2010 Standard Time
Some people seem to have more time than others. They don’t waste time, they build time out of waste products. They might not deal with time in a constructive way, but they construct time. Time really doesn’t matter that much to them, but they have the truest sense of real time.
Whichever time zone you’re in, never forget, it’s always your time. Use it right.
“Standard Time” is an artwork by Mark Formanek, realized by Datenstrudel. A 24 hour film of 24 hours of constructed time is available on DVD and can be installed as screensaver. www.standard-time.com
sleek internship
sleek is looking for an intern – AB SOFORT! You are: fluent in German and English, in possession of time (minimum of three, better four months), interested in contemporary art (and fashion), stress-resistant, either highly intelligent or pretty skilled (best both) in Photoshop and InDesign, polite, determined, both emotionally and psychologically sound, and not depending on a monetary income (300 Euros a month). If most of the above applies to you, please send your application to info@sleekmag.com.
sleek sucht eine/n (Grafik-)Praktikanten/Praktikantin – AB SOFORT! Sie sprechen fließend Deutsch und Englisch, haben mindestens drei, besser noch vier Monate Zeit, interessieren sich für zeitgenössische Kunst und/oder Mode, sind streßresistent, entweder überdurchschnittlich intelligent oder versiert (am besten beides) im Umgang mit Photoshop und InDesign, höflich, fokussiert, geerdet und finanziell unabhängig (Honorar beträgt 300 Euro mtl.). Bei Interesse schicken Sie bitte Ihre Bewerbung an info@sleekmag.com.
Pick of the day
Each day, we receive about 500 emails informing us of exhibitions, praising artists, submitting material for publication. Some stand out. Today’s pick: Valerie Stahl von Stromberg, Kamerahand, 2009. Currently on view at „GALERIE VALERIE“, Galerie Sandra Buergel, Berlin, www.galerie-buergel.de.
The Melt of the Wall
An installation by Berlin based artist duo, Awst & Walther, set up last night outside the German Embassy in London, maybe can be considered the best comment an art work has made on the 20th anniversary of the Fall of the Berlin Wall so far. “Work in Progress”, thus the title of a fragment of wall made out of ice blocks, is a metaphor “for the passing of time and the ephemeral nature of social and political systems”, as the artists state, and “furthermore, the transparency of the ice addresses the fact that there are always two sides to a boundary.”
What at first seems like an absolutely coherent, if (stressed by the title) ambivalent image, upon second thought generates a chilly uncertainty raised by the beauty of the wall in its sparkling, crystalline, sublime appearance – a beauty that vanishes as the wall slowly melts away…
The artists have deliberately chosen to remove the remains of the installation at a given time instead of allowing the melting process to do so: “Time has the potential to remove walls, but human beings do too.”
www.awst-walther.com
It’s for free, but it’s good
Exclusively for the web-based project XYM, artists create artists books in PDF format, which can be downloaded for free and are available only for a limited period of time. So in a way, they can go out of print the same way that books produced by a publisher can. It’ll give you the feeling of making a special catch and having been at the right place at the right time. Which is not easy on the Internet. Check out the latest publications by artists you might not have heard of yet but will do so soon (like Frode Felipe Schjelderup or Morag Keil) at www.xym.no.
Untitled from sleek magazine on Vimeo.
Let’s put the Fun back in Fashion
Wie wir alle wissen, läuft es mit der Mode in Berlin noch nicht ganz so hervorragend wie mit der Kunst. Warum, liebe Modeszene, sich also nicht einfach ein bisschen was von der Kunst abgucken? Umgekehrt funktioniert das ja auch, wie zum Beispiel John Bock gerade wieder mit einer seiner Fashion Shows im Berliner Haus der Kulturen der Welt bewiesen hat. Wir wissen nicht, was lustiger war, die Mode für Lamas und Zicken oder die verirrten Fashionistas im Publikum, die fanden, daß Bocks Model-Casting jegliche Modekompetenz vermissen ließ.
Für die nächste Berlin Fashion Week schlagen wir jedenfalls vor, John Bock einen Show-Slot im Zelt am Bebelplatz zu geben, zur Förderung eines nicht unwesentlichen Grundsatzes: Wenn Mode Spaß macht, ist sie auch gut.
T-Shirt Design Contest!
Now’s your chance to become part of the illustrious in-and-out-house sleek creative pool by submitting your design for our next sleek t-shirt. The rules for the contest, held in cooperation with laFraise, Europe’s largest t-shirt design competition site, are simple: there are no rules except that somewhere, somehow the sleek name or logo must appear.
You can upload your designs at www.lafraise.com/contest. All submissions must be made by October 30th, and the winner will be announced midnight November 9th. And, oh yes, the winner will not only receive sleek fame and prestige, but 1,000 Euros for your efforts!
Seeing Danh Vo win
Too busy taking the next issue of sleek to print, we have no time to see the exhibition of the four artists shortlisted for this year’s Nationalgalerie Prize for Young Art at Berlin’s Hamburger Bahnhof, but the only thing we really want to see anyway is Danh Vo as winner of the Prize.
- Danh Vo, installation view Hamburger Bahnhof 2009. Photo© Nick Ash.
Shrigley and Pringle – an unlike twin set
When a clothing brand decides to collaborate with a visual artist it is wise to first check the artist’s understanding of the brand’s DNA. When Pringle of Scotland approached David Shrigley, that check produced the following result: "Scottish cardigans for people who play golf". The fruits of the Pringle-Shrigley-collaboration fortunately don’t look like something golf playing people will wear but rather like something we are thinking about wearing ourselves. Available from 10 September at Pringle of Scotland flagship stores and concept stores like Andreas Murkudis in Berlin.
ExhibitionIstArt
Normalerweise bestehen die Produkte aus dem Hause der Schweizer Taschenmanufaktur Freitag aus gebrauchter LKW-Plane, was zwar jedes Stück irgendwie zu einem Unikat macht, aber nicht unbedingt etwas mit Kunst zu tun hat. Die Freitag Limited Art Edition dagegen schon: In Kooperation mit internationalen Tempeln der Gegenwartskunst wie der Tate Modern London oder dem Mori Art Museum Tokyo sind Taschen aus ausgedienten Ausstellungsbannern entstanden – diesen wetterbeständigen Fassadenplanen, keinen Papierplakaten, sollten wir erwähnen, denn die Ergebnisse sehen wie Papiertüten aus. Was sie noch toller macht. Sie sehen genauso aus, wie sie aussehen sollen, damit wir gern so eine Tasche hätten.
A new level of style
OMG, isn’t this just soooooo Berlin again! Kottbusser Tor of all places just saw the opening of this little gem of a fashion store which seems to mingle just perfectly with the array of kebab stalls, used syringes and other useful things for spending a fun day on this square, a favourite hangout of a mercilessly fashion-conscious (if otherwise unconscious) crowd. Climb the external staircase (at house No. 96) to reach the next style level.
Nr4, Adalbertstr. 4, Berlin. Thu-Sat 13-18h. www.numberfour.org
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