Ioanes Resl

It is done…

Ioanes — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 23:49:34 +0000

I was waiting quite a while for this moment and still can’t believe it finally happened: it is finished!.
The same for the ArteInsania page that is now online for about 2 weeks: check it out.
I hope that I can spare some time in the near future to update the queue of unfinished stuff that keeps getting longer and longer…

The vision of a perfect enemy

Ioanes — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 22:15:33 +0000

There are little ways not to know Michael Bay when you are into mainstream Hollywood blockbusters. You may not remember his name but you definitely have seen at least some of the cinematographic sceneries he created for various movies – all of which are prone to a certain bellicose tendency.
His newest brainchild is part two in the Transformer franchise: Revenge of the Fallen. The story behind it is told fast. After the AllSpark is destroyed an alliance of Transformers and men battle against the last pockets of resistance of Decepticons who hide on Earth. But not everybody in the government seems happy about the new allies and when Sam Witwicky and his girlfriend Mikaela discover that a part of the AllSpark somehow has survived, their journey starts yet again.
What follows are 2 ½ hours action packed propaganda for the US military. One may imagine George W. sitting in the living room of this ranch, with a silent tear of sweet “mission accomplished” memories running down his face. No one talks about human allies, no general mentions NATO or any other country. There is no place for a coalition of the willing but the USA once again will help to protect the world from all evil that lies beyond, somewhere out in space.
The virtual battlefields stretch from China to Egypt. US Marines standing in front of bombed houses in the desert sand while Hans Zimmer provides as usual the Wagnereske sound wall that engulfs every single pixel on the screen. But yet not a single dialog line connects Iraq or Afghanistan with the story. No captives, you are with them or against them and while the pyramids are deliciously torn apart we are waiting to see with which new super weapon we will be saved this time.
Figures like Captain William Lennox, a brave and responsible US Army Ranger are the reasons why this kind of unreflected demonstration of military power is the perfect recruiting material. Loving father, husband, great American. And when his time has come to make a decision against the President’s direct order, he knows what to do.
There is no blood, no casualties, no harm done, no friendly fire – according to Bay of course. And just before the credits start rolling we see Witwicky and Optimus standing on the edge of the aircraft carrier deck, staring at the sky with a deep, meaningful posture. I think it’s the moment where good old George starts shedding tears like a broken water pipe.

Ioanes — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 03:53:54 +0000

Countdown running. ArteInsania Beta starts this week.
Finishing Paola y el Dragón. More news next week.

Tetralogy Of A Day

Ioanes — Sat, 02 May 2009 18:28:06 +0000

One day. Four scenes. Four different settings, different locations, different times. Things that connect them and things that stand between them. The Tetralogy Of A Day is the attempt to capture a moment in 24 pictures - the frame rate of a standard 35 gauge movie projection. But instead of lining them up, wasting them in an instant, this work tries to give the opportunity to pause, to linger and to enjoy. Sunset Rendezvous, Midnight Noon, Evening Stroll and Unfull Moon together consist of 96 different, hand selected and edited, computer generated frames.

This online installation invites you to explore this moment frame by frame.

Ioanes Resl 2009

Global Apocalyptic Entertainment Show I

Ioanes — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 19:05:25 +0000

That can’t be right. Newlyweds! Impossible. Mexican children ok, but british newlyweds. Unbelievable.

Relax, sit back, enjoy the show. What country has the most infected, who’s going to have the first deaths? Seek your favorite sportsbook and place a bet. Designers of face masks, that’s your chance! I know you waited so long for this opportunity. Jehova’s witnesses, isn’t that a good chance to predict the end of the world (one again?). I know you. The one’s sick of this world. Trying to fuck the system and eventually finding out that it fucked you all over the whole time. You lure in the dark, waiting for a sign of a Change (but not the Obama kind of way) and now you think you have found it. After all these years. Berlin Wall, 9/11, SARS, avian flu, economic crises and now finally a story big enough to make it to the global headlines. Fox & co can’t be wrong. Start digging the tunnels - or just close the door if you have done this a long time ago. Enjoy you’re canned beans while others are still running on infected streets or worry about the fact that the disease came from a filthy animal and give it a nicer name (with Mexican Flu I can’t help thinking about a group of virus dancing ‘la cucaracha’.. sorry for the cliche).

Not even sex sells as good as fear and disaster.

Gentle Wash

Ioanes — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 02:19:20 +0000

idea&vfx&editing: Ioanes Resl
music: Farid Farjad

TV is Evil

Ioanes — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 18:06:26 +0000

There are various reasons why television is shit. Free TV of course. The addictive potential of HBO, cinemax & co is written on another page. It’s not only the content (there have been enough jokes about MTV not playing music, but it borders on cynicism when you watch what they actually dare to call program).
It’s the freakin’ ads that drive one crazy. Who the fuck would let a stranger into one’s house so that they can first put dirt on your carpet and then proudly clean it? My personal favorite is Mr. Musculo. A – You’d never guessed it – muscular, tall, hansom (?) looking bodybuilding scientist always equipped with glasses that incorporate a head set, wearing a skin tight cleaning uniform. Whenever a poor woman out there is crying because of dirty mark on their cloth – he is there.
In this spot the young protagonist is first asking in her work if a colleague can help her (which he does of course, and I’m sure he’s got a good reason). Then in the supermarket she again needs help to carry her stuff to her car. She is shown with a little boy so we can imagine she’s a working mother. When she finally comes home (without her son?) she is asking who’s going to help her with all the dirty dishes. Take a look at the size of the kitchen. No way she could afford this with the job she was shown doing in the first scene. And if she’s already well suited, why not having someone to do the dishes (this wouldn’t be so weird to have in Argentina). Of course the guy who is helping her with the dishes is Mr. Musculo. He then explains the poor and naïve house wife/mother how to clean up her huge and dirty kitchen. Once finished, the muscle man has to take of because another woman is in need.
Of course it’s not the only ad that uses this cliché. Poor (stupid) woman and a wise (intelligent) man who explains her how the world works. Other versions feature a singing man, knocking on your door and melting the woman’s heart by bringing her detergent or a group of women gathering to a marvelous demonstration of how to remove a dirty, dirty spot. The actual language doesn’t matter. Spanish, Portuguese, German, English … the shit doesn’t get any better.
These guys didn’t really get it that we’re already in the 21st century. Or did they? Isn’t it a shame that this kind of ads still work? That there is a clientele out there who is stupid enough to buy this product after airing such a waste of resources?

¡Tren!

Ioanes — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 18:39:43 +0000

The four Apolo trains from Spain just arrived in Costa Rica. In the next weeks they are going to be adapted to fit the 1.06 gauge tracks.
The trains are part of a new infrastructure concept to solve the transport situation in the central valley where decades of corruption, misplanning and lack of vision have left the economical, political and cultural center of Costa Rica in a devastated shape. Streets flooded with SUVs and old buses together with replacement of the old architecture with concrete block (60/70 style) gave the city the rest. But it was not always like that. If you look at the old San José there was even a tramway, not to mention the clean streets and nice buildings. The city officials came up with a number plate system where certain numbers are not allowed to enter the city during a specific day. However this is merely more than just the beginning. The same thing applies to the construction of the new pedestrian zones in the capital. A great thing, but as long the problem of how people get into the city is not resolved, there is no real chance for improvement.

In the early days one could go from one Puntarenas on the Pacific side of the county to Puerto Limon on the Caribbean side by train. Then along comes a president who by coincidence owns a large transportation company and does everything to shut down the competition. After a earthquake the rest of the line is disabled. After years of no passenger service at all the line reopened as a kind of metro connecting Pavas and the Universidad Latina in San José. According to the plan of the department of transportation they want to introduce electric trains in 2013 to connect the city of Heredia and the capital. But as always, one has to be careful not to drown in too much excitement as this announcements tend to change, especially because next year is an election year. It’s not that the people wouldn’t like it. Anybody who remembers the old days of San José is deeply frustrated by the current situation.

A working transport system is exactly what this city needs and in my humble opinion it can really be quite a new beginning. Not to imagine what the city could look like if you get out just half of all the cars.

Maybe one day it will be possible to travel from Mexico directly to Panama City, but this sure is going to take some more decades.

More Info: Trenes de Costa Rica (spanish)

Culture Shock II

Ioanes — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 11:56:57 +0000

We’ve seen what the first two phases of this condition can do to a person and now we would like to round it up by the final two stages.
Phase three, or the adjustment phase is where the individual is getting assimilated by the new culture. And there are a lot of ways how and when this can happen. One big thing is that you now know “how things are working”. You feel a psychological balance, more confident. You don’t feel so isolated anymore and get back your sense of humor (in case you are blessed with the dark talent of making cynical jokes all the time, you may have never lost it in the first hand).

Depending on the source the next phase is the Enthusiasm. You just love it. But not the pink glasses kind of way. You know every coin has two sides and try to enjoy the best your new home has to offer you. In case of Central America it would definitely be the nature and the relaxed atmosphere you can encounter in a lot of places (just maybe not on the road) and a lot of opportunities.
That’s pretty much it. You may wonder what can there be more than that. Thing is, there is the chance that you may go back to where you come from and there comes the reverse culture shock. Now it’s the other way round and you can’t remember how you could have ever lived here. All the new customs you so painfully learned the last month or years are of no use here.
But there are plenty of things you can do to avoid a cultural shock. First off, the language. Learn it! A language is the most valuable thing you can acquire (beside thousands of credit card numbers found on the internet maybe). Get out! Don’t stay at home all day long. Go to bars/café/cinemas/theater/etc or for a walk. There are a million ways to get to know other people and to dive into a culture. Get a job. Nothing gives you more insight in a culture than to work with people. Take care when working in an expat enclave. The cultural shock is a social thing and from my experience hermetic groups tend to radicalize instead of dissolving any existing problem. It’s of no use to sit together with fellow countryman mocking the local customs. It just makes it worse. Of course, nothing against a joke here and there and to spend some time together with people from the same cultural origin but be careful not to drown in self pity and presumptuousness. Maintain confidence in yourself. Life is chain of events not a simple line. You never know what you get from going through such a tough experience. And of course, look for help. Talk to others but try to stay polite and open minded.
According to Wikipedia, there are three types of outcomes of the adjustment phase. The Rejectors, the Adopters and the Cosmopolitans. The Rejectors are the one’s living in a ghetto, behind high electrified razor wire secured walls and 24/7 security. They have a hard time and can’t really adapt to the new culture.
The Adopters peel their old culture of and wear their new culture with pride. Usually they stay in the country and like it a lot.
The Cosmopolitans have no problem relocating. They adapt to a certain level but don’t get assimilated and don’t lose their culture.
Kind of black and white, but after several conversations with all kind of people I found all three types of persons, some also overlapping.

I’m going to keep on following this topic because it had a huge impact on my life. If I’d done my homework in advance I may have gotten of a bit smoother than I did. It took me about 14 month to come to phase four. It really helped me to live in another country beside Costa Rica to appreciate some things, while I’m missing others.

Links
Wikipedia
kwintessential

Culture Shock I

Ioanes — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 03:42:29 +0000

I think if there is any topic that deserves to be mentioned here, it’s the famous culture shock. I had my first encounter with this condition when I bought a travel guide for my trip to Pakistan. The book series of the same name explained all the little obstacles on the way to eternal happiness (or whatever you’re up to). I thought of it more as a creative title than any real problem you can encounter. A admittedly kind of naïve thought though.

What makes the culture shock so back stabbing is the time it takes. All four phases can last together about a year or more. So this affects hardly any of the tourists spending their days in a hermetically closed resort hotel where everything from the food to the staff is imported. That’s more a thing for long travelers or those who decided to stay in another place (doesn’t even have to be another country) willingly or not for some months or years.
In Pakistan however I had no real time to get past phase one – the Honeymoon Phase. Everything seems interesting, new, exciting and there is nothing you don’t want to try out. Even the fried chicken burger on the side of the road although everybody warned me of the street vendors. Well, I paid my debt by three days vomiting and the most fucked up intestinal problem I ever had. The thing to learn would be that spoiled European gut bacteria is not very compatible with the life forms found in not boiled water on certain places on this planet, but that’s another story.
So, after the Honeymoon Phase, where one seems to wear pink glasses and tumbles on LSD through any fucked up slum, comes the big hangover. The Withdrawal Phase. You suddenly get to see how things are done – and that’s definitely different to the things you are used. This can be anything, from how bus schedules are working, to the arrangement of cornflakes and toilet paper on the supermarket shelves. Driving habits (usually described by combinations of “insane” and “suicidal”), culinary preferences (too spicy, too veggy, too meaty, too bwah), climate (green season is an euphemism for 8 month of rain by the way) or arbitrary controls in a blatant unorganized environment. Like when a stubborn officer at the airport took away my passport because I didn’t have a return ticket. Or when your speeding ticket comes with a bribe-me-manual (you know sir, its 20 dollar, but if you… let’s say drop this 10 dollar bill, I haven’t seen anything… blink blink).
It’s a nasty feeling. You begin to make comments about the country and the persons, forgetting that’s you in the end who is the guest here. You feel anxious. Lock the doors and don’t let anybody in and of course would never leave. Who knows what dragons may be waiting out there? Corrupt cops, insane drivers, falsely sorted cornflakes and toilet paper vegetating in their supermarket racks. No way José. That’s a tough time for everybody who is with you or around you. Don’t forget what’s in your way when you’re out on a fuck-this-country-rampage again.
A very good friend of mine had this kind of shock after just 5 days. He was planning some nice beach time coming from the cold and quite excited to see some nice beaches. When it started raining and they stole his bag with the camera the first cracks in the surface appeared. Then he got the dengue fever but, that’s another story. He ended up hating everybody (especially me I think because I was the reason for the visit… so this would make me the master of his doom). The fact, that he spent his time in a poorly equipped Panamanian hospital in Bocas del Toro instead of taking this diving course didn’t really help at all.
But for all the others, that don’t leave like my friend four weeks later (I’m sure he burnt all maps showing Central America) there is a light at the end of the tunnel, as we are going to see in next phases.