TRAVEL DIARY

A weblog regularly updated by Jodi Rose.

  

VIEWING ALL POSTS FOR: APRIL 2008

Sunday, April 27, 2008

10:12 AM
Posted by jodi rose

I'm leaving Berlin in ten days, and it's breaking my heart.
The bells ringing along Kastanienallee in surround sound every Sunday, I'll miss walking through the park to their chiming polyphony. The late night rides through cool dark streets, quiet after the days bustle. The sheer joy of sunshine, after the long bleak winter. Unexpected glimpses of Alex's disco ball tv tower, popping up at all angles. I'll even miss the elitist end of the uber-hip art scene, in a kind of masochistic way, with their bad 80's retro and questions like 'do you have a golden wristband'... ummm no. I come over all groucho marx in moments like that, so not one of the beautiful people. It makes me laugh, and remember that this is a spectacularly hyped-up moment in a cultural industry that is all about hype, appearance and having the right attitude. Mine is particularly bad this morning. It will be kind of a relief to be outside it all and have a fresh perspective. You know I'm addicted to disorientation, being in a new place always does have a kind of thrill, no matter how I resist leaving.

Mostly though, I'll miss the friends who make it all seem like home. Some will stay in touch, others let me drift off their radar until we're back in the same city, or at least hemisphere. Of course I'll make new ones, I'm nothing if not friendly ;) It's just that, I have really let myself become attached to this emotional landscape, and the slowly unfolding patterns and currents that keep me afloat. It's going to be a beautiful summer, the days are already longer, and anything seems possible. Ah well, Singapore will be a whole new adventure.

Last night was strange but I did get to hang out with the fabulous Amy, and connect with her fellow 'emerged' project curator, artists and various partners. Almost had the dance I was promised weeks ago by our mutual friend, but we seem to be somehow out of step. Still, it's always good to meet people who are overflowing with warmth, energy and soul, and I'm pretty sure this won't be our last chance to dance. I'll be back in the fall, and sometimes the music of life takes it's own sweet time to find a rhythm you can dance to.

Anyway, that's all very sombre for a sunday morning. On a more pragmatic note, the last of my technology has died, yes my camera is a flickering black screen, which makes me officially a post-media artist. Hence the pirate media, only using whatever technology I can beg, borrow and scavenge from other people. This could be a moment to shift my practice, back into the world, and take a fresh look at the tools, methods and philosophy that have become customary. The bridge punk is about trying to deconstruct some of the expectation that builds up around a certain level of profile or experience. Didn't anyone tell you I never learnt how to play, and I'm making it all up as I go along? It's good to have a plan, but only so you can abandon it. Art, like life, is best improvised.

Thursday, April 24, 2008

1:19 PM
Posted by jodi rose

'every cloud has a golden corner'
or so my lovely friend mari tells me
she left this morning, with news from the airport of today's slogan:
'is laptop - is dangerous'
yes, heavy duty security check at tegel.

so back to theme of silver linings, there must be something good to come from this time of almost complete meltdown and fragility
all i can manage to do right now is crazy sewing projects on fleamarket purchases from paris. remodeled a summery colourful dress into skirt, using existing pockets and making new box pleats, then balenciaga men's shirt into slighly wonky copy of som's fancy one. stitching threads together, fairly obvious resonance I guess.
anyway, if everything keeps falling apart like this there will be nothing left, so I guess that makes an interesting position to start again from.

early morning walk hoped to recalibrate my equilibrium, but seems to have been lost in the wash. enjoyed looking over berlin waking up to spring from the top of the hill in mauer park. lists and lists of urgent projects that need finishing and tweaking. finally wrote official email, now have to make phone call in german. life is complicated and confusing, although ultimately deeply satisfying, if there is balance.

today's net pirating is coming to you live from cafe on sunny side of marienburgerstrasse, with golden reindeer skull and leonard cohen on the sound system. bird on a wire and suzanne, perfect. I have tried, in my way, to be free.

Monday, April 21, 2008

12:56 PM
Posted by jodi rose

'You can´t fake a bohemian lifestyle'
...so John Hopkins tells me, and he would definitely know, after twenty-odd years of nomadic adventures.

Always glad to know the authentic hardship at least has some benefits. Tell that to the bobo´s - Parisian term for bouergeoise bohemians - and remember the glamour is all smoke and mirrors, we don´t have cushy homes to go back to after the novelty wears off.

The good thing about sleeping in the kitchen is you get to have breakfast in bed every morning!

Staying in the last punk house on rykerstrasse. Pirate media bridge punk artist. Embracing the old attitude with new look, need to give clearer signals about my approach to life. Workshop continuing. Tune in again.

Thursday, April 17, 2008

7:54 PM
Posted by jodi rose

yes, singing under bridges is where you might find me this weekend. landed back in berlin today, after a flight that had some light turbulence, which I found the anticipation of was far worse than the actuality. Heard someone talk about flying a while ago, and she said that it´s the one time she always thinks about death. I´m the same, it´s terrifying. Anyway, I made a deal with myself that if I survived this time, I would go and do something else that terrifies me. So now I have to: Yes, it is a particular thing, and no, I´m not going to tell you what it is.

Last night in Paris was fantastic. Started the day with a walk along the Seine, out at Pont de Sevres, around the house boats and this fancy new residential development, lay in the sun on their rowing boat docks for a while. Eric and Luka were out there later, rescueing the ducks and ducklings from marauding kayaking teenagers. Then met with Yro about VJ plan for the performance at Mains D'oeuvres in May, for which I will send sound and image from Singapore. Nice conceptual links betweent his ideas and Emmanuel´s, think it will be beautiful. Made it to the Debilly footbridge, across from the Eiffel Tower, no song or even radio coming through the bridge todaz. Then across to the Palais de Tokyo, where the art intrigued and confused me but the cafe was sunny, and the view spectacular. Found some hand photocopied black and white fliers amongst the glossy art promo material, for Recherche Sophie Calle, which I think may be a current project of the fabulous artist herself. Working on my ideas of what to send her for the research.

Wandered through the cool local market and ok a little retail therapy, well it was a very cool bowling style bag, perfect for airports and all that extra luggage that seems to invent itself wherever I go.

Met Emmanuel on the bridge we have chosen for the ballade of the saint martin canal, did more tests and played underneath for a while, with Mathieu and Laura who came to check out the scene. There is wireless access, but we have to test the bandwith - as Thomas told me, when I synchronously ran into him outside Point Ephemere, at the Octopus Festival opening. He is signed up now for the streaming, fantastic, I have a rocking bridge team in Paris!!

The work at Octopus is absolutely gorgeous, a nostalgic poetic interface of old postcards, each with a speaker and recording that starts when you turn the card over; a lovely spatial audio experience with sensors and headphones, part of a sonic city under construction; and a fantastic instrument built into an old writing desk, with knobs you switch on and off to play the sounds. Superb. Met even more fabulous people, including Nick, recently arrived from sydney via berlin, then headed back to Mathieu´s for the improvised drinks soiree, which ended at 4am after my dream of a marshall stack the height of a bridge - a la disaster zone, the band you had to be on another planet to listen to - with Eric raving about the improbable charms of Belgium, and Claudia laughing jubilantly. The gorgeous Helen came along - had missed her the previous night at Nemo exhibition in Le Bellevilloise, but Heiko showed up there and dragged me to a squat bar round the corner for some alternative Paris ambience, then down Oberkampf to Zorba´s bar, where I left him ensconced with friends looking very happy, and headed back to la generale, and a visit to the studio downstairs where yroyto makes his ultra cool vj lab.

Which just about brings us up to date. No wonder I´m exhausted, just writing that is making my head spin. Floating in a virtual home for the evening, then hope to be camping at a friend´s new place for the weekend and Mari´s exhibition celebration...

In case you´re wondering: yes, this is insane. Next round of organising details and gritty pragmatics is underway, things are looking a little shaky in some corners but am sure they will all work out just fine.

Tonight I´m hoping for a screening of Barberella on Udo´s home cinema... just what a girl needs, Jane Fonda attacked by mutant dolls and then breaking the orgazmatron! :)

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

5:34 PM
Posted by jodi rose

did I mention the whale?

who knew, there was one at versailles!!

fantastic art event at la generale on saturday
avant-garde concert in theatre set in the ballroom
after-party at someone's atelier
in between drifted around in my pirate socks

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

5:32 PM
Posted by jodi rose

paris is insane, intense, relentless

yesterday
visit to ircam in the morning
peeked into the windows of uber famous experimentla studios
met a filmmaker on a bridge in the afternoon
pont neuf in case you're wondering
watched some of his beautiful film documenting the simone de beauvoir bridge installation - gorgeous
then appeared on experimental radio show 'songs of praise' radio aligre

today visited bridges in parc de la villette
about to go see exhibition at le bellvilloise for nemo
then back out to pont de sevres for one last night at la generale
meeting with some vj's and performance artists in the morning, hope to make a quick trip to palais de tokyo and the radio bridge near that big tower they have here.... then one last art event at point ephemere for the opening of octpus music inventors and an at-home soiree kindly hosted by mathieu

mal au pixel warm-up event

finally heading onto the plane again on thursday
left out a few things, dinner with shulea and co, concert in a bookshop, locusonus at point ephemere

head spinning
meeting so many fabulous people i can't keep up
ok out into the melee again now

a bientot
xxj

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

5:27 PM
Posted by jodi rose

what ARE these people doing??

http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=xnpSYQ1M1hA

:)

record of a lounging existentialist on a french bridge

Friday, April 11, 2008

11:08 PM
Posted by jodi rose

I can't keep up with myself. Yesterday stroll along the Canal Saint Martin for a few hours, listening to bridges and watching the way people use them. Quite a lot of standing around in the middle, sometimes to look at the canal boats waiting for the locks to fill up - which is completely intriguing; and I am so glad to finally understand how they work - various groups of a. tourists b. a jazz band posing for photos, and c. a lone man pissing over the side of one bridge. Very patti smith although not so stylish. Discovered the best bars and cafes along the way, and found the energy afterwards to attend the nemo - media art festival - opening party. Screening: some fun animation and music clips; far more commercial than I would have expected, had i thought about it beforehand, great to see a few music video clips though, I really miss that about Australia. Rage!! Gorgeous performance; really stunning images and abstract sounds; although a few moments of 'look what i can do with my new toy', mostly fabulous. Excellent french pastries, and very friendly crowd, in elysee cinema just off the champs elysees; which made me feel very special.

Toda, after the trip to simone de beauvoir bridge, visited mains d'oeuvres and heard the complaint choir - beautiful performance; although missed all the content as it was in french, but gather a litany of complaints about everyday life. Sung with vigour and zeal. Met Laura, and hung out on the balcony outside the office looking over the city - away from the peripherique, everything changes very quickly. Amazing how such an artifical; arbitary boundary can have so much impact. Caught the bus back into town, beautiful ride through those picturesque parisian streets, missed the stop I thought I wanted; then found the one I ended up at was exactly the right metro line with no changes. Perfect.

Out past the city boundary again now; over the river at Sevres - next to the famous ceramic factory, which now apparently only produces ceremonial plates for royalty and special ocassions; it has lots of gold inside, and enormous kilns the size of a small castle. Everyone is running around at La Generale; preparing for the big event tomorrow; art installations; opening; tours to versaille sculpture park and some other nearby cultural organisations; then a concert back here in the evening. In the ballroom. Too magnificent. Maybe I will chance a visit downstairs to see what the kids are up to. Crazy French artists; I love them, and seem to have exchanged one set for another. Superb.

Friday, April 11, 2008

10:54 PM
Posted by jodi rose

Hello,

Expérience passerelle sonore:

Vendredi 11 avril 15h-17h

sur la passerelle Simone de Beauvoir
http://www.feichtingerarchitectes.com/display_project.php/3/137
C'est entre la BNF et la cinémathèque.
Métro BNF (ligne 14) ou Bercy (lignes 6 et 14)

Des capteurs seront installés sur la structure...
Il nous faudra des expérimentateurs pour venir "jouer de la passerelle".

A l'occasion du passage à Paris de Jodi Rose

Too late now, but we had a fabulous afternoon with quite a few visitors. picnic on the bridge; rolling bottles along the metal grid walkway, and banging on the pylons with hammers and springs.

Tuesday, April 8, 2008

11:52 PM
Posted by jodi rose

Well, here I am in Paris. landed safely, enjoying a quiet evening at home, hanging out with mathieu, goat cheese pizza and red wine for dinner. mmmmm have to try megan,s breakfast suggestion of madeleines; chevres and strawberries. sorry for typos; crazy french keyboard.

Lots happening; picnic and bridge test along canal saint martin on thursday; si,one de beauvoir bridge test on friday, some kind of art happening at la generale on saturday _ where i will also be staying _ the complaints choir on friday, gourmet food walking tour hopefully on tues; meeting at mains d,oeuvres maybe monday. should be enough to keep even me out of trouble ;)

enjoying the whole being in a completely new environment thing, different rhythm to the city, new faces and unfamiliar paths. had a few ,i just cant keep living like this, moments over the past few days, but now that everything i own except one small bag is packed away in jasnine,s cellar; i feel so much more sanguine about life again. keep it light, keep it moving, keep it simple!!

Saturday, April 5, 2008

1:39 PM
Posted by jodi rose

I threw myself back into the art fray in the name of brunch...
a quick report - no. 3 had by far the most lavish layout, with bloody mary's to accompany the bagels (jam, salmon or cream cheese), coffee, and bottles of moet chilling, although sadly unopened when I was there. next door, no. 5 was taking the less is more approach to elegant brunching, with fruit, an array of chocolate biscuits and tiny morsels of bread with jam or salmon. They did, however have the best drink, a jug of bellini. A little further down was a plate of pre-made bagels with strangely coloured cheese, then across the road was a sumptuous chocolate cake, and next door to that, by far my favourite, home-made grilled cheese on baguette, with red or orange juice. Satisfying, unpretentious, warm and DIY, a lot like the gallery which has definitely the best atmosphere too.

Oh, you wanted to hear about the art? Really, there's not a lot to tell. I loved the back room at Carson's show - curators without borders - a beautifully simple sound installation with the vibrations making patterns in water, reflected on the roof. That was stunning.

The most interesting by far is 'The New World', at artnews projects. A fabulous mix of art, crime, politics and even a little anarchy - the pedal-powered car being pulled over and booked as an 'unsafe vehicle;' a home built DIY H-bomb, complete with handbag and remote control; the word for Phoenix written in Persian calligraphy, a world map of philosophy, and many more thought-provoking, inspiring and beautiful pieces. Go see it!

I've managed to stay clear of the main event, almost entirely - apart from a slight brush with the visiting collectors hysteria at KW preview last nigh. It's a fascinating piece of theatre, watching the ultra-hip, extremely avant-garde, and constantly broke berlin art world perform for the visiting curators and collectors with cash and influence to burn.

No doubt there will be lives changed and careers made this weekend.

I seem to have lost the momentum of my potentially life-changing moment. Can someone teach me how to just say yes? I'm so tired of this slightly withheld, not quite fully present state of being. I want to dive in completely, to lose myself in the energy of the moment.

Then again, am I being too hard on myself... maybe that's closer to enlightenment than day-to-day life?

I had a wonderful conversation with two women in the last gallery, who turned out to be a dramatic alto and a pianist/musicologist. Helen, the singer was going to look at an apartment, and see if her voice was compatible with the potential house-mate's ears and sensibility. She made a lovely comment that: 'you can hear the soul in the voice'. Wow. I was speechless. That is so beautiful. Of course, I had to ask, 'What can you hear in my voice'. They both considered for a moment, then replied 'Earthy, depth, soft, gentle - ah but there is also metal in your voice'. Ever the smartass, I asked 'from my fillings?' 'No, the sense of power and command necessary for strength - you would be a dramatic soprano if you sang, playing elektra for instance.' Fabulous.

Then, of course, we talked about the voice and soul of bridges, and Raminta told me about the bamboo bridges in Laos that are built for the dry season, and wash away in the wet. Something incredibly beautiful in the transience, the wind in the bamboo, gentle footsteps. Also there is a very important 'bridge ceremony' in their spiritual tradition. And that in Kabuki, when the actor/dancer prepares, they are on a bridge between the theatre and the 'real' world, and the show only starts when they leave the bridge and enter the play. Fantastic.

I had the feeling when I went out this morning that I would meet and talk to exactly the right people, in the right place, at the right time. There you go. Even without the high-powered curators, life is pretty interesting here this weekend.

Now, I'm off to visit Mari and 'help' with her construction of the mud/clay hut for Mega (a mythical place just outside berlin that exists only in one edition of a particular map, and which she has become obsessed with) and then maybe a few more galleries tonight. There's still Kunstlerhaus Bethanien and Heidestrasse to visit, with another potentially crazy after-party tonight. Maybe a disco nap is in order.

Friday, April 4, 2008

10:53 PM
Posted by jodi rose

lollygrrrl

just for the record...

I had one of those moments today where you literally feel the world spin around you, perhaps on a different axis. speechless. breathless. totally incoherent. when it stops spinning everything is almost the same, but not quite.

..and not for the reasons any of you cynics out there might imagine ;)

Keeping up with the berlin biennale activities, just the 5 gallery openings last night, a talk by artist perri lynch at udo's place - gorgeous work - the after-party with program/artnews/sparwasser at scala theatre. by then I was almost falling over, moving house on the same day is a little much. have waved goodbye to the fabulous residence apt out the back of program, and setting forth into new adventures on tuesday. the weekend was meant to be rest and relaxation, but considering this is my earliest night so far, and the revels show no signs of abating, catching up on sleep is looking very unlikely. 'art is a waste of time' is the one I'm looking forward to, with a giant interactive sodoku game and artists anonymous meeting.

Bellini brunch, anyone? Hell I love Berlin!

All of that and the French too!
Photo by Max