bee platoon

In 14 days time a new Platoon branch in Berin-Spandau will be opened. The three containers which are made of high-density styrofoam comply with the "deutsch-normal" norm and are going to host 20.000 workers in the beginning. The workforce is expected to grow to 50.000 during the summer. The complex has its own airfield, living quarters, kindergarden, training facilities and a storage area for honey and pollen as well as its own security service.

The main focus of the "Apis" workers is the production of honey and pollen. For the production of one pound of honey the Platoon crew needs an average of 10.000 working hours in which they visit about 10 millions blossom. The new branch is going to be headed by a queen bee from the island of Sylt and will set new standards in efficiency.

For more information please contact the
platoon.spandau recruiting officer

create or die

since he won the golden bear at berlinale 2009 for the best short film his name resounds throughout the land.
david o`reilly, a berlin based artist from ireland is one of the new faces in animation and motion graphics. he had his break though with the short film "please say something" and has been doing animation sequences for the film "the hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy (2005)".
the aesthetic of his short films is very stripped down - i really like the use of perspectives in "please say something". despite to the often said rawness of his animations, o`reilly says that most of his aesthetic choices are more about economy than finding a unique style. to the question about what it is that enables him to be creative, he answears that it´s the limitations of software- "when your imagination comes into contact with limitations it produces ideas." read the whole interview

david o`reilly definitely brings a fresher feel into the motion graphics and animation business- although he has to commit that it´s hard to earn a living from independent animation projects. in the hope to see more independent projects soon..check out his current works on his website

mission through mecklenburg

although summer blinked for a few days last week already - i don't want to withhold my last mission through mecklenburg-western pomerania in march this year. especially around the beautiful lake area, i had the chance to experience some survival training. not that i did run out of water or alcoholic baverages (plenty of beers, wine and whiskey stashed away) - good food in the fridge, and accompanied by my lovely girlfriend - no - we got stuck in the downs of the neverending mecklenburg sand. some people might expect it along beautiful beaches or in the sahara - but not there.
equipped with all you need - shovel, slabs, rocks, warm PLATOON clothing and lots of endurance, after two and a half hours, cold fingers and some final support from a local farmer - we could continue or mission.

rid on with the immortal 30 year old 207 "westphalia".

TNT VOL.3 SEOUL, THU 7TH MAY - SUN 10TH MAY

we have been reporting about the TNT show in the past and are happy to announce that the international tee tour exhibition vol.3 SEOUL is going to be placed at PLATOON KUNSTHALLE.

TNT VOL.3 SEOUL gathers people who create t-shirts as an art piece. 20 artists from 6 different countries (germany, usa, spain, england, france, korea) will show their works for four days in the main hall of the PLATOON KUNSTHALLE. invited guests are momo, who recently collaborated with yohji yamamoto at the new york collection, and the german artist group OH!LOGO. The whole program consists of an opening party, live painting performance, workshops, an online call-for-entries, the t 30 exhibition, the flea+T market and closing party.

program details:

OPENING PARTY 7th may, 8 pm
with buffe+t, number play and kim hangul plastic surgery, dj sascha, dj conan, vj bbagi and live painting performance by momo.

WORKSHOPS 9th may, 3pm - 7pm
schedule:
3:00 - 3:40 pm - momo 'my work
3:50 - 4:30 pm - OH!LOGO 'my work + do it!'
5:00 - 5:40 pm - human tree 't business'
5:50 - 7:00 pm dekal 'mmt (making my t)!'

in order to participate, please register to augustoz@hanmail.net. the fee is 30,000 KRW.

FLEA+T MARKET 10th may, 1pm - 6pm
sellers can apply to musical72@hanmail.org. for questions call Hye-Young Cho 010-4001-4515
please bring a nice t-shirt for exchange with others and to donate it to the charity organization "beautiful store".

CLOSING PARTY 10th may, 9pm
with dj sasha and more...

Check out the TNT website for further information (korean only)

buddha´s birthday

on may 2nd whole korea was celebrating buddha´s 2553rd birthday. here are some impressions of the ceremonies and the decorations of the temples.

review helvetica @ PLATOON KUNSTHALLE

just giving an impression to everybody who couldn't join us at PLATOON KUNSTHALLE in seoul last night for the screening of helvetica, a documentary film directed by gary hustwit.
thanks to everybody for that cosy night - let even me know how an event like this fits to that lovely place here...

(history of) labour day

international workers' day is a celebration of the social and economic achievements of the international labor movement. labour day commonly sees organized street demonstrations and street marches by millions of working people and their labour unions throughout most of the countries of the world — though, as noted below, rarely in the united states and canada.

since 1987 it has also become known for heavy riots in some districts of berlin. after police action against the radical leftist block in that year's annual demonstrations, the autonome scattered and sought cover at the ongoing annual street fair in kreuzberg (three years prior to the reunification, violent protests would only take place in the former west berlin). the former protesters began tipping over police cars, violently resisting arrest, and began building barricades after the police withdrew due to the unforeseen resistance. cars were set on fire, shops plundered and burned to the ground. the police were eventually able to end the riots the following night. these violent forms of protests by the radical left, including the punk rock scene, later increasingly involved participants without political motivation.
however, violence has been on the decline. annual street fairs have proven an effective way to prevent riots, and labour day in 2005 and 2006 have been among the most peaceful known to berlin in nearly 25 years. in recent years, neo-nazis and other groups on the far right like the npd have also used the day to schedule public demonstrations, often leading to clashes with left-wing protesters, which turned especially violent in the historical city of Leipzig in 1998 and 2005.


stamp of gdr's 1. mai
the 1987 protests were not the first to turn violent though. in 1929, the social democratic spd government prohibited the annual may day workers' demonstrations in berlin. the communist party kpd, which was the strongest party in berlin, called demonstrations nonetheless. by the end of the day, 32 demonstrators, workers and bystanders had been killed by the police, at least 80 were seriously injured. the berlin police, under control of the supposedly pro-labour social democratic government, had fired a total of 11,000 rounds of live ammunition. this incident, remembered in the german language as Blutmai (blood may) deepened the split between the workers' parties kpd and spd, that eventually gave an advantage to the nsdyp over their anti-fascist opponents in the parliament.

even though todays rumours predict different - this years labour day street party in kreuzberg seems to turn into a riot-free and hugh jam session with 19 stages and more then 100 live acts!

THU APR 30, 7:30 PM / MOVIE NIGHT with HELVETICA

PLATOON KUNSTHALLE invites you to join a special movie night event on: thursday 30th april 2009, 7.30 pm

helvetica is a feature-length independent film about typography, graphic design and global visual culture. helvetica encompasses the worlds of design, advertising, psychology, and communication, and invites us to take a second look at one of the most popular fonts (not only) in the western world. the film was shot in high-definition on locations in the united states, england, the netherlands, germany, switzerland, france and belgium.

the screening will be followed by a second part, the discussion round with experts of korean typography.

from 10pm you are free to direct your attention to our fine selection of drinks and music, freshly served by bartenders and a dj.

hope to see you soon!