– cities | VK

November 4, 2014

Athens: a vibrant Theater scene: “Mephisto”, “Ασκηση για Φονο”, ‘Η μητερα του Σκυλου”, “Πεντε”

My 5 day visit to Athens, with Four amazing evenings at the Athenian vibrant theatrical scene, thanks to lovely invitations by my dear friend Ariana Nichogianopoulou and Akis Charalambidis.

a fantastic performance of “ H Μανα του Σκυλου” written by Pavlos Matesis, directed by Stravros Tsakiris at Συγχρονο Θεατρο

then..at Θεατρο Αγγελων Βημα “Ασκηση για Φονο” of Victor Chan, directed by Dimitris Giamloglou from the theatrical group Square Theatre Company

players: Giannis Laspias, Daphne Manousou, Ioanna Stavropoulou

“ Ο Έντριαν, γοητευτικός τυχοδιώκτης και πρωταθλητής στο σκάκι,απολαμβάνει τον,πλούσιο γάμο του με την μεγαλύτερή του,αλλά ακόμη σέξυ, Τζάνις,πρώην μοντέλο και νυν ιδιοκτήτρια γιγαντιαίας αλυσίδας γυμναστηρίων. Όσο ο ένας δεν χώνεταιστα πόδια του άλλου,όλα στη σχέση τους μοιάζουν ρόδινα. Σχεδόν…
Μέ την εμφάνιση της Έιμυ, νεαρής «ρεπόρτερ» μέ σκοτεινό παρελθόν και ακόμη πιο σκοτεινό παρόν,μπαίνει σε κίνηση ένα γαϊτανάκι αποκαλύψεων, σχεδίων δολοφονίας και ανατροπών και ξεκινάει μια αδυσώπητη και αφάνταστα αστεία παρτίδα φονικού σκακιού..”

see more here http://www.theatrikaprogrammata.gr/άσκηση-για-φόνο-λαμπερή-πρεμιέρα-στο/

and here http://www.paraskhnio.gr/askisi-gia-fono-toy-victor-cahn-sto-aggelon-vi/

…. a fabulous performance at the National Theater at Ziller building, Main Stage, of “Mephisto” adapted from the novel by Klaus Mann by Ariane Mnouchkine, directed by Nikos Mastorakis, music: Stavros Gasparatos

Cast:
Erika Bruckner Marina Aslanoglou
Carola Martin Vicky Volioti
Myriam Gottschalk Maria Zorba
Singer, Emelyne Danae Katsameni
Publisher, Jostinkel Thymios Koukios
Otto Ulrich Dimitris Mavros
Madame Efeu Ivonni Maltezou
Julius Stephanos Mwange
Theophile Sarder Alkis Panagiotidis
Ludwig Ektoras Liatsos
Lorenz Tasos Pirgieris
Theresa von Herzfeld Youlika Skafida
Knurr Yiannis Stollas
Pamela von Niebuhr Konstantina Takalou
Hans Miklas Harris Tzortzakis
Hendrik Hofgen Thanos Tokakis
Alex Enke Fezollari
Klaus Brickner Haris Frangoulis
Thomas Bruckner Minas Hatzisavvas
Magnus Gottschalk Nikos Psarras

Το μυθιστόρημα του Κλάους Μαν, που γράφτηκε στο Άμστερνταμ το 1936, είναι εμπνευσμένο από τον μύθο του Φάουστ. Ο επιφανειακός φιλελευθερισμός του κεντρικού ήρωα γρήγορα δίνει τη θέση του στην ανάγκη για κολακεία και εξουσία, αφού, για να εδραιωθεί στο χώρο του, συμμαχεί με τον «διάβολο» έναντι οποιουδήποτε ανταλλάγματος. Το έργο αποτελεί μελέτη πάνω στις σχέσεις τέχνης και πολιτικής, εξουσίας και ηθικής, εμβαθύνοντας όχι μόνο στην άνοδο του φασισμού, αλλά στις κοινωνιολογικές και πνευματικές προϋποθέσεις που έκαναν δυνατή μια τέτοια άνοδο.

…Klaus Mann (son of Thomas) wrote the novel in 1936 as a roman à clef about the decisions the theater artists of his time were making during the rise of fascism. Hofgen represents Gustaf Gründgens, the actor/director who was married to Mann’s sister, Erika. The events onstage closely resemble those in the lives of the real players. In real life, Gründgens was reportedly homosexual, as were Klaus and Erika Mann. The black girlfriend signals this unacceptable sexual partner. In the play, as in real life, Gründgens’s marriage to Erika dissolves as she goes on to found an anti-fascist cabaret and Gründgens becomes part of the Nazi state. The novel was banned in Germany until Ariane Mnouchkine’s stage version appeared in Berlin in 1979

more here http://www.n-t.gr/el/events/mef

and “Πέντε” (το ψυχογραφικό θρίλερ του Κώστα Μπίγαλη, που λέγαμε), στο Χυτήριο.

Πέντε άνθρωποι με ονόματα κοινότοπα (εντάξει, το “Θαλής” δεν είναι και τόσο κοινότοπο) συναντιούνται (το ‘χει φροντίσει ο κύριος Κονταράτος, ο ιδιοκτήτης μιας κλινικής για ασθενείς με ψυχικές διαταραχές) στην κλινική του κ. Κονταράτου, αλλά ο κ. Κονταράτος λείπει. Ο γιατρός, μέσω ενός σημειώματος, τους ενημερώνει πως, όποιος καταφέρει (κατά τη διάρκεια της παραμονής του στην κλινική) να διώξει τους υπόλοιπους τέσσερις και ο ίδιος να μείνει εντός του σπιτιού, θα κερδίσει το ποσό των 500.000 ευρώ. Κανένας από τους πέντε δεν είναι τόσο υπεράνω, ώστε να πει “δε μας παρατάς, ρε φίλε” και να φύγει. Αμέσως, ο γιατρός, η νηπιαγωγός, η επιχειρηματίας, η γυμνάστρια και ο νεκροθάφτης, με τον πανικό να τους έχει πάρει τα μυαλά, αρχίζουν να σκέφτονται πώς θα τσεπώσουν τη χαρτούρα

more here http://www.onlytheater.gr/magic_bus/_arthra_/9722-stin-premiera-tou-pente-sto-xitirio.html

photos@ published , theater productions

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October 23, 2014

Munich; Haus der Kunst; opening exhibitions:Mohamed Bourouissa, Tilo Schulz, and Victor Man

A wonderful Preview opening last night at Haus der Kunst for the Freunde of the new series of Capsule Exhibition:

“Capsule 01: Tilo Schulz”; “Capsule 02: Mohamed Bourouissa”; and “Victor Man – Zephir”

Tonight, before the public opening was an Opening Talk with Dorothea von Hantelmann, who has been a visiting professor for Documenta Studies at the University of Kassel since 2013, with the artists Tilo Shulz and Mohamed Bourouissa.

Haus der Kunst inaugurates a new program of focused one gallery exhibitions that explore recent developments amongst a generation emerging international artists. The goal of the Capsule Exhibition series is to engage audiences in the production of new works by artists at critical points of artistic breakthrough in their careers.

Through his multimedia works, the French-Algerian artist Mohamed Bourouissa (born 1978) investigates strategies of subjectivation and representation that reside in the social, cultural, and economical margins of society. His works deal with value systems and how these impact their protagonists’ identities and self-perceptions. (Hdk press release)

A beautiful reception at the Golden Bar followed last night and tonight a party with DJ NOMAD UNO – africaine 808, berlin

more on the exhibitions here http://www.hausderkunst.de/agenda/detail/eroeffnung-anri-sala-mohamed-bourouissa-tilo-schulz-victor-man/?no_cache=1

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October 19, 2014

Munich; tonight at the Premiere at BAYERISCHE STAATSOPER , “The Makropulos Affair”

Premiere tonight.. Opera in three acts – 2 hours, no intermission

A quiet challenging and contemporary opera tonight at Premier, invited by my lovely friend Alexandra Eley and Mathias..

Text by Leoš Janáček after a play by Karel Čapek
In Czech with German surtitles | New Production

photo @VK

Emilia Marty :Nadja Michael

Albert Gregor :Pavel Černoch

Vítek: Kevin Conners

Krista: Tara Erraught

Musikalische Leitung: Tomáš Hanus Inszenierung: Árpád Schilling Bühne und Kostüme: Márton Ágh Licht: Tamás Bányai Produktions dramaturgie: Miron Hakenbeck ChorSören Eckhoff

(synopsis) The inheritance litigation of Gregor against Prus that has dragged on for generations comes to an unexpected turn when the singer Emilia Marty turns up who can be of service with astonishingly detailed information about the past. The men caught up in the dispute lose their heads over this fascinating woman. However, love seems to mean nothing to her and sex is a ware; Marty goes to bed with the one in possession of the old document she is looking for: the Makropulos affair. For his final opera, the aged Leoš Janáček falls back on a contemporary drama with a phantasy plot, the story of 337 year old Elina Makropulos. As a young woman a life-prolonging elixir was tested on her. Since then she constantly changes countries, lovers and identities. As the effect of the elixir wears off she, tired of life but nonetheless fearful o

f death, searches for the recipe that could once again defer her ageing. Karel Čapek’s ingenious comedy speculates on the meaning of mortality. Janáček turns it into a tragedy stretching across 300 years of loneliness.

fabulous Nadja Michael

published photos @staatsoper.de

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October 18, 2014

Munich: Preview opening night: Anri Sala: The Present Moment / “Der Öffentlichkeit — Von den Freunden Haus der Kunst” EXHIBITION 18.10.14 – 20.09.15

18.10.14 – 20.09.15

A beautiful preview opening last night with a fabulous sound & video piece by Anri Sala, “The Present Moment” at the Haus der Kunst’s central Middle Hall.

Sounddesign: Olivier Goinard

DER ÖFFENTLICHKEIT – Von den Freunden Haus der Kunst, Anri Sala, The Present Moment, 2014, (in D), Filmstill, Courtesy of Galerie Chantal Crousel, Paris; Marian Goodman Gallery, New York; and Hauser & Wirth. © Anri Sala

Sala’s installation revolves around the question of the immediate present in an art form bound to concepts of temporality and transience. What does it mean to consider the “now” in music? Does sound allow the present to be experienced? Can a composition’s temporality be reduced to the “here and now” of its presence? How can such questions be made tangible to an audience? (HdK press release)

For the third edition of the annual commission “Der Öffentlichkeit — Von den Freunden Haus der Kunst” Anri Sala has designed a multichannel sound and video installation. With this work, he continues his exploration of musical compositions in the existing architecture of exhibition spaces, most recently demonstrated in the French Pavilion at the Venice Biennale 2013.

Anri Sala in this project devotes his attention to the genre of chamber music, an intimate format that – for the artist – stands in dynamic contrast to the public nature of the work presented in the expansive spaces of Haus der Kunst.

photos @VK

Presentation of the project by Okwui Enwezor, director of Haus der Kunst

more here http://www.hausderkunst.de/ausstellungen/detail/anri-sala-der-oeffentlichkeit-von-den-freunden-haus-der-kunst/?no_cache=1

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October 11, 2014

Berlin & New York: lost stories by Truman Capote Are Published

This is amazing!

The news just came out and while I was reading it, I wanted to share as has been published at the New York Times but really it started here in Germany as Four of the stories, believed to have been written from 1935 to 1943, appear in German translations in Thursday’s edition of the German publication ZEITmagazin.

The Swiss publisher, Peter Haag, was searching for chapters of Truman Capote’s unfinished final novel last summer when he stumbled upon a different find. While poring over Capote’s writings and papers at the New York Public Library, he discovered a collection of previously unpublished short stories and poems from Capote’s youth.

Those stories will be seen in German more than a year ahead of the scheduled release of the full collection, a dozen poems and roughly 20 stories, by Random House in English and by Kein & Aber in German. David Ebershoff, who is editing the book for Random House for a December 2015 release, said the decision to publish the four first in German was a nod to Mr. Haag’s research.

Mr. Ebershoff said in an email. “Reading the manuscripts — with his corrections and edits — is fascinating. You can literally see a young genius at work. I don’t use that word lightly, but these early stories show that Capote’s talent and way of experiencing the world was with him from a very young age.”

Even in translation, Capote’s style is immediately recognizable in the short stories, under the titles “Miss Belle Rankin,” “This Here Is From Jamie,” “Saturday Night” and “The Horror in the Swamp,” laced with his incisive attention to detail and themes of longing for love and acceptance, and the transience of life.

Capote, who died in 1984, at 59, is believed to have written these works between the time he was 11 and 19, although not all are dated.

more here http://www.zeit.de/zeit-magazin/leben/2014-10/truman-capote-erzaehlungen-roshani-haag

Mr. Capote said in 1978. ”The thing about people like me is that we always knew what we were going to do. Many people spend half their lives not knowing. But I was a very special person, and I had to have a very special life. I was not meant to work in an office or something, though I would have been successful at whatever I did. But I always knew that I wanted to be a writer and that I wanted to be rich and famous.’ (Albin Krebs on Capote at NY Times, 1984)

what Albin Krebs wrote on August 28, 1984 on Truman Capote after his death ” A Novelist of Style and Clarity”

http://www.nytimes.com/books/97/12/28/home/capote-obit.html

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October 9, 2014

Munich: Neue Pinakothek “Seeing Venice…”Photography before 1900 from the Dietmar Siegert Collection

09.10.2014 – 02.02.2015

A beautiful opening last night at Neue Pinakothek. Presentation by Dr Klaus Schrenk (General Director of the Bavarian Museums) and Dr Herbert W.Rott (Conservator at Neue Pinakothek).

“The exhibition features a selection of thirty early photographs of the lagoon city from the Siegert Collection and juxtaposes them with masterpieces of Venetian vedute painting by Francesco Guardi and Michele Marieschi from the Alte Pinakothek……In the 18th-century paintings we see scenes pulsating with life and colourful celebrations, while the photographs of Domenico Bresolin, Antonio Perini, Carlo Ponti, and Carlo Naya herald the dawn of a new aesthetic sensibility and feature silent views of the canals flanked by palaces threatened by decay. ..” (museum press release)

more here http://www.pinakothek.de/en/node/50422

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October 3, 2014

The art of packaging; beautiful classic Tiffany

In couple of days, october 5th, my lovely young daughter, a true blessing in our lives, becomes 13. From early age I introduced her to many classic films and divas, from Bette Davies, Greta Garbo and more.. she loved Audrey Hepburn, ‘Breakfast at Tiffany’ , 1961 and that became her true love. My girl, a true New Yorker, born downtown Manhattan, just 2 weeks after 9/11 has embraced Tiffany and the love for the blue color. So what else would she longed for her birthday? from the Ziegfeld collection a pair of earrings in sterling silver with freshwater cultured pearls.

A visit at the Munich Tiffany, intrigued my curiosity to find about the “box”

When the company introduced its diamond engagement ring in 1886, the effect was complete. The Tiffany Blue Box became every bit as coveted as the ring, or whatever else might be nesting inside. In 1906, the New York Sun reported that Charles Lewis Tiffany “has one thing in stock that you cannot buy of him for as much money as you may offer; he will only give it to you. And that is one of his boxes.”

the color is No. 1837 on the Pantone Matching System chart. It is not commercially available; since a 1998 filing with the federal government, the color is trademarked. The packaging on which the color appears is also trademarked, as is the white satin ribbon tied around.

For the first time ever, Tiffany opened on a Sunday to allow for filming. (Breakfast at Tiffany) It also posted 40 armed guards on the floor to prevent any of its blue boxes from disappearing.

Happy Birthday my lovely Ana Nefeli! be happy and full of pearls in your life!

Tiffany & Co, Ziegfeld collection,earrings in sterling silver with freshwater cultured pearls.

since 1837, New York

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September 26, 2014

Munich; Florine Stettheimer at Lenbachhaus Kunstbau

Sept 27, 2014-January 4, 2015

A beautiful evening at the preview of the exhibition of the artist Florine Stettheimer (1871-1944) at Lenbachhaus Kunstbau.

published photo @ Portrait of Myself, 1923 Art Properties, Avery Architectural & fine Arts Library, Columbia University of the City of New York

A rare and beautiful exhibition indeed of major paintings by Florine Stettheimer; paintings that all belong to public collections in US, mostly in collections of Univirsities; a rare show and first time shown in Europe her work.

The exhibition features a representative selection of major paintings made after 1915 that exemplify her mature signature style. A second focus is on her creations for the stage: numerous drawings, maquettes, and figurines illustrate her vision for the ballet Orphée of the Quatz’z’Arts and the opera Four Saints in Three Acts. The artist Nick Mauss dedicates a space to Stettheimer’s poetry. The artist herself never showed her paintings in a white cube, and the stage designer Kathrin Frosch was brought in to create an exhibition setting inspired by Stettheimer’s art of the theatrical interior. (Lenbachhaus’ press release)

photos@VK

Matthias Mühling, director of Lenbachhaus

She designed her own furniture – a decorative commode, for instance, with a rounded form and fluted edges and a light, prop-like character. The International Style of architecture, which had been feted in architect Philip Johnson’s exhibition at New York’s Museum of Modern art in 1932, promoting the uncompromising modernism of European architects such as Le Corbusier, Ludwig Mies van der rome, and Walter Gropius, was antithetical to Stettheimer’s aesthetic. Her romantic, fantastical interior is like a dream space, as far removed from the dark, opulently decorated family home associated with her mother as from the modernists’ Love of clean lines and their aversion to soft furnishings. (from Kirsty Bell’s book “The Artist’s House”

installation view

(Walter Storm, München gallerist & Katja Eichinger, author & filmmaker on foreground, Ferdinand Huwendiek)

(Dr Burcu Dogramaci *professor at LMU and author, Gursoy Dogtas, writer )

(left, Debora Schamoni,München gallerist)

Venetia Kapernekas, photo@Eva Poetters

http://www.lenbachhaus.de/ausstellungen/florine-stettheimer/

*Dr Burcu Dogramaci’s latest book “In der Schlacht” Briefe des jüdischen Künstlers Bruno Jacob aus dem Ersten Weltkrieg, Köln: Böhlau 2014

http://www.amazon.de/In-Schlacht-jüdischen-Künstlers-Weltkrieg/dp/3412224073

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September 24, 2014

Munich_at Kustverein; a vernissage for a window display “Impressions of Youth in an Epoch of Death”…

24 September to 2 November 2014

A small vernissage last night at Kunsteverein (Tuesday 23 September 2014, 7.00pm) in the window display of Kunstverein München

‘Impressions of Youth in an Epoch of Death: The Beginnings and Ends of Vetjylien N’gyrz’

photos@VK

For the inaugural event in Kunstverein München’s new Autumn series k.m codex, artist’s Veit Laurent Kurz and Julien Nguyen have created a special window display dedicated to their fictitious character, the crypto-polymath Vetjylien N’gyrz.

An aged rock wall is installed as the backdrop for materials relating to the character’s early life as a botanist on the cusp of a formative moment that leads him to perverse thought and experimentation. Fashioned in the style of a grotto or early Christian catacomb, the display is infused with rusty tech, scepters and a veneration icon of a young N’gyrz.

and of course I walked away with a small present by Kunstverein

a beautiful and warm evening

more here http://www.kunstverein-muenchen.de/de/vetjylienngyrz

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September 18, 2014

Munich; Freunde Preview at Haus der Kunst; Georg Baselitz “Back then, in between, and today”

exhibition 19.09.14-01.02.15

A preview of the exhibition of Georg Baselitz at Haus der Kunst opened last night, sept 17th at 7 pm

The survey exhibition offers works that span fifty years. The focus lies on the recurring themes of figure and eagle. The new series of the “Black Paintings” form the contentual center of the conception; together with the monumental bronze sculptures, that were produced during the same time, they supply the iconographic focus of the exhibition.

Curator: Ulrich Wilmes

Opening talk
Georg Baselitz and Ulrich Wilmes, Chief Curator Haus der Kunst; Thursday, sept 18, 6.30 pm

The exhibition spreads in 12 rooms at the first level of the Hdk.

http://www.hausderkunst.de/en/

In his essay, curator Ulrich Wilmes analyzes Georg Baselitz’ artistic practice of a critical reflection of his own work against a new temporal background.

more here http://www.hausderkunst.de/en/agenda/detail/ulrich-wilmes-deep-dark-time/

a nice dinner in honor of Georg Baselitz followed at HdK

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