Dear Monday, have mercy on us. The week was hard and we had our deserved fun, which leaves us tired but content and loaded with photos and impressions to share. Here we give you a slice of the last week's adventures. 

 

WEDNESDAY 13.11

Cyberfest 2013 opening @ The WYE

This event was fun mostly because of the visitors who were interesting to observe (+11 for Russian fashionistas). One of the things noticed were all kinds of weird glasses - is it a techy art geek thing or a pure coincidence? 

We were gradually more interested in the artworks as we climbed to the next floor. Ground floor quite unimpressive, first floor had some really good stuff (my favorite piece is on the photo below), third floor with videos unfortunately skipped, and the last one with sound art maybe the best. 

- this is how I imagine Stattbad looks like after the weekend

+17 for the sound art hallway - it was worth climbing up to the last floor. If there was a free bean bag to sit on, I would hardly ever move from there.

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? Is it a clothing hanger - fishing rod - wasserwage - badminton racket power ranger imitating electric guitar? This guy received a lot of deserved applause for sufi rock played with his ingenious self-made instruments. +30 for Ken Butler the performer and +10 for the enthusiastic crowd that supported the festival mood. (A)

 

FRIDAY 15.11

Guillermo Aguilar-Huerta: Vía Láctea @ Das Gift 

Unfortunately a poorly attended event, but quite understandable since there was so many things going on on Friday night. The music at the bar was quite good - as usual in Das Gift (you can see the DJs at the picture below - in the back, far behind that 3L bottle of vodka and the bouquet of roses - I wonder whose is it and why is it left there).

+15 for the hole in the wall that allows you to see the gallery from the bar and the bar from the gallery (A)

 

Charlotte Bonjour - Remnants from the Expedition III @ SOX

It’s getting cold here in Berlin, and it’s getting cold fast. As I walked to SOX from Kotbusser Tor station, I wondered why there were about ten people loitering on the sidewalk, beers in hand. Slinking past them, I looked up at the building number, and realized that they weren’t loitering, but visiting SOX.

That still didn’t explain the beer, though—why drink something so cold when it’s already freezing outside? The organizers from SOX had that covered. In addition to beer and plenty of snacks, a slow cooker was filled to the brim with Glühwein to help warm vistors hands/bellies. It made sense why the crowd lingered in the bitter cold: there was Glühwein, plenty of snacks, old friends, and a good time to be had by all. +6 for a proper welcome to winter. (N)

 

Pop-Up Gallery goes USA @ Pop-Up Art Gallery Berlin

Of all the galleries I have visited, I have never seen art sell as fast as they fly of the walls at the Pop-up Art Gallery. There must have been something in the air—or the plethora of inexpensive alcohol—but both the conversations and art sales were free-flowing last Friday.

Also notable was the latter of the performance pieces: balloons were handed out to crowd and deflated on the count of three. The former performance piece was a series of very good spoken word pieces. They did not involve balloons. (N)

 

SATURDAY 16.11

André Vida - Score and Seek @ LEAP

Saturday felt like Sunday and being at this performance was pretty much like crashing a family gathering when there's nothing else to do anyway (if you're too young or too old to go to Berghain) but you can always rely on the goofy uncles who will make up some fun. That is the first layer of impression and it relies heavily on the fact that the people there were obviously related. Kids made up half of the audience, which was actually very cool, they were totally interested in musical improvisations and reacted with jumping, running, falling, rolling on the floor - having their own drunken-like performance. Completely underestimated age group; people should cordially invite them to their events. 

My other impression was - well done guys! It was a wise choice to spend the late and hungover afternoon in LEAP and enjoy the colorful sounds and sights. The performers' job was to reflect the view from the gallery onto the street in music and projections, which they did very successfully. +10 for each of them. (A)

 

Various & Gould @ Open Walls

First of all, if you didn’t already know it, there is a gallery in the Stattbad-Wedding. Second of all, Wanted Witches – Witches Wanted by the artistic duo Various & Gould is a portraiture show with a pleasant twist. The works are simply monochromatic printed portraits hung above old wooden shelves with candles on them. The subjects are various free thinkers and political radicalists that have or are currently ‘stirring the pot’ as it were. You might find their choice of ‘Witches’ questionable, however the best part of the exhibition is that the ink Various & Gould used for printing is akin to a strike pad on a box of matches. The viewer is invited to strike a match on the print, and light a candle (you can light a match on the face of Marina Abramovic). +12 for the smell of burnt matches. (C)

 

Aggtelek, Philadelphia Wireman @ Exile

With tiny wire sculptures, necklaces, and papers arranged on podiums across the floor, walking through Exile was turned into a nervewracking ballet on eggshells, and most people ended up walking the perimeter of the gallery as we mindlessly chatter. This was sharply interrupted by performers who burst into poetry seemingly out of nowhere. Instructing us to move across the gallery, or pay attention to little cardboard figures, the poems brought an interesting context to the works (many of which were found abandoned in Philadelphia), and were a definite don’t-miss opportunity. +7 for successful performances!