day 11

escaping the noise
and dust to the pale
gold of sugary heights

finds otr cairo_03
march 15th 2012

day 10

and today alone
in the past
and with the smiling fish

finds otr cairo_02
march 14th 2012

day 9

bright green it is
amidst the dusty layers
of the vanquisher



finds otr cairo_01
march 13th 2012

day 8

the sand and the dust
on the way and here
filtering the view

finds otr sinai_01
march 12th 2012

day 7

the last light
on the sea
sparkle eye good bye

finds otr tel aviv_07
march 11th 2012

day 6

and the celebration
in the hills
of less dispute

finds otr tel aviv_06
march 10th 2012

day 5

crisis suitcase
roof and wind and wigs
and dinner and songs

finds otr tel aviv_05

march 9th 2012

(intensified my sunburn today on the roof. learned about generators and many buttons. and saw things that i saw before. in a live scenario. now the sun has set and it is friday night.)

day 4

flask and mask
drown the fear
peng peng peng

finds otr tel aviv_04
march 8th 2012

(going to gan meir dizengof in the morning i knew i found the place to look for last night's remnants.)

day 3

walking the east of town
talking the least of trust
and the drilling goes on



finds otr tel aviv_03
march 7th 2012

(the little photo shows a drawing with the words "believe the hype - live a lie". the drawing appears on a torn out page of a german language version - luther's translation - of a part of the epistle to the ephesians as quoted below)


Ende Kapitel 4
Weisungen für das neue Leben
32. Seid aber untereinander freundlich, herzlich und vergebet einer dem andern, gleichwie Gott euch auch vergeben hat in Christo. (Matthäus 6.14) (Matthäus 18.22-35) (Kolosser 3.13)

Kapitel 5
Das Leben im Licht
1. So seid nun Gottes Nachfolger als die lieben Kinder (Lukas 6.36) 
2. und wandelt in der Liebe, gleichwie Christus uns hat geliebt und sich selbst dargegeben für uns als Gabe und Opfer, Gott zu einem süßen Geruch. (2. Mose 29.18) (Galater 2.20) 
3. Hurerei aber und alle Unreinigkeit oder Geiz lasset nicht von euch gesagt werden, wie den Heiligen zusteht, (Kolosser 3.5) 
4. auch nicht schandbare Worte und Narrenteidinge oder Scherze, welche euch nicht ziemen, sondern vielmehr Danksagung. (Epheser 4.29) 
5. Denn das sollt ihr wissen, daß kein Hurer oder Unreiner oder Geiziger, welcher ist ein Götzendiener, Erbe hat in dem Reich Christi und Gottes. (1. Korinther 6.9-10) (Offenbarung 21.8) (Offenbarung 22.15) 
6. Lasset euch niemand verführen mit vergeblichen Worten; denn um dieser Dinge willen kommt der Zorn Gottes über die Kinder des Unglaubens. (Kolosser 3.6) 
7. Darum seid nicht ihr Mitgenossen.
8. Denn ihr waret weiland Finsternis; nun aber seid ihr ein Licht in dem HERRN. (Epheser 2.11) (1. Petrus 2.9) 
9. Wandelt wie die Kinder des Lichts, die Frucht des Geistes ist allerlei Gütigkeit und Gerechtigkeit und Wahrheit, (Matthäus 5.14) (Johannes 12.36) (Galater 5.22)(Philipper 1.11) (1. Thessalonicher 5.5)
10. und prüfet, was da sei wohlgefällig dem HERRN. (Römer 12.1) (Philipper 1.10) 
11. und habt nicht Gemeinschaft mit den unfruchtbaren Werken der Finsternis, strafet sie aber vielmehr.
12. Denn was heimlich von ihnen geschieht, das ist auch zu sagen schändlich. (Römer 1.24) 
13. Das alles aber wird offenbar, wenn's vom Licht gestraft wird; denn alles, was offenbar ist, das ist Licht. (Johannes 3.10) (Johannes 3.21) 
14. Darum heißt es: "Wache auf, der du schläfst, und stehe auf von den Toten, so wird dich Christus erleuchten." (Jesaja 60.1) (Johannes 8.12) (Römer 13.11)
15. So sehet nun zu, wie ihr vorsichtig wandelt, nicht als die Unweisen, sondern als die Weisen, (Matthäus 10.16) (Kolosser 4.5) 
16. und kaufet die Zeit aus; denn es ist böse Zeit.
17. Darum werdet nicht unverständig, sondern verständig, was da sei des HERRN Wille.
18. Und saufet euch nicht voll Wein, daraus ein unordentlich Wesen folgt, sondern werdet voll Geistes: (Lukas 21.34) 
19. redet untereinander in Psalmen und Lobgesängen und geistlichen Liedern, singet und spielet dem HERRN in eurem Herzen (Psalm 33.2-3) (Kolosser 3.16) 
20. und saget Dank allezeit für alles Gott und dem Vater in dem Namen unsers HERRN Jesu Christi, (1. Thessalonicher 5.18)

Die christliche Haustafel
21. und seid untereinander untertan in der Furcht Gottes. (1. Petrus 5.5)
22. Die Weiber seien untertan ihren Männern als dem HERRN. (1. Mose 3.16) (1. Timotheus 2.11) (Titus 2.5) 
23. Denn der Mann ist des Weibes Haupt, gleichwie auch Christus das Haupt ist der Gemeinde, und er ist seines Leibes Heiland. (1. Korinther 11.3) (Epheser 1.22-23)
24. Aber wie nun die Gemeinde ist Christo untertan, also auch die Weiber ihren Männern in allen Dingen.
25. Ihr Männer, liebet eure Weiber, gleichwie Christus auch geliebt hat die Gemeinde und hat sich selbst für sie gegeben,
26. auf daß er sie heiligte, und hat sie gereinigt durch das Wasserbad im Wort, (Titus 3.5) (Hebräer 10.22) 
27. auf daß er sie sich selbst darstellte als eine Gemeinde, die herrlich sei, die nicht habe einen Flecken oder Runzel oder des etwas, sondern daß sie heilig sei und unsträflich. (2. Korinther 11.2) (Kolosser 1.22) 
28. Also sollen auch die Männer ihre Weiber lieben wie ihre eigenen Leiber. Wer sein Weib liebt, der liebt sich selbst.
29. Denn niemand hat jemals sein eigen Fleisch gehaßt; sondern er nährt es und pflegt sein, gleichwie auch der HERR die Gemeinde.
30. Denn wir sind die Glieder seines Leibes, von seinem Fleisch und von seinem Gebein. (Epheser 1.23) 
31. "Um deswillen wird ein Mensch verlassen Vater und Mutter und seinem Weibe anhangen, und werden die zwei ein Fleisch sein.

day 2

a smurf in the park
a talk in the semi dark
and half a mind not here






finds otr tel aviv_02
march 6th 2012

(this i found somewhere when driving with the bicycle. like in berlin. almost everyday, almost every time the same spot - at an intersection - i look down and see a coin.)

on the road - day 1

noise. construction. sun.

sleep. or lack thereof.

indeed a funny feeling.

finds otr tel aviv_01
march 5th 2012

(we were walking in the morning, had some breakfast, some coffee and talked. and i picked up this marble from the ground. like i did in silwan. i had to think of silwan. yes.)

If these are the times we're living in, we really do have a problem.

So, i went and saw quite a few things in the Forum section of this year's Berlinale, namely these:

"Avalon" by Axel Petersén
which I thought strange but somehow I did not leave

"Bagrut Lochamim" by Silvina Landsmann
which made me very angry even though there were no surprises

"Bestiaire" by Claire Côté
which I loved for its patience

"Beziehungsweisen" by Calle Overweg
which annoyed me from the start as I was told to laugh even though I actually liked it

"Formentera" by Ann-Kristin Reyels
which was the most pretentious thing

"Habiter / Construire" by Clémence Ancelin
which I liked a lot although some anthropological concerns came up

"Kid-Thing" by David Zellner
which was so powerful and honest

"Parabeton - Pier Luigi Nervi und römischer Beton" by Heinz Emigholz
which I disliked for its lack of patience, something that really disappointed me as I do like Emigholz a lot

"Paziraie Sadeh" by Mani Haghighi
which was dramaturgically exciting

"Revision" by Philip Scheffner
which I loved for its insistence, its passion, its purposeful stride

"Sekret" by Przemysław Wojcieszek
which irritated me but kept me fascinated by the set of its three protagonists

"Sleepless Knights" by Stefan Butzmühlen and Cristina Diz
which was something I could not relate to

"Spanien" by Anja Salomonowitz
which made me think it is great to have movies and directors like this

"Tepenin Ardı" by Emin Alper
which intrigued me

"Tiens moi droite" by Zoé Chantre
which was very tender and uplifting in a way

"What is Love" by Ruth Mader
which caused me to feel rather embarrassed at times

My personal highlight was actually Yazan Khalili's "On love and other landscapes" in the Forum Expanded section, which I thought a very moving photographic meditation on how to embrace an absence that is not an absence but a presence one chooses to look away from. How this seems so impossible. But how we try to live with it. How perhaps we all have, in fact desire or need a wall in our conscience about where to look, with whose eyes and feelings.
How a wall is a wall even though we don't see it in these photos.



Speaking of seeing, and if we were to not see: listening to these movies' sound design which I am tempted to call hyperrealistic at times, was one way of avoiding the societal blindings we saw (or rather did not see): such a vast collection of intimate and intrusive noises in these movies and no way to shut your ears. But, really, that is important. (Speaking of sound: Elle Flanders' and Tamira Sawatzky's "Road Movie" in Forum Expanded perhaps most clearly stages this necessity to listen in its audio-installation of megaphones hanging from the ceiling in a damp cellar.)

Jokingly, we were talking about the Forum being the "animal-section" - if it was, I think there is a good chance the ant may be this year's animal of interest being a rather prominent participant in at least three movies I saw. (Which may be no indication after all).

Perhaps it is rather general to phrase it like this, but I thought most of these movies really depressing as representations of the times we live in, and the perspectives shown and decided upon. How relieved I somewhat felt to laugh (yes, perhaps that was naive after all) in the beginning of "Paziraie Sadeh", only to be dragged into one of the most brutal psychological patterns. A notion of not exactly hopelessness but rather something alike powerless indifference in so many of the characters. Like the tired and aged 10-year old in "Kid-Thing", an almost perfect mirroring of the movie's first frames - damaged cars, falling apart, being crashed and smashed on a dirty sand field somewhere, no wheels but rims to drive on, bared damaged goods with drivers sitting inside these shells of metal, wearing helmets, bringing their cars down - for fun? out of frustration? it almost does not seem to matter, destruction reigns, a strange appreciation for decreasing material values turns into indifference towards emotional values and vulnerabilities.

Suddenly there were so many worthless casualties it seemed. Dead people? Great, yeah, never mind, life goes on, what do I care.

If these are the times we're living in, we really do have a problem.

How long is now?

... Notes on a Protest Movement

I.
These busy intersections, plenty of buses, cars, bikes, pedestrians – all in a rush getting somewhere other than this place. The streets of Tel Aviv know the hum, the honk, the hustle, particularly since the middle of July 2011, when a rather unprecedented level of socio-political awareness started getting a hold of an impressively increasing amount of (predominantly Jewish) Israeli citizens. The streets, Rothschild Boulevard most prominently, now not only know about the hum, the honk, the hustle, but are learning to host all sorts of people’s desiring and demanding calls for a rather blurry concept of “social justice”. Faced with an outrageously high cost of living which forces a lot of people formerly known as a “middle class” to work several jobs and still perceive their lifestyle as precarious, “the people demand social justice” (Hebrew “ha’am doresh tzedek chevrati”) now. And here. Be it during the massive demonstrations in Israel’s urban hubs or peripheral cities, be it in between a circle of tents during a public lecture or over a beer on someone’s terrace – “the people” in its and their heterogeneity talk, discuss, move ideas and engage in lively debates. Whereas during the first weeks of the growing protest movement the media and the struggle’s representatives constantly reiterated an non-political (whatever that may have been), solely social understanding of their plight, more recently the surprisingly non-disappearing connection between Israel being an occupying and oppressive state with a yearly security budget in the billions and therewith lacking financial backing elsewhere, has risen to a non-negotiable (oh, I meant non-negligible, silly) fact on the ground (or rather – in the heads) of this grassroots movement and media representations thereof.

These moments of shifts, these ruptures in societal and socio-political constitutions, they are, one could argue, even more prone to know the hum, honk and hustle accompanying it. Some of these alliterations not only concern language but also are bloody serious, result in burning streets, dead people, and dictators in cages.

Some others are fun. Or rather fun that makes one wonder.

II.
So, there are three actual intersections. Busy ones. Within the bigger context of a seemingly hot-headed, impolite and chaotic – qualities that are unquestionably perceived differently in different places and habitualized forms of socialization. I grew up in Germany, and lived in England – public sphere, which I am currently part of, interrupting the chaotically choreographed order of things is not usually met with cheers and smiles. Arguably, the ruptures described above are so far being met with an understanding and supportive public response and participation.

One might presume it has to do with so many individuals’ own immediate needs and frustration that are suddenly on the forefront of a collective protest, and some form of desire for unity within this struggle seems to suggest itself as the way to go. A person’s own urgent and tangible will for change of their way of living is, apparently (and almost sadly so, given the fact that in most cases these needs are obviously intertwined with others’), a rather motivating force for activism. “I have a problem, therefore I act.” is easier said and done than, “I see you have problem, which may or may not have something to do with me, therefore I act.”

Patience.

III.
“If not now – when?” … Not only part of one of Hillel’s most famous sayings (“If not us – who” precedes the time), but also a chorus line of Yehoram Gaon’s “Od lo ahavti dai” (I have not yet loved enough), a catchy and sunny tune, frequently used for big circle dances that have had their share in a Zionist identity formation during the first decades of the State of Israel.

This song now, and, “If not now – when?”, is played at these busy intersections one Tuesday evening in August. A portable speaker placed in the middle of the road, and suddenly, out of a regular group of pedestrians waiting for the traffic lights to allow them passing, a group of about 30 to 40 people emerges, forms a circle and dances, claps, jumps and sings along. Two and a half minutes the intersection is blocked. Pedestrians see, halt, look, some smile, some are obviously irritated. Drivers are faced with people on the street, which does not seem something most of them appreciate. Many cars and motorbikes meander around the circle, forcing it into some other, more elliptical form, breaking apart the chain of hands joint. Bus drivers argue with wild gestures, impatient passengers are pointing at their watches, metal pushes into people. It is fun, frighteningly so. One would think – people, it is two and a half minutes, why can’t you just let them do their thing? Why push push push? The shove of metal pushes people down, almost.

However, at such a time when push comes to shove, now, more precisely, one wonders why and how people react to interruptions of their being so aggravated, so annoyed, so ignorant. What makes one form of rupture okay, and another one a problem one needs to deal with aggressively? To which level are people here, now, willing to let others voice their concern, their being, in a public sphere?

Public Movement who organized these three little public interventions facilitated a sense of uncertainty for the people being faced with it (and, partially, for the participants too, I am sure) – How does this action relate to the current protest? Why are they dancing a folk-dance? Who are these people, there is no banner, no shouting, no youth-group-shirt? Why are they doing this? Why the fuck are they blocking the damn road and make me be late for this appointment by two and a half minutes? Why this song? Who are they? What do they want? How am I supposed to react? Can I join in? Do I like it? What do I like about it? Would I like to join in? Why am I so angry when someone is 1.) apparently having fun and 2.) is really not that violent or bad?

Am I getting my way? Is that what the angry reactions were asking? Am I getting my problem solved by their action? Do they have a problem? Would I want to listen? Engage with them afterwards? Would I want to know? Why would I want to know? Does it relate to my problems and me?

IV.
I have no patience.
I demand social justice.
Now.
Yes.
How long is now?


V.
Rupture.
Reflection.