Berlin

[lapsedmodernist]

things seen in Berlin:

a gallery opening that so quintessentially epitomized every stereotype of "avant-garde" art that it was kind of heartwarming because it all took me back to, like, Williamsburg circa 2002. I mean, the performance art was a naked dude squatting with a chain around his genitals, cutting his eyebrow with a razor.

an amazing pantomime act performed by a Russian mime self-admittedly inspired by Daniil Kharms.

Angelus Novus in the flesh, at the Paul Klee exhibit (I have complicated feelings about art museums, and rarely will go see any permanent collection, but sometimes if I like an artist enough I will go see their exhibit). They had the relevant passage from "Thesis on the Philosophy of History" written on the wall.

an abandoned hospital, amidst wet autumn leaves slightly worse for the wear and the winter

a surreal district somewhere in East Berlin where sovok (gloomy Soviet) architecture was combined with these little suburban yards oversaturated with lawn gnomes and swans.

things consumed in Berlin (other than art and the winter air):

cheap and delicious Vietnamese noodles
sticky sweet items from a Turkish bakery
hot apple cinnamon cider at the outdoor flea market
hot mulled wine in a variety of settings (at one point with almonds, which was a brilliant touch)
creamy potato soups
ginger tea

things lost in Berlin

my striped gloves
my voice

incidents with gas heaters inducing 3 AM freakouts in Berlin:

just one, transpiring upon the realization that in German AUF means not OFF but, rather, ON

Comments

[twotoedsloth.livejournal.com]

For a confusing, yet wondrous moment, I thought you meant that someone had done Angelus Novus as performance art. I was trying to picture the scale of the thing. What, exactly, would constitute life-sized? Did they really tie someone to a train? What kind of train? Where did they put it? Did they have people to play the crushed and bleeding masses?

[lapsedmodernist.livejournal.com]

that would be wonderful. but where do you get a train? are you transposing Marx's locomotive of history onto Benjamin's storm?

[twotoedsloth.livejournal.com]

Oh yeah... it was a storm, not a train. God, my brain is so weird sometimes. Well, that would have been even better as performance art. There were bleeding masses, right?

[lapsedmodernist.livejournal.com]

the bleeding masses were at the hipster art opening (see point 1).

[penelopesque.livejournal.com]

"I mean, the performance art was a naked dude squatting with a chain around his genitals, cutting his eyebrow with a razor."

Suddenly I don't feel so much regret that I never lived in a major urban area.

[lapsedmodernist.livejournal.com]

yes, but overall it's just the ridiculous that needs to be there to coexist with the sublime of the urban magic.

[yanatonage.livejournal.com]

you're first person on my friendslist to ever mention Daniil Kharms.

[lapsedmodernist.livejournal.com]

oh, I grew up on his stuff, same as all the Soviet kids! And then discovered his darker writing when I was older.

[biascut.livejournal.com]

aww, berlin! Where was the fleamarket? I'm hoping it was Boxhagenerplatz, where I used to go nearly every Sunday because I lived on the street just west of it.

[lapsedmodernist.livejournal.com]

actually we ended up at two of them--the first one was definitely not touristy/hipstery, it was somewhere near Franz-Neumann-Platz, and the second one was really large and you had to go there by S-Bahn, and there was, like, a big field right next to it? And a cafe at the beginning of it? I feel like it was off the Eberswalder stop, but maybe I am misremembering.

I am glad to get a comment from you! I didn't know you were still reading my el jay :)

[biascut.livejournal.com]

I know, sorry! I had a big "must not read LJ, must write thesis/apply for jobs/do other creative stuff", but then I keep coming back to look at your photos anyway. Especially the ones of Fionn!

[lapsedmodernist.livejournal.com]

new Fionn photos upcoming soon on the agenda!

To be honest I was worried I somehow offended you with something I wrote in my lj (as per your userinfo disclaimer). I really enjoyed reading your journal, even if I didn't comment proportionally to my enjoyment, and I hope I didn't write something that chased you off.