Øresund Bridge, Copenhagen - Denmark

Øresund Bridge, Copenhagen – Denmark

Hi Folks,

A body cut in half was found some years ago on this very spot in the middle of Øresund Bridge connecting Denmark with Sweden. Terrible incidence all together. The location of the body caused some confusion in the police departments’ jurisdiction and the investigation made big news. A Swedish police detective Saga Norén was teamed up with Martin Rohde from Danish police to investigate the case. Never has the collaboration between Danish and Swedish authorities been so smooth and beautiful. You may look up all about it in internet.

Øresund Bridge is magnificent. The lights on the background in the photo is Copenhagen. In that sense my nose is pointing to the wrong direction, namely to the Swedish city of Malmö. After my pal Zlatan Ibrahimović left Malmö, not that many good things remained there. If you happen to be in the same spot, make sure you continue your way to the beautiful Copenhagen instead Malmö. Some of the happiest people live in Copenhagen, as Denmark often ranks the happiest country in the world. In Copenhagen, just stroll around and you will find out why they are feeling so good.

-Gart

Mao - Andy Warhol

Mao – Andy Warhol

Hi Folks!

Mao Tse-tung has two achievements that are hard to top. Mao, at his time in the 60’s, was probably the most famous person in the world. Mao is also the most read writer in the world. Only Koran and Bible are printed in more copies than Mao’s Little Red Book. There’s already two reasons why Andy Warhol decided to paint and print thousands of portraits of Mao.

I was convinced that no one will beat Mao’s records, but then I saw Donald Trump. Donald is on his way getting famous, super-famous. The more he tweets, the more we hear of him. And by the way, Donald is already the credited author of about twenty books. I am sure, Warhol would paint a portrait of Trump, if Warhol was still around. While posing for Warhol, Donald would tweet something like: “Andy is painting my portrait, it’s going to be beautiful thing to watch!” After Warhol would finish the work, Donald’s comment to the press would be like:

 

Andy painted my portrait, I looked happy, I looked content, I looked like a very nice person, which in theory I am.

 

– Gart

Metelkova City, Ljubljana - Slovenia

Metelkova City, Ljubljana – Slovenia

Hi Folks!

These pinheads guard the gates of Metelkova City throughout the year. Metelkova is an autonomous part of Ljubljana – much like Christiania, the freetown in Kopenhagen. I was glad to find out that these young gentlemen took care of my wellbeing as I wondered through the streets of Metelkova just when all the region’s freaks were celebrating Halloween. It was a wild night but let me tell you, if you really want to go crazy and see the nut side of Ljubljana, take a walk on… Triple Bridges. I have seen some disturbing stuff in my life, but three bridges literally right next to each other crossing the Ljubljanica River takes a while to digest. Below is a pic of me and the Triple Bridges.

– Gart

The Triple Bridge, Ljubljana - Slovenia

Couple under an Umbrella - Ron Mueck

Couple under an Umbrella – Ron Mueck

Hi Folks!

If hairy old men wore burkinis for beach, it would have been a lot easier task for Ron Mueck to produce the hyperrealistic human sculpture Couple under an Umbrella (2013). To reproduce a life-like sculpture of a man in traditional bathers must be a huge challenge. Getting moles, saggy skin and random hair (e.g. in knuckles and toes) just right requires some skill and long hours. The outcome is impressive and surreal.

Ron is a man of detail. That’s why Ron would probably be my first choice (now when Joan Miró isn’t around anymore) to sculpt a realistic statue of me. Having a replica of myself would not actually be a bad idea. The replica could do my stunts. And possibly attend the most boring dinner parties instead of me. No one would notice. That would be a perfect arrangement leaving me more time to travel and enjoy life. Ron, if you see this, give me a call to agree on details!

– Gart

Pärnu - Estonia

Pärnu – Estonia

Hi Folks!

Pärnu is a marvelous town by the Baltic Sea. The beach in there is just great. There’s a bit of everything and that’s why it is only just that the town has two slogans. There were too many good proposals to choose from and that’s why the sensible people of the city decided to stick with two. Which one do you like the best: (1) Pärnu – Estonia ‘s native town! or (2) Pärnu – JUST SEE!

I really love both of them but I started to wonder, what were the proposed slogans that made it to the top 10 list but were not selected. I contacted the city hall of Pärnu and Hele (the wonderful assistant of the mayor) sent me a list. As I am a kind fella, I will share some of the ones that caught my attention.

Here’s the first one: Pärnu – Just enough of groove! Isn’t that fantastic. Just enough, but clearly not too much. Nothing over the top. You do not have to check your travel insurance before entering into the night of the city.

And another one of my favorites: Pärnu – Sand in all the right places! Some ad agency has clearly been involved in designing these. Who else would come up with these ideas. It’s good to know that there’s sand in all the right places but ruling out the opposite would be more important. With a little upgrade the idea could have become selected. How about: Pärnu – No sand in the wrong places!

Finally the last one of my favorites on the top 10 list: Pärnu – Just Do It. This is really cool, although it resembles a work of someone else and could be a rip off. I do not mean the other Pärnu-slogan (Pärnu – JUST SEE!). I mean this: Do It

-Gart

Alexanderplatz - Berlin, Germany

Alexanderplatz – Berlin

Hi Folks!

I know you are wondering what Europe will look like after Brexit. Since I am so nice, I will share the intel I have with you. I rented a time machine, travelled in time almost to year 2017 (ie. 2016) and landed on Alexanderplatz. Europe after Brexit seems to look clowdy, slightly futuristic and definitely pompous. Basically the whole of Berlin seemed a bit darker. Some local said to me that winter is coming right after the summer and autumn. He seemed trustworthy, although a bit depressed. He kept mumbling something about Brexit II and the vikings in Iceland, but it was beyond my understanding. Could it mean that the English get to vote to leave United Kingdom or even the island of Great Britain. Maybe England and Iceland will form an union. The future seems to be as interesting as it was last week.

-Gart

Start Stop Berlin

StartEscape graffiti – Gart

Hi Folks,

When I saw this stop-sign, I just could not help myself but add a little paint. I know, I’m guilty of vandalism. But sometimes the end justifies the means. I mean the piece was clearly unfinished and needed a little bit something. Now it’s perfect. I still want to point out to all the kids out there, graffiti is wrong, respect the public property and above all respect a stop sign.

– Gart

Narrow House - Erwin Wurm

Narrow House – Erwin Wurm

Hi Folks!

Narrow House (2010) is really narrow and that is how Erwin Wurm designed it just to make a point. And I guess the point is that narrow minded people live in narrow houses OR narrow houses make people narrow minded OR something like that. Apparently Erwin suffered some difficulties in expressing himself in post-war Austria. So Erwin must have had some firsthand experience on narrow minded people. And that is why Erwin built this most narrow house in the world. My question to Erwin is: could you not build a house that is even more narrow? If You can, please do so. At least someone should do something, because just a few days ago an Austrian far-right party won first round of presidential election (obviously in Austria). En Vogue sang: “Free your mind and the rest will follow”. But what will happen if a narrow minded person frees his/her mind – what will be the rest that will follow and do we even want to know?

– Gart

Alcatraz - The White House

Alcatraz – The White House

Hi Folks,

Clint Eastwood went through hell to escape from the federal prison in Alcatraz Island. The escape was captured on film by a marvelous documentarist Don Siegel, and later published in a movie documentary titled Escape from Alcatraz. It’s a classic! Now Donald Trump is trying the same in reverse, when he runs for President of the United States. Oh my dear! There must be a parallel universe where things are the other way around: Donald Trump tries to escape from the infamous Alcatraz and Clint Eastwood runs for president. Just imagine the campaign Clint is running in the parallel universe. This Ennio Morricones composition is played as Clint’s entrance song in a candidate debate: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly Theme. Clint looks right into the camera and says calmly but firmly: “People have got to know whether or not their President is a crook. Well, I’m not a crook. I’ve earned everything I’ve got”. The crowd goes crazy. Crazy is as crazy does and that saying goes for Mr. Donald as well. If Donald Trump was to be placed behind bars, I’m not too convinced that the right place is behind the bars that are placed on the backyard lawn of the White House.

-Gart

The Fertile Crescent - Anselm Kiefer

The Fertile Crescent – Anselm Kiefer

Hi Folks!

The Fertile Crescent (2009) displays the building or demolition of the Tower of Babel. According to the folklore a god demolished the tower. I’m not accusing the god of a bad judgment but one might wonder, was it really necessary. But what was necessary was Herr Anselm Kiefer (or Uncle Anselm as I call him) to paint this art piece. Actually, I would describe most of Uncle Anselm’s works necessary. A young art student Anselm become famous by photographing himself in his father’s Wehrmacht uniform and giving Nazi salutes in various sites all over Europe. Of course Anselm was misunderstood and the public thought that he had Nazi sympathies. He has been fearless ever since and has fronted difficult subjects in his art causing controversy throughout the decades. The size of Anselm’s works also indicates Anselm’s fearlessness. Some might afford to buy his painting but only the 1 % can afford a tower tall enough for hanging the painting.

-Gart

Jacob's Heavenly Blood - Anselm Kiefer

Jacob’s Heavenly Blood – Anselm Kiefer

The secret life of plants for Robert Fludd - Anselm Kiefer

The secret life of plants for Robert Fludd – Anselm Kiefer