International Paneling/December 2023
Image by Horster
Are We Over-honoring Jerks?
by Leo Kuelbs
Berlin
We all like rebels, we all like fiery underdogs and we all like those who make their own rules in this world. But what about honoring kind, useful, loving people? Not just when it comes to friends and family, but even things as simple as paying taxes and not being racist. Where did contributing to making people and our situations better go? Does everyone need to be a super-rich jerk these days?
Throughout history there have been many “tricksters” or unusual ones who, in the end, may change things for the better. Or their failure may teach us a lesson. Yet, they also strive to shake up the status quo. More recently, I was watching Bill Murray movies from the 1980s and his doofy, funny, jerk character brought back lots of happy teen age memories. But I also started thinking, “He is actually kind of an asshole. If everyone was behaving the same way, life would suck, and no one would do anything.” But that’s what made it so funny: no one else was like that, so it was harmless good times.
Fast forward 30 years and being different from the rest has exploded on apps all over the internet. But, this new different is sometimes also kind of a prayer to the wealthy status quo. Being perceived as successful, wealthy and a little bit cruel is now a goal. It’s as if association with the trappings of wealth equal wealth. The perception exists online and spreads into the real world where digital reality sometimes manifests, like a socially-active ghost. Anna Delvey comes to mind.
But do most strivers realize what they are actually wishing for? Are they hoping to transform magically into nepo-babies. Wealth without any connection to how it happened or where it came from is better than nothing, for sure, but it equals a thoughtless entitlement. But again, that’s the vibe out there these days.
Maybe it is mostly a white American thing, but this idea of entitlement or/and expectant, deserved reward has seemingly been brewed into a social media landscape which exploits the natural desire to be different and, therefor, better than everyone else. Whether you are an aggrieved victim (aka underappreciated narcissist), an aspiration supporter of the uber-rich, or a hyper-specific gender-free renegade, you might actually just be a digitally-addicted monkey in a larger, barely organized and ongoing experiment of manipulation in digital living.
You know, as long as the roads are cleared, water is flowing and groceries are affordable—then paying taxes is not the end of the world. I mean, paying the tax minimum is a reasonable position. But you gotta pay something. The basic point is that being “normal” is not so bad. You might just become a rebel for having a garden, paying taxes and doing a good job at work. Aspiring to be a digitally successful, lonely (yet with “friends”) weirdo might not be as great as advertised.
I would continue this line and say that kissing up and kicking down, in a social context, is pretty fucking gross.
I would continue this line and say that kissing up and kicking down, in a social context, is pretty fucking gross. And let’s continue on and say that perhaps the fires of hatred, theft and murder are fanned by profiting parties via digital apps. Meanwhile, our newly acquired (thanks evolution) quick finger responses to click bait combines with our ever burgeoning “destiny” to be an important, unique voice in these matters. This combination describes a new front for warfare going forward. Be careful of what you are online. You may just unwittingly become a soldier in a war you did not know you are in.
Epilogue:
From an aging Gen X perspective, this has been an interesting, troubling program to observe. My generation went from phones with curly cords and typewriters to computers talking to phones, then to cell phones, then to smart phones, next to AI and whatever else. So, I qualify and temper my thoughts with that statement. And the digital natives certainly have their own perspectives and abilities to handle the waters they were born into. The overall message here is to try to limit influence via online manipulation. The reality of the internet is that it was born with ulterior motives. As friendly and generous as it seems, it might just be the opposite. It is basically built by people, who, it turns out, are often untrustworthy and overly self-interested. Be careful out there! But have fun. I feel like my dad suddenly…
Video Shorty of the Month: “Ming” by Rani Messias and Anna Leevia
This little gem from 2018 is a Wachowski-like mini-epic. Themes revolving around technology and its relationship to the meta-physical nature of humanity, merge with wonderful production design, soundtrack and performances. Messias and Leevia both come from Brazil. These days, Messias is everywhere, developing new projects and representing indigenous interests, as an interpreter, in matters often related to global warming. Leevia has been a working DJ, based mostly in Spain. Both retain ties to their home-country.
This is really an under-appreciated treat from the Digital Fairy Tales show, Chinese Stories. We invite you not to kick back for a few minutes and enjoy this little treasure.
Image by ANANI
POETRY PLACE
by Sanj Nair
Virginia Beach
Ocean, Nematode, Teeth
So there’s the ocean again. I mean, there’s always her and the wild green and
all that dirt that cradles it all. I tell her when she storms, that hey, I’m the dirt
beneath and around you, so why don’t you just settle on down and there’s always a
response.
I mean always. There’s sand isn’t dirt and sand is what surrounds me and I’m not the
same
as you, I’m water and I’m moving and growing in ways you’re just not. Often, I’m
rendered
speechless. I mean, I did not expect the ocean to speak back at all. And I know,
I mean, I know that I’m just dirt. It’s as if all I am meant to do these days is wash
into the holes and gaps to level the lawn when the water comes raging down.
It’s as if I’m just here to help other things grow. I mean, that’s what dirt does, right?
And I stare hard into the oceans’ million-eyed green, pondering. I tell her:
What do you know about nematodes? Do you know that in just the 6 inch layer of my
epidermis,
over one acre of my torso, the dirt I am houses over 20,000 pounds of living matter?
Does that matter mean anything to you? The ocean has a way of driving me crazy.
All those eyes, all those teeth. And she smirks at me to show just a few,
as if to let me know that she doesn’t even need the victory of a full grin—
that many teeth she has. Sure, sure. Lots of life. But without me, there was never any
to begin with.
There’s no you. I’m seething at this point, seething with life and the mud in my eye,
and all I can say is I am the place you were born and I am the place of rebirth.
Remember:
The rose grows in me from all of the bodies I have consumed. I know how full of thorns
I am.
Image by Tom Rotenberg
Too Small to Crush
by Mark Bailey
Minneapolis
The price of crypto has started edging slowly upward again. This might have something to do with investment giant BlackRock making noises about getting into ethereum. The recent fraud conviction of disgraced crypto exchange operator Sam Bankman-Fried may also have something to do with it, if the market is reading the conviction as a signal that law and order do exist in the sector.
Whatever is happening, the price of bitcoin is beginning to increase after languishing for many months. One year ago, a bitcoin was worth about $17k. As of this writing, a bitcoin is worth about $37k. Without reading too much into the price movement, I feel like it's a sign that people are slowly regaining confidence in crypto.
While prices were low, there were layoffs across the industry. One company I've worked with laid off 80 percent of its workforce. Many of the big NFT sales during this time produced significantly lower revenue than expected. Even so, competent developers remained in high demand throughout the downturn. And the artists behind NFTs continued to push the boundaries of art regardless of market trends.
In my opinion, overzealous regulators were largely responsible for the downturn. The Securities and Exchange Commission went after many legitimate businesses for frivolous reasons.
In my opinion, overzealous regulators were largely responsible for the downturn. The Securities and Exchange Commission went after many legitimate businesses for frivolous reasons. For years, Bittrex was my primary exchange, and they were forced out of the US as a result of SEC overreach. The criminal prosecution of Bankman-Fried for fraud was exceptional in that is seemed warranted. The vast majority of US regulator actions in the sector haven't been so reasonable.
It's possible that the US government has simply run out of legit crypto businesses to harass and extort money from. It will take time for new companies to grow large enough for the government to threaten. As long as these new companies remain too small to crush, the market could enjoy some measure of stability. But once they get bigger, there might be another round of terrible regulator actions to look forward to.
Importantly, I'm not a finance professional and nothing I say should be construed as advice. I do have some bitcoin, as well as some EOS and Hive, but don't consider myself an investor. Right now, I'm not buying or selling. Instead, I'm holding and using my tokens to interact with decentralized apps.
The proliferation of these apps despite low token prices suggests that the sector has sufficient momentum at this point to weather even serious storms. I'm most excited about censorship-proof and ad free apps like 3speak and PeakD. Crypto is an essential part of the decentralized internet of the future. That will remain the case no matter where the price of bitcoin goes.
Image by Christopher Winter
What makes Bavarian Folklore so Attractive for Foreigners?
by Dirk Lehr
Berlin
If you are a German traveling abroad and start talking to others, it is only a matter of time before the word “Oktoberfest” is mentioned. In the eyes of other countries, the Munich Folk Festival is part of Germany's national identity. In 2023, the Oktoberfest recorded 7.2 million visitors – a new record. People travel from all over the world to eat beer, pretzels and grilled chicken and dress up in Lederhosen and Dirndl. Many celebrities from show business also like to come to Munich. Yesterday a rock star in leather, today already in Bavarian folklore. Even Paris Hilton and Kim Kardashian, who otherwise sit in every front row at Fashion Weeks in New York, Milan and Paris, parade around the Oktoberfest in a Dirndl. What makes Bavarian folklore so attractive for foreigners?
French fashion designer Jean Paul Gaultier recently revealed in an interview in the Berliner Zeitung that his famous collection, which includes the funnel bra worn by Madonna on her „Blond Ambition“ tour, was inspired by Bavarian costumes. About the suspenders of Lederhosen, for example, or about the loden and its colors; many shades of green, red and ivory. The British painter Christopher Winter inflated standard postcards from Berchtesgadener Land into oversized paintings. This series of postcards was worthy of a solo exhibition at the Wilhelm-Hack-Museum and gave it the title “Bavarian Heaven”. The series was completely sold out. A first answer to why this Bavarian folklore, which is quite derided here in Germany, is so attractive can be found in the exhibition title „Home”, an exhibition in the forum in the Dominican monastery in Frankfurt, where postcard pictures by Christopher Winter were also shown.
In a globally networked world, home has become a romantic construct, a fantasy that seems to have retained its truthfulness in the Bavarian way of life.
In a globally networked world, home has become a romantic construct, a fantasy that seems to have retained its truthfulness in the Bavarian way of life. When origins have otherwise become fluid, anchor points in life plans seem to be dissolving more and more and the term home has to be redefined for many - not in Bavaria. Bavarian architectural style, breweries and traditional costumes represent the good old days, continuity, romance and, above all, kitsch. Kitsch is the cherry on the top of romantic fantasies. Snow-covered mountain peaks stand for innocence, breweries for sociable togetherness and children drinking beer not for broken families, but for regional customs. Children dressed like adults attract criticism elsewhere, but not in Bavaria. There they are simply the next generation that keeps the tradition going. In Bavaria, children are even used to advertise beer and nobody cares as long as they wear Lederhosen and the right headgear. Bavaria is the prototype of kitsch and serves as a projection surface for romantic fantasies. A world in which roles are clearly assigned and there is no maybe. Boys wear pants, girls wear skirts. What would be judged sexist elsewhere is the most normal thing in the world in Bavaria: a woman's relationship status is documented by the position of the bow on the apron of her Dirndl - single, married or widowed. And the crazy thing is, that every feminist, no matter how big, plays this game.
It is obviously the desire for an ideal world that makes Bavarian folklore so attractive; it serves a need for home, tradition and idyll. The rawer and faster the world becomes, the greater the need for it seems to be. The symbols of the Bavarian way of life apparently speak a universal language that attracts half the world from Asia to America. It's like a global brand that has managed to convey an attitude to life that triggers people's innermost desires. Like a sunset, the bearskin in front of a fireplace, the happy family or the thought of growing old together. But in the end it remains one thing: dream, illusion and fallacy.
Reflections in Chelsea gallery district.
New York is a Small Village
Images and text by Balazs Kulcsar
Brussels
It would probably be better to write about Rodez, a small roundabout in middle-France, where my photographer friend lives, or, I don't know, Metz, Stockholm or Vienna. New York is kitsch. We all know it: MoMA, Guggenheim, Chelsea, Brooklyn, Ps1, Icp. The High Line, David Zwirner, Gagosian, Pace, Hauser & Wirth, the bookshop where Patti Smith worked. Times Square, for me even B & H photo mega plaza (big format cameras, Phase1, Hasselblads, ah!) or 40th Street at Time Square (where I asked my girlfriend whether she wants to be Mrs Kulcsár - in the last moment in 31 Dec 2006, 23:59:59. Magic). New York is the center of universe..but wait! All of my moneybags buddies actually go to Dubai! Some have even bought flats there. And look at the Chinese Megatowns (and don't mention Evergrande scandal). Soon even Namibia will have bigger skyscrapers, haven't you heard the news that world population migrates into the Megatowns? We learned the story: industrialization in agriculture means no more work - and again don't mention that in the robot/AI age soon everyone will lose their job..
So, what is finally New York? Well, for an artist it could be the Port Authority bus terminal, where he/she arrives from 50 miles away from where he lives...But if you have good legs, you can spend the longest days/weeks/years discovering art galleries all day long, and you will never arrive at an end. And be honest with yourself, one visit just is not enough. I have been visiting the city that never sleeps for 10 years, almost every year, and I'm still very far from understanding the scene. I have some buddies, some serious artists, the list of dreamers is endless. A good example is a photographer friend from Eastern-Europe, who found the local art pool too small, and had a dream to live in the USA. Which, of course, is a nightmare administratively speaking—still no green card after 10 years, still living in a 15 m2 in Brooklyn, far from everything, in a cheap room. This is the big American dream? Live alone without the chance to have family, have money or any status? For a lot of people, the answer is “yes,” because she can access the local scene, can participate in the openings, workshops, have friends or at least contacts. And nobody watching her while is she crying alone in a 4th floor room.
New York is still a big dream, or bubble, you pick. There are thousands of so-called middle-class artists coming from a 'nice' background, and they know how to use the endless resources of the city to have fun. If you want to jump in their life, first you have to get in contact with one of the “members.” A workshop is an ideal place for that. In ICP (International Center of Photography), for example. You have to be open-minded, cool, easy and relaxed. Never mind that as an artist, you have to be concentrated, self-critical, and need to work alone in your studio. That is an outdated approach, nobody does that anymore! A typical artist is now a marketing guru spending his days in places where he can get new contacts and show that he is super-relaxed and confident. In these places, you can easily share high fives with artist like Phillip Toledano; and later in the day, in a cigarette break, he can invite you to a small party at his flat.
The only thing you have to ask yourself is about the timing. Around 19-20 it's still working time. So when you arrive to Philip's flat, be prepared to make your elevator pitch. Remember everyone in the room can speak fluently 1-2-3-5-20 minutes about what he's doing. Most probably you will join into a conversation a group, and that's when luck kicks in. You can join a group of dreamers, junkies, or valuable people. In each case, most probably after an hour of discussion, someone will propose to go to another party, just 10 streets away.
Later in the night you will recognize that you are in an unknown place, with unknown people, but you still can chat and listen to others. A perfect situation to get rumors about rich artists and strange curators…
Aniko Erdosi, gallery director.
You can stay and join another group, but most probably you will go. Someone will tell you who you are visiting, but that's doesn't mean that you will be introduced to the owner. Instead, you will just circulate in the crowd’s edges. If you are lucky enough, you will meet a friend, but most probably you need 2-3 years of party time training for that, so just enjoy the situation and make as many handshakes you can. Later in the night you will recognize that you are in an unknown place, with unknown people, but you still can chat and listen to others. A perfect situation to get rumors about rich artists and strange curators…
When you do this activity for several weeks, you might have the same impression that Antoine Waterkeyn explains to me the next day. In big places like New York, you don't have the possibility to work because you spend all your time as your own agent, and God bless you when you finish your daily three Insta, Twitt-X, Tiktok posts. To step back a little, I decided to meet with Anikó Erdősi, gallery director in Marc Straus gallery. She explained another level when she mentioned that a typical New Yorkian believes that only the big apple exists. Plus they hardly ever go for holidays because than they feel that they better not be out of the circle. That means that you can make your life-changing exhibition in Paris or Berlin, but if it's not in Artforum, nobody will know it. In this meaning, New York is a small village which circulates alone in the big universe, and somehow everyone wants to be part of that.
Saul Robbins in his home in New York with
his books. Its harder every year to find place for a new bookshelf.
Maybe better find something real--north to Central Park. Uptown, I met Saul Robbins, photographer and teacher in ICP. He immediately asked if I could repair washing machines. I sadly started my day by disappointing someone. Saul went on to explains that someone from Europe could hardly understand that level of self-confidence and marketing needed to survive in NYC. But NYC-based curators also like the depth of European artists. The only problem is you need to be there to get recognized, because no one will recognize you in Marly-Le-Roi or in Luxembourg. Needless to say, there are way more artists than exhibiting possibilities, so Saul's advice is to not blame yourself when you don't have great results
To think about the advice, I walked to 26 West 57th Street, where Christopher Howard joked with the Jean Freeman Gallery. He put advertisements into art magazines about a gallery which does not exist. To an address which also does not exist. In West 57th Street, you have 24 and 28, and while I'm laughing out loud, I imagine myself, just like in the Nick Hornby novel 'Juliet, naked,' explaining to my friends that I only came to New York to visit this non-existing place. New York, the city with endless possibilities...
Let’s Check Out “3 Questions with Kit Schulte!”
Kit’s 3Qs interview originally appeared in International Paneling in 2021. There are lots of new events and further explorations between cooking and cfreativity that have happened since then. Check out the interview, then scroll down for a link to her home page!
Image by orster
Winter Holiday Thoughts and Wishes
by Wolf Vest
Brooklyn
From what I am seeing online these days, it seems that everyone needs to have a voice, a position and someone or something to push against. It’s as if one is largely defined via opposition. Suddenly everyone is a victim searching for justice. It’s like everyone is in their very own TAKEN movie.
One wonders why this is happening? I mean, religion has petered out for the vast middle crowd. I miss a little bit of that (thanks, Catholic Church, and extremism of all stripes), but is it not true that the greater tenants of all religions are acceptance, loving and forgiveness? I mean, isn’t that how you recruit new believers?
I have talked to scores of people, in the USA and Europe, and, unless everyone is lying, I have gathered that what the majority of them wants is peace and an ability to make money and have a family. The endless ability of all governments and religious to teach us to fight is really getting old. Another war? Huge inflation? And the far right/left grows with every new frustration and tragedy. Are any of us getting anything out of this endless cycle?
People are obviously the same the world over. Us normal people want jobs, a solid system, and love.
You know, what us international people can do is try to teach our (at home) family and friends is acceptance, tolerance, and care. If you only deal with the news from your favorite, button-pushing, confirmation biased upporting channel, you might be missing out on a great and large world of commonalities that cover food, care and everything else. Do not jump into hating what you do not know. People are obviously the same the world over. Us normal people want jobs, a solid system, and love.
My holiday wish is to stop the killing, start compromising and accept that everyone wants the same old stuff—a life, a place to live. Killing each other is just feeding some old grudge that does not have to matter anymore. Transcend. I suggest we all value the good parts of our various religions and reject the shitty stuff instead of having it used as fuel for further fighting.
War and violence against each other are the tools of the brutally empowered who maybe prefer some old rules taught to us by ancient alien overlords. Or whomever else. You pick. Divide and conquer has been the rule. And I can tell you the one thing that the some are afraid of is unity amongst “the masses.” Us. The customers. If we woke up, there could be something decent out there. In the meantime, do the best you can. Vote! Don’t give up on love and treating your neighbor as you would like to be treated. I am not suggesting Communism, or anything Ike that. Different countries can do their own thing. But it doesn’t have to devolve into killing. We all know it.
So, here’s to you—the responsible ones--spreading good vibes and not fanning the flames of racism or anything like that. From all sectors and spectrums! Do not forget John and Yoko, or whomever else preached love and acceptance. We here at International Paneling wish you all safety and peace. Happy Winter holidays to everyone.