Tag Archives: ARTISTS IN RESIDENCE
LIBRA GIVES EQUILIBRIUM
27 Oct
LIBRA IS THE SEVENTH SIGN OF THE ZODIAC, LIBRA CAN BE SEEN AS AN EVOLUTIONARY STAGE BETWEEN VIRGO AND SCORPIO THAT TRANSMUTES SERVICE-ORIENTED, DISCRIMINATING & ANALYTICAL ENERGIES INTO FIXED POWERFUL AND CONTROLLING ONES. LIBRA POSITS A FULL AWARENESS OF THE ROLES WHICH PEOPLE PLAY.
THE LIBRA I PERIOD TAKES THE PERFECTIONIST AS ITS CENTRAL IMAGE. SIMPLY PUT, LIBRANS ARE AMONGST THE MOST TALENTED AND ATTRACTIVE PEOPLE OF THE WHOLE YEAR. THEIR STANDARDS REGARDING BEAUTY, TRUTH, AND QUALITY ARE INDEED HIGH. THE DAYS OF A LIBRA I SYMBOLICALLY REVEAL THE MATURE ADULT BEGINNING TO DEVELOP GREATER OBJECTIVITY, VERBAL ABILITY, APPLICATION TO WORK & SOCIAL SKILLS, AND THE PATIENCE NEEDED TO CARRY THROUGH ON LONG-RANGE PROJECTS & FUTURE PLANS.
THE LIBRA II PERIOD TAKES SOCIETY AS ITS CENTRAL IMAGE. DURING THIS PERIOD, DEEPENING ONE’S SOCIAL TIES WITH LIFELONG FRIENDS & FAMILY MEMBERS CAN BE CENTRAL TO LIFE. LIBRA II’S ARE CONCERNED WITH SOCIAL SUCCESS, BUT ONLY TO A POINT. THE VIBRANT INDIVIDUALS BORN IN THIS PERIOD ARE GENERALLY DISINTERESTED IN ACQUIRING POWER OVER OTHERS. MANY FEEL THEY CAN TRUST LIBRA II’S & READILY CONFIDE IN THEM. ONE REASON THOSE BORN IN THIS PERIOD INSPIRE TRUST IS THAT FRIENDS & ASSOCIATES CAN SENSE A LIBRA II’S DISINTEREST IN GAINING FROM ANOTHER’S MISFORTUNE OR USING INFORMATION FOR SELFISH ENDS. FURTHERMORE, THOSE BORN IN THIS PERIOD HAVE A GREAT SENSE OF FUN THAT LIGHTENS THE CARES OF THEMSELVES & OTHERS.
LIBRA III TAKES THEATER AS ITS CENTRAL IMAGE. THIS PERIOD CAN BE LIKENED IN HUMAN TERMS TO THE YEARS OF A PERSON’S LATE FORTIES BY WHICH TIME FULL SOCIAL INTEGRATION OF THE INDIVIDUAL HAS USUALLY BEEN ACCOMPLISHED OR ATTEMPTED. THROUGH THE USE OF SHREWD JUDGMENT, AND THROUGH SENSING THE RHYTHMS OF LIFE, STAYING ATTUNED TO THE LARGE LINE. UTILIZING THE BIG PICTURE, LIBRA III’S ARE CONSUMMATE ROLEPLAYERS WHO ARE WELL AWARE OF THEIR IMAGE. VIRGO MARVELS AT ALL FACETS OF THE GAME, SO DON’T MISTAKE THEIR COOL AND CALM EXTERIOR FOR PASSIVITY, THEY ARE TOP PLAYERS.
YOUNG MINDS N BERGHAIN
24 Oct
IF BEING IN THE RIGHT PLACE AT THE RIGHT TIME IS 90% OF THE BATTLE, CONNECTIONS ARE PARAMOUNT. OUR FIRST WEEK IN EAST BERLIN WAS A BIT OVERWHELMING, THE COLLEGE, THE PARTIES, THE NIGHTLIFE. BEN WAS THE LIFE OF THE PARTY, RETURNING TO HIGHER EDUCATION AFTER WORKING AS A COMPUTER PROGRAMMER FOR THE UNITED NATIONS, HE HAD AN UPPER HAND IN TERMS OF SKILL SET & CONNECTIONS, WE WERE IN BERLIN LESS THAN A WEEK, BEFORE WE BEFRIENDED DESI, WHO RAN THE OFFICE AT ONE OF BERLINS COOLEST RECORD LABELS AROUND. GOING FROM BEING BERLIN OUTSIDERS, TO EXPERIENCING INSIDE TRACK WITHIN ONE WEEK, BERLIN BEGAN TO REVEAL ITSELF TO US. THE EAST BLOCK WAS SUPER HOT, FROM EBERSWALDER STRASSE, DOWN INTO MITTE, & FRIEDRICHSHAIN.
WITH UNDERGROUND NIGHTS LIKE “ILL NEVER CALL YOU AGAIN“ , POPPING UP ALL OVER KASTANIENALLEE, THESE ONE OFF NIGHTS, WOULD BE HARD TO FIND, AND EVEN HARDER TO FORGET. FOLLOWING A RED LIGHT, INTO A COURTYARD, DOWN PAST A YELLOW LIGHT INTO A BASEMENT FLAT, WITH A MAKESHIFT BAR SET UP IN THE KITCHEN, THE GREEN LIGHT REVEALED THE DANCEFLOOR. THE FRESHLY VACATED APARTMENT STILL HAD A TOOTHBRUSH PROPPED ON THE BATHROOM MIRROR. THE NIGHTLIFE WAS MERCURIAL, IF YOU DIDN’T KNOW WHERE THE PARTY WAS, YOU PROBABLY WEREN’T GOING TO FIND IT BY YOURSELF. THE KORDSRECKE BECAME THE UNOFFICIAL WAY FARE, AS PARTY HOPPING WAS DE RIGEUR. USUALLY HITTING MARIA, OR COOKIES, BEFORE DESCENDING ON TO OST GUT, (OR UPSTAIRS TO PANORAMA BAR) EVEN IF A CONSERVATIVE REGIME HELD THE REIGNS, BERLIN WAS PULSATING WITH AMAZING ENERGIES.
LEARNING THE NITE CODES
15 Oct
KURZSTRECKE, IS A MAGICAL GERMAN WORD & CONCEPT. A KURZSTRECKE ENTITLED YOU TO A 2KM CAB RIDE FOR A E2.50. THIS ONE WORD ALLOWED US TO TAKE FULL ADVANTAGE OF BERLINS SPRAWLING, AND CRYPTIC NIGHTLIFE HEAD ON. ALTHOUGH OUR COLLEGE WAS IN CHARLOTTENBURG, WE KNEW IT WAS IMPERATIVE TO BE EAST, NOWHERE BEFORE OR SINCE HAVE WE BEEN ABLE TO FIND AN APARTMENT WITH STUDIO FOR $70 A WEEK. WITH SUCH A LOW COST OF LIVING, ARTISTS & CREATIVES COULD ACTUALLY BE CREATIVE WITHOUT HARSH MONETARY RAMIFICATIONS OF SKYHIGH RENTS. 
WHEN I HEARD MISS KITTIN WAS DJING WITH LAURENT GARNIER AT CAFE MOSKAU, THAT WAS IT. PARTIES NEVER REALLY GOT GOING UNTIL AFTER MIDNIGHT, BUT THERE WAS NO WAY I WAS GOING TO MISS THIS ONE. ARRIVING AT THE ALEX, AND GETTING IN THE QUEUE AROUND 11:40 IT WAS FREEZING OUTSIDE. DESCENDING INTO THE BASEMENT WE SAW MISS KITTIN WARMING UP, EXPECTING A LONGER SET, BUT SHE STEPPED BACK IN THE DJ BOOTH, AND ALLOWED LAURENT GARNIER TO TAKE OVER THE DECKS AROUND 1:00 AM. WHAT FOLLOWED I CAN NEVER FORGET, LAURENT TOOK CONTROL AND STARTED THIS SLOW BUILD, I DIDN’T UNDERSTAND WHAT WAS GOING ON AT FIRST, THE MUSIC WAS GREAT, BUT IT PROGRESSIVELY GOT BETTER, AND LIKE THAT THREE HOURS HAD VANISHED. I WENT TO GET A DRINK, AND TWO GIRLS FROM THE COLLEGE GREETED ME COMING DOWNSTAIRS, THEY SAID THEY SAW ME GO IN, AND HAD BEEN QUEUING OUTSIDE FOR THAT LONG! SIX HOURS INTO AN EPIC SESSION, LAURENT GARNIER SHOWED NO SIGNS OF LETTING UP, IT WAS IN THOSE NEXT TWO HOURS, THAT I PHYSICALLY DIDN’T HAVE CONTROL. I HAVE NEVER BEEN IN A STATE OF NEAR EXHAUSTION FROM DANCING, REALIZING THE MUSIC JUST CONTINUES TO GET BETTER, TRY AS YOU MIGHT LEAVING THE FLOOR IS IMPOSSIBLE.
ARRIVING IN EAST BERLIN
9 Oct
IT WAS PRETTY CLEAR FROM THE START, THAT THERE WAS TOO MUCH GOING ON IN BERLIN IN 2001 TO STAY IN LONDON, IT HAD ALWAYS BEEN ON THE BACK BURNER TO JUMP SHIP AND HEAD TO BERLIN, BUT WHEN WE WON THE COVETED BERLIN SCHOLARSHIP TO STUDY AT THE HOCHSCHULE DER KUSNTE. WE BOUNCED. THERE WASN’T AS MUCH OF A CULTURE SHOCK, AS THERE WAS A CLIMATE SHOCK. BEING IN THE STATES ENJOYING 85 DEGREE WEATHER IN SEPTEMBER WAS GREAT. LANDING IN LONDON TO 60 DEGREE WEATHER A FEW DAYS LATER WAS MANAGEABLE, SHAVING OFF THAT NEXT TEN DEGREES AT SCHöNEFELD WAS THE EYE OPENER. LOOKING FORWARD, OUR MOST MEMORABLE EXPERIENCES WOULD BE IN THE COLD BERLIN NIGHTS.
GOING FROM A UNIVERSITY THAT WAS RAPIDLY COM–MODIFYING “LONDON CREATIVITY” BY THE MINUTE, BERLIN WAS A BLANK CANVAS WITH A DISTINCTLY EXPERIMENTAL ETHOS AND DIY ENERGY. UDK WAS NEAR BANKRUPTCY, BUT TO BE HONEST, THE BEST ARTWORK COMES FROM BIG IDEAS AND LIMITED RESOURCES, SO IT WAS FITTING WE WOULD HAVE TO FIND OUR OWN CREATIVE PATH IN THE CITY. ARRIVING FOR ORIENTATION, ALL THE INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS WERE INTRODUCED, AND QUITE QUICKLY WE NOTICED AN INTERESTING DYNAMIC. EVERYONE WAS GOING TO CAFE MOSKAU THAT EVENING, WE WERE NOTICING OFF THE BAT WAS AN EAGERNESS IN THE AIR, WHICH WAS QUITE THE OPPOSITE OF LONDONS NOTORIOUS STAND-OFFISH NATURE, WHERE ENTHUSIASM HAS TO BE PULLED WITH PLIERS. THIS WAS A DISTINCTLY NEW TYPE OF ENERGY FLOWING THROUGH THE ETHER. EAST BERLINS SCENE WAS ON FIRE
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
924COLLECTIVE 