Dynamic Subspace

Tag: Brooklyn

  • Here Lie the Secrets of the Visitors of Green-Wood Cemetery

    Sophie Calle installation of "Here Lie the Secrets of the Visitors of Green-Wood Cemetery," 2017. A obelisk with a box with a slot for paper beneath it.

    Y and I have walked pasted the hill where this monument is more times than we can count since moving next door to Green-Wood Cemetery two years ago, but we never looked at Sophie Calle’s 2017 art installation closely until a few days ago. It’s an obelisk inscribed with the words, “Here Lie the Secrets of the Visitors of Green-Wood Cemetery.” Beneath the obelisk is a stone box with a slot big enough to slide an envelope through. The idea is for visitors to write secrets on a piece of paper and then slide them into the slot. We could see through the slot that the box was full of papers, full of secrets. Information about the installation is here, and where it is located in the cemetery can be found on Google Maps here.

  • Where Does the Tiny Door Lead?

    Exterior of a building with a human-sized door on the left and a fairy door on the right.

    I saw this mysterious fairy door next to a normal sized door in Brooklyn awhile back.

  • Silent Side Street at Night During the First Year of COVID

    an empty side street between residential properties at night during the first half of 2020

    Y and I go for evening walks after dinner. I took the photo above on one such walk during June of 2020. The city was relatively quiet during the day, but it was even more so at night. This is a one-way side street between Carroll Gardens and Cobble Hill. Residences–some might have once been stables–are on the right side and the back of neighboring residences are on the left. In the background on the left side is a small park.

  • Words to Live By (at the 3rd Ave Home Depot)

    "Stop Being Afraid Ⓐ" tagged on a concrete support column in the Home Depot parking lot on 3rd Avenue in Brooklyn, NY.

    Despite being scrawled with a paint marker by an anonymous tagger on a filthy concrete support column in the Home Depot parking lot on 3rd Avenue in Brooklyn, NY, I paused to ruminate on its written message, “Stop Being Afraid Ⓐ.” Perhaps contemplating this message will be beneficial to you, too.

  • Spring Recess 2015: Reading, Exploring, and Making

    Spring Break reading list.
    Spring Break reading list.

    I had a fun and productive time during this year’s Spring Recess in our new home of Brooklyn. I read three brain-related books: Maryanne Wolf’s Proust and the Squid, Michael Moskowitz’s Reading Minds, and Antonio Damasio’s Looking for Spinoza. I took the subway to Manhattan twice with Y and Little My to visit Kinokuniya Bookstore, Sun Rise Market, Uncle Sam’s Army Surplus, the New York Public Library, and Washington Square. I picked up an M65 field jacket and put together an EDC kit. I walked to Microcenter twice–each time scoring a free 16GB flash drive thanks to a new coupon promotion. To cap the week off, I completed a draft of my PARSE documentation for advancement at City Tech and posted assignments for tomorrow’s classes on OpenLab. Now, I feel ready to see this semester through to the end.

    A question for my students: how did was your week away from the college? Are you ready to see things through?