KLUB AVANTGARDE

MONDAY //

Monday I was exhausted, of course, after a week of travel, but still enjoyed my classes. I was disappointed but not surprised that no one else really did the art history reading, but with no one else participating in the discussion, my professor and I had a really engaging dialogue on the essay.

In the afternoon, my design thinking class was cancelled so that we would have time to film our design prototype video for our entire presentation. We had a lot of fun filming, and it felt low-stress since we had an entire week until the due date– appropriate for a project where the focus is finding a solution to reducing college student stress!

TUESDAY//

Normal day, but LLC event in the evening! We went to the Nørrebro Bibliotek to hear an artist talk about her experience as an immigrant to Copenhagen, and what living here has taught her about Danish design. She was appreciative of it's role in helping her understand assimilate to Denmark, but critical of the homogeneity throughout Danish design. It was really cool to hear someone explain the connection between design, and other aspects of Danish culture.

WEDNESDAY //

Mads and I had a slow morning, but eventually we got ourselves to brunch before I had to leave for my field study. It started raining, but he walked to my bus stop for my Danish class field study anyway. The weather was pretty cold and dreary, and the bus ride took up half of the 4 hours, but we learned about how the people of Denmark saved 7000 jews from concentration camps by risking their lives to send them by boat to Sweden in the dead of night. It was a really moving story, and the history professor who led the tour was clearly very passionate about the subject.

SATURDAY //

Saturday night we had an LLC event– a performance at Klub Avantgarde, an underground music and art bar thats run by volunteers. The Klub is currently hosting a series of alternative performances inspired by pop music– and this one in particular was inspired by Rihanna, who I consider one of the coolest and most fashion-forward pop icons– so I was very excited. Mara, Helen and I prepared by watching A LOT of Rihanna music videos and googling her for outfit inspiration.

Public transportation proved to be challenging as always, but we finally made it to the venue. We had to wait a bit for the performance to start, but soon they give an intro in Danish signaling the start. Or not, as I had thought. I actually sat through almost 4 minutes of the performance before realizing they had started, and weren’t just tuning their equipment. Which I suppose, speaks to the type of music, which I would actually characterize instead as noise. I really searched for Rihanna’s influence, and found none. I can’t really describe the experience except to say what I said then. It was sort of like sitting at sauna: almost too intense, but not quite, and still enjoyable.

We talked to the artist afterwards and he was pretty vague about Rihanna’s influence, but he really liked my sauna comment. Does that make me cool?

SUNDAY //

My mother is in Morelia right now, I’ve been missing her and Mexico, so I decided to make empanadas for myself and my flatmates for dinner. They were super yummy!! I wish I had tomatillos but I think I did well with the ingredients I had. If anyone wants to send me salsa verde I will be a willing recipient.

Mommy wasn’t home, but I FaceTimed my brother, Michael, instead. He played some of his music for me, and we talked about a collaboration he did that didn’t turn out as expected, but he’s still working hard and not letting disappointments set him back. He also told me he’s become a lot more interested in fashion, both global trends and for his own personal style, and asked me about the street style in Copenhagen. We spent a pretty long time on the topic, and I’m really excited to see that he’s exploring new ways to express himself outside of the mainstream. I wish I was this cool when I was 15. He also expressed an interest in learning graphic design. I’m so proud of him and excited for him!

GERMANY + SWITZERLAND

This week was Study Tour Week! In other words, DIS organizes and pays for a weeks worth of travel where were tour different sites pertaining to our core course– in my case, architecture. My group consisted of my professor, BB, the AD intern, Robert, and 19 other students from various architecture classes.

MONDAY// Cologne, Germany.

Bus at 6:45. Robert told us he had rescheduled it for an hour later, but it still felt too early. Thankfully, I’m able to sleep just about anywhere. We were headed to Cologne, Germany– a long ways a way, but we still has time to stop at the gGmbH Museum and Park Kalkriese. Kalkriese is the site of the Battle in the Teutoburg Forest, where in 9 BCE, the Romans suffered one of the greatest defeats in their history at the hands of allied Germanic tribes. More than 2,000 years later, the site has been transformed into a park and museum that works to foster public interest in the site’s history, while archaeological research continues to provide new insights into the tragical event.The buildings are covered with steel sheets, corroded with an even layer of rust. In addition to creating a lovely and interesting effect, the natural corrosion helps the built structure fit into the environment, and even enhancing the experience by creating an opportunity to view the landscape from the 40 meter tall tower.

TUESDAY// Cologne, Germany

Ruhr Museum is located on an old industrial coal processing plant. Much of the design preserves the old, original structure, and the modern additions serve to complement and enhance. The stairwell bathed in neon orange light is meant to give the user the experience of moving through the coal production process as if they themselves are a piece of molten coal, surrounded by processing machinery. Here is also where the Red Dot Museum is located. Red Dot is an organization that gives awards to well-designed, everyday objects, and the museum housed these products.

Later, we visited the Brother Klaus chapel, by Peter Zumthor. The chapel is dedicated to the holy Niklaus von Fluehe (Brother Claus) was donated by farmer Hermann-Josef and Trudel Scheidtweilerand, and built by local farmers on the edge of his field. Since the design was expensive, the farmers built the structure themselves to keep construction costs low. Zumthor designed the building to use a building technique called “rammed concrete” where farmers poured a layer of concrete over a teepee of timber every day for 24 days, leaving a texture similar to that of rammed earth. This was largely due to the fact that the farmers only had the resources to mix and pour a little at a time. The timber was then burnt out by colliers, leaving a beautifully charred interior.

I did a watercolor of the oculus that I didn’t really like at first, but once it dried I was much happier with the result. Everyone else liked it right away though, so that was cool.

 

WEDNESDAY// Cologne, Germany

This morning we went to Kölner Dom, a cathedral in Cologne that is one of the only structures left untouched despite bombing that decimated the city during WWII. It’s so so beautiful, one of the most beautiful cathedrals I’ve ever visited. And setting it apart was the opportunity to climb to the top of the bell tower. 2 euros and 31 flights of stairs later, we had a gorgeous view of the surrounding area. It was exhausting, but the view was worth it.

Legs still shaking, we walked to the Kolomba Museum, designed by Peter Zumthor. The building was gorgeous and impressive but I really did not enjoy the visit. The museum is actually closed on Tuesdays, so in order to go inside we needed to stay as a group and be accompanied by a guide and 2 guards. I’m not even exaggerating when I say our guide did not stop talking even for a minute. It was kind of awful. And the guards were very strict, so overall the visit felt very controlled, leaving no space for individual exploration or contemplation. I was pretty disappointed. The architecture was beautiful though. Zumthor creates designs beautiful for their simplicity, and awareness of user experience. The attention to detail was incredible.

The rest of the day was spent on the bus on our way to Basel, Switzerland. We were supposed to visit the Ronchamp chapel by Le Corbusier, but traffic and inaccurate travel estimates set us back over 2 hours in our schedule. BB promises that we’ll go tomorrow instead, thankfully. The long bus ride leaves lot of room for contemplation, though.  

I just can’t help but think of how much I have to be happy for. Even when things seem stressful or complicated or less than ideal, I’m never truly upset. Stress here is brief.

THURSDAY // Basel, Switzerland

This morning, Zoey and I woke up early to go for a short run around the Rhine. It was still dark when we started out, but about halfway through we got to see the sunrise!

We finally made it to The Notre Dame du Haut by Le Corbusier, in Romchamp, France. The chapel departs from the international style typical of Le Corbusier’s work, but the building is impressive in the own way. It’s crazy to think that these two very different styles came from the same mind, and both highly successful.

Robert and I discussed the building. He said he didn’t really understand Corbu’s thought process driving the design, and had hoped visiting the site would help him better understand. I answered that what came to my mind is the fact that we are not to truly and fully understand God, and so maybe this building reflects that experience, whether that was Le Corbusier’s intention or not.

I've been surprised to find that the chapels that we’ve visited have been my favorite works of architecture. I love designs that create a very distinct atmosphere– you know what to feel and you can feel it very intensely. It’s different from work that solves design problems in a clever way– it’s an entirely different experience, informed so deeply by a rich history. I’m no longer religious, but places like these sometimes make me wish I were, though I’m moved nonetheless.

Friday // Basel, Switzerland

Friday we visited the Beyeler Foundation Museum, designed by Renzo Piano. The museum has four main walls of the same length run in a north-south direction, and mark the succession of exhibition spaces. The roof is composed of a transparent and overhanging canopy. The natural light penetrates through the filters in the roof, which “floats” above the dividing walls. The building is small and rectangular in shape, only housing two exhibitions at a time. The first was “KANDINSKY, MARC & DER BLAUE REITER” showcasing the artist’s work as well as their extensive manifesto. It was amazing, and I want to read a copy, if I can find it in English.

The second exhibition was the work of contemporary artist Roni Horn. Not limiting herself to a single style of media, she worked in photography, poetry, collage, mixed media, and even sculpture. I was excited to find a contemporary female artist whose work I so enjoyed.

The next site was Stadion Letzigrund, built in 2007 to replace the old stadium that had stood in its place since 1926. Plans that had long existed to renovate the site were expedited when a proposed stadium at Hardturm got delayed and Zürich needed a stadium for the upcoming Euro 2008 championships. After just a year of construction, the new Letzigrund officially opened with three-tiered seating leading up to a grand ramp under a free floating roof.

This was by far the most enjoyable guided tour we went on. The guide was cool, and gave us more freedom to run around– literally. As in, we actually stopped the tour to race around the track on the perimeter of the soccer field. Thankfully I had worn my sneakers!

Saturday// Zürich, Switzerland

Saturday we toured the Toni Areal school, designed by EM2N. The building is an former Toni milk processing building converted into a school. According to our guide book, “The concept of the building is internal urbanism: the existing system of ramps was reinterpreted as a vertical boulevard that became the building’s main circulation system” The guided tours are excruciating, but it’s the only way to see some of these sites. It was very cool to see studios of current students though– their work was interesting and edgy, and the studio spaces revealed their process and experimentation.

I was very happy to escape to the Museum für Gestaltung Zürich afterwards. The exhibit was short, but one of the coolest thing was an interactive work that let you scan a 3D image of your face with a smartphone, and save it. We then had free time to walk around West Zurich. I really wanted to go to the Viadukts, as they’re an important precedent for my next project, and I got some helpful inspiration for my own design.

After a nap, Ahmad and I went exploring on our own– we had no real plan, only a general direction towards the restaurant. We identified the highest peaks in the cities and ended up at a couple of churches. The first was , relatively simple, but very interesting, with Greco Roman elements and white interior largely lacking the ornamentation typical of churches. The second church was also relatively simple, with most of the ornamentation on the exterior, especially the doors. The highlight; though, was the windows. rather than using stained glass, the artist made mosaics using slices of agate rock. (no pictures allowed). The effect was completely unique and gorgeous, and heightened by the relative plainness of the rest of the church.

After dinner we all went to the thermal bath and spa. This was one of my favorite experiences. The water was warm and relaxing, though in contrast the high view of the city was completely exhilarating.

SUNDAY // Zürich, Switzerland

Kustshaus Zürich. I got to see works by Degas, Matisse, Manet, Cézanne, Gaugin, Derain, Rodin, Picasso, Braque, Rothko, Turner, Ernst, Tauber-Arp, Duchamp, Dalí, Giacometti, Warhol, Lichenstein, and an entire room of Monet.

I honestly didn’t pay as much attention to the architecture as I typically would have, but the fact that it didn't detract from the art made it successful for the context. 

Since this was a free day, I could wander the museum for as long as I liked– which turned out to be 3 hours. Afterwards, I walked around Zurich with some other students and stumbled upon a sign for Cabaret Voltaire!!!!! Cabaret Voltair was a nightclub in Zürich, started in 1916 by the founding members of the anarchist art movement known as Dadaism. The cabaret was founded for artistic and political purposes, to house the Dadaist events and performances that soon gained traction all over Europe.

The movement emerged largely in response to the outbreak of World War I. Many Dadaists believed that the ‘reason’ and ‘logic’ of bourgeois capitalist society had led people into war. They expressed their rejection of that ideology in artistic expression that appeared to reject logic and embrace chaos and irrationality. They expressed their views in the form of poetry, music, plays, visual art, and manifestos.

I studied Dadaism pretty in depth in school, especially the work by Marcel Duchamp, so I was really really excited to see Cabaret Voltaire. There wasn’t any famous Dadaist art there– only magazines and books to buy– but I had seen some of the artwork at the Kunsthaus Zürich earlier that day. Another amazing experience I wouldn’t get anywhere else.

AND THEN FINALLY AT 1AM AFTER A DELAYED FLIGHT I WAS HOME*

MIDTERMS

This week is “Midterm” week here, so things were pretty busy. But in truth, this just feels like a normal week at Middlebury. It’s not that my classes here are easier– there’s just more of an emphasis on personal reflection and experiential learning rather than constantly producing work. I’m also in a lot of design classes where we do our work in class, so if I’m efficient I don’t end up having that much work outside of class. Regardless, it was still a week where my primary focus was my schoolwork, more so than usual, so I didn’t do much else.

TUESDAY //

Tuesday we visited a new site for our second architecture project. The location is a park situated alongside an elevated train track, running parallel to the border between the neighborhoods of Nørrebro and Fredericksburg. The area is rather run down, and only a small gateway opens up the park to an apartment building, set at an odd angle so that there is only about 2 meters of space between its NW corner and the elevated train. Essentially, whoever planned the train paid little to no mind as to how it’s placement would relate to the surrounding built environment. Our challenge it to fit a small 8mx8mx8m gallery into this already crowded area… When I figure it out, I’ll be sure to update, cause this is a challenge for sure.

My class ran late, so I missed the LLC event that afternoon. I was a little disappointed, because the gallery included an exhibition by a Spanish artist that my friends told me about, but I’ll try to go another time. After the museum visit, though, we had a meeting to plan our LLC project to be presented at the end of the semester. Max shared a great idea that we ended up using as a starting point.

To understand our project, you first have to understand that our group of 20 gets along unusually well– our SRAs and coordinator have commented on it many times. There is no competition; no pretentious artists trying to remain aloof. Instead, everyone is open and curious and willing to share and participate. We admire and are consistently inspired by each other. Because of this, we decided to model our project around this experience. In order to capture our LLC experience, we structured our project so that we are directly inspiring and being inspired by one another. To start, Group A creates a work capturing their own experience, and presents it only to Group B. B works off of this to create their own work inspired by A, and then shows it only to C. C created a work inspired by B, and shows it to D, etc.

Our six groups then display our work together in an exhibition space, in a way that reveals this linear process. Of course, a project like this requires strict deadlines and a lot of organization from a project manager... guess who inadvertently stepped into that role? 

I made a point, though, to make sure I was facilitating and organizing, not controlling. I got good feedback from my peers and our coordinator, so I think I succeeded. I enjoy this type of job, but I also know that 1) artists can be temperamental, especially regarding created work that they are passionate about, and 2) if things go south, I’m an easy target to blame. So I’m treading cautiously and trying to be considerate.