here is my berlin.
On any person who desires such queer prizes, New York will bestow the gift of loneliness and the gift of privacy…It can destroy an individual or it can fulfill him, depending on a good deal of luck. No one should come to New York to live unless he is willing to be lucky”
– from E. B. White’s seventy-five hundred word timeless summary of my city.
> Just like E. B. White’s "Here is New York"...
...this project is an ultra-subjective examination that tries to shine a different light on two of today’s most interesting and "becoming" cities. By no means does it create boundaries or define dichotomies - if anything, it hopes to encourage a slimming-down of differentiating cultures.
White groups New Yorkers into three categories – the commuter, the native, and the migrator. He points to the last category as the most important bringer-of-culture and I could not be more sure of this. In both cities, those who come from outside color the city they settle in with stories, investments, sacrifices, struggles, dreams and adventure. By definition, New York is an immigrant city (see: JR), and today’s Berlin is experiencing, like the rest of Germany and Europe, the greatest influx of stateless peoples since the deportations of World War II. “Refugees Welcome” signs scattered everywhere, and the country was rebuilt post-war with the help of Ausländer (see: Turkish population). These two cities are thus precedented on cultural open-mindedness and accepting of differences, if not with excitement and curiosity then as granted.
> The lines are...
...the words and images of artists and those in the art world. Lines are a collection of dots, a whole comprised of parts, they move dynamically, they are concerned with parallels, intersections, connections, directions, constructions and destructions. In New York I am studying Art History, English and Business, which means I am working on understanding visual, literary and economic languages. I hope that my following examination will reflect the product of this multi-perspective on seeing the world, and also as a White-ian work of observation and questioning and investigation, not a static classification or self-righteous exclamation.
------ s p e e d . . .
...is probably the second most commonly cited difference. But it’s not just that New York is fast and Berlin is slow, or that New York is busy and that Berlin is relaxed. Paris is also fast. So is London. It’s actually in the perception of speed, the value of identity-construction. New Yorkers are helplessly obsessed with their urban mission that drives them to stay, and this inevitably creates a lot of stress. Sometimes, this culture births excess stress, from seeming thin air. If you do not seem stressed about something you’re quite clearly not a New Yorker, and will promptly be judged for your idleness – aren’t you doing something?
Berliners, on the other hand, will give you the same harsh look if you walk too fast or seem too busy. They do not create stress simply to be stressed, because close to nothing is required for a decent living (although that is changing rapidly). Instead, there is a pressure to speak about your problems. Sit down by the canal, have a beer, embody relaxation; but then find an overly talkative flat-mate annoying or the recent terrorist attacks in a neighboring country threatening. Having few qualms and appearing calm and under control has the potential to be labeled unfriendly, cold or else pretentious and aloof. Just as the pressure of New York tends to concoct stress even where there is none, Berlin's relaxed atmosphere tends to thirst problems even where there are none.
------ m o n e y . . .
...is the most-cited difference, seeping into every corner of conversation or habit. Berlin welcomes with open arms called affordability, possibly at the cost of a limiting pool of money on the whole, leading not necessarily to lower quality (quality of life is arguably cleaner, smoother, easier and healthier) but to fewer opportunities (see: unemployment in Berlin 10.7% to NYC's 6.1% in 2015). However, having shelter, food, social life and culture mostly accessible to all seems to minimize perceived social hierarchy, in contrast to the filthy chasm of that in New York. The gap between privileged and unprivileged, the “have’s” and the “have not’s,” in New York is grossly and impossibly deep and wide between. At the same time, there is an illusion of surplus in New York's gasoline-drunk air, and opportunity appears to be just within reach, around the corner. Hard work and smart choices, sometimes it's hard but the "New York Dream" is plump with claimable possibility. The reality is never that simple, but neither is Berlin's promise of a utopia - while New Yorkers hesitate to pull out their wallet for a movie or beer, assuring themselves that the moment is only a means to a higher end, Berliners enjoy weekday afternoons at the Freiluftkino or at Neuköln bars, accepting their present situation as an ends.
This difference doesn't just offer an enlightening outlook on an obvious capitalism-versus-social-market economies (macro), it pigments the psyche of the individual in its respective social network (micro). While Berlin's tempting affordability seems economically democratizing, it is also a standardizing social force. Tuesdays and Wednesdays for gallery openings, Thursdays through Sundays for clubbing or canal-drinking and picnicking nights. This kind of city-wide parallelization is unthinkable for New Yorkers, whose global range of options spiral impossibly. The former knows where the flocks go each day, and the latter is left to mind their own business. Monstrous economic gap lends a respected personal bubble that does not interfere, invade or enforce social activity. Everything is optional, because everyone is working at different times at difference paces for different gains. The sleepless city might actually be more liberating in terms of social decisions and space, whereas the equalizing city might actually be more restrictive and expectative of a specific rhythm that acts as a pressurized magnet, leaving less room for independent decisions. To use E. B. White’s words, New Yorkers choose their spectacle, while Berliners have a common spectacle already.
-------
Only one of the profiles is of a native Berliner. White was right again – the interesting contributors who bring culture and creativity and inspiration to my world in my short stay came from outside, bringing a clear mission like a cup of black coffee in a sleepy and problem-creating, perpetually intoxicated city. The colors they inked into Berlin were vivid, full of passion, and their eyes were wide open, their mouths, when not luxuriously filling me the lines of their lives, were pursed in careful contemplative reflection. I came to them as a sponge, and they let me poke them so I could do what sponges do. They were open about their concerns, thoughtful about their comparisons and opinions, and most importantly, all genuinely happy and feeling lucky to be doing what they love with people they love in a city they love. Their mantra spoke to me loud and clear – no matter what you do, do it seriously, do not judge based on what others say or do, speak loud but listen quietly, take care of yourself and appreciate well. All that matters is that you are alive, and awake to feel it.
[July 17 - October 26, 2016]
...this project is an ultra-subjective examination that tries to shine a different light on two of today’s most interesting and "becoming" cities. By no means does it create boundaries or define dichotomies - if anything, it hopes to encourage a slimming-down of differentiating cultures.
White groups New Yorkers into three categories – the commuter, the native, and the migrator. He points to the last category as the most important bringer-of-culture and I could not be more sure of this. In both cities, those who come from outside color the city they settle in with stories, investments, sacrifices, struggles, dreams and adventure. By definition, New York is an immigrant city (see: JR), and today’s Berlin is experiencing, like the rest of Germany and Europe, the greatest influx of stateless peoples since the deportations of World War II. “Refugees Welcome” signs scattered everywhere, and the country was rebuilt post-war with the help of Ausländer (see: Turkish population). These two cities are thus precedented on cultural open-mindedness and accepting of differences, if not with excitement and curiosity then as granted.
> The lines are...
...the words and images of artists and those in the art world. Lines are a collection of dots, a whole comprised of parts, they move dynamically, they are concerned with parallels, intersections, connections, directions, constructions and destructions. In New York I am studying Art History, English and Business, which means I am working on understanding visual, literary and economic languages. I hope that my following examination will reflect the product of this multi-perspective on seeing the world, and also as a White-ian work of observation and questioning and investigation, not a static classification or self-righteous exclamation.
------ s p e e d . . .
...is probably the second most commonly cited difference. But it’s not just that New York is fast and Berlin is slow, or that New York is busy and that Berlin is relaxed. Paris is also fast. So is London. It’s actually in the perception of speed, the value of identity-construction. New Yorkers are helplessly obsessed with their urban mission that drives them to stay, and this inevitably creates a lot of stress. Sometimes, this culture births excess stress, from seeming thin air. If you do not seem stressed about something you’re quite clearly not a New Yorker, and will promptly be judged for your idleness – aren’t you doing something?
Berliners, on the other hand, will give you the same harsh look if you walk too fast or seem too busy. They do not create stress simply to be stressed, because close to nothing is required for a decent living (although that is changing rapidly). Instead, there is a pressure to speak about your problems. Sit down by the canal, have a beer, embody relaxation; but then find an overly talkative flat-mate annoying or the recent terrorist attacks in a neighboring country threatening. Having few qualms and appearing calm and under control has the potential to be labeled unfriendly, cold or else pretentious and aloof. Just as the pressure of New York tends to concoct stress even where there is none, Berlin's relaxed atmosphere tends to thirst problems even where there are none.
------ m o n e y . . .
...is the most-cited difference, seeping into every corner of conversation or habit. Berlin welcomes with open arms called affordability, possibly at the cost of a limiting pool of money on the whole, leading not necessarily to lower quality (quality of life is arguably cleaner, smoother, easier and healthier) but to fewer opportunities (see: unemployment in Berlin 10.7% to NYC's 6.1% in 2015). However, having shelter, food, social life and culture mostly accessible to all seems to minimize perceived social hierarchy, in contrast to the filthy chasm of that in New York. The gap between privileged and unprivileged, the “have’s” and the “have not’s,” in New York is grossly and impossibly deep and wide between. At the same time, there is an illusion of surplus in New York's gasoline-drunk air, and opportunity appears to be just within reach, around the corner. Hard work and smart choices, sometimes it's hard but the "New York Dream" is plump with claimable possibility. The reality is never that simple, but neither is Berlin's promise of a utopia - while New Yorkers hesitate to pull out their wallet for a movie or beer, assuring themselves that the moment is only a means to a higher end, Berliners enjoy weekday afternoons at the Freiluftkino or at Neuköln bars, accepting their present situation as an ends.
This difference doesn't just offer an enlightening outlook on an obvious capitalism-versus-social-market economies (macro), it pigments the psyche of the individual in its respective social network (micro). While Berlin's tempting affordability seems economically democratizing, it is also a standardizing social force. Tuesdays and Wednesdays for gallery openings, Thursdays through Sundays for clubbing or canal-drinking and picnicking nights. This kind of city-wide parallelization is unthinkable for New Yorkers, whose global range of options spiral impossibly. The former knows where the flocks go each day, and the latter is left to mind their own business. Monstrous economic gap lends a respected personal bubble that does not interfere, invade or enforce social activity. Everything is optional, because everyone is working at different times at difference paces for different gains. The sleepless city might actually be more liberating in terms of social decisions and space, whereas the equalizing city might actually be more restrictive and expectative of a specific rhythm that acts as a pressurized magnet, leaving less room for independent decisions. To use E. B. White’s words, New Yorkers choose their spectacle, while Berliners have a common spectacle already.
-------
Only one of the profiles is of a native Berliner. White was right again – the interesting contributors who bring culture and creativity and inspiration to my world in my short stay came from outside, bringing a clear mission like a cup of black coffee in a sleepy and problem-creating, perpetually intoxicated city. The colors they inked into Berlin were vivid, full of passion, and their eyes were wide open, their mouths, when not luxuriously filling me the lines of their lives, were pursed in careful contemplative reflection. I came to them as a sponge, and they let me poke them so I could do what sponges do. They were open about their concerns, thoughtful about their comparisons and opinions, and most importantly, all genuinely happy and feeling lucky to be doing what they love with people they love in a city they love. Their mantra spoke to me loud and clear – no matter what you do, do it seriously, do not judge based on what others say or do, speak loud but listen quietly, take care of yourself and appreciate well. All that matters is that you are alive, and awake to feel it.
[July 17 - October 26, 2016]
> Thanks to...
...the unspeakable generosity, kindness, support and insight of Kristina Leipold and Jem Leaf. Without these two giant, inspirational and inquisitive women pushing me out one door and welcoming me into another, I would never have had the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to absorb, experience, and reflect without worrying about a home or how to integrate into the new network. Kristina's ideas spurred my hand, her camera became my eye, her own work tuned my ears to the stories, her path was and still is my map, and her smile lifted my heart. Although this project does not even try to do a cohesive justice to the time you made possible in Berlin, I am confident that my the lines collected here will grow.
In addition, this project would not be without the equally, if not more, miraculous opportunity to visit Paris in the middle of my stay in Berlin and to London near the end of my German adventure. I would not have gained the retrospective pull-back from my mission in Berlin without these trips, which were inspirational, restorative, stimulating and blissful to say the utter least. Aimée Auguin, you terribly important woman in my life, thank you for opening doors I hadn't even glanced at. Not for the world would I have asked for a different way to spend my debut to Paris and London than with you.
Finally, my direction was guided also by the following films and books, grounding my view of the city in its history and stakes:
“B-Movie: Lust and Sound” (for the history of rebellious Berlin), “Victoria” and “Oh Boy” (for today's rebellious Berlin),
Walter Benjamin’s “Childhood in Berlin: Around 1900” (for the native Berliner's eye), and Introducing Series' Walter Benjamin.
Here's to lines...
...the unspeakable generosity, kindness, support and insight of Kristina Leipold and Jem Leaf. Without these two giant, inspirational and inquisitive women pushing me out one door and welcoming me into another, I would never have had the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to absorb, experience, and reflect without worrying about a home or how to integrate into the new network. Kristina's ideas spurred my hand, her camera became my eye, her own work tuned my ears to the stories, her path was and still is my map, and her smile lifted my heart. Although this project does not even try to do a cohesive justice to the time you made possible in Berlin, I am confident that my the lines collected here will grow.
In addition, this project would not be without the equally, if not more, miraculous opportunity to visit Paris in the middle of my stay in Berlin and to London near the end of my German adventure. I would not have gained the retrospective pull-back from my mission in Berlin without these trips, which were inspirational, restorative, stimulating and blissful to say the utter least. Aimée Auguin, you terribly important woman in my life, thank you for opening doors I hadn't even glanced at. Not for the world would I have asked for a different way to spend my debut to Paris and London than with you.
Finally, my direction was guided also by the following films and books, grounding my view of the city in its history and stakes:
“B-Movie: Lust and Sound” (for the history of rebellious Berlin), “Victoria” and “Oh Boy” (for today's rebellious Berlin),
Walter Benjamin’s “Childhood in Berlin: Around 1900” (for the native Berliner's eye), and Introducing Series' Walter Benjamin.
Here's to lines...