I wake up in the “City of Dreams.”

Vienna.

It is very early and still dark. It’s my first day here and a buzzing anticipation ignites me. I get dressed for the cold and head out into the blue shadows of the dawn. It’s drizzling lightly and the cobblestoned streets are empty and slick with rainwater. I walk quickly knowing the rain could pick up at any moment. I want to soak in as much of the city as I can before my first meeting with my creative partner Perola and our sponsor.

The view from my window at ViennArt Hotel in the 7th district.

We are in Vienna to scout the locations for our next interactive public art project, which will blend technology with urban space and visual art. It will be similar in many ways to our last project, The 13 Portals, but we will bring it to the next level with augmented reality technology, a customized app and a remixed concept.

We are searching for abandoned door spaces with beautiful frames-

The site of Portal 1 in NYC’s East Village.

Portal 1- Ave C and 7th st, East Village, NYC

The drizzle stops and my pace slows as I take in the spectacle of everything around me. Majestic buildings that speak of a time I can only imagine glow yellow in the streetlights. Chortling pigeons nuzzle on a beautiful statue of two lovers wrapped in permanent embrace. An old man with a leathery, lived-in face shuffles by me. He taps his cane on the stone sidewalk and tosses me a nod. I smile. Aside from him, a jogger and an occasional car, the streets are empty of human life and cloaked in a pervading early morning peace– 

Entranced, my eye darts around from one beautiful thing to the next. Gradually, the dark blue of the sky shifts into a pale grey and it starts to rain… heavily. With a jump, I retreat back to my hotel to sleep for a few hours before meeting up with the crew. We go to Café Central in the 1st District and my neck breaks immediately upon walking through the door. The gorgeous vaulted ceilings lift my eyes, and I gasp out loud like a silly tourist. 

Perola and I at Café Central

After breakfast we begin the process of scouting for portal spots, searching for 4-5 empty door frames where we can install paintings. We walk all over the 1st district and pass building after building of magnificent architecture. Vienna is so rich with beauty and it becomes clear to me that this city, even now, understands and puts great emphasis on the importance of art.

“To the Age its Art – to Art, its Freedom.” is inscribed above the portal of the Secession, one of the most famous art nouveau buildings in Vienna. Built around 1900 it was home to some of the most important artists and architects including Gustav Klimt, Egon Schiele and Otto Wagner. 

But portals… or rather the kind of spaces we are looking for in abandoned doors seem to not exist here. We saw hundreds of gorgeous doors, but opposite of NYC, none of them were abandoned. Perola and I began to get a little worried…

Pérola and Viennese portals

ONE nice portal space we saw, but it belongs to a church. (Fuhgeddaboudit)

I think we walked over 100 streets today and didn’t find one suitable portal location. We saw a ton of beautiful sculptures, curious little shops spectacular architecture and got a first-feel for the city, but made no substantial progress for our project. Hopefully tomorrow will be more fruitful in that regard. I am a little concerned, but not too much. We are very determined, if they exist~ We will find them. In the morning we will check out the 7th district which holds most of the big museums … I am anxious to find our magical doors!

More soon~