Global Conscience Design at the Cooper Hewitt Triennial

Manhattanhenge

Total Eclipse 2017 Shadow Play

Growing up in the 70s, Rockaway Beach lost much of its summer seaside getaway panache peppered with quaint bungalows decades before. The community became the forgotten New York through its urban decay. My grandparents retired in one of the impersonal apartment towers along the shoreline. I never thought much of the area making the long ride on the A train, but the Atlantic Ocean big waves always made up for Rockaway's desolate burnt out landscape.

Since the debut of Brooklyn Bridge Park along the gentry borough's coastline, the reclaimed piers have brought not only recreation but reflection with brilliant sunrises and sunsets against the Manhattan gleaming skyline. Each summer the green park's curators have brought clever public art that engages and interacts with the landscape and daytrippers.

I’ve always been a daytripper or encounterer, meandering from home without a specific purpose in mind waiting for an experience to catch my eye. With camera in hand my only goal is to wait for my local landscape to envelope me. Mentally taking notes and observing color, marks, texture, details and mannerisms has fueled many of my ideas in fashion. This is true for creatives capturing serendipitous inspiration wherever they are brewing future themes.

The Brooklyn based Museum of Food and Drink in their current show uses the same concept to bridge sensory associations in Flavor: Making It and Faking It. The interactive exhibit surveys the history of crafting savory and sweet scents and tastes from natural ingredients and their chemical doppelgängers.

Reflecting upon 2015 museum exhibitions, The Met's "China Through The Looking Glass" resonated as a fresh cultural reimagining of China's influence on the West. From ancient dynasties to pop culture, the curated halls positioned ornate costumes completed with playful head dresses against backdrops of exotic imagery.