While the 'Krogerup-linje' and Crossing Borders students explore the wonders of Turkey, 'Verden Brænder' takes on Bolivia, and the Africans study climate change in Brussels, the Americans are still back at Krogerup. The building is a lot quieter and steadily getting messier. Thankfully, the kitchen is still making us food and still saying 'Go'morgen' to us as we stumble in before class, but everyone living at the school now fits around one table. A fort appeared in Lille Sal one night, but was taken down the next day when we found out we'd used the wrong sheets for it. The candles keep shrinking, but there's fewer people around them.
I, along with 11 others, are studying at the Danish Institute for Study Abroad (DIS) in København while living at Krogerup. Instead of Krogerup courses, we attend classes in the city during the day for subjects ranging from architecture to the European Union to biotechnology. There's around 600 Americans studying at DIS, and we're distributed among many host families, kollegiums, roommates, and højskoles. We're the luckiest ones, I think. It's a long commute to and from class, 55 minutes if everything goes right, but Krogerup is a great place to come home to at the end of the day. Good food in the kitchen, a fire in the 'pejsestue', a game of foosball in 'Natkassen'. I could talk for ages about all the fun we've had in 'Natkassen', actually, or about how good a distraction it is from our homework.
At first, I was worried that the Americans would have a tough time fitting in, since we weren't taking the same classes as the other højskoler. It hasn't been a problem at all; we moved in on the same day back in August, so everyone was looking for new friends anyway. All of the Americans have different course schedules, but we can always find someone to save dinner for us if we're coming home late. Nights and weekends are good times for us to mix together, and I've had lots of great conversations with the people here. Morten has helped us find good jazz clubs in København, and most of the girls had intricate braids for a few days after Signe's hair-braiding lesson. Half of us are in Danish language classes, and Krogerup is a great place to clumsily practice what we've learned.
I wasn't sure what to make of Krogerup the first night, when we sang traditional songs, told stories, and held hands and folk-danced in a room with lots of candles. It seemed like enough "hygge" to choke a horse (then again, the concept of choking horses is inherently "uhyggeligt"...). Not every night has been as traditional, but it's still a great way to get to know Denmark, especially Danish youth life. It seems like everyone is at Krogerup for different reasons, so it's interesting to find out why people chose to come here. Saturday night political discussions in the Spanish Kitchen when we need a break from the party are fun; one night, we even made it all the way back to the 1980s. Poul Schluter! About half of the Americans are also in the Krogerup Choir, which meets weekly just after we've made it home for the night. I expected traditional højskole songs, but we have a great time singing music in English and African languages.
Not everything has been sunshine and roses, of course. Since we're not around during the day, there's been trouble communicating rules and expectations now and then. Perhaps we don't clean as much as we should. Some days, it feels like we spend as much time waiting for and on the regional train as we do actually in København. Just as the other people get back next week, we go on a two-week travel break, so the whole family won't be back together until mid-November.
The sign-up sheet for this blog in the hallway, which doesn't have any signatures on it yet, asks for "An American Perspective". I'm absolutely certain that we have twelve different perspectives, as we don't do the same things or hang out with the same people. I usually get lost running in the woods, but some people manage it successfully. However, I can't imagine a better place to get an introduction to Denmark. Our classes can get stressful, but Krogerup is a great place to de-stress while still learning about ourselves and the world. From the 'kulkraftværk' protest to the Wild West party to philosophy over the fire, Krogerup has been fantastic, and I'm thankful to the great people I live with -- Danes, CB, Africans, and Americans alike -- for making it so.
Jeg elsker Krogerup, fordi jeg kan godt lide snakke med mine venner og synge med Rikke. Om lørdagen plejer vi at danse, og vi spise og gøre rent sammen. Danmark er rigtig sjovt!
(I apologize if any of that is actually incorrect Danish. We're still learning. Tak for mad.)
Matthew
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Monday, October 26, 2009
about TESEV NGO by Zsuzsi
On Saturday, we visited the NGO TESEV in Istanbul.
We have met a very intelligent, well educated, good English speaking woman for the second time. It seems they are represented the modern Turkey.
TESEV are dealing with minority projects in Turkey.
First we got a general introduction about the different ethnic categories existing in Turkey.
There are religious minorities:
Armenians, around 60000
Greeks around 45000
Jews around 23000
These minorities have been existing according to the Treaty of Lausanne what was signed in 1923, after the 1st World War. (Did you know that only 2 countries have been using 1st WW Treaty?)
They can use their languages and practise the religions freely. But just these 3 groups are mentioned in the Treaty. Out of them, there are Assyrians, Circassians (3million), Kurds 12 million, Bulgarians, Albanians, Native Anatolian non monotheist Groups.
TESEV aims to promote the role of civil society in the democratic process and seeks to share its research findings with the widest possible audience. In order to do so, TESEV organizes regular seminars and conferences, bringing together specialists and policymakers from Turkey and abroad to discuss issues of current concern. It releases project reports, books, pamphlets, policy watch briefings and seminar proceedings aimed at general readership.
TESEV focuses on the most urgent and important policy questions facing Turkey and its neighbourhood in the new century. Program areas are grouped under three headings:
- Democratization
- Foreign Policy
- Good Governance
Some of the most remarkable of TESEV’s work have been on the issues of Islam and democracy, combating corruption, state reform, and transparency and accountability. Among the ongoing project areas are security sector reform, minorities and citizenship rights, transparency and strengthening civil society as well as Cyprus, Middle East and North Africa, and Turkey and European Union relations.
You can find more info here:
http://www.tesev.org.tr
We have met a very intelligent, well educated, good English speaking woman for the second time. It seems they are represented the modern Turkey.
TESEV are dealing with minority projects in Turkey.
First we got a general introduction about the different ethnic categories existing in Turkey.
There are religious minorities:
Armenians, around 60000
Greeks around 45000
Jews around 23000
These minorities have been existing according to the Treaty of Lausanne what was signed in 1923, after the 1st World War. (Did you know that only 2 countries have been using 1st WW Treaty?)
They can use their languages and practise the religions freely. But just these 3 groups are mentioned in the Treaty. Out of them, there are Assyrians, Circassians (3million), Kurds 12 million, Bulgarians, Albanians, Native Anatolian non monotheist Groups.
TESEV aims to promote the role of civil society in the democratic process and seeks to share its research findings with the widest possible audience. In order to do so, TESEV organizes regular seminars and conferences, bringing together specialists and policymakers from Turkey and abroad to discuss issues of current concern. It releases project reports, books, pamphlets, policy watch briefings and seminar proceedings aimed at general readership.
TESEV focuses on the most urgent and important policy questions facing Turkey and its neighbourhood in the new century. Program areas are grouped under three headings:
- Democratization
- Foreign Policy
- Good Governance
Some of the most remarkable of TESEV’s work have been on the issues of Islam and democracy, combating corruption, state reform, and transparency and accountability. Among the ongoing project areas are security sector reform, minorities and citizenship rights, transparency and strengthening civil society as well as Cyprus, Middle East and North Africa, and Turkey and European Union relations.
You can find more info here:
http://www.tesev.org.tr
Armenian Medz Yeghern!
This morning we went to Martin - the journalist's apartment. After some fruit juice, cookies and coffee we had a lecture by an expert on the so-called Armenian Genocide or Medz Yeghern (The Great Catastrophe, as Armenians call it).
Turkey has for 90 years denied the extent of the massacres of Armenians between 1915 and 1917, but today the animosity is loosening up, and Turks are slowly becoming aware of facts. Turkey, however, has no intentions of admitting to have committed genocide, as this is illegal in UN treaties, and would require Turkey to pay reparations to Armenians. Therefore the word "Genocide" is avoided.
Personally I have come to the belief that Turkey must do the following: Become aware of the facts, take moral responsibility for the massacres, change their history books and apologize to the Armenians. However, I do not think Turkey should assume any legal responsibility for Genocide. Stirring up the past and fighting over land has no place in the 21st century.
By Jeppe Kirk Bonde
Turkey has for 90 years denied the extent of the massacres of Armenians between 1915 and 1917, but today the animosity is loosening up, and Turks are slowly becoming aware of facts. Turkey, however, has no intentions of admitting to have committed genocide, as this is illegal in UN treaties, and would require Turkey to pay reparations to Armenians. Therefore the word "Genocide" is avoided.
Personally I have come to the belief that Turkey must do the following: Become aware of the facts, take moral responsibility for the massacres, change their history books and apologize to the Armenians. However, I do not think Turkey should assume any legal responsibility for Genocide. Stirring up the past and fighting over land has no place in the 21st century.
By Jeppe Kirk Bonde
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Den 25. oktober 2009 Istanbul TOPKAPI - PALADSET
Jeg og den sidste del af vores gruppe ankommer i forvirring til Topkapi paladsets hovedindgang og fortsaetter videre ind i selve parken foer paladset hvor vi moeder resten af "familien". Bygninger omringer os tıl alle sider og jeg maerker et sug i maven imens vi gaar op mod hovebygningen. Jeg er saa glad. Alt er saa nyt, spaendende og vedkommende og jeg suger det hele til mig.
Vi faar koebt billet, siger farvel tıl vores guide og jeg glaeder mig tıl at se alle de skatte, som opbevares her. Jeg griber en glad haand, moeder et smilende ansigt og halvdanser ind for at se den foerste udstilling.
Jeg gaar fra det ene menneskefyldte rum tıl det naeste og fra udstillingsvindue til udstillingsvindue og ser alt fra guldtroner, smykker, toej og vaaben til Moses's stav og Muhammeds fodaftryk. Det undrer mig ıkke, hvıs fortidens fyrster har foelt et sug i maven og aerefrygt for den sultan, som var ejer af det meste af det her...
Jeg naar den del af paladset hvor haremmet ligger og skal betale... igen! surt show, men det er det jeg har glaedet mig mest til. Der er en uventet stilhed i haremmet og naesten ingen mennesker. Der er en helt anden stemning her. Smukke mosaikker pryder vaeggene og jeg gaar forbi mange lukkede doere. Det er langt mere intimt og privat her og jeg blıver pludselig meget glad for at leve i 2009, og ikke vaere en eller anden konkubine blandt mange, som boende taet sammen med andre kvinder... Hvilke intriger har ıkke opstaaet her!! Jeg er helt lettet da jeg naar udgangen og moeder et nyt smilende ansigt fra "la familia", som jeg slaar foelge med paa tılbagevejen tıl vores hostel.
Anemone
Vi faar koebt billet, siger farvel tıl vores guide og jeg glaeder mig tıl at se alle de skatte, som opbevares her. Jeg griber en glad haand, moeder et smilende ansigt og halvdanser ind for at se den foerste udstilling.
Jeg gaar fra det ene menneskefyldte rum tıl det naeste og fra udstillingsvindue til udstillingsvindue og ser alt fra guldtroner, smykker, toej og vaaben til Moses's stav og Muhammeds fodaftryk. Det undrer mig ıkke, hvıs fortidens fyrster har foelt et sug i maven og aerefrygt for den sultan, som var ejer af det meste af det her...
Jeg naar den del af paladset hvor haremmet ligger og skal betale... igen! surt show, men det er det jeg har glaedet mig mest til. Der er en uventet stilhed i haremmet og naesten ingen mennesker. Der er en helt anden stemning her. Smukke mosaikker pryder vaeggene og jeg gaar forbi mange lukkede doere. Det er langt mere intimt og privat her og jeg blıver pludselig meget glad for at leve i 2009, og ikke vaere en eller anden konkubine blandt mange, som boende taet sammen med andre kvinder... Hvilke intriger har ıkke opstaaet her!! Jeg er helt lettet da jeg naar udgangen og moeder et nyt smilende ansigt fra "la familia", som jeg slaar foelge med paa tılbagevejen tıl vores hostel.
Anemone
Friday, October 23, 2009
Turkey part 1
S'up everyone. This be Hans bringing you the latest and greatest of our adventures in Istanbul.
The entire group arrived after an exhausting journey to Cheers Hostel, located in the immidate vicinity of the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia and 10 minutes walk away from the Grand Bazaar. First impressions of the hostel ranged from average to abysmal -the girls got their rooms immediately, average service, the boys had to wait 4 hours, abysmal service - and after breakfast (or some resemblance thereof: cucumber, tomato, feta cheese and eggs is NOT breakfast) and 2 hours of sleep our guide deemed us ready for our first stroll around the metropolis. At the moment I begged to differ, but off we went, and I quickly changed my mind. Istanbul is mindblowingly amazing! From the hectic tourist trap that is the Grand Bazaar to the Imam calling everyone to prayer, Istanbul is something unlike everything I have seen in my life before.
First stop was the Grand Bazaar, more than 500 years old and a center for trading for just as long, this place is a mecca for shoppers, tourists and traders alike. Here we also got our first glimpse of the turkish haggle culture: no price is carved in stone, everything is negotiable. Morten and Jeppe proved to have skills in this area and it was quite staggering to watch them cut 40% of various items by hesitantly walking away, causing the poor shopper to come running after them, yelling 'OK, OK, 10 is you'. Personally I deemed myself too tired to participate in any serious shopping, so I just quietly tagged along.
After the Bazaar we grabbed lunch at a kebab place, paying the equivalent of 25 kr for a meal with drink, only further positivising the first impression of Istanbul. After that we went to the spice bazaar, which is almost as old as the Grand one, but not quite as big and much the same. Still we jaywalked through and Martin, the guide, announced that todays program was over, 3,5 hours after it began. We all hurried back to the hotel, took a shower and sawed logs for 2 hours. At 7 we woke up, got dressed and met up with the others in order to grab dinner. We found a kebab shop and after Jeppe once again aced a haggling exam, giving us kebabs for 2 lira each, about 8 kr.
Afterwards we found a water pipe (hookah if you're an uncivilized american) bar, grabbed a beer and a smoke, chatted about the first impression, which everyone agreed passed all expections, and relaxed. Sadly, the only thing that is somewhat expensive is beer and other ethanol-containing substances, but we'll manage. This being my first time smoking just about anything, I was quite high when we left 90 minutes later, but still manged to find my way back to bed.
Next day we woke up at 9.30, had 'breakfast' and a shower, and headed downstairs where the bus would take us to Star TV, a fairly large turkish news company. The bus was delayed - trafic flow in Istanbul range from bad to unbearable depending on the hour - but off we went, some of us still quite groggy and hungry.
Star TV is owned by a turkish entrepeneur who used to use the network for bashing his competitors, before transforming into a more 'serious' news network. Our guide, whose name eludes me ATM, forgetfulness thy name is ethanol, showed us a TV studio, office areas and the reception before parking us a meeting room that would've satisfied Wall Street executives. A waiter(!) brought us water, tea and soft drinks before leaving us to the poke at the TV lady (again, sorry for lack of memory). At first she was hesitant with her answers, but after awhile she had no problems critizing the government and Ataturk, usually places that are no-go. We left 2 hours later, well informed, our thirsts quenched, but starving.
Martin took us to another place in Istanbul with good kebabs and close to Dolmabahce Palace our next stop. After yet another kebab (4th or so at this point) we headed for said palace were Ataturk resided when he was still alive and kicking. (Fun fact: when he died in said palace, at 9.05, they stopped all the clocks at the exact moment, forever remembering the man and his deed). However when we got there the museum was closed... who the hell closes a museum at 4 PM? With broken hearts and tears in our eyes we left for the tram to take us back to hotel. Some weirdos with too much energy decided to tour more or Istanbul, but since you're only interested in Los Experiencos dos Hansito I won't tell you about those. (Read: I don't know what they did)
At the hostel I slept for 45 minutes, somehow ignoring Jasmin and Niels going bananas on a drum they bought at the Bazaar. At this point I should probably tell you that the boys sleep in an 8-man dorm, the girls in a 10 and 6 man dorm respectively. Since 8 is larger than 6, but still only a single digit this is naturally the place to kick it. We attempt to keep a somewhat militarist attitude towards hygiene, but we're already failing somewhat on the 2nd day. (If it doesn't smell, it's not home)
Anyway, we had dinner at a place that Martin picked out for us, where the food was OK, but not fantastic. I tried Raki, the Turkish national drink, which was fairly good once you got used to it. It's also very strong (unless you're fucking Jordan (here as an adjective, not a verb) you don't mix 45 % liquor half 'n half - Lonely Planet inform yourselfes) and really has quite a kick once you down 6 or 7 glasses. After dinner we tried to find a night club, but the only one that seemed discotequeish played house music which didn't suit most of us. The night life in Istanbul doesn't compare to anything else in the world: never have I seen so many people crammed in so many bars, with so much live music and such a nice overall vibe. For danes it's comparable to Roskilde basically, next to no violence and bad experiences, just people, chilling, dancing, listening to music, smoking, drinking and having a good time. 'Hygge' is no longer only Danish: the Turks know how to do it as well.
Our small group of 7 people found a water pipe bar, smoked, had a coke (here as the beverage, not the drug), before me and Reut went home at around midnight. Apparently Jeppe almost got his passport stolen by some random dude, but Elif and Uruba saved his ass. (Should've have blown all those skill points in haggling my man (here as a Diablo II reference, not.. fuck it, this is old already))
So here I am, still a little drunk from the Raki and a little high from the water pipe, bringing you the first part of our trip to Turkey. Do we miss Krogerup? Not yet, but it'll come. Are we enjoying ourselves? Hell yes. Is Istanbul infintely cooler than Bolivia? Having spent less than 48 hours in Istanbul, I'd have to say that Bolivia would have to be heaven on earth to even compare. (Enjoy your koka leaves, suckers!) Am I awesome? It goes without saying. Will this blogpost be used to deem whether humans are intelligent beings or not by extraterrestial life? For the sake of humanity, let's hope not!
- (A drunk and nicotine high(I don't smoke pot, mum) Hans
The entire group arrived after an exhausting journey to Cheers Hostel, located in the immidate vicinity of the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia and 10 minutes walk away from the Grand Bazaar. First impressions of the hostel ranged from average to abysmal -the girls got their rooms immediately, average service, the boys had to wait 4 hours, abysmal service - and after breakfast (or some resemblance thereof: cucumber, tomato, feta cheese and eggs is NOT breakfast) and 2 hours of sleep our guide deemed us ready for our first stroll around the metropolis. At the moment I begged to differ, but off we went, and I quickly changed my mind. Istanbul is mindblowingly amazing! From the hectic tourist trap that is the Grand Bazaar to the Imam calling everyone to prayer, Istanbul is something unlike everything I have seen in my life before.
First stop was the Grand Bazaar, more than 500 years old and a center for trading for just as long, this place is a mecca for shoppers, tourists and traders alike. Here we also got our first glimpse of the turkish haggle culture: no price is carved in stone, everything is negotiable. Morten and Jeppe proved to have skills in this area and it was quite staggering to watch them cut 40% of various items by hesitantly walking away, causing the poor shopper to come running after them, yelling 'OK, OK, 10 is you'. Personally I deemed myself too tired to participate in any serious shopping, so I just quietly tagged along.
After the Bazaar we grabbed lunch at a kebab place, paying the equivalent of 25 kr for a meal with drink, only further positivising the first impression of Istanbul. After that we went to the spice bazaar, which is almost as old as the Grand one, but not quite as big and much the same. Still we jaywalked through and Martin, the guide, announced that todays program was over, 3,5 hours after it began. We all hurried back to the hotel, took a shower and sawed logs for 2 hours. At 7 we woke up, got dressed and met up with the others in order to grab dinner. We found a kebab shop and after Jeppe once again aced a haggling exam, giving us kebabs for 2 lira each, about 8 kr.
Afterwards we found a water pipe (hookah if you're an uncivilized american) bar, grabbed a beer and a smoke, chatted about the first impression, which everyone agreed passed all expections, and relaxed. Sadly, the only thing that is somewhat expensive is beer and other ethanol-containing substances, but we'll manage. This being my first time smoking just about anything, I was quite high when we left 90 minutes later, but still manged to find my way back to bed.
Next day we woke up at 9.30, had 'breakfast' and a shower, and headed downstairs where the bus would take us to Star TV, a fairly large turkish news company. The bus was delayed - trafic flow in Istanbul range from bad to unbearable depending on the hour - but off we went, some of us still quite groggy and hungry.
Star TV is owned by a turkish entrepeneur who used to use the network for bashing his competitors, before transforming into a more 'serious' news network. Our guide, whose name eludes me ATM, forgetfulness thy name is ethanol, showed us a TV studio, office areas and the reception before parking us a meeting room that would've satisfied Wall Street executives. A waiter(!) brought us water, tea and soft drinks before leaving us to the poke at the TV lady (again, sorry for lack of memory). At first she was hesitant with her answers, but after awhile she had no problems critizing the government and Ataturk, usually places that are no-go. We left 2 hours later, well informed, our thirsts quenched, but starving.
Martin took us to another place in Istanbul with good kebabs and close to Dolmabahce Palace our next stop. After yet another kebab (4th or so at this point) we headed for said palace were Ataturk resided when he was still alive and kicking. (Fun fact: when he died in said palace, at 9.05, they stopped all the clocks at the exact moment, forever remembering the man and his deed). However when we got there the museum was closed... who the hell closes a museum at 4 PM? With broken hearts and tears in our eyes we left for the tram to take us back to hotel. Some weirdos with too much energy decided to tour more or Istanbul, but since you're only interested in Los Experiencos dos Hansito I won't tell you about those. (Read: I don't know what they did)
At the hostel I slept for 45 minutes, somehow ignoring Jasmin and Niels going bananas on a drum they bought at the Bazaar. At this point I should probably tell you that the boys sleep in an 8-man dorm, the girls in a 10 and 6 man dorm respectively. Since 8 is larger than 6, but still only a single digit this is naturally the place to kick it. We attempt to keep a somewhat militarist attitude towards hygiene, but we're already failing somewhat on the 2nd day. (If it doesn't smell, it's not home)
Anyway, we had dinner at a place that Martin picked out for us, where the food was OK, but not fantastic. I tried Raki, the Turkish national drink, which was fairly good once you got used to it. It's also very strong (unless you're fucking Jordan (here as an adjective, not a verb) you don't mix 45 % liquor half 'n half - Lonely Planet inform yourselfes) and really has quite a kick once you down 6 or 7 glasses. After dinner we tried to find a night club, but the only one that seemed discotequeish played house music which didn't suit most of us. The night life in Istanbul doesn't compare to anything else in the world: never have I seen so many people crammed in so many bars, with so much live music and such a nice overall vibe. For danes it's comparable to Roskilde basically, next to no violence and bad experiences, just people, chilling, dancing, listening to music, smoking, drinking and having a good time. 'Hygge' is no longer only Danish: the Turks know how to do it as well.
Our small group of 7 people found a water pipe bar, smoked, had a coke (here as the beverage, not the drug), before me and Reut went home at around midnight. Apparently Jeppe almost got his passport stolen by some random dude, but Elif and Uruba saved his ass. (Should've have blown all those skill points in haggling my man (here as a Diablo II reference, not.. fuck it, this is old already))
So here I am, still a little drunk from the Raki and a little high from the water pipe, bringing you the first part of our trip to Turkey. Do we miss Krogerup? Not yet, but it'll come. Are we enjoying ourselves? Hell yes. Is Istanbul infintely cooler than Bolivia? Having spent less than 48 hours in Istanbul, I'd have to say that Bolivia would have to be heaven on earth to even compare. (Enjoy your koka leaves, suckers!) Am I awesome? It goes without saying. Will this blogpost be used to deem whether humans are intelligent beings or not by extraterrestial life? For the sake of humanity, let's hope not!
- (A drunk and nicotine high(I don't smoke pot, mum) Hans
Monday, October 12, 2009
Jacob Holdt and his American images - Hans
Recently I was persuaded by my fellow Krogerup students to pay a visit to the museum of Louisiana, positioned in the immidiate vicinity of the school. Normally I'm as about as easy to drag to a museum as a hardcore alcoholic to an AA meeting, but peer presure once again reigns supreme as means of persuasion.
So off we went: halfway there I realized I'd stumbled upon Holdt earlier in my short life, somewhere a couple thousand gigabytes ago on the internet. His webpage, www.american-pictures.com, is worth a visit fo' sho'. We entered - being students at Krogerup spares us the admission - and headed for the exhibition, positioned in the western end of the museum. The images depicted american life in all its glory and horror, instantly capturing the attention of an otherwise hesistant museum-goer, read, moi. Drug abuse, sex, violence, both ends of the economic spectrum and racism were shown without comprimise by Holdt. When asked how he managed to snap such pictures he says it's very easy, once you've earned the trust of your depictees. Holdt, having spent close to 40 years hiking around America, is excellent at gaining the trust of complete strangers, sometimes through acts that the common man would regard as disgusting: a video, produced specificially for this exhibition, showed Holdt talking about him enduring sexual abuse, slave-like living and working conditions and extreme poverty in order to grab his shots.
Yet Holdt claims he has never met an inherently bad person: of all the bigots, racists, homo- and xenophobes not one of them has been born evil, if Holdt is to be trusted. This unconditional humanism seems a bit questionable to me, but Holdt seems to know what he's talking about, and after, more or less, aimlessly jaywalking through the exhibition for 1½ hour I was just about convinced of this controversial statement.
Holdt has also been active on the political scene advocating a quick and massive response to the growing gang wars that plague Copenhagen in this day. The problem is now on a relatively small-scale, but Holdt says he has seen the same development many places throughout the US in the 70s and 80s. He is also strongly against the sitting governments integration policy, saying the shutting multiculturalism out in this day and age is as futile as it is stupid. Ironically one of his best friends is Søren Espersen, MP from the DPP, the right-nationalist party of Denmark.
Holdts pictures are copyrighted, but a good one is here: http://www.american-pictures.com/gallery/usa/pages/usa-00529.htm. There are countless others worth a peek: I've spent hours browsing his site.
If you swing by Humlebæk in any foreseeable future, be sure to swing by. If you know someone at Krogerup Højskole, swing by for a beer as well. Nothing helps digest art like a cold one from the fridge.
- Hans Henriksen
So off we went: halfway there I realized I'd stumbled upon Holdt earlier in my short life, somewhere a couple thousand gigabytes ago on the internet. His webpage, www.american-pictures.com, is worth a visit fo' sho'. We entered - being students at Krogerup spares us the admission - and headed for the exhibition, positioned in the western end of the museum. The images depicted american life in all its glory and horror, instantly capturing the attention of an otherwise hesistant museum-goer, read, moi. Drug abuse, sex, violence, both ends of the economic spectrum and racism were shown without comprimise by Holdt. When asked how he managed to snap such pictures he says it's very easy, once you've earned the trust of your depictees. Holdt, having spent close to 40 years hiking around America, is excellent at gaining the trust of complete strangers, sometimes through acts that the common man would regard as disgusting: a video, produced specificially for this exhibition, showed Holdt talking about him enduring sexual abuse, slave-like living and working conditions and extreme poverty in order to grab his shots.
Yet Holdt claims he has never met an inherently bad person: of all the bigots, racists, homo- and xenophobes not one of them has been born evil, if Holdt is to be trusted. This unconditional humanism seems a bit questionable to me, but Holdt seems to know what he's talking about, and after, more or less, aimlessly jaywalking through the exhibition for 1½ hour I was just about convinced of this controversial statement.
Holdt has also been active on the political scene advocating a quick and massive response to the growing gang wars that plague Copenhagen in this day. The problem is now on a relatively small-scale, but Holdt says he has seen the same development many places throughout the US in the 70s and 80s. He is also strongly against the sitting governments integration policy, saying the shutting multiculturalism out in this day and age is as futile as it is stupid. Ironically one of his best friends is Søren Espersen, MP from the DPP, the right-nationalist party of Denmark.
Holdts pictures are copyrighted, but a good one is here: http://www.american-pictures.com/gallery/usa/pages/usa-00529.htm. There are countless others worth a peek: I've spent hours browsing his site.
If you swing by Humlebæk in any foreseeable future, be sure to swing by. If you know someone at Krogerup Højskole, swing by for a beer as well. Nothing helps digest art like a cold one from the fridge.
- Hans Henriksen
Sunday, October 11, 2009
JAKOB HOLDT’S FAITH, HOPE AND LOVE by Roberto
Jakob’s depiction of life’s realities is thematically universal. Obviously it is summed up into the Christian teaching virtues of Faith, Hope and Love. Regardless of time, space and people one can always relate at various levels. Unless one’s feeling is numb, he may see it as just one among the endless photo exhibits. However, I believe that there will always be a slight disturbance as you see them piece by piece. Without the text, first reaction would be a world of violence. But its picture stands alone, telling its own story with the thought of “what is the ending?” Artists’ popular cliché says that “life imitates art”. Conversely, other artists too would say “art imitates life”. But here Jakob Holdt merges the two schools of thoughts. We see life both in form and reality because Jacob himself was not only taking shots, he was literally part and involve in all the stories of his pictures. Like all stories, there are happy and sad endings but the virtues of faith, hope and love are redeeming values to understand that life is not always fair and that there is a constant struggle to find one’s own space within the spaces of others. And nobody can foresee what happens along the way. That is the sweet mystery of life!
Monday, October 5, 2009
STRIPTEASING
WE CAME
WE SAW
WE HEARD
BUT NEVER FELT.
THEN,
HE SAID, SHE SAID,
THEY SAID, WE SAID
EVERYONE SAID
AND WE THOUGHT
AND WE TOUCHED
AND WE REALIZED
LAYER AFTER LAYER
WE UNPELL LIKE ONIONS
MAYBE SHED A TEAR
MAYBE WEAR A SILLY GRIN
AND NATURE BEGINS TO UNDRESS
THE GREEN LEAVES OF SUMMER
TURNS YELLOW, RED AND GOLD
GENTLY WITH ELEGANCE, BIT BY BIT
FALLING FROM THE COLD
A DAZZLING STRIPTEASE ACT
CHEERS TO THE NAKEDNESS
OF THE HEART AND THE SOUL!
Roberto Nicolasora
Autumn at Krogerup Hojskole
October 6, 2009
WE CAME
WE SAW
WE HEARD
BUT NEVER FELT.
THEN,
HE SAID, SHE SAID,
THEY SAID, WE SAID
EVERYONE SAID
AND WE THOUGHT
AND WE TOUCHED
AND WE REALIZED
LAYER AFTER LAYER
WE UNPELL LIKE ONIONS
MAYBE SHED A TEAR
MAYBE WEAR A SILLY GRIN
AND NATURE BEGINS TO UNDRESS
THE GREEN LEAVES OF SUMMER
TURNS YELLOW, RED AND GOLD
GENTLY WITH ELEGANCE, BIT BY BIT
FALLING FROM THE COLD
A DAZZLING STRIPTEASE ACT
CHEERS TO THE NAKEDNESS
OF THE HEART AND THE SOUL!
Roberto Nicolasora
Autumn at Krogerup Hojskole
October 6, 2009
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