DIScourse - Antwerp

Dear Readers,

I recently realized that I only have four more weeks to spend in Antwerp and I've been terrible at keeping up to date on my blogs. I have yet to find a cafe or bar with free wi-fi, although admittedly I haven't been looking hard. I have noticed a lack of people using laptops around town and coming from Portland that seems strange.

Anyway my last "real" post was about my trip to Amsterdam, which was over a month ago. I'm going to attempt to give a brief overview of what's happened since then, a difficult thing for me since I tend to give pretty detailed information on things.
























My work life here isn't much different than it would be in Portland, so I usually don't have much to say about Mon-Fri 8:30-5:30. I'm enjoying working at Theo though and am hoping to work here for at least the next couple of years. After I got back from Amsterdam, most evenings I watched Waltz which was a Dutch miniseries based on a traveling circus and the family that runs it (it's nothing anything like Carnivàle). The series was being rebroadcast for the first time since it's debut in 2006 and features a soundtrack by John Parish.

The weekend after my trip to Amsterdam was the student fashion show for the Royal Academy of Arts Fashion Show 2008. The Friday before the show I got my hair colored (and now I'm about to get it cut and colored again).

Saturday afternoon was the awards lunch for the fashion students which we (Theo) got an invitation to. It was raining in the morning but I decided I couldn't pass up the chance to maybe run into some fashion folks. Also, since Theo produced glasses for a couple of the students I thought I would at least have someone to talk to. No one else from Theo showed up for the awards, but I immediately recognized Dries Van Noten when he came into the space. Of course Walter Van Beirendonck was there (he's running the fashion dept. now).

My first time in Belgium I was a little disappointed to find that the Belgian fashion I love so much didn't seem to be as loved (or worn) by the Belgians. So, it was nice to finally see some people dresses in Belgian fashion as well. I saw a small group of people obviously dressed in Ann Demeulemeester clothing but I didn't see Ann at the event, and I didn't have to nerve to strike up a conversation. I just figured they all worked for Ann in some respect. I also saw a guy that I recognized from Demeulemeester's runways. It turns out that he is, David Flamee, the project manager of the Flanders Fashion Institute.

There was an interesting woman wearing a head piece which I later found out was Diane Pernet. I also saw a man that I think was Stephen Jones, as he was featured in the Fashion Show catalog and I believe his company produced some of the headwear the students designed (some of which were fantastic).

In the evening I walked back to the Hangar were the awards show was and met up with several people from Theo so we could see the final fashion show and attend the aftershow dance party. It was nice of Theo to provide tickets for any employee that wished to attend (which I was a little surprised it wasn't everyone). I can't really go into the details of the fashion show but it was a show for the first through fourth year students. Each year of students showed a range of clothing with the first year students showing, three pieces and the graduates showing about 12 full silhouettes including shoes, hats, accessories, make-up, etc... I was astonished at the amount of work produced by all the students. It made my feel that the Cornish interiors department wasn't so demanding. I didn't care for a lot of the clothing but some things were really great and a lot of the concepts were interesting. The show I felt was an overall success.























At the afterparty I ran into some friends I had made on my previous visit to Antwerp. I talked to some of my coworkers, danced a little (the music wasn't so good) but mostly I just walked around, drank and looked at people. I think I arrived back at my apartment around 3am.

The following week at work was pretty uneventful if I recall. I did finally contact Romy Smits, a Dutch designer living in Antwerp for the last 14 years or so and on Friday, July 20 I met her at her studio. We talked for about an hour and she gave me a little background on herself (she worked for Dries Van Noten for 8 years) and the design community in Antwerp. She also introduced me to Roland Maas who was finishing a collaborative video for London Fashion Week. It was nice talking about design/art/fashion as well as getting more information about Antwerp in general. I was feeling really inspired by the time I left Romy's showroom.

On Saturday I finally went shopping at the Demeulemeester boutique! I ended up getting a great pair of printed pants and my first pair of Demeulemeester sneakers (which were off season and the last pair happened to be my size). Sales don't start until the first of July but I ended up getting a discount on my pants as well since I'm obviously a fan of clothing, and I recognized the woman that I purchased things from on my first visit in 2006.

Saturday night I went dancing at Pier 19 which hosts a party once a month. They tend to play more alternative rock and new wave-ish stuff. I arrived around 11 and returned home around 4 am. I was the only person dancing to a few songs at the beginning of the night which was a little awkward given the layout of the space (not designed for dancing) but who ran listen to Red Right Hand and not dance? Obviously a lot of people, but not me. Anyway, people finally did start dancing. I got approached about where to buy drugs and then realized I was wearing my white pants again. Apparently drug dealers wear white. Attention drug dealers: Don't wear white if you want to avoid getting singled out by police. I also was told I was beautiful, which is always nice, but it would be great if it was by a woman for once.

Sunday I walked and rode around the city. I also went to the MoMu to see the Veronique Branquihno show which turned out to be excellent. Later in the day I finally got out my maps and rode my bike to BVBA 32 otherwise known as Demeulemeester's home and office/studio. It was only about a 20-25 minute bike ride and that includes stopping to look the map. The area she lives in is very close to an expensive part of town but her house (the only Corbusier house in Belgium) is between a open greenspace and an beat up apartment building on a small street leading to a less expensive neighborhood. I was happy to finally see the house in person though but the studio façade is covered in ivy so there's not much to see.

The following week I picked up my pants from the Demeulemeester shop (they had to be altered) and I ended up getting a black suede belt (to match a second pair of Demeulemeester shoes that I found on line along with a couple other things).

On Wednesday I met up with a good friend of a friend mine in Portland. The two haven't seen each other in 15 years or so, but they have kept in contact, so my friend thought her friend and I should meet. We meet up in Groenplaats and walked to a cafe near the Demeulemeester boutique for a drink. It was nice talking to an American that has lived in Antwerp for a few years (she married a Belgian) and could give me a little insight into this country.

I found out that a friend of mine, Carlos Aires, who I saw at the fashion show party was having a gallery show Thursday night so I went to the gallery after to see him again. The show featured three artists and Carlos, who I only knew worked in photography and video, was showing vinyl silhouettes made from recycled records, which were great. There was another artist at the show that covered one wall with large charcoal drawings. I ran into one of the fashion students that we had helped at the opening as well and it turned out he also knows Carlos (Antwerp is a small city). I did manage to strike up conversations with a few people which is good and doesn't happen nearly enough.

I didn't really do anything over the weekend except hang out in my apartment, ride my bike, walk around and watch television.

The next week I found out through a friend on mine in the Netherlands that there was going to be a minimalist electronic music performance by Phill Niblock (a pioneer in minimalism) on the following Friday. On Wednesday I went back to Demeulemeester for the start of the official sale and I found a pair of pink-ish corduroy pants and a black cotton v-neck sweater which were both from past season so they were 70% off. I also saw a great off-white leather jacket that I was seriously considering but int he end decided against it. I am definately going to have to ship some things back to the states before I leave since there is no way everything will fit in my suitcases.

Friday evening, July 4, I rode my bike to 't Werkhuys in Borgerhout, a suburb of Antwerp, where the Niblock show was going to be. Like usual I was early and had to wait around for the doors to open. It was nice to get out to a different part of the city. The venue was pretty small but it was a nice change after the AB shows in Brussels. I expected a larger crowd as well but it always surprises me that there isn't a bigger audience for challenging modern music. Phill was joined by a few other musicians (electronic and acoustic) and was showing films from a small fishing village. I couldn't tell when the film was made but it looked like it was 20-30 old. After the show I waited around a bit to see if I could maybe introduce myself to Phill (he's known my friend in the Netherlands for years), but he was in conversation with other people and I was getting tired. I did manage to meet, Giles and Patries, the couple that run the space (and also know my friend).

Saturday I walked around the city some more and bought some socks. I picked up some old shirts from the Demeulemeester shop that were being altered for me and ended up coming out with a new shoulder bag, which I had almost bought in Tokyo in March, and I saw it again in NYC. Saturday night I made reservations for dinner at Den Arme Duivel, the restaurant that a coworker of mine works at on the weekends. The city is really getting busy on the weekends, with sales and vacations bringing in a lot of vistors. This was only my third dinner out in Antwerp as I'm still trying to adjust to the high restaurant prices (almost 2x as much as in Portland) thankfully tipping here isn't done much, or to the degree it is in the states. At dinner the couple sitting next to me started up a conversation. They were both from Amsterdam (the Dutch, I've been told, are more likely to chat with strangers). It was nice talking to them and they told me they thought I was probably Belgian until they heard me talk and then they could tell I just wasn't a typical American, which thankfully I am not.

On Sunday I rode my bike for four hours or so and eventually went back to Ann neighborhood to take photos of the Corbusier house (most of which came out really over exposed).























During the week I at work I continued to work on some frame designs as well as some stands and displays. I also finally met Patrick Hoet who is the original and main designer behind Theo.

Thursday night I didn't sleep well and on Friday I had to get up at 5am to catch the train to the Brussels National Airport for my flight to Vienna. I tried to pack as light a possible since I had to bring my dj-ing equipment.

I got into Vienna around 12:30 and was met by my friend. We took the subway back to his neighborhood and then I freshed up a little since Vienna was much hotter than Belgium and traveling always makes me sticky. I put on my new shoes (my third pair of Demeulemeester trainers that had been shipped to my friends house) and we went out for a walk. I took some photos and we went for an early dinner at a Japanese restaurant on the same block as my friends apt. bldg. After dinner we went back to the apartment and rested then got ready for our dj gig at FLUC, where we had dj-ed together in 2006. It was very warm out when we got to the club so we, along with everyone else, sat outside, drank and chatted. I met some more friends of my friend and some people I had met on previouse trips to Austria. There were actually 4 djs so we all took turns playing and late in the evening people finally started to dance. At 4am the bartenders were ready to shut down so they turned off the power to the stereo, which was a bad way to end the night. We hung around for another hour and caught the first subway back to the apartment.

Saturday we woke up a little bit late and then went to see a couple exhibits in the MuseumsQuarter. One show was titled PUNK and was about the punk movement in London, Berlin and New York. Overall I thought the show was good but there were a lot of people and bands missing. I also thought they could have made the show a little more punk. The other exhibit was on Derek Jarman and included many of his films and paintings/sculpture as well as a new biographical film on his life. This show was good but really required a lot more time than I had to spare. I am looking forward to seeing the biography on dvd at some point.

Saturday evening we went to a friends apartment for a rooftop bbq. However, by the time we arrived the sky was clouding over and thunderstorms were in the future. We started off the evening with some laundry as my friend's machine broke while we were washing some clothes.

The hosts of the bbq had a top floor apartment with some nice furniture and a great art collection. We spent a little time on the roof deck but then retreated inside when the wind started to pick up and the thunder was seen in the distance. We talked and drank and ate for several hours and were joined by a couple more friends. Finally, sometime after 1:00 (I think) we made our way back home.

Sunday we got up and had breakfast and looked through some slide film. In the afternoon we made our way to a grocery store that was open and then went back to our friends' apartment for a second bbq (since there was so much food left over from the previous night). This time we actually got to sit on the roof deck and enjoy the view while we talked.

Sunday evening my friend and I went to the Arena to see Patti Smith and her band. It was an open air show and was pretty crowded by the time we arrived. The concert was fantastic and she opened the set with Pissing in a River which was great. They also did a great cover of Smells Like Teen Spirit which was really powerful. It threatened to rain for most of the show but we had luck and were spared from another wet outdoor concert experience.

After the show we the friends we had met at the show (the bbq hosts) took a cab to Fluc for some more conversation and drinks. A musician I really like, FM Einheit was going to play that evening but we ended up leaving in time to catch the final train back into town.

Monday we got up and had breakfast. I packed my things up and then we headed off to a cafe. It was great being in Vienna again and I was surprised that it felt like a much bigger city to me than Antwerp. The buildings are all taller and more massive and the streets are wider. I don't think it's something I would notice except now that I've spent some time here I'm used to the size of Antwerp.























I returned home Monday evening and after going to the grocery store spent the resting and watching television. The weather here is a grey as usual. I'm really used to this type of weather being from the NW but it's July and this is getting tiring.

Tuesday was a pretty uneventful evening which was fine since Wednesday was the big Lou Reed BERLIN show at Bozar in Brussels. I was really looking forward to the show since I first got my ticket in May. Both the album Berlin and myself had release dates in 1973, so I sort of felt like this was a 35th birthday gift. After work I rode to the train station and caught an early train to Brussels. I was in the city by 7:00 and the show didn't start until 8:30. I picked up my ticket from the box office and then walked around a bit and went to a cafe for a beer. Around 8:00 I walked to the venue and took my seat. I was in row P seat 21, which is in the front section on the right side. I was maybe 15 yards away from the stage but I had a great view of Lou and the stage.

I was looking around the crowd to see if I'd recognize anyone, but I didn't. I was hoping to see Ann Demeulemeester at the show as she is a fan of his but I didn't see anyone I knew. The woman sitting in front of me was wearing a Demeulemeester coat though, which I thought was a good sign.

The band was introduced and came out along with a choir and a string and horn section. The sets were done by Julien Schnabel. The full Berlin set was performed and I was going to leave after Lou gave acknowledgements and left the stage but the lights didn't go on so I went back to my seat and about 10 minutes later the band was back on stage doing a cover of Satellite of Love, followed by Walk on the Wild Side and Rock-n-Roll then turned into a cover of another song. The band left again but came back for one final number.

After the show I ran to the station to see if I could catch an earlier train but missed it by a couple minutes, so I had some time to kill. You can drink in public, in the station and on the train Belgium, so I thought I'd take advantage of it. I walked to the city center and bought a Chimay (it had an unusual all brown label on it) and a water then walked back to the station. The last train from Brussels to Antwerp is at 23:35 (11:35PM) and is a local train which means it stops at every small village. I got back into Antwerp after 12:30 and rode my bike back to the apartment.

So now it's Thursday and the workday is nearly over. I got a package from my friend in Japan that I picked up at the post office during lunch. It will be nice wearing new pajamas and being able to make Japanese curry at home this weekend.

The square in front of my building is nearing completion which is great. The cafe seating areas have a lot more room now and aren't right up against the building. I'm anxious to see what will happen this weekend when the market opens.
























Tomorrow I have a hair appointment and then I'm going to Morstel Belgium to have a traditional Belgian dinner with my new American friend, her husband and sister.

Until the next time.

-Dustin