Chris and I talked about Kiyoshi Kuromiya, a Japanese-American author and civil rights, anti-war, gay liberation, and HIV/AIDS activist, one of many of his friends, many gone, others still around, his name and countless others, the Fred and Freddies, Domics, Hal, Arnold and countless others whose memories still reverberate through our minds.
Barret and I talked about the infinite abyss.
And Caroline I went to the Deutsches Theater Berlin, not once, but twice, to see the Idiot and Werther, tracing the story of “love and friendship … the possibilities, the missed opportunities and wrong decisions…”
These days, I feel like I spend a lot of time with bad decisions and Goethe, his ideas ever cascading between this text and that, from Faustus to Thomas Mann, Hegel to philosophy, back to the stage, soliloquies and influences, dialectical splits, ponderring “to be or not to be” copy cat suicides, and Durkheim’s studies as the phenemena spread.
In the meantime, we planned for power outages in Berlin.
Each week more and more to try to digest, riding through the city by bike and tram, through more adventures in sociology, chatting about Weber and religion, Durkheim and anomie, and Marx on capitalism. Through lines with critiques of inequality and reification, which turn being into things. Weber's story of religion and capitalism turning us into workers caught in a "mighty cosmos" does feel compelling. Why so historical materialism?
Weber writes:
“The Puritan wanted to work in a calling; we are forced to do so. For when asceticism was carried out of monastic cells into everyday life, and began to dominate worldly morality, it did its part in building the tremendous cosmos of the modern economic order. This order is now bound to the technical and economic conditions of machine production -which to-day determine the lives of all the individuals who are born into this mechanism, not only those directly concerned with economic acquisition, with irresistible force. Perhaps it will so determine them until the last ton of fossilized coal is burnt… the care for external goods should only lie on the shoulders of the "saint like a light cloak, which can be thrown aside at any moment".l14 But fate decreed that the cloak should become an iron cage.
In The Division of Labor and Society, Durkheim writes:
“It is to this state of anomie that, as we shall show, must be attributed the continually recurring conflicts and disorders of every kind of which the economic world affords so sorry a spectacle. For, since nothing restrains the forces present from reacting together, or prescribes limits for them that they are obliged to respect, they tend to grow beyond all bounds, each clashing with the other, each warding off and weakening the other. To be sure, those forces that are the most vigorous succeed in crushing the weakest or subjecting them to their will.”
After classes, I biked to see my friend, the one and only @time_forevero2 at Herman Schulz cafe on Finowstrasse, where we chatted about Berlin and writing and activism and the commons and friends and fighting and Goethe and Leipzig and on and on ... Into the next conversation, coming right up.
Berlins a winter city now, each corner, bridge or piece of graffiti a story.
Alessandra sent me a story about Berllinners which suggests they are really not that unlike old New Yorkers, with their struggles between themselves and their neighborhoods and themselves. This will help explain everything, she told me:
“Moving to Berlin? Here’s what you’re going to learn, whether you like it or not.
Real Berliners make vague plans
I was increasingly encountering that odd space between FOMO and vague plans, those around not necessarily able to commit to anything.
So I rode off on my own, deep into Kreutsberg, thinking about the week in the life, seeing a Ramones cover band in Berlin, singing were a happy family with everyone in the mosh pit, recalling the first time i saw the actual band in 1988, wondering why the the KKK took Joey’s baby away, scrolling through pics of friends sharing stories about Madrid, Japan knocking Germany out of the world cup, drinks after seeing a very abstract performance of the idiot, and screenshots from old an old AIDS movie.
By Saturday, we were off to Caroline’s group show. Congratulations
to @seashipsailing and all the other contributors to the show Zionskirchplatz, Bonhoeffer's old church here.
OPENING: 3 December 2022 at 1 pm – 6 pm
3 pm / Welcome Speeches:
Representatives from the Embassy of Ukraine and Goethe-Institut
Curators: Kateryna Filyuk, Constanze Kleiner, Rachel Rits-Volloch, Stephan von Wiese
Representatives from the Association of Friends of the Zionskirche & Zionskirche Congregation
EXHIBITION:
4 December 2022 – 7 January 2023
At Zionskirche,
Zionskirchplatz, 10119 Berlin Mitte
Featuring:
You Know that You are Human
Caroline Shepard
Organized by:
IZOLYATSIA, KLEINERVONWIESE, MOMENTUM
Curated by:
Kateryna Filyuk, Constanze Kleiner, Rachel Rits-Volloch, Stephan von Wiese
Supported by:
Ukrainian Institute, Goethe-Institut as well as Goethe-Institut in Exile
The exhibition “You Know That You Are Human @ POINTS of RESISTANCE V” in Berlin’s Zionskirche is a joint statement by 55 artists and 4 curators from Ukraine and Berlin for peace and an alliance of all people who condemn Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine as an attack on culture.
The origin of the joint exhibition is the show of Ukrainian photography “You Know That You Are Human” curated by Kateryna Filyuk – the winner of the international exhibition support program “Visualise” of the Ukrainian Institute, supported by the Goethe-Institut and the Goethe-Institut in Exile. This joint exhibition at Christmas-time is a co-production of IZOLYATSIA / Ukraine as well as MOMENTUM and POINTS of RESISTANCE / Berlin.
Taking place during the Christmas season, this exhibition is a wake-up call aiming to remind us all of our civic duty for resistance in the face of ongoing injustice; to remind us that each individual, by means of their daily choices and actions, can have an impact in the hope that this war in Europe ends rather than escalates, that the freedom and independence of Ukraine is secured, that the destruction is repaired, and that Putin and his fellow aggressors would be convicted in an international court.
Amidst the tragic return of war to Europe, the joint exhibition in Berlin’s Zionskirche assembles the collective voices of international artists to address our common humanity. “You Know That You Are Human” is both the title of this exhibition and a guiding principle that we must never forget that inhumanity can only end in tragedy.
Taking place in the protective space of a church, “You Know That You Are Human @ POINTS of RESISTANCE V” invokes the remarkable history of the Zionskirche as a crucial point of resistance both against the Nazis and during the GDR – from the courageous anti-fascist work of the theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer, to serving as a refuge for resistance movements against the GDR, such as the “Environmental Library”. Acting as a safe haven – irrespective of one’s creed, denomination, or belief system – the Zionskirche exemplifies how religion and art have a common root in human spirituality.
For this reason, and because especially in times like these, art and culture are crucial in mobilizing the forces that are needed to put a stop to ignorance and indifference, the Zionskirche is the home of the “POINTS of RESISTANCE” exhibition series. Initiated by KLEINERVONWIESE and MOMENTUM in cooperation with the association of friends of the Zionskirche, during the strictest Corona lockdown in 2021, “POINTS of RESISTANCE” serves as a platform giving voice to humanist viewpoints necessary at a time when authoritarianism, nationalism, racism, and war are steadily resurgent around the world. The previous editions of this exhibition series, all taking place at the Zionskirche, were entitled “POINTS of RESISTANCE”, “S-O-S”, “Paradoxes of Freedom”, “Großer Lastenbär / Why I Bear”, and “Skills for Peace”.
“You Know That You Are Human” began as an exhibition of 23 Ukrainian photographers, curated by Kateryna Filyuk, depicting human likeness in a diversity of forms and addressing the role which gender, occupation, geography and heritage play in defining the human position in the world. The conceptual framework of this project was set forward before the Russian invasion of Ukraine and sought to present a panorama of Ukrainian photography from mid-twentieth century until nowadays, with the focus on the human form and being. The title of the show is borrowed from a famous poem by one of the brightest Ukrainian poets of the sixties, Vasyl Symonenko, “Ти знаєш, щоти– людина/ You Know that You are a Human”. Part of the official school curriculum in Ukraine, the poem praises life and the uniqueness of each person, urging everyone to cherish each single moment. Today – during Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine – these simple but powerful verses call for humanity, solidarity and cohesion with particular urgency. They remind us once again that despite the elusive monstrosity of war, every life counts. The works of the Ukrainian photographers also provide a crucial insight into the changes that have taken place in Ukrainian society since the 1960s, from the years when the dream of socialism gradually proved to be a failure until the last few months of the self-sacrificing struggle of the Ukrainians for their country.
The joint exhibition “You Know That You Are Human @ POINTS of RESISTANCE V” expands upon this initial concept by assembling a diversity of artistic voices to establish a direct dialogue between these Ukrainian photographers and works in a variety of media by international artists who live and work in Berlin, as well as works by young Ukrainian artists from the “UCC / Ukrainian Cultural Community” in Berlin. These artists were able to flee the war in Ukraine and have found refuge in the “UCC” – an Artist Residency program created through the exemplary social commitment from Berlin based entrepreneurs and art managers, to give young Ukrainian artists and creatives a safe base and new perspectives during this time of war.
In line with the mission of every exhibition in the “POINTS of RESISTANCE” series, “You Know That You Are Human @ POINTS of RESISTANCE V” brings together a multitude of human perspectives and artistic universes to reflect on the mistakes of the past and present in order to preserve the values which enable us to forge unity from diversity, and to live together in peace in the future. These are the values which make us human – values that people today regard as basic human rights, for which past generations have repeatedly made great sacrifices.
The exhibition will take place from 3 December 2022 to 7 January 2023 in the Zionskirche, Berlin. “You Know That You Are Human @ POINTS of RESISTANCE V” is a refusal of powerlessness; a call to resistance. We can all do something, even if only by not looking the other way, by helping those who have lost everything, by standing up every day against forgetting and against indifference.”
We spent all day there, drinking gluhwein, chatting with the artists showing their works inside the majestic old church, snow flurries outside. Sofia Holubeva showed me her work from the Ukraine, signing a card for me, Mahsa Foroughi, and I talked about the protests in Iran and her work on the Poetic Revolution. Protest works, I said, referring to the news from the NY Times:
“Iran Has Abolished Morality Police, an Official Suggests, After Months of Protests
Funny work and serious, groups stood on Caroline’s photo on the floor, women’s bodies always tramped on first when civil rights disappear.
Our old Brooklyn friend, Chris Hammerlein told us about his life in Berlin, and his work in the show.
Alessandra, Kai, Fernando and I compared notes about work and life in Berlin.
And we all wandered off to Kapelle Bar, where more of the artists showed up, more old fashions, and chat about Beckman and art in Berlin, extending through ever cascading pieces of history. We had so much fun, we are doing a regular stammtisch there.
Sunday, more of the inability to commit, people canceled coming to Goethe group.
I rode off for an afternoon at Sisyphos Berlin, catching up with old friends and new, from Berlin and Istanbol, dancing away the afternoon, between two techno rooms, shaking my money maker, , no problems, no dress code, just lots of fun.
Time out writes aboutSisyphos:
“You don’t make the trek out to Sisyphos just for a snoop and a couple of beers. It’s an ‘in for a penny, in for a pound’ sort of place, where the party begins on Friday and trundles on non-stop until Monday. Vast indoor and outdoor spaces at this former dog biscuit factory help create a festival-like atmosphere that’s pitch-perfect for sunny weekends. Music ranges from pumping techno inside to house tunes out by the ‘lake’ – more of a scummy pond, really. Crowd-wise, expect it all; fresh-faced student revellers and wizened ravers of a dreadlocked persuasion are among the regulars.”
Back home from the club, more sociology, Simmel and conflict theory, DuBois and the eternal wound the US never quite addresses. More adventures in sociology, having flashbacks to 1996, taking microeconomics for social welfare, trying to remember the definition for teleology and nomothetic, and how a bill moves from the EU commission to the council and then the parliament. I am painfully aware there is an element of logic which seems to have eluded my thinking for a long time. On the other hand, I am still reveling in reading the classics, learning about Georg Simmel and his arguments about conflict. It's become cold out. Students are stressing. And the school is considering closing for a few days to avert blackouts, given the boycott on Russian fuel. I do wonder if us all going home and plugging in our laptops will help reduce the problem? On we chat about minority and majority rights and the clashes which always seem to be coming, from Ukraine to Bosnia to Kosovo to the US.
Its the story in the news and our classnotes:
German sociologists Max Weber (2002) and Karl Marx famously debated conflicts over inequality, social structure, and class conflict (Marx and Friedrich Engels. 1998). "All history has been a history of class struggles between dominated classes at various stages of social development," posited his writing partner Friedrich Engels. Berlin sociologist Georg Simmel (1955, p.41) argued that rather than avoid it, conflict helps integrate a culture; revolving conflicts was essential (Münch, 1994). It could even engender mutual self respect. “Conflict can exclude all personal and subjective factors thus reducing hostility, engendering mutual respect, and producing an understanding on all personal matters, as well as recognition of the fact that both parties are driven by historical necessities,” said Simmel (1955, 41). Yet, it depends on a the level of hostility in question. Big caveat.
Still Simmel seemed to understand our relatedness within interrelated, mutual interactions, relations and influences, even ever evolving, influencing each other as a sort of, to borrow from Prof Kohl’s class notes: a sort of “Dialectic of interaction (Wechselwirkung) and sociation (form of social life), society. For Simmel. Sociology is “the investigation of the forces, forms and development of sociation, of the cooperation, association and co existence of individuals”, “description and determination of the historico psychological origin of those forms in which interactions take place between human beings”... He saw conflict as a sort of differentiation or expression or as a source of disruption (particularly when involving the whole person, superindividual ideas or common core beliefs, close relationships).”
I try to keep up as much as I can, living my life in Berlin for a year, away from the wild bunch in Brooklyn and the Lower East Side, burning trees, for winter solstice, fighting for east river park, ever lamenting, as Wendy reminds us, “One year since #Eastriverpark began losing its majestic trees. When will we stop destroying ecosystems in the name of resilience? #ESCR is a model of what not to do.”
I still miss you NYC.
Enjoy a wondrous December of parties and confabs friends. Andrew posted a note about his monthly solons: “fair denizens of this great and challenging City—there's been strange weather and strange daze; good times, bad times, and interesting times (a chinese curse?); a pandemic and an academic (year or two or three); an insurrection and a lot of misdirection... you name it we've gone through it in these last many seasons... meanwhile, our sweet wednesday gatherings got bottled up in quarantine, went virtual, went small, went quiet... well, people been asking: you still doing those? i haven't gotten an email in a while? when's the next wednesday thang? it's soul food, man, we need to assemble! and, so... by popular demand, it's time to bring back our first-wednesday-of-the-month gatherings in the fullness of their original spirit and storied past, so THIS Wednesday, please join your favorite crew of creative beer-drinking world-changing ne'er-do-wells at these coordinates….WHO: YOU! plus some new arrivals to our fair city WHY: love, solidarity, community, fun, birthdays, new years, we miss each other, we need each other, creative subversive idea jamming, and, yes, even some networking but don't tell anyone.”
Thanks for your great work everyone, even my buddies in Atlanta, who turned Georgia purple, electing two new dems to the senate. Thank you for all your great organizing and pushing the right message... Athena and all the organizers, thank you thank you thank you.... for working with the good organizers to turn my home state ... i love Hershal Walker on the running field, leading the Dawgs. No need for him in the senate... nothing personal... I mean what do you say about Walker's pro career NJ Generals and then a detour to the Cowboys. When he was traded the Cowboys used those picks to win three champions. So, maybe your not being around is a great asset. Great work .... team! Go Georgia!!!!
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