Life Ball 2014

The Life Ball in Vienna is the biggest charity event in Europe, supporting people with HIV or AIDS. The event is organized by the nonprofit organization AIDS LIFE, which was founded in 1992 by Gerry Keszler and Torgom Petrosian. Their organization supports other aid organizations devoted to helping people who are HIV-positive or have AIDS.

The Life Ball is one of the biggest and most spectacular annual charity events in the world and has attracted strong international interest attention. It is taking place every year at the end of May on Viennese city hall square & inside of the Viennese city hall.
The opening gala features a wide variety of music, from operetta to pop, national and international stars, and the fashion show on the huge Red Ribbon stage. Guests can dance in the various patios and rooms of the city hall as they enjoy the offerings of the many bars and buffets.

I usually watch the live stream on TV and I really enjoy the colorful costumes from the various people as well as the fashion show (which is sponsored by a well known designer varying every year).
This year the dress code is "garden of eden".

Here are some of my favorite outfits of tonight's event (all pictures by APA) :

Have you ever seen or been to the Vienna Life Ball? Which costume would you dress up? 
Let me know in the comments :)

this week's ups & downs

Although this week is not over yet, I have to make a quick look back and keep track of it's good & bad days, or in other words: my up's and down's of the week

UP
+ my statistics seminar is amazing and better than I thought. the professor is really engaged and can teach the most complex things in an easy way. so happy about that!
+ I had my first scoop of watermelon icecream this year at danube canal. There will be a three day festival as well in the next few days, named Kanaltreiben. Looking forward to see some free shows!
+ Soaking up the sun & good weather outside
+ bought two new pair of sandals today (which means they are really cheap and probably will color my feet after wearing them at really hot days, but I don't care, I think they look really cute)
+ had the first outdoor barbecue of this Summer with some Erasmus guys and some friends yesterday night on danube island (next to the danube river): yummy & funny. More of those nights, please!

DOWN
- University STRESS is sucking the relaxed life modus out of me. The big exams are hovering around the corner and I tell myself to drink less coffee and study more, but it's hard these days ... due to the heatwave I rather spend my time outside at the danube island (Donauinsel) or in front of our appartment in a big park... eating icecream or drinking iced coffee latté with friends.
I am keen on finishing my degree as soon as possible, but at the same time I don't want to put myself under too much pressure. I am still human, not a robot. So a litte bit of studying & a little bit of play will have to work, it's all about balance!
- all the series finales were so sad! Grey's Anatomy and The Originals was an epic cryfest, literally. I will miss Christina in GA so much :(
- the handymen beneath our appartment started drilling and hammering away at 7 in the morning every day this week. I hope they will be finished with their renovation work soon!

What about your week? What were your high's and low's, your best moments or worst ones? Tell me! I'm curious! :)

#collect:design I want

My interior design project is stuck in a hopeless procrastination session, so I have to find another outlet for inspiration ... already great designs! & yes. I am "one of those people" who can stare at a beautiful object or chair for hours while others would just pass by without noticing its beauty. nerd alarm! :-)

The CH88 dining chair by Danish designer Hans Wegner was created in 1955, but never produced. Now it is produced and available to buy. (carlhansen.com) Perfect for stacking, I'd love to have 4 of those, please! 

Next on my list is a beautifully crafted whiskey glass. I am a sucker for all things geometric and crossed lines. Design by Stefan Scholten & Baijings (Milan 2014):

Eoos Joco have designed the perfect sidetable, in my oppinion. Simple and black.

Kawamura Ganjavian has designed the "Oyster": a foldable felted seat that is intended to bring a touch of cosiness to sleek, modern furniture.

Last, but not least on this week's list is the wooden stationary set by Tofu. Especially love the bowl on the top left, just for the sticky tape! :)

>> Which design things are you currently hunting for? Do any of these things tickle your fancy?

The year of the "grandes directeurs" - the big directors @Festival de Cannes 2014

In all honesty one can say I am a film geek. I have my favorite genres (drama, biopic, comedy), my favorite actors and actresses (Johnny Depp, Leonardo DiCaprio, Keira Knightley, Mia Wasikowska), but most of all: my favorite directors including Jean-Luc Godard and Martin Scorsese.

83 year old Godard is presenting his new film "Goodbye to language" at the Cannes Film Festival and is competing for the prize (la Palme d'Or) in the main section. You can find the trailer (french only) here. I am really looking forward to the reviews of this particular film. It's a 3D experiment movie, so to speak. Godard never seems to disappoint his audience and has a lot of creativity which a lot of younger directors don't act out. Curious!

What else is going on in Cannes: The canadian filmmaker David Cronenberg brings along his new movie called "Maps to the stars", including Robert Pattinson and Julianne Moore in a Hollywood satire. The trailer can be found on this page.

The reason for the absence of the Royal family of Monacco is simple: The opening movie is about Grace Kelly, Princess of Monaco and fashion icon played by Nicole Kidman. They did not consent with the script and did not come like they usually do. I would go, if I could. Noone likes to miss a good party, right?

More information on the Cannes Film Festival: http://www.festival-cannes.com/

15 facts about me

1] I love eating breakfast in bed, although I have sleeping on toast crumbs afterwards.

2] When I was 12 years old I went to my first riding class. I had so much fun and the teacher even told me I was talented - I didn't believe him! So the next time I went there, I took a camera with me and filmed him saying that I was talented. I showed it to my mum at home, but she still did not let me continue with my new found hobby. Tragedy!

3] The first CD I bought myself was Britney Spears' first album. The first CD I got as a present was from a guy (!) the Backstreet Boys album. Can you tell I am a kid of the 9o's?

4] My favorite band is Mando Diao. They are from Borlänge. Same town as the guys from The Lance, who I once helped planning a tour for.

5] I am language obsessed. My mother tongue is German, I speak and write English like it's been my 2nd language and I had four years of studying French in school. I know also some basics of Spanish and Swedish.

6] If someone reads a newspaper I bought before I have, I don't want to read it anymore and feel like they have taken the "new-ness" out of it :S

7] My favorite time of the year is Summer. Sunshine, icecream, the beach, what else do you need?

8] I prefer seminars to lectures, because I love working on my own more than just listening to somebody talking or worse, reading words of a powerpoint presentation.

9] I have a coffeine addiction, even though I can only drink one cup or else I get really aggressive and nervous.

10] My favorite song at the moment is Oceans by Coldplay. When they played the song for the first time live on bbc radio 1 live lounge, I was in the library studying. In a study break my friend asked me why I was smiling all the time. - "Coldplay played a new song!" - enough explanation.

11] I live in a shared flat appartment with two other students in the center of Vienna.

12] My first music crush was Robbie Williams. I still like his live shows and won't forget his open air show last Summer in Krieau, Vienna. When the sun went down and the stars came out, it didn't feel like an audience of 50.000 people. More like one big wave of sympathy, melting in the dark.

13] Last year I worked in a real photography studio and fulfilled myself a dream. Unfortunately, it wasn't as exciting as I thought it would be. (But I really enjoyed learning some good retouching tricks and the guys I worked with over there. We basically kept the business running.)

14] When I first met J (my boyfriend), I thought he was from Germany, because of his accent. Turns out he is Swedish and speaks German really well. ;)

15] I want to study abroad for my Masters' degree next year. Still have to find out, what and where.

about me

Hi, I'm Isa, living and studying in Vienna ... this is my place to collect and share all things I love and stumble upon this crazy hazy world: photography, art, music, food, books, movies, fashion, traveling, design and so on. Add some rambling commentary and you have the full package. I like my freckles, neuropsychology and taking pictures at night.

Oh and yes: I also like answering questions - so fire away!

Don't you want to go the seaside?

It's currently too cold for this time of year, plus exam time is soon to be here and I am dreaming of far away beaches and the sounds of waves crushing onto the sand bed.

I wish I could go on holiday this Summer, but I guess this won't work out this year - I have to feed my travel desire with pictures, for now.

- Don't you want to go to the seaside? -

>> Do you have any plans for your Summer holidays? Any place you always wanted to go to? Let me know!

#artspiration #1: Hundertwasser

I am constantly looking for new ways to find inspiration, but I also wanted to find a way to collect my favorite artists in one place. So, the #artspiration (art/inspiration) tag was born. I will try to post this at least once a week (yeah, I have too many artists that I love and want to share with you.).

The first one is an Austrian artist, born in Vienna and later living in New Zealand: Friedensreich Hundertwasser - he is one of the best-known contemporary artists in Austria by the end of the 20th century.

His style: His artistic vision is expressed in pictorial art, philosophy, design of facades, architecture and even clothing (among other areas).

Colors&forms: he usually uses bright colors, organic forms and a strong individualism resulting in a rejection of straight lines

When did I first notice his work: I was about 6 or 7 years old when my family and I went to a spa called "Rogner Bad Blumau" in Styria, Austria. Everything there was designed by Hundertwasser. We stayed in the hotel and I was obsessed with the floor in the hallways: instead of being a "normal, straight" floor, it got woobly and wavy on the sides. I loved running on these "imperfect" hilly sides and I loved the unique look of it. Plus, the bath architecture was so colorful, it felt like it was designed for children and children only ;) It made you immediately happy when you entered a new room.

You can't imagine the floor or the spa? Well, here are some pictures:

source: cms.blumau.com

cms.blumau.com

cms.blumau.com

austria.info

Quotes & other: I adore his architecture. One thing he said has really stuck with me: "A person in a rented apartment must be able to lean out of his window and scrape off the masonry within arm's reach. And he must be allowed to take a long brush and paint everything outside within arm's reach. So that it will be visible from afar to everyone in the street that someone lives there, who is different from the imprisoned, enslaved, standardised man who lives next door." He rejected rationalism, the straight line and functional architecture (instead, he loved the form of spirals).

Other favorites of mine:

kunsthauswien.com

Similarities: His use of organic forms and tiles is comparable to the work of Antoni Gaudí.
He was also inspired by the the Austrian painters Egon Schiele and Gustav Klimt.

Personal: According to his friends he lived extremly modest and had not even spent money on a haircut (see: an article about his manager).

Why do I like his art: It is out of the norm and "out of the box", so to speak. I love his mention of a straight line being a "devil's tool" and his soft, round lines in architecture. Plus, his use of colors and geometric forms make me comfortable and alert at the same time. His way of combining architecture and nature in the Bad Blumau is amazing & I can only dream of a house with trees and grass on it like this:

My question for you: Have you ever seen or heard of Hundertwasser
before?  What do you like/not like about his art?