Blogger Interview 7: Rudolf Klöckner (Urban Shit)

This Summer we present a series of short interviews here on Pop-Up City. We invited a number of our favorite bloggers to answer six questions not only about their passion for blogging, but also their city, work experience and inspiration. The result is a collection of stories on blogs and the people behind them. Number 7 in this series is Rudolf Klöckner, founder of the Hamburg-based street art and urban culture blog Urban Shit. Urban Shit reports about the neatest street interventions on a daily basis.

When and why did you start blogging?
“I started blogging about street art and other kind of urban stuff in 2007 when I used to live in Vienna for a couple of months. Primarily I started blogging because of the massive creative street art works and urban interventions you discover when you walk thru your urban neighborhood. Because I was new in Vienna I spent a lot of time just walking thru the city for checking out my new neighborhood. Since then I can’t stop blogging because there is no standstill in creative use of urban public space. And I just absolutely love it!”

How would you label yourself?
“A guy with a hight urban attitude. Working as a connecter and multiplier at the cut surface of urban design, architecture and street art.”

What does your typical day look like?
“In short: While having my first coffee in the morning I check and answering my daily emails. Then take the bike to my studio which is a 5 minute ride. Once in the Frappant where I have my studio called Spacedepartment with some colleagues I try to do a quick update on my blog and check the RSS feeds of all blogs I have a subscription to for getting a dose of inspiration. After that I have time to work on my own projects I do privatly or as job and part of the spacedepartment. Right now I try to focus on my diploma thesis on the topic of urban gardening as part of public space.”

Which spot(s) would you recommend to a first-time visitor of your city?
“Just one spot? I can give you a long list of spots you have to visit when you come to Hamburg the first time. In short: Visit me at my studio and I’l show you the best places. Just one advice in advance: Visit the Reeperbahn at day time (because it’s a horrible place at night).”

What is your top 3 of favorite online sources of inspiration?
“Really hard decision! Here are some of my favorites. But I love you all out there! Rebelart.net, urbanophil.net, just.blogsport.de, popupcity.net, unurth.com.”

What shoes do you wear?
“At the moment I wear green Sneakers (Nike Air Waffle Trainer).”