なんか幸せちょっと幸せ

[halfcactus]

Just got back from a sort-of bachelorette vacation, which is either my least documented trip, since I didn't take a lot of pictures or bother taking notes... or my most documented, since it was a group trip and most of my friends and their SOs actively document their lives on Instagram and engage in photography (which I've learned to appreciate as an art, now that I'm trying, and failing, to take decent photos). Most of the pics above were probably taken by someone else!

Otherwise, the week passed like a smudge of memory. I feel like I didn't do much except to be around people, but at the same time I barely had time to relax, and I hardly slept, if at all. At some point I had a stomach bug, maybe from un-fresh food, maybe from being dehydrated and my immune system being weaker from sleep deprivation. And the only bananas I could find were from my own country, which was ironic and amusing and comforting, but also incredibly frustrating because they were the variant that was least representative of the bananas I actually eat at home.

Born to eat Señorita, forced to eat Cavendish. >:(

On my last night, there was some drama at my hotel's laundromat at midnight, which was very exciting (though a little scary at first, because I thought I was gonna end up in a fight). And in a way, affirming—I've never been happier to be trylingual. I always say there's no language I speak well, but I realize now it's because I overthink and compare myself to native speakers and monolinguals/bilinguals who don't code-switch as much, and in real life it's a matter of communication and meeting each other halfway; of being human. And anyway, who doesn't want to gossip about the stupidest pair of people who've been monopolizing machine #2? XD

Anyway, offloading some museum photos so I can add some notes about them.

Sompo Museum of Art

A Regatta on the Grand Canal by Canaletto



The Interior of the Rotunda, Ranelagh, London by Canaletto

(Took a pic because the label said that Mozart performed here and I wanted to keep the visual.)

I don't have the details for this one, but the lines made me want to get drawing:


Sunflowers by Vincent Van Gogh

This painting is one of the most famous works by Vincent van Gogh. In February 1888, Van Gogh departed from Paris for Arles in southern France, where he planned to live and work together with fellow painters. He also invited painter Paul Gauguin, whom Van Gogh respected greatly, to join him as a leader of this community to be. This Sunflowers was painted while Van Gogh was waiting for Gauguin’s arrival with the purpose of decorating his room. The Sunflowers, which is now in our collection, must have been painted between late November and early December that year, when Van Gogh and Gauguin lived together, and it was based on the first Sunflowers on Yellow Background, painted in August 1888, and now in the collection of the National Gallery in London. Though the basic color and composition of the Tokyo version is the same as that in London, the brush strokes and color tones of these two paintings are slightly different. It suggests that Van Gogh worked on this painting with specific new considerations, rather than intending to create a mere copy.

Earlier this year I went to see Van Gogh Alive. I didn't think was worth the money (it was not a well-designed "immersive experience"), but I now feel was a nice lead-up to me being able to see one of his paintings later on in the year... Funny how life works out.

Mori Art Museum

Untitled (I Have Been to Hell and Back) by Louise Bourgeois
Embroidered handkerchief, 49.5 x 45.7 cm, 1996


From Sublimation by Louise Bourgeois
Mixed media book, 2002 (You can view the other pages here)

I feel that if we are able to sublimate, in any way we do, that we should feel thankful.

I cannot talk about any other profession, but the artist is blessed with this power.

This page hit me really hard... And this was probably my favorite piece in the collection, maybe because there was also an audio-video component and I loved being led around the room. (Maman, the giant spider installation, is, of course, a presence that you feel from start to finish, so it's hard to categorize it as a favorite.)


A Country without a Door or Windows by Bady Dalloul
Ball-point pen and marker on Bristol board, framed in matchbox, 2016–2024