After a long period of silence I would like to continue this blog. I just came back from a long journey which includes preparations for our next project EXOTIKA 2013 in Thailand and also a 2 month stay at Sulawesi in Indonesia. Most of the time in Indonesia we have been in areas without internet and mobile phone.
natural harbor, somewhere on the journey
Skellig Michael (left; Little Skellig on the right) is more than 200m high.
The Residency in Cill Rialaig, Co. Kerry, Ireland is called an artists’ retreat – and a retreat it is: I almost feel a bit like one of those monks that around the year 500 lived on Skellig Michael, a steep, rocky island 14 km off the coast from my filming spot on Bolus Head and back. Not having a car nor the internet (I am writing this post from a gallery in town, 5 km down the road), my daily activity is dominated by the 10 km hike up to Bolus Head and making a turf fire when I get back home. Continue reading …
As always, it took more time than I thought. But now my new website is online. There are much more videos to see, diashows etc.. www.bblauth.de
And I worked on my presentation on Vimeo: http://vimeo.com/bblauth
My experiences with BEK – Bergen Center for Electronic Art – are the complete opposite from those described in the last entry: It is amazing how they helped me, both with personal knowledge and advice as well as with equipment: I could borrow a professional audio recorder and a super tripod which I could hardly have transported here by airplane. And their animation expert helped me realizing my first little animated cartoon (a ship’s course on an ancient map) within a video. Moreover the Center is characterized by the openness and friendliness of its staff members – mostly artists themselves – who make you feel welcome and take your artistic issues seriously. Thanks BEK!
Bergen University (Universitetet i Bergen, UiB) is also a source of valuable information and footage: The university library ordered the books I needed on Norse history and the Vinland subject from the universities of Trondheim and Oslo, the Maritime Museum (also part of UiB) opened its library specialised on navigation for me and an expert for viking ships from CMS (Centre for Medieval Studies) provided advice as well as his complete data base of ship imagery! Thanks UiB!
And next week I will meet with the advisor of the Bergen University Museum that houses the cultural and natural history collections to see if we have an overlap in interest.
As much of my work is based on scientific research I have been in contact with many different research institutes over the last years. I have received a lot of support but even when they could not help me I have always experienced an open and respectful attitude towards me as a reaction to the openness and respect I was offering. Now, here in Bergen I addressed the Institute of Marine Research (IMR): I introduced me and my work, wrote a letter of intent and sent a cv as well as selected work documentation – digital and printed. After a short and admittedly friendly meeting with one of the scientists I was forwarded to the Department of Communication. I do not know what they do there but it is definitely not communicating with others… maybe they have a good time communicating among each other!? My polite attempts by email and by phone to ask for some sort of response were repeatedly ignored over the last 5 weeks. I do not have a problem with a negative answer concerning a request of mine but I expect a professional reaction from a national institute that even affords an extra department designated to communication – and not the waste of my precious residency time.
Last week I left Bergen for a few days to attend my mother’s 70th birthday celebrations. I didn’t touch base in Dortmund but went straight from Frankfurt Airport to Saarbrücken and back 3 days later. After these days that were characterized by a big gathering of family and (my mother’s) friends, all people I hadn’t seen in a while, coming back to Bergen was indeed like coming home.
I never interrupted a residency to go back to Germany before and thought it might disturb my feeling for the place – but the opposite is the case: I feel more connected to Bergen and my studio than before. – Now, I am facing the fact that I have only 3 weeks left and cannot imagine to leave…
15. 2. 2012 Ferry from Una Una to Wakai
More ideas for the H-O-P-E installation:
1. Around the video screen the exhibition room is surrounded with a swarm of small black ink drawings, framed with black frames.
2. The x-ray spotlighted wall painting is getting local sound loops, related to its areas.
3. Searching for more school book illustrations about UN history, looking for pictures of clorification of the UN, similarities to the painting.
4. Jesus with stretched armes, like a traffic police man.
5. Research about relations of United Nations history to offshore business paradises like for example Nauru. Continue reading …
13. 2. 2012 Una Una Islands
We made it onto the unofficial island. Here is no accommodation for tourists, and the people here are officially not allowed to stay permanently. Una Una was evacuated in 1983, shortly before a volcanic eruption. Luckely, the temporary houses don´t look different than the normal houses on other islands around, only the representative buildings of local representations of the government, banks, companies etc. are missing, instead there are still a lot of old buildings, dutch stile, half ruined, half in use. And slowly, these beautiful old stone house, with a very photogenic patina are renovated again. Continue reading …
12. 2. 2012 Bolilanga Island
Not far from here away, I can see the small Bau village Katupat. On the other side, far outside in the open sea, maybe 10 km away, I can see one single house on pillars, it is built to protect the fishermen, when a storm is coming. This house is one of last of its kind, it reminds to the earlier times, when traveling by boat was slow, before the invention of motor boats. Continue reading …
10. 2. 2012, Malenge Island
I tell our bungalow neighbours, elder Canadians: “It is so impressive for me to return to Germany and going shopping for food the first time. The variarity and the low prizes of all kinds of food in the supermarkets are shocking me.” They react on this: Oh no, go to “Carryfree”, this is a food chain with french management, based almost everywhere in the world, also in Asia.” I think: Interesting. They don´t get my point. Of cause, as a White, i can enter any Starbucks worldwide. What i wanted to say: “Food is so highly subventioned in Europe, i feel ashamed, when i see the prizes of the same from overseas imported products in other parts of the world. A Chilean whine in a german supermarket: 2 $. The same bottle somewhere in Africa or asia: 20 $. At the airport in Kinshasa, i talked to an UN project manager from Nepal, working in finances in the Congo. I asked him, what for the UN is the most important to do in Congo. He answered, building up a new agriculture. Every small farm could feed a whole family, and the investment would be not very high. Continue reading …
