Illustrators and Publishers of Different Worlds, or, I Love Doury.

Zitty (something like TimeOut for Berlin) has a short article on an illustration book called "Freistil Black". I give you my translation:

Draw me a world

The book "Freestyle Black" is an opulent overview of contemporary Black and White illustration.

"I don't believe in what I see ..." is the motto of the latest edition of the illustration handbook "Freistil" (freestyle), which has been published biannually since 2001. In a time when the flood of images is constantly growing, when all events are photographically accessible, when one's faith in the truth of a photograph diminishes given the increasing possibility of technical manipulation, there is a growing desire for "real" pictures. In recent years, illustrations have served this purpose. "What touches us," says publisher Raban Ruddigkeit - who began his career as a comic illustrator -  "is the personal view." The book introduces illustrators - mainly from German-speaking countries – showcasing styles, trends and developments in a form of expression which is continually moving into the arena of media content. By choosing to devote oneself to only Black and White illustration, the origins of the art form in the drawing become visible and the workmanship-like characteristics understandable. The complex pressure and the thick, partly painted paper make each page a visual and tactile experience, and a declaration of love for the printed book.

I think there are a couple corrections needed. The full motto is: »Ich glaube nicht an das was ich seh. Ich glaube nur an eine gute Idee« (I don't believe in what I see. I only believe in a good idea."). But the first part is good enough for what they are talking about. Also, I don't think the series has been around since 2001. "Freistil Black" is only number 4 and number 1 was published in 2003.

You can see some page exemplars at the publishers homepage and the book homepage. At first I was excited; nice illustration makes me blush. But it all seems too clean and the focus on media-ready illustrators is a bit of a turn off, although interesting nonetheless. The publishers link to the Zitty review and comment, again my translation:

Apparently our book cautiously enters the mainstream market. Something we are very happy about, as a broader readership may succumb to the magic of illustration.

I don't understand how they are not mainstream, they were invited to the "sei Berlin" (think I♡NY but with bockwurst) store launch. I expect fully-polished, advert-ready illustrations that will blind me with beauty. And I think they can deliver that.

This is in complete contrast to another book series, one which I am in love with. Mollusk is a serial publication from the Bongout publishers. Bongout has a gallery space in Mitte focusing on illustrators of Germany and France, although they seems to have fingers in lots of pots. I discovered Mollusk serendipitously at a comic/graphic arts shop and was immediately  drawn to an issue which showcased Pascal Doury, a recently deceased and severely under-appreciated French artist (it was published in 2007, he died in 2001). The publishing house is pretty small, and the book feels very intimate. Articles are written in the first person by people who knew Doury, there are private pictures and after reading the essays and absorbing the illustrations I wasn't just in love with Pascal but I felt like I knew him, like a familiar novel character. His artistic career spans a good deal of time and styles. For example:

And that's just part of his world! Here is a larger collection of his works, and also see this. There is a quote in the book (I think from Art Spiegelman) about how one could imagine inside Doury's head a massive universe, a whole other dimension, bigger than what we could imagine. Looking at his illustrations, it almost feels like stepping foot into a different existence. I think this is still the only book which collects and presents his material. Highly recommended.

Doury is featured in Mollusk #4, which you can order online from Picturebox Inc., who I also love and have previously recommended.

More Cameras

The Canadian iTunes store is carrying since today a new Hidden Cameras EP: In the NA.

From Arts and Crafts:

The In The NA EP is just a hint of what fans can expect from the group's fifth full-length album, Origin:Orphan, due for release on September 22 in North America. The EP features an extended version of the first single from the forthcoming album, along with two b-sides, and two remixes of "In The NA", including the "Crystal Pepsi" remix by French electronic music producer Stuart Price (a.k.a Thin White Duke) and Jake Shears of Scissor Sisters.

Some Health Matters

From the big name media outlets:

Yahoo Canada reports on a Japanese study showing "chubby" people live longer than underweight people. I haven't read the article but it sounds an awful lot like the Canadian study (not even mentioned in the ar which I spoke about here.

Plus, if there is still a need for Health Education among lay people, BBC reports that lower IQ is associated with increased risk of certain diseases, making the conclusion that public health messages need to be dumbed down. That link is not particularly surprising, but the conclusion to dumb-down should be taken with a grain of salt. How about new strategies to public health and understanding of scientific appreciation? How about showing people how taking care of their health directly benefits them, and not just in an abstract way.

Reminder: Eat Local!

via MetaFilter. Here is a video on Vimeo highlighting the dire situation of importing foodstuffs in Canada. The main message is to buy and eat local! I'm amazed at the amount of imported food products. Esp. the part about the meat, and in Alberta nonetheless! I remember in Calgary how fantastic the Crossroads Farmer''s Market was. It was seriously worth driving out there to get food. In Germany, supermarkets- and even most farmer's markets- will display country of origin, and in most farmer's markets you can indeed buy direct from the farmer. The big gap in information is the local produce shop which gives absolutely no information whatsoever concerning origin or bio-status (read organic) so as a rule of thumb I never buy from them.

One thing curiously left out in the video are Bananas. In many supermarkets bananas are the no. 1 product hands down. I was amazed to find that out. Of course, they are all imported. I wonder how things would change if Bananas fell out of favour.

It's nice that they focused much attention on produce, but I'd love to see another piece of this sort on the meat industry. I don't mean a vegetarian you-better-stop-eating-meat-right-now video, but more about the industry, the economics of importing meat, the land and energy used to produce it and the returns we get from that investement. I'd be happy with a buy local, buy high quality, buy less message for meat that would be more effective than a beleaguering peta advert.

Brillelust

ok, I confess. I have a long-standing eyeglass fetish obsession lust habit fascination. I have been buying frames on and off for the past ten years and have a descent collection to get lenses fitted into, including antique pinchnez and the ones with springs that wrap around your ears, remember those? (probably not, if you're younger than 90). I remember as a teenager lusting after a pair of too expensive LA Eyeworks frames that I couldn't afford. Whenever I passed by a high-end eyeglass shop I would just go in and casually try them on and pretend like I had never seen them. Don't pretend like you haven't done the same. And I still remember loosing a pair of Ray Bans at Lady Bay in Sydney - that hurts! My most recent acquisition is a pair of Swiss military issue glasses (circa 1960s) that I found at a flea market. Beautiful! And they only cost me a few euros. Should I be ashamed to admit that I have prescription glasses and sunglasses that i) I don't even wear and ii) that I wear only with specific outfits? Sometimes I will forgo sunglasses, even thou I have several pairs, if I feel it doesn't match my outfit. I know it's starting to get out of control, but I can't stop it.

Needless to say I'm a big fan of good quality sunglasses. The cheap ones will give you headaches, destroy your eyesight and in the long run cost you more money! They are worth the investment, and my favourite sunglass company is Ray Ban. I mean just look at these glasses: They are part of the 2009 Wayfarer colors collection. I mean these beauties are seriously going to be classics. Those are the glasses you'll still be wearing in 15 years. And Ray Ban lenses are hard to beat unless you jump to polarized Revos, but then you're spending about four times as much.

I need a cold shower.

Forward excessively

The Hidden Cameras, who are basically just short of orgasmic and probably my favourite band of all time, are coming out with their fourth album Origin:Orphan in September.

You can already download the first single Walk On at the Arts & Crafts homepage!

a tip o the hat to Music is my Boyfriend mailing list. Is it a strange cosmic coincidence that I wore my Music is my boyfriend t-shirt yesterday? Strange.

oh, and here is the track listing:

1. Ratify the New
2. In the NA
3. He Falls to Me
4. Colour of a Man
5. Do I Belong?
6. Walk On
7. Kingdom Come
8. Origin:Orphan
9. Underage
10. The Little Bit
11. Silence Can Be a Headline

via tiny mix tapes. And just for the record the Maritimes are Eastern.

Walt Whitman Has Come Down Today...

...and he wants you to know:



Stolen from Tojietto at imgfave.

btw, that Whitman reference is from a peom by Perry Brass:

Walt Whitman in 1989

Walt Whitman has come down
today to the hospital room;
he rocks back and forth in the crisis;

he says it's good we haven't lost
our closeness, and cries
as each one is taken

He has writen many lines
about these years: the disfigurement
of young men and the wars

of hard tongues and closed minds.
The body in pain will bear such nobility,
but words have the edge

of poison when spoken bitterly.
Now he takes a dying man
in his arms and tells him

how deeply flows the River
that takes the old man and his friends
this evening. It is the River

of dusk and lamentation.
"Flow." Walt says. "dear River,
I will carry this young man

to your bank. I'll put him myself
on one of your strong, flat boats,
and we'll sail together all the way
through evening."

You can find it in the book Sex Charge. Also it appeared in song form on the Gay American Composers album (Chris de Blasio). Think very deep voice and slow tempo, just perfect. You can have a listen over at amazon (maybe after I will upload it to my radio if I can find the file).

Can we give some more respect to Whitman please?

Ernst Haeckel: Darwin of Germany

A nice biography and examples of his art work at the Marine Biological Laboratory at Woods Hole.

Der Dritte Tempel: Truth for all Humanity

Benyamin Reich has an exhibit until the 26th at RISE in Neukölln.

The prophet Isaiah described the Third Temple as a source of divine inspiration and truth for all humanity. Reich's first exhibition at RISE Berlin entitled 'The Third Temple' is autobiographical, it expresses a desire to unify the spiritual and secular elements of his life (Reich was raised within a Jewish ultra-orthodox family; he attended religious schools and yeshivas until he left home at an early age to find his way in the secular world).

In the installation the viewer is given a unique and privileged view into Reich's extraordinary world, a world that contrasts the sensuous flesh and physical beauty of the secular world with the strict formality of orthodox religion, Reich somehow finds spirituality and eroticism in both.

You can see some more pix on the gallery home page and some other ones at Siegessäule magazine and still more on his mySpace page.

Porn? Yuk!

Porn? Yuk! 4 days of over 100 indecent, dirty, inhuman, misogynist flicks in October in Berlin. To be seen with an audience of perverted dirty old men and helpless degraded women. Who wants that? Well, we don’t! That’s why the 4th PornfilmfestivalBerlin will show sexy, daring, edgy, feminist, lesbian, gay, bisexual, straight, transgender and most of all entertaining films about sexuality on 4 days. Aiming at a sophisticated and tolerant audience of self-confident women, progressive men and people who question gender and sexual orientation, who see pornographic films as political, subversive, fun and challenging. In its 4th year the festival team is looking forward to illustrious guests from all over the world, to films that have never been seen before, to a lively audience and to the common denominator of sex: the fun of it!

Yes, the Berlin Porn Film Festival, now in it's fourth year. 22 - 25.10.09

Spoiled

When I say Berliners are spoiled, this is what I mean.

The swimming hall in Neukölln- a southern quarter of Berlin where I'm living at the moment- reopened earlier this year after renovations. It was originally built in 1914.

This is the small hall:

and the large hall:

and there's also the sauna area! Check out the 3D pix here.

This isn't even the nicest area of Berlin... what the heck!?

I'm goin' - that's all there is to it.

Psychadelic Society

This part I get:



But as for the rest, I'm less sure:

The Psychedelic Society is established to aide in the evolution of communication and media strategies around psychedelics in order to have them socially reconsidered and legalized. To revitalize and engage new audiences of the 21st century – the scientific community, cultural creatives, spiritual seekers and beyond.

Escape Tools

Escape tools of German prisoners, photography from Marc Steinmetz.

via Scott Berkun.