Minox Girl at Photokina 2008, Cologne, Germany
I have mixed emotions about Photokina 2008. On one hand, it's interesting and kind of fun, and on the other hand, it's disgusting and nauseating.
Overall, it's an exercise in greed, consumption, overindulgence, etc. all of things people say that I'm (and most Americans) an expert in. Seriously, it was disturbing to be there as the economy (Wall Street) in America was tanking, not to mention the ongoing suffering and hunger throughout the world. It's just hard to reconcile all of it looking at $5,000 (USD) cameras and $10,000 (USD) printers. Mostly, it was middle-aged men drooling over phalic toys they couldn't afford. C'mon, nothing is that important! Maybe I'm just getting old and soft (I can validate the "soft", it's true).
My main bitch is that it was €21 Euros to get into the place (that's $32 U.S. dollars today). Are we paying to get into a place to see what we want to buy? We're paying people to advertise to us!! Wow!! Wrap your head around that one!
My praises: There were some pretty interesting advancements in technology. The printers were unbelievable. All of them cranking out huge (8' x 12') color digital prints (if it's big, it's important)! They called it the "fine art printing section." The underwater cameras were pretty cool too. Not that I would ever need any of this stuff, but you know, it was kind of fun to see.
Billy Cargile, my new co-worker went with me. We didn't really want too stay long. We just wanted to hit some of the highlights and head back south. It was a 3.5 hour drive back because of traffic jam (Stau) just outside of Cologne. It's always fun to wrap a day of consumption around a 4 hour traffic jam. Yummy!
I suppose it was a good excuse to get out of the studio take a long drive and bum around Cologne again (it's a great city). As a side note, Cologne (Köln) is a very progressive and art centered city. I've been to a couple of art shows in Köln that I really enjoyed. The people are great too.
Back to Photokina... am I going to Photokina 2010.. ? No - been there done that and got the Minox ad to prove it.
Billy Cargile at Photokina - September, 2008