Upon landing to Cologne, napping and getting settled in, Weetu Carly hit the Gloria Theater with friends Frau Schneider (of The Sustainable Love Corporation) and Irakli for the SMILE Party, featuring DJ's Marc Lansley, Denis Stockhausen, Okinawa 69 and Motor City Drum Ensemble.
Today we went on a walkabout to the Kolumba Museum.
The Kolumba is one of Helen's (Frau Schneider) favorites in her now hometown. The architecture is fantastic, but the exhibit has been the same for a while. We were happy to discover that installations have turned over... and they were so cool. The Kolumba – Archdiocese of Cologne was recently completed by Peter Zumthor. The new building was to conserve the existing pieces of two thousand years of architectural history, while uniting it into a single building: the archaeological excavation finds with the foundations of the earlier Romanesque church, the ruins of the late Gothic Kolumba Church, as well as the Chapel of the Madonna in the Ruins, which was consecrated in 1950.
This is definitely a place where you should take the stairs.
The new architecture is a stunning backdrop to the work and ruins. Simple, yet amazingly detailed. Weetu Carly lusted after the lighting alone. Dario Villalba's La Espera, 1974, was one of the favs. The shadows cast, as it spun in the room, changed with each angle, resembling a peapod to someone in the fetal position.
Another crazy room was an installation by the artist Krimhild Becker. The room allows nature and art to connect where different cultures meet. That ensures that serious & happy; found & thought up things and art & kitsch not be separated from one another. It's playful and astonishing all at the same time. A plastic dinosaur in an atrium with a skull beneath it? Monkey faces and creepy kewpie doll heads? Get some Halloween ideas peeps!
Though most everything is closed on Sunday's in Cologne, we stumbled upon a pretty entertaining flea market. Scales, Fur and Beads dominated the selection. Oddly enough, I could say the same thing after walking into the H & M in Chicago. Though severely tempted by some sunglasses, lace mask and green quilted house frock, no purchases were made. Sorry economy.
