Tom Ising Design for the series Roman by publisher Tropen Verlag Founded in 2000 by Tom Ising, Martin Fengel and Judith Grubinger, the agency Herburg Weiland lists book and magazine publishers, cultural and educational venues, and various others like Hofbräu München (the brewery), David Beckham and Mercedes among its clients. The company’s portfolio also includes personal photo and video art projects and hosted events, such as the party when HB’s studio was redesigned by industrial architect Anthony Shouan-Shawn and all guests were asked to wear only white. Having seen the photos, I’m hoping to walk into such a party when I open the door to the studio, located on a quiet residential street some two kilometres south-west of the tourist centre. Founded in 2000 by Tom Ising, Martin Fengel and Judith Grubinger, the agency Herburg Weiland lists book and magazine publishers, cultural and educational venues, and various others like Hofbräu München (the brewery), David Beckham and Mercedes among its clients. The company’s portfolio also includes personal photo and video art projects and hosted events, such as the party when HB’s studio was redesigned by industrial architect Anthony ShouanShawn and all guests were asked to wear only white. Having seen the photos, I’m hoping to walk into such a party when I open the door to the studio, located on a quiet residential street some two kilometres south west of the tourist centre. But it’s a Sunday in September, which is still holiday season in Munich, and holiday season in Munich is not taken lightly. The office is empty but for Tom Ising, himself having just returned from a fourweek family trip to Mongolia and China. ‘It’s quiet around here now, but wait for Oktoberfest’, says Ising. ‘There are millions of people out in the street. You would think it was a demonstration, but it’s just people drinking beer.’ I expect Ising to complain about the drunk tourists, but he doesn’t. In fact, I’ve been waiting for days for somebody to complain about something in Munich. Instead, Ising reiterates what others have said about Oktoberfest: It’s fun. It’s nostalgic. It’s nice to have visitors in the city, not to mention the revenue they bring to Munich. Seriously, people, enough with the good will and pragmatism. Ising says I’m missing the point. ‘The good thing about Munich is that things like Oktoberfest or the Viktualienmarkt [central food market and square] are giant tourist magnets, at the same time that they’re enjoyed by me, my friends and most locals. Munich is different from other cities because here, a good place is a good place.’ In other words, Munich has few tourist traps, only validations of the tourist’s good taste. The downside, says Ising, is that good places continually disappear from Munich. The temporary club, Rubybar, is one example. A popup, Rubybar moved into a building once occupied by an Italian restaurant with an expiring lease. ‘But Munich has so much money, that as soon as somebody sees an opportunity to buy and flip a building, they’ll do it.’ So once that lease is up: Bye, bye Rubybar. I tell Ising we went there just the night before, by popular recommendation. He tells me he knows the manager. And he knows the DJ we saw there, too – Mathias Modica of Gomma Records. ‘I’ve known him for a long time. That’s how it works here. In the best scenario, you feel like you’re among friends in this city.’ Today’s Munich doesn’t see big changes, says Ising. It evolves slowly. The big changes are usually those that take place in one’s individual life, but the city itself is not frenetic or teetering on an edge. ‘Everything works here: The sun shines, the beer is good, everything’s fine.’ In that way, Munich is perhaps more introverted than its neighbour to the north. ‘In Berlin, everything is about partying, eating and going out to clubs’, Ising tells me. ‘But in Munich, it’s completely normal for somebody to get up at seven in the morning on a Sunday and drive through the mountains to go for an eight hour hike.’ I wonder, then, if a city’s introversion is reflected in the work produced there. Ising doesn’t think so; he describes stagnation as a kind of taboo. ‘Spare time is treated seriously here’, he says. It’s used for seeing the rest of the world, for collecting textures and experiences to inform a different kind of ‘made in Munich’. Ising says that in a week there will be seven people sitting in the Herburg Weiland studio and the atmosphere, though still relaxed, will be markedly different. The city may not be charged, but many people in it are. Anyway, Ising wants to know where we’re off to next. I tell him we’re going to Haus Der Kunst, to meet somebody at the Goldene Bar. ‘Oh yeah? Say hi to Klaus, who owns the place’, says Ising. ‘Tell him you were just here; we know each other well.’ Yeah, the way things go in Munich, I could have told Ising we’re off to the corner café and he would have said, ‘Say hi to the espresso, we’ve worked together on many projects.’ In that way, Munich’s design and art world seems loud with first names and familiar small talk: a map of informal and frequent intersections. 200 201 Munich You would think it was a demonstration, but it’s just people drinking beer Program for Hedda Gabler for the Residenztheatre, 2012, Munich
Tom Ising Design for Fussball Wunder Bauten, published by Callwey Verlag in 2012 202 203 Munich Cover for the novel Pulp Head, published by Tropen Verlag Design for Baumeister magazine
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