Starck in Slovenia

When I saw world-renowned industrial designer Philippe Starck on the local news the other day, I had to do a double and triple take. What was he doing in Slovenia carousing with Slovenian people? Save for a few bright outliers whom I hold very dear, Slovenia is, sadly, the home of much drab and uninspired design. BUT I guess that will soon change, since Starck, the high-king of all things design, recently announced a partnership with Riko, a company famed for...wait for it, wait for it....pre-fab houses.

Turns out Le Starck is working on environmental and stylish pre-fab houses with the company, and I, for one, would gladly get in line to cop one.

I'll let you know when we get it delivered, and you can swing by and see us here in stylish Slovenia!

Read more about the partnership here.

See his TEDtalk below.

Klein aber mein

There was a nice little interview with Slovenian film director, lecturer (at the very cool new private art academy here called AVA) , and blogger Andrej Košak in D magazine of Sunday's Delo newspaper (their decent attempt at producing a Slovenian version of the NY Times magazine).

Košak was the director of popular Slovenian film Outsider, and he splits his time between Berlin and Ljubljana. He comes off as a really cool guy in this interview (tell him to call me for a coffee some time!), and I think he has some very illuminating thoughts on president-day Slovenia .

Here are some of my favorite excerpts from the interview (wonky translations by yours truly)


a screenshot from Outsider (which I guess I should now watch)

Berlin in three Slovenian words?
Velik, odrpt, multikulturen (Big, open, multicultural)

Ljubljana in three German words?
Klein, aber mein (Small, but mine)

Do we Slovenians know how to enjoy ourselves?
Slovenians are not wild partiers, but then we always go away with the feeling that we haven't gotten our money's worth. I adore the French, whose lives revolve around good food, sex, and art.

How do you enjoy yourself?
In work. When I am working, I feel like I am living one-hundred percent. Otherwise, I consider the French prescription: good food, sex, and art.

What sort of prime time program does Slovenia need?
A program that would cultivate Slovenians, let them know what is happening in art around the world.

Politics is....
interesting to talk about, but best to stay out of. I am a big adherent to the idea that the the amount of politics on television should be reduced to a reasonable limit. In Slovenia from 6pm to 11pm, television is dominated just by politics. This doesn't happen anywhere else in the world, even during socialism it was much less.

Three things that were better during former-Yugoslavia?
Ljubljana, Zagreb, and Belgrade in the eighties. Great people and seriously big artists (goes on to name a massive list of artists and events)

Three things that are not worthy of Yugo-nostalgia?
The Yugoslav army, rizi-bizi, and Zvečevo cognac.

Haiku du jour, s'il vous plait....
Life is a bitch, a way too short.
(note: this part was already in English. I think it should say "but way too short", but I can't be sure)

Berlin Diary #8: Dancing for the Revolution

So desperately missing my Southern Slavic peoples, on Saturday, I tried to go see this Yugo New Wave event at Maxim Gorki Theater. Infortunately, I arrived late and was turned away by one of the ushers who said "Sorry, you know we're German. You're ten minutes late."

So Sunday morning, I arrived a full half hour early to see (and finally meet in person!) my esteemed colleague and all around cool-dude, Janez Janša, in discussion with Anton Cramer about the history of Eastern (Communist, Socialist) dance and the questions of what and how to preserve and what that preservation might look like. I brought my new friend Jenny along and she actually got to jump on stage for a quick demonstration of contact improvisation. 





A good time was had by all, and talking to Janez reminded me of how much I am ready to go back home!!

A Visit to Swimming Cities

This afternoon we finally went to Ankaran to visit our friends from Swimming Cities of Serenissima. Here are some pictures!

If you want to see them before they go, you have until 10th May.

Two Other Updates

Update#1
For those of you who read this post with interest, I just wanted to let you know that I succeeded in finding not only one great black girlfriend but TWO. They both have quite different backgrounds from me, but we can come together over the experiences we've had living here, our general experiences in the world, and our mutual love of life! I am so grateful for these special new friends.

Update #2
Thanks to any and all who lent any support to the intrepid young artists of Swimming Seas of Serinissima, they report that they have found housing and are now beginning to build their boat at the marina in Akaran. More info here.

Swimming Cities in Slovenia

Last year The Captain and I saw The Swimming Cities of Switchback Sea, a beautiful art-scrap-flotilla created by the artist SWOON and other artists and friends.

This year, the group will be coming to Slovenia of all places, but they need help. They will be here in just a little over a month and they don't have a space to stay or build (someone here was helping them, but flaked). See images from their last two voyages and read their call for support below. All help is MUCH appreciated. You can write directly to the email below or email me.

Dear Friends,
Last year a group of artists/friends built sculptural raft boats and traveled down the Hudson River to New York City. This year some of those same people will build 3 large sculptural rafts to navigate the Adriatic. Their ships our en route to Koper, and they're looking for a place to build and friends to help and to house them. This is happening soon! Build in April, launch May 7. Please spread the word! If you have ideas for a friendly build location and housing for the artists involved nearby please contact info@swimmingcities.org.
Thank you so much!
your new friends,
the Swimming Cities crew

The Swimming Cities of Serenissima is a fleet of three intricately hand-crafted vessels that will navigate the Adriatic Sea from the Karst region of Slovenia to Venice, Italy in May of 2009. Designed by the artist SWOON, the floating sculptures are descendants of the Swimming Cities of Switchback Sea (Hudson River, 2008) and the Miss Rockaway Armada (Mississippi River, 2006 and 2007). The Swimming Cities of Serenissima are built from salvaged materials, including modified Mercedes car motors with long-tail propellers. For Swimming Cities, SWOON will collaborate with 30 artists from the United States. As the Swimming Cities move toward Venice, the crew will collect and install keepsakes in an ark-like cabinet of wonders that will be on display on the boats when they arrive. Once in Venice, the boats and crew will offer intimate performances that incorporate music, shadow puppetry, and story. The project is produced with the assistance of Deitch Projects, Paper Monster and Black Rat Press.

Miss Rockaway Armada (2007)


The Swimming Cities of Switchback Sea (2008)










SWOON's artwork

Black Meets The Balkans - Part 106987

Gorgeous pictures of (queen of my world) Grace Jones by Serbian photographer Andrea Klarin





More here

Support Your Local Scene

One evening while hanging at my favorite bar in the old town, I managed to stumble a few doors down to Šivčeva Hiša where our neighbor Petra Bole was having an exhibition of her handcrafted jewelry. I didn't have my camera that night but told her I'd come back and snap some images to post here.

Yesterday evening while at the pastry shop across from the gallery, I realized I had my camera so I popped over. It turned out Petra was there finishing up a children's workshop so I got to chat with her a bit, snap her great pieces, and see if there was anything still for sale.


Petra and some future crafty Radovljičanke























Here is an article from the local paper (in Slovenian) about her. I'll let you know when her website is back up.

Lots and lots

I have LOTS to post and talk about but not sure exactly when I can do it all.

To start, here are some images from my friend Andrej Kamnik's art show a few weeks ago. I got there early, but within minutes the room filled with elderly people, children, and then the twenty and thirty somethings started filing in. As the room got crowded I came to find that aside from Andrej's great friends most of the people there were members of his family (from young to old) and I was pleased to find they were some of the most friendly, supportive, unpretentious, and enthusiastic art fans I'd ever met! Heartwarming. :)




Andrej getting photo'd for the newspaper








i tried to snap a pic of the inner workings of one installation, to little avail


Andrej with the gallery owner and curator




The ladies circle


A very nice evening, indeed. I hope for many more to come!

Prešeren Praznik and Procrastination

How is it possible that I am still busy? More deadlines? How can it be? I just met some and celebrated. ...Oh procrastination!When will our love affair be over? What's that? You'll tell me next week? You have a meme to fill out and a Youtube video to watch? Oh, brother!

Today is a national holiday here, Prešernov dan (Prešeren Day), in honor of Slovenia's most beloved poet, the great France Prešeren. Poets love to lie about lazily and muse about things, don't they? I'm certain that's what the good Sir France would have wanted us all to do in his honor. So that will make a fine excuse for why I've been a bit lazy today...



Here is a picture of an accident I passed where a big rig had tipped over onto its side. This picture would be more exciting but I reached my camera a little too late. It seems I have caught the bug from my father and developed an interest in shooting accidents. I do hope I don't see another for a while...

..aany old way, I will go ahead and conclude this post with a beautiful poem (from Preseren.net) by the good Mr. Prešeren, and bid you a beautiful weekend with promises of meatier and more beautifully picture-filled posts to come.

Midwastes of Africa
Mid wastes of Africa a wanderer sped:
He found no pathway; night was now afield.
Through clouds no stealthy glimmer was revealed;
Craving the moon, he made the grass his bed.

The heavens opened, moonbeams then were shed;
He sees where poison-serpents are concealed,
And where their brood of cubs the tigers shield;
He sees the lion upraise his wrathful head.

Thus 'tis the wont of youth perforce to view
What now befalls, so long the veil yet drapes
The future from the road he would pursue.

Clearer has grown the night, and from it gapes
Loathing of life; of pangs and griefs not few,
The deep abyss from which none e'er escapes.

Fruition Times Three

7.11.2007 Ljubljana, Slovenija. Trije Janezi Janše pred Etnografskim muzejem Slovenije.FOTO:JURE ERŽEN/Delo

I thought it curious a few weeks ago when I received an email from Slovenia's Prime Minister Janez Janša. I was still in California at my mom's house and I didn't have much time to dig through my email. The Captain always jokes that "Slovenia needs me", but an email from the Prime Minister, this just couldn't be....or could it?

I responded to the person telling him I was still in the States but would be back by week's end and should be able to help him. As soon as I got back here to Slovenia , I rechecked my email and and realized it was Janez Janša from Maska, a journal that I do work for. I remember seeing his name listed as Publisher in the previous copy but didn't think much of it. I just thought it was an odd coincidence...

...turns out it wasn't. My emailing Janez Janša is, actually, part of the new (and rather mysterious) art group Janša, Janša, Janša, a group of artists who'd recently changed their names to that of the Prime Minister for reasons which they would not divulge to the public.

So, excited to be part of such an intriguing project, I busily set about doing the work for them at break neck speed. They were under an impending deadline for an end-of-the-month performance at Berlin's Transmediale Festival. Well, I got all the materials to them at the zero hour and they raced over to Berlin where it turned out half of their performance (the Signature performance) had been cancelled for what has been termed "judicial and legal reasons" and "the personal ethical concerns of the curator" (source, in Slovene only). Why the curators waited until the last minute -- when they knew full well what was to go on -- is not known and the artists have called them out onto the floor to give a full explanation.

In the meantime, you can watch the super art-tastic video of the first performance, Signature Art Context, (in which they walk through and create their own signature in the holocaust museum) here.

(Thanks for the tip, Dr. Fil)