July 4, 2014 - Catching up

Last post was about two weeks ago, so I guess there is a lot to catch up on. Now is a good time, because the opening for the show was last night. We'll get to that later.

The area around Gräfelfing is quite nice and easily accessible. I visited the Starnberger See a while back during a short holiday. There were many people enjoying a day off, so it was a bit crowded with families and an open-air bazaar. It's nice to have the time to go out alone and blend in with the publc. Since being here, language has not seemed like so much of a barrier as it is an identifier. When around the public I might pick up words and subjects here and there, but the speed and layers of conversations turn it into something like white noise, just pushing me further into my own head as I try to sort/tune it out. When I hear someone speaking English with a clear non-German accent I become immediately aware of how easily identified I am as a foreigner. It doesn't bother me so much, but I now know that casual conversation does not interest me as much as getting to know someone and having meaningful discussion. Incidentally, being a foreigner is equally conducive and hindering to this depending on who I am speaking with.

With the intent to discuss this further, I joined a group on Meetup.com for expatriates living in Munich. We met at a bar and I had a great time meeting with a small group of fellow non-Germans; Fabio from Italy, Bee from Croatia, Jose from Spain, Dionne from Hong Kong, and Samo from ???. Most of our discussions had to do with the differences we saw between countries and cultures. I really enjoy these conversations because of the range of perspectives I get to hear and then assimilate into my own. The variety of opinions are always so intriguing to me. The question I most frequently hear is "what is the biggest difference between America and Germany?" It's hard to know how to respond to that question. I think some people assume to get an answer like language or the metric system - a quick and easily identified difference that doesn't require explanation - but to me it is much more complicated than that. Sitting in the bar surrounded by others who are experiencing culture outside of their own, I entered into deep conversation about the world, Europe vs. America, first vs. third world, military interventionism, etc... It was a great time and I wish I could've stayed out longer. Another night perhaps.

I've still been heading into Munich regularly, getting pretty used to the public transportation here. I made the requisite trip to the Altes Pinakothek. There's only so much of classical paintings that I can take; I feel like I could jog through the entire museum and feel like I got everything I wanted out of it. Although there aren't specific works that grab me and make me interested enough to look at for more than a couple minutes, I feel it is important to still view the collection of works in person in order to see the breadth of subject matter (or lack thereof) and put the period in perspective to the trajectory that art has taken over the course of history. However, there's only so much I can take of figurative paintings of wealthy ladies, wealthy lady with child, crucified jesus, baby jesus, baby jesus, pietà, pietà, pietà... It gets old after only a few rooms. My relief was found mostly in the scattered works by Bosch and Dürer.

I left after a couple hours and met up with Philipp and Marcus to play some hacky sack. After a short while we were joined by a guy from Canada, Adrian. My experience is that something about the nature of the game brings people together. There is no competition in the sport, only encouragement. For the same reason I asked to play with them a few weeks ago, Adrian came up and joined our circle. The bigger the group gets, the more exciting it becomes. Passing gets easier but the hacks more challenging. It's just plain fun, and a good workout too. Philipp presented me with a gift as well, a hacky sack he made in the German colors. I'm honored, because now it's an even better souvenir than I could've hoped.

The world cup has been in full swing and I've enjoyed watching as many games as I can. Philipp invited me to his apartment to watch the Germany vs. USA game which was quite nice, and since Germany won I didn't have to worry about getting locked in and jumped. But for the most part, the convenience of having a TV in my room where I can sit with a beer and work on some drawings has been ideal. Going out is expensive, but I hope to do it for a game at least one more time. Because I've been feeling the impending pressure of my last year of school, my drawings (the only work I can do while here) have been on my mind a lot. Watching the world cup is my time to sit still, relax, and work out my ideas on paper. Something tells me that soccer is somehow affecting this inspiration.

I've had the chance for a few days to assist with the Schule der Phantasie, an after-school art program in Gräfelfing. Taking part in the H2Oh! exhibition, they were making work to be shown in their school and alongside the other artists. My first day we went with the younger children to the Würmtal where they worked and played in the water while we took photos that would be displayed. The following day I spent with the older group working on paintings, photos, and stories. They decided to use one of my photos for their advertising card, which I got a lot of compliments on. It was a lot of fun and I am very happy to assist with so many aspects of this show, and working with kids is always fulfilling for me.

The last week has been pretty much consumed by the installation of the show. I assisted installing at least half of the work, and did pretty much all of the heavy lifting that was needed. It feels good to be active and working with deadlines again, the slowness of the previous month was making me a little antsy. I've learned that I just plain love hard work, and that the lack of it can be frustrating for me. I don't mind long hours as long as I'm accomplishing something and remember to eat and drink water every once in a while. A journalist had come to document and write an article that would be featured in the Süddeutsche Zeitung, a newspaper for southern Germany that includes circulation throughout Europe and even New York, and added a picture of me. She later wrote to Bettina, my host and director of Kunstkreis Gräfelfing, asking if she might write a small piece about myself. I'm giving a short presentation of my work to KKG soon which she will attend, so I'd better brush up and put together something good.

 

The show looks fantastic and the work is quite impressive. We had a great turnout for the opening, about 325 people over the course of 3 hours. It went very quickly, spread between two locations, but I had a chance to visit with many people and always had a glass of wine in hand - a critical combination for any successful gallery opening. The next few weeks are going to be filled with gallery sitting, talking with visitors about the work and hopefully selling it off the walls. I'll continue drawing as much as possible, trying to meet my own production goals before I return to Minneapolis on the 22nd. :)