The opening party was going strong when I arrived, and the gallery was packed full of enthusiastic young art lovers from every walk of life. I saw dirty-haired hipsters in rompers, young professionals still in their suits, creative-types in ethnic dress, and skaters that looked more likely to create their own street art in a back alley than to buy someone else’s in a gallery.
The attitude of the party was distinctly democratic. There were no art snobs there, only people filled with a pure enthusiasm for creative expression. Even the artists were happy to speak to anyone with a question or autograph request. While I talked to Hera on the ephemeral nature of their work, a large, sweaty fan boi came over, put his arms around my friend and me, and drunkenly told us that Hera is a gorgeous woman not of this world, with talent and beauty to spare. She graciously thanked him, and we waited awkwardly while he shook her hand for an uncomfortable amount of time and then lumbered off. “You were asking how audiences are different?” she said, laughing. “That’s how! People in the US and New York are not afraid to say what they think, whether it’s a compliment or a complaint. In Germany, they may think that if they don’t have something smart to say, they should just be quiet and bite their nails and keep it inside, but in the US, we get a lot more feedback.” And neither Hera nor Akut is a stranger to that particular type of “feedback.” Each of them spent most of the night surrounded by the opposite sex, fans hanging off their every word. “It doesn’t hurt that they’re both so good-looking,” remarked Rosa, acting photographer of the night.
On the way to the after party at the GATES, I was intrigued to ask Akut why he feels compelled to create, “Why? Why does any artist or musician or writer do what they do? We are like a screaming child! We have to let our parents and the whole world know, ‘I am here!’
Herakut. Red Flagg, 638 West 28th Street, NYC, May 21 – July 3, 2009,
