|
|
|
|
Sunday, |
|
||
10.30 a.m.: |
 |
||
| Rikshas pick us up at the Golden Rider to take us through the borough of Neustadt. The various competing drivers greet each other with a handshake. We're all wearing sunglasses. Dirk Lange, responsible for organising the trip, tells us that the changing rooms at the riksha und car hire centre remind him of the duty drivers' room during his civil service. While they are waiting for customers "they talk about their mountain bikes", explains Dirk. We ask our riksha driver if business is good. "Can't complain", he says, "the tourists can't get enough of all that cultural heritage in the city." His main job is as a body guard. The cycling is like paid fitness training. Margit says she has no intention of going in a riksha. Iara says she enjoyed the trip. | |||
1.30 p.m.:
|
Kathrin
Krahl and Heike Ehrlich give a lecture in the local Community Centre
about Neustadt's gentrification. Kathrin brushes back the curls
of her baroque wig charmingly.
 |
||
| 3 p.m.: Culture of visibility: urban media and the public Yavor Gardev (theatre director, Sofia): The Democratic Concept of Beauty an Visual Anarchy in Public Space in Bulgaria (text) Ivan Moudov (artist, Sofia): MUSIZ (Museum of Contemporary Art, Sofia), Fucking Good Art (independent no budget art fanzine, Rotterdam): Do it yourself! |
Next we concentrate on taste. Javor Gardev has classified elements which exemplify popular taste in Bulgarian housing: castle-like, triangular, ship-like, romantic ornament, cosiness and folklore. Rightanglular forms like those used as an expression of a modern society in both eastern and western post-war town planning are avoided. By the way: middle-age castles are out, luxury castles are in. „There is no underground in Sofia because there is nothing to be under now.“ First Ivan Moudov shows a video in which he is regulating the traffic at a crossing in Vienna dressed as a policeman. He explains that he had no problems with the real police when they eventually intervened because "I don't speak any German". In a second video, he and seven friends are seen driving round the same busy round-a-bout for 20 minutes, creating serious traffic congestion. When the police arrive there are no problems, Ivan explains, "because they didn't speak any English, like in Vienna." "Wrong," says Luchezar, "In Vienna you didn't speak any German." In his third video, Ivan is opening a fake museum for contemporary art in a station in Sofia. A lot of important Bulgarian artists turned up, says Ivan. "Ambassadors came too, obviously attracted by the golden invitation card." Nienke Terpsma and Rob Hamelijnck of Fucking Good Art inform us about
cultural practice in Holland: " In Holland, if you've got a
good idea the first thing you do is write an application. Imagine
how much energy and fun that costs!" |
||
| 7 p.m.: Culture of visibility: urban media and the public Pavel Braila and Lilia Dragneva (artist, film director) for ALTE ARTE TV, Republic of Moldavia: ALTE ARTE Showcase: Art on TV & TV on Art in a discussion with Kerstin Boettger (manager of Dresden TV) moderated by Christiane Mennicke (artistic director of Wild Capital / Wildes Kapital) |
In
the evening Pavel Braila and Lilia Dragneva present Alte Arte TV,
a magazine about art and culture produced by artists shown twice
a month on state television in Moldavia. Kerstin Boettger and her
husband give us an insight into how they run the private local channel
Dresden TV. The discussion centres on formats. Then there's a bit
of friction. Initially triggered by the sound track for one of the
Alte Arte clips, frustration then spreads about arrogant, evasive
or unappreciative reactions and about a form of TV in which everything
is done "the way TV always does it". Should you be polite,
is there any point in talking to people you don't rate, is it ok
to criticise the Moldavians? A tête à tête is
set for the following day. By the way the Bautzner Tor pub remains a fond memory for me. The men played billiards. |
||
|
