think~sea

2009-11-30T19:47:00.010-05:00

first attempt at a more content oriented layout, nothing
fancy and some html glitches here and there, but we'll
survive. ladies and gents medical school has kept me
quite occupied, looks like it will continue to be more
pictures... good news is I have three weeks off in
december to catch my breath...

2009-11-15T17:37:00.002-05:00

2009-10-30T19:00:00.002-04:00

2009-10-28T21:36:00.003-04:00

2009-10-27T23:36:00.003-04:00

2009-10-26T23:38:00.006-04:00

bicycle ride through Harlem- a chunk between 125th and 135th, Adam Clayton Powell and Lenox Avenue

2009-10-25T22:50:00.003-04:00

looking back at things when they are looking at you

2009-10-24T21:33:00.003-04:00

This picture, taken from an installation I did in 2005, reminded me of David Lynch for some reason. The guy is ridiculously prolific. Wikipedia will explain more if you are interested. I found out he does a daily weather report on youtube (And why the heck not). Maybe I can do something more specialized, like a daily barometric pressure report.

2009-10-23T23:08:00.006-04:00

Central Park
Harlem
Midtown
D.U.M.B.O.
Hudson River
Union Square

2009-10-22T19:28:00.015-04:00

A small group of musicians play on a busy street corner in Harlem.

There was a small box for donations, of course, but these folks seemed to have a dedicated local audience bobbing their heads to the rhythms and mellow trumpet. A lot less contrived then the two-bit guitarists strumming sappy love songs in central park, that's for sure. I could not resist the opportunity to join them when one of drummers had to go take care of something. I figured I had nothing to lose and politely asked the trumpeter if I could sit in. He said yes, but understandably with a sort of reluctance. Once I actually started playing I could tell he hadn't regretted his decision. These guys obviously had been playing for years, but they were also free and communicated in that way great jazz musicians do when playing together. It's not always about how well you can play the notes or perfectly you play, it's about how you talk to the guy next to you by using your instrument. I was definitely thrilled to take part, even if for just a few minutes. The drummer eventually came back...
-------
Every Saturday there is a large gathering of musicians in Marcus Garvey Park. If the weather holds up like it has been, I am sure it will be happening again this weekend. I found an interesting article that provides some history as well as some comment on the conflicts the informal event has faced in an increasingly gentrified Harlem.
"Marcus Garvey Park: An Old Sound in Harlem Draws New Neighbors' Ire"

big apples and oranges

2009-08-27T20:37:00.004-04:00

currently living in nyc...too much input...planning tons of output...

track listing

2009-07-09T12:23:00.003-04:00

click to see the track listing

funrise

2009-07-08T14:09:00.005-04:00

official cover art for "funrise"

new work (finally) /// and BOOK

2009-06-30T13:17:00.003-04:00

I have begun work on new work it's been way too long i know but such is life. I also finished editing and have published a book by my Uncle that recalls his life's experiences and includes poetry and research work. We had been meeting weekly for the last year or so on this project, it feels good to be finally done (for now). A deluxe edition of the book will come in the future (currently paperback, hardcover full color jazzed up edition with photographs would be nice).

below is a sample for a video installation idea, more on that next time I promise (for real)
and also a link to the book...

Untitled from Ali Abdallah on Vimeo.

"A Beautiful World, by Ghassan Berry"

interview in NYC

2009-03-14T23:41:00.005-04:00

interviewed here

talking into computers

2009-03-09T02:15:00.003-04:00

Well a random prose post might do this neglected site well.

(?)

I drive down Ford Road fifteen minutes to get to the Edsel B. Ford freeway, past Fordson Highschool which is a castle and also Ford Wyoming drive-in theater.

Detroit is so racially (socio-economically) divided it is unacceptable.

It is not my cause, with all due utmost respect.

However, silent accomplices as we all are, this whole thing, your confusion, is naturally a convenience.

naturally a convenience.

a natural convenience, readily seized upon.

naturally seized conveniences.

readily seized conveniences (we are)

That's where we wanna go....

2008-12-11T01:03:00.004-05:00

Well I'm in the thick of finals week at UofMichigan, but I can't complain. I am looking forward to the break, finishing up work on those pesky music projects that are very close to completion, picking up extra hours at the hospital I work at (I'm an E.R. Technician at St. John Hospital and Medical Center in Detroit), and visiting upstate New York for new years.

My friend Ben is in a new band called Kokomo, yes that's a reference to the Beach Boys song. They just started up, I recommend checking them out. They have a live recording excerpt posted at the moment, but I believe they'll be releasing something in the near future. Can't wait to hear it.

2008-12-08T06:23:00.009-05:00

some samples of my animation work. they are not meant to be linear pieces, more like prints or drawings.
Untitled from Ali Abdallah on Vimeo.

Untitled from Ali Abdallah on Vimeo.

Spider Amazingness!

2008-11-14T05:15:00.012-05:00

I documented some prey-capture behavior of giant orb-weaving spiders native to Tawain. It is part of research conducted by Dr. Anne Danielson-Francois of the University-Michigan Dearborn, I mentioned this some posts back about a month or two ago. Here's a rough edit of the footage, set to the music of Philip Glass.
I also give the link to a piece done by the Detroit Free Press on Dr. Francois' research, it's a nice video-summary of her research of the spiders.
Enjoy!

Spider Amazingness. from Ali Abdallah on Vimeo.

check out the Detroit Free Press video

Flag Man

2008-10-20T10:07:00.002-04:00

On the drive home from work this morning I passed by something a little different and almost surreal. A man in army fatigues and pack was walking down the street with a huge american flag waving in the air. The flag must have been atleast 8x10 feet. He was just walking steadily, not too fast, with his shoulders hunched forward as if he were charging in slow motion. I couldn't help but be reminded of the image of the flag being raised on Iwo Jima from World War II for some reason.

Who is this flag man? What sort of quest was he on, to cut through the middle of Dearborn, Michigan? Is he some sort of missionary dispatched by his patriotic fervor, perhaps feeling uneasy about the nature of the community he was traveling through?

The expression on his face was of one who is in a foreign country but not interested in acclimating to his own surroundings. Rather, he is adamant and unbent in his own views and conclusions.

to be continued.....

2008-10-18T14:44:00.003-04:00

looking in to look out.

Little horse on a grasshopper

2008-10-17T20:09:00.004-04:00

I've always had a fondness for texture.

volume 3

2008-09-21T10:37:00.010-04:00

circa 2005

Find a way to bring cash, with lots of men, before 5 PM, thank you.

2008-09-19T15:41:00.004-04:00

I've been scouring craig's list and the like to find used pianos for sale. So far I've found a few that have potential, I'm going to try and go check them out.
Some of the listing descriptions I came across were pretty entertaining/weird.
The following is, hands down, the winner of them all. You can't make this stuff up!

"I have a very old piano that my grandmother left in her basement. I don't know anything about them so I do not know if it works. It probably cost like 75 Dollars new. I will sell it to you for 10,000 Dollars. Please bring like 10 men because if it scratches my walls, you will have to pay for repairs. Also, this needs to be done today because I am having family over later and I don't want it in the way. I know that piano people are very smart, so find a way to bring cash, with lots of men, before 5 PM. thank you"

Volume 2

2008-09-19T15:19:00.020-04:00

"Our Mountains Will Succeed"
special performance, December 2007

Nephila pilipes

2008-09-18T19:55:00.012-04:00

I've gotten this great opportunity to document the Giant Wood Spider Nephila pilipes, a native of Southeast Asia. A batch of them was studied for the last few months at the University of Michigan, and next week they will be returned to Thailand.

The documentation will be used as part of the research being done on the animals, specifically their prey capture behavior. I was able to witness this behaviour in lab last week, and let me tell you if you are a lover of crickets, you will not be happy about this.
I'll post a "highlight" reel soon.
stay tuned...
-AA

Image Mixer (volume 1)

2008-09-18T19:02:00.011-04:00

(paper pulp to atlas)

each volume is a selection of pictures and images that will be included in a book that I am self-publishing. More on this later...

The Ghost of Henry Ford

2008-09-17T02:09:00.007-04:00

well I should get on with this already!
I've been somewhat hibernating for the past few months, not literally of course, but artistically. Mostly I have been piling together quite a bit of my creative output from the past 3 years, much of it never put to use properly.

So there's potential.
It's just waiting to come alive.

What's been missing is dialogue, discussion, contemporaries. Ever since "graduating" from Alfred (more like skipping town then getting my diploma in the mail a few months later), it's been a mad rush of madness, and then some.

Well, enough of that.
Detroit sits before me, teeming, vibrant, angry, hungry to be put to use.
It's a bizarre place too, miserably happy,
and forsaken by the ghost of Henry Ford.
//////
There's much work to do, and I will try my best to keep some sort of record of it here, or maybe just pictures of things that I think are interesting, or how about just everything?

seeyou tomorrow.
-AA

be back soon

2008-05-14T14:33:00.003-04:00

it's been a while...
i plan on revamping this blog soon and
posting more about my creative output.

stay tuned!

untiteld

2007-12-25T00:50:00.000-05:00

over with to pass time,
a solid portion removed inert and looked upon.

it is made up of same fibers
all telling same,
the consistent conclusion,
consistent

a solid portion removed, inert and looked upon.

inside sitting outside staring, one side all time

and fall and fall
up, get up. says

inside sitting outside staring, one side all time.

sitting thinking about prepared portion set before (already past?)

?

new output

2007-10-20T02:17:00.000-04:00

"no more talk of the old days, it's time for something great."

What can you do?

2007-06-25T21:55:00.001-04:00

Well I find myself in a very annoying situation right now. It doesn't look like I will make it to Lebanon at all, and now I have to make some quick decisions about this project. Where else should I go? What else should I do? This is a crucial week.
Why can't people leave Lebanon alone anyhow?
The country is so tiny, it's smaller than the state of Connecticut! Yet you have all this commotion over it...I mean the world's 5th most powerful military (Israel) invaded it twice, the President of the most powerful nation in the world mentions it regularly, all this hype and talk...this is ridiculous! The place is barely 60 miles wide!
But I am failing to mention Lebanon's geographical wild card...it's mountains. In recent work I have fixated on this geographic feature.
It doesn't look like I'll be experiencing these mountains firsthand anytime soon, which is really irritating.
My grandma returned from Lebanon recently...nobody is traveling much within and they are keeping a self-imposed 8pm curfew.
So the economy is destroyed more than it already was.
Somewhere somebody has to be happy about this (!?)

An explosion is a place.

2007-05-23T00:46:00.000-04:00

When one thinks of a place,
one may think of a building,
or a parking a lot,

A room with a television,
a sandy beach
or a garden.

These are all nice places.

But I want you to think of another place,
that is, an explosion.

An explosion is a place.

People tend to forget,
or are ignorant,
of this very important place.

Many people live there.
The rules of time need not apply here.
The people who live there are not bound to any past, present, or future.
Actually they live in all of them at once.

They do not choose to live there,
but they must,
in order for you to live in your place.

Sometimes I think it is humorous that millions
are scurrying to and fro, comforted by a passionate self-assurance,
painfully oblivious to the consequences of their confidence.
and that is alright, you know.
But it is humorous sometimes.
Not all the time, though.

That is why we need new maps.

2007-04-20T22:33:00.000-04:00

seafood only diet.

"They are very racist down there, you can see it in there eyes.
It's very bad.
I had trouble with this, even though I am not black,
it doesn't matter...they don't like us too you know."

"All of the guys would have big barbecues with lots of meat,
which I didn't eat of course.
I just ate fish. Lots and lots of fish, grilled or broiled,
and it was good of course."

"I met this one friend, he was a black man, a very good man.
He was Muslim, and he had a nice family. He owned a restaurant.
So I would eat with them, because they ate halal meat, and I
didn't have to eat fish all the time anymore.
He was such a good man."

"But you don't know how much they don't like the blacks down there,
it wasn't right. I made such good friends, we took care
of each other, you know."

Property

2007-03-13T16:05:00.001-04:00

The properties
of a marriage
systematically divided-
no- taken,
by the spouse,
following the locking
of a front door.

Children are playing in someone's backyard.
They sit at a dinner table, confused.

Producing

2007-02-23T19:23:00.000-05:00

A handful of tracks have emerged from the cello sessions.
Three are in final production stage.
I must admit I am quite happy with the results so far, especially since I've become more and more familiar with the software. It's just the basic Apple Soundtrack, no Pro Tools or anything, which I think would be overkill anyhow.
I prefer subtle and simple.

There is a group called The Books whose work I find very pertinent to what I'm doing.
There use of sound collage in the way they produce music is what I find to be most interesting and most relative to my own process.

Thoughts and their Actions

2007-02-06T19:47:00.000-05:00

These past two days have been absolutely ridiculous.
But I am not complaining, just enjoying the roller coaster ride.

This Sunday I'll do some shooting of the wilderness over in Wellsville, I need some unidentifiable stretches of land. A friend of mine owns some property out there and she was kind enough to offer me a ride over. There's also a landscape photography show at Alfred State that I've been meaning to check out.

And these Russians...well, they might be at this shoot too. I have a Russian and Chechnyan friend who are on board to play the main roles. They're great guys, very authentic looking.

There's a script somewhere, I've been working on it. Don't know if I'll post it. Probably just excerpts.
----

don't forget, K=Q
we need that equilibrium for sure.

Back to Sicily

2007-02-02T15:15:00.001-05:00

Cut some great tracks yesterday in a very intense recording session with my friend Ben.
I was more than happy with what we produced. Probably some of the best stuff I've done yet.
I'm learning how to post mp3's, so I'll be putting up samples soon.
Until then enjoy these blurry pictures...

Finished the first official recording...(even performed on prepared piano)

2007-01-28T21:54:00.001-05:00

Miller session

2007-01-26T18:01:00.001-05:00

Reassessment

2007-01-25T00:05:00.000-05:00

In a relatively short period of time I have found that my original intentions for this project have drastically changed.
Initially I had intended this project to center more around cinematic technique and exploration, while the plot and meaning would be sidelined. Alas, I have realized it is impossible for me to operate in this matter, as evidenced by the artist statement I posted (found under "Writing").
I have not abandoned completely the original idea, but rather I have begun to rework into something that I am much more interested in producing. There is still the two main male characters and they remain distinctly Russian. They are still somehow involved with crime, or atleast come from a less than innocent back ground. They are also brothers.
However, I have added an enormously consequential element to the story. The older brother, before the actual films time setting, has traveled to Chechnya to take care of some important business. He is there for atleast a year, maybe even two. The film begins on the day he reunites with his brother, days after completing his visit to Chechnya.
The trip has greatly impacted the older brother. To the degree to which is willing to change his entire view on life, his entire way of thinking, his entire method of conducting himself. He has converted to Islam, in fact.
The younger brother obviously remains his old self, and throughout the film this contrast will be focused upon. The two clash. The older brother cannot continue to live the life he has been living. He has to get out. He will be forced to make some drastic decisions.
------
And there is much much more of course, it will sound less cliche as it develops.

Don't worry ;)

Artist statement I wrote last November.

2007-01-24T19:04:00.000-05:00

Passport
by Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish

They did not recognize me in the shadows
That suck away my color in this Passport
And to them my wound was an exhibit
For a tourist Who loves to collect photographs
They did not recognize me,
Ah . . . Don't leave
The palm of my hand without the sun
Because the trees recognize me
Don't leave me pale like the moon!
All the birds that followed my palm
To the door of the distant airport
All the wheatfields
All the prisons
All the white tombstones
All the barbed Boundaries
All the waving handkerchiefs
All the eyes
were with me,
But they dropped them from my passport
Stripped of my name and identity?
On soil I nourished with my own hands?
Today Job cried out
Filling the sky:
Don't make and example of me again!
Oh, gentlemen, Prophets,
Don't ask the trees for their names
Don't ask the valleys who their mother is
From my forehead bursts the sward of light
And from my hand springs the water of the river
All the hearts of the people are my identity
So take away my passport!

The lamentation of the displaced, the exposing and the repudiation of the unjust….these seem to have been a common theme in my work. Keep in mind this is in the context of being a Muslim Lebanese-American. It is an agonizing experience, however, to deal with these issues. You can almost hear Mr. Darwish screaming in his poem. It can often be quite unbearable. Despite this fact, I remain dedicated and loyal to my roots, to my faith and my morals.
The internal psychological pain, complemented by the dually psychological and physical pain of those who actually live in Lebanon, in Palestine, in Iraq…this is a pain that is carried by all. It is, of course, a fraction of who we are, and I have come to realize that to dwell on it will have meant that those who violate us have succeeded.
So far, I have been creating work that has dealt with this pain. I have grown tired, and I desire to move away from the precious object and focus my energies on work that will benefit my own community.

First Draft: Initial Monologue

2007-01-21T21:23:00.000-05:00

It is strange, reading the old poets,
and their fantastical verse,
it is almost humorous.

Their time has long finished.

I read the new poets of today,
and wonder what has been done to humanity.

Atleast I wonder what sort of conditions
we have placed ourselves in.

But I warn you, poets of today,
Do not inflict your loss upon me.

How is it that man has come to think so highly of himself
that he is able to dismiss eternity,
a feeble man in a room, giving nothing to the world
except a selfish mind.

The Alfred Locale

2007-01-20T12:59:00.000-05:00

Figuring out how I am going to film this little place...

To be continued...(hopefully the snow keeps)

2007-01-18T23:27:00.000-05:00

I have found myself a cellist.

JWS Sessions, initial proposal

2007-01-15T14:49:00.000-05:00

This project will be incorporated into other media where I feel it is appropriate.

It is a collaborative endeavor. I am seeking out artists that I respect, close friends, those that I know, those I don't, to make recordings with at the John Woods Sound Studio. I want it to be spontaneous, passionate, honest. I have no guidelines at the moment, I will let it become what it will.

The first thing in order is to get access to the sound studio.

Pangaea

2007-01-12T09:00:00.001-05:00

window behind

2007-01-12T03:02:00.000-05:00

came up with a great shot

our main character sits at his wheel, working.
the camera is focused on him and his immediate surroundings.
the camera is fixed, no zoom, no cuts.

behind him are the windows that reveal the courtyard.

the frame includes maybe the width of one of these windows, or a third.

two figures are walking towards the window from the courtyard, they are out of focus.

they come right up to the window, still out of focus, one of them begins to light a cigarette-SWITCH FOCUS to these figures as one of them lights the cigarette.

That's the jist of it, it'll be more elaborate when I shoot the actually thing, just officializing the idea...

Cold soup

2007-01-11T18:58:00.000-05:00

They are from his past, those Russians.
Or his fathers past.
Can't decide just yet.

They pick him and put them in the trunk of a car.

This is getting cliche...remember its not about the story in the end anyways, its just the picture.

So they don't pick him up initially.
They follow him.
Some piano follows too.

Yes the piano follows.

The city and the cars that killed it

2007-01-11T02:46:00.000-05:00

Here I am,
Detroit.

I'm over here, in my cozy suburban home,
the lake is a block away.

Tomorrow afternoon I will climb in my Ford,
and I will get onto I-94.

I will drive right by you,
30 miles until I reach the next cozy suburb.

There I will spend a memorable evening with family and friends.
There I leave something important behind.
It will be like it has been for all my life.

When the evening has passed, I will climb back in my Ford,
and get right back on I-94,

And drive right by you again,
Detroit.

The Potters Wheel

2007-01-10T01:27:00.000-05:00

The Russians...they're after a guy who does pottery.
That'll be the opening scene.
Down in the ceramics studio. At a potters wheel.
He'll be throwing something on the wheel.
Some time-jumping of course. Maybe show him loading the kiln.
Personal items in his studio space, give hints about who this guy is. Very cliche, but I want that.
The ceramics studio is a labrynth. It is an unusual space.
I want to take that aspect and run. Already I've used the kiln room, in the "hallway" piece.
People don't know these kind of places, they're unfamiliar.
An overhead shot perhaps too, all those racks of objects...

I think so....

The Russians

2007-01-09T18:26:00.000-05:00

This idea has been brewing inside my head for quite awhile now. I've always wanted to do a piece that centered around cinematography. There are several concepts of old I came up with to execute the work, but this latest one I feel is something worth following through.

The piece centers around two Russians, and will feature Alfred, more specifically the NYSCC. This is an important element, to ground the work in a physical reality, not something fictional. By doing this I will be able to draw from a vast source of material that I could use, material that ideally will enrich the story I am piecing together.

More on this in the near future.....

-Ali

"The New Orleans Effect" (initial writing, work in progress)

2007-01-07T01:43:00.000-05:00

Two people, the most unbearable relationship.

One sentence, two meanings,
no truth.

Seafood only diet,
brown-skin,

I am a racist, or I have been a racist.

Two stories.
Both of them, they went down there,
they went down there
to disappear,
on their own time of course, seperately.

Two stories.
Each of them had their own to tell.

And they told them to me,
so I could add another disturbing footnote to my life.