Neue Zürcher Zeitung 19.12.2006

Roman Hollenstein has visited a retrospective of the Milanese architect Ignazio Gardella in Genoa and is impressed by the extent of his legacy. "It all began in Alexandria, where, between 1933 and 1938, Gardella built a transparent tuberculosis clinic, influenced by both Italian rationalism and the international modern and became a model for things to come. After the war, he applied his knowledge to the Padiglione d'Arte Contemporanea (PAC) in Milan, a precedent-setting exhibition hall whose influence is to be found in Piano's Beyeler Museum. Gardella's creations were never straight: in 1952, at the same time as the PAC, he built the Casa Borsalino in Alexandria, an 8 story, cubically divided multi-family house which, with its brick walls, window sills and projecting roof construction, was a manifesto of anti-monumental neo-realism. The building had a great influence on Spanish architecture through Jose Antonio Coderch and anticipated design ideas of today."


Frankfurter Rundschau 19.12.2006

Literary scholar Rainer Just analyses the fantasies of the kidnappers of Natascha Kampusch (news story) and the 13 year old Stephanie from Dresden (news story) and concludes that they are closer to normality than we would like to think. "It's not enough to show that even violent criminals have 'normal' feelings, you also have to see how insane and violent the 'norm' in its hardest core is or can be. The hardcore of everyday. If a romantic hides in the most brutal sadist, then the opposite also applies; in the romantic ideal lurks a sublime sadism, the ideological basis of which is ownership, exclusion and permanence."


Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung 19.12.2006

Roughly 200,000 people have had to leave the Basque country as a result of persecution by the ETA, reports Paul Ingendaay. While the ETA has now been recognised as a negotiating partner by the Spanish government, the victims, including families of murder victims, have by no means the sympathy of their fellow Spaniards: "There is a fatalistic trait in the Spanish mentality which results from the long tradition of cowering before authority…. For many people, the fact that something happens is taken as proof that there was a reason for it. So people keep their nose out of things and don't show conspicuous sympathy for the families of murder victims. ETA counts on this reaction, half cowardice, half herd mentality, especially in isolated villages where many city councillors, and often even the mayor, belong to the organisation's political arm, the Batasuna Party. At one point the families of the victims voluntarily cleared out."


Der Tagesspiegel 19.12.2006

The new breed of collectors who are pushing up art prices to unparalleled heights "are not only wealthy, but also educated and cultivated," says art dealer Rudolf Zwirner in an interview. This newly-educated class wants to buy art at events, not trade fairs. "At parties, what's important is the fun, not the interminable discourses on the artworks. That's why organisers now liven up their fairs with parties. These buyers got rich quick on the stock market, and have a relatively playful relationship to money. They're ready to win and to lose. That's why the market for contemporary art is so strong right now in the USA, especially in New York, the stock market capital… The young rich start with 21st century art. Just like on the stock market, they see no sense in buying a share at it's highest value. They prefer young enterprises, in this case, up-and-coming painters or certain trends. For example the Leipzig School (more here). There, it makes no difference how good the painting is, because if I belong to the buyers on the ground floor, even if the work later turns out to be junk, the price will still go up in the short run. Today 60 to 70 percent of art purchases are motivated by speculation."


Die Tageszeitung 19.12.2006

Kiersten Riesselman is impressed by the enduring charm of the 47 year old rock singer Morrissey, whose concert she went to in Berlin on the weekend. "'What in the world are you doing here?' he asks, the great impresario and master of the rhetorical question. When a cigar is thrown at him in response, he smells it expertly and says, 'that was a cheap one.' Nonetheless, he shakes the hands of those in the front row. His back is sweating and he trades his black shirt in for a white one. He peels if off during 'Let me kiss you,' where in the lyrics, his desired partner is realising that she's gotten involved with someone who she holds in 'physical contempt.' There's actually little reason for that. Morissey's upper body is not exactly taut anymore but at no point does it exceed the circumference of his chest. Naked – good; courage – not bad; removal and new shirt. The women are still busy shredding the one they caught."