Tina Lai - idtalk

Luca Loffreddo

2009-12-27T11:54:00.000-08:00

Change is Good, Transformation is Better

As the year draws to a close, our minds relive the moments of this past year, many which

were marked by the hardships of the economic climate. The ailing economy has affected everyone’s livelihoods, attitudes and lifestyles indiscriminately of one’s walk of life.

Most of us, have had to change and adjust in small and in dramatic ways to the crisis and respond to our growing awareness that it’s a tougher world out there, and that you have to be even stronger to survive.

This ID story is about my dear friend Luca Loffredo, an Italian chef, a teacher, a survivor of AIDS, and most recently, a student of photography. The story is about change, about the difficult process of shifting one’s mindset, breaking away from the exterior perceptions of who you are and discovering what is at the core of your being.

This story is for the people out there, who at the moment, are thinking of their next steps, whether to change their careers, go back to school, to move somewhere else or to improve their personal or professional lives.

The story is written to honor Luca Loffredo, my best friend, a person who only two years ago, was close to the end, diagnosed with terminal Aids. Luca Loffredo is an individual who beat the odd s and is still, with great courage, improving his life, one day at a time.

Luca and I met in San Francisco in the early 90’s, when the city put the word “yuppie” on the map and when being gay meant living a very alternative lifestyle. We hit it off right away, as a newly arrived chef from Naples, he cultivated my passion for Italian culture, language and of course, cooking. He taught me almost everything I know about Italian cooking, having shared with me long discourses about food as related through science, history, literature and Neapolitan folklore. Today, his family still owns one of the oldest bookstore and publishing houses in downtown Naples. Luca was born in the midst of the Art of the Letters instead at the foot of the hearth. If it wasn’t for ‘America’, he would undoubtedly have ended up an eloquent professor of history or philosophy at the University of Naples, following the footsteps of the Loffreddo patriarchs.

In San Francisco, Luca quickly rose to the ranks of the restaurant world, becoming the executive chef of Prego, a popular Italian restaurant in Pacific Heights. His prolific career, pre-empted the era of the star chef -- with teaching stints at the San Francisco Cooking Academy, articles in newspapers, guest appearances at events, Luca Loffreddo was quickly among the culinary illuminati.

Feast and Famine do not serve the same customers, as anyone who has worked in the kitchen knows. As roommates, I would often greet Luca late at night after a fourteen -hour day at the restaurant, where he would head to our own small kitchen and non-chalantly make his own meal-- two pieces of white bread slathered with mayonnaise.

In those years, HIV and Aids were creeping buzzwords, only foreshadowing the ensuing epidemic of the late 90’s. No doubt, yuppies and gays alike, lived in excess. With the robust economy there was no reason not to party and celebrate the best that life had to offer. The years following, there ensued a series of crash and burn life experiences for Luca: a serious motorcycle accident, immigration problems, HIV related health issues, which ultimately resulted in his decision to get out of San Francisco.

Moving to Los Angeles in 2000, promised a new start with new opportunities to dazzle the local Italian food scene. With his declining health, that task seemed daunting, with the demands of running a kitchen and a business taking its toll. The hardest time for Luca was when he finally threw in the towel, and realized he was too sick to work. He no longer had the stamina to even handle pots and pans or the stove, the tools of his trade. Even consulting and small gigs were too challenging with his diminishing ability to juggle the work and his medical appointments. In 2006, while visiting Luca, I sat in his kitchen, sharing his odd comfort foods, cold pizza and fried chicken, with the sad realization, that his life as a chef had come to an end.

As they say, there is only one way if you hit the bottom. In 2008, I traveled to Naples on and emergency trip to visit Luca where he was convalescing in a hospital located high in the hills of the volcanic city.

Morale was at an all time low, Luca had the health of a seventy year old, with his immunity defenses highly compromised. The Italian doctor emphatically informed us that his condition was terminal and there was not much time left.

Despite all recommendations, and the protest of his family, Luca checked himself out and headed back to Los Angeles for a second opinion. A series of treatments, infusions, and therapies followed—and after two years, Luca is still standing. With the acceptance that he now had a ‘long-term’ disability, and that his chef’s work was no longer feasible, Luca begun to explore a different way of continuing to express his passion for food.

As a friend, the challenge for me, was to coach him into coming out of his isolation from his friends, family, and past colleagues, whom he saw as witnesses to his demise.

At my urging, Luca took the plunge and last year and signed up for classes at the Los Angeles City College. Enrolling as a student, felt awkward to him, especially being thrown with younger students who had no inkling or care for his illustrious past as a chef. But with an open mind and a willingness to learn, Luca found the catalysis he needed to transform his passion for food into another medium of expression. The technical aspects executing the photograph is exactly what is necessary to engage his perfectionist mind.

Unlike most food stylists, he chooses not use lacquer or color his subject to enhance the image. His approach is fresh and natural, highlighting his love for the strong colors of Italian ingredients. The attention to lighting and composition, makes his food images mouth-watering and true to their preparation and taste.

Days before we enter in 2010, I am sitting in Luca’s living room in his recently renovated 1906 bungalow in West Hollywood. Registered as a historical Landmark, the City of Los Angeles funded the complete renovation of this complex of single story bungalows, still maintaining its low-income housing status. After being displaced form his home for a year, Luca now enjoys the careful reconstruction of art deco tiling and cabinetry in the kitchen and bathroom, with the further improvement of energy efficient lights and low consumption fixtures.

He chuckles about his low carbon footprint nowadays, riding a bus to Los Angeles City College where he is completing his professional certificate in photography. He is even thinking of a four year degree in an Art School, as it seems, he has gotten a new lease in life. Luca’s latest achievements include a two page feature in the school’s Collegian magazine and he is working on a book in which he celebrates the process of his work, cooking the food, photographing it and eating it as well. After all, he says, the experience of food should be the same as you would experience in real life—authentic: with simple approach, simple ingredients and utterly delicious.

Pratima Raichur

2009-10-17T09:00:00.000-07:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY PRATIMA!

Ayurvedic pioneer, personified symbol for internal and external beauty, Dr. Pratima Raichur celebrated her 70th birthday this September.
In this intimate interview, she shares with us the story of her journey as a disciple of Ayurveda, chemist, botanist, doctor of naturopathy and remarkable healer. I worked with Dr. Pratima Raichur over four and a half years ago to create the first day spa in New York city that followed the US Green Building's LEED council standards for environmentally friendly design.
I have continued to collaborate with Pratima Skincare Spa in various exciting design related projects, being continuously inspired by her vision, dedication and wisdom.

Photo Credits: Liezel Strauss

TL: When did you become interested in Ayurvedic medicine?
PR: I became interested in Ayurvedic medicine as a teenager, at age thirteen. Our next door neighbor was an elderly Ayurvedic doctor and by chance, I was sought out to be his assistant. I knew already informally, about Ayurvedic traditions, mostly from my mother who taught me the daily rituals of maintaining physical health and spiritual balance. At that age, I was more interested in learning how to be pretty, as any young girl would be, than learning the doctor’s strange formulas and being his scribe. Little did I know, he was sharing with me the scientific basis of what would become my life’s work, Ayurvedic Skincare, creating balance, harmony and beauty from the inside and out.

Pratima Raichur as a young girl.

TL: How does your spiritual beliefs play a role in the everyday workings of your business?
PR: I don’t separate my spiritual life and work-- to me there is no distinction. My life is a whole: my spirit has a purpose and my body follows it. In my daily routine, I rise early, I practice meditation, I recite my prayers, tend to the needs of my body and work for my spirits’ purpose. “Beauty” is my line of work, I try to bring happiness to each person that seeks my guidance through my knowledge and understanding of Ayurveda . I teach my clients that beauty is an external manifestation of what is happening on the inside. By creating peace within ourselves, by understanding the impacts of emotions, food and lifestyle, we can create better conditions to manifest outward radiance. When the spirit, mind and body disconnect from the whole, it creates stress. In addition to recommending products, I recommend for people to take time to find out what their purpose is and how to fulfill it. That is perhaps the most important aspect of attaining “absolute beauty”.

TL: What are the most important Ayurvedic principles that you try to communicate to others in your practice?
PR: The science of Ayurveda says each individual is unique. One of the most important principles is to know one’s individual constitution and live according to this knowledge. It is also essential to find out the emotional or behavioral sources that may be the cause of imbalances. Often, 'undigested' emotions and undigested food are major reasons for the manifestation of disease. In Ayurveda, food is the best medicine. How you nourish yourself, with diet and with your thoughts, make up who you are. Another important principle of Ayurveda is the focus on breath, or Prana. In Ayurveda it is believed that each of us is born with a predetermined number of breaths, which can not be changed, this is your path. How one breathes and takes in oxygen can be the difference between health and disease. Good pranayama practice is not only extremely healthy for you, but it also helps to increase awareness in your life.

TL: You are a mother, grandmother and were the wife of a successful physician. What made you decide to pursue a career specially in a generation with a traditional outlook on women’s role in society?
PR: Every one’s life has a purpose. One aspect of my life’s purpose is my family, the other aspect, my work. In our society, our responsibilities are multiple, first we must fulfill our responsibilities to our family, then our friends and finally we can follow our civic, national and global duties. Each person is responsible for fulfilling all these duties as the whole world bears the weight of each individual.
Luckily, my husband and family were supportive of my work. And now, as my children have grown and my husband has passed, fullfilling my second duty, work, is most important now.

Pratima with her grandchildren.

TL: What were your goals when you first started your business? What are your goals now as you celebrate your 70th Birthday and 32 years of practicing Ayurveda?
PR: My goals haven’t changed since I started the business in 1977. I set out to help people back then, as I still do today. Of course today the business is done on a bigger scale, in a nicer atmosphere and with more staff and support. Back then, Ayurveda was not as understood, it has taken a long time to make it accepted as a legitimate medicine. My goals today, are to reach a wider audience so that more people can learn and benefit from the principles of Ayurvedic healing and practice.

TL: In 2004, you changed dramatically the identity of your brand, creating a beautiful environment for your spa in Soho and developing new products and new packaging. How has this transformation from a small business to a “brand” remained consistent to your identity and your philosophy?

PR: At that time (2004), I was faced with two choices in my life, to retire or to continue in my work. I chose the second, because I felt that I could contribute a lot to society by the wisdom of my experience. Life teaches and I am a constant learner. I wanted to expand so I could reach more people and share the wisdom of Ayurveda. It was also important to me to show people that it is possible to grow as a business, while following the laws of nature. And even though we grew, we never changed our principles; we made sure to preserve the quality, purity, and integrity of our products. We created our new spa, new packaging and branding from the ideologies that were already there - we've always believed in providing the consumer with completely natural, chemical and preservative free products in line with their constitution. Ayurveda has always said and I believe that everything we put on our bodies, should be pure enough to eat. That is our philosophy.

TL: You are still consulting and seeing clients everyday, in person, via the phone… What motivates you to go to work everyday?
PR: My motivation comes from every person who says, “You made a change in my life”. I feel a euphoria, like my life is in the right direction. Every morning I wake up feeling like I have a chance to bring positive life changes to another 10 people. By bringing happiness to others, helping others feel good, I know that I am serving the purpose of my spirit. While my daily motivation comes from each individual, I am also motivated by the possibility of reaching out to even more people on a larger scale - whether it be through a new book I write, through lectures or educational media. When my father died his last words were: “I have done everything that I wanted to do”, I want to be able to say the same thing.

TL: You are working on your second book, how does it differ from your first one, “Absolute Beauty” ?
PR: Similar to "Absolute Beauty", my next book is deeply rooted in the wisdom of Ayurveda. It is intended to be a guide, offering simple and effective tools to be healthy and to look beautiful at every age. I have been looking forward to writing this next book for quite some time as I feel that I am in the lotus of my life's journey where my work is just beginning to blossom. I will be sharing my personal experiences with aging and what has worked for me to help slow down the aging process according to one's constitution.

Pratima in her consultation room.

TL: As a Hindu and a believer of reincarnation, who or what would you envision as your next reincarnation?
PR: I would like to come back as a saint - a spiritual person completely devoted to the people.

2009-06-28T13:37:00.000-07:00

CHARWEI TSAI

Mantras and temporal writings

I recently discovered the exquisite work of the young Taiwanese artist, Charwei Tsai. I was enthralled to find out she was born in my own country and has experienced a similiar journey of living and travelling in many different countries.

TL: Charwei, tell me the "short story" about yourself, where you were born, where you grew up and where you attended school--

CT: I was born in 1980, Taipei, Taiwan. I attended a local elementary school until fourth grade when I was transferred to the Taipei American School where classes were taught in English. At this time, around the late 80’s and early 90’s, Taiwanese economy was blooming and many business families seeked opportunities for their children to receive western education, which was considered as more liberal and could potentially open up to more opportunities. Therefore, I continued my studies in a boarding school in Pebble Beach, California. However, while my formal education was based on American history and literature, outside of my studies, I was still very attached to my Taiwanese upbringing. My family still lived in Taiwan, so I would go home every summer and winter and bring back local music, films, books, and even food. Most of my close friends in high school were Taiwanese who shared a similar background, so I never felt a need to assimilate to Americans and was quite at ease with the mixed cultures. Perhaps this is why even after all these years of living abroad, some of my works are still rooted in Asian references.

TL: I see that you started out at Rhode Island School of Design studying Industrial Design with a minor of Architectural History, how did you make the transition to Art? Are there any co-relations to what you do which is derived from your formal education?

CT: I made the decision to major in industrial design without having had much life experience to know where my interests and skills lie. However, it did not take long to realize that I was not motivated to draw with markers to make an object look more bubbly and shiny nor to fabricate mass-produced objects.

Instead, through an invitation by a friend, I stumbled upon a travel course to study Native American culture and artist’s colonies in the 60’s in New Mexico. Having grown up in large cities, in New Mexico, I discovered and developed an affinity for nature for the first time and its intricate relationship with art and spirituality through observing the Native American way of life in relationship with nature. It began from watching the way the indigenous houses were constructed out of adobe (mud bricks), which then returns to the earth after it is no longer in use and how the petroglyphs (stone carvings) transforms with the aging of the rocks. Then I started meeting some indigenous friends, (many of them mistaken me for being of the same descent because of my Asian facial features) and observed how art, music, and dance are embedded in their daily lives and not just as something that is beautiful to be exhibited on a wall or to be performed on a stage. This experience has had a big impact on the way I perceive art and nature since.

TL: As I look through your art, It is evident that your pieces have a lot to say, being that they are covered with words. However, some viewers may not have the ability to read Chinese language and may thus, experience the art differently without knowing the meaning of the text. Is this intended, or did you make your art to communicate with a specific public in mind?

CT: As I was not formally trained in fine arts in my undergraduate studies, I did not make my first works thinking that they would be exhibited, it was merely a thought exercise for myself. (This is referring to the “Mantra Series” where I wrote a Buddhist scripture that I have memorized onto ephemeral objects).

In any case, even without the meaning of the text being understood by the audience, there is an intrinsic curiosity that humans have when they see a written text or hear a verbal language from another human being. I am open to different ways of looking at this work. In one context, for those who can read Chinese and come from a Buddhist tradition, they may be able to find a more concrete philosophical connection between the scripture and the object that is being written on.

For example, in the Singapore Biennale where I wrote on the scripture onto a lotus plant and placed it in a Buddhist temple, the temple visitors without any art background could appreciate the relationship between the nature of transience that is described in the text and applied on the lotus plant, a derivative symbol from the religion. In another context, for those who are unfamiliar with Buddhism, for example, when I wrote the text onto an olive tree in Greece, people may come up with their own interpretation like I am writing a poem or a prayer of their knowledge onto a tree. It often intrigues me just as much when people apply what they see into their own context, rather than merely trying to analyze what the artist is trying to say. What constitutes an artwork as an artwork really depends on the person looking at it.

TL: How did you come up with your concept of using the Heart Sutra mantras on your pieces? Are they religious convocations? Are you yourself religious?

CT: The Heart Sutra is a Buddhist scripture that I have memorized as a child growing up in Taiwan. I don’t consider myself as religious and I use the text more as philosophical reference to question the doctrines of religion. The work actually shows how a spiritual truth (the Hear Sutra, for example) transforms as it becomes materialized. In some cases like on the mushroom, it decays, and in others like on the olive tree, it grows. Often times, what we believe is not necessary what we practice and this dilemma is what I am trying to explore.

TL: Your most startling and beautiful works are the ones that are made on living organisms such as plants, fruits, tofu skins, mushrooms, and even squids. Why do you choose these as canvas?

CT: I work with materials that are perishable to develop the idea that everything is in constant flux, even our skin as a canvas is constantly changing. It is quite fascinating to watch how each material transforms with the changes of its environment and conditions. Each work becomes a different metaphor.

TL: As a Taiwanese artist how do you see yourself differently from other artists from mainland China, many that have gained wide notoriety in recent years. Are any themes in your work representative of your cultural or national identity?

CT: Most of my art was made outside of Taiwan, for this reason I cannot say that I am attached to a national identity in my art. I would say in a more personal rather than an artistic statement that since Taiwan is a democratic country and we are allowed the freedom of expression, of religion, and access to information, we have indeed developed a spirit that is different from mainland Chinese. For example, I am always impressed that whenever I go back to Taiwan, often times, the taxi drivers would offer to give me some money back for having made a wrong turn or taken a wrong road, which I did not even notice. I cannot image the same situation happening in any major cities in China where the progress of the country is heavily emphasized on its material growth.

TL: You also publish an Art Journal, Lovely Daze, how do you see your role as an Artist and Editor publishing other people’s art?

CT: Perhaps my role as an editor is different from an artist when I am publishing other’s people’s works in the way that I am now the one who has to provide a curatorial outlook and to oversee the production of the publication. However, the underlying concept of the magazine is the same as in my artwork, which is about change. Each issue is like a journal documenting my thoughts around the time of publishing and the theme changes depending on the events of my life.

TL: You are currently residing in Paris France, after being in the U.S.several years. Is there a difference of being an artist in Europe, vs. the United States? How has your work evolved from your experiences in France?

CT: The decision to live in Paris has been a major change for me. I wanted to live in a different continent to view art outside the Anglo-Saxon and Asian perspectives. Though the contemporary art scenes in New York and London are more experimental and dynamic compared to Paris, they can also be capitalistic and driven by hype and trend. I was drawn to the French romantic vision of the artist, focusing less on its aspect as a career. However, living in Paris can be very difficult for foreigners to adjust and aside from participation in the research program at L’École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts and various work obligations, I am relatively isolated here. The isolation forces me to confront myself a lot more and think further ahead about what I am trying to accomplish through my practice. To me, New York is a city of excitement and distraction and Paris is a city of isolation and introspection.

TL: Is there any unifying philosophy or theme that runs in your body of work?

CT: Yes, nothing is absolute.

TL: One last question, on identity – if you could be someone else for one day, who would you be?

CT: My friend Angela Garcia who is a pastry chef (www.lovelydazedesserts.com) , because she is my dearest friend and I’ve always wanted to be Latin chic!