Kickstarter Pick: Kulturpark--An Abandoned Theme Park, Resurrected

Our very own electronics instructor Daniel Fishkin has been invited to contribute as a sound artist and curator to MUSEMENT, a month-long workshop and artist residency at Kulturpark, an abandoned theme park in East Berlin. After the wall fell, the park suffered a decline in attendance and in 2001 it went bankrupt and closed its gates. Though since then, it hasn't exactly stood vacant, as visitors regularly hop the fence to walk amongst the ruins of abandoned carnival rides. 

Fishkin says it's "legendary throughout Berlin as being one of the craziest places you could ever hang—there are roller coasters frozen with overgrown ferns, gigantic plastic dinosaurs covered with graffiti. It's gorgeous, surprising, and maybe even a little scary. MUSEMENT," he continues, "will reactivate this park over the summer for German artist teams to create a special happening right in time for the Berlin Biennial."

From June 1-22, 2012, thirty artists will create site specific work in the park. Then, from June 28-July 1, the park will be open to the public. The goal is to raise $25,000 via Kickstarter--the funds going towards hosting the public events, getting the community involved in revitalizing this surreal, incredible space as into a temporary arts and culture hub. 

Daniel Fishkin is a sound artist and musician. In addition to 3rd Ward, he teaches classes in experimental/musical electronics at Harvestworks and colleges including SAIC and Bard College.

Documented Decay: Yves Marchan and Romain Meffre Photograph Detroit's Ruined Cityscape

A little over a year ago Steidl published the English edition of Yves Marchan and Romain Meffre's exquisite photographs documenting Detroit's rundown and derelict structures in "The Ruins of Detroit." In the past few decades, Detroit's economy has suffered more than any other major city in America, and now the landscape is plagued by rampant neglect and buildings left to decay. Still, it's difficult to understand how the city could allow beautiful, historic buildings like Michigan's Grand Central Station (above) or the United Artists Theater (after the jump) to fall apart.

According to Marchan and Meffre,

“Ruins are the visible symbols and landmarks of our societies and their changes, small pieces of history in suspension. The state of ruin is temporary by nature, the volatile result of the end of an era and the fall of empires. This fragility, the time elapsed but even so running fast, lead us to watch them one very last time: being dismayed, or admiring, wondering about the permanence of things. Photography appeared to us as a modest way to keep a little bit of this ephemeral state.”

"The Ruins of Detroit" is currently on exhibition Kuhlhaus in Berlin. Inspired by Marchan and Meffre's work? Check out 3rd Ward's Documentary Photography class.

 -- Perrin Drumm

Coffee Table Must-Have: Jorg Bruggemann's "Metalheads"

Photographer Jorg Bruggeman spent the last three years traveling between Argentina, Brazil, Indonesia, Malaysia, Egypt, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and the United States photographing fans of heavy metal. In many of the resulting photographs it looks as if he also traveled back in time about  thirty years. After getting into the mosh pit at trashed clubs and outdoor festivals the world over since 2008, Bruggerman learned that...

"Heavy metal is a phenomenon. Although this musical genre is still ridiculed by many, it is currently more popular and successful around the world than at its supposed peak in the 1980s. Today, so-called metalheads can be found worldwide. No matter who they are or where they come from, they are united by heavy metal across borders, generations, genders, religions, and social classes."

His book, "Metalheads: The Global Brotherhood" will be released by Gestalten books later this month along with a CD samples from Nuclear Blast, the world's largest independent heavy metal label. If you happen to be in Berlin, stop by Gestalten for the launch party, featuring a live performance by Berlin's own black metal band, SUN WORSHIP. Later in the month and into April, Bruggerman will be giving artist talks about his experience on the road and screening related films, like the 1986 cult classic, Heavy Metal Parking Lot.

Hit the jump for more of Bruggemann's images and get prepped to adorn your coffee table with some killer mulletts.

-- Perrin Drumm

The Surrealist Set Design of Sarah Illenberger

If the work of Sarah Illenberger exudes a handmade, DIY quality that's because the Berlin-based set designer uses no real technology to create renderings of her pieces or make plans for fabrication. Illenberger sketches out her ideas with good old fashioned ink and paper, which makes her somewhat of an anomaly these days. Her materials of choice are familiar, it's the unexpected ways in which she uses them that offers a new meaning.

One of her most recent projects, photographs of sets Illenberger built for Architectural Digest, shows off her true, surrealist roots. There's the obvious references to Magritte (there's literally a picture of a person wearing a bowler hat), but her reappropriation of objects and her use of scale--matchsticks as big as tree branches, a die the size of an ottoman--has a nightmarish quality that falls somewhere between Eraserhead and Un Chien Andalou. 

Though as unnerving as some of her set pieces are, she seems to consistently add a touch of humor. The lobster perched on the black and white checkered bed is a chuckle in the direction of Dali. You can see this lighthearted touch in her other projects as well; like her ad for Kipling that turns a backpack into a friendly monster, or her work for Goodyear in which she turned a stack of tires into a totem pole. Long story short, her range is wide.

Feel like trying your hand in Illenberger's trade? Get in touch with your crafty, inner-surrealist with a few 3rd Ward classes in Dyeing, Silversmithing, Knitting with Plastic and Collage & Mixed Media.

And meanwhile, be sure to peruse Illenberger's other work here.