If you do not know what to do with your time, and you don’t want to just hang around with chips and beer you should see the book presentation and the exhibition of the graphic designer and prof at Weißensee Andreas Trogisch. He’s been making foots for about 30 years, but he has always kept them from the public.

Especially theat long period of time – from the early 80s of the GDR until today – makes his work Von Ferne und Magico (Peperoni Books) extremely interesting and special. The hosts from 25 BOOKS on Brunnenstraße call Trogisch a discoverer who is really loving photography. If you want to see something completely different and, for a change, also alter your viewing habits you should go and see the exhibition. It would be our pleasure if we could welcome some of our readers there.

LOOK INSIDE | ZUM BUCH

25BOOKS Showroom // Brunnenstraße 152, 10115 Berlin // Fr, 15. Oktober 2010 19 Uhr

Ob man nun die neuen Hedi Slimane Fotos in der Fantastic Man bewundern will oder sich in der italienischen Vogue an den High Fashion Kompositionen der Stunde ergötzen will, spielt gar keine Rolle. Magazinstores sind die neuen Plattenläden – Anziehungspunkte für Scenesters der hippen Viertel rund um den Globus. Viele (Angehende) Akteure aus Medien, Design und Kunst suchen hier ein mildes Socialising und begutachten die Erzeugnisse der eigenen Industrie. So dürfen Dazed & Confused,Man About Town, Vorn, I Love You, Ein Magazin über Orte, Lodown, Zoo Magazine, Dummy and 032c hier natürlich nicht fehlen.

Was wirklich wichtig ist im gegenwärtigen Magazinkosmos, das gibt es hier auch. Darüber hinaus verfügt Issue Berlin, der neue Fachhändler für erlesene Druckerzeugnisse, über eine bequeme Couch sowie die obligatorische Auswahl an Tageszeitungen und Büchern.

Zu unserer Erleichterung ist nicht nur das Establishment der gegenwärtigen Kunst- und Kulturlandschaft vertreten. Auch ganz neue und nahezu unbekannte Publikationen sind mit ins Sortiment aufgenommen worden. Erwähnt sei außerdem noch, dass die Macher von Issue Berlin die ehemalige Location der Fashion-Boutique A.D. Deertz sehr stilvoll, schlicht und doch einladend gestaltet haben. Und es ist immer so schön still.

Issue Berlin. Internationale Magazine und Bücher.

Kastanienallee 58. 10119 Berlin. Tel. 030.44327089 Fax. 030.44324711

Opening Hours. Mon-Sat 12-20

Since it hasn’t been long that I have returned from my vacation, it is all still a bit chaotic at my place. Having returned 3 days ago my bags are all finally (more or less) unpacked, but everywhere is still stuff that I’ve brought from abroad and still haven’t got a place to put it. It’s things like books, CDs and LPs, post cards. magazines and little souvenirs. But that’s not that bad. This awful weather makes you stay at home anyways, so there is enough time to tidy up the mess.

A few minutes ago I have installed the program TuneUp on my computer. This very useful software comes in that cool package you can see on the picture underneath. Having bought this in Apple Store I am so much looking forward to having the make over of my iTunes library.

Shortly: TuneUp is cleaning up for you. It is adding missing information like artist, album name, genre, etc. It’s deleting useless duplicates and removes any mistakes in your library and also adds missing album covers. In the twinkling of an eye your itunes is becoming that tidy library of all your beloved songs you always wanted it to be.

The coolest thing is all the great information you get while listening to a song. Listening to the new album by Caribou you get to know everything about their tour and when they’ll be playing in your city. How cool is that?!

P.S.: The guys of TuneUp are also bloggers. Check it out!

Travels # 8

Just like in SoHo the Meatpacking District has become a place where, bit by bit, expensive designer labels have moved to. The district is characterized by industrial buildings that remind you of cities like Chemnitz or the Ruhr Area. Berlin has actually never been such an industrial city. But just like our dear friends from New York we always knew how to use empty buildings in a good way. Clubs, galleries and many more things have found place in those old buildings…

But unlike SoHo, the Meatpacking District doesn’t have a tradition in the scene. It only started when all the butchers slowly closed down, when the empty buildings started to become interesting and the Neighborhood was suddenly attractive. All the expensive labels are, compared with those streets that are in a very bad state and the buildings from the 90s, already a complete opposite. This whole process was being supported when the New York Magazine gave a price in 2004 to the MPD, saying it was the most fashionable neighborhood in town. It’s a little bit like when Moabit would suddenly be the place to be in Berlin.

In the west the MPD is being bordered by th West Side Hwy and the Hudson River, in the north there is the 18th Street, in the east you’ve got the 8th Avenue and Bethune Street is the border in the south. For shopping I’d recommend Washington, as well as 12th and 14th Street. If it is rather food you are looking for, you should check out 15th and 16th Street. But of course there are still many more nice places to eat, for example 9th Avenue.

The Neighborhood will also in the future be a hotspot in Manhattan. That’s also because the construction work on the High Line is making progress. It hasn’t been used for quite some time, but since the first section has been re-opened everyone is eager to see more. The track starts in the MPD and goes all the way up to the 20th Street. On the track is the most extraordinary park I’ve ever heard of. Visiting New York City it’s not an option not to see it! All important information can be read here.

For more comparisons of the two beautiful cities you can read our other articles or visit berlin-newyork.hkw.de for various statistics.

Similar articles: Metropolen im Vergleich | Berlin vs. SoHo, N.Y. | Berlin vs. East Village, N.Y.

text & photos by Eugen Braeunig

At the Humboldt Umspannwerk the Art parlour of Berlin (Kunstsalon) is starting its 7th round. Traditionally it always starts a day before the ART FORUM BERLIN, so you can very well speak of an “autumn of art” in Berlin. The groupe exhibition that is located on Kopenhagener Straße 58 is right next to the International exposition. That is of course attracting all kind of people. Artists, curators, directors and art-lovers and collectors.

That’s why we are kind of obligated to at least sometimes commute between Charlottenburg and Prenzlauer Berg. But it is worth it: You get the chance to see many important contemporary artists all at once. And of course, just like with other exhibitions of this kind, you get many more smaller exhibitions and many places to discuss what you have seen.

Similar articles: Streets of Mitte # 1 | Streets of Mitte # 2 | Streets of Mitte # 3

text & photos by Eugen Braeunig

The vimeo user Pilpop has made a great, 9 minutes long portrait of our beloved city called Little Big Berlin. Everything is included – the big and important sights, as well as the little and kind of hidden attractions of our city. Every other second is a cut and we get a completely new view on the city we call our home. So many things you already know is showing itself from a whole new perspective. Pilpop is supporting the video with a great sound, Franz Liszts “Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2” and that makes everything seem easy and playful. You can also see how much a difference it makes if someone knows how to use the equipment and how to involve visual effects. He even uploaded a little tutorial on that. But here’s the film:

Click here to view the embedded video.

You realize quite quickly, thatb during those 9 minutes there will never be a point of view that sees the people and the events as on an equal level. Isn’t it just great how he always manages to get an elevated point of view?! But still: Nothing isn shaky, it all seems just natural.

Similar articles: Streets of Mitte # 1 | Streets of Mitte # 2 | Streets of Mitte # 3

text & photos by Eugen Braeunig

What you call a Kiez in Berlin, is a Neighborhood in New York. One of my recent posts was all about the neighborhood SoHo and its similarities to Berlin Mitte. And I guess there are more than you would actually believe.

Today I want to look at something completely different. The Lincoln Center and the Philharmonic Orchestra of Berlin. A few days ago I have seen a show in the Lincoln Center. The main complex includes not only the philharmonics, but also the opera and the ballet. We had the enormous pleasure of experiencing the New York City Ballet live on stage. The programme included different parts from various pieces by composers like Bruno Moretti, Igor Stravinsky or Sergei Prokofiev. It was just amazing and one of the lovliest experiences in a long time.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Watch more

Today I was having another look at the little program and once again I was reading something about Prokofiev; it was about his touching biography, as well as about his major pieces.On youtube I then found a Symphony No. 5 and that also led me to the channel of the Philharmonic Orchestra of Berlin.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Isn’t it nice that we have somethung along those lines in Berlin as well?! And I think it is even better that we can experience (at least) some of this magical music as a virtual concert at home. There are also live videostreams availible. All the uploaded videos are in a great quality. I can only recommend it. It is even great for people who usually don’t listen to that much classical music.

The New York Times presents: Life After Ballet / The School of American Ballet / Art Fairs in New York

Photo taken from the video “NYC Ballet’s Rebecca Krohn on “Movements for Piano and Orchestra”

Travels # 6

There is no question. You cannot, in any way, compare SoHo with Berlin in terms of architecture. With the Cast-Iron Historic District in its centre; the cast-iron facades have a very great recognition value. Nevertheless, SoHo doesn’t even seem antique in our 21st century world. This district is urban, electric and always varies is shape.

Similar to the Greenwich Village, the self-manifested coolness of the area had a lot to do with the boom. Rising leases also brought big names like Prada, Apple, Chanel or American Apparel into the area. There are also very classy hotels like the A60 on Thompson Street. That’s why it is quite funny that there are still hippie-bars like Sway Lounge, The SubMercer or The Room on Sullivan Street.

Even though many artists, musicians and intellectuals have moved away, SoHo still relates to those people, especially with things like the Guggenheim Museum. It’s just on a commercial level. The fact that millions of people walk through the streets of SoHo every year only strengthens the point that it still seems to be fulfilling most of the people’s expections.

Similar articles: Metropolen im Vergleich | Berlin vs. Meatpacking District, N.Y. | Berlin vs. East Village, N.Y.

text & photos by Eugen Braeunig

Travels # 4

Just a little while ago I finally had a reason to get myself one of those cool Wallpaper guides that is published by the Phaidon publishing house. I’ve always been tempted to get one. Price: €8,95 only. Very soon I will be starting my trip to Washington and I guess the small, mint-green book will be my loyal fellow. The cheap plane tickets were of course found on expedia.de and a sweet hotel on hotels.com. Let the adventure begin.

While having a look through this very handy book, and starting to look at Washington, D.C., with the same consciouness of design like the wallpaper editors, I realize that there isn’t a single flaw regarding this book. This series seems to be looking as well at good content, and also at including very aesthetic photography. This guidebook (which has a very intuitive design) with its thumb index, subject areas like landmarks, hotels, 24 hours, urban life or shopping even gives you enough space to make your own notes.

For people from Berlin I guess districts like Adams Morgan, Dupont Circle and U Street/14th Street Corridor will be interesting in particular. All of those places are multicultural areas with a great night life. What a contrast: The government district of Washington couldn’t be any more different compared with the one in Berlin.

But just to make it very clear, that Berlin and Washington are completely different we should look at some facts: Washington isn’t even nearly as densely populated as Berlin. Our beloved capital has also an area more than four times as much as the one of Washington. The only similarity: berlin used to be seperated by a wall, in Washington racsim used to be driving a gap between the people. But i guess the two cities will still not be having a common denominator. Let’s put it this way: Washington equals Charlottenburg plus Mitte, without Kreuzberg and Prenzlauer Berg but with Hamburg. Or something like that …

Similar articles: Travels # 1 | Travels # 2 | Travels # 3

text & photos by Eugen Braeunig

Streets of Mitte # 6

The artists who hang out at Tacheles are still very eager to fight for their cause, even though the place is being „invaded“ by tourists. The TAZ has recently reported that the people who are resdent at Tacheles at the moment have issued a lawyer’s approval certificate. Appearently the document says, that the area should have been returned to the actual owners back in 2008.

The reason for that is the fact that the investors have never build anything on sight. And that basically nullyfies the contract. It has been sold more than 15 years ago! Sadly nothing has happend in this very well-located area between Oranienburger and Friedrichstrasse ever since. The cultural sight has only grown to the people from Berlin in all those years.

If you feel like supporting the cause to maintain Tacheles you can do that here! I support Tacheles.TAZ

Similar articles: Streets of Mitte # 1 | Streets of Mitte # 2 | Streets of Mitte # 3

text & photos by Eugen Braeunig