Now in 2D.

There is this lovely gallery around the corner from where I work, called West Berlin Gallery. The other night they had the opening of an exhibition called “Now in 2D” by Mike Friedrich and Timrobot. Good stuff. Some really sweet ideas. Nice beer.

This is my favourite piece of work they had there. Followed by a painting called “Thunderstorm Supplies”. I really love it. And I actually think about buying it. While talking about wether I should buy it, can afford it and what not, we stumbled over an not less interesting topic. By the way, we was Lauren and me. However, we were discussing why illustration is considered illustration and not art. As well as graphic design for example. Where is the line you have to cross to be considered an artist? What turns you from an illustrator to an artist? So many illustrators that do exceptional work are not really considered artists. And so many twats that throw paperballs in the corner of a room and consider it a metaphor for the disunity of the human entity, are called artist. May it is just that it is quite easy to see if you are a crap illustrator but hard to say the same thing about an artist. Because his or her art lays in the imperfection of his or her skills. Lauren said something really smart about what makes art. But I don’t remember the exact words. It is about uncertainess. I guess in the lines of “art ist not meant to be understand but loved”. Not sure what I think makes art. I guess if it has an incredible idea behind it. As Banksy has in every little piece he does. Or if it evokes a feeling. As the work of Mark Rothko. Where you sit there and stare at his paintings for minutes and you actually don’t know why you can’t stop looking at them. Or it is just plain brilliant. Like a lot of the work of Olafur Eliasson. Last time I saw an exhibition here in Berlin there was a complety dark room. With a rotating water hose in the middle. And a flashing light. Not only the visual experience but the sound as well made it look like raw electricity. I stood there for probably half an hour and simply could not stop looking at it. Art is very personal. And so its perception.

This down here is Lauren. The picture is very blurry. Though I wanted it to be sharp. Some might consider it as a lack of skills on my side. I think I will call it art. Ha. And here a link and the poster to the exhibition. Go there and see it. It’s cool.

Nudie Day 5.

Alright. Here they are. Still haven’t seen a washing machine. Only some rain. Day 5. They still feel a bit stiff. Already lost some colour on my Adidas Forum Lo. But I guess these are the kinds of things you have to accept.

Who you gonna call?

Nudie Day 4.

So. This is day 4. It’s raining. And the Nudies have lost some of its stiffness. Still stiff though, not the greatest pleasure to ride my bike in them. But a rule is a rule and that’s why I wear them today.

Nudie Day 3.

Yesterday. This pair already survived quite a good party and made a disastrous departure from said party. All on day 2. Thank you Jessica for guiding me to the door of our house. And into the elevator. I guess. Don’t remember too much of that night. Only that next day I experienced a hangover so horrible that the last time I have felt this way must have been when I was 18 or so. Anyway. So day 3 in the Grim Tim was all about recuperating, having breakfast in the rain (under a roof), going shopping with the lady and buying a new wallet for myself (yeah, the way home from the party must have cost me the old one). So, enjoy your Sunday and don’t mix beer with vodka. Night.

Nudie Day 2.

So as promised this is the next day in my dry and dark Nudie Grim Tim. It’s day two (actually day 3 but as I’ve written I only force myself to wear them every second day). They still feel very stiff. A bit like wearing concrete pants. But as it is quite warm and we have an agency party tonight I hope that some sweat will work its magic. That is not as disgusting as it may sound. Though I was having lunch with Lisa today and she, as well as Käthe, thinks it’s pretty gross. Hey. It’s not like I don’t wash them. I only do not wash them with water. But fresh air is more powerful than you think. Let’s see how long. So stay tuned.

By the way, the tee in the pic (that you can’t actually see so well) is pretty rad. They girls over at Looky Looky made it. And if you like it as well, you may want to buy it here.

Nudie Day 1.

I like sneakers. But I won’t go into that now. What I like as well are jeans. Over the last months I somehow lost that interest and switched them for chinos too many times. But as I opened my closet today and thought: What pair of trousers could go with that underpants, I somehow grabbed an only once worn pair of very dark and very dry Nudie. They must have been inside said closet for at least 6 months. So I did put them on. It felt good. Not only because I found a 5 euro banknote in one of its pockets. And it looked good.

Why am I telling this nonsese story? Because it got me thinking about jeans. They don’t get the attention they deserve. And I am not talking about combining them in the most fancy or fashionable way. No, I talk about real attention. Some effort. And love. Nowadays we go to a shop and pay a lot of money for some pre-customised or heavy used denim jeans. Or we buy Cheap Monday and pay way less. We put them on and that’s it. We don’t really appreciate that we own them. It’s just one of a dozen pairs we might own. Replacable. Faceless.

Nudie Jeans is different. Okay, they sell pre-used denims jeans for the convenient masses as well. But if you really want to know what Nudie Jeans is about, you buy them in dry denim. Which means they never have been worn, stone washed or sand blasted or laser-whatever-irradiated before. They are stiff. They are dark without any sign of wear. They feel like the most durable thing on earth. But then, you make them your second skin. And you make them your own. By wearing them, living in them and never, ever washing them. You actually have to put some effort into a pair of Nudie until they are perfect. Not just a few weeks. Months. Maybe years. I like that. It feels completely different to any other pair of pants you might own. Because they are truly yours.

I owned one pair before. I never washed it for 8 months or so. And then I got impatient. Washed them too early. Washed them not hot enough. And in return Nudie punished me for my eagerness. They simply did not look good. They did not look as I had wished it. They taught me: Good things come to those who do not wash.

From a brand perspective I can only salute Nudie for creating a product that takes time and effort to be perfect. And they smartly make it the heart of their brand. They may sell used denim and other stuff as well. But they will always be the pair of denim that is not what it is without the people who wear it. And that’s why I will put some effort and love into my pair of Nudie Grim Tim for now on. Here it is, have a look:

Okay, here is the thing. In the spirit of blogging like it’s 2006, I will do my little project online. To give me something useless to blog about and to actually keep me going and prevent putting my Grim Tim into the washer dryer.

The Rules:
Wear them at least every second day.
Take a picture and put it on the blog.
No cleaning, only some fresh air.
No cleaning, seriously.

After one year we’ll check where I am and see if they could use one more year spend outside our Whirlpool washing machine.