20er 2010 Kalendar – Asil und Arbeit

Some months ago I was approached by the people at 20er about shooting their 2010 calendar.  The theme was “Asyl und Arbeit” which loosely translates into a study on the plight of asylum seekers in Tirol.  The topic is an important issue in Austria and the notion of shooting 12 black and white images for their calendar was also appealing so I agreed.

The majority of research that I did on the topic was via the internet…the United Nations, Caritas and other organizations dedicated to moving, housing and integrating refugees.  Just about everything I found began to reveal to me that the situation for asylum seekers in Austria is not such a good situation.  People wait for years in state sponsored ‘camps’ in hopes that they will be given citizenship.  While they wait they are not allowed to work and have only limited opportunities for language courses keeping them isolated and poor.  It’s not good for the country and it’s not good for the refugees and it’s amazing to me that things carry on this way.

In addition to research I also had the opportunity to visit one home for asylum seekers in Innsbruck.  A dear friend volunteers German classes so I wandered the halls and talked to some inhabitants while she taught.  They were eager to show me their deteriorated living conditions and to offer their stories. You need to visit your local 20er sales guy to pick up one of the limited edition calendars to see all the images.

What I hoped would be an optimistic picture of untapped potential ended up being a pretty isolated and sad perspective on people that are kept separate and in a kind of purgatory.  It was a challenging and important assignment and I was honored to participate.

The Most Beautiful Fraud in the World

The words have returned.

The haze of the weekend burned off like dew in the sunshine.  My mental hibernation has been replaced with an acute awareness.   I feel a little like a laser beam split between my desire to run barefoot into the jungle to discover my true Oneness with All There Ever Is and Was and Will Be and my desire to climb the corporate ladder to the top and shift the paradigm of international business in a large, multi-national corporation.  I’m wondering now if it’s possible to do both.  Simultaneously.

I never shared the triumph of my first cover shoot and tonight I’m feeling inspired to do that.  MOLE, a new publication in Tirol asked me to shoot the cover of their first edition magazine.  When I say the words, “media landscape in Tirol,” what comes to your mind?  Most people say something like “mountains” . . . but lest I remind them, a media landscape is not always the same as a landscape.  2+ years in the lovely hamlet produced a lot of cultural richness but a real dirth of commentary about it.  Something about the nature of state-funded publications produces a very bland form of coverage.  Come on, every German-adapted production of The King and I can’t be triumphant, right?  In any case, my job was to consider the media landscape in Tirol.  It was my first ’staged’ ‘concept’ shoot and I ended up taking an old cinema called Cinematograph to realize my image “The Most Beautiful Fraud in the World.”

The quote is from the French founder of new wave cinema Jean-Luc Godard.  I don’t want to come across as a French cinema snob, ’cause i’m not, but his quote hit home on what I was trying to capture.  The media landscape to me was something like a beautiful fraud.  The cinema filled with people represents that the audience is present.  They are showing up, buying their tickets and entering into new experience willingly, eagerly and openly.  The openness of the audience in Tirol to new things always humbled me and helped me find my own portal to openess to new media, culture and art.  Its a wonderful thing for a woman who always had the flexibility to carefully curate her sonic landscape (thanks New York!) to find herself in a place where you get what you get.  The glasses were made of the 7 different popular media outlets that cover ‘kultur’ in Tirol.  The majority are state-funded and, as a result, have a very bland way of covering events that might actually be thrilling.  That bland filter is the cause of the audiences obstructed view…the generic coverage and promotion of the kultur essentially alters it, making it similarly moving, similarly edgy, similarly interesting and, as a result, exactly the same as what came before.  The added element of the cinema further removes the audience from the experience keeping it both filtered and 2 dimensional.

MOLE is going to attempt to alter the media landscape of the Tirol.  Make no mistake, they are also state funded but they are going to attempt to shine a new light and bring a new perspective.  The light of the projector is MOLE…hopefully they can be the beacon ,the light, the difference between ‘the filter’ and the unaltered experience.  I’m certainly rooting for them.  Check out MOLE online or swing by any cultural institution in the Tirol to pick up a copy.

 

The Most Beautiful Fraud in the World

It was an honor to participate in the 1st edition of an idealistic new magazine and a treat to nab the cover. The team assembled making the print and online editions are excellent, inspired people and I hope our paths cross again.

 

Each relic I leave behind me feels a little like a bouey…like breadcrumbs in the forest…showing me the channel through which I’ve sailed.  I leave pieces of me wherever I go not to show me the way back but to remind me where I’ve been.  Like a ship out on the sea…  I’ll have another fun commission to share with you in the coming weeks that will live in Austria for a whole year!  How wonderful.

  Don’t see the player?  That’s okay…click here for my long distance dedication.  Casey Kasem-style.

“What-If’s” and “Ah ha’s!”

It was smoggy today in Hong Kong.  The sun never really made it out from behind the curtain of moisture and smog and clouds and yet, today was the first day when I could see into the distance.  Well, not the literal distance but the theoretical distance, the possible future, the likely ‘whats-next.’  Each discussion I have illuminates new perspectives and challenges and opportunities and slowly but surely the scope of my work here is revealing itself.  It’s not going to be a small job and it’s not going to be dull.  I took a huge leap of faith when I abandoned my nice life in Tirol for this unknown but with each passing day I feel more confident that I knew what I was doing :)

I managed to shave my commute down to 35 minutes from over an hour because I stopped being a dumbass and because a nice colleague showed me the MTR station right next to the office.  Duh.  Part of the fun is the not knowing and then the next stage of that fun is the eventual knowing.  Its my pattern to wait until I’m all-about-the-knowing but by then I’m also usually going…the irony….In any case, my commute allows for fresh air (tram), book reading (MTR) and a (walk) past a (coffee joint).  It’s ideal.  When typhoon season hits I will only have a few spots where I’ll be exposed to the elements and I imagine that this will also come in handy when the summer comes and decides to steam this island up to unbearable degrees.

My brain is a little frazzled with all the “what-ifs,” “ah has!” and “dude….i totally need to do-thats.”  It’s a bit of a treat that I have a 3 day weekend to absorb all the info and ides swirling and try to relax a little.  Or at least try to.  The cats are finally settled but I feel like there are pieces of me that haven’t quite arrived yet.  Like I’m somehow still in transition, that static person shaped blob that isn’t quite beamed up or down yet.  I’m getting there but, often throughout my days, I am still surprised to see such a new landscape.  My hair and skin are going to need a new routine as well since sticky, humid, salty, smoggy air is a new environ.  Lots of adjusting going on here at 2bean…

In honor of the fact that I am just now beginning to see the light…

2 Outta 5 Ain’t Bad

Last Thursday morning I hopped in my car after grabbing a latte and headed towards Wattens.  A song came on FM4 that caught my attention and, for the first time in 2009, I told myself I was going to go buy that CD that night.  Those of us that see tons of shows every year absorb lots of music though it is both rare and lucky when something really gets your attention.  This was the case with the song ‘Mornings’ by a band called Portugal. The Man.  I arrived at my office with the song in my head and not more than 10 minutes later saw a FB update from a friend regarding a concert that very night.  Low and behold…Portugal The Man was playing Club Weekender the same night.  Synchronicity is one way to see it…dumb luck another.  An hour later I had a press pass and looked forward to the show all day.

The band surprised me with thier awesomeness.  Weepy, wonderful Eddie Hazel inspired guitar licks spun around catchy melodies and cosmic noise makes for an eclectic and addictive sound.  I have been listening to thier album The Satanic Satanist (silly name) all weekend and haven’t tired of it.  The last time I got this excited about a new album from a new band was, I think, when I  heard Black Mountain.  I showed up a little late for the set due to a date with Bruno at the Metropol (meh…) but was sucked immeadiately in.  Here are a couple of my favorite shots of this excellent band, but click here to see the whole set.

Portugal. The Man @ Weekender

Portugal. The Man - Innsbruck, Austria

It was a total surprise and I feel compelled to share.  Here is the song that I heard while driving that made me stop and listen (click here if you dont see the player). 

Friday was the 5 Year anniversary of my beloved pmk so it was a no-brainer that I would grab a camera and head to the bogen.  A stage outside from 8 until 11 was a nice change of pace and the rain held off long enough to let the party get going.  I shot 3 bands that night, the last of which was my favorite…a group from Vienna called Bulbul.  The guitar player was impossibly sexy so please forgive the bajillion photos of him in this set.  Here are a few of my favorites from the whole evening…

5 Jahre PMK

Beana & Stefan Lachinger & their perspectives on PMK

Sexjams - pmkBulbul - pmk

 Just before 1am the rain got heavier and my patience for slow beer lines and damp crowds waned and I headed home to lose my mind in the endless Six Feet Under marathon that has occupied my free moments in the last  2 weeks.  It was a great night all in all…made me proud to have been a part of the last 2 years at pmk, for sure.

Chris & Ulli Rock - Happy Birthday pmk!

Saturday and Sunday were a mix of snow showers, rain, sun, fog, winter, fall and summer so laying low and doing very little took almost no effort.  I manged to get my apartment clean (kind of) and to have some QT over chocolate cake (thanks Uschi!), Bananarama (thanks Michi!), red coconut curry (thanks Albi & Alex!), a walk in the park (thanks Beate!) and some delicious noodles and mushrooms (thanks Becky & Luca!)…lucky Bean, eh?  Yeah, I thought so too.  here’s a couple more snapshots from the weekend’s fun with the Business Edition…

thefutureisstupid

snowinsummer

window in a rainsoaked castle

Just because I genuinely care for you (you didn’t doubt that did you?) I’m going to kick down one more track from my new favorite band Portugal. The Man.  This one is called The Woods and had me dancing in my living room until the wee hours…(don’t see the player?  click here)

Beana Bern on Chocodog

always brings me joy to participate in any little way with the best band in the world…how about clicking here and celebrating a sweet collaboration by buying some Ween merch!!

Have Lense Will Travel

I mentioned some time back when I uploaded these photos that they were for an ‘interview.’  Less interview and more ’sweet feature,’ this is a little article about yours truly and my life outside Swarovski.  As a reader of 2Bean, you know all about this life of mine, too much sometimes, but my friends at work see another facet.  Different name (Kristina Bern Notch), different business…Appropriate that I would land in the Rhythm issue.

(make it b i g g e r)

By the way, if anybody can tell me what “spur of the moment attention grabbers” are, I’m curious.

Foreshadowing

The fog is lifting and the mood behind the clouds and haze is quiet, cautious optimisim.  I’m pretty sure that I summoned the fog to numb me from some unpleasant realizations and some family drama but I am hopeful that as the wind blows the clouds away my unrealistic expectations will blow away with it.  That’s the hope, anyway.

There are so many lights on the horizon now….what was just one carrot dangling before my nose to pull me through is now a field of carrots.  As I was wrting that I thought it was going to sound better than it does.  Why is it that one carrot sounds so much more motivating than many?  I digress…anyway, this Thursday with Sonic Youth in Munich followed by next weekend with an old lover in Cinque Terra followed by my sojourn to Asia only 2 weeks later is A LOT of motivation.  Then I will shake the rock and salt and sand from my soul and wake up to June.  It’s amazing.  Scary and amazing.

“Those who desire to give up freedom in order to gain security will not have, nor do they deserve, either one.”  ~Benji Franklin

All that talk about nothing ventured, nothing gained has proved to be true for me.  Give it all up, let it all go and be prepared to be pummled when it clammers to come back and devour you.  I need a Zen Master to tell me what comes after letting fear go…because I think I’m there.

Switching tracks now (completely) I will share a little of last weekends trials and tribulations.  That sounds a little heavy but the reality was my weekend was chill.  I worked on a new collage/painting/sculpture thing that just might see the light of 2bean one day soon…I photographed a very pregnant woman in a field high in the mountains, I had a slumber party with Wendy that resulted in the best portrait of Walter Sobchak to date (and a lot of f-ing whiskey), I drank some coffee in the city with varied and radical peeps, I watched the first 2 seasons of Entourage and find myself liking Jeremy Piven more than I did before I saw the show, I talked philospohy with Niko over the best bread in the Tirol and managed to do a little work on some freelance opportunities I could have in the not-so-far future.

Walter Sobchak

If you’re inclined to peruse the rest, by all means, click here and the 1st 2 pages will equal the last 2 days.  Between the blog and my flicker archive I am truly transparent, all my careful days there for all of you to see and feel….Clearly I am better at keeping your secrets than my own.

Here’s a song for Tuesday…

Dont see the player?  Click here.

Limited Edition BBP Photos on sale – April 5th @ pmk

It’s not often that you have a chance to peruse Beana Bern prints in a venue that doesn’t require fiber and electricity but on April 5th you will!  A funky hand-made market will spring up in the pmk and yours truly will be hanging selected limited edition prints from the performance archive, the Holga stash and, if you’re lucky, the remaining pieces from last years austellung PARALLEL UNIVERSE.  Priced from “that’s all!!!” to “uh…really?  how much??” there will be options so bring some cash and a desire to take home some artwork.

LOMO arigato

This photo is the first photo that I ever took with my Holga.

My Sophomore and Junior year of high school saw me spending more time in the darkroom than just about anywhere else.  My film cameras gathered dust during my broke-as-hell college years and then came the birth of the digicam.  I will never say anything bad about digital photography since it liberated me but there’s no denying that the richness of film is one of the best things ever.  I bought my Holga in 2006 and reignited my love for the anticipation of waiting for a roll of film, looking at a contact sheet and making prints.  That said, I have some incredibly awesome news!!

This tiny little planet we live on and that funny 6 degrees connected me to a fellow New Yorker in Innsbruck…though technically she is an Innsbrucker in New York.  Regardless of the technecalities, this connection has lit the fire under a new friendship, stoked an old one and landed me with one of the coolest photography gigs ever.  I am officially a LOMOGRAPHY AMIGO…

Task at hand?  Take Diana+ to a bunch of rock shows and show the world that lomos “rock” rock.  Take her to Arizona, take her to Beijing, take her to Mongolia, take her up into the Tirolean Alps and see what else she rocks…which I already know is just about everything.  Film and gadgets and eager recipients for what I see make this task complete joy.  I feel like a kid in a candy store…barley able to contain my giddy laughter while I wait for my new camera.

You are likely to hear more about this most excellent collaboration in the days, weeks and months to come but I had to share…

Not sure what lomography is?  Click here and don’t talk yourself out of it when you’re tempted to buy one…they are good for your soul!!

Fruits of My Labor

yo.

still in frantic mode and looking forward to chilling the hell out this weekend.  its my own fault for spinning in other peoples static and letting the crazy sweep me away but, such is life, and at the moment im weak and going with the flow instead of swimming against the hectic stream.  peace is on the horizon.

a while back i might have mentioned that i was collaborating with some filmmakers on a documentary film called Rcokumentary.  It was made during the first ever Paul Green School of Rock Music Festival in Asbury Park, NJ.  I happened to document the same fest in photos and found these guys right after I moved to Austria.  I ended up doing the graphic design, cover art and a slammin photo slide show of my work from the fest.  Did I just say slammin for real?  what an ass.

in any case, the film (and some dough!) just arrived in the mail and it always makes me happy to see the fruits of my labor. this was a very cool experience and im hopeful to do more collaborating in the future.  speaking of that…i almost forgot that i am in the process of collaborating as we speak!!  its too soon for details but my buddy Andy and I are making some Trans-continental video art.  You will surely hear all about that when the time comes.

Now I am stepping away from the imac that i should rename Vortex instead of C3PO…this bitch is hard to get away from!!

Melt Fest 2008 – Pictures and Fragments

“Possible Germany” rings in my ear as I ride out of Dessau on a bus through what looks like Ernest Callenbach’s Ecotopia. Windmills turning, wheat blowing in the breeze, my socks still wet from the night before I have time to think…It always amazes me how music can be the tonic to heal wounded ears of too much music. “Possible Germany” isn’t a suggestion this day, it’s a fact.

Rewind 3 days and I’m on the same bus, this time with no music but only the anticipation of 3 days of music to come. Almost 10 years since I’ve slept in a wet tent backstage at a show and I wonder if it’s as brutal and fun as I remember it. My credentials are ready and a kind bus driver drops me right off at the Production office where they set me up with a tent and directions to the Presse Tent. Game on…only 2 hours to spare before its time to sport my gear (almost 40 pounds worth) and make some art and try to stop time.

After nesting a little in the Presse Tent with my bone dry locker (sehr wichtig) and a handful of new friends and strangers I headed out to scout the grounds, find all the gates my “freund” bracelet and Presse pass would get me (pretty much everywhere but up a coal digger…which I found my way up anyway) and timed how long it would take me to get from stage to stage. This last excersice was futile after the earth turned deep brown and slippery and kiddies in their funky shades clogged the arteries.

It’s hard to figure how best to re-cap all the music so I think I’ll just go in order. Perhaps it’s natural to start with the “big dogs” first but instead, I will take you through it as I experienced things and, when possible, I’ll give you my impression in words as well as megapixels…

To go a little deeper, click on each picture to see the whole set of that band. Or, if you feel like sitting back and seeing the “best of” album, click right here.

Friday…July 18

Markus Kavka kicked things off with beats and an unwavering smile. Not my thing but it was a good way to get the party started.

Fotos was some German indie pop that served as a chance to adjust the white balance on my camera and check the perspective from the pit. The music wasn’t so memorable for me…

Lightspeed Champion was the first band that I was psyched to see. Dramatic and melodic the highpoint was the Star Wars anthem and the furry hat.

Late of the Pier had a super high-maintainence sound check but these Brits (i think) threw down, what I can only guess would be, electro pop with a major emphasis on the drums. The crowd went crazy and it was a good, if a little too loud, 3 songs in the pit.

Turbostaat was some German mediocre ‘power’ rock. I remember it was awful but the boys in the front row wearing Turbostaat shirts and singing every word would probably respectfully disagree. To their credit they were playing in a shit sounding concrete box and that could have been a factor in my disatisfaction.

My new photog friend Adrian, when referring to the band Blackmail said that he “wasn’t sure why these guys aren’t famous yet’” and I pondered that thought as the bass drum layed down a new rhythm for my heartbeat during soundcheck. The smoke machine was annoying and the music wasn’t super memorable…

This guy surprised me a little and I found myself liking his ‘doo-wop-vegas-indie-folk-jewish-pop’ more than I would have expected. He’s one of those guys that, even if you don’t like the music, you cant help but smile when he and his back up singers do their thing. Funny but nice.

I was aiming for Burger/Voigt but caught Tobias Thomas instead. He had this pharmaceutical mellow thing going that would have been nice to stay with for a bit had I had a couch to sit on.

Kate Nash sounds exactly the same live as she does on FM4 but the lack of imagination in her “KATE NASH” visuals and her kind of late-lazy stage show made me like her a little bit less. The pouring rain could have also been a factor in the overall lackluster performance but im pretty sure it was her.

Gui Boratto was cute but, if i’m being honest, DJ’s can start to sound the same to me after a little while

I first heard Modeselektor on a iTunes playlist assembled by Thom York. I liked it then and I liked it live…these were the only DJ’s I heard with the ability to make people dance like animals instead of robots. Fucking awesome.

The Editors reminded me a little bit of “Live” but I think it had more to do with the lead singers voice than with the actual sound of the band. They had a huge draw and a big sound and, though it wasn’t something I would go and seek out, they were good.

Ellen Allien had too many technical difficulties for me to stick around. This was shot around 3am and I had one gig left to shoot…

Robyn was new to me but clearly not new to the stage. Both diva and pimp, she was like a sizzling Swedish gangster with the soul of Pat Benetar. Highlights of her set were covers of Snoop Dogs “Sexual Eruption,” Salt n Pepa’s “Push It,” and what I think was a Prince cover of “I’ll Jerk You Off.” If I get the chance to see her again, I will.

Saturday…July 19

Sleep came but didn’t stay. After about 4 hours it was time to wander the grounds and watch Melt wake up. After some festival food it was time to park myself in the tent and edit some photos before heading out to do it again. Storm warnings and terrential rain put a damper on things (sorry about that) and the mud came out in full effect.

The first act was a German guy named Peter Licht. I forget exactly what it was that I thought at the time but I think it was along the lines of “emo-german-college-pop.” Boring but he did get the rainbow so you have to give him that at least.

Twisted Wheel wasn’t on the bill but found their way to the mainstage for a short set. Out of Manchester and into Ferropolis….aside from the nice light, I don’t remember what their deal was.

After a few songs Dirk arranged a crane tour for us and we headed up one of the 5 major coal digging machines that is Ferropolis. Surreal and scary, I couldn’t help but wonder what kind of noise they made when they were unearthing coal and rocks. No doubt they were far louder than any of the noise we were making with our rock and roll. Click on the picture below to see some of this awesome and rustic metal.

Melt by Day

Melt by Night

Ok ok, I got off track a little but after the tour of the big rigs it was time to rock (mostly work) until the sun came up.

Cobblestone Jazz was another DJ thing but live, synthesized vocals and groovier beat was interesting

Fujiya Migawi surprised me with their lack of Japanese-ness but I loved the their sound. A little listen on MySpace confirmed that I liked what I heard and I hope I get to see them again one day.

The Notwist is geekier than all hell but also pretty brilliant. Their set built really slow but after the 4th song they hit a stride and their subdued and melodic sound had some momentum. Not so fun to shoot but they made up for it with the music.

This scary and disgusting dude is called Rummelsnuff. The kind of stereotypical shit that somebody might think would still be happening in Germany. He sings of power and strength and other shit that makes the National nazi-types happy while his oiled body makes the homosexuals happy. His ability to bring these two unlikely groups together seems to be part of his novelty but after 5 clicks of the shutter I got the fuck out of there before the little bit of barf in my throat needed to find its way out.

Franz Ferdinand is so slick and such a well oiled machine that they feel like less of a rock band and more like a vegas act but that didnt stop me from loving every second of their set. They are fucking awesome…and lots of fun to take photos of. Go on, click the pic and take a peek.

Roisin Murphy is such a sexy bitch that its crazy. 3 costume changes during the first 3 songs with the entire stage serving as her own personal cat walk. The music was alright but her stage show was amazing. I would have loved to have photographed the whole set. This is another set that you should take a closer look at if you’re inclined.

Another sleepless night and another day to work, fortunately all my shows for the last day were on the same stage so I only had to scoot out from the press tent between rain showers and acts. I spent the day kicking it with the other photogs, you come to know one another after 3 days of working in the rain.

July…Sunday 19

Los Campesinos had a lot going on with the xylophones, horns and things. Lots of draw for an early show and a sound somewhat derivative of angsty Arcade Fire and insecure but happy Magic Numbers.

Neon Neon’s set was a tribute, maybe homage, to the man who built the Dolorian. Birth was uninteresting but Dreaming was memorable and the old school Casio ‘hand clap’ brought back memories of mine and my sister’s dabbling with our own keyboard many years ago. It got some weird Rusted Root-esque percussion that turned me off towards the end but by then it was time to go anyway…

Get Well Soon is another example of an Arcade Fire want-to-be but, honestly, they are doing it. They are good with the big crecendos and atmospheric rock and, though a little annoying to watch, I liked the sound.

the only word for the Battles are awesome, awesome, awesome, awesome, awesome

I didn’t know that I knew Hot Chip until I heard the song about the monkey with a miniature symbol. Damn, that song has a way of staying in my head and running circles. This band saw the biggest crowd of the whole weekend, even trumping Bjork, which surprised me. They were good but throughout the whole set I was wondering whether or not I was going to be one of the lucky few photographers shooting Bjork…

As it turned out, she decided that she didnt want any Press or Photographers in front for her show. Her Management requested a list of media and picked about 10 photographers to cover the pit…I was one of them.

Bjork is more of a life force then a singer…her performance gave me goose bumps and I only wish that I hadn’t been freezing my ass off and suffering from massively cramped hands during her set. By the time these shots were taken I had been working for almost 3 days straight, sleeping for less then 8 hours and shooting what amounted to be about 600 photographs. Believe it or not, I even managed to have a little fun, eject two fucking drunkards (literally, 2 drunk people fucking) from my tent and make a few new friends. This re-cap marks the end of Melt and I hope you enjoyed the pix.

In case you haven’t been clicking and reading, here’s another shot to see the overview… CLICK HERE FOR MELT FEST 2008