Beautiful People

Last night we went to the Leonard Cohen Tribute Night in Babylon, an event co-organized by Jacek and led by Oli Übel. Well done event, with cool band and many people.

After that we went to this arty event, 166 Torstrasse exhibition. We came quite late but still there were many people, in various stages of drunkenness. The whole building was arranged with art works, which I must admit were not bad!

A room by Raumlabor
But what was really amazing is that there were so many beautiful people, men, women, boys and girls. Actually everybody was beautiful. Where are they all coming from? Mitte? As we went to this "private" lounge, passing through bodyguards checking the guest list (we were not really on the guest list), we ended up in one big flat, with loud music, more beautiful people (the chosen ones by the guest list). It was actually a funny social event - one could buy drinks, but only in bottles. A bottle of Vodka was like 30 EURO, so it was logical to share one with friends, if you had some. Sharing, connecting, drinking... all with beautiful people.

Installation in 166 Torstrasse
Just one funny thing - this whole exhibition, which looked like a squatted house, the one we know from the past, was sponsored by a depot company Hornbach. Subversive? Maybe, but at least something!

VOX Design, Rumkugel & Life

Last week we were finishing the next issue of VOX Design (www.voxdesign.pl). This time, however, I didn't have to go to Warsaw - 2/3 of my editorial is now in Berlin so we do it, here. Better being in Moabit than in Warsaw. I guess. So as the weather was delirious, work was fine with a little help from... Rumkugel. I discovered this wonderful German sweet invention while being once in Wannsee. Rumkugel is for me a real West-German thing, actually a real "Western" thing, the taste, the smell - it is all Western. You have to remember I come from an "Eastern" country, where as I was a child, we didn't have such goodies.

Rumkugel....
But this is what I really love at the moment, my work and the idea that I can be anywhere, anywhere in the world, like sitting in my office in the gallery, being chief editor, getting paid from Poland, and then, in the end there is this magazine, printed in Poland, delivered to so many people in the whole country! That is what I call a contemporary nomadic job.

My own private Atelier....

Recent news: I have got an atelier from the germans and I have got a scholarship from the polish. Isn't that nice? Nothing else but go and paint. The atelier in very close to the gallery - in Cuvrystrasse, perfect. The scholarship is some (little, but better than nothing) money from the polish Ministry of Culture. It is my first time that a polish government gave me any money. Maybe previous political party didn't like my works... You see, I was writing scholarship applications to the polish government, from time to time, just as a hobby, to be honest. This time it worked. That is ok, good stimulation to draw and paint! So I will be now cruising between the gallery and atelier... nice nice.

Cohen in Schwarzwald

and not in the Clinic...
Yes, a month ago Leonard Cohen had a concert ... in the South of Germany, in a small town called Lörrach. We went there, stayed on a camping, a real german camping!

The all-around-German Camping in Lörrach

The concert was really amazing, on an old market, very cosy. Cohen lives and looks good, sings great. I was crying like crazy the whole second half of the concert.

The photo is not so good (taken with my mobile), but hey - I was standing in the second row!

I am also going to Cohen's concert in Berlin, I guess, he plays in O2 Arena in October... and that can be problematic. I wanted to boycott the big blue monster on the Spree... and I can already imagine the concert will be different - big concert hall is not the same as a local market-square in Lörrach. Hm, I will be disappointed probably... The comparison may be too horrible. Maybe I will boycott in the end. The arena, not Cohen.

I also took up with my favourite hobby...

However while driving around good-old-german Schwarzwald... we came across a very very strange thing. So strange that I couldn't believe it. The place is called Balzer Herrgott. It is in the middle of the forest, you can walk there (3 km on sloppy hills through the dense woods, oh! real trekking!) or if you talk to the locals - they give you directions how to get there by car... and then you have to walk about 900 m on a flat road. Well, we decided to take the second option, and adjust it to our metropolitan lifestyle - drive through the last 900 meters by car as well. So we did drive the whole way. On the last 100 meters that we walked, we met a badger... a real one. He looked and ran away. And then... we reached Balzer Herrgott. In the 30s someone hanged a sandstone figure on Jesus on a tree. As years passed the tree... grew Jesus in. Shit, that was so weird.

Balzer Herrgott

This is how it happened...

(a photo of an info poster). How weird is that?
I must admit the atmosphere, the energy in that spot was really strange. Heavy. Weird. Meaningful (of what? Dunno). And why did the tree grow the way it left the face there, not feet for example. If any of you visits Schwarzwald... go to Balzer (sic!) - it is just next to HexenMuhle (sic!).

Action Figure: Louise Bourgeois

Maybe I forgot to mention, some time ago we went to NYC - it was my first time there. We stayed at my best friend's apartment in Manhattan (yes yes!). It was great of course - not only due to dollar-euro liaison. One of the memorable events I reckon is my visit at Louise Bourgeois. the procedure to get there is a bit complicated, you have to call a number, write an email etc etc, but in the end, on that sunny Sunday - I was there. Her flat somewhere in Chelsea, looked rather like XIXth Century Paris flat than a world famous artist's apartment in NYC in 2008. There was a whole bunch of us-visitors. Fans, admirers, wanna-be artist, artists, journalists - even her son came by and gave her a box of Tapioka for the Mother's Day. In the darkness of the room I noticed a table with all sorts of alcohol (for the nervous guests like us), drawings and press clippings hanging on the long-not-pained walls.... really amazing interior. And there she was - Louise Bourgeois herself. And yes - she is still alive.

I took one photo of her, although it was not allowed, but due to my respect - I am putting a sketch I did there.

I am not sure if she really heard us, or saw us... but she was there in the spirit of her genius. We were showing our portfolios mostly to the 2 assistants who flanked her at the table. They did the talk as well. I could see that they really had control on everything, the meeting, her moods, even the light. I am not sure if they liked my works, well, you know my stuff, but I didn't really care. I also don't think she really saw me, I don't care about that either. She drank Schweppes with a straw, holding the can in an old metal cup. It was really an experience. It got me so much that as soon as I left this shady place and welcomed New York sun on my face, I went info a shop and got myself a Jesus Action figure to my collection of plastic (mostly made in China) religious figures and toys.