Culture

If you're a fan of contemporary art, you might be interested in the "Neugirig?" (Curious) exhibition, which comes to Bonn at the end of January. For the first time since its inauguration, the Art and Exhibition Hall of the Federal Republic of Germany will honour the commitment of private collectors with a major exhibition presenting a selection of 145 works by 57 artists from 15 private collections in Germany, France and Switzerland. The exhibition throws into sharp relief the key questions that have shaped contemporary art and provides a glimpse of the art of the future.

There's still time to catch the retrospective of Markus Lüpertz at the KAH in Bonn. This local painter and sculptor attended the School of Applied Arts in Krefeld and the State Art Academy in Düsseldorf before becoming director of the Düsseldorf Academy in 1986.  Lupertz developed a style he termed "dithyrambic painting," an expressive, figurative approach that stood in stark contrast to the abstract tendencies of the 1970's.

Graffiti has taken on a whole new meaning since Banksy burst onto the scene, and you may have noticed that around Cologne there is a wealth of what we now call “street art” to be appreciated.  Indeed it's so appreciated that in parts of the city one particular artist has been commissioned to paint decent graffiti on KVB buildings to deter less talented “taggers” coming along and defacing them with bad graffiti.  Seak is a local Cologne street artist with a whole lot of talent, and luckily he's not as illusive as Banksy.  His high profile helps him attr

Same procedure as every year?  New Year in Germany is not New Year (or Silvester) without the "side splitting" TV sketch "Dinner for One".  As a Brit you will be badgered by your German friends around this time of year about this annual TV tradition, and you will have no clue what they're talking about.  In Germany millions of viewers tune in to watch it every year.  The comedy sketch was written by British author Lauri Wylie for the theatre in the 1920s.

The Germans are hot on traditions - which is quite nice when you come from a country like the UK which seems to have either lost, or never had, any decent traditions for festive occasions.  One New Years Eve tradition is "Bleigießen" (lead pouring). On New Years Eve you "cook up" a piece of lead on a spoon and when it has turned to liquid, you pour it into a glass of cold water and observe the shape it forms.  An experienced New Years Eve "lead reader" will be able to tell you what's in store for you in the coming year.

Russian avant-garde is a common term for a most remarkable art phenomenon that flourished in Russia from 1890 to 1930, though some of its early manifestations date back to the 1850s, whereas the latest ones refer to the 1960s. The term Russian avant-garde does not correspond to any definite artistic program or style. This term was assigned to radical innovative movements that started taking shape in the prewar years of 1907–1914, came to the foreground in the revolutionary period and matured during the first post-revolutionary decade.

When I first saw these posters around town, I thought "Not only is Boris a dab hand at hitting a tennis ball, he can also compose a picture, consider lighting and create amazing contemporary works of art! Wow".  Needless to say - it's not *that* Boris Becker. *This* Boris Becker belongs to a younger generation of artists whose approach towards photography as a medium within contemporary art, has been influenced by the formal language of straight and documentary photography as taught at the "Becher class" by Bernd Becher at the Dusseldorf Art Academy.

A few weeks I wrote about the Japanese community in Düsseldorf and explained how so many Japanese came to live in this city in the first place. After describing the shopping area with it’s many restaurants, I ran out of room for more! So today, I’m going to take you on a little visit to the Eko House of Japanese Culture. In fact, the Japanese cultural center was opened 16 years ago, in 1993. It’s located in a suburb of Düsseldorf called Niederkassel, which has a significant Japanese population.

Until the 17th January you can see Julian Rosefeldt's film installation "American Night" at the Kunst Museum in Bonn. Julian Rosefeldt’s works are elaborate mises-en-scéne acting out the uncertain connection between the deliberate absurdity of the situations staged and the apathy of the events unfolding. The architect-trained Berlin-based artist is known for his epic multi-channel film installations, in particular three major works (Stunned Man, The Soundmaker, The perfectionist) that come under the title Trilogy of Failure (2004-06).

There's nothing more magical than a night at the opera, and luckily for those of us living in the Rhine area - we have our pick of opera houses to choose from.