International Paneling; April 2022
Image by Horster
The View from Berlin; Kiev through the Fog
by Leo Kuelbs
Berlin
In the center of Kiev, there is a small statue near a playground of the hedgehog from “Hedgehog in the Fog,” a much beloved Soviet-era cartoon. It looks like it was carved from an old tree trunk, as it should be, in the middle of the ancient, battered city. In the film, the hedgehog searches through a dense fog, in order to find his friend, a bear, for a tea party/picnic. I don’t think the hedgehog represents Ukraine, but I do think the bear represents Russia, or the “Russian Spirit,” in a very gentle depiction. But there it is, the sweet hedgehog who had searched for his bear buddy. Little did he know, his buddy would be coming not only to find him, but to possibly kill him and take all of his stuff. Ugh! That nasty old bear.
I visited Kiev for a few days in 2018, and what I took away from it, not too long after the Orange Revolution and the Russian incursion into Crimea, was a very real underlying feeling of tension and fear. Not too long after, a Russian dissident was found hanging from tree in a city park. A pretty obvious message for all to see. Outside of a random building, a college dorm, several protestors were shot some years before. The students above looked out their windows and saw the bodies, the blood. Another school day. The historical buildings were ancient, fragile, seemingly ready to fall apart if a strong wind came up, yet proud and gleaming.
Then there were the caves, a religious site, filled with the mummified remains of monks from 800 years ago. Kind of like the catacombs in other cities of Europe, yet this funereal site underground more powerfully resonated with the endless tragedies happening above.
Then there were the caves, at a religious site, filled with the mummified remains of monks from 800 years ago. Kind of like the catacombs in other cities of Europe, yet this underground funereal site more powerfully resonated with the endless tragedies happening above.
I talked to a lot of art people in Kiev. They were pretty burned out. The economy hadn’t come back, and the art scene was completely upside down. The best Ukrainian artists were totally undervalued. The galleries were buying great works back for cheap from collectors in Europe. There were no normal buyers. The rich were REALLY rich and pretty shady. Not totally visible. Not too many other people had the extra money to buy paintings, let alone video art! One of the gallerists I met with mostly sold works on paper.
The biggest art market in Kiev was/is/will be(?) on the street. Artists would come in from all over the country to sell their stuff to the, frankly very well educated, art-loving normal people of the city. Another gallerist I talked to dealt mostly with antiques and old religious paintings of saints. He told me business was terrible but had been okay some time back. He seemed resigned to whatever, not totally unhappy. Wry, resigned. When I asked how he got by, mentally and financially, he told me that once a crisis was close to ending, he would buy a building in the center for really cheap. Maybe, once all the fighting was over, he would have a mini-empire. Conceivably worth millions. A fantastic investment.
And what of the people who were trying to get ahead, buying rental properties which now face the possibility of being blown up by Russian bombs? I think of it, and…
As the Russians began their invasion, some of my family members in the middle of the USA contacted me, worried about Berlin, New York City. It was weird. I told them that I didn’t feel Russia was planning to attack Berlin nor New York. I then realized they were watching cable TV 24/7. Everyone from the right or left finally united because the content on their beloved channels was the same for once. Away from the Midwest, New York is an “other,” like Berlin, like Kiev. I wound up feeling even further away than I normally do from those guys.
In Berlin, there are lots of Ukrainians. Once you meet a few, you will meet a lot more. And now, you can go to the train station and offer a place to stay to a refugee as they get off the trains—if you have any room. People here are really angry at Putin (not the Russians) and very sad about this war, especially coming out of the last round of COVID, and as Spring comes along. Everyone is tired of feeling trapped, depressed. But the inspiration provided by the old ladies, the young ladies, the volunteer citizen soldiers is very powerful. And people of good will are possibly able to make some kind of a positive, world-wide energy circuit which is almost palpable. Kind of amazing.
I know some of you may be saying, “There’s more sides to this story. Look at the USA and all of the adventurism that’s happened throughout its history,” and other things like that. My response to that is: “That stuff all sucked and I pretty much hated it. This isn’t totally about the USA. This is Ukraine. This is Russia. This is oligarchs wanting more money, more power.” By the way, we did have a wanna-be oligarch in office recently, and when you look back at some of that behavior, a lot of things start to make a lot of sense. In any case, I am not for a lot of people getting killed by anybody for, in my opinion, greed.
Lastly, I was in Plovdiv, Bulgaria before the virus, for an art event. I thought I was pretty cool at the café when I told the barista-lady that I was from New York City, part of the art event happening right outside the café’s door. So international! She continued to roll her cigarette, served my coffee and then ignored me. She wasn’t impressed. The takeaway: People had been living in that area for so long, they knew that politicians, outsiders, everything and everybody comes and goes. There’s always a new thing—good, or usually bad. But the people will remain, they will come back, they will survive. I am thinking of that story a lot these days. I am hoping, that we/they/us find our way through this seemingly endless fog.
Shorty of the Month: "He ate me everything," by Kamilia Kard
from Digital Fairy Tales: “Obvious Surprise”
Intro by Leo Kuelbs
Kamilia Kard’s “He ate me everything,” was presented just as the virus lock-down began, as part of Digital Fairy Tales: “Obvious Surprise.” Until now, the video screened only once in Berlin and later, online, as part of the COVID version of LIGHT YEAR. The video and the show, itself, used fairy tales from different countries, including India, Africa and Hungary to consider how femininity has been portrayed, and how contemporary artists might flip the script. The video is based upon the Hungarian tale “Grandpa and Grandma,” by writer Alíz Mosonyi, in which the grandma eventually takes stunning revenge on her piggish hubby. A metaphor for many things, Kard uses digital imagery to activate the text visually and in a new era.
This issue, we are continuing our look at the Digital Fairy series, partly in celebration of the latest installment: “Transformation!” which will be released April 7th, as part of the LIGHT YEAR series. The release takes place in NYC on the Manhattan Bridge, ONLINE, as weell as in Berlin (SCOPE BLN) and Toronto (The Drey). And now, please enjoy this tasty treat!
Image by Juliane Pieper
Here comes Poetry Corner!
by Sanj Nair
Brooklyn
Politesse
I have been as shy as trees, though perhaps not so polite.
What of the crown on my head? Angled thing, really just a ring
of faded peonies. Notice I did not mention roses.
Roses are reserved for others. I share a shyness of crowns
with the canopy of green stretching above me, extended
arms of each solid trunk stopping shy of touching—
a kind of politesse I’m not sure I’ve mastered.
Tell me, do you know the trick of the tree?
Whose limbs do you avoid? To think of illness is to think of dying
to think of dying is to know mortality. It can’t be forgotten or unlearned.
The trees know this. The trees have always known.
3 Questions with…Rachel Rits-Volloch and Constanze Kleiner on their “Points of Resistance” Ongoing Art Series!
Intro by Leo Kuelbs
Berlin based Momentum Worldwide Gallery and art event outfit has been creating meaningful and high quality shows for over a decade. Founder, Rachel Rits-Volloch has collaborated with and presented the works of literally hundreds of collaborators and her reach extends throughout the world. More recently, “Points of Resistance,” a new project co-curated with Constanze Kleiner, has appeared. Starting during the virus time, the series of shows have provided a strong, refreshing, sense of relief and release and represent a constructive reaction to the difficulties of the period we are living in. But, let’s let them tell you about it….
Here are the questions in question….
1. You are collaborating on the “Points of Resistance” series of shows in Berlin. Before we ask about that, can you tell us about your individual histories/backgrounds in the arts and how you met?
2. Now that we know you a little better, please tell us about the initial concept behind the “Points of Resistance” series and how it has since evolved. Also, tell us about the different venues you use and how the venues inform the iterations.
3. What’s next for the series and what are some other shows/events you are looking forward to?
War Might Mean Cyberwar
by Mark Bailey
Minneapolis
Here in Minneapolis, in the wake of George Floyd's murder by police, there was serious civil unrest. Armed robberies became common. There were over a hundred documented arsons, including the burning of a police station by an angry mob. My bank and pharmacy were among the 1,500 businesses wrecked by looters. My grocery store remained open, but positioned concrete barriers in front of its entrance to prevent vehicles from ramming into the building to rob the place.
The whole thing was a disaster, with police treating community members like the enemy and peaceful civil rights demonstrators being used as cover by armed criminal gangs. It was a disaster, but it wasn't war. War is so much worse.
No moral person can understand what war is and still support it. The industries that fuel war are inherently bad. They're bad for the environment. They grossly distort economies. And they're run by the worst people on the planet. The governments now patting themselves on the back for sending arms to Ukraine are shoveling money into the coffers of these war profiteers. That's not actually a win for anyone.
As the conflict progresses, total cyberwar becomes increasingly likely. The world hasn't seen anything like that yet, and many may be taken by surprise if and when this unfolds. Cyber attacks on public infrastructure will be a component of this, but most governments have plans in place to protect infrastructure. Attacks on the machinery of commerce are another story.
All of the big tech companies and financial services providers are likely to be targeted. In practice, for average people, this could mean going days to weeks without email or being able to use a credit card. Favorite websites and apps could become unreliable or disappear altogether.
All of the big tech companies and financial services providers are likely to be targeted. In practice, for average people, this could mean going days to weeks without email or being able to use a credit card. Favorite websites and apps could become unreliable or disappear altogether.
One area that's not likely to be disrupted to this extent is the cryptocurrency economy. Blockchain technology is designed precisely for resilience in the event of something like a nation-state's cyberwar. Its decentralized architecture means that there's no single point of failure in the system. In theory, even if all Bitcoin nodes but one were taken offline, that single node could still process transactions. In practice, if centralized exchanges stop working or if web connectivity goes down, that could make crypto networks virtually unusable for a time.
More than anything, large scale cyberwar would make things weird. Hospitals could break. So could traffic lights or emergency service switchboards. The point-of-sale or inventory systems running stores could go haywire. And beyond keeping some extra cash on hand, there's not much average people can really do about it.
The war in Ukraine seems very Twentieth Century. Putin is certainly a relic of an era that most of the world long ago moved on from. But this Twentieth Century tyrant appears on the verge of unleashing the most sophisticated cyber attack we've ever seen, which is distinctly contemporary. This combination of old thinking and new weapons is as sad as it is frightening.
Image by Thomas D. Rotenberg
A Guide to the Genres of Digital Art!
by Adrian Pocobelli
Berlin
Digital art can be challenging. The variety of work online, and the often complete unfamiliarity with a whole array of new artists, can make it hard to assess the significance, importance and value of a given image. And it’s understandable. Although digital art dates back to the 1950s, it’s still, historically speaking, a relatively new category. So, as a primer for those who haven’t done the deep-dive into digital art collecting yet, I’ve identified and compiled a series of genres to help bring clarity to what can often seem like a confusing and overwhelming — albeit incredibly exciting — ‘new’ medium. These should be thought of as general frameworks rather than rigid defined categories, as many of these genres unavoidably overlap, depending on the artist and the work.
Pixel Art
This is one of the first genres that people often gravitate to when they begin collecting digital art, probably because it’s so accessible and aesthetically pleasing. Done right, pixel art looks very attractive and has a similar universal charm to childhood toys like Lego. If you’ve never collected digital art before, searching for your favourite pixel artists (there are surprisingly few) is an excellent way to find your footing in the digital art space. It can be found in both static and dynamic (animated) variations, and also in figurative and abstract representations (where there is some very interesting experimentation). It’s a retro-based technique that has stood the test of time and will entertain children (think Minecraft), friends and parents.
Glitch
This is another retro-based genre that probides a fairly easy entrance into digital art, as its qualities are easily recognized. Glitch uses technological failure as a source of aesthetic inspiration, and, when done right, it’s quite powerful. One of the most important tools that an artist can harness is the element of controlled randomness, and glitches provide an endless series of variations, whether it’s VHS cassette distortions travelling across a screen, or weird monochromatic colour errors, noisy textures and more. As most viewers are familiar with these visual tropes from real life, it’s a fairly easy framework to group images and videos of a recognizable kind. Again, these can be static or dynamic, and figurative or abstract. From the perspective of content, glitch will often make reference to retro-based imagery such as old cell phones or video games. Many glitchy video game pieces will often employ Nintendo Rom corruptors to achieve their effects, which could be considered a subgenre in itself.
Illustration
This is a genre that one might not intuitively associate with the digital art space (particularly in comparison to pixel art and glitch, which are unavoidably digital), but it’s unquestionably a major category that developed organically in the medium and continues to prove itself. It employs the use of line art, most often using digital tools, which creates a fairly clean look (relative to traditional physical drawing), often without shading, reminiscent of manga comics and Disney cartoons, but sometimes closer to 1960s psychedelic underground comic art, depending on the artist. The content fits a wide spectrum, and can also be found in both static and dynamic variations as well as in both abstract and figurative variations (as one would expect). The figurative work sometimes provides a genuine window into contemporary life that isn’t found anywhere else in any other medium.
This is also what one might consider to be an essential digital art genre, which involves taking already existing images to make new ones. Collage has been around since Cubism, Dada and Surrealism (Max Ernst, in particular), but the genre is supercharged by the internet
Collage
This is also what one might consider to be an essential digital art genre, which involves taking already existing images to make new ones. Collage has been around since Cubism, Dada and Surrealism (Max Ernst, in particular), but the genre is supercharged by the internet, with all the world’s images available at one’s fingertips, making it more than a simple continuation of an existing genre in digital form. Software like Photoshop enable a change in scale, as well, which is another powerful upgrade that makes it an unambiguous addition as a category. Generally it’s static and figurative in nature, but there are no rules.
Digital Painting
One of the most interesting frontiers of digital art is the creation of customized digital brushes. This alone will enable digital art to push the painting tradition forward in ways that were previously impossible and unimaginable. Digital painting can also add elements from other genres, including photography, screenshots and collage, and is only just getting started as a genre. Software also enables the easy tracing of images using layers as well. More than any other genre, it can incorporate elements from other genres, and, in that respect, it may hold the greatest promise of all genres in the future.
Generative Art
One of the oldest genres in digital art is generative art, which uses programming to create often unpredictable results that, in some cases, would never be made by a human. Computer code is an essential aspect of the genre and it harnesses chance and efficiency to create hundreds, or even thousands, of images. PFPs (Profile Picture Projects) can also be placed in this category, as the 10,000-image collections are generated programmatically from a few dozen layers in Photoshop. More than any other genre, it integrates technology into its process.
And now…3 Questions with Brooklyn-based Creative Duo Adam Torkel and Alexis Karl!
Film-makers, musicains, generally nice people and healthy collaborators, Adam Torkel and Alexis Karl first caught our attention with their amazing “Vizadent” movement-based short film, which appeared in the “Spirituality of Movement” show from LIGHT YEAR last summer. They have several projcts already completed and more on the horizon, including a wonderful new video debuting on April 7th, as part of LIGHT YEAR 84: DFT: Transformation! They have won awards, worked with dozens of others, and we are hapy they are appearing here! Thanks, you two! Now, let’s get to it….
The Questions:
1. Can you tell us about your individual backgrounds and how you wound up working together?
2. What do you think of the space between video art and (short) film?
3. What are you working on and what’s coming up that you are excited about? Any shout outs?
The View from New York City
by Leo Kuelbs
Brooklyn
We just returned to a seemingly almost normal NYC. Yet underneath the surface something strange is brewing. Anti-Asian violence is going through the roof, along with other random craziness involving, mostly, mentally ill homeless people, as victim or perpetrators. Pissed-off people are lashing out randomly. The anger is real, visible, sort of understandable, yet the results can be sickening. The subway has become a “think twice,” proposition. And for my friends taking this virus respite as an opportunity to visit the big stinky apple, I advise them to stay alert when in the city, especially using the subway (basically, if you think something/someone is looking a little crazy, just get out of there). Watch your back. Be smart. Enjoy the city and have a great time!
It's not a surprise that we are seeing a massive uptick in mental illness. Even the heartiest of us have felt the claustrophobic effects of being indoors and isolated alone, or with family members. The winter sky sure seemed flat this year. How many of us have had to redefine relationships in this era? Everyone? A friend told me a few days ago in Berlin, that the suicide rate for teens in Germany went up 300% during the virus times. I cannot verify that, and I have asked around--but if it is even half that rate, it is a tragedy, another plague. Yet not a surprise. And we have yet to get statistics from other countries, cities, etc. It’s not going to be pretty.
I oftentimes remember the 1990s, and some of the people I dated in college. Looking back, it’s clear that the abuse rate amongst those gals had to be close to 50%. I always wondered why there was nothing in the popular press about Borderline Personality Disorder. Not only what it is, but what happened to create these issues, but why it happened. I mean, for me, its effects were something I was dealing with/talking about/experiencing regularly. A lot of people were, and we all felt like we were alone on some fucked-up island. The messages for help sent out in empty beer bottles…
Years later, I was reading the New Yorker, and it turns out that researchers were following these happenings and that it was a huge issue, impacting and known to many. Again, I have no stats, but the fact that the info was out there, yet seemingly unavailable (to me, anyway) until 25+ years later, was a very cold and crappy vindication. In real time, it just played out, warts and all, all over all of us who happened to be teens in that first post-divorce era.
So, I guess, what I am saying, is that we are likely not going to get any real info on the psychological impact of the virus for a long time. Yet we will be dealing with it all the while. Groping through the darkness. And who will be gathering and analyzing the data and providing that info, anyway? No one believes anything these days, and “the empirical” seems to be something lost online. Who is running the CDC? Is it a “war” in Ukraine or a “military action?” Is there a difference? Just the stress of trying to decipher what is useful, what is real, what is majority reality, etc. may be enough to push a vulnerable soul over the edge. And, speaking of souls, with the decline of serious, non-self-interested religions, where are people going for fellowship and having those starving souls fed? You tube? Tic-tok? Yikes!
Once again, pretty much the main message of this publication is to encourage everyone to stay strong and stay connected, as best as you can. Sometimes, we all need a (long) breath from friends and family, in order not to burn those now fragile relationships out. Take the breath. Stay kind. Do the “do onto others,” and we can hopefully move forward past these days of hate, division, and disconnection. Appreciate those nice things. For instance, I can see a NYC ferry boat pushing south to drop some Brooklyn-bound commuters off from their jobs in Manhattan. I wish them all a nice, peaceful evening and better days ahead. Sending that message out to all as the sun sets on Manhattan.
Wha…??? 3 Questions with Illustrator Juliane Pieper? Oh my!
Juliane Pieper is one of the key contributors to International Paneling. But that’s not all…! She’s had illustrations in a variety of publicaitons, her images adorn mugs, calendars and more. She has a new Digital Fairy Tales video debuting on April 7th, as part of LIGHT YEAR. And she has a new book out? What? Is that correct? Juliane, can you please tell us just what the heck is going on with you these days?
BTW: We forgot to send Juliane the questions, so she most ably made up her own! Way to go, Frau Pieper!
Sandra Ratkovic’s Photo Diary from Novi Sad, Serbia!
I am very excited to have the opportunity to exhibit my photography project “Merseyside and Brexit” at Šok Zadruga Art Centre in Novi Sad this spring.
Novi Sad in Serbia is one of the three European Capitals of Culture 2022.
Therefore, the city is full of exciting exhibitions and cultural events at the moment.
I visited the World Press Photo exhibition, which is very nicely presented right in the middle of the city centre.
I also really enjoyed visiting Svilara, one of the many cultural stations in Novi Sad. Svilara is the Serbian word for Silkworm. The building used to be one of the biggest silk factories in Serbia (founded in 1770), before it became a cultural centre.
When you are in Novi Sad, you should also plan a trip to the national park Fruška Gora and enjoy the beautiful nature and visit the lovely monasteries.
Novi Sad is also quite close to Belgrade, the capital city, which is always worth a visit.
When I was in Novi Sad this February, the terrible war in Ukraine just started. So seeing the TV tower in Fruška Gora, that was bombed in the course of the 1990s war in Former Yugoslavia, made me shiver and touched me deeply. Just a few days later, the TV tower in Kyiv, Ukraine was bombed and many more. The photo of the bombed TV tower in Fruška Gora was taken with the glance of sadness, seeing that people don't learn from the past and war keeps returning, unfortunately, all over the world.
All images © 2022 Sandra Ratkovic
Last Troll Time of the Season from Disha Lundberg!
Berlin
German Words of the Month!
Schlittenfährt: Sleigh Ride
Pronounced: Shlit-in-fay-art:
In a sentence: Für eine Schlittenfahrt ist es zu spät! Meaning: It is too late for a sleigh ride!
SPECIAL AUSTRIAN WORD!
Käsekrainer: Cheese Sausage
Pronounced: Kaysa-kray-ner
In a sentence: Die Käsekrainer gibt es am besten vom Stand beim Opernhaus. Meaning: The best cheese sausage is from the stand by the Opera House.
Thank you for reading this month’s issue of Internaitonal Paneling!
Our first year is now behind us.
We send our good wishes and support to all of those who are suffering
and there are many.