Tonight's painting

So I am painting. Today I have just finished a painting for friends, who get married today and In 15 minutes we go to their wedding party... I know they like POP and Warhol... and in any case, if they will not like this painting, they might paint it over, and have a canvas for free. We will see. The party will hopefully be cool! Ok, I leave my computer now and go to the wedding party... ciao!

Broken Spell

I really broke the spell - I started to go to my atelier recently. I have this space since September and I didn't really use it too much. At the beginning I just didn't have time, then I thought... oh, I HAVE to go to my atelier... and it was somehow hard to make the move. Now however, I have decided to paint a painting for Jacek for his birthday. So I HAD to go there... and I did, I did! The spell is broken! I really consider myself lucky - however bad it is, however shitty I feel, I can always just draw, or paint and then I really feel good. That feeling - the release of all the thoughts - inside-outside - putting them on canvas and then that feeling of that strange "satisfaction"... at least I have something that ALWAYS makes me feel better.
In the recent months, as I had all these sad adventures like loosing my job (which I loved) I was upset, so I took time off, mentally, and now I am back! Even more - while painting I am MORE back! I really don't need any happy pills, that is such a luck.

Jacek as King of Africa. Just the way he wanted.
(3rd painting of the "Monkeys" series)
I don't care if this painting is politically incorrect... it is not.
Oh, and it is also good to have a muse... a male one as well.

Vinyl of the day

The Curators' first vinyl!

There we have the first Curators' single on vinyl! How did happen? Simple - today at the HHV store on Revaler Strasse there is an event: "Cut your own record" (for free). So I went there about 11.30 this morning (the action runs 12.00 till 20.00) and I was waiting in a queue to be one of the first to get the record. Of course I was not the first one - I was the 7th, but of course some nerds slimed in before me - yeah, german "gentlemen"... what can I say? Anyway, the deal was (still is till the evening, till they run our of blank vinyls) that you give this man a CD with a track and he records it on a "legendary" vinyl recorder T-560 (whatever that means) and then you have it! So I stood there with my CD (had only one coffee this morning...) with the Curators' song "We are the Curators" :) and after like 50 minutes it was m turn - the man recorded the song! I was a bit ashamed as he played our song loud but it's us, it's our music. Around 1 pm I was ready - and left the shop with my vinyl! Cool! They still cut records as I write this post. Funny, because just 2 days ago we were considering cutting a vinyl - but it is too expensive and who needs 250 records at once? However it is a pleasant thought. Then I met Patrick (the third Curator) who came a bit later to make the record - he had to stand in the long queue but at least we had a coffee!!! An that was a good ending to that "morning" event.

The man and the machine

Strange nights in Warsaw

On April 25th I took part in Hożarty - a festival of the Hoża Street in Warsaw. It was a one day event with exhibitions, actions and music along the whole street. Everything went smooth although I have had some adventures.

the ARRIVAL

I have packed all my things and my works - the "German Lesson" project (6 paintings, 2 pink banners - 8 meter long each - with "Achtung!" sign on them, metal wire, 2 turnbuckles), my computer, 20 Galerie ZERO catalogues and off I went with the train to Warsaw. I must admit that my luggage was incredibly heavy. Not to mention I also took my computer. I was very happy that my best friend, Frau, came to pick me up on the central station. It was not far to Hoża Street, but I was glad she helped me to carry all that stuff. Those of you who know Warsaw, especially the central station surroundings, you know that walking there can be problematic - there are no real street crossings (it is the centre of a capital of a big european country, whatever) - one has to walk down and up the stairs and go through underground tunnels and passageways. So with all these kilograms of my luggage at some point I have decided to take an elevator. Well, it was just there, you walk in, push the button and go down to the lower level. Seems easy - but it wasn't. My friend Frau, she said she won't go with this old dirty lift. I though - what the heck, I'm brave and I am tired of that suitcase - I should go with the lift. Normally I am very scared of lifts, really, but this time I thought it was just 1 "floor" - from the upper street level to the underground passageway, so what can happen? But the lift got stacked. I thought it was not real. In my worst fears and nightmares I always see myself stacked in an elevator, which is then broken and falls down and I die. So I was not at all happy about being stacked between 2 stupid floors on the street.

I was stacked...

I don’t really have any claustrophobia but for one moment I was really scared when the lift made a strange noise… I thought I will fall. So I lay down on that dirty floor, imagining that the lift falls down and I break my legs, I die, all burns down… I pushed the “red button” – it was supposed to be an “alarm” button, but as I heard the beep there was actually nobody hearing it.

Trying to push the red button (ok, it was yellow, but meant emergency anyway)

There was nobody on the other end. If not Frau, who had a mobile phone, I would have been there stacked till today. She called the elevator security and after half an hour a man came, and opened the lift with a key.

My saviour with the key

Can you believe it? In the centre of Warsaw I got stacked… if I didn’t have a phone…

the HANGING

When I was released from my metal prison we went on (only using stairs, no more lifts!) to Hoża Street. There I met Kasia, the organiser of the festival. We decided that I will hang the paintings in Kawangarda (a bar in the nearby street) on the next day – tonight however I was supposed to hang my pink banner on the street. It was getting late, so I thought ok, I need a man to help me. In the end, about 9 pm (it was already dark), Kasia’s boyfriend and me, we went to hang the banner. We had some tools, like metal cutter and a screwdriver but as the banner was supposed to hang high enough so nobody can destroy it, we needed a ladder. As we passed by that cool bar, Cykloza, there we were supposed to meet somebody with a ladder, but that person didn’t come. We were waiting there a bit and suddenly a young (like 20 years old) local boy came, he was totally drunk and he started to chat with guys from the bar that they should not have bar tables on the street, that some people (older people) who live there, they don’t like that. Of course he didn’t mind, he just came to warn the bar owners. Let’s not exaggerate – there was just 1 table, a small one, but in Poland such initiatives are usually not understood. It is a real shame. That is why I am sometimes glad I live in Berlin. Here we can put a table on the street, have a beer, have a dinner, and locals wish us bon appetite! Different culture. Ok, enough of small talk. We had to get moving. We went to the corner of Hoża and Marszałkowska to hang my banner. All legal. But we had a problem – we were supposed to hang the banner between 2 big columns, and without ladder it was impossible. And again, the young drunk boy – Paweł - appeared. He was carrying a plastic bag with sandwiches and he said he just broke up with a girl and he just walks around (drunk) and wants to be helpful. He was a bit annoying but in the end I asked him if he had a ladder. Indeed – together with Kasia’s boyfriend Janek, they went to his flat and they brought a ladder! Cool. And in the end it was that drunken boy who went on the ladder and hanged up my banner really high. I was so scared when I saw him dangling and holding on to that column… I thought he would fall… but he didn’t. In the meantime the guys with a ladder appeared, but we have already (almost) hanged everything with drunken Paweł.

Drunken Paweł with a stick...

Afterwards he wanted to drink vodka with us but we were not really interested. We thanked him for his amazing help. Without him we would have never ever hang that banner. He was glad he could help and he said that the last time he had helped a hedgehog... weird.

the EVENING

As we got back to Kasia’s and Janek’s home I have decided to stay there for the night. It was practical. The only thing was that I had to share the room with 2 artists from Berlin 2 guys! I didn’t really have a problem with that, although I didn’t know them. Although I imagined it they were Germans then definitely I would have to sleep on the floor, but as these guys appeared not to be Germans (Vietnamese and Israeli) they have given me the bed and they slept on the floor. Before I went to sleep I helped Kasia, who is pregnant, with her collection of clothes for children. It is funny, but the last time she was in Berlin she was inspired by self-made children clothes and not she decided to make her own collection with cool silkscreen prints. So I helped her sew the brand tags on the clothes. I like to sew so it was actually a pleasure.

the EVENT

On Saturday morning I have hanged my paintings, I must admit in 20 minutes. Comparing to the banner it was a piece of cake. And so I was ready. The Hożarty festival have started in the courtyard of the Department of Physics where the students were presenting some experiments, there was free coffee (very good!) and some grilled sausages and meet.

I will update this post with photos as soon as I get my camera back – I have left it in Warsaw. All these fotos are made with my mobile, so they are not too good.

It was really cool to see a young student doing an experiment with liquid nitrogen… he was putting different objects into a bin with liquid nitrogen and it made all these objects really frozen… and then he was breaking them. Cool!!! Along the whole street there were many other events – music and some street art in Cykloza, some performances on the street, artworks in windows of some shops, and in one bookstore one could present and sell self-made products for children. I have met some friends and many people I didn’t know but we hanged around together. It was a good atmosphere, I must admit. About 4 pm we were gathering on a courtyard in front of LETO Gallery where an artist from Berlin (the one with whom I shared the room) was supposed to cook. Artistic food! Everybody was hungry and everybody wanted food for free.

Everybody waiting for the free artistic food

Due to small problems with gas, we had to wait… impatiently. As I am realistic (at least in some cases, when it comes to food) I knew it was better to eat something elsewhere before everybody gets a piece. So I went to a shop for a herring salad, I also bought a little bottle of white wine (I don’t drink beer anymore) and a small vodka (Żołądkowa! The best!).

I have hanged spontainously my second pink banner

As I got back some people were already eating their microscopic portions of artistic food, I was glad I had something before. You never know if you get a chance to eat free food when there are so many people waiting for it.

Artistic food

the OPENING

As we were sitting on this yard, the opening of an exhibition started in Gallery LETO. More wine, more art.

To make it short – I have spent that vernissage inside of one of the installations (work by Konrad Smoleński) which was a little hut made of paper and cardboard.

Konrad's installation in Gallery LETO (that black object on the left). foto: LETO

We (some friends, Konrad the artist and some strangers) were sitting inside that installation, in the middle of the gallery, drinking and smoking (surprisingly it was allowed) and we have missed all the cool “Warsaw” crowd walking around the gallery admiring art on the walls.

Inside: Daniel, moi, Ivo, Ania. Foto: Konrad Smolenski

On the way to Kawangarda for the party I have met a large group of people leaving the famous Raster Gallery, and there was my writer friend from Berlin (he is polish) and I have made him carry my other pink banner stretched on the street as we walked to the bar. Why not? He agreed. In the end I have finished my long day in that bar, but the very end of that evening slipped out from my memory.

My paintings in Kawangarda, my last photo on that evening... I don't know who is that girl.

after the PARTY

I woke up with a hangover. Instinctively I have decided to go out, to leave the city for one day. I went to the station to get a ticket to a town nearby Warsaw where my friends live. I felt still drunk. At the station in a Vietnamese bar I bought chicken soup and coke. As I sat there alone, at the table in front of the station, an older drunken guy came up to me asking for money… but as soon as he saw my tired eyes, he smiled and said: “I could kill a rooster for you” and went away. Weird?

In the end I have spend Sunday in my friend’s house, chilling in the garden, getting better after a hard days (last) night. And on Monday I have collected all my works from different places along Hoża Street and went by train to Poznań, to visit my parents and stayed there for a week. And there I really chilled, I was reading a book, some comics, doing almost nothing, sitting in the sun (so unfortunate that I have burned my legs and they look like I wear red stockings), I was planting vegetables in our small vegetable garden (new experience) and that was basically it. I really relaxed…

Klaus, der Ast

Hereby I would like to introduce you to my new friend, Klaus der Ast*. I have met him last Saturday. Saturday night actually. You see, it was a really long evening. First we went to see a lecture by "The Yes Men" at the TAZ Kongress in Haus der Kulturen der Welt, after that I went to a birthday party of A.L. (he is a boyfriend of my writer friend, T.D.) - I love their parties and it is also nice to spend some time with writers instead of visual artitsts... And after the party, all 3 of us, went to the opening of 2 news clubs in the neighbourhood. On one hand it is practical to have so many clubs in Friedrichshain, on the other - there are more dubious crowds getting drunk... and there is the danger of the gentrification, which seems to be happening in that (our!) area alredy... so with all these philosophical thoughts we made our way to RAW in Revalerstrasse. On the way, on our quiet (still) and empty (still) street I found... I met HIM! Klaus der Ast (in german Ast means branch)... he was lying there, sad in the darkness... so I decided to take him with us. I didn't take his brother, Horst, that would have been too much and we didn't have enough invitations. Actually it is my little hobby to collect branches, I did that few times, back then in Poland. But it is a different story. So now the 4 of us went to the opening of the Astra Club in RAW area. Unfortunately as I saw bold and big bouncers I have decided to leave Klaus hanging on the nearby fence. I was wearing my crown, that was already too much for micro brains of the doormen, but they let us in. Klaus had to wait. And the club itself... well, big, however empty. Maybe we were too early (2am)? All the drinks were like for 1 euro, but in my vodka drink there was no vodka. Should have had a beer. Still a juice for 1 euro is reasonable. I was just a bit disappointed. DJs were playing (I admit) boring music. So we moved on to Suicide Circus, the next club in RAW which was opening that night. And again, as I saw the bouncers I decided to leave Klaus out of it. He was waiting hidden behing a door. And that club? It was smaller, and full - maybe that was just a feeling or simply the proportions. Drinks were... oh, gin-tonic for 6,50 euro... no happy hour, oh no. But at least there was alcohol in it. Music? Old time techno, which is ok. The rhythm is so simple that you can't really dance with wrong movements. Left, right, back and forth, bam, bam, bam, easy. As it was a long marathon-like evening soon we went home. On the way I picked up Klaus. On Revalerstrasse (in the direction our quiet street = home) a group of young, drunk as we were, people started to chat with us, especially with Klaus. I introduced him to them and we talked a bit. It was actually a nice and methaphysical talk. I can't really remember the details, but it was really mystic. Somehow. I felt like in Poland, I felt like home. And I liked one girl. That happens to me sometimes... old times. Finally we reached our street, we said good night to Horst (the brother of Klaus) and climbed the stairs home. I took Horst with us. He lives now on the balcony. I don't know how long will he live, he has no roots, but I have noticed, to my surprise, that he really lives - he has buds! Is it spring? Is it magic?

Klaus der Ast in his new home.

*No, it is not the dean of my Architecture Department at the Poznań University of Technology, Robert Ast. Any similarities are purely coincidental, although there are some similarities, I reckon, as I look at Klaus... similar name, similar mustache... heck, who knows?

Sentence of the day

Since a month I park my bicycle next to a dead bird. Every day.

The Friedrichshain Hank Williams Incident

In the developed country called Germany, in the cool and arty city called Berlin, in the hip and underground district called Friedrichshain, in the hippie area called RAW in Revalerstrasse, in the rockin' place called R'nR Highschool... people, like the club owners were so close-minded that they have thrown us out while we playing music. Last night we had a concert with Doc Schoko, Doc is a "real" musician, he is known in Berlin. So we were invited to perform together with 3 other bands. Yes, a real concert. The first band started around 11pm, with nice and soft rock. And after we played our versions of the Godz's songs. I must say what we do, what we did is a bit different than rockabilly or rock'n'roll... we play improvised music. And even there were not many people in the audience, after 6 songs which we managed to play, somehow some people didn't like it, mostly the club owner and his girls. So when we played the "Hank Williams Song" he turned Jacek off, and turned his music on and he shouted we should stop playing. Doc was furious, he was still playing wildly, shouting and singing, I wanted to fight, Patrick didn't notice anything. So there was a little... there was an argument and in the end they have really switched us off. I mean, even if one doesn't like a band, still, we played half an hour, it was not that dramatic to switch us off... it is just very uncool and very unpolite. We were really offended and we went off the stage. I think it is a shame for the club, very uncool. And so we went to the last place of the freedom in F'hain, to Sheriff Teddy - it is a very local and cool bar (thank god) far away from the uncool tourist areas of F'hain. Our last bastion of the freedom of expression! We even played there once, last summer. We did cover songs of Kylie Minogue. Long time ago. In any case, we went there and we chilled.

It was the second time we were thrown away from the stage. Well. and again, we have a song from this incident - we have recorded the Hank Williams Song and the argument - it is free for download here:http://www.sendspace.com/file/66xgyx.
We were the REAL bandits there, with our music! Ha!

Stadtplandienst vs Anna Krenz

In February I was in Rotterdam, on a journalist trip - we have visited Design and Art Fair, we have been to Rem Koolhaas' office and some young dutch designers' studios. Once we went to see an exhibition in the office of a collectors' family (I don't really remember their name). We have been treated with coffee and sweets and a young woman, the daughter of the rich businessman and his wife, an art collector, was telling us, that she continues the family tradition and buys art works. she said she was really happy and proud to buy works from young (and older) dutch (and international) artists thus support them.

Oh, lovely chocolates...

Oh, coffee... (at the collectors' office)
I was in a way astonished that there was this rich girl who was actually happy to support artists! But that was in Holland. The Dutch are different. And What do we, the artists in Berlin, get from german (or polish) businessmen? Are they also happy to be able to support young artists? No? I tell you what they do.
In January I have received a letter, from lawyers of the company which runs a website "stadplandienst". It is a website with maps of Germany. In this letter was an invoice - I was supposed to pay 2200 euro for using a piece of map (from stadtplandienst) on our gallery website. Yes, I have put a screenshot (about 500x500pixels) with a map and our gallery marked on it. I am almost sure nobody was really using it, but still - seems it costs 2200 euro.

(of course this is not a real map, I am paranoid, even if one takes a photo of a map - not a screenshot and publish it on a website - one may get an invoice...)

Not to mention I have lost my job, being realistic about art market in Berlin, and global crisis - this money was just what I needed to spend. So I have got myself a lawyer, yes, yes, I have had a lawyer of my own! Talking to him and arranging everything in my poor german, whatever. I have learned some german law vocabulary - at least something positive. After weeks of arrangements, letters and statements (like I had to proove I am a poor polish immigrant, an artist - which was not that difficult - it's true anyway) my (own private) wonderful lawyer has made an agreement and the stadtplandienst lawyers lowered the amount of my fee. In the end I didn't pay 2200 euro, I have paid less, I guess I cannot tell you how much, still - it was all together way TOO MUCH.





So this year started not-so-lucky-as-I-thought. I have learned few things by the way and I have told myself to never ever use stadtplandienst anymore, which is a shame, I was really using it to find adresses, and I think the website is a good one - but now I have to use Google maps.

And I just hope I will not be sued for this post...

Catastrophes and design in Wrocław

Two weeks ago I went to Wrocław to give a lecture about "Design and catastrophes". Yes, As I love to give lectures, I don't really care on which subject. The BWA Design Gallery asked me to speak about something, related to design I guess, so I answered quickly without thinking (as I was painting my catastrophic paintings): "sure, I hold a lecture about... catastrophes! And design!". As I have sent the title... I had like few weeks to come up with something about design and catastrophes. And so I did - I analysed, thought through and came up with ideas and conclusions. The lecture started with a movie of an asteroid distroying the earth... and the rest went smooth. But I don't want to write about the lecture here, but about Wrocław.

I love that city (although I come from Poznań) because the people there are really different - they are very open, nice and a bit wild (in a positive sense). My adventures in Wrocław and my relationship with this city started in 2000. Back then we did a project in Wrocław (we even won a prize in the Euro Art Meeting Festival for it). It was a mirror ball (2m diameter) in Zelaznicze Passage.

Our installation with the screen during a performance (Gućwiński on the photo - he was the director of the famous Wrocław ZOO) in 2000.
It was one of the best times of my life - not only we successfully did an instalation, but I had so many friends with me, my parents came, even my long lost cousin came - I have met her for the first time in my life! We found each other by accident... that is a different story. However one of my dreams came true then - I was always dreaming of driving one of those silver shining garbage containers which I saw in Poznań once. These containers were on the streets only for one day - for the day of the (polish) Pope's visit in Poznań. The day after the visit - containers were removed... such a shame - they were so new, so clean and so silver! On the evening before I was out in the city with my friend, we saw one container and I wanted to sit on it and drive away... however as soon as I climbed in on it... out of nowehere.. out of the bushes came a guard and ousted us away. That was in Poznań. Long time ago.

One of those silver bolides... a real dream.
So when I saw one silver container in Wrocław, all new and shiny, and we have already drank some tequila... my friends put me on the top of it and we drove off... to the next bar. As my dreams are quite simple - it is easy to fullfil them. Practical! And it was one of those dreams... No wonder I love Wrocław. Later of course I remember wonderful time during my exhibition in BWA Awangarda... And now - again - I have spent 3 great days, wandering from one BWA gallery to the other (there are 3 all together), having coffee and food with all my Wrocław friends. I tell you - Wrocław is not only a bautiful (in its way), it is also very walkable and as for the food - oh! There are so many inexpensive bars with healthy food... a real paradise. I miss that in Berlin. I miss good food (biiig portions) for reasonable price.


Isn't that satisfactory? Isn't that portion big? Oh, I love it... big.
What I also like are all those strange shops (although that is typical for the whole Poland)... like that second-hand shop (all in the BWA neighborhood)...

What I find totally interesting is... the chandelier... Wrocław is famous for porcelian and glass...
And about the BWA itself - another funny discovery! In the yard behind BWA Awangarda there is a cage... a cage in the trees... yes. Strange. It appears that the cage is for a marten (polish: kuna) - appartently there are martens living in Wrocław. So the scientists from the Polish Science Academy installed a cage with a bait (eggs) and a sensor - so when the marten is in the cage there is an alarm in the lab and scientists run quickly to the BWA's garden, catch the marten and stamp it with a number. All scientific! We didn't see any marten, but... we saw the cage.

The cage waiting for...