Kultura! Constructivist (?) artwork

The first picture is of the Vilnius' logo as the EU Cultural Capital 2009. Kultura = culture in Lithuanian! Second is an amazing piece of artwork that is on display in the city. I have spoken with a few informants about this art - many are so mad that it "looks so ugly" and cost the city so much to "put old pipes together". The art has been interpreted and reinterpreted many many times here, and I think it is quite brilliant. What is more interesting than anything else is that everyone keeps thinking of new ways that it resembles Lithuanian identity. Who knows the real meaning - in fact, maybe there isn't even one! Some people see it and say, "Yeah, it is trash, just like Lithuania." Some people say, "It shows us how far we've come - from Soviet times to now". Some people think the pipe runs upward, some think downward! What is important, I think, is that questioning the art is leading Lithuanians (and other critics) to question themselves. Ate! -Emily

The Banks Are in Love!

The banks of the river in Vilnius are in love.  It's pretty cute.  (As tave myliu = I love you.  Ir as tave  = And I [love] you )

"caught up in an illusion" - andrew phelps

Yesterday I was at the Big in Japan exhibit at the Art Museum on Vokeciu Gatve here in Vilnius.  The aim of the exhibition is to display art by European artists "with Eyes on Japan" - most of these artists have been given scholarships to create art that brings the landscapes, people, and cultures of Japan to modern eyes.  The art was all very post-Modern and interesting - but what struck me was the following quote.  I can really relate to these thoughts, written by the  photographer Andrew Phelps (from USA/JAV), for his exhibition "Not Niigata".  Here is what he wrote:  "When traveling in a foreign place, I tend to be fascinated with both the exotic and the mundane.  The two are often one and the same, especially in a place where the gap between old and new is astronomical.  In most modern societies, tradition, history, and religion have etched a deep set of rituals and codes, which are being tested and expanded as cultural homogenisation begins to question established systems and ideologies...I find it is easy to get caught up in chasing an illusion of what I think a place should look like; preconceptions are powerful and the quest to understand a place often leads to a greater misunderstanding"  -- Sado Island, February 2009.   These sentiments were shared to explain to the observer that his photography was not an accurate description of life and land in Niigata, Japan, but the result of his own interactions and insights.  As a young anthropologist, I am often struggling to put preconceptions aside and really understand, and like Phelps, sometimes I walk away only fully understanding what it is not.

Backlogging: President Grybauskaite

Out with friends N and J a few weeks ago on the first day of the new president's term.  In case you missed it - she is a she!  (In the newspaper the other day, there was an article written by a "professional handwriting analyst" - and he claimed that she is truly a masculine figure and that is why she is perfect for the job - but that is a story for another post.)  We went to see the presidential inauguration a few weeks ago.  It was a great event - they set the cannon off a few times, and I was only a few meters away from all of the action - the parading armed forces, the folk singers, the flags from every town and village in Lithuania...it was a spectacular event.  Interesting quasi-cultural tidbit - here there is a totally different notion of "queueing" than there is back home.  If someone wants to be at the front of a line (or in this case, at the front of the crowd watching an event), they simply need to stick their elbows out and push up to the front.  I've even experienced strategic breathing down my neck.  (Ew!)  I have always been baffled, too, by the reactions of those around me - it is simply okay to be pushed to the back of a line.  Another example of this - I was at the phone store, in line to buy a few more minutes for my phone plan.  When I approached the counter, an elderly man walked into the store and gently elbowed me out of the way.  The clerk was furious with him, and yelled at him for doing so.  Although I was a bit miffed, I realized that this was just a part of the queuing practice here - he meant no harm, he just wanted to be served first, and somehow that is okay. 

Backlogging: Some pictures from Graduation Celebrations!

Here are my friends M, N, and V and me with our beautiful diplomas!  My classmates and I (at the wooden desks above) all brought special treats from our home countries, or cooked something special, for the last day of class.  I got a "10" on my diploma (haha, 10 out of 10, not 100...) with the mark "puiku" - ypatinga gerai, or excellent!  We even had to take a final exam :)  Maybe my credits can be transferred to Wellesley?  The first picture is of my friends N and A out on the balcony of a friend's butas (flat).  We made kugelis together that night to celebrate our last night all together, and played cards out on the balcony looking at the sunset :) ...Zinoma, tik lietuviskai (of course, [speaking] only lithuanian).

Lots of Museums, but not a lot of luck...

Unfortunately this post is going to have to be short, but I'll share some pictures...my keyboard is broken, and so it is difficult to type with some of these keys acting strange.  I can't delete, or hit enter ... (perhaps the apple bar in natick will once again come to my rescue when i get home...)  I've been spending time at the museums here (KGB, Theater, Music, Art, and Applied art)  and practicing for my voice lessons, too.  I've also been meeting with new informants and getting amazing perspectives about music, government policy, history, and identity.  Here are some pictures from a trip with my friends to Kaunas.  Also, just wanted to share that last night I went with a friend L to a "simfonas rockas" concert - where I got to hear an orchestrated version of Nirvana's Smells Like Teen Spirit . . . on the same program as a rocked - out CPE Bach movement... it was really neat.  Also - I'm including a picture of me felting with friends from class at a linen store and craft shop.  :)

New Coffee Shop, better internet, better coffee :)

Now I have a new little home for checking email, blogging, and skyping home - here on Pilies Gatve (Street of [the] Castle).  As you walk down this very touristy street, you have a perfect view of the castle of Gediminas - I'll take some pictures this week to post.  

Here at the coffee shop, I'm sitting with three teenagers.  They are part of that young Hippie fashion movement in Vilnius - with dreads, faux hawks, ripped jeans, chains, and lots of plaid.  They are playing this board game like Monopoly - but it is called "War on Terror".  All of the money is stamped with "World Bank of Capitalism".  They are playing to take over the world...it's pretty crazy.

Some of you are wondering how I'm going to be spending this next few weeks, since I'm finished with my language course.  Well, now I'm putting that course to good use - starting tomorrow, I'm going to be scouting out more informants who are young street musicians and will be interviewing them.  I'm continuing with voice lessons, and I'm trying to attend a concert every day.

Last night, I went with my friend K to the Harvard Krokodiloes concert here in Vilnius.  I talked with K and her friend R about the interesting concert-going rituals here - including clapping along in unison at the end of a concert.  Since they sat in the front row, they missed my new favorite one - conducting along with the music and snapping on the downbeat.  I counted at least 10 people doing that in the audience - mostly everyone was dancing along somehow.

Ate!