- Have consumed a large bottle of beer while walking down the street without fear of ticketing.
- Have been "controlled" (translation: asked for my ticket by undercover type agents on the U-Bahn). Sort of terrifying.
- Have attended art exhibit opening in Berlin.
Prior to the exhibit opening, I attended an open studio night at the Reichsbahnausbesserungswerks, better known as RAW. (I just wanted to see if I could type that whole ridiculous word out). And here's what's super awesome about art galleries in Berlin: they might just make a waffle for you right on the spot. But I digress.
Through a friend back in Brooklyn, I was linked to a German artist named Ralf Tekaat. It was his studio, filled with beautiful landscape drawings that I toured at RAW. However, last month, I went to his exhibit opening at the G.A.S.-Station. In 2002, Tekaat spent some time in New York City, working on the prized piece he currently has on exhibition at this space in Kreuzberg. I had the opportunity to chat with Tekaat at the opening and learned that his fascination with American writer, Thomas Pynchon and specifically the novel Gravity's Rainbow, led to his creation of photos and text strewn across the walls. Although based in New York City, Pynchon has kept such a low profile throughout the years that his identify and very existence have turned into quite a mystery. Tekaat plays with these questions against the gritty backdrop of the Big Apple, inviting the onlooker to join the chase like some chain smoking NYC detective.
I am most definitely no art critic but I found Tekaat's exhibit fascinating. Although NYC is not my real home, it was strangely comforting to see photos of the city, despite all of the accompanying German text. The incongruence between the images and language resulted in a "so close and yet so far " feeling, something I experience so often in my life. Wait, kind of like a certain artist "chasing" a certain author?
Hmmm....job well done.
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