out my Brooklyn set on flickr .

I was overdue to see The High Line, a new park in Manhattan’s West Side built on a 1930s former freight rail structure that opened this past June, so I finally went on October 25th. A bit late to see green grass (as can be seen in the photos), but it was still crowded and pretty cool to walk above NYC streets. I entered at the 20th Street entrance. The High Line runs from Gansevoort Street in the Meatpacking District to 34th Street, between 10th & 11th Avenues, but the part that opened in June – Section 1, runs from Gansevoort Street to 20th Street.

The High Line’s Chelsea Market Passage with "The River That Flows Both Ways" a site-specific glass work by artist Spencer Finch.

After my visit to The High Line, I walked to Union Square to take part in R-A-L-L-Y, which is part of LOUDspeaker – a collaborative project by artists, Jenn Dierdorf and Heather Willems.

“R-A-L-L-Y uses the historical context of 14^th Street Union Square as a central location for people’s voices to be heard and imbues it with an apolitical message of self-empowerment. Union Square, from its inception, has been a gathering place for the starting or ending point of political rallies, demonstrations, and celebrations.” Once I got to Union Square, I met with other volunteers to carry letters that Jenn and Heather made. I had also helped at the 1st R-A-L-L-Y on October 11th, when I carried the letter “i”. For the second R-A-L-L-Y on the 25th I held the letter “E”. Everyone walked around Union Square holding a letter or letters. We told people about the project and got more people to hold the other letters. It was fun walking around with a giant letter…I got lots of curious looks, especially from children. At about 2:30pm the group I was in met at one end of Union Square to spell out a phrase, “Make It Work.” The other group (and what I spelled out the first week) made the phrase, “Play In Public.”

Lastly, I experienced a fun and crazy Halloween in the city. It made for an interesting subway ride and I saw some of the most creative and original costumes

2009 Columbus Day Parade in NYC

postcardpassport — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 06:15:10 +0000

On October 12th, Columbus Day, I was uptown on Madison Avenue between 59th and 60th Street for a dentist’s appointment. I was out by noon, so I went to check out the 65th Annual Columbus Day Parade organized by The Columbus Citizens Foundation on 5th Avenue. It started at 11:30am on 44th Street and stopped at 79th Street.

“Although the focus of the parade is to honor Christopher Columbus, the annual Columbus Day Parade up 5th Avenue is a reminder of the countless Italian contributions to the world of culture, science, arts, fashion, medicine, and technology.”

I enjoyed watching the parade go by, listening to the classic and more recent Italian Songs, hearing Italian spoken, and just to see the many parade participants and watchers express and show their Italian pride loud and clear! More than a few times, I smiled…as I remembered a trip where I visited Venice and Verona with friends as a float went by with masked men (for Venice’s Carnevale) to celebrate Veneto, one of the 20 regions of Italy, or remembering the late nights/early mornings at Italian discotheques with friends, when hearing an Italian song that was popular in 2000 when I studied in Cortona during college, or thinking of my grandmother in New Jersey who loves dogs, when I saw this dog avidly watching the parade-goers go by.

It was a bit chilly, but I am glad I went. I have never done anything for Columbus Day before, except to enjoy a day off from school when I was younger. But, I was happy to see the parade and celebrate the day this year, mainly because of the day as a celebration of being Italian…though, that is everyday for me!

NYC Summer Streets 2009

postcardpassport — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 04:35:22 +0000

On August 8th, 15th, and the 22nd was the 2nd Annual Summer Streets, where Park Avenue from the Brooklyn Bridge to 72nd Street (including a road to Central Park) was closed to traffic and opened to bikers, walkers, skaters, joggers, rollerbladers…anyone not in a motorized vehicle!

I was always nervous about riding my bike over the bridge and into crazy traffic in Manhattan, so I was excited for a chance where I didn’t have to worry about maneuvering through traffic. I was even happier when I found out that Transportation Alternatives was leading rides to guide people to Summer Streets, from Queens, the Bronx, Inwood in Manhattan, and at Grand Army Plaza in Brooklyn. So, at 8:30am I rode my bike on August 8th and the 15th to Grand Army Plaza, by Prospect Park, only a 15 minute bike ride from my apartment. I was going to try to go today, the last day, but I guess I needed sleep, because I overslept. It looked like rain anyways (which I found out canceled the group ride this morning), so I was happy I stayed in bed!

On August 8th, I got to Grand Army Plaza around 8:30am to start the ride. About 15-20 people met for the group ride, including a videographer from Streetfilms. I was very impressed with her, as she was bike riding and videoing with a decent size and fancy looking camera, with no problem at all. Footage taken by Streetfilms can be seen here.

It was a great day for the ride- not cold, but not too hot. The ride over the bridge…I had walked over it before, but it was a different experience riding over it. Looking around, I saw so many things I wanted to take photos of…I had my camera with me, but wasn’t able to pull over on the bridge to take it out (though I had it around my neck on the way back over the bridge).

When we got over the bridge, the group ride ended and would meet up again at 12pm for the ride back. I met 2 people from the group and we rode up to 72nd street, stopped for food along the way, even venturing over to streets that were not car free, and then rode back to the meeting place. Though we missed the group ride back, fortunately one of the people I met rides from Brooklyn to Manhattan all the time. This time over the bridge I had my camera over my neck so I was able to take photos, though they were not well composed as I was trying to keep my bike straight, so I was basically holding my camera up and just pushing the button. After my first ride, I wanted to make a camera mount for my bike for the 2nd ride. I found instructions how to online, but I did not have time to put it together, though I will figure it out one of these days.

I met the group at Grand Army Plaza again on August 15th, though it turned out to be a much hotter day. Riding over to Manhattan I rode a little slower, passing some of the tents set up. I stopped for some free coffee and then met up with the woman who I met during the first ride. I rode with her, her sister, and her boyfriend to 72nd Street, but this time we rode into Central Park and rode the loop once.

It was a bit harder and longer than the one in Prospect Park, but was a beautiful ride through the park. We rode back to the meeting place at 244 Lafayette, between Spring and Prince Street by the Bicycle Habitat store. On the way back over the bridge, I had my camera over my neck again, but this time it was twice as hot. Once reaching Prospect Park, I was very happy to be back in Park Slope, because I was very tired and a bit sweaty!

Check out more of my photos in my NYC Summer Streets 2009 set on Flickr.

The Work Office (TWO)

postcardpassport — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 21:04:23 +0000

In June I came across a call for applications for The Work Office (TWO), a multidisciplinary art project disguised as an employment agency modeled after the Works Progress Administration (WPA) of the Great Depression in the 1930s.

I sent in an application and picked from the list of projects to choose from, ranging from: Document a need for repairs, Record an oral history, Reinterpret a newspaper photograph, Assign yourself, among others. On my application I proposed to make a regional travel guide for my block or neighborhood. I got an interview with Naomi Miller, who with Katarina Jerinic, started The Work Office. My idea was to make a book of the businesses between 22nd to 21st Street on 5th Avenue. I thought it was be a good way for me to get to know my new neighborhood, document a part of Park Slope that isn’t as well known, and make some art!

I was selected as one of the artists for the first week of the project, between July 1st to the 9th. It was great to meet the owners and employees in the area. On July 10th, there was a Payday Party at The Work Office on 112 West 44th St in New York City (a temporary office provided by chashama and a grant from the Black Rock Arts Foundation). At the party the artists were given a check of $23.50 for their projects (the weekly wage for an artist in the Federal One Project (the arts division of the WPA). For each week in July different artists completed projects, with a payday party each Friday in July. I was able to see the different projects done each week and was impressed by the range of work done, especially when everyone only had a week to complete them.

As a thank you for the businesses that allowed me to photograph them and answer my questions, I gave the nine businesses a copy from an edition of 14.

Copa N.Y.C.

postcardpassport — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 05:32:16 +0000

On Sunday night I went to the Metropolitan Oval in Maspeth, Queens, to see the first annual Copa N.Y.C. tournament.

From the website:
“Copa NYC is a soccer tournament consisting of 16 “National Teams” assembled from a selection of participating communities from the New York area, representing their diverse cultural heritages. Each “Nation” will be represented by a team president, coach (or coaches), and a roster of 25 players, whose heritage they represent.”

“…the ultimate goal of Copa NYC is to bring people together and to enjoy the diversities of New York City through the spectacle of soccer.”
(I think it brought many different and diverse people out for the match…I heard many different languages; English, Albanian, Spanish, Gaelic (I think), and very thick Irish accents.)

A link to a good article in the New York Times about the tournament: To Unite Diverse Communities, a Soccer Tournament of Skill.

I only went to the final match on Sunday, Ireland vs. Albania, which decided the Champions for the first annual Copa N.Y.C. and win a trophy. I arrived late, so I missed the beginning where, according to the website, the Mayor of NYC, Michael Bloomberg, would announce the start of the match. It was a trek to get from my place in South Park Slope, but it was definitely worth making. I got off the Q54 bus at 60th Street in Maspeth, Queens, and wasn’t sure if I was at the right place, because on either side of 60th street stood a line of houses. I didn’t see any stadium (what I was expecting) or even a place for a field. Then a few blocks from the main street (Metropolitan Avenue), a van was parked on this dirt patch a few inches from the start of the sidewalk with a sign saying, “Copa N.Y.C.” and an arrow. I followed a muddy path down a slope (it had poured rain earlier in the day, but fortunately cleared up by night and the weather was perfect for the game). At the bottom of the slope stood a huge field with red jerseys (Albania) and green jerseys (Ireland) fighting for the ball.

There were a line of stands running parallel to the field, but they were filled up by time I got there, though many people were sitting on the grass or concrete steps that were at one end of the field. I sat down on a step and within 20 minutes of getting there, Albania scored twice. I have no idea what the score was or if there were any points before the goals I saw. There was no formal score board or anyone announcing the score, only the cheers to celebrate them. About a half an hour after I arrived there was intermission with the many kids that were there running to the field to kick around soccer balls. Soon after the 2nd half started, Ireland scored a goal from a penalty kick. For the rest of the game, both teams defense were better and no more points scored, only many attempts too.

After the final whistle, Albania celebrated, and the captain of the team was awarded a trophy for Most Valuable Player. Next, the team was awarded a much bigger trophy and named the 2009 Champions of Copa N.Y.C.

Some highlights from the match:

Rewind: Berlin

postcardpassport — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 18:19:33 +0000

I finally posted photos from my trip this past May to Berlin, Germany. Check them out in my Berlin Set and Berlin: graffiti, art, and the wall Set. It has taken me awhile to go through all the photos I took during that trip. Now, I only have Poland and Budapest left!

From May 10th to the 12th, I was in Berlin, Germany. It was my only side trip sans family, while I was visiting my sister and brother-in-law in Prague this year. I took a fight from Krakow, Poland to Tegel Airport in Berlin, because it was actually cheaper than taking a train and a much shorter journey. I was happy when I was sitting on the plane, because for a day or 2 I wasn’t sure if I would have to cancel my trip…all because of kidney stones! But happily I was feeling much better and ready to set off on my own and leave my mom, sister, and brother-in-law in Krakow, until I saw them a few days later back in the Czech Republic.

I arrived in Berlin in the late afternoon on Sunday, May 10th. I eventually found my way to the bus, and after figuring out how to buy a ticket, I was soon starting towards Neukölln, located in the southeastern part of the city. I love being in a new place, and of course there is always a little bit of nervousness, especially if it’s new and not knowing any of the language (and I don’t know any German!), but I was even more nervous than usual. This was because I was going to Neukölln to stay at a strangers apartment that I had only exchanged an email or 2 over the internet. It was my first go at Couchsurfing. This website (since 2004), is an international non-profit network that connects travelers with locals in over 230 countries and territories around the world. I have couchsurfed on someone’s couch before, but I always new a friend of the friend I was staying with. This was my first time staying at a complete strangers place that wasn’t set up with some study abroad program. I was intrigued by the idea after learning someone I know has used this website to stay places and loved the idea of being able to know someone in an unfamiliar place, which gives you inside information. It takes away some of the tourist vibe and you really get to experience a place in a way that may not happen otherwise.

When I arrived at my host, Isabelle’s flat, my nervousness immediately went away after meeting her. She was very nice and showed me where I would stay, which was actually a fold out futon. She made me feel at home, with breakfast in the morning and a key to come and go as I pleased. Later, she took me to a restaurant nearby for some good and cheap Asian food. It was a place and an area I would never had gone to during my brief stay, and I loved it! On our walk back to the flat we walked through a nearby park and stopped at a carnival. It was great talking with Isabelle as I learned a lot about Berlin and Neukölln, since she had not only lived there for quite sometime but is also a city guide for Dutch tour groups.

The next day Isabelle had to go to work, and I started off exploring in Alexanderplatz. I saw the Berlin TV Tower (The Fernsehturm) up close in the city center, but it is seen from many parts of Berlin.

The Television Tower and Neptune fountain in Alexanderplatz.

It is in the World Federation of Great Towers (WFGT) and constructed between 1965 and 1969 by the former German Democratic Republic (GDR). A symbol of Berlin and even on the manhole covers…I walked along Museum Island, the name of the northern half of the Spreeinsel, an island in the Spree river, which is home to many popular and famous museums. I did want to go to the Ägyptisches Museum, an Egyptian museum that has the famous bust of Queen Nefertiti. I love Egyptian art and remember when I was at the Cairo Egyptian Museum during my Semester at Sea Summer 2000 trip I was searching for it, because I saw images of it in the gift shop and thought it was there. Only until looking at my guide book on Berlin, did I realize it was in Berlin! I would have loved to spend time looking at all things Egyptian, but I decided with only 2 full days, I didn’t want to be stuck in a museum, I wanted to see Berlin, the city. Next time I visit I will go (and I will go to Berlin again, especially since it is only 5/6 hours by bus from Prague, and an easy side trip to take when visiting my sister).

I walked around for awhile taking photos and getting lost. I had a currywurst, “a German national dish consisting of hot pork sausage (German: Wurst) cut into slices and seasoned with curry sauce (regularly consisting of ketchup or tomato paste blended with curry) and generous amounts of curry powder.” It was very tasty and inexpensive…my kind of food!

Later in the afternoon, I went to meet another person from the couchsurfing website at a photography exhibit, which I will post about later.

Celebrating Brooklyn

postcardpassport — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 01:12:36 +0000

On Saturday, July 25th, I went on my bike to Prospect Park to see Electro Morocco (the opening act) and Kailash Kher’s Kailasa as part of the Celebrate Brooklyn concert series. After riding around the loop at the park, I rode to 11th Street around 7pm to the bike valet service that Celebrate Brooklyn provides. I dropped my bike and helmet off, got my ticket to get my bike back and went to the Prospect Park Bandshell to enjoy the concert without the worry if my bike was going to be there when I came back. (Though, I will admit that I was a bit hesitant at first, but as the attendant told me, it was just like giving your car to someone to park it.) And I was promised they hadn’t lost a bike yet, though I was told that about leaving my bag once at a bag check, and well I was the first casualty… But I gave it a try and I am happy to say I still have my bike and after giving my ticket at the end of the show, only waited maybe a minute to get it back.

I didn’t know much about the performers, except I knew the main act, Kailash Kher, was an Indian singer. I like free things and am a huge fan of Hindi music and music in general, so I went to check it out.

The first band, Electro Morocco is Brooklyn based and “comprised of five NYC-based Israelis (Assaf Spector and Roy Gurel, together with Zoe Kiefl, Taylor Galassi, and Yuval Lion. For this show, French Pop/R&B sensation Stella also performed with the band.) They were fun, and like the press release said, were very high energy.and combines buzzing guitars with synths and beats to concoct a dance floor-friendly mix of retro rock, Middle Eastern folk and warped electro. I wasn’t that impressed with the vocals, but really liked it when it was only instrumental. That’s my opinion though, I’ll let you be the judge:

*All the videos I took were done on my small Fuji camera, so not high quality but I think the sound came out fairly well. Also, please don’t judge my camera skills from these movies, I swear they are much better!*

After there was a dance lesson from Ambika Samarthya, Gobind Singh, Brighid O’Dea, and Alex Sirboiu, professional Bhangra dancers based in New York City. Bhangra is a form of folk dance and music. It originates from the Indian state of Punjab and is traditionally performed when celebrating the harvest.

Then, Kailash Kher, the main act performed. He rose to fame after singing ‘Allah ke bande‘ from the Bollywood movie, “Waisa Bhi Hota Hai Part II.” Around 2007 (I think), Kailash Kher’s Kailasa was formed, which includes him and the Kamath brothers Paresh and Naresh. Kailash Kher was also a judge for the 2008-09 season of Indian Idol. Everything about the music was amazing…instrumental, vocals, and the energy. I love the rhythm of Hindi music. It always makes my body move without realizing it and though it’s probably only in my head, I feel like I understand my movements better and as a result, dance better. Again, this is in my mind, but if music can get someone dancing without inhibitions then I think that’s the best kind of music. As I was a distance from the stage, and at this point people were in the aisle trying to get closer and enjoying the concert, it was better to just have the sound and no visuals for one of the first songs he performed. (If anyone knows the name of the song, please let me know.)

I got closer for the finale song, but didn’t record the whole thing as I was too busy dancing…and as you can see in the video, the music got everyone up dancing!