And Now For Something Completely Different, Or Is It?

Let’s now move as far away from homophobia as possible. Eurovision. It seems everything in Serbia has to be a reality show. Maybe that’s how we could choose the next president. Anyway, in true Diaspora spirit, we’ve been watching some RTS over the internet. Every Monday we join our compatriots in suspense over who will host the Eurovision song contest next May in Belgrade.

So far the candidates are just embarrassing themselves, next May they will be embarrassing the country. The actors and actresses are the worst. Is it possible to be natural and spontaneous if you’re a Serbian actor? Among the women at least we have the fabulous Bebi Dol and the surprisingly likable Miss Canada. The men should better not be mentioned, at this point. I just hope that in one of the episodes they will take the lot to a stylist to cut those hairs and pluck those eyebrows.

Speaking of embarrassments at next year’s contest, there’s already a petition online to change the design of that awful set. The logo, at least in some of its many variations, can be digestible. All this said, I hope I’ll be able to attend and watch all of this embarrassment live in Belgrade Arena.

Getting back to homophobia now, I hope the rumors are true of a pride parade during Eurovision. It would be a pity to waste the opportunity. Hopefully, all the media attention could actually help avoid bloodshed. If, under pressure, the government is willing to pay good money for the arrest of someone they like, maybe they’re finally ready to protect someone they very much dislike. A shabby stage and a pair of morons doing bad impersonations will not be as damaging to the country’s reputation as someone beating up some rainbow-flag-waving Swedes or Germans on Republic Square.

Belgrade Nightlife

Even from six time zones away, Serbia never ceases to piss me off.

After reading for weeks about crazy stuff like neo-nazis, the latest news was more personal.

On Friday, two of our closest friends got beaten up, one pretty badly from what I understand, in the very center of Belgrade. They were at a gay club where they met a couple of “nice guys” who offered that they go somewhere else or for a walk. Once outside, some more “nice guys” showed up from behind and together they beat up our unsuspecting friends.

Just, HOW and WHY anyone gets so enraged by someone else’s choice of sexual partners, to pay admission to a club, pretend to be gay, just to pick someone up and cowardly beat him with a group of his like-frustrated buddies, is something I don’t think I will ever be able to comprehend. I guess nothing proves you’re a tough Serbian male better than attacking an outnumbered opponent from the back.

King of Chandeliers

Belgrade Design Week 2007 ended on Saturday. Similar to last year it was a series of lectures on all things design – from architecture to digital effects. It was interesting, educational and inspirational.
As a big fan of architecture, it was a real treat to listen to Rem Koolhaas, Ora Ito was a lot of fun, Mirko Ilic gave a very good lecture, although he is, in my view, very unlikable. I was particularly happy to listen to one of my favorite design collectives – Droog Design, as I’ve been a fan for quite a while.

But probably more than anything, I’m glad BDW made it possible to visit one of my favorite buildings in Belgrade, otherwise closed to the public – the Federation Palace.

With its enormous size, over the top simplicity and amazing artwork it is an actual palace build in the social-realism style of the fifties and sixties.

The most impressive is the great hall with its colossal sun-shaped chandelier which looks like an early influence for the dome of the Sony Center at Berlin’s Potsdamer Platz.

Wouldn’t mind having one in my room.

Wouldn’t mind having a big enough room, for that matter.

Would mind having their electricity bill, though.

Cabaret

Monday evening was very interesting. Two very important and very different events took place in the center of Belgrade not far from each other.
In the glitzy art-deco interior of Belgrade’s only specialized musical and comedy theater on Terazije, the deputy mayor, opening the second edition of Belgrade Design Week, didn’t fail to mention the city’s title as the south-east European city of the future. Then we saw a film about last year’s design week, and visionary and inspirational people from all over the world who gathered in Serbia and spoke of creating a better world.
Right around the corner, in the Parliament, the picture was a bit more bleak. The future did not seam as bright. In fact, it looked very much like our unattractive past. Despite that, the MPs acted as if they were entertainers –stand up comedians trying to think of the funniest reply so that the whole chamber would burst into laughter, while the country slowly sinks into fascism.
If anything good came out of yesterday’s election of our new radical parliament speaker, it is that things are finally clear. Dss can no longer pretend to be a reformist pro-european party and DS has no more excuses to be lazy. Sadly, this clarity only makes us see that we have many more lost years ahead of us.One of the senior radicals said: the future belongs to us. And there’s a lovely musical called Cabaret, with a catchy song called “Tomorrow belongs to me”. Unfortunately not enough people remember what happened “tomorrow”.

Tough Crowd

Now, I’m not an art historian, but I’m not particularly thrilled by the exhibits coming to Belgrade lately. I mean I’m glad someone is finally sending us something, but I have a feeling they’re keeping the best for themselves. As with the recent exhibition of British artists in the Contemporary Art Museum, the pieces from St. Etienne in 25th of May Museum left me thinking more about the poor state of the museum building than the art. Maybe it’s just me.

Fast Food, or Gone Quickly

This is my appeal for the state to subsidize out-of-the-ordinary fast food. At least until eating habits of the Serbian people have changed and it becomes profitable.

The only falafel place in Belgrade has closed. The other day I went there for the first time in a while only to discover that it has been turned into yet another grill. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a Serb, I love grilled meats of all kinds, and pizza, and all sorts of yummy pastries from bakeries, but sometimes one just wants to eat something else on a short lunch break. And there isn’t anything.

Is it possible that in a land with such good food and such a love of food, there is no room for something with more spice, or rice? I guess the problem is that we see these types of food as something that will bring a little variety, something that we can eat every once in a while. And that’s obviously not enough. There are not enough people who see this food as their daily bread, or hamburger, or burek.

So basically, this is also my appeal to all people of good will from the Middle East, the Indian subcontinent, South-east Asia and the Far East, Africa and Latin America to come and settle in Belgrade in large numbers, building communities, bringing with them a breath of fresh air and a little variety. Maybe if we sit down and eat each other’s food, this will be a better place.

... there are some ugly buildings

Another thing I thought about this morning is that the new (not really new, but recently completed) National Bank building on Slavija is one of the ugliest buildings I’ve ever seen. It looks as if it didn’t even have an architect but that someone just pieced together every geometric shape imaginable.
So I thought I’d try something. And I’d like some involvement. I don’t know if I can pull this off, as only a few people actually comment on this blog, but here goes:
What, in your opinion, is the ugliest building in Belgrade? And Why?
I know that among the people who come here regularly there are some Belgraders, temporary, permanent or former, so I’m sure you won’t be short of opinions.
As for the criteria: Let’s not talk about houses or residential buildings, unless they’re unavoidably terrible. They get torn down and replaced. Also I’m not thinking of buildings which are in poor condition, gray, dirty and crooked. That can be fixed.
I’m thinking big. I’m thinking landmarks, buildings which have left their permanent mark on this city, one that will haunt us for a long time. So think government buildings, hotels, hospitals, museums, theaters, sport arenas, churches…
Also, to balance it out, if you want, say which ones you like, but try and avoid the usual favorites, like the Parliament or something

Belgrade is beautiful, but...

The overnight train from Vienna arrives at 6:27. I got up at five as I had to pick someone up at the train station. I decided to walk. I don’t even know how public transport works at this time of day.

I like being out very early in the morning. Everything is so peaceful and you’re the only one disturbing the peace. I like how I can hear the echo of my footsteps. I like how you can hear rumbling long before you even see a car. I like to look at the city without people and traffic, fresh and clean. It’s so unreal and out of context.

This was the first time that I walked from Slavija to the train station since Nemanjina street got a facelift. Think it looks great.

I got to the station on time. The train was naturally late. The station is filthy and stinks, so I decided to wait outside. The plato in front of the station actually looks great. Disregard the parked cars, the filth, pollution and construction work and it will make a nice square some day. It’s a pity that Korunovic’s post office building didn’t survive.

The train arrives and hundreds of young backpackers pour out of the train. I started thinking about first impressions. It’s a disgrace that people arriving to a European capital of nearly 2 million people by bus or train have to see what they see and smell what they smell. I know construction of the new train station is restarting and the bus station will be moved to New Belgrade, but this will take years and something needs to be done urgently. Maybe that’s why so many visitors like Belgrade, because after the first impression it can only get better.

Fruit

I was trying to find a reason why being back from vacation is a good thing.
At my local market which happens to be the most expensive in Belgrade most fruit and vegetables cost 30 to 50 Dinars (35-60 Euro Cents) per kg, while in Montenegro the same products are 1.5 Euros. What causes this huge difference is beyond me.
At least now I can munch on as much melon and blackberries as I want looking out the window at the gray sky and wet streets.

Tourism

This years Exit was more international the ever, the official language seemed to be English, and I like that a lot. More and more people from other countries are finding Serbia an interesting tourist destination, hidden from the outside for so long, lovely, friendly, cheap and weird. The internet and other media are full of affirmative though somewhat shallow stories about the aggressive dictatorship turned party land. At the forefront, Belgrade is once again full of tourists. I hope this welcome contact with the world will help promote openness and tolerance. With this in mind I wanted to share some tourist related thoughts from yesterday:

Rude

I feel, and always have, that people who don’t pay for public transportation tickets deserve to get fined. Public transportation in Belgrade is far from perfection, but it’s much better than it ever was, and I don’t think we can expect it to improve further unless we all do our part.
Yesterday, on a trolleybus, I witnessed a quarrel between a guy and girl and the ticket controller. From what I could understand, the girl, a local, had her monthly ticket, while her friend, a tourist, didn’t have a ticket of any kind.
The ticket control guy said they could either pay the “penalty ticket”, give the girl’s personal data (tourist boy didn’t have a passport) or get out and wait for the police. He was polite, for ticket control guy standards. The girl accused him of being unfair and unreasonable for daring to pick on a foreigner, who “just got here and didn’t know he should pay for the ticket”!?!?
Really?! Unless he had come from, I don’t know, a village in central Burkina Faso where there is no public transportation, or some weird country where they have state-sponsored buses, he should know you have to pay for public transport.
Eventually they unwillingly paid for the extra ticket, after first pretending they have no money and then complained about this “outrageous” incident for several stops.
Cultural differences are one thing, this is just plain rude.

Beautiful Belgrade

Is it just me?
Have you ever noticed how Belgrade/your city looks better when you’re showing it to someone from abroad? I was taking some friends from Zagreb around town, and the streets seem cleaner and wider, the buildings larger and more monumental, the parks greener. Have you noticed how you yourself feel a bit like a tourist?
Is it that we tend to take people to the most representative sites, avoiding the ugly bits? Or is it that we open up and appreciate things more when we look through the eyes of others? Perhaps it’s that the superficial view of a tourist allows us to look at the surface, disregarding all social, political, communal, infrastructural complaints that we usually have? When you don’t delve deep, you just see the lovely facades, the great views, the lively streets and tasty food.
Belgrade is beautiful.

My neighborhood

Writing about my suburban experience got me thinking about where I live now. We’ve recently moved into a new neighborhood, and immediately felt at home. It’s beautiful and alive, with the best outdoor market in Belgrade and some nice places to eat and drink at nearby.
But what I enjoy most are the little quirky details. Like the small shop I pass by on my way from work which always color-coordinates items in its window (see bad photo).
Nearby there is a stray dog that often sleeps on the roof of a car, and a while ago I saw a women parked on a corner, blowing soap bubbles out her car window.

Belgrade Design Week 2: Reaction to Karim Rashid

I completely agree with Karim (can I call you Karim?) that design has become democratic, either through the possibilities of customization of products and services or at least the increased ability to choose due to hyper-production.
He articulated some of the things I feel about the importance of expression – how so many people who are unhappy say it is because of a lack of creativity in their life. I felt that. I felt that I missed some of the creative outlets I used to have, which I have had to give up under pressure from obligations and assignments. That was the basic reason for starting this blog.
Everyone is a designer, he said, and I really believe it is so. And I think it goes beyond that, I think everyone is an artist, or at least can be. Now this, of course, opens up the problem of definitions, that if everything is art, maybe nothing is, but I do not agree that art is dead. It has taken new forms, penetrated all segments of life, and I think is as relevant and alive as it ever was.

Basically, Karim spoke in big bombastic statements but I fail to see how that is reflected in his work. How can you say that brands are dead, if you are yourself a brand, and anyone and anything can become a brand. We could say that the meaning of brands is changing that they are reinventing themselves, that brands too have become dynamic and even democratic.
He also criticized designers, especially fashion designers, for drawing from the past. But if design is democratic and we all live, as he said, in a digital age and are aware of our choices, then if we STILL decide to CHOOSE something from the past, we make it contemporary. If someone likes it and uses it, it’s fresh and new. We make the design contemporary not the other way round.
A complete break from the past, using strange shapes, digital prints, and painting everything pink and silver does not in itself make something modern. In fact, Karim’s design to me even seems a bit retro and seventies.
Karim Rashid is a skillful craftsman, but for me it is design for the sake of design, aestheticism and fashion. It has no background story, no justification. No context, no relevance.

On the other hand I was completely blown away by Ross Lovegrove - an amazing and inspiring man who deserved every minute of the standing ovation he got. It was one of those moments when you believe you see things clearly and say to yourself: from now on I’m gonna recycle, and …eat right and… fight for justice! He really demonstrated how design can be so much more than superficial form. That it can and should innovate and educate and be visionary. Thank you Ross!

Belgrade Design Week

Note to myself: I really have to learn to post these things on time. I drafted this weeks ago…

For a week in late April I’ve been buzzing around events related to the newly created Belgrade Design Week, a showcase for Serbian design, and an overview of global trends in design and branding and how they affect us locally.
The whole thing was well organized and fun and brought together international design stars and local unknowns, huge multinational agencies and aspiring artists and introduced Belgrade to new spaces like the recently opened Superspace gallery in the refurbished 1930s industrial warehouses on the Sava waterfront, where every night the people mingled, champagne in hand, looking across the super-sized river to the lush trees in New Belgrade and the shining Usce tower. It was a new and unusual view, not the Belgrade I’m used to - what I imagine of Brasilia - a modern city in a rainforest.
The low point, although morbidly fascinating, would have to be the opening panel when six biggest international advertising agencies in Serbia presented themselves and their work. The overwhelming intolerance, malice and envy suffocated any notion of a neutral ground where professionals could meet and exchange ideas. These guys obviously have nothing to learn from each other.
Was it possible that those people really believed what they were saying? I guess if you repeat something enough, you might actually start to believe it. One by one, the obnoxious six kept saying their presentation would be completely different and continuing to say how their agency is the best, biggest, most creative, and extra-superfantastic. Naturally they were all exactly the same.
Fortunately, the event kept getting better, with interesting presentations, constructive dialogue and some truly inspiring moments.
The segment about Belgrade really got me thinking, and if I can get organized, hopefully I will be able to post some of my ideas and projects in the near future.
The closing - design superstars day was great, Karim Rashid’s presentation drew a huge crowd… This deserves a detailed review (as soon as I get my notes organized).