Virus Diary Day 68 (entry 8) 108th�Day of Confinement, Abu Dhabi Day 68 The lOuvre The only thing that seems continuous is time, and that seems to have subsumed itself to a flow-state. Although Abu Dhabi proper remains in a statewide isolation from the rest of the Emirates, , certain relaxations are beginning to take hold. My doctor does not see me from a phone app anymore, the malls are open and you can actually eat your sandwich, and the Louvre has reopened, although you have to reserve a timeslot. On the other hand, only residents are allowed in, and the slots never completely fill.� However, I will never feel that I have had the Louvre Abu Dhabi to myself like I did.� Entered, my membership card was taken as it it were not made of plastic, and the French staffer who came to give me a ticket said, 'Welcome back, sir,", I went and 3d scanned the Persian wall I am doing a contextual reconstruction for my wife, Negin, and had brief pleasantries with the Director, who I have met on several occasions.� And this is the craziness of this, as if going to this place was like coming by a midwestern coffee shop you were a regular at.� But it isn't, and this is the shift.� i am reminded of the movie Quintet in the 70's in which pastimes are taken with reference. Last night, I watched the Sleep Mode discussions Sarah Cook was having around the show at�Somerset House with Addie Wagenacht, Garnet Hertz, and Michael Mandiberg, talking about how confinement is affecting them. I think Garnet began talking about a New Normal and whether it can exist, but I think I'm more in agreement with Adorno in that after a cultural trauma there is no new normal. Adorno problematizes how culture can go on, but I just say, it's not normal except in changing the frame of reference. Things have never been normal, and I think this is the important point.� It's not normal to walk into the Louvre like it's the corner pub.� Artists are also getting obsessed with the Real again, like hyperrealistically scanning environments for game engines, and it gives me pause to think that all humanity can do is react to its environment.� In the evenings, I watch Snowpiercer and Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee, both of which seem to remind me of the moment. Frozen in place, and making jokes about how art is like stand up comedy. "How have you been? It's been a long time...", says the docent. "I don't know this person...", I think to myself. But in a time of�disruption, it probably doesn't matter. �
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