Archive for February, 2012

“The Tolstoy of Transylvania”

Posted in Uncategorized with tags , , , , on 29 February 2012 by delclem

“In his column in the Daily Telegraph, former editor Charles Moore praises Miklós Bánffy as ‘the Tolstoy of Transylvania’. Ardent Banffyites like yours truly are always pleased when the Hungarian novelist gets attention in the English-speaking world, which happens all too rarely. (…) Simply put,  Bánffy is a must-read.” Reblogged text (c) andrewcusack.com, 2008

Attacks, re-interpretations & body images

Posted in Uncategorized with tags , , on 28 February 2012 by delclem

Until 27 March every Tuesday is a must-go movie day on which the Viennese organisation sixpackfilm takes a closer look at the development of Austrian experimental cinema in the Filmhauskino. >More info (c) wieninternational.at, 2012

“Astral paintings & cultural ruins”

Posted in Uncategorized on 27 February 2012 by delclem

Until the end of May you still have the chance to immerse yourself in Anselm Kiefer’s gloomy artistic world – at the exhibition taking place at the Essl Museum in Klosterneuburg, Lower Austria. >Read more

“Whores’ Glory”

Posted in Uncategorized with tags , , , , , , , , on 26 February 2012 by delclem

Whore’s Glory is the last movie in Austrian director Michael Glawogger’s trilogy about the globalization of the proletariat, which also includes Megacities (1998) and Workingman’s Death (2005). It deals with prostitution inside three culturally different environments (Thailand, Bangladesh, Mexico), stepping deeper into the world’s oldest profession than any film before.” >MORE / interview, stills, trailer
(c) bturn, 2012 (reblogged)

Yanko Tsvetkov’s stereotype maps

Posted in Uncategorized with tags , , , , on 25 February 2012 by delclem

“It’s well known that Americans have a disarmingly blunt view of other nationalities, but seeing such brazen prejudices laid out, country by country, might shock even them. This is the world as depicted by graphic artist Yanko Tsvetkov. It is also a world in which gay men view Ireland as ‘being in denial’ and Greeks see the rest of Europe as a ‘Union of Stingy Workaholics’. Plus, read Tim Dowling’s interview with Yanko Tsvetkov: ‘Is it what they think of us?'” (c) THE GUARDIAN, 2012

>More maps

Racist row in Ukraine

Posted in Uncategorized with tags , , , , on 23 February 2012 by delclem

“Ukrainian singer Gaitana won the hearts of the judges in her bid to represent her country in the Eurovision Song Contest this year. However, the 32-year-old, who was born in Kiev to a Congolese father and a Ukrainian mother has scored, “nul points” from a politician who has said she is not representative of Ukraine because of the colour of her skin.” > Story & video (c) euronews, 2012

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Undead anniversary

Posted in Uncategorized with tags , , , , , , on 22 February 2012 by delclem

 

The European vampire is celebrating his/her/its birthday.

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On a winter day 280 years ago, a creature came out of its dark graves in the Balkans, into the bright day of the “enlightened” European public: the vampire.

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Androgynous Aussie from the Balkans

Posted in Uncategorized with tags , , , , , , , , on 18 February 2012 by delclem

The amazing story of Andrej Pejić, a young man of Bosnian descent who has become a famous model – for women’s fashion, creating a “third space”, a gender bypass as it were: an embodiment of the utopias of cultural theory as formulated e.g. by Homi Bhabha and Judith Butler?

However, the really interesting question is not his/her sexual orientation – as stupid journalists keep asking – but what created his “in-betweenness”: was it the rejection of the prevailing masculinity concepts of his old country of origin? is it war trauma, at least experienced from a second generation? In any case, there seems to be a Bosnian prehistory which nobody has investigated so far.

Btw., he is the man who outraged censors because he exposed his “breasts”…
What if the whole thing around him is just a clever marketing gimmick?

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Mozart : Vienna = love/hate

Posted in Uncategorized with tags , , , , on 17 February 2012 by delclem

“Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, most probably Austria’s most famous composer ever, is famous all over the world. Equally well-known is the fact that he often experienced financial difficulties. It would be incorrect, however, to assume that his debts were solely the result of his extravagant lifestyle. The temporary exhibition ‘Between Fear and Hope – Mozart’s rise and fall in Viennese society’ in the historic Mozarthaus in the first district shows how his career was not all a bed of roses.”

>article (c) wieninternational.at, 2012

New life for factories

Posted in Uncategorized with tags , , , on 16 February 2012 by delclem

The Slovak capital Bratislava has a rich industrial legacy. Abandoned tobacco factories, water storage tanks, gasworks and railway stations, some of which are over a hundred years old, are prominent features of the urban landscape. Because of the city’s rapid development, these gigantic sites, which used to be on the outskirts, are now gradually being incorporated into the city and are thus attracting the attention of real estate developers” – and museum projects…

>article (c) wieninternational.at, 2012