In front of the house I live in, there’s a big field. I don’t know who the owner is, but apparently, they rent it out to local farmers who then grow something there. Last year and this year, they grew potatoes. That’s not necessarily a pretty sight, especially once the plants die off. The harvest then comes later.

When I came back from Germany, I found that still about half of the field had been left unharvested. I didn’t remember how they went about it the year before. And there were big trucks filled with potatoes driving by every day. Maybe they would still harvest them?

But no, the other day, a tractor, pulling some device, plowed everything under. Maybe by that time, the potatoes were spoiled? My landlord collected a few, and I don’t think he would collect spoiled potatoes.

What a waste this was, though! And to think about all of those people who can’t afford groceries and have to go to food banks… I don’t even want to imagine how many people could have been fed with those potatoes.

Given my day job, I don’t have quite as much time any longer for my creative endeavours. Since coming back from Germany, I have spent a lot of it on my upcoming publication, a collection of photographs and texts about going back to the place where I was born to attend my estranged father’s funeral. This past week, the texts have really fallen into place. Now, I can think about assembling it. Next time, I should have more details on the publication. In the meantime, here’s another photograph from the project:

Franz Xaver Messerschmidt was a sculptor, and he lived from 1736 to 1783 in Vienna. If you’ve never heard of the name, you still might have some ideas what his work looks like. In all likelihood, you’re completely wrong. Here is a long article about the man, with plenty of his busts to admire.

I found this interview with Ditte Haarløv Johnsen the other day, after I heard about her new book. The book is about Mozambique — where the photographer grew up. I don’t know whether it’s a book where my writing my add anything to it; so I thought I’d simply share the interview.

This is the main thing that has changed for me: when considering whether I want to write about something, for example a photobook, I don’t think any longer about whether the work is any good. Instead, I think about whether I think I can write smartly about it. Not that that always succeeds; but if I already know in advance that I have nothing of value to add, I now pass on a book, however good it might be.

“One of the things this government doesn’t want to hear,” Zadie Smith writes, “is that what defines a nation – in its own eyes and in the eyes of others – is, in the end, not the size and scope of its military hardware, or even the wealth it amasses, but the culture it creates.”

Depending on your preferences, you could view this video as elaborate performance art, as brilliant reporting, or as anything in between. If you’ve never seen it, make sure to what the whole thing.

“Berlin performs freedom when celebrated,” writes Day Eve Komet, “and becomes unmistakably German when criticized.”

I had another link for you. But now the site won’t load. Very curious. I’ll try again next time.

Today is what they call Black Friday. The consumerism behind this has always puzzled me. To imagine that I’d rush out of the door to buy something at a discount… So I have never done this. I mean, it’s just another Friday, isn’t it?

So I hope that whatever you might be doing this Friday, I hope it has been a joyful day.

And thank you for reading!

— Jörg