Urban Voices Inside the InvisibleDavid Siegel“Time appears longer when you cannot see.” A poignant and powerful phrase from the beginning of Kamen Stoyanov’s documentary IN-VISIBLE. The narrator emerges from a railway tunnel into Slovenia much like one of Plato’s chosen cave-dwellers. The perception of time is not the only thing that is about to change. Part-allegory and part-hero’s journey, the film tacks along the course of darkness, discovery, light, and the role of the guide along the way. The classic narrative structure beautifully compliments the documentary’s own exploration of the invisible/visible as clear parallels to darkness/light. The grounding in Ljubljana is a reminder that these are not just concepts reserved for mythology. They are happening everywhere as a kind of everyday yin and yang. Where there is visible, there is invisible. And if there is any truth the the concept, the invisible world is equally counterbalancing the visible once – with equal importance. As the title suggests, there is a path inside the visible. Stoyanov takes us in invisible Ljubljana. We meet two guides in Marko Pogačnik and Taubi in a path of discovery of the hidden Ljubljana. Each a sage in their own way, Stoyanov assumes the role of seeker and transmitter of their wisdom, allowing the two men to speak of an invisible truth. Marko offers a path into a world of metaphysics – dreamlike and symbolic. Taubi, worldly and raw, blends politics and emotions from the deep fringes of urban Ljubljana. The juxtaposition is evocative and enjoyably open-ended, leaving room for personal choice in a journey. There are always decisions to be made in how to regard newly visible places. Far from preachy or patronizing, the film echoes the words of a third guide and another invisible world: “I don’t help anyone. I give you only a place.” -Don Pierino Despite their differences, Taubi, Pogačnik, Pierino, and Stoyanov echo a similar kind of compassion which creates space for what might be found in invisible worlds. Where there is invisible, there is often neglect and suffering that elicits a strong desire to help. But maybe it is as Don Pierino says – rather than trying to help, maybe we could do more with the act of providing a place. Film Trailer: https://vimeo.com/kamenstoyanov/in-visibletrailer For more information visit : www.kamenstoyanov.com... Read more...The Lion, the “Which” and the War ToldDavid SiegelThere is a bit of Darwin to Katharina Swoboda’s lions. An origin of a species of lion, one might say, migrating and changing despite being made of stone. The Lion of Atlanta: a Research Story explores the one of the distant relatives of the Lion of Lucerne, which has made its home in Atlanta, USA since 1894. Swoboda’s film is a purposefully incomplete tapestry. One that is an enchantingly strange patchwork, which captures the lion’s survival and fitness wonderfully following its creation as a monument to confederate soldiers from the American Civil War. The 124 year-old lion’s environment is a fascinating mixture of ghosts, graveyards, changing allegiances, living lions, hollywood elites, and classic literature. The often eerie atmosphere and cuts seem to amplify the disembodied nature of a radically shifting area in a relatively short historical timeline. The Lion of Atlanta must too be disembodied to be properly suited to the space. Further supported by the film’s audio, Swoboda plays with evocative acoustic contrasts. The research story shifts between pop songs and songs of American history. Additionally, the narration moves between European accented English and a native speaker. Two subtle and interesting ways suggesting of the lion’s lineage and changes over time. Lucky for us, there is an upcoming prologue and an epilogue. We look forward to Swoboda’s findings as she travels to distant shores as the lion before her. It leaves us wondering: is she the Lioness and what would Darwin have to say about these transformations? The Lion of Atlanta: a Research Story is currently showing at “Löwen Safari.” The exhibition is curated by Peter Fischer at Kunsthalle Luzern in Switzerland. The video was produced as part of L21 «Lion Monument 21» A Multi-Annual Project by Kunsthalle Luzern 2017-2021, which deals with the Lion Monument in Lucerne. More information on the project can be found at: About L21... Read more...Regular Heroes: William Messner-LoebsDavid SiegelIn less than a week, nearly $10,000 has been raised for a local NGO in Howell, Michigan (USA). The organization is called The Severe Weather Network and it is more than meteorology. They provide coordinated support for the homeless in their region but become a life-or-death service to many during the otherwise deadly winter months. In 2017, Howell documented 1003 cases of homelessness in a city of under 10,000 people. Of the documented cases, 445 were homeless students. The Severe Weather Network has seen a recent surge in funding due to a local news article, social media, and one of the giants of comic book art. But sadly, not for his acclaimed work. For decades, William “Bill” Messner-Loebs (now 69 years old) helped bring marginalized narratives into his runs with mainstream comic characters: DC’s first openly gay character (Pied Piper), a modern version of Wonder Woman (credited in the 2017 film), struggles of victims and the mentally ill (The Maxx), and homelessness (The Flash, Bliss Alley). The last one stings the most, as Bill is no longer raising awareness about homelessness in masterful packagings of visual art and scripting. He is living it. Like homelessness everywhere in the world, it comes with a stigma. But homelessness in America comes with a special kind of cruelty. There is a severe lack of social support systems and a form of self-determination social shame “for not being good enough.” But Bill Messner-Loebs is one of the living masters, a recipient of an Inkpot and a Bill Finger Award (two of the most prestigious awards in comics), which should be a wake up call to any young artist working today. Even the best talents and most reputable careers are not immune to more powerful storms: accidents, vicious forms of capitalism, and sometimes both at the same time. It is even more incredible that Bill has done it all with only one arm. Bill is not the problem. For stories like this, it is a sobering reminder that superheroes don’t exist. Worse still, superpowers with the means to help (Marvel, DC, even the United States of America) consistently turn a blind eye toward enacting meaningful policy around worker security. Lack of compassion at the highest levels is a problem. But regular heroes do exist. And from the outpouring of support on social media and small NGOs like The Severe Weather Network, there is an ever-growing movement of ordinary people who are connecting and willing to say: “We see you. We are here to help.” Watch the news segment on William Messner-Loebs here. Click here for GoFundMe page for The Severe Weather Network organization. If you would like to contact Bill directly, you can email fox2newsdesk@foxtv.com... Read more...Monument at Brandenburger TorThomas BüschInstallation with three buses by Syrian artists Manaf Halbouni at Brandenburger Tor, Berlin. In Aleppo, a similar barricade of three bus wrecks had been erected 2015 as a screen in front of snipers. A symbol of the madness of the Syrian civil war … buses with which citizens should go to work, students to university as a barricade against the enemy. The artwork came under criticism after a photograph suggested that the buses in the Syrian city, which had been destroyed by the civil war, had originally been set up by the Islamic terror group Ahrar Al-Sham. But does it change the symbol of the installation? Responsible for the presentation of the installation is the Maxim Gorki Theater in Berlin, which annually receives around ten million euros in grants from the state of Berlin. On behalf of the theater, the German army had brought the monument with low-loaders from Dresden to Berlin in April. Here it is now until the 26th of November in front of the Brandenburg Tor. Manaf Halbouni left Syria 2009 2 year bfeore the revolution. The temporary installation was opened in the presence of artist Halbouni, Gorki Theater co-director Shermin Langhoff and the patron of the action, Berlin’s cultural senator Klaus Lederer. The sculpture “Monument” was on the Dresden Neumarkt from February to April 2017. There it triggered massive protests. Supporters of the right-wing populist “Pegida” movement and the far-right identity movement saw in the Aleppo buses a provocation. In their view, this was a distraction to the commemoration that commemorates the bombing of the capital of Saxony during the Second World War on 13 February each year. An overview in the foyer of the Maxim Gorki Theater informs about the backgrounds and the reception of “Monument”. There will be an open artist talk with Halbouni on 17 November in the Lichtsaal in the Palais am Festungsgraben, Berlin. The sculpture will remain in front of the Berlin landmark until the 26th of November. 17.11.17 : Artist Talk about the Installation “Monument” 6.pm at Maxim Gorki Theater Berlin ... Read more...Drawings of strength and sadnessSabine KüperMurat Başol, Tarık Tolunay and Zeynep Özatalay are part of a group of Cartoonists, who are following central political court cases in Turkey. Since making Photographs is prohibited during trials they are visualizing the ongoing with sketch block and pen. On Social media the drawings are longed for messages about the situation of imprisoned oppositional. International human rights organizations are blaming Turkey to abuse the judiciary system for the suppression of the civil society. Twenty editors and workers of the daily newspaper Cumhuriyet, known for its closeness to the oppositional “Republican Party” (CHP), are on trial at the moment for blames of involvements with terror organizations. Ahmet Şık, a Journalist who is for the second time in the past five years hold in custody for month, said during his defense speech, that the real organization is under this roof. He pointed on the Judiciary system being misused for political reasons. Semih Özakça is a primary school teacher who lost his job in the province of Mardin by a decree of the president. The same happened to Nuriye Gülmen, an academic working at the University of Eskişehir in the department of comparative literature studies. Both want to return to their teaching positions. In November 2016 they started to protest with a sitting demonstration in the heart of the capital Ankara that turned into a hunger strike as well. Since their activity was getting a lot of public attention the two of them were detained on the 9th of March 2017 for doing propaganda for terrorism. After a year of hunger strike Nuriye Gülmen is hospitalized. Semih Özakça got released from detention end of October but he is still blamed for doing propaganda for a terror organization. He started using a wheelchair due to his weak health condition. The Cartoonists are not only documenting they are also participating in an act of solidarity to the fate of these prisoners and activists. Since the conventional media is reporting extremely limited under the stage of emergency that was declared after the failed coup d’etat on the 15th of July 2016, the work of the Cartoonists gain central importance. All of them are part of the strong and highly satirical Turkish Cartoonists scene. In the drawings about the court cases they alternated their usual style. The drawings are reflecting the kafkaesque atmosphere of all this trials. Semih Özakça is melting away due to his hunger strike, but his face expression is breathing dignity in these pictures. His wife, Ezra Özakça, is a motive Cartoonist Zeynep Özatalay is embracing with an aura of fragility, innocence and pain, reflecting the iniquity of the ongoing political reality.... Read more...Friday IslandThomas BüschThe Assassination of Guy Debord On May 12th Friday Island will present The Assassination of Guy Debord by Bill Balaskas at European Convention Center Luxembourg (ECCL), Luxembourg. Through his new multi-part work Bill Balaskas will reflect on the current status of Europe, by presenting a participatory installation and a performance at the European Convention Center – the site that hosts the meetings of the Council of the European Union for three months every year. European citizens feel today less politically empowered than ever in recent times. Confidence in democracy and its institutions has been undermined, and this context of demerit constitutes a growing danger for the character of European societies. As developments like ‘Brexit’ are putting under question the collective future of Europe, fighting against the uncritical spectacularization of the public sphere appears as a matter of urgency. However, 50 years after the publication of Guy Debord’s seminal work ‘The Society of the Spectacle’ (1967), European politics seem to be dominated by the image and its manipulation. Debord’s radical beliefs, his role in the student protests of 1968 and his suicide in 1994 made him, for a long time, a rather contentious figure within European political intelligentsia. Yet, as we are experiencing the rapid rise of a post-truth world dominated by spectacle, it has become increasingly hard to contest Debord’s pioneering thought. Bill Balaskas’s staging of ‘The Assassination of Guy Debord’ at the European Convention Center will highlight those conditions of crisis. The artist’s performance will function as a reminder of Debord’s assertions through 73 readings from ‘The Society of the Spectacle’, which will take place from the 73 front-row seats that are regularly occupied by Europe’s leaders. At the same time, the installation in the middle of the conference room will invite the members of the audience to literally devour the EU flag, thus questioning the notion of civic participation and the role of demos in the construction and dismantling of Europe. Friday Island is a series of events committed to create a space and occasions for meetings that generates exchange between artists as well as a public dialogue around a given topic. Open to artists of all disciplines and working with different media, Friday Island offers a platform for experimentation beyond creative processes bound to production and marketing logics. The artistic contributions are encouraged to be experimental and critical. They are challenged to question the theme and to suggest out-of-the-box perspectives. The aim is to promote alternative points of view and interpretations of a certain reality, to initiate a debate and an exchange of opinions. Indeed, each theme allows different approaches and readings that are socially and philosophically stimulating. The Assassination of Guy Debord Friday 12 May, 2017 Participatory Installation & Performance: 6 – 8:30 pm FRIDAY ISLAND – ‘Power’ European Convention Center Luxembourg (ECCL) Place de l’ Europe, 4 2311, City of Luxembourg Luxembourg ... Read more...Bad Bags/Good BagsThomas BüschAll around the World Mid of November 2016 the artist Reinhard Wanzke based in Frankfurt, Germany, started his „All around the World in 225 Tagen Tour“. He took with him the art project „Bad Bags/Good Bags“. Central to this art project are seven white leather handbags which he let manufacture in Vietnam in 2007. He took these bags on his journey in order to exhibit them in seven cities. So every station add a new chapter to the art project. The seven handbags are exhibited on every station of his journey and will be filled with local artists work from the city /country he is staying. He started the show in Frankfurt with seven artworks. Each filling one handbag. The handbags are closed. So the artworks are not public to the audience only with there picture title. On the next station, in Kampala (Uganda), then the „Frankfurt works“ were visible to the audience. But the works of the artists from Uganda were hidden by the bags. The next edition was in Sydney. There the works by the artists from Frankfurt and Kampala were visible but the works of the local artist were hidden in the bags. And so on. The bags are filled and empty out through the journey. The next stations were in Kuching, Malaysia, and in Changzhou, China.- The upcoming stations will be in Vancouver and in New York end of June. In July 2017 after my return to Frankfurt there will be an exhibition of all 49 works. Participating artists in Changzhou: Chen Junpeng (CHN) Lin Shengyang (CHN) Wang Hongjun(CHN) Wang Xin (CHN) Zhang Xiaofeng (CHN) Zhouruo Cheng (CHN) Zhu Mingyue (CHN) Kuching Edition: D2k (MYS) Nia Latif (MYS) Sonia Luhong (MYS) Monsthor90 (MYS) Alena Murang (MYS) Paul Sarawak (MYS) Jasmin Zaidi (MYS) The participating artists at the Sydney show: Nichola Gravey (AU-NSW) Anthony Kastanos (AU-NSW) Vicki Knowles, Jayne Reed (AU-TAS) Saha (AU-NT) D Walsh (AU) Reinhard Wanzke (D)/Screw7oose (AU-NSW) Jason Wing (AU-NSW) The participating artists at the Kampala show: Andrew Mayiga Kaggwa in collaboration with Victor and Kenzo (UG) Giovanni Kremer Kiyingi (UG) Amos Musoke (UG) El Seed (UG) Rolands Roldan Tibirusya (UG) Ntwigah Riungu (UG) WASWAD (UG) The participating artists in Frankfurt: Jörn Budesheim (D) Robert Cristinetti (D) Birgit Dunkel (D) Maren Floesser (D) Horst Hamann (D) Thomas Kampe (GB) Dagmar Sippel (F) as a „stand-in“ Stephan von Borstel (D). Follow the Bags ... Read more...Made in TurkiyeThomas Büsch NoLaB presents the exhibition Made in Turkiye until the end of June 2017 at Hasköy Spinning Factory in Istanbul. No LaB is a conceptual Gallery which brings together all kind of artists, upcoming artists and already established artists, to create a common space where they can benefit from each other’s ideas and bond creative relationships. For Made in Turkiye the curators Zeynep Ercan and Ala Onur, founders of NoLaB, are bringing together local and foreign artists, Turkish street artists and Turkish craftsmen and aim to present Turkish tradition with a new artistic touch to the whole world. Like the international art-scene already does, the exhibition is focusing on the combination of old Turkish handcraft and the work of ‘masters’ of art. It opens a critical view on cultural practices and a tradition that expresses the aspiration and dreams of our era in Turkey and want to leave an impact on mainstream cultural values. It use different forms of artistic expression and materials and transform it into a moving environment. At the same time the exhibition wants to show Turkish tradition that disappears more and more in our times, by involving the visitors in a impressive ironical way. Participating artists from abroad are young followers like Chris Wolston, Liz Collins and Amit Baruch; they are working with classical material like copper, textile, leather and glass, and producing artworks that are unusual and fascinating. The exhibition offers a very innovative view on Turkish culture and shows you different interpretations of Turkish tradition, occasionally in a huge humorous way. In the future NoLab wants to bring together local Turkish artists with artists from all over the world and create new projects like as residency programs and still focus on the traditional handcraft in a more artistic way to creating new products. The Exhibition is open Thursday-Sunday 12-7 PM. Kirmizi Minare Sokak, 34445 Beyoglu, 34445 Istanbul. http://nolab.co/ https://www.facebook.com/nolabistanbul/ https://www.instagram.com/nolabistanbul/... Read more...Protests after the Referendum in TurkeyThomas BüschDark clouds and intense rain had banished the sunshine in Istanbul while Turkey watched the vote count of the constitutional referendum on Sunday evening. The results of the election presented the very dark side of the referendum, which shows the deep split of the Turkish population. Nearly half of the voters are against the change of constitutional system, which will replace the current parliamentary democracy with a strong executive presidency. The opposition challenging the results for change, because the High Commission on Elections (YSK) allowed voting cards without an official stamp. While Erdoğan was claiming his victory on television, crowds in the big cities like Istanbul, Ankara or Izmir began to protest against the manipulated results and Erdoğan’s expanding power. A lot of residents assembled on the streets, chanting and raving banners with slogans like ‘Hayır kazandık’ (No, we won) or ‘Hayır bitmedi, daha yeni başlıyor’ (No is not finished, it’s just the beginning). The protesters are claiming the results to be annulled and that they are not accepting the results because of the YSK manipulation. The protesters declaring the Evet campaign only won because of the acceptance of unstamped voting cards, which was decided last minute in favor of the Evet votes. In the days after the referendum the protests didn’t stopped and thousands anti-government activists marched on the streets of Istanbul and other urban mostly secularized regions. The protesting style Tencere Tava Havası (Sound of Pots and Pans) took place as it happened in the Gezi Protests in 2013 and again the protesters spread the sounds of banging pots and pans from their balcony and windows. The use of this iconic form of a peaceful protest shows that the spirit of the Gezi Protest is not demolished and that there still exist a huge political activism. Erdoğan didn’t take the protests against the referendum seriously and mocked them in a speech on Monday, like he did in 2013 when he used the word ‘chapulling’. But the activists turned the words into their own power, which is raised again in these days within the context of the referendum. Groups like ‘Haziran Hareketi’ (June Movement) or ‘Taksim Gezi Parkı Derneği’ (Taksim Gezi Park Association) that were founded in 2013 called for protests via Twitter or Facebook. A lot of fotos and videos exists on social media with the hashtags #hayırbizkazandik, #hayırdahabitmedi, #hayır or #YSK whereas the official Turkish media doesn’t report much about protests following of the government’s censorship. Although the cold and rainy weather metaphorical supported the current political situation of the government’s opposition, the Turkish people aren’t tired of chapulling even in the rain and call for justice.... Read more...Mapping the CityThomas BüschSince 1998, Ingo Giezendanner, alias GRRRR, has been documenting the urban spaces in which he has travelled and lived. Apart from his native city of Zurich, his travels have taken him to diverse cities from New York and New Orleans to Cairo, Nairobi, Karachi and Colombo. At the moment he is living in Istanbul as an artist in residence by the city of Zürich until the end of July and documenting the urban space of Istanbul. Everywhere he travels, he captures his surroundings on location with pen on paper. His drawings have been presented in numerous magazines, books and animated films as well as in spacious installations and wallpaintings and on his web site as an interactive mapping app. GRRRR has been presenting his work continuously in a series of publications. The first is the self-published booklet “GRR1: video”, which appeared in 1998. The current book “GRR30: urban recordings” is his thirtieth publication. It contains drawings from the years 1998 to 2006 which provide insight into GRRRRs entire work for the first time. ... Read more...Ramize, the bad girlSabine Küper Ramize Erer won the award for creative courage at the Cartoon Festival in Angoulême. The artist was one of the First Females getting a Star among the popular and famous Cartoonists in Turkey.Parallel to her education at the Mimar Sinan Academy for Fine Arts Erer started drawing in the beginners class of the famous magazine Gırgır. Her teacher was Oğuz Aral, the legendary creator of “Avni Simpleton”. She gained her own table at Gırgır with the drawing of a masturbating little girl, which caused a scandal in the 1980th in Turkey. She got famous with the serial “Biz Bıyıksızlar”, “We, the ones without a moustache”. “Hihi, I should shut up my Hymen, zzzzzt’ The Hymen is torn! I saved my Hymen, You can put it in your bank account!”- “Psst, we shouldn’t have pressured her so much, our sweety lost its mind…” Later on Ramize Erer worked for all of the major oppositional satire Magazines like Hıbır, HBR, Limon and Leman. Her style was developing more to illustrate the growing confidence of women in Turkey and to show the positive results of the strong Feminist movement. One of her most sucessfull labels got “kötü kız”,”the bad girl”, featuring Berna, a young woman breaking all taboos. She was contributing a serial for the Feminist weekly Pazartesi (Monday) and was drawing “the bad girl” and “dangerous relations for the Daily newspaper “Radikal” for a couple of years. Since 2010 she is one of the main artists producing for the Feminist Cartoon magazin Bayan Yanı. That means, the place beside the lady, and is discribing the custom in Bus companies to sell special places beside women to women. ... Read more...Earth PassThomas BüschFrom Multitude to Participation The exhibition Earth Pass – Visions for Berlin – From Multitude to Participation is the result of a workshop realized by Betty Stürmer with kids with and without migration background at a primary school in Berlin in 2015. In the workshop the children lernt to create their dream passport. The art works of the exhibition that took palce in March at Volkshochshule Treptow Köpenick are a reflection of searching for cultural identity beyond territories and national borders. VHS Treptow-Köpenick in cooperation with Sonnenblumengrundschule, Kinderkunstprojekt Photos: Betty Stürmer... Read more...The Flowers of EvilSabine Küper “Think of the press as a great keyboard on which the government can play.” “If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it. .. It thus becomes vitally important for the state to use all its powers to repress dissent, for the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by extension, the truth is the greatest enemy of the state.” “Faith moves mountains, but only knowledge moves them to the right place…” “Propaganda must faciliate the displacement of aggression by specifying the targets for hatred.” (Joseph Goebbels, 1897-1945) ... Read more...
