http://www.bundesgaerten.at/article/articleview/73340/1/18230

Western Motel, featured in the current Edward Hopper exhibit at the Kunsthalle, is one of very few Hopper paintings in which a human subject makes direct eye contact with the viewer.   Indeed, the woman’s gaze here is resolute.

The picture was painted in early 1957 during Hopper’s six-month residency at the Huntington Hartford Foundation in Los Angeles.   Though his invitation came with a thousand-dollar stipend, his wife, Jo, actually painted more regularly during their stay there.   Hopper’s output was limited to a single watercolor, and the slightly unsettling oil painting that portrayed “a haughty blond” (as Jo referred to her) in a red summer dress, sitting on the made-up bed of her motel room.   Alongside the bed are two packed valises with name tags, apparently ready to go. 

Immediately outside we see the front end of what looks to be a 1954 Buick sedan.   In truth, it looks as much like an alien sea creature as a car, positioned in the picture to suggest  a close connection to the woman herself –almost as though it emanates from her body.   Beyond is a barren landscape of browned grass, empty highway, and featureless hills typical of the rural American southwest.

The Buick was, in fact, the Hoppers’ own, a workhorse that had taken them across the continent from their home in New York, and would reliably return them.   It was also, like each of the earlier cars they had owned during their thirty-year marriage, a bitter flash point between them.   Hopper thought women ill-equipped for safe driving, and persistently discouraged Jo’s efforts to drive or even qualify for a license.   She drove without one, and apparently not well; and was in and out of courts over various road violations.   Their quarrels over the car became physical at times.   Jo thought the highway “very therapeutic,” and chafed throughout their marriage at what she felt was her husband’s need to control her “expression thru art, sex, & whatever driving might represent” to him.

For Hopper, Western Motel purposely reflected this contentiousness.   Under the artist’s sardonic eye, woman and car are visibly conjoined.   The Buick’s animate, almost bestial front end (whence its power) seems an alien projection from her ample breast (or, more charitably, her desirous heart).   Still, for all the clarity of that conjunction, the car is safely separated from her by an improbably large motel window.   She is inside the room where she belongs, color-linked to its furniture, packed and waiting.   A close look reveals that her fingers are hopefully crossed.

On the other side of the window, the beat awaits its call to action.   Though Jo, in her written descrption of the picture, calls it “her Buick outside,” the decision will no doubt come from the man whose shorts are tossed on the chair at right, color-linked as they are to the blue sky outside.   While in many of Hopper images, lone women stare out of windows toward the sunlight, this woman looks directly at her husband –in truth, at the man behind the easel.   Her anger comingled with want, she is determined to wrest some small measure of control over that object of power outside.   The picture’s underlying narrative –that of rejection of a wife’s aspiration to domestic equality– is lifted, with very little invention, from the turbulent autobiography of the artist’s marriage.

Western Motel, Edward Hopper and Contemporary Art

Showing at the Kunsthalle Wien, hall 1

Until 15th Feb 2009

I am not going to say that Vienna is the only place on earth where you
can get good cakes but certainly a very good one. After coming to
Vienna for the first time after 9 years, one of the first things I did
was walk straight into Demel and order my favourite seasonal treat,  a
slice of ‘Maronentorte’.  Having done a lot of food photography
recently, I initially wanted to take a nice shot of my cake but for
unexplainable reason that did not happen… maybe I should have
ordered a second slice.

www.demel.at

Until 31st October legends and newcomers of the “Wienerlied” scene get
together at the “Konzert-Cafe Schmid Hansl” in order to celebrate what
is almost unknown beyond Austria’s or even Vienna’s borders. Modern
lyrics on traditional tunes, jazzy improvisation and bold
interpretations of standards prove that Viennese folk is live and
kicking.

www.rosenstolz.at
www.schmidhansl.at

+++Ultra-right parties win general elections in Austria +++ Shambles of former major parties to continue governing +++ Israel thinking of withdrawing its diplomatic envoy (again) +++

The Social Democrats are still top with approximately thirty percent of the vote, down by five points. Their conservative coalition partners from the People’s Party were shattered and lost thirty percent of their voters, coming out with 25 points out of a hundred. The so-called Grand Coalition, formerly commanding a comfortable two-thirds majority is reduced to a slim fifty percent of seats in parliament. The Green party stagnated at 10 per cent and the hyped Liberal Forum failed to get into parliament.

Nearly a third of the electorate weighed in on the side of the right-wing Freedom Party of Heinz-Christian Strache (FPÖ), or his former boss Jörg Haider, now party leader of the Alliance for Austria’s Future (BZÖ). With a crude mix of calls for more aid to families and anti-immigrant rhetoric, the two parties differ only in name. The sheer amount of votes they managed to attract is a hard blow for those who thought the nineties’ nazi scare of the Haider years were over. The seasoned politician and present governor of the southern province Carinthia (Kärnten) became infamous for his remarks that the Third Reich “at least had proper labour policies” and his reaching out politically to veterans of the SS.

And Strache. The shots directed against Turkish and other minorities delivered victory to Strache in local elections here in 2005. Media reports and photos of Strache taking part in para-military “games” of a Nazi youth group in the early nineties did not hurt his standing among voters.

The election leaves the political landscape of Austria deeply scarred. With a twisted relationship between Social Democrats and Conservatives, it will be difficult to find a stable majority without the support of one of the ultra-right groups. Werner Fayman, leader of the Social Democrats, repeatedly told reporters that he dislikes ruling without a parliamentary majority. The last government eroded under the ultimate obstacle of finding any left-right consensus – especially on critical issues like health care and social security. But I also find it quite unlikely that the SPÖ and the FPÖ will get together as Fayman said he dislikes the FPÖ and preferred stability (a code for “grand coalition) above everything.

One thing is for sure: the forming part will take longer because we have to sit out the fight for power within the conservative party. Willi Molterer is  – after the disastrous result for the ÖVP – going to be removed and replaced with Josef Pröll, the minister of agriculture and nephew to influental province governor Erwin Pröll of Lower Austria.

It looks like more of Chancellor Gusenbauer and an interim government for the next few months.

]]> http://theetherblog.wordpress.com/2008/09/29/the-rally-cry-of-xenophobic-demagogues-alex-fanta/feed/ 0 theetherblog http://theetherblog.wordpress.com/2008/08/24/corpses-in-the-cellar-john-hodgshon/ http://theetherblog.wordpress.com/2008/08/24/corpses-in-the-cellar-john-hodgshon/#comments Sun, 24 Aug 2008 21:34:19 +0000 theetherblog http://theetherblog.wordpress.com/?p=24 ]]> The title pretty much sums up the themes of the latest play by the Jewish Theatre- “Der Garten im Schrank”. Directed and written by Warren Rosenzweig, it tells the story of a family (father, mother, son, daughter-in-law and the unseen ‘boy’) and their attempts and failure to come to terms with the past. The play is staged in front of the Mariahilfkirche, and is a minimalist production. The protagonists have no names beyond the titles given above, and the location and period are never clearly explained. This all helps to create an eerie, other-wordly atmosphere.

The atmosphere is the play’s main strength, which is accentuated by the unusual method used to communicate the dialogue – the actors do not speak more than a few inarticulate words, and communicate their feelings through mime and facial expression. The pre-recorded dialogue is heard through headphones, and one can choose between English and German. I chose English, because I felt the Brooklyn accent variety gave the dialogue a real sparkle, and (for me a least) gave it a more Middle European feeling than High- German could. The strong stage lights and make up of the actors also creates an atmosphere similar to the early German Expressionist films.

The themes? Well, first off, if you’re a) looking for something happy feel-good or b) a raving Austrian nationalist, don’t see this play. It deals with themes of neurosis, Holocaust denial and family breakdown. The fact that the nationality and era of the characters is never explicitly stated makes the play more ambiguous. Although the main reading can be taken as a criticism of Austria’s refusal to come to terms with its role in the Holocaust, the ambiguity of the production means it can be interpreted as an overall criticism of not coming to terms with one’s own history. I preferred it this way, as it created an atmosphere in which the suffering of the characters really came out – think of “Waiting for Godot.” The idea that repressing memories results in painful neurosis was well done – particularly by Mimi Kilinger who plays the mother.

If you want to see something different and thought-provoking, go see this play. The play will continue throughout September.

For more information see www.jta.at

I have literally been “smoked out” of bars, pubs, coffeehouses and clubs. As I don’t want to smell like a nicotine barbecue when I get home, I tend to stick to places that are either non-smoking or have very good air-conditioning. Let me tell you, there aren’t many of either of these. So iImagine my delight when the discussion about a non-smoking law for public places re-emerged. And imagine my horror when it all turned into a farce. Yes, back in my smoking days it would have been the death of me to not be able to smoke at the dinner table. Drinking beer or coffee without a cigarette or two – or four? No way! But to be brutally honest: If I’d had to, I would have managed to step outside for a quick cigarette. Yes, even in winter. And just like so many smokers in so many other countries do.

Unfortunately Austria remains Austria. Where the tobacco industry is still going strong the government has simply not had the guts to forbid smoking in public places, restaurants and bars We’re doing things half-heartedly, the “Austrian way” and we’re even proud of it. There is now a law saying that all bars/pubs/restaurants bigger than 80 square metres must declare a separate room (at least 50 percent of the location) non-smoking. However, this same law also says the really small locations can still decide whether to allow smoking (the famous Loos Bar for example will remain a haven for smokers). Those between 50 and 80 square metres can still argue their way out of it because of the financial strain it might put on them to put in place a separate non-smoking room. And I think most of them will. Mostly because they’re afraid to lose their smoking customers. Surely if everywhere was 100 % smoke-free no one would actually have to worry about that, would they?

The Tyroleans have a tendency for dynasties. The current Governor Herwig van Staa is no less than the son-in-law of his legendary predecessor Eduard Wallnöfer, who ruled Tirol for 24 years until 1987. His successors shared his privilege of ruling by strong conservative majorities in the legislative. The Tyroleans’ ardent catholicism, Viennese tend to quip, keeps them from looking at the ballot – following the motto ‘One god, One party’. The elections of Sunday therefore were quite a revolution – from the outside. Crucial to the conservatives’ defeat was party dissident Fritz Dinkhauser, who competed as an independent, winning a fifth of seats in the regional parliament. His candidacy was not so much a general disagreement over policy but a personal rivalry with governor Herwig van Staa. Even his enemies admit trade union leader Dinkhauser has a strong will.

What made Mr. Dinkhauser’s appeal so popular with the population, though, is spite. Those voters who naturally gravitate to the Conservatives, were dissatisfied with the perceived pork-barreling within the ÖVP. The farmers, traditionally the strongest group within the party, are seen by many, even party loyalists, as too influential. One third of Tyrolean soil is owned by conservative-dominated agricultural cooperatives. Strong laws against foreign (non-Tyrolean, non-farming) land ownership even prevented ex-Minister of Finance Karl-Heinz Grasser from buy property there. Many people are dissatisfied and want the party to change, not the actual government.

They might get there way. Fritz Dinkhauser indicated even beforehand that he might be interested in what is dubbed a ‘conservative-conservative’ coalition. This in fact would reunite his faction with the ÖVP, and, ironically, make it stronger than ever. His only condition – to see Governor Van Staa removed from office, and become a caliph instead of The Caliph.

Apart from two live/acoustic releases, it had been quiet around the seven musicians from Ireland and America for four years. A long time, in the music world. Former pro-skater Matt Hensley plays the accordion and concertina in Flogging Molly. He explains the four-year gap: „We should have a record out every two years, but it’s ended up being four years, because we tour so much. You need to take enough time off to write a record and have enough money to survive while you’re doing that. We should be doing it way more than we are, but we make most of our living by playing live, we’re a live band.“

On Float, Flogging Molly show their skill at combining modern day punk rock with Irish folk. The album cover and CD booklet show a range of instruments and an Irish landscape that you can not just hear in the songs, but practically taste and feel. This is in-your-face music. Music for thinking (Us Of Lesser Gods), music for drinking (Float) and after 2004’s Rock Against Bush effort, it is no surprise that politics have made it onto the album as well (Requiem For A Dying Song). The album was recorded in Ireland. A unique experience, according to Hensley: „It was really great. We got to go to Irish pubs, play Irish music, but maybe more important than anything, we got to stay away from other outside influences. Usually , we do our records in big cities like Chicago or Los Angeles and there are a lot of distractions. This time, we were so far out there, that we could really just concentrate on the music.“

In 2004, Drunken Lullabies became one of the main themes for the Rock Against Bush campaign. Has Float intentionally been released during another US election year? „No, but we have become semi-political,“ Hensley explains. „Obviously, we’re not big Bush supporters and at the last elections we tried very hard to not have him be re-elected. We’re a band that’s affected by what’s going on around us in the world, especially because two of the guys live in Ireland and the rest of us in America and we tour around the world so much. So we have an idea of what’s going on. Music cuts through any language boundary, it’s one of the greatest communicators.“ Float is available at any decent music store NOW!

www.floggingmolly.com

I’m not one much for blood and gore, and words like “scandalous”, “explosive” and “sensational” in a newspaper article usually make me twitch. Yet in my line of work I’m quite regularly exposed to this side of journalism. And every time some poor person’s life story gets exploited for public viewing, every time I’m more or less nudged to put a spin on a story, and every time I get criticised for not writing “thrilling” enough – I throw up a little in my mouth.

So I’ve been trying to stay the hell away from this week’s drama-story about Amstetten. The fact that some media released the name of the victims makes me incredibly angry. What about protecting victims? Ever heard of that? And while I don’t give a damn about the bastard I still think it defies journalistic values to show his face in the media as long as he’s not actually and officially convicted. Even if it is pretty obvious that he did it (and actually confessed later on): as long as he has to be presumed innocence (in dubio pro reo, anyone?) his face must not be shown as long as it’s not in the public interest (e.g. looking for a murderer on the run, etc.)

Is it only me? Or does the media go to far?