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The Bubble Manifesto
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I see bubble making as performance art, but as one step removed. It is not the making of the bubbles but the bubbles themselves that is the performance.
By creating the apparatus that makes the bubbles, there is no artist per se... the machine and the vagaries of the wind create the art.
Every nuance of the wind is captured by the ephemeral film that glimmers and shimmers, making visible the prismatic colors of light. The forms that billow forth are very much subject to one's personal interpretation, much the same as two people looking at a cloud and seeing different things. The addition of music to the performance can influence the mind set of interpretation but certainly is not necessary.
Making bubbles under the cover of darkness is yet another whole experience. Using a 500 watt quartz halogen flood lamp, only the bubbles are illuminated against the velvet of the night. |
As an alternative light source, a strobe light freezes the bubbles in an eerie dance. One spectator screamed out as she came upon night bubbles , "Oh my God! This is better than fireworks."
I cannot explain the attraction that people have for soap bubbles. It is beyond science and is somewhere out there on an intuitive and mystical plane. I just know I like to make bubbles. I like to watch bubbles. And I like watching people watching bubbles. It is unspoken harmony with the universe. |
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Felix
Cartagena
2004
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A Short Biography
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Felix was born on April 7th, 1948 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to a Boston Irish mom and a Filipino Merchant Marine cook. Felix was indeed, a son of a sea cook. At age 4 the family moved to New Castle, Delaware. By 1954 the children numbered 4 - Danny Jr., Felix, Eugene and Steven. At age 10, the family was rent asunder by a broken marriage.
Because Dad was away at sea and Mom was in ill health, Danny and Steven were placed in different foster homes, and Felix and Eugene were placed in a Catholic orphanage. After a year, Eugene and Steven were joined together in yet another foster home.
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Felix spent 5 years in the orphanage. Growing too old for the "Home," he then spent a year in a Cuban Refugee Group Home. For his senior year in High School, he was placed in a foster home.
Despite (or maybe because of) the turmoil of his childhood, Felix developed into a self-reliant person who wanted to help others. Because he admired the priests and brothers who taught at the High School he attended, he joined their Order to become a Teaching Brother. He progressed from Postulant, to Novice, to Profession of Vows as a Brother. In the Order for a total of 7 years, he realized that it was necessary to go back into the world, for he was not being challenged or rewarded in ways that meant something to him. So at age 25, he started anew.
Not having any real work (i.e., paid employment) experience, Felix kicked around for a few years doing odd jobs. Finally, in 1976 he landed a job with E.I. DuPont Medical Products and worked in many different capacities. In 1996, Medical Products was divested from DuPont and bought by Dade Behring. Felix worked with them for 2 more years, until his entire work group was let go. He goofed off for a while and then picked up his current job with an industrial tool and supply company. However, it is not through his work experience that Felix has made his mark on the world... it is what he has done outside of work and that, is the focus of this website. |
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