Jannis Kounellis & The Materials of Basic Needs

Yesterday we went to the neue nationalgalerie and saw an exhibit by
Jannis Kounellis that we had seen a flyer for at a cafe:
www.smb.museum. It was a very strange exhibit- mostly a labyrinth of
10 ft high iron walls (partially rusted- a sign before the exhibit
said "Danger: The walls of the labyrinth may be dirty") and as you
wandered through you would find certain artifacts- an egg, a bit of
cotton with a fly on it, bags of coal seated in a circle of chairs, empty
coffeee bean sacks that had been strewn together to make a blanket,
rolled up raincoats (maybe) with knives poking out of them. Very bizarre.

As most of the "artifacts" had to do with civilization and necessary
materials in particular I took it to mean something along the lines
that man often lives in poverty- spending his whole life to gain
access to the materials that make life possible- food, coal, blankets-
the bare necessities. Man spends more and more time trying to find
these things until eventually he finds himself in a maze- unable to
escape his search for the materials necessary to satisfy his basic needs. As for what this indicates, I can
only think one of two things: 1) that art is a luxury those in poverty
can't afford or 2) this struggle is in and of itself an artform- it is basic and human in nature and something that needn't go unrepresented. It's
hard to tell which. Carlos seemed to think- more or
less- that the exhibit expressed how 3rd world countries are exploited
for their resources (many of the artifacts were obviously from
argentina or other historically exploited countries).
At any rate, very interesting. Some more photos are
located here: http://www.smb.museum/smb/presse/image_list.php?id_gruppe=109〈=de&n=3

Berlin Launches Friendliness Campaign

"BERLIN (Reuters) - Berlin has launched a new "friendliness" campaign to keep tourists flocking to the German capital during a time of economic crisis.

With the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall looming in November and the World Championships in athletics due in August, police, street cleaners, airport staff and taxi drivers have begun wearing special red pins to signal to visitors that they are ready to lend a helping hand.

The campaign, launched this week by the city government and local companies, mirrors a friendliness drive that was launched back in 2006 when Germany hosted the soccer World Cup.

"Berlin has a reputation in Germany of being a rude city, but we're a rude city with a heart," said Rene Gorka, head of Berlin Partners, a marketing group that promotes the city.

After hitting a record high of eight million last year, the number of tourists to the German capital has leveledoff in the start of 2009, due partly to the financial crisis, Gorka said.

"Despite the crisis, Berlin is still attractive," he said, adding it was a bargain destination for tourists.

In addition to the 13 Berlin-based companies participating in the campaign, some 1,050 police officers and 2,000 transport workers are joining in.

"With the upcoming anniversary of the fall of the Wall and the World Championships in athletics, Berliners should be as friendly as they were in 2006 and not give any credence to our rude image," Gorka said.

(Reporting by Franziska Scheven, editing by Paul Casciato)

Billy Boy Condom Energy Drink

It was recently brought to my attention that Billy Boy, the condom company with the lovable penis und frucht motif, has been making an energy drink. Check it out:

One has to wonder what kind of crazy person would want to try an energy drink created by a condom company. But apparently the drink is doing pretty well here in Germany. They've even made a Billy Boy Cocktail. AND you can even get a free condom in every can. Makes a great gift basket item.
They also sell lighters with Billy Boy doing all kinds of active things like parachuting or dressing up for carnival in his best penis-sized wig. Oh Billy. You're the wackiest anthropomorphic penis ever!
And if you're looking for some "really cool perspectives" try downloading some of the free desktop wallpapers located on the Billy Boy website. This will definitely send the right message to the ladies in the office.
The condoms themselves include fruit flavored, transparent, beaded, or with "special power." This last one kinda scares me. I don't want my boyfriend's prophylactics to have special abilities I'm not aware of.