International Paneling/May 2022
Image by Horster
What the World Needs Now: Normal Porn?
by Link Lambskin
NYC
As if the ever-increasing intrusion of the Digital Age wasn’t enough to make life weird and worse/better, we have also had to continually deal with further polarization of wealth, global warming, more wars and human suffering, refugee issues, and the corona virus, etc. etc. This has been happening in pieces and all together now for several years. Faith in religion has broken down, faith in governments has collapsed and being an outright asshole has become totally acceptable, even commendable, by some screwy standards. And just when we thought Spring might come and brighten our mood, it slips away too as another blizzard hits or the gray winter sky returns to crush the flickering embers of hope we so desperately need to warm up our souls which have been frozen for some time now.
My idea? We need a new kind of guilty pleasure. How about “Normal Porn?” What is “Normal Porn,” you ask? Well, it’s images and experience that soothe the soul and renew the spirit. Instead of steamy and skanky sex scenes, maybe it’s one of those real-life Norwegian train movies. Nine or ten hours of the view from a comfy seat on an old timey train traveling through a fjord-filled landscape. Delightful! Or fishing videos? I mean, really anything that isn’t traumatic and violent. The world has moved so far from what “normal” used to be, that some of that formally kind of dull normal would now be totally thrilling! In a deep and dull way.
Maybe it’s a good time to go to “Literary Rehab,” where we are slowly talked into and through reading a book! “Baseball Game on the Radio” therapy might be coming soon, as well.
Is it not possible that our pleasure receptors have been totally fried by the ease at which we can access them by simply and constantly receiving messages (DING!) or visiting sleazy websites? Pleasure, feeling connected via disconnection is now easily had. So much so that pleasure sort of sucks now. Maybe it’s a good time to go to “Literary Rehab,” where we are slowly talked into and through reading a book! “Baseball Game on the Radio” therapy might be coming soon, as well. Instead of “The Fast and The Furious,” perhaps “The Slow and The Sleepy?” Cooking dinner, eating outside, talking to people you disagree with about stuff you don’t disagree on—these sound like some of my new favorite things. How about not peeing in a bottle while at your Uber or delivery job? Wow, you can see that the delights of Normal Porn can be found almost everywhere.
Don’t get me wrong, I am not advocating for backwards looking, “Make _______ Great Again!” kind of thinking. Nope. Instead, I suggest a blend of the best of new and old. Maybe we are finally ready for VR. Virtual Reality gatherings with family avatars or simply sitting in a quiet meadow with the birds chirping and butterflies fluttering could be coming your way this holiday season. Though I am not sure watching you sitting on a couch quietly with a VR headset on is something your roommates of partner would approve of.
The problem is that we are addicted now to the “pleasures” our digital devices provide. I would go so far as to say we have become dependent on the digital devices for most of the dopamine determined stimulations that used to make life occasionally special.
I am not certain how to best counter this strange situation that surely has entered into the evolutionary equation. Where will that bring us? The kids don’t seem to be too happy about everything they now have to deal with. The digital world has either taken hold or is totally about to. “Normal Porn,” where are you? We need you! We beseech you to be invented, implemented and help us to pause this wild evolutionary slide. Give us a chance to consider how we want to proceed and what digital dosage each of us really needs. Oh, “Normal Porn,” where art thou?
CELEBRATING ONE YEAR of PUBLICATION!
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CELEBRATING ONE YEAR of PUBLICATION! 〰️
Image by Juliane Pieper
Poetry Corner is Now “Poetry Place!”
by Nicole Callihan
Brooklyn
Someday I’ll love Nicole Callihan
After O’hara/ Reeves/ Radar/ Vuong
And it might as well be today, as I admire
how she got up a little before dawn to read,
and she drank her coffee black and gave blood
from each of her calves to feed a mosquito
or two, then walked along Warren Street
with three friends and looked into the Hudson
and had no desire to throw herself in,
and didn’t throw herself in, didn’t even joke
about throwing herself in, was relieved to find
it’s been years since she’d even consider
throwing herself in, and also, there was a tree,
a weeping willow, and a story of a woman
who’d planted one so near her house
that it might never grow, but that it grew,
if not much, some, and some sometimes
is enough, and then, with her friends,
she ate egg and ham and cheese on bread
while the rain started falling, and the friends
and her, they hurried back to the house
where the rain fell even more, and under
the covered area, she sat with a Pilsner
and wondered when she might love herself,
and decided that this seemed a very good day,
what with the birds and the stained glass
and the bubbles of beer on her tongue
and down her throat. It is something
to be alive. It is something to be alive
and get up a little before dawn to read
and have black coffee and not mind
that the bugs are biting and pay no heed
to the way the river calls or that the rain
may at any minute start to fall. It is something,
so very something, to hear this particular bird
chirping, to say to a friend, what kind of bird
do you think that is, and for neither of you to know,
but to sit together and let its song inside you,
while more distantly, a car’s tires travel
along a wet road, taking its occupants elsewhere.
I’ll eat a peach from the paper bag and let myself
fall a little deeper in love with everything I desire,
which is this. This moment. This this-ness.
Shorty of the Month! “Reset," by Vadim Schäffler, Sound by Pablo Paolo Kilian
Vadim Schäffler’s “Reset” video debuted as part of a show titled “Identity 0.0,” which appeared in 2017, in NYC as part of the LIGHT YEAR projection event series on the Manhattan Bridge. Vadim’s award-winning work has appeared all over Europe and several times in the USA. “Reset” uses images from many various commercial projects and connects them via custom animations that tell a consistent story through multiple “realities.” Please enjoy a short “reset…”
NFTs in real life (IRL) are surprisingly powerful: NFT Art Berlin at Kraftwerk Space
Image and Text by Adrian Pocobelli
Berlin
As one of those self-proclaimed degenerates who are obsessed with NFTs, it was an interesting experience to visit a real-life NFT show put on by NFT Art Berlin at Kraftwerk, the old power plant near the Tresor techno club in Germany’s capital. Admittedly, I had very low expectations, imagining that this was some kind of cash-grab taking advantage of the super hot digital art-NFT trend that had taken the world by storm in the last two years, but as someone that spends much of his time in that world, I had to see what was happening with my own eyes. Much to my surprise, though, I found what seemed like an authentic counterculture scene that was built on the foundation of a new visual culture. Did I love every work that was shown? No. But was I impressed? Absolutely.
Works from SuperRare were intermixed with PFPs of Cryptopunks, Mutant Bored Apes and other well known projects in the NFT space (Squiggles, etc.). All of this was enhanced by the presence of a live DJ that emphasized the feeling that this was a new kind of club experience, a weird, but effortless amalgamation of the techno and NFT scene.
One of the biggest things I noticed almost immediately upon entering was the electric energy in the air. This was an exciting place. (Although, to be fair, the very first thing I noticed was how unusually nice the ticket guys were—I felt welcome and at home immediately—fun, helpful and happy.) For those that haven’t been, Krafterk Berlin is a classic industrial setting, so it’s always an enjoyable and atmospheric place to see an art show. On the first floor, there were a few dozen very large TV screens, mostly vertically positioned, that showed rotating artworks from what looked like the Ethereum blockchain. Works from SuperRare were intermixed with PFPs of Cryptopunks, Mutant Bored Apes and other well known projects in the NFT space (Squiggles, etc.). All of this was enhanced by the presence of a live DJ that emphasized the feeling that this was a new kind of club experience, a weird, but effortless amalgamation of the techno and NFT scene.
The works worked surprisingly well on the huge TVs, although horizontal works didn’t fare as well. There were a few horizontal TVs, but despite the excellent job they had done, you could still feel the tension of working with 16:9 dimensions. It reminded me of my sense that projectors remain the best presentation device for digital art. In their defense, this would have been very difficult with Kraftwerk Berlin’s layout, so compromises were likely required. And overall, the impact was actually quite impressive, so they did a very good job to create an almost sc-fi, futuristic art experience that felt distinctively new. Compared to traditional gallery visits, this was full of energy, youth and life. It made me quite proud, frankly, to be an artist, collector, and just overall participant in this scene. Something special was happening there.
We wandered around the first floor kind of randomly and grabbed a weinschorle (white wine with mineral water) at the inside bar (also a nice touch). After taking in many of the artworks, we cam across an area where you could buy NFTs of CryptoBerliners (still unrevealed) using QR codes for 0.9 eth (US$2700). It seemed a little outlandish for a Friday night budget, but I thought to myself, “That’s the crypto scene for you—people have no idea how much money these people have.” We climbed the stairs to the second floor, where there was a pretty impressive setup. Observers like ourselves were kept on the sides where we could be spectators of individuals who were being chaperoned, one at a time, to a very intense spotlight about half a metre by half a metre in the middle of the central area. The person would be led right up to the spotlight area by two people in sci-fi-anime-cosplay costumes and be asked to walk into the square. When they did, a massive avatar would appear on a huge screen that was being projected on the wall.
And that’s when it clicked for me. These were the people that were buying the CryptoBerliners NFTs, and they were going upstairs to reveal which one they had received. We watched three people in a row walk up and reveal which avatar they had received. When I clued in to what was going on and told my girlfriend, she said, seeing the third person, “Does that girl really have $3000 to spend?” I said, “This is crypto. A lot of these kids are probably richer than you and me combined.”
After that, we went ot the chill area on the side where there was a Ledger booth that sold physical cold storage wallets for storing your crypto safely and securely. Again, I found the guys working there to be super friendly and helpful, as we effortlessly talked crypto and NFTs for 15 minutes. (I already had a Ledger.) Humorously, I asked them if they had bought one of the CryptoBerliners NFTs for nearly an eth. Surprisingly, one guy said, “Yeah, I talked to the team. I like the project, so I picked one up. It feels like a good investment.” He may be right, but it just goes to show that crypto money isn’t really treated the same way as real money, even though it is, in fact, convertible. If he had 27 one-hundred U.S. dollar bills, would he (and the three others that we happened to see) pay that much for a JPG. Perhaps, but I actually kind of doubt it. But don’t get me wrong, I’m a huge NFT collector, so I’m as guilty as anyone (if not the worst offender of the group). One of the main reasons people feel comfortable spending these kinds of sums is that they think they might 10x or more on their investment, and it happens surprisingly often in the space, so it’s not crazy.
We went back downstairs and had some delicious smoked pork sandwiches and watched the dj as the place began to fill up. Over the next hour or two I found myself in the most crowded club situation I had been in since before the corona pandemic. I was maskless, as was 98% of everyone else (and it felt great).
3 Questions with Upstate-based Artist, Filmmaker, Jonathan Phelps!
intro by Leo Kuelbs
NYC
Jonathan Phelps has been a force in collaborative art/film making for many years now! I originally encountered Jonathan in NYC when he worked with Shir Lieberman and Alon Cohen on an amazing video for the show “Submerged!” That work went on to be screened several more times at sites in Europe and around the USA. I have seen some of his earlier and later works and they are also pretty wonderful. Working with the Muckraker team, he also created “The Pond Aquarius,” for Digital Fairy Tales: Water Stories, which appeared in 2021. That video is getting a special release and Jonathan is here to tell us about it!
Here are the questions:
1. Hello Jonathan! Can you tell us about yourself and your crew? How you met? Some of the projects you have presented together?
2. You have done a lot of collaboration. What do you think makes a successful collaboration? What are some pitfalls?
3. Your video for Digital Fairy Tales, “The Pond Aquarius,” was a very special piece. Can you tell us about that and what you are looking forward to in the months ahead?
BUT HOW CAN I BE SURE? A Texas Tale
Image and Text by Stu Spence
Sydney
“Maybe you should think about haulin’ ass outta there,” Tippy said pouring the fourth spoonful of sugar into his coffee.
“Or maybe you should shut the hell up...like we agreed.” Crick rose sharply to his feet, sending the chair flying backwards, and stomped off across to the restrooms.
Mac raised his head from his comic behind the counter, his white paper chef hat slipping a little across his bald dome. “Cindy?”
“Yup.” Tippy sighed.
“How long’s it been, now?”
“Long enough to get on that liquid diet he’s on.”
“Six months?”
“I guess....a summer anyways.”
“First six are the hardest.” Mac said, sliding the hat back a little for balance as he lowered his gaze back down to the comic.
Tippy glanced out through the diner window whilst he stirred the sugar in. Fine snow was blowing sideways down 2nd, now. He watched old Cloris Farrety furrow her way along, a riot of purses, tote bags and raincoats. She looked like she was about to be blown backwards, clean off the planet.
A door slammed and Crick came rumbling back across the linoleum floor, sending the white ball flying down the pool table as he passed, like he was trying to knock someone’s head off.
“Anyways, it’s my home, ya dumb...” he paused as he righted the fallen chair, “...just ‘coz she ain’t there don’t mean I have to desert the goddam place. I would not give her the satisfaction. We’ve talked about this, man.” He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled a small bottle of sherry.
“What the hell is that?” Tippy was getting used to Crick’s drinking nowadays, but his choice of alcohol could still surprise him.
“This here’s a bottle o’ mind yer own friggin’ business,” he said as he swigged, turning to old Mac as he did. “Somethin’ you wanna say?”
Mac had long since given up trying to enforce his laws on these boys, but it still guiled him. He didn’t have a liquor licence and Crick knew it, not that the police would do anything. The police were, essentially, his brother Donny. He shook his head anyway, almost imperceptibly, and went back to reading, or at least pretending to.
A gust of wind shook the front of the diner, knocking an old Christmas bauble from its nail up high on a sill. A blast of fine snow shot in under the front door. Tippy pulled the zip up on his lumber jacket a little higher and stretched his mind for a change of topic.
“Moulie got that 354 he’s bin’ gummin’ on about for...”
“You think I’m lonely or somethin’, doncha?” Crick said smirking and leaning his chair far back, slamming his boots down on the table, almost under his friend’s chin. He made ‘lonely’ sound like it meant weak or pathetic. “You think old Crick can’t do without his ‘l’il darling’, that he’s out there in that big old ranch house, lost and crazy, like a stray dog with friggin’ rabies, doncha!?”
“I don’t give a hoot in hell what you do out there, son.”
“Yes, you do, you liar. You’re a terrible liar, Tippy, always have been. Always.” He took another swig and gargled it, before swallowing. Mac reached over and turned up George Jones on his tiny radio.
“She wants the city, boy, she can have it. She wants the smog, and them stupid dip shits in their stupid dip shit suits and combed hair and city cowboy boots...,”he was shouting at the ceiling, now, like his ex-girlfriend was up there in the room just above them. Then he stopped and frowned. “Why do they wear cowboy boots in the city?”
“Yer right, we have talked about this.” Tippy stood, pulled his hat on tight and turned his collar up. All he could think about was getting away from this crumbling, angry man.
“She never been to the city...you know that, smart man? Never. Only one she been to is Caney City and that’s got 227 people. 227! Ha! She’s a hick, born and bred. Ain’t gonna last...” He suddenly drew his feet back to the floor, like a message had just been beamed in, grabbed his oil spattered coat and headed for the door in a teetering way, and flung it wide. The fine snowflakes swirled into the diner in a wild spin, and Crick was engulfed within seconds. He sucked in the air like it was a beautiful spring day, and then disappeared into the grey white.
“Yup. Cindy’s a kid, and he’s right, she is a hick.”
“Nuthin’ wrong with growin’ up country,” said Mac, indignantly, now removing the cut pies from the scratched perspex case on the counter.
Tippy didn’t even consider going after him.
“How old was that girl, anyways?” Mac said, looking out to where Crick might have been.
“19 or thereabouts.”
“Jesus.”
“Yup. Cindy’s a kid, and he’s right, she is a hick.”
“Nuthin’ wrong with growin’ up country,” said Mac, indignantly, now removing the cut pies from the scratched perspex case on the counter.
“That’s true, but Cindy was....is...,” Tippy tried to find the word, one that was fair, “...she’s...gullible.”
He thought of the day Crick nabbed Cindy, and how easily she left the party with him. Taking candy from a baby. He remembered her face turn to him from the muddy passenger window as they burned out of the ranch in that grey sundown, beautiful and confused. He thought about her in Austen or Dallas, or wherever, looking for the way out of the old life, and being lost, so lost, in those terrible, alien streets.
“Gullible?”
“Yup.”
Along the Hudson River at Sunset; April 2022
Berlin/Frankfurt/NYC/Dallas/Baden Baden and Back: Thoughts from a Short Tour
Image and text by Leo Kuelbs
Berlin
It was absolutely essential to get out of Berlin as soon as possible. Through this past winter, if you left Germany, you needed to do a minimum of about 8 days in quarantine upon your return. This was an impossible idea since finally, at least, the gyms were open. Having the ability to at least get out of the house and seriously exercise was too much to give up. Especially if you had to stay at home—the same home which we have stayed in A LOT for two years. Not happening. Plus, the gray clouds hung super low in the Berlin sky for weeks at a time. Everyone remembered the last time the sun shined and, basically, Berlin was in a mass depression. And this was before the war in Ukraine started.
The new airport in Berlin is truly a piece of shit, plus there were no direct flights to NYC, so we headed down to Frankfurt for a night, planning to depart in the morning. The hotel was under construction and almost every restaurant was closed. The virus was ripping through the city and most of the employees were sick. It was a Sunday, downtown Frankfurt was, pretty much, a ghost town. It was slightly disturbing.
The test center was overbooked and had a long wait, so we skipped it, having been tested late in Berlin. Our results would still be good if the flight was not delayed. No problems and an easy flight to NYC were a huge relief, though on the other side, taking the subway from JFK isn’t really a great idea anymore. Traffic was normal (bad), but it very nice to be back in NYC. The sky was blue and, walking through the park in DUMBO, the statue of liberty glinted from afar and it felt like a weight was lifted.
New York these days is different from a few years ago. A lot of businesses are gone. Some new ones have popped up. Random crime, especially against Asian people, is way up. Mentally ill homeless are everywhere and aggressive and, if you want to, you can go into any CVS and steal whatever you want, and no one really cares. Lots of those stores are closing all over the city and stopping into one is now a strange experience. The shelves are bare, the employees cluster in groups. It’s just bizarre. But the sun shined all of time, even though it was bit cold.
A few days later, we arrived in Dallas to see family and colleagues after several years. Dallas was very Dallas. The roads are fast and well maintained and driving them is always a pleasure. Everything is big in Texas and I was very surprised to see HUGE Ukrainian flags alternating with USA banners along the freeway from the airport. I never thought I would see Ukrainian flags flying in Texas. The weirdness continued when we arrived in downtown and tried to find an open Tex-Mex place. Two favorites were closed and one of them was very smashed up from the post George Floyd riots. Still not repaired. More homeless than before, but less than NYC.
But some more pleasant surprises greeted us. AT&T made a little park inside the city, and it is pretty cool. A huge LED screen played trippy content and then sports. It was March Madness and people sat there and watched basketball outdoors. It was 80 degrees and just wonderful. We could watch the watchers and the game from our hotel window. Incidentally, it turns out my Dad hung out at that hotel during WWII days. He was stationed near Dallas and some nice rich people took him and some fellow soldiers out for dinner and drinks there. Small, weird world.
I saw one person wearing a mask in Dallas. Prices were way up from a few years ago. Dallas used to be one the cheapest and best places to eat in USA. Not anymore. Portions shrank.
Yet it was pleasant and we got to spend an hour by the pool. Family was good, getting noticeably older, and we even found a pair of boots for my wife.
Back in New York, the virus was kicking up and the temperature was going down. The gathering we were to host shrunk in size as the rain kept guests away from the art event and afterparty. But that was fine. Hosting a super-spreader event isn’t my idea of success. Lots of meetings started getting postponed as the virus crept ever closer. It was a strange dichotomy as people were not worried and many were no longer wearing masks, expect on public transport, yet many were getting pretty sick. But it seemed like no one was heading to the hospital. In any case, I was getting concerned about having to quarantine back in Germany and leaving soon would be a good move.
The journey through Manhattan to Penn Station revealed more slightly in-your-face street weirdos, but, in general, NYC is always undulating a little wildly, so it wasn’t a big deal. Watch your back.
But not before a short journey to Hudson/Albany/Troy! The journey through Manhattan to Penn Station revealed more slightly in-your-face street weirdos, but, in general, NYC is always undulating a little wildly, so it wasn’t a big deal. Watch your back. The new part of Penn Station is pretty nice, and it was comforting to see a lot of people in New York Rangers hockey jerseys, en route to Madison Square Garden.
Upstate was lovely. The sunsets were fantastic, and I had a nice chance to catch up with friends, in person. It’s split between redneck types and liberals up there, but always with a heavy dose of corruption, which grows exponentially as you get closer to Albany. Prices for food were brutal. Troy, NY is truly a beautiful city. The architecture is amazing, though the vibe is somewhat fluid. The Hudson River flows through it and eating Barbecue with the river flowing by was a highlight.
I know my way around Hudson a little bit more and it was pleasant to see some businesses that survived the virus times, though many, many had not. But the tax system, lifestyle, real estate prices up there are so messed up that surviving in business is always an uphill battle. In short, most of Upstate is great to visit, but living there isn’t a really viable option.
A few short days in New York spent resting up and trying to avoid the virus before an eventless trip back to Frankfurt and two days in Baden Baden. The sun was shining in Baden Baden, but the Russians were quiet. The war was causing a little bit of bad vibes, but nothing too heavy. Many, many businesses had closed since Christmas, but the weather and the flowers were so perfect that everything felt slightly unreal. But that would change as train delays and gray weather brought everything nice to a grinding halt in Berlin. But now, no masks in most places and the virus worries seem to be fading rapidly away. But war worries persist even as the sun started shining through. The flow of Ukrainian refugees seems to have slowed and the new concerns are for their general safety. After a few days, it became clear that the winter gloom was lifting and Spring would reassure us that, despite everything, life would still go on.
Up Close and Personal with Video Artist, Maria Marshall! “3 Questions with…”
Intro by Leo Kuelbs
Maria Marshall has been an important part of the international video art scene since the 1990s. Her iconic work has appeared all over the globe and we are happy to include her here at International Paneling! She’s truly an award winning legend. But, let’s let her do the talking…
The Questions:
1. Hi Maria, can you tell us about your background? You have been shown in so many places. What are some highlights?
2. How do you see art reflecting world events? Do you think creators can have a positive impact in the world these days? If so, how?
3. What are some new projects coming up and/or that you are excited about?
German Word of the Month!
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Dream it
German Word of the Month! 〰️ Dream it
“Zwerg” = Dwarf or Garden Gnome
Pronounced : z-verg
In a sentence:
Der Zwerg versteckte sich unter dem Farn, wartete und beobachtete
The Dwarf hid under the fern, waiting and watching
Thank you for reading our first issue of our second year! We hope you are as well as can be expected and to see you all pretty soon!