"Thanks!"
"Thanks!"
It could be funny, but then it is not.
Giti Nourbakhsch ( and I am going to say the name correctly just this once out of respect) announced she is closing her gallery in March, via a YouTube video, where she is dancing to Udo Lindenberg's "Ich mache mein Ding" or short "Mein Ding". (This is something like Sinatra's I do it my way, but then again not really. )
I watched the video in awe, I am really surprised it has not been on everyone's facebook page for days. This is a punk move! FROM A GALLERIST! The car is parked with the doors open, Giti jumps around, the dog also kind of moves back and forth, I kept thinking she will get in the car and drive off screen, but she doesn't, she kind of stops, and out breath, makes a little bow.
Why is one of Berlin's more prominent galleries closing news- News to concern us? Maybe because she came at a time when Berlin's "finally happening" seemed just around the corner (and now...), maybe because it is speculated that the gallerie was left out of Art Basel. AGAIN! , maybe because this is another indication that the (German) art scene is a men's men's world (is it?), or maybe an indication that the german art scene will never fully accept us crazy expatriates. ( This is of course partly a choise made by both sides. I have, for example just realized, that the singer's Udo last name and the director's of National Gallerie Udo last name are NOT as similar as I thought; they are not even close.)
In any case this is part of a thread discussion about it in fb - the only discussion I have seen so far and facebook at its best, where it is reading the newspaper and discussing it in the "Kafeneion" at the same time -- Also... find out more in David Ullrichs article
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Travis Jeppesen wha??? is she closing down the gallery?21 January at 00:32 ·
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Travis Jeppesen From my interview with Giti last week, on the subject of Berlin's volatile gallery landscape, its politics and in-fighting: "For me, it's more relevant at the moment to talk about motivation, ideas, heroes. Whether we still remember our old heroes. You change a lot over time. Nobody in Berlin will tell you the truth, but it's interesting to find out what someone's real motivation is. This narcissism that you see everywhere nowadays, everyone has such a huge ego. We used to talk more about art in the past than we do now. Our fights in the art world were about things like, 'Is the work strong enough to show? Is it really punk enough?' Now it's all about positioning oneself in relation to others, it's about power. If you're not interested in this, then it quickly becomes very boring."21 January at 00:55 · ·
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Travis Jeppesen She's an incredibly brilliant woman, and I doubt this is the last we will hear of her. I'm sure she has a ton of interesting projects forthcoming. If we want to speculate, however, we can perhaps think about how the timing of this announcement coincides with the announcement of the galleries included for Art Basel this year. Giti's two male colleagues who were excluded last year -- Eigen+Art and Mehdi Chouakri -- have been admitted back into the fold, while Giti was shut out once again. The Berlin art establishment has historically always been a boys' club, and I would venture to suggest that very little has changed over time.
On the subject of what does Berlin need and what does Berlin really NOT need the Haben und Brauchen -Manifesto is ready! It is online since 23.01 for everyone to have a look. Here. You can also buy it for 3euro in the usual bookstores + bbk. Sunday 29.01 it is again discussion time in Salon Populair. Discussion AND Workshop in fact, these people have really no mercy.
I had a peek, and appart from the first page that looks like a package of cigarettes warning for the extra blind, it runs down smoothly after that. Only 9 pages, in two columns and there are drawings too, some a bit weirder than others but mostly to the point.
I also got this email from bbk- they want to BUILD new studios and appartments for artists, or let me rephrase that, they want to develop ideas for the construction of new studios and apartments. before they need of course to know what is needed and for how many. Find out more here. Link: http://www.bbk-kulturwerk.de/con/kulturwerk/front_content.php?idart=1807&changelang=7