Comments on: Episode 126: Meszmer/Müller and Book Review

By: shaun belcher

shaun belcher — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 16:17:55 +0000

Interesting. I and another artist here in Nottingham UK run a ‘research space’ called Goldfactory (see website link below) but we also have been involved in a ‘social’ mapping project based on recycling/detritus which whilst not delving into the past as in Zeitgarten does work on ‘locality’.

see

http://www.matosic.org.uk/barnsley

Interested to hear about project and alas cannot read German so guessing at current state of project.

thanks for interview Mark

shaun belcher

Goldfactory Nottingham
http://www.goldfactory.org.uk

Nottingham U.K.

By: John No Pants

John No Pants — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 18:23:57 +0000

I thought that maybe it was the author of one of the old reviews. The same-ish name Leroy posted a particularly evil flame at the reviewers for John Andoe’s “Jubilee City: A Memoir at Full Speed”. I just assumed that it was Andoe himself. This idea occured to me in part because he claims that these reviewers didn’t read the book and sites a NY Times review as proof. Who but the artist, or their mother, would do that?

After that review I googled him and check out his art. Yuck. That dude is lucky people weren’t talking about his “art.” But now that I think about it why would anyone talk about his drawings of horses. You should see them. Although, now that I’ve just googled him again the BAS review is the second thing to come up under his name. Maybe I also would be pissed. Too bad the book is mediocre and his art is worse.

By: Balzac

Balzac — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 17:14:32 +0000

I would hope the author could draft something more interesting than Leroy’s post.

Maybe it is the Author’s mother.

By: Mark Staff Brandl

Mark Staff Brandl — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 08:25:00 +0000

Cheezuss! Who is Leroy — the author himself or what? I liked the review.

By: Balzac

Balzac — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 21:07:48 +0000

Leroy,

You are frothing and drooling, get it together man.

Balzac

By: leroy

leroy — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 20:40:09 +0000

Another installment of the “our self up our own asses book club”.
two old ladies with gelled up spikes that are so disturbed.
they are just wishing everyone would grow up.
WHAT DOES THE BEAR MEAN? They panic.

By: Alex Meszmer

Alex Meszmer — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 21:55:52 +0000

Well, the payments vary quite a lot in switzerland. There are some International Schools, that pay low (if they are snobby private schools) or a bit more if they are differently organised.
Swiss schools pay very good – more than the average wage of a university professor in Germany – again that varys from primary to Highschool (Kanti). But they are not keen to employ teachers, that do have a foreign education. I was always amazed to see, that my applications came back immediately from Swiss “Kantonsschulen” – HighSchools, refusing me, telling me, that I am not qualified enough – although I went through all academic exams in Germany (that require a higher academic standard than for swiss teachers).
At the same time the swiss art colleges always considered me as highly qualified, even for a job as a professor…

By: Daniel Anhorn

Daniel Anhorn — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 04:34:00 +0000

Millions indeed! …what do they pay teachers in switzerland? I think I can claim the citizenship anytime as my father was swiss; but the millions…that will take a bit longer i think.

By: Alex Meszmer

Alex Meszmer — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 21:44:01 +0000

Yeah, right Mark. I agree in that. In a way that could be the reason why the swiss artists known outside of switzerland are so rare – on the one hand – and needed to start their career outside of this country. And with a career going on abroad, all the local artists still will belive that you are nothing in comparison to their body of work and their reputation within the region of Glarus, Oberwallis or way behind everything-Jura. It is lovely to live here, because even celebrities are looked at as normal people and there is not much starcult – but it is hard enough to start a career.

So, Daniel: make your millions abroad, and then come living in quiet switzerland, as Tina Turner, Ralf Schumacher or many others do…

By: Mark Staff Brandl

Mark Staff Brandl — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 17:51:08 +0000

Hi Daniel. Very Swiss family name you have. Getting swiss citizenship ain’t easy. And you have to serve in the Army till you are 55 or so. I “only” had to pay three years extra tax fo not being in the army and do Civil defense, which in my case was okay because I was put in the Cultural Division as a trained art historian.

The Swiss info was just to talk about things similar to the US but from a very different angle. I hope we get stuff like that in about Germany, italy and France and so on.

You are right Alex, politically. But what is best politically is not always a good structure for culture, and vice versa. Often quite the opposite. While consensus and most things being voted on by referendum so on are wonderful, I think, in government (they at least make it very difficult to jump into nonsense at the drop of a hat like trendy political waves or silly wars etc.), a drive to consensus and the drive to avoid polemical argument can be the death of strong personal art, tending to favor well-behaved, follow-the-rules-you memorized art.