Denis Pelli's Blog

Bar sketch

denispelli — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 09:53:27 +0000

Six people at a bar in east village. February 20, 2011.

Sketches

denispelli — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 08:43:35 +0000

Two sketches drawn January 24, 2011. Sorry about the coffee stains.

Sketches

denispelli — Wed, 26 May 2010 07:50:12 +0000

Two sketches in the Village. May 24 and 22, 2010.

NASA shuttle launch

denispelli — Fri, 21 May 2010 10:43:23 +0000

On Friday May 14, 2010 I saw the launch of the NASA space shuttle Atlantis at Cape Canaveral. My friend Beau Watson is a Senior Scientist at NASA and got a pass to park on the causeway. I sketched the launch (graphite on paper 7″ x 5.5″). I was surprised that the launch lasted long enough for me to make six drawings before the shuttle dropped its fuel tanks and disappeared. The causeway is 10 km from the launch pad, so the launch is eerily silent until the sound arrives, seconds later. It was a beautiful day, with a few clouds, light breeze, birds courting, and fish jumping.

Recent sketches

denispelli — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 05:57:40 +0000

Four sketches. April 9-15, 2010. At various NYC Village bars and restaurants. Graphite on paper, 7″ x 5.5″.

Shark lady & Forest queen

denispelli — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 04:26:49 +0000

The New York Academy of Sciences is presenting a series of talks by women scientists, Girls’ night out. I’ve been to two, Eugenie Clark: Shark Lady and Nalini Nadkarni: Queen of the Forest Canopy. Both were great. Good science told by fascinating speakers. I invited my nieces, Iris and Delia, to the talks, but they couldn’t come—school nights. So I sketched the speakers to make posters for my nieces: Shark lady & Forest queen. And I got books autographed.

Gallery tour

denispelli — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 19:15:06 +0000

Today I took ten prospective graduate students in Cognition and Perception on a tour of art galleries in Chelsea. With advice from Madeleine Hatz, I read a hundred blurbs, visited twenty galleries, and picked six. Here’s the one-page flyer, and past flyers for 2008, 2007, and 2006.

Beyond journals: A media workshop at NYU

denispelli — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 07:14:58 +0000

“Beyond journals“—a media workshop held at NYU on January 26, 2010—gives a glimpse of academics on the brink. Six professors—Amodio, Heilman, Jost, Marcus, Pelli, Phelps—and a savvy publicist—Cerand—present diverse views of old and new media. I convened and reported the event.

Drawing dancing

denispelli — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 06:41:58 +0000

Drawing dancing. On Wednesday, December 9, 2009, I took the 19 students of my “Experiments in beauty” class to Terry Rosenberg’s painting studio in SoHo to sketch Jody Sperling dancing. Most of the semester was devoted to learning what science is by doing it. This session was devoted to learning what art is by doing it. We present photos, a sketch, and a video of the event, and nearly 125 charcoal sketches, by the students, of the dancing.

Observing Turrell’s skyspace

denispelli — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 05:39:46 +0000

Observing Turrell’s skyspace at PS1. James Turrell “Meeting” skyspace at PS1 Museum in Long Island City, NY. 4-5 PM, Monday, November 23, 2009. A very faint rain fell for most of the hour. The sun set at 4:32 PM. We report nearly twenty observations recorded by the students of my “Experiments in Beauty” undergraduate psychology class at NYU. This is a one-page epilog to my 2005 chapter “What is observation” on taking students to observe Turrell’s piece. “Skyspace“ is a 2006 NPR Studio 360 radio interview of me about this by Kurt Andersen, produced by Laura Starecheski.