leaves of glass: la-la land 2

Sunday, October 22, 2006

la-la land 2

an image almost as insane as the peronist posters on buenos aires streets in 2001: the juxtaposition of these two posters during the 2001 berlin municipal elections found in one of that city's easternmost precincts. one represents the ndp neo-fascists while the other the reconstituted communists of the pds. such a difficult thing to do: let go of discredited ideologies. as to the gentleman pictured in the pds poster, herr gysi seems (according to articles i've read) a most interesting and not-so-bad guy. such a pity he was in the wrong party. this juxtaposition is not so improbable as it looks: during the final years of germany's weimar republic, the nsdap (nazi) and kpd (communist) representatives in the reichstag voted the same way quite often in an effort to destroy german democracy. one great example was the Heinrich Brüning government's proposal for the construction of the autobahn to ease the suffering german unemployed. from the extreme right and left, both the nazis and communists defeated the proposal as it would have delayed their respective "revolutions."

No comments:

Olaf BreuningI work from unknown moments

"The meaning is me. That's it." Meet the energetic New York based artist Olaf Breuning in this interview about how he works from his gut when developing his grotesque visual language and humorous works. "I like to do whatever I wanno do. That's why I choose to be an artist." In this interview Olaf Breuning talks about his work, and how he can't explain why he is interested in things. How he is not a conceptual or intellectual artist, but is controlled by his 'other brain'. Breuning also says that his artwork comes from "the unknown moment" and that although his main focus is his own enjoyment, he also hopes it will make people ask themselves: "What the fuck just happened there?" Olaf Breuning was born in Switzerland in 1970, but has lived in New York since 2002. His work, which includes photographs, videos, drawings, sculptures and installations, has been exhibited around the world. Olaf Breuning was interviewed by Jesper Bundgaard in New York, May 2013. Photography and editing: Per Henriksen Produced by Christian Lund Copyright: Louisiana Channel, 2013 Supported by Nordea-fond

Visual AIDS

Visual AIDS utilizes art to fight AIDS by provoking dialogue, supporting HIV+ artists, and preserving a legacy, because AIDS is not over. Visual AIDS is the only contemporary arts organization fully committed to HIV prevention and AIDS awareness through producing and presenting visual art projects, while assisting artists living with HIV/AIDS. We are committed to preserving and honoring the work of artists with HIV/AIDS and the artistic contributions of the AIDS movement. We embrace diversity and difference in our staff, leadership, artists, and audiences.

Dissent!

Dissent is a quarterly magazine of politics and culture edited by Michael Walzer. A magazine of the left, Dissent is also one of independent minds and strong opinions. "A pillar of leftist intellectual provocation," writes the New York Times, Dissent is "devoted to slaying orthodoxies on the right and on the left." Adds historian John Patrick Diggins, "Dissent is kind of an anomaly...a magazine that's all heart and good hope." It is honest-to-goodness information that--beside being a great bang for your buck--is free of sectarian posturing. I love subscribing to this quarterly!

May 1968

May 1968 - a month which still affects French politics and culture. France erupted in revolutionary fervour. Students took to the streets, their movement quickly being joined by factory workers. A general strike which nearly toppled the government followed. Forty years later, a flood of books, articles, conferences, film, art retrospectives and TV and radio programmes look back on the turbulent time. RFI's Alison Hird reports on the history and its effects - through the people who took part.