Headfirst Magazine

we brought
this idea to
life
Project managers
Louise jørgensen & lars duvander højholt
Chief Editor
luiz cegato
Photo editor
joshua m. hodge
journalists
mikkel elbech, lasse qvist, louise boo jespersen
daniel b. smith, theis lange olsen, jack parsons
amanda fortier, olav leenborg arnkjaer, saji nahir
Katrina stevenson, teke ngomba, louise jørgensen
Proof-reading
latoyah christie
pr & advertising
lars duvander højholt, daniel lau, sergey karyain
mara erml, anna zamejc, anna nieminen
Photographers
morten flarup andersen, lasse qvist
mikkel elbech, benjamin pomperleau
logo design
novak stefanovic
layout & graphics
version b
print
møllegårdens grafisk // mgrafisk.dk
headfirst magazine
headfirst.dk // [email protected]
Also we would like to express our thanks to:
University of Aarhus; Inger Munck, Danish School of Journalism; Per Mouritsen and Bettina Andersen, Centre for University Studies in Journalism; Christian L.
Sørensen, Aarhus Kommune; Kaja Nørgaard Bertelsen, International Secretariat, AU; Anne Thorø Nielsen, Studenterhus Aarhus; Patrizia Marchegiani, Aarhus
School of Business; Carolina Kamil and everyone else we haven’t mentioned here, but who have played a part in bringing HeadFirst to life.
Dear reader,
We are very glad to present to you HeadFirst, a magazine in English by students, who are aiming to create a milestone in the internationalisation
of Aarhus by building bridges in the international community.The project formed as an idea in the spring of 2007 and with the support of City Hall,
Studenterhus Aarhus and the University of Aarhus, all to whom we are grateful, we are now ready to enrich your life in Aarhus with our first issue.
Our goal was initially to connect international students to the culture, student life and work life opportunities in the city. However bearing in mind
the potential of the idea, the scope was expanded and we no longer talk about focusing on international students only, but reaching all students
with a global mindset living in Aarhus. As time has gone by, we have strived to make the HeadFirst team a proof of our values, and we have been
fortunate to bring in many young and talented students from various nationalities, cultures and study lines who have put their energy in the
project and helped make the magazine come true.Words such as borders and boundaries don´t belong to the vocabulary of our team. We are
aware that if we want to strengthen the international community, we need to be as global as our readers, who do not define or confine themselves
to the boundaries of their origins. What is central is the curiosity towards the multicultural and multinational community, international inspiration
and opportunities wherever they might be. In our first issue we proudly present to you a variety of stories and pictures of visions in Aarhus as
well as visionary people who have faced the challenges of global citizenship and now made a life for themselves in the city. We also give you the
cultural underground and take you through the opportunities of international work life in Aarhus.We strongly believe in the expansion of Aarhus
as a city with opportunities for all. We believe in the diversity of the community as an element to push the growth of the region. We believe in the
exchange of ideas, so we welcome yours as well.
If you think global, you are HeadFirst.
Enjoy your reading!
The He ad F is rt Team
On the 7th February, at the Voxhall, a crowd was gathering for the
night’s entertainment long before the doors were to open. My
photographer and I slipped round the back of the building to meet
tonight’s headline act, The Floor Is Made of Lava. The group were
gathered around a minibus, smoking and sporting stylish outfits,
possibly provided by their fashion label sponsor, Cophenhagen’s Mid.
Munk. Lead singer, Thomby K, was good looking, with neatly sculpted
hair and a carefully trimmed five o’clock shadow; bassist, Simon Visti,
had a blonde porn star moustache and wore a flat cap; and drummer,
Ace Skorpio, was taller than the rest of the band, had long hair and wore
a jacket, shirt and tie with a pair of skinny jeans and sneakers. The fourth
member of the group was Lars Rock, the band’s live guitarist, who was
clad in black.
The band finished their cigarettes and invited my photographer
and I to a restaurant for a fancy meal. Initially, we turned them down,
supposing that we would be biting a size chunk out of the band’s tour
budget on their first day on the road. However, once they explained
that the meal was on the house, paid for by the Voxhall, we graciously
accepted the offer. ”That’s pretty cool for you,” I commented to blonde
bassist Simon as we walked to the nearby Komma restaurant, ”most
FOURTY seven
bands only get a rider consisting of beer and a few sweets”.
”Yeah, its pretty good,” he replied modestly, not telling me the band
also had a crate and a half of beer, a bottle of whiskey and a small buffet
waiting for them back in the venue’s green room.
The Floor Is Made of Lava is a band on the rise. Not only are they
getting perks such as free clothes, food and alcohol, but they are also
getting what every band wants most: recognition. In 2007, the band
were signed to Tabu Records, a Danish hip-hop label that is branching
out, having previously signed VETO, an indie electro act popular in
Scandinavia. In fact, VETO’s vocalist, Troels Abrahamsen, produced
the The Floor Is Made of Lava’s debut album, All Juice No Fruit. When
asked why they signed with Tabu, Thomby said, at the time, the label
was ”pretty much the coolest label in Denmark”. Also, Simon stressed
that major labels would have wanted ”complete control” and ”to keep
them only in Denmark”. With Tabu, they were ”free to do whatever they
want”. Hence, All Juice No Fruit and the single ’Do Your Sister,’ which has
garnered air play on radio stations all over Denmark and subsequent
media attention.
However, the Floor Is Made of Lava hasn’t always had it so good. Up
until recently, the band members have all maintained second jobs to
feed themselves while trying to also establish the band, for instances
Simon works as a substitute teacher in a playschool. Equally, the band’s
sound hasn’t always been the fun, indie rock it is now. When the band
began in March 2006 in Copenhagen, Thomby and Simon – who had
met in university – were planning on making euro-dance music with a
drum machine and a pedal organ. Thankfully, Thomby introduced Simon
to his old high school friend, Ace, and they moved away from this sound,
though not before playing with a variety of synthesisers. The band
became the trio they are today and choose their unique band name
from the children’s game so as to indicate they are a fun band and also
to give allusion to dancing around.
The band’s sound has been compared to reviewers as to similarly to
the UK’s Arctic Monkeys. The band lampoon this with the track ’Who The
Fuck Are The Arctic Monkeys?’ a reference to the British bands famous
EP. Then again, perhaps this is only because they sing in English, like so
many other European bands do. When I asked why the band and other
Europeans sang in this language, they all looked at me as if I’d asked a
ridiculous question with an obvious answer, ”because we wana conquer
the world, it would take twice, maybe five times, as long to conquer the
world in Danish.”
“ W h at o t he r a mbi t oin s do y ou h av e
e x c e p t w or l d domin at oin ? ” I a s k e d.
“ E x t r e me w e a lt h,” s a id A c e .
“ M a n y, m a n y fa s t c a r s ,” s a id T homby.
“- a nd a l a r ge t o y c ol l e c t io n! ” f ut he r a dde d A c e a g a in .
EIGHT FOURTY
The lead singer, who also penned many of the songs, also admitted
he had always written in English, ” I think I have only written one Danish
song”. Its not easy for me, you can hear that the words don’t just pop
into my head, but its pretty much the most natural thing to do.”
After a tasty chicken dish and a couple of beers, the band, my
photographer and myself stepped out of the restaurant so they could
smoke, I could ask them a few questions and Matt could take a few
photos. Lars and a few roadies stayed indoors and relaxed. Lars was not
an official member of the band, he toured with them so Thomby could
fulfil his role as frontman and jump around without being concerned
with playing guitar. However, Thomby played all the guitar riffs on the
album. Lars had been working as The Lava Is Made of Floors live guitarist
almost since their beginning and I asked if they might eventual make
him a full member, ”depends on his song writing. If he’s crappy, we don’t
want him,” said Simon with a smile.
FOURTY seven
We then all returned to the Voxhall and began consuming the
aforementioned beer and buffet. For this gig, The Floor Is Made of Lava
were being supported by Super Troels, nickname of the same Troels
from VETO that produced their album, as well as Aarhus’s youngest stars,
Electrojuice – a pair of 14-year-olds with a prodigal gift for mixing and
DJing. The Floor Is Made of Lava delivered a fun set and fulfilled their
agenda to ”do the gig, go on stage, forget to do drugs and get wasted,”
by hitting the city and going round the clubs after the show, just like a
rock band on the rise should. EIGHT FOURTY
T he Danish Cl a s sr oom t hr ough t he ey e s o f t w o
In t er na t iona l l ec t ur er s .
In t ern at ion a l
Lec t ure s in Å rhus
FOURTY EIGHT
Århus has attracted many international professors to teach
in the city. Two international lecturers who come from totally
different countries, areas of studies and backgrounds share
their teaching experience in a Danish classroom. It is surprising
to see that despite many differences, these two lecturers have
experienced similar things despite of the time separating them
Expectations about Denmark
Dr Armin Geerts is a Theology Professor at Århus University and had
not much an idea about Denmark when he moved to Århus 25 years
ago from the United States. Therefore there were no expectations of
the country but Dr Geertz soon came to know Denmark as a “small
but a brave and peaceful country”. He came to Denmark during the
Vietnam war in the 70’s and was amazed by the unpretentious and
honest criticism and comments made by Danes about the Unites States’
involvement in the Vietnam War.
The same lack of expectations hit Uri Gal, who works in the
Department of Business Studies at Aarhus School of Business and
originates from Israel. “I didn’t have any expectations when came here.
There was a clear definition on what the job entails and the working
conditions, so I did not have any surprises when I came to Århus but I
had a few surprises during my classes.”, he says showing his surprise
FOURTYseven
about the behaviour of students in a Danish classroom.
Uri has spent most of the last few years studying at Hebrew
University of Jerusalem, London School of Economics and Political
Science and Case Western Reserve University, in Ohio. Having
completed his Ph.D. in Information Systems, he worked at his alma
mater in Ohio before applying for jobs all around the world including
Australia and Europe.
THE DANISH CLASSSROOM
Having lived in the States before, Uri is able to give a few insights of the
similarities and differences between Danish and American classrooms.
In Denmark, he was rather impressed by the students in his classes;
most of them were opinionated, talkative and engaged when they
answered questions. His experience in an American classroom was
that the students were more trusting towards what a lecturer had to
say and they expected more
from the teacher. “On the other
hand, Danish students are
more prepared in classes and
I like the fact that they think
critically” says Uri. Apart from
their proactive nature, he is
glad that they share the same sense of dark humour as he does. Uri says
that his cynical sense of nature and humour fit with his Danish students
perfectly.
Moving back 25 years ago, Dr Geertz remembers that the only other
international students in Denmark were fellow Scandinavians. The new
wave of international students from other nations is very recent. There
has been more and more courses taught in English in the University to
serve these students. ‘Now my class consist of a good mix of Danish and
international students’ says Dr Geertz. He adds that the mix is good as
the cultural difference and background of the international students
bring different arguments to a subject that a Danish-only classroom
would not have.
Dr Geertz says that you cannot see apparently the difference
between Danish and international students, but the difference is the
methodology they use, for instance, when they approach a subject to
write for their academic papers. “Students come here for a reason, the
courses they take have to give them the opportunity to take the subject
forward in relations to their culture or background” advises Dr Geertz.
There are many cultural differences here compared to the US says
Dr Geertz he says, for example, he finds Danes
more natural, straightforward, easy to
work with as long as you give them
their personal space and as long as
they have their personal distance.
On the other hand, when Uri first arrived here fresh from the US he
was surprised people gave him second looks when he greeted them
with a how are you. “I resort to a short ‘hi’ when I see pass people
along the corridor now” grins Uri. He also adds that there are very low
hierarchical differences in the work place as compared to the States.
However, both lecturers have positive opinions about the initiatives
taking place in order to make Århus an international city. Uri thinks that
there is a lot more for Århus if it wants to be an international city. “It’s a
cool city and I guess the process of internationalization has just started.
The fact that there are more international lecturers working here is
definitely a sure sign”. Dr Geertz adds that it is nice to see the changes
in Århus leading to be more international as it is starting to have more
efforts in making the city friendlier internationally.
When asked about the most memorable moment in a Danish
classroom, Uri didn´t hesitate to answer: “The most
memorable event for me was when all my
students stood up and gave applause on
the last day of class”.
Dr. Geertz is more philosophical in his
answer, which also deserves a vibrant
applause “there is no one moment
which surprises me. When I
am in class, I get surprised
everyday.”
FOURTY EIGHT
Infinitely terrible, respected film-maker, and former cycling
commentator Jørgen Leth published his autobiography, The
Imperfect Human, in 2005. What then followed was a morality
feud brought forth by the tabloids, bordering on a witch-hunt.
By Theis L. Olsen and Daniel B. Smith
Illustration: Rumle T. Skafte
Haiti, Jacmel: A country with a voodoo religion, one of the most
crime-ridden societies in the world. Jørgen Leth lives there. He left
Denmark in the late 80’s in the slipstream of a depression almost
deriving him of his will to live, allowing him to start over again from
scratch.
A man creating his career
Jørgen Leth was born in Aarhus in 1937 as the eldest of two. In
high school he was editor of the school paper as well as part of the
progressive jazz environment organizing concerts at Bent J. – the sole
jazz club at the time. He later went on to write a weekly column in the
liberal newspaper, The Democrat, touching on jazz and other cultural
happenings before moving to Copenhagen in 1964 to become a
permanent employee at the daily newspaper, Politiken.
In the late 60’s Jørgen Leth was one of the driving forces behind
the experimental avant-garde movement Ab Cinema. A collaboration
between leading artists such as Klaus Rifbjerg, critically acclaimed
author through five decades, and Per Kirkeby, renowned painter and
sculptor. Internationally Jørgen Leth is first and foremost known for
FOURTY seven
his many art films,
including The Perfect
Human, A Sunday in
Hell, Notes on Love and
The Five Obstructions,
the latter featuring The
Cannes Golden Palm winner
Lars von Trier.
Ever fascinated by sensuality,
Jørgen Leth initiated plans in
2005 to make the film The Erotic
Human, introducing himself as an
anthropologist portraying the human
being as an erotic creature. Despite
the project being temporarily delayed
due to the heavy debate following the
publishing of The Imperfect Human,
recent funding by The Danish Film
Institute has spurred a revival. It is now in
the process of completion and is expected to
hit the big screen in the autumn of 2008.
Summertime, France; Jørgen Leth arrives,
prepared to be the commentator for Danish
national television as the broadcasting of Tour de
France is about to begin. The scene is set. He is as
always enthusiastic about the new season, ready to pass
on spectacular stories created by the riders in the field.
Jørgen Leth admires the heroic and steadfast will of the
individual. A fighter on
a bike.
Attacked by the press
The Danish cultural
upbringing emphasizes
individual independence
and the need to think out of
the box. It is an imperative
quality to any small country
in an ever globalized world.
The reactions following the
publishing of The Imperfect
Human in 2005 questioned this
belief. It gave rise to a media surge
that has later been described by
leading newspapers as symptomatic
to a neo-puritan development.
The media storm began when
the Danish tabloid Ekstra Bladet, on
a personal note by chief editor Bent
Falbert, in an internal circular letter wrote
the following: “It is a good thing that we
confront this derailed Leth with today’s front
page. The pompous jack with his perverted
confessions…”
Jørgen Leth was a Danish Honorary Consul in Haiti
when Ekstra Bladet printed the front page: “Kept 17-year-old as sex
slave”, resulting in 11.000 more copies sold than usual, making it a most
profitable case story. The simple matter of the age of the girl in question
led to accusations of child abuse. A reader´s letter from Elisabeth Møller
Jensen president of KVINFO, a national information agency on gender
sex studies, suggested that Jørgen Leth should undergo several surgical
procedures of a rather intimate nature.
However, in Haiti the sexual age of consent is 15, the same as in
Denmark, making at least the age part of the relationship legal. One
week later another
headline read, “Kept
several sex slaves in
Haiti”. Illustrated by a
He lost his job, title,
single picture of Jørgen
respect and honour, and
Leth holding a girl
his artistic freedom was
named Yvrodie, whom
seriously cramped.
he had met in 1993 when
she was 23. They were
together for five years.
Another girl Jørgen Leth
had a long term relationship with stated the following in an interview in
2005:
“It is love. Love. If he has money, I love him. If he has no money, I love
him. I can work and make my own money”.
Kenan Seeberg, employee at Ekstra Bladet and responsible for that
first coverage, had not written that headline used to push the tabloid´s
sales. He later revealed that Bent Falbert had altered the story without
consulting him first, which then led to his resignation as a reporter.
What followed was a major downpour in Jørgen Leth’s life, eventually
FOURTY EIGHT
TV.
as
leading to his
dismissal as Danish
Honorary Consul in
Haiti and as cycling
commentator on Danish
The newspaper Politiken
wrote an editorial
demanding his resignation
Danish Honorary Consul
on the previously stated
grounds, only to admit a few
weeks later that no one had
actually read the book in the
newspaper by that time.
“Love is a passion as well
as an agreement”
“I want to be the white man
with the black woman. I want the
deeply rooted position of power,
not the European conversation. I
am crazy about the love that takes
place during concrete, precise forms of
negotiations.” (-) “…it is precisely intelligent,
European women at an early age that are my
best friends”. (The Imperfect Human/2)
Following the publishing of The Imperfect Human
FOURTY seven
Jørgen Leth saw the symbolic castration of his appointed phallus figure.
He lost his job, title, respect and honour, and his artistic freedom was
seriously cramped. The debaters split up into two wings. From one
perspective Jørgen Leth personifies the lecher and the carrier of the
masculine, compelling glance. The other considers him a scapegoat
or victim of a witch-hunt. He toys with some fantasies that are
deemed forbidden not only by the homogeneous society but by the
heterogeneous as well, ultimately society at large.
On the 17th of June this year you can experience Jørgen Leth telling
about his art and his life and why the book The Imperfect Human was
such an important contribution to the public debate in Denmark. It takes
place in Copenhagen at The Danish Royal Library.
FOURTY EIGHT
When you never know who’s
going to view your profile,
you don’t really know how
to picture yourself
With more than 64 million members, Facebook is one of the most
popular sites online. But what is it that drives young people from all over
the world to sign up? Which interpersonal desire moves them?
One answer could be the need for staging your image. According
to the PhD researcher at the Department of Information and Media
Sciences in the University of Aarhus Niels Brügger, “facebook is a training
course, where you can try out different images”. It is a question of asking
yourself what works for your identity and what doesn’t. This is basically
a questioning that we do in real life as well, but Facebook makes it easier,
faster and more fun.
“Your Facebook profile is a reflection of yourself – as you want to see
yourself. You downplay all the geeky and ugly sides, and emphasize
the cool sides. You create your identity and experiment with it, and if
something works out in one of the virtual networks, it can be transferred
to real life”, adds Brügger.
The selection of random
PhD Lars Thorup, who teaches sociology in the University of Aarhus,
also points to the fact that Facebook is like real life: we choose what to
wear, what to say and who to hang out with. Behind everything we do
there is a selection and we have to make a 1000 decisions every day. It’s
FOURTY seven
the same thing with Facebook: even though most people try to look
as casual as possible, and make their profile seem somewhat random,
there’s a selection and a choice behind every photo, comment and story
on your - yes, YOUR- profile. For every photo you post, there are at least
a dozen others you have ditched, and even though you look casual on
the photo, you still look good - at least in your own eyes.
“The laid-back becomes aesthetic (...) and the way you see yourself
comes to the test: does your profile look real?” says Thorup. Obviously,
all these mechanisms work in real life as well, but Facebook just makes it
so much easier to change one’s image a little bit. This is how Facebook
becomes an ‘identity playground’, where we can try out different images
and correct all the flaws.
The balancing project
In this way, one’s picture of oneself becomes a project: we work with
every word and photo to make our profile perfect, and in this way
enhance our own impression of ourselves. But the art of ‘facebooking’
comes down to this: is the way you see and exhibit yourself consistent
with how your friends see you? Both Thorup and Brügger notice
that there are a lot of things to consider, when your Facebook profile
becomes a reflection of your life. “When you never know who’s going
to view your profile, you don’t really know how to picture yourself”,
Brügger says.
That is indeed the challenge for Facebook members: do you really
want your boss to see the pictures from last weekend? In this way, we
have to consider where we are in life every time we post a new photo or
story. What seems a natural act of sharing memories suddenly becomes
an art of balancing between identities.
The future
But what does the future hold for Facebook? Where is easy to make
friends, and even easier to forget them. Will this pace keep working, or
will the curiosity eventually fade away? Facebook is popular because
it allows everyone in: everyone can be friends. This might also be the
reason that it will eventually die a quiet death, leaving nothing but
passive profiles behind. But online networking has definitely come to
stay, and in this sense, Facebook is a pioneer – it compresses all the
great encyclopaedias of everything that happens in real life: networking,
globalisation, commuting between countries, into one single pamphlet
– one Facebook. And so far,it’s just fun.
Factbook
Facebook started at Harvard in 2004 and went global in 2006
Facebook has more than 67 million members (as of March 2008)
and more than 250,000 people sign up every day – it is the 6th
highest trafficked site in the US
Facebook has an estimated market value of more than 10 billion
euro
Facebook makes its money by selling personal information of its
members to marketing agencies
Facebook has copyright for everything you post: photos, videos,
poems – everything!
One of the board members of Facebook is a former CIA
executive
FOURTY EIGHT
ST R A
FROMIG HT
THE
UND
E RG R
OU N
The underground culture with its direct and uncensored
approach is moving fast towards the surface. This year, Aarhus
embraces the trend and exhibits street art on public city walls at
September’s festival.
By Louise Jørgensen, photos by Morten Flarup
The first time I got high on art and statements in the public space was 3
years ago in Grønnegade, Aarhus. I stopped one evening gawking at the
word “SUBER” tagged backwards and thought it was an awesome way to
state that everything is just super!
I found the same tag on several spots and began to pass on my
recently-born street respect for this admirable piece of art to people
FOURTY seven
D
around me, and soon it became a religion:
the tags depicted over my bed, the word “suber” in every SMS, a new
state of connectivity with my city. Then, one day I learned that Suber
is actually Rebus, which it is one of Aarhus’ trademarks in today´s fastgenerated art form, namely street art.
Although I was disappointed with the fact that I had interpreted
my “hero” completely wrong, I had still found my meeting with
underground art an enriching exercise. My fine art vocabulary almost
doesn´t exist, and so it indeed feels highly fulfilling to find one art scene
that seems to be satisfying for the “plebs audience”. A spectator that
doesn´t judge or measure what they see in accordance to some highlyrespected standard of “good” and “bad” art. For street art, the audience
is the general public and the entrance fee is the bare costs of opening
one’s eyes as one strolls through cities.
New modern approach
Time is changing and the so-called underground art is moving fast towards the surface.
Copenhagen’s ancient sculpture gallery Glyptoteket recently hosted a grand exhibition by world
widely known French street artist Zevs and the upcoming Aarhus Festuge 2009 will exhibit street art
as the main theme. In fact, underground art has been recognized as other than crime as the world´s
eyes are pointing to the dirty walls and train tracks.
In public spaces, everybody can play whatever role he/she wants. One can be a painter, a poet or a
politician. However it can be quite challenging to justify your appearance in a public space with almost
no public walls to exhibit on, and so the street artist is left with almost no opportunity except to keep
his/her identity unknown.
The distinction between signed and unsigned art draws a line between the art we see as “judicial
secured art” and the street art, that is still often referred to as crime, says Thorsten Sadowsky, director of
the Art Building in Aarhus, an art gallery in the city center. But the line slowly fades, when for example
major established art houses start to cooperate with street artists in France, Germany, United Kingdom
and even in Denmark like the spring of 2008 have shown in the exhibition at Glyptoteket in Copenhagen.
One may ask when is then the time to claim that the street trend has grounded severely? It seems it is
quite a strong signal that even a city like Århus, which can´t be considered
a big player in the art industry, decides to take up the tendency as
the topic for this year’s Festuge in the first week of September.
Among many other spots, the above mentioned Art Building
will embrace its surroundings and provide a space for all kinds
of street art to be unfolded. Throughout August and until
the end of the Festuge, the public has the opportunity to
look at art – “straight from the underground” – presented
inside the frame of the established art.
FOURTY EIGHT
Street in-depth… in the capital
In his first solo exhibition, Zevs showed the audience in Copenhagen
that a strict distinction between street art and the field of present
established art is impossible. His work and appearance always navigates
in the grey zone, for example with his “Clean Graffiti Technique” in
which he designed dirty walls in Wuppertal (Germany) by working
his pieces into the walls with cleaning machines, thereby creating a
negative. The very dark, dirty and old industrial buildings that shape the
cityscape of Wuppertal inspired him to do this work.
Even though, Zevs remains anonymous. His actions hold a great
deal of respect and he aims not to destroy the public space but
to “lengthen” it, says his Danish agent and external curator at the
exhibition, Toke Lykkeberg. “Zevs attracts interest by making us
aware of things in the public space that we would normally pass by
unconsciously”.
ICONS FOR NOW
The Aarhus Art Building
J. M. Moerks Gade 13
aarhuskunstbygning.dk
FOURTY seven
CASP ER TYBJERG
THE WORLD IS SUCH A
WONDERFUL
PLACE
WORDS AND PHOTOGRAPHY BY MIKKEL ELBECK
Known and respected as one of Denmark’s leading photographers,
Casper Tybjerg and his lenses have recorded sights all over
the planet. His mission is to use his photos and writing to
counterbalance the negative image that the media tend to give the
world in which we live. Born, raised, and still residing in Aarhus,
he talks about his time as a Biology student at the University of
Aarhus, owning his own business, and becoming the first Nikon
ambassador in Danish history.
FOURTY seven
A
biologist,
writer &
world-class photographer.
Typically that would be three people, but Casper Tybjerg is all of them
in one. He is 30 years old and Nikon’s Danish ambassador. He is selfemployed in the company Tybjerg Tekst & Foto, which also includes his
mother, Jette, as well as Karina, his girlfriend and the mother of their
2-year-old son, Mikkel.
The road to success has not been a perfectly straight one for Casper,
but every segment of it appears to have given him more and more
assurance that his general direction has been right all along. Starting
out with a childhood goal to become a biologist, he developed an urge
to write about all the interesting topics he learned about at university
– but in a language that the general public could understand. Casper
discovered that no one had photos that could illustrate his articles, so
logically he decided to do his own photography, only to realize that this
would end up being the true passion of his life.
Geographically speaking, the road starts in his childhood home in
Risskov, a suburb north of Aarhus, and although he has been all around
the world, he now resides only a few kilometres away in his two storey
apartment on Trøjborg, a youthful part of the city that neighbours the
university. It is through the doors to this place that he has kindly invited
yours truly for a talk about his life.
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Giant spider eats dinosaur!
To some people it seems logical to consider Copenhagen the place to
go if you want to further your career, solely because it’s the biggest city
in the country. But Casper doesn’t look at it that way. To him, Aarhus has
pretty much everything you need, and the smaller size of the city has a
direct appeal to him:
“I can get on my mountain bike somewhere downtown and ride for
ten minutes in pretty much any direction and then not be able to hear
the sound of the city anymore,” he says. “Aarhus is a miniature version
of a big city, and the surroundings are filled with green areas – and not
just parks, but forests.”
That said, he is no stranger to the nation’s capital:
“I often take three-four really hectic days in Copenhagen, where
I’m really busy meeting up with clients, running around with my arms
above my head. And then I get on the train back home, wondering
what exactly went on during those days – and then I arrive in Aarhus,
and I’m able to sense time again. You have time to think in Aarhus, and
I really like that.”
There’s more in his love for Aarhus than green areas and time to
think, though:
“There’s a sparkling creative environment in Aarhus, and I have a
big network of other self-employed people and photographers. It’s a
terribly nice city with a lot of cultural offerings, and I actually wish that
I had more time to explore the city,” he explains and concludes: “When
I was a kid, I was always being told by my parents that Aarhus is an
Knowing by the age of 4 that you want to be a biologist does well for
one’s determination, and for Casper, this led directly to the Biology
department of the University of Aarhus. A mixed but overall positive
experience for him:
“In some ways, it wasn’t exactly what I thought it would be, but in
others it was ten thousand times better,” he says. “You’d attend a lecture
and you’d get bombarded with the latest discoveries from the leading
experts in the world – and it was completely free!”
The Biology studies included a mandatory series of field studies,
where the students were to define a project that they would then carry
out themselves. Casper and his friend Anders Brandt Jørgensen chose
a project, the result of which would ultimately mark a shift in their lives:
What’s the size-relation between the diameter of a spider-web and the
prey it catches?
“We found a lizard that had been killed by a small and widespread
spider species. Nobody had ever seen anything like it before,” Casper
explains. “Our professor, Fritz Vollrath, was amazing – he patted our
backs and told us that we had to write an article about it, suggesting
the title ‘Giant spider eats dinosaur!’.”
The discovery made by the two friends coincided well with Casper’s
urge to get some of the knowledge from inside the lecture hall out to
the general public.
“I called up Politiken (a nation-wide newspaper, ed.) and asked why
they never did any stories on these topics. They were interested –
but they only had one science journalist, and he tended to be busy
with everyday stories, so there was no real chance that he’d make it to
amazing place, and now I understand why.”
FOURTY EIGHT
CASPERS FIRST article
Aarhus,” Casper explains. “So I asked them if I could give it a go, and it
was through this that I really got started with writing. It could be ultraspecific subjects stemming from a single lecture, which the average
reader had definitely never heard about.”
Soon Casper was a frequent contributor, and one of the subjects he
wrote about was “mycorrhiza”, which is the symbiotic association
between a fungus and the roots of a plant – indeed a quite specific
subject, and Casper was thrilled to get his writings published:
“To walk down to the local bakery on Sunday and pick up the newspaper
and go, ‘yay, I wrote this – today someone will learn something they
never heard about before!’ – that hit the nail on the head in terms of
what I wanted to do with my life.”
FOURTY seven
“To walk down to the local bakery
on Sunday and pick up the newspaper
and go, ‘yay, I wrote this – today
someone will learn something they
never heard about before!’ – that hit
the nail on the head in terms of what
I wanted to do with my life.”
Taking photography up a notch
Breaking new journalistic ground forced him to break the same ground
within photography:
“No one ever had any photos of the stuff I wrote about. The photo
agencies certainly didn’t, so it seemed obvious that I had to learn how to
take photos myself.”
Casper had seen others do something along the lines of what he wanted
to do, and his two main idols were Danish Poul Thomsen and French
Jacques Cousteau, who are both famous for their TV programmes on
nature.
“Within my first year of studies, I learned that neither of them are
biologists,” he says. “Poul Thomsen is a journalist, and Cousteau was a
lieutenant of the French navy, and it was through them that I found out
what kind of job I really wanted – travelling around, telling people about
how wonderful the world is.”
Casper and Anders had taken their story about the spider and the lizard
to the local newspaper, Aarhus Stiftstidende, who ran the story on their
spectacular discovery.
“That led to contact with a local publishing house in Aarhus that were
dreaming about publishing a book on Danish spiders. They asked us
if we wanted to do it, and at that point we were still freshmen – so
naturally we celebrated with champagne!”
The spider book project took a year and a half to complete, and the
two friends had to do it side by side with their studies. Getting better
every day at photographing spiders, they submitted one particularly
good photo to a contest – coincidentally organized by Jyllands-Posten,
Politiken’s main competitor within the newspaper market, as well as
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Canon, the primary rival of Nikon. This obviously didn’t interest the
committee, who chose Casper and Anders’ photo as the winning photo
among 5.000 contributions, and they got to call themselves 2001’s
Nature Photographers of the Year.
“We have lots of really skilled nature photographers in Denmark, and
then these two rookies from Aarhus stole the first prize. They really
hadn’t counted on that, and frankly speaking, we were just as surprised
as everyone else,” Casper explains, before revealing what was even
better than the prestigious title: “National Geographic called and asked
if they could print our story and photo. That was a really big deal, and
we celebrated with champagne once more!”
“I became really enthusiastic, ‘cause I realized that what we were doing
had a certain quality,” Casper explains. “It boosted my self-confidence in
terms of knowing that the path I had chosen towards communication
was the right one.”
Although his future career would be somewhat outside classic
academia, Casper finished up his studies and earned his Bachelor’s
Degree before starting up the company Tybjerg Tekst & Foto with
his mother, who is an educated journalist on top of having a Master’s
Degree in Danish, Political Science and Media Studies.
University never got terrifying for Casper – on the contrary, he found life
as a student quite trouble-free:
“When I moved away from my parents and started studying, all I had to
think about was myself, my friends, and my books. Life is never simpler.
Those were some fantastic years. I guess you had to buy food and clean
up once in a while, but that’s pretty straightforward.”
Naturally, Casper extended his thoughts beyond the absolute necessities
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and made an effort to use his enthusiasm for productive purposes,
which proved a fruitful affair:
“I was lucky to meet the right people. Every time I was really enthusiastic
about something and wanted to write an article, the response was
always positive, and people really liked my ideas and were happy to help
me out. I’ve met a drive amongst people at university that I haven’t met
anywhere else.”
Like any ambitious student, he also did his fair share of networking there:
“All the various branches of my network have roots that go back to my
years at university,” he says and underlines the importance of putting
in the networking effort, especially if you plan to start up your own
business: “Networks mean everything when you’re self-employed. I
know lots of people – in Aarhus, the rest of Denmark, and abroad, too.
When there’s something I need to know or something that needs to be
done, I almost always know who to talk to. And if I don’t have a direct
contact myself, then at least I know someone who knows someone.”
FOURTY EIGHT
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T he world is a better place than people think
Now the owner of a university degree, his own company, and a selection
of professional camera gear, Casper is able to devote almost all of his
working time to writing and taking photos. Travelling all around the
world shooting all kinds of subjects for a large variety of clients, Casper
has a fairly specific goal that he bears in mind at all times:
“My mission with all of this is to tell as many people as possible that
the world is an absolutely wonderful place, ‘cause it is,” he says. “There’s
plenty of focus on all the negative aspects in the media, and I want to
counterbalance that. I think that’s a big responsibility, and I get lots and
lots of energy from that.”
Casper is convinced that the world is a far better place than the
general public tends to believe:
“The interesting thing is that obviously there are certain hot spots
around the world where things aren’t going well – you could discuss
why these hot spots are in such a state as they are, the outcome of
which would probably depend on one’s political outlook – but the point
is, that there are only a few of these hot spots. I’ve travelled a lot so far
and I want to travel even more, and I’ve never had a bad experience,” he
explains.
“I was in Kathmandu in Nepal when the royal family was killed by the
crown prince, and I read the Danish news on the events online, which
made it sound like I was sure to be killed as soon as I walked outside.
But I met nothing but sweet and kind people, who did everything they
could to help me, and the only reason I left the country was that public
transportation had been brought to a halt, so I couldn’t really get around
and do my job. But there I was, in one of the itchy hot spots, and it was
FOURTY seven
nowhere as bad as the media portrayed it.”
He illustrates his point with another example:
“A month ago, I was standing on the border of Sudan, on restricted
military ground, where no one from the Western world had ever been.
It had taken us a year to gain access to this area. And the people there
were Muslims, and they looked totally like something out of CNN, where
they’d be telling us how badly we’re gonna get hurt,” Casper says.
“But they were the kindest, warmest people – they didn’t have very
much, but they gave us everything they had. We had some good, long
talks about cultural differences, and it was really fascinating. After a trip
like that, it can easily take me two-three days to arrive mentally in the
Western world again. It’s touching.”
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Room for improvement
Although Casper has photographed professionally for more than 10
years now, his passion for the trade has only expanded. What keeps
him going is one solidly phrased ambition that precedes each shutter
release:
“It’s the fact that you within a split second can capture something
that will hit people right in the guts. Something they might never forget.
A single image can change people’s perspective. That fascinates me,” he
explains. “It’s also the size of the audience you’re able to reach with your
photos. It’s easier to reach a large audience with photos than with the
written word – it’s easier to make them appreciate photos, I think. We’re
a visually oriented species, and it’s fun to make use of that.”
Shifting the perspective from the audience to the person behind
the camera, Casper describes how he is able to get high simply from
photographing:
“Every time I get one of those shots, where I think ‘this is huge’, then
I reach that high. I’ve experienced that the scenery I’m shooting is so
beautiful that I’ve simply lost my breath and literally lost control of my
arms. They just fell down and left me gazing.”
One of the times this happened to Casper was when he was aboard
a helicopter that was flying around among Arctic icebergs, and he says
he still reaches these highest of highs a couple of times a year that make
him go: “Is this really Planet Earth?”
While non-photographers get to experience the planet through the
whole spectrum of human vision, Casper is obviously forced to spend a
lot of time looking through the viewfinder of his camera. But that’s not
an issue, he says:
winter shoot
“I don’t think about it anymore. It’s perfectly natural to me by now, so
I don’t see it as a limitation. The amount of times I can re-experience the
sight through the photo completely outweighs that I have to experience
it through the viewfinder the first time.”
Although he doesn’t seem insecure about his own abilities, he says
that he still has a long way to go:
“I still have a lot to learn. As a photographer, I feel like I’m just starting
out. One of my ambitions is to gain a larger audience for my photos by,
among other things, to supply photos to larger media institutions – but
I’m not doing that until I feel that I’m ready for it. I need to get better,
and that’s why I’m trying out all the different genres of photography,
‘cause I feel that each of them teaches you something new,” he says and
continues:
“I haven’t yet met a photographer that told me that he’s where he wants
to be, but that’s one of the great things about photography. It’s a lifelong process, and you can always get better – and that goes for even
the most respected photographers in the world. There’s no shame in
admitting that, because obviously there’s always room for improvement
in all of us.”
FOURTY EIGHT
Creation of a dream job
Talking about his life, as Casper has been for
well over an hour by now, he seems genuinely
content with the way everything has turned
out. He has a little test to continuously test
whether this is true or not:
“In the morning, just as you’re waking up and you realize
where you are and what you’re gonna do today, I think you’re
really honest to yourself at that specific moment, and I use that
to figure out whether things are going in the right direction
or not. And if you think ‘fuck…’, then they aren’t, but if you’re
thinking ‘oi!’, then they probably are.”
He gets a lot of response from people who view his photos,
and that is one of his main sources of energy:
“It’s not unusual that I get two-three e-mails a day from people
who feel enriched by what I do – who find it inspiring and
experience progress within their own photography or urge to
travel,” he explains. “There are many, many people who follow
closely what we’re doing. And I gain a lot from that, ‘cause I
simply get really happy when I read e-mails like that.”
Casper might occasionally feel like he’s purely out on a fun
mission of love, but he is well-aware of the reality of his
endeavours:
“Obviously I’m creating a life for myself doing these things and I
make some money, so it’s not just for fun. But I think I’ve created
a dream job, ‘cause I can make a living from doing the things I’m
passionate about. And by being self-employed, I have a freedom
that I wouldn’t give away in exchange for a big, fat pay check.”
Although he has travelled all over the world, he still gets excited
about what he is able to capture in his immediate surroundings:
“I still crawl around the forest with my ass in the air, although
there are plenty of people around, but they’re free to think
what they want. I simply have to get down there to get the right
perspective for my macro shots. At least I’m wearing pants!”
A final request for Casper is what advice he would give to
people who would want to tread in his footsteps. The answer
is spontaneous, and only afterwards does he happily recognize
the versatility of the symbolism it contains:
“Wear some good shoes.”
FOURTY seven
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Nikon vs. Canon
The everlasting battle
In 2006,
Casper received the honour of being the first Nikon
ambassador in Danish history, a major brand tipping
their hat to one of their most enthusiastic fans.
“I’ve photographed using Nikon cameras
since I got my first one when I was 15. When
Nikon approached me and asked me to be their
ambassador, it was just a logical extension of that.
Part of our agreement obviously is that I get the
latest equipment to use, but other than that, it hasn’t
really changed anything,” he explains.
A position that Casper tends to find himself forced
into, is that of a general leading the rivalry battle
between Nikon and Canon enthusiasts.
“I don’t mind participating as long as it’s on a
humoristic level,” he says. “But I’ve met people who
aren’t even willing to talk to each other, because
they’re using opposite brands. Being a parent now, I
can see how child-like that kind of behaviour is.”
He considers the two brands only marginally
different when it comes to picture quality. But there
is still a natural preference to be traced in him, and it
is to be found in the physical design of the cameras:
“I was on an assignment with a Canon photographer
in Botswana last year, and he had a Canon 1Ds Mark
III. I think it handles like a brick! It’s way too big and
you can’t reach around it,” he says in the enthusiastic
voice that only a true Nikon fan can manage. “The
Nikons are slightly smaller and are a lot curvier and
have a lot less buttons. And I have no clue why
Canon places the screen all the way to the left – I
use both thumbs on the back of the camera all time,
but they cancel out the left thumb completely! What
are they thinking? It’s strange – one of the most
important tools of the hand. I could never get used
cameras
from Nikon, the professional D3 and the semiprofessional D300, Casper is psyched to be on
Nikon’s team:
“Canon has been in the lead, no doubt about that,
when it comes to the digital race during the last few
years. But now it’s over!”
to that. But the competition between the different
manufacturers is tougher than ever before, which
makes it a really fun time to be a photographer.”
With the recent launch of the two new flagship
FOURTY EIGHT
For Erkan Usudur it was the passion for creating a different place with a cosy atmosphere
that was the motive to open Café Gemmestedet. The Turkish inspired café, that often offers
a menu of poetry evenings, political arrangements and massages, celebrates its 2nd
anniversary this spring.
Text: Louise Boo Jespersen
Photos: Morten Flarup
FOURTY seven
In an alley not far away from the crowd of people, the hums of voices
spread in the café. The light of old chandeliers and a red-Turkish-style
carpet broaden over the floor invite you inside this cultural getaway.
Books in all sizes are stacked on a shelf along the wall, all ready to be
cited at the poetry evenings.
The poetry evenings are a part of the arrangement that make Café
Gemmestedet different and this alternative style is, in particular, the motive
for the 39-year-old owner Erkan Usudur.
Erkan, sitting recumbent and comfortable at a table under the
bookshelves, is happy and satisfied with his work. And why wouldn´t he be?
The guests are happy, the cultural events are popular and the idea of a café
as a different getaway is about to gain ground in the Café milieu in Aarhus.
“I have chosen an unusual concept for Café Gemmestedet than other
places in town and luckily the guests like it”, Erkan says.
Café Gemmestedet – the hiding place
“The greatest place in town”
The many regular guests recognized it as a place you can visit time after
time. For Erkan a part of the explanation lies in the relaxing surroundings
which the name of the café also indicates. At café Gemmestedet
(meaning the hiding place in English) it is possible to get a breathing
space from a stressful everyday life and the massage events in the
afternoons are an expressive example to illustrate this.
When a corner of the café is made into a massage clinic the cosiness
spreads and forms the basis of a relaxing atmosphere and gives an
opportunity gathering thoughts.
The list of cultural events is long. Besides poetry and massage the café
serves up political debate arrangements and jazz bands.
The political debate evenings have been a success and political leaders
such as the former Danish minister Margrethe Vestager and the political
leader Villy Søvndal have visited the café for a talk about political issues.
According to Erkan these activities create a good atmosphere among
the guests, and make the café an exciting place to visit.
“That´s the greatest place in town”, he says and smiles without hiding
his effort to promote his business.
He likes these arrangements and the jazz band behind him which
is getting ready to play reflects this underlying passion for cosy and
cultural events. With this strategic vision, maybe Erkan´s idea is to leave
the meaning “behind place” only in the cafe´s name.
The drive to make things real
But more than the Café itself, what drives people attention in this place is not
the activities carried out in the place or its menu, but the interesting ideas of its
owner.
Erkan got the idea for the café through his daily job as a greengrocer.
He had always had his eyes on the rooms across the street, and when
they went up for sale, instead of opening a usual business in Aarhus, the
idea was to do something beyond the establishments commonly seen
in the city. A potential new café began to take shape. The menus from
other cafés and restaurants became the start of alternative ideas for
creating a new place in town.
“You can always have the same Caesar salads and club sandwiches
but I thought that there must be somebody who expected something
different”, Erkan says.
Looking around in his café he tells about the Turkish inspired dishes on the
menu. However, the food is only one of things that make this café differ from
the others regular cafés. According to Erkan Usudur, many other cafés have
become places of production with no space for live cultural experiences. This
is the reason for why the Turkish dishes and the different cultural events are
important parts of the concept.
Poetry evenings are every Monday.
Massage is on Wednesdays afternoons at reasonable
prices.
You can sign up at the bar or by call.
Address:
Cafe Gemmestedet
Gl. Munkegade 1,
8000 Århus C Telephone: 86 13 55 00
FOURTY EIGHT