Right in the middle of 2024 it seems AI is everywhere. Certainly every electronic device is now shipped with some form of AI, cars use AI, cameras use AI, even fridges and toasters use AI. AI has become the buzzword of 2024 and it seems to be hard to ship new products without having AI in mind. But does this all make sense? What's the purpose of AI, what are the disciplines where AI is really transformative and soon will be unthinkable without the use of AI? read more…
There's much to say about Gerhard Richter, there's a long life full of interesting and always zeitgeisty works to cover. But this is not an essay, these are just 500 words to give you a quick of the kind of works he became so famous for. Gerhard Richter is an icon, a landmark in the world of visual arts. I guess this is true not just for Germany, but for the global art industry as a whole. His pieces successfully create record prices in the art circle. Whatever he does seems to become an almost unreal success.
I guess what makes him unique in many ways is his ability to recognize trends and moods within current societies. His works always seem to be fresh and up to date. Whenever one technique seems to age, he shifts his efforts away to the next one and creates something remarkable out of it. Every single time. He seems to be able to invent himself anew whenever a new innovation seem to be necessary. It would be misleading to call him trendy, though. His analysis of the world often goes much deeper than that. read more…
The history of northern Italy is complex. It's a constant back and forth between different political and religious forces, between different cultures and ideals, between different interests. Guelphs and Ghibellins are two factions that developed in the 11th and 12th century. Their names originated from different opposing families in Germany. Guelphs ist the Italian form of the House of Welf, a family of dukes in Bavaria, a part of northern Germany. Their constant opponents were the Ghibellins originating in the family of Hohenstaufen. read more…
Thousand miles through northern Italy, a round trip from Brescia down to Rome and back up to Brescia again. Vintage cars, old towns and cities, curvy roads and a lot of history. That's Mille Miglia.
In a way I like cars. Cars are wonderful design objects telling a lot about the history and the paradigms of a certain period of time. On the other hand I don't exactly love cars like others do. To me cars are often noisy, too big and too fast for densely populated environments. But certainly I agree, cars are not only convenient, they are defining objects of our time. Still. So it's hard to not like cars. read more…
There's only so much you can do. There's only so much you can see or find. There's only so much you can research. Most often things just occur. Without your understanding or your knowledge. The world exists without a greater plan and without a map laying out all the details of life. This play of fully independent but also fully innocent forces can sometimes be intimidating and overwhelming. But isn't it miraculous and wonderful at the very same time? read more…