ARTS ROUND UP: ZURICH

Every since the trip to Zurich at the end of last year I have been meaning to tell you some of the things I saw in the galleries there and of course as time has passed, more things have arrived in my inbox of an art world note that I have wanted to include on the blog. So:

KAREN KILIMNIK
At Galerie Eva Presenhuber was one of Kilimnik's installations full of drawings, paintings, sculpture, photographs and a video piece. The subject matter of her works were landscapes, castles, pedigree dogs and horses all things dear to my heart. For me, walking into the room, I felt like I had entered somebody else's castle of fantasy with only half the story of their life available for interpretation to try and work out the character of the person who had created all these things.



Was it a teenager deeply in love? An ironic hipster? Sometimes I wondered if really she could do better but was pretending that she couldn't. At the same time though to illustrate that kind of naivety resulted in some great images.

LUKAS WASSMANN
This was an exhibition of photography that we discovered by accident in Zurich as we walked along the Limmatstrasse to the Migros Museum at a place called BolteLang. The photographs which I think were mostly colour were pretty easy to describe - it was a large number of photos of Wassmann's muse and collaborator, dancer Eva Maria Kupfer.

What I found more interesting were the collection of books of his other work and commissioned photography for selected clients.



Anyway - Google him and check his website. There are loads more images and also he has a great links list.

IAN WALLACE
This exhibition was so horrible it made me really angry and throw acid in my own face. Super boring work from a nondescript looking man and just when I thought it was all over I turned a corner and there was more of it!

HEAD TO HEAD - POLITICAL PORTRAITS
At the Museum of Design was the best.
"Head to Head - Political Portraits" shows the communicative patterns that politicians - no matter whether they are currently in a campaign or long since in office - use to curry favor with the electorate. The exhibition offers insight into visual strategies for image making, gaining prestige, and demolishing opponents.
Four personalities from world politics - Lenin, Che Guevara, Yulia Tymoshenko, and Arnold Schwarzenegger - were selected to be presented in greater detail in this exhibition because of their iconographic significance.
In addition, several contributions from artists shed light on aspects of the political portrait that have never been seen in this way before. The paintings of the presidents of Zurich’s cantonal government are also being exhibited publicly for the first time, along with dozens of official portraits from heads of states from every continent that were made available especially for this project. The affirmative world of politicians is mirrored in biting satire and demolition."

A shame I can't find any decent picture of it. Seeing all the similarities in the image making from around the world in the political election posters and all the weirdo 'caring but strong leader smiles', the crazy hair styles of Yulia Tymoshenko and old body building posters of Arnold Schwarzenegger. The old Nazi posters were kind of chilling and there was some of the propaganda too that was dropped from planes over Germany at the time of WWII.

xx Lektrogirl

ME 2003

Me 2003, originally uploaded by Lektrogirl.

In Zurich just off Langstrasse. SO LONG AGO. I wasn't working, DJing all over the place, swanning around, doing whatever with whoever, whenever. All co-ordinated from my Tangerine iMac.

Life was so different then. It seems like I remember it as being always hot and sunny. I guess I just don't remember bad weather. But then summer in Switzerland is ALWAYS banging cause they build temporary bars along the Limmat and have grills on the side for wurst and beer. AND there is the lake that you can swim in. And the forest. B.A.N.G.I.N.G. However, it is a kind of boring town. Only good for eating, drinking and lying down cause it is too hot.

xx Lektrogirl

GETTING OLDER

Here is me 7 years ago - so 28. My arms are nearly as thin as the Cardinal's! I'm in Zurich, which in my opinion is the best city to spend some summer time with someone you love. There is the lake that you can swim in on a hot day. There is also the Limmat which in summer time turns into two river banks of makeshift bars so you can swim, drink and eat sausage all day and night. There is also the woods up behind all the allotments of private gardens for the city folk with their mini chalets full of tools and garden furniture. It is so pretty. In this picture, we are having a barbeque my friend and me. Bratwurst, cervelas and senf from Migros [LOL that joke about the slice of Swiss cheese and an iMac still cracks me up after all these years. You won't even remember it.] Thinking about Molfina Thunderhunter, fishing with a tin can, drilling holes and painting in the nude with all that sunshine I could almost think that time was perfect. Of course nothing ever is... Karin, Frau Wick, Monsieur Raide, DJ Bobo.



And here I am 11 years ago. JOKES. I had only been in London a year. Maybe not even.

xx Lektrogirl

POST SWISS DELAY

Man and I'm looking for the chocolate rush! After having to cut my part of the trip short I was kind of glad when I was darting around Migros picking up all the Swiss essentials: Weisswurst, Roesti, Deodorant, Supermarklet chocolate. 3.90 CHF for three bars of choclate better than you ever new. Anyway - I've been totally tired so sorry for not reporting back with all the details a bit sooner.

The trip was for work - the Distributor for Katharine Hamnett was showing us around Zurich and a few towns in the south of Germany to show us which doors he is thinking about for the brand. I'm Sales Manager so it is my job to know that someone like Christoph has the same ideas that we do.


So yep, Christoph really knows wassup. He knows a good sausage when he sees one and I'm happy to know that too.

So the first shop he showed us is WINK.

Wink is the store owned by one of his agents who sells the Katharine Hamnett brand in Zurich. Wink is an organic and fair trade store - but it doesnt smell of lentils. It really is a great store. I was trying on some Spring Courts there in bronze leather and heart broken when they on ly had my size in black. If you are in Zurich you should definitely check it out.

die zukunft beginnt jetzt
wink ist ein fashionstore in zürich der es sich zum ziel gesetzt hat, modisches bewusstsein mit den attributen „organic“ und „fair trade“ in einklang zu bringen.

wink zielt darauf ab, neben herkömmlich produzierter mode, das angebot an „organic“ und „fair trade“ kollektionen stetig auszubauen.

wink trifft den zeitgeist, denn bewusstes konsumieren ist kein widerspruch sondern gesunder menschenverstand.

wink wagt den spagat zwischen bewusstsein und verantwortung durch «fair trade» und «organic» auf der einen und coolen styles und edelster trendwear auf der anderen seite.

wink verkauft fashion für wache ästheten, die sich modisch nicht einengen, aber sich bewusst sind, was sie tragen

Here is the link to Wink. And on the same street are a load of other stores a tourist might want to check out PLUS The Zuri Bar and I can't even remeber the name of the place that I ened up with Christoph at 1 in the morning drinking beers, listening to Guns and Roses and Black Sabbath reading our Astrology from the paper. I had to refuse the free Jagermeister. So not like me. Oh! TIKI BAR I think. But nothing like Trader Vics... More like The Intrepid Fox when it was still on Wardour Street.

Oh and if you want to know more about my new best friend Christoph Dahn, you should check out his blog GoodTrueBeautiful German only - but maybe for you Deutsche peeps who are interested in organic / bio / environmental / ethical fashion stuff check here. Also, Christoph is the fashion export for this amazing new german website called Utopia

Okay so that is all the fashion stuff over LETS GET ONTO THE GOOD PART - THE FOOD!!
Basically you can eat trash off the pavement Switzerland is SOOOO clean. But don't - there is so much amazing food served on a plate you wouldn't need to get desperate there. For dinner that evening Christoph and I were the guests of Daniel who's parter is the Swiss agent / owner of Wink, and Daniel runs a company with 9 restaurants around Zurich - all different and if they are all as good as Toto where I went then OMG Zurich has a food bomb dropped on them. Toto was INCREDIBLE.

www.ristorante-toto.ch
Don't be put off by the dudes in suits in the first picture on the site - there were loads of cool people there too - I wasn't the only one wearing jeans. You get me?


Starter


Daniel


Christoph [New Zealand lamb! I secretly wanted to sneak a piece but as it was a work thing...]


Emma [veal with wine risotto. DELICIOUS]

Katharine wasn't feeling great that night, so we got a chance to talk about stuff other than business and I got to learn the mystery of the straw man with the exploding head ceremony of the craftsmens guilds, two more ways to get out of compulsory military service and well there was some business stuff - about how the guys both like to work and think about their businesses. The best part was when we got to talking about blogging and stuff though!! Thanks to Daniel and Christoph for a great evening!! Come to London!!

So, it is time I got ready for work. Here is a nice tourist shot of the Limmat at night as we walked into town.


Everything in this picture is a Christmas chocolate or dried fruit. I love this place. The windows are intense!


And the end of the night - me drunk and happy in bed wearing my old Shopgirl Babycham pyjamas.


xx Lektrogirl