Culture: Deafheaven @ Music Hall Of Williamsburg, New York 2014

 

(Drivebycuriosity) - Are you seeking the essence of rock music? Then you should attend a concert by Deafheaven.  Last Sunday my wife and I visited their gig @ Music Hall Of Williamsburg in Brooklyn, New York City. This was already the 4th show of the Californian death metal group - after Bowery Ballroom (New York 2011) and Bottom Lounge & Pitchfork Festival (both Chicago last July  pitchfork).

Again, the show was breathtaking. The band provided delicately structured melodies, sometimes like baroque compositions by Händel ("Music for the Royal Fireworks") and Vivaldi ("The Four Seasons"), but delivered them with a furious power. They created massive walls of sound which lead to an unique melange of grace and sheer power.

                                                              


                           Master Of Celebration


Frontman George Clarke`s performance was unique. As at the former concerts his show was exalted and feverish.  The frenetic energy of Clarke´s screams perfectly harmonized with the sound of the band (3 guitars and drums).

Clarke is also a master of celebration. During his shows he orchestrates the crowd before the stage like a great conductor. As a part of the show he let himself fall into the crowd while continuing his screams. He literally sought "das Bad in der Menge" (as we would say in German), loosely translated with "takes a bath in the crowd." The combination of band, voice and show mingled together into a very intense concert experience.

Thanks a lot to George Clarke and Deafheaven. Hope to see you soon again in New York.

Contemporary Art: Galleries Fest On Lower East Side, New York 2014

 

(Drivebycuriosity) - New York´s Lower East Side (LES) is changing fast. The neighborhood has been once the slum of New York City,  in the 1960s,70s, and 80s people came to buy drugs there. Meanwhile the LES advanced to the party area of Manhattan, at least some parts of it. But the district also got class and glamour. In the recent years a legion of galleries, mostly catering contemporary art, popped up, making LES to an alternative to the glamorous Chelsea area. Today the LES stands for the more affordable, rough and experimental part of contemporary art.

Last weekend the Lower East Side galleries celebrated themselves and their artists. Dozens of galleries gave opening receptions for their new exhibitions. Unfortunately the time spans were short, usally from 6pm to 8pm, so I got just some pieces from the huge pie. But anyway, here you can see some impressions from the latest gallery fest on Lower East Side.

Above this paragraph you can see works I photographed @ JTT Gallery on 170a Suffolk Street (jttnyc). Their current exhibition - called: "Move the world back from the abyss of destructions" - runs through October 26, 2014.

Above you can see "Window 5"  by Tom Costa  (2014, oil on canvas) found @ Lesley Heller Workspace on 54 Orchard Street (lesleyheller). This is part of the exhibition "Destructure" (through October 12). I can not identify the black one, but I saw it also @ Lesley Heller and the technique looks similar to Costa`s "Window 5".

Above is a collection of pics I got at diverse galleries:

1. Madame X, no. 4 (2014 - crayon on paper) by Sanda Iliescu found @ Gallery Molly Krom. The exhibtion called "In The Garden Of (Plastic) Paradise" runs through october 5, 2014 (gallerykrom).

2. This is I believe from the exhibition "Dennis Holligworth: You Will Know" @ Hionas Gallery on 124 Forsyth Street (through october 5, 2014  hionas ).   

3: Another picture from Lesley Heller Workspace: Gardenscape (2010
Collected recycled plastic, wood panel, acrylic and hardware), created by Tyrome Tripoli.

4. This one belongs to the exhibition "Strauss Bourque-LaFrance: No Aloha"
 @ Rachel Uchner on 170 Suffolk Street (between Houston and Stanton) (through October 19 racheluffner).

This group was a bit hard to identify. Many of these galleries don`t spend much money for their websites and to put their art shows fully online.

1. I believe that I discovered this image @ DCKT Contemporary on 21 Orchard Street (dckt)

2. This one belongs to another exhibition @ Rachel Uchner. This show is called  "Flat Neighbors" (racheluffner). There are really funny and weird things to see - cutting edge!

The others I collected somewhere on Orchard Road where you can find a thick cluster of art shows.

The space paintings above are from the Italian artist Giorgio Tardonato, found  @ Gallery Artifact on 84 Orchard Street btw Broome & Grand (through September 28 artifact).




                                                                      Anything Goes

Angela Dufresne`s paintings @ Monya Rowe Gallery on 34 Orchard St (monyarowe) have some kinky messages. Anything goes. The exhibition is called "Let`s stay together" and runs through November 2, 2014.

The events attracted the usual chic crowds. Many hosts served drinks as usual which lifted the sentiment. So the receptions became cool parties.

If you go there you will find much more and you can see the artworks in original. Enjoy

Globalization: China - What We Could Learn From Alibaba

(Drivebycuriosity) - Alibaba, the Chinese E-commerce giant, is preparing his IPO on the New York Stock Exchange. Soon the online goliath will have to report quarterly earnings and a lot of other company numbers like every US listed company. Alibaba´s stock price, activities, profit & revenue numbers will draw the public attention to a neglected aspect of the Chinese economy: The explosive growth of the Asian Internet economy and the advancing Chinese service sector as a whole.

Today the public picture of China is pessimistically biased because the media are focused on the negative aspects: air pollutions, empty residental & office towers, export dependency and high debts. The sentiment for China is spoiled by notorious China bears like New York Times correspondent Paul Krugman and Jim Chanos, a hedge fund manager and short seller. These China pessimists have been banging the "China crash drum" for years  (driveby). The China crash callers claim that China is suffering from huge structural problems like too high debts and too huge investments into real estate which would cause a "hard landing" of the Chinese economy. 

Alibaba will show the other - neglected - side of China. Alibaba could open the eyes for a huge country which is rapidly advancing.  The Alibaba numbers - which are already big and fast growing - will show that China is rapidly transforming into a modern economy driven by a swiftly rising service industry. Alibaba will show the growing  importance of the Internet for China´s modernization. Alibaba - and other Chinese Internet giants - are driving the technological progress in China which will fuel the growth of the general economy and alleviate the problems the media and the China pessimists are too much focused on.

Globalization: Why An Independent Scotland Would Be Better Off

(Drivebycuriosity) - The map of Europe could change soon. On September 18 the Scots will decide if Scotland will stay a part of the United Kingdom or if will become independent. According to the latest opinion poll  51% declared that they will vote Yes for an independent Scotland.

I believe that the Scots would be better off if they go their own ways. They could follow the role model of Singapore. The city state  gained 1965 independence from Malaysia. Today the country is one of the most developed and wealthiest countries in Asia. The citizens of the tiny country gained more income & wealth since the secession than their neighbors in Malaysia. A political independent Scotland can benefit, as Singapore is doing, from the globalization. Intense trade relationships with the rest of the world replace the advantages of being part of a large nation.

An independent Scotland would also benefit from the fact that small countries (and independent regions) are less complicated than huge states. They are easier to govern and to manage and therefore are less bureaucratic. The government of an independent Scotland would be closer to their citizens as the government in London which has to deals with other regions. An independent Scottish government could respond better to local needs. Government decisions about taxes, health car, public spending and more could be fairer. Switzerland has been proving for many centuries that little countries can do well. The Swiss are wealthier than the citizens of their neighbors Germany, France & Italy.


                                                          Creative Environment

The secession of Scotland would lead to a decentralization. Economists have often described the benefits of decentralization.  Wikipedia writes that decentralization "increases efficiency - and effectiveness - due to reduction of congestion in communications, quicker reaction to unanticipated problems, improved ability to deliver of services, improved information about local conditions, and more support from beneficiaries of programs" (wikipedia).

The Italian Renaissance happened as Italy was just a cluster of independent tiny states like Milan, Florence, Pisa, Siena, Genoa, Ferrara, Mantua, Verona and Venice. The competition between these places created an creative environment that inspired advances in arts, science and business (wikipedia). The independent Greek cities (Athen, Byzantium, Sparta, Troy and more) developed democracy. The huge Roman Empire instead, which spread from Northern Africa to Southern England, broke down under its own weight.

Another argument for Scotland´s session comes from the dissolution of the late Soviet Union which has been governed central from Moscow. Many regions, which had been part of the gigantic stated, used the breakdown of  to gain freedom and to become independent states: The Baltic states (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania) plus Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Moldova and more. At least some of the them have flourishing economies now. Other parts of the former Soviet empire also broke apart: Yugoslavia  (now the separate states Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia, Herzegovina, Montenegro, Macedonia & Slovenia) and Czechoslovakia (now separate Czech Republic & Slovakia).

I believe that small countries (and separate regions) have just one disadvantage: They are military weak and could be easily overrun by enemies. But the existence of Switzerland, Singapore, Luxembourg and other tiny countries shows that this risk is very low. It is not likely that Scotland will be attacked by its neighbors  UK or Norway.

Viva la independence.