tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-72067385386361221102024-02-07T04:20:59.114+01:00#strangemessengerEdwin Stolkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02675813353946145108noreply@blogger.comBlogger927125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7206738538636122110.post-21238995167575400102016-08-05T14:45:00.000+02:002016-08-05T17:25:21.060+02:00Museum HOUSE OF HUMOUR AND SATIRE<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVgdmPdnb_RK5rwzmkeZTD47vGzYuJJQj5XwqEvgewYtYqTNmv6yInOBfLsKW46VSzs3XfiytO-0szXqrT8rLQdcxKpgrCw561vw7gMc1fXP3TJJdkaXD5W8eKs-L3EXvc1BQMEFJ9zDCg/s1600/5bead7469a09c280789ae71757ab201a.jpg" /></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 12.8px;">Lex Drewinski, Nostalgia, 1996</span></td></tr>
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<span lang="EN-US"> Last week I visited Gabrovo, situated at the foot of
the central Balkan Mountains, in the valley of the Yantra
River in Bulgaria. This small town is known
as the international capital of humor and satire. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"> While wandering through the town I was impressed by a huge
mural on the <a href="http://alexandra-travel.com/images/Balkan%20-%20Gabrovo%201.jpg">Balkan Hotel</a> and when visiting the Museum HOUSE OF HUMOUR AND SATIRE,
the simplicity and power of the works by <a href="http://www.posterposter.org/master-featured/lex-drewinski/">Lex Drewinski</a> grabbed me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"> Walking through THE HOUSE made me realize once again, that
humor can be sharp as a knife and very influential. In his book Debt, David
Graeber wrote, that if a nobleman in early medieval Ireland allowed himself to
be satirized and did not take the offending poet to court, his price could be
lowered to that of a commoner. Not so much has changed over the years, if you
ask me, only think about <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B%C3%B6hmermann_affair">The Böhmermann affair</a> for example. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"> In a <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/31/arts/31abroad.html?_r=2">New York Times article</a> I read a quote from the
former director of the Museum, that Communist officials in Sofia instantly “saw
this (museum) as an ideological opportunity to address the whole world,
especially the Western world, and to show that humor could prosper here under
Communism, within limits of course.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0-4YDK8-R3Sa_k4YLH4JKy0_AUweINvTyP11kr2bqQCXl51D9isWCPebLG2J4B_SKfKo6kCCJEENsjYScWKtw3hnp6mWdnwIFHpsf_lo_2-c_F62VB1aMe59XBWEshKu584iMamilv8hQ/s1600/WP_008215.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0-4YDK8-R3Sa_k4YLH4JKy0_AUweINvTyP11kr2bqQCXl51D9isWCPebLG2J4B_SKfKo6kCCJEENsjYScWKtw3hnp6mWdnwIFHpsf_lo_2-c_F62VB1aMe59XBWEshKu584iMamilv8hQ/s1600/WP_008215.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Museum House of Humour and Satire, Gabrovo, Bulgaria</td></tr>
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<span lang="EN-US"> If the Humor is a pleasant tool for propaganda, I
wonder how these ideological ideas relate to the way our feel-good society in
the West is shaped today? For example by connecting governmental subsidies to
visitor ratings, promoting consumerism and the standardized voice of the many?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"> In the beautiful Bulgarian landscape, that is struggling with its current political and economical situation, the HOUSE OF
HUMOUR AND SATIRE is still present. While
it is embedded in the local fabric, it's role is shifting. Today’s socialist architecture, temple of
the past, spacious rooms, four floors made of white marble are available here to educate children and give direction in a world full of
questions. Under the lead of the new director Margarita Dorovska, I hope, it is only a matter of time before new visions presented here will be broad to court…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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LEX
DREWINSKI: POSTERS – SOLO /May 21 - September 11, 2016, Stefan
Fartunov Room<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://www.humorhouse.bg/engl/exhibitions/temporary.html">http://www.humorhouse.bg/</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Edwin Stolkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02675813353946145108noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7206738538636122110.post-22131956644688464762016-06-30T17:54:00.002+02:002016-07-01T10:44:04.836+02:00Noticed / the importance of Unnoticed Art<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="http://www.edwinstolk.nl/service.html"><img border="0" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidE8vT_1kOD165ax14GIRRPX3jiS_xwEd3yRbo9cbqURpFzUXz4ueU77tvGrPW47Y6Tqpzn0y8ns9XE5H9CQcCOmupHMpCdXrmKKDhZOdGnfj_M8ksFn7sw9vC2yEiUaCKMe-lrdQ8Txwf/s640/altAj-n2rZRyNsKjMq1A3VluLBwGzvB7C9MAuJKsgjV1bvs.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.edwinstolk.nl/service.html">Denial-of-Service 2016 - photo: Youri Appelo</a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">English version scroll down</span></div>
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De titel Unnoticed Art Festival roept bij mij vragen op en
dat is goed. Kunst bevindt zich immers al te vaak in de marge en mag wat mij
betreft best opgemerkt worden. Op 24, 25
en 26 juni 2016 was het dan zover, de tweede editie van het festival stond in
mijn agenda. Kunstenaars konden voor die tijd concepten indienen en nu was het aan
een groep performers om een selectie daarvan uit te voeren. </div>
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Op vrijdagavond verzamelden we in de stationshal te Utrecht,
de uiteindelijke bestemming was voor één ieder onbekend. De precieze ontmoetingslocatie de Burger King naast spoor 14/15, dé plek waar mensen gehaast wat <i>junk food </i>kopen terwijl ze net te weinig tijd
hebben om over te stappen. Donderdag corrigeerde initiatiefnemer Frans van Lent
nog even ons beeld per mail: “de Burger King is vervangen voor een Hema.” Niets staat vandaag nog vast, zo gaat dat bij
toplocaties.</div>
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Het online woordenboek leert mij dat unnoticed: ‘<i>not perceived or observed’</i>
betekent, maar zijn we eigenlijk wel in staat onopgemerkt te verdwijnen? De
kunstenaar Heinrich Obst besloot dit uit te zoeken met zijn bijdrage: <i>do not meet me. there</i> een werk waarbij
hij het concept van het festival letterlijk nam en besloot om zelf te
verdwijnen. Hoewel hij voor de groep performers verdwenen was merkte hij later gelukkig
zelf op dat zijn verdwijning was mislukt toen hij de rekening moest betalen op
zijn schuilplaats. Dit voorbeeld lijkt simpel maar het is hier naar mijn mening
essentieel.</div>
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Daarom denk ik dat <i>out
of context</i> de lading beter dekt dan <i>unnoticed
</i>en een belangrijk voertuig is voor maatschappelijke reflectie. Het gevoel ‘unnoticed’
te zijn komt namelijk nadat men buiten een bepaalde orde is getreden en hierdoor
minder opvalt. Als deelnemer bekruipt mij nu soms het gevoel onderdeel te zijn van
een geheim genootschap (losgezongen) en slaat het resultaat van de ervaring niet
zelden 1 op 1 naar binnen. Het is een mooi initiatief waar spelende mensen met elkaar
beleven hoe het is om te gaan spelen in een onbekende stad. De witte muren
ontbreken hier maar in onze contactgestoorde wereld valt dat niet op.</div>
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Mijn liefde voor dit festival zit vooral in al die aspecten
waarin het van de gebruikelijke festivals verschilt. Misschien is het wel beter
om dit helemaal geen festival te willen noemen. Zo danst het niet naar de pijpen van lokale
bestuurders in de vorm van <i>city branding</i>
en is het ook niet ingebed in het kunstestablishment. Het is zo vrij als het in
een repressieve economische omgeving vrij kan zijn. Dit is zowel haar kracht
als ook haar zwakte. Vanuit deze onaangekondigde marginaliteit ontstaan belangrijke kansen waarvan
ik me soms wel oprecht heb afgevraagd of deze nu ten volste worden benut. </div>
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Daarom wil ik graag met deze tekst een poging doen om de
valkuilen van deze vermeende onzichtbaarheid te verwoorden. Het is in mijn ogen
namelijk een gemiste kans om als kunstenaar je evenbeeld in karton te plaatsen
bij het openingsfeestje. Ook vind ik het misplaatst om gekke concepten in te
dienen vanuit de wetenschap dat jij het zelf niet hoeft uit te voeren.
Onzichtbaarheid is een gevaarlijk spel want je speelt dit nooit alleen. Daarom hoort
er een gepaste verantwoordelijkheid bij. Het is verleidelijk om je autonoom te
wanen, maar voor je het weet importeer je onopgemerkt de introverte bubbel van
de <i>white cube</i> in de stad. </div>
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We lijken soms te vergeten dat we onderdeel zijn van een
onzichtbaar en complex machtsspel dat ons allang heeft opgemerkt. Het rijke pallet
aan verbindingen waar wij aan blootgesteld worden als we bewegen is
verre van neutraal. Het is dus naïef te denken dat je hier de kunst onopgemerkt
centraal kan stellen. Het is denk ik veel meer zaak om hybride beeldtoepassingen
vorm te geven die in staat zijn om ter
plaatse optimaal te verleiden en te openen. </div>
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Het belang hiervan en de complexe materie werd pijnlijk
duidelijk met <a href="http://www.edwinstolk.nl/servicenl.html">Denial-of-Service</a>. We adviseerden klanten over de aanbiedingen in
de Albert Heijn supermarkt en vroegen mensen om mee te helpen samen een tafel met
ananas leeg te kopen. We wilden zo de invloed van klanten op het aanbod
onderzoeken. Veel mensen keken weg of hadden haast. We kregen te weinig tijd om
uit te leggen dat het hier ging om een collectieve actie met een gedeeld belang
en niet om de individuele vraag of jij wel of niet een liefhebber bent van
ananas. Terwijl we ons in lijn opstelden met de verkoopbelangen van de
supermarkteigenaren wilden zowel de Jumbo als de AH ons graag verwijderen. Twee
maal kregen we een lesje in economie. Het was duidelijk dat onze strategie moest worden aangepast.</div>
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De passiviteit waarmee je als individu zonder problemen een
gevoel van vrijheid mag beleven in een door commercie vormgegeven stadsbeleving
veranderd wanneer je actief besluit je daar op speelse wijze anders toe te
verhouden. De beeldvorming die dit oplevert blijft te vaak onopgemerkt...</div>
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<a href="http://www.unnoticedart.com/">http://www.unnoticedart.com/</a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">English: </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Noticed -
the importance of Unnoticed Art<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"> The title
Unnoticed Art Festival raises questions for me and that's good I think. Art is
already too often marginalized and should be very present in my opinion. The
second edition of the festival was marked in my agenda on 24, 25 and June 26, 2016. Until
then artists had the possibility to send in their concept proposals and finally
it was up to a group of volunteers to
perform a selection.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Friday
evening we gathered at the train station in Utrecht, the final destination was
unknown for all of us. The exact meeting location; Burger King next to platform
14/15. The place where people rush to buy some junk food while they have just
enough time to switch their trains. Thursday initiator Frans van Lent corrected
our ‘image’ of this meeting place with an e-mail: "Burger King has been
replaced by a Hema." Nothing is fixed these days, the usual business at
top locations.</div>
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<span lang="EN-US"> The online
dictionary tells me that the meaning of Unnoticed is "not perceived or observed”, but is it
actually possible to be unnoticed? The artist Heinrich Obst decided to find out
for himself with his contribution: <i>do not
meet me. there</i> a work in which he took the concept of the festival literally
and decided to disappear himself. While he was reported missing by the group of performers
he noted later that his attempt to disappear had failed when he received the bill
on his hideout. This example seems simple but to mention it here for me is essential.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"> I think <i>out of context</i> seems to me much better instead
of <i>unnoticed</i> and this can be an
important vehicle for social reflection. The feeling of being 'unnoticed' often
appears after stepping out of a certain order and by doing so one becomes less noticed.
I experienced as a participant that it felt sometimes as if to be part of a secret community (disconnected)
and therefore the experience of the performance stayed more introvert between
the group who knew and the performer itself. The festival is a beautiful initiative where people enjoy playing with
each other and experience what it feels like to play together in an unfamiliar
city. The white walls are missing here but still you do not feel a connected public space as if society lacks the ability for contact. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"> My love for
this festival appears most of all in all these aspects in which it differs from
the usual festivals. Maybe it is even better not to call this a festival. Because
it is not operating in favor of local politicians and serving a city branding
agenda and it is not part of the established art scene. It is as free as it can
be in our repressive economic environment. This is both its strength but also
its weakness. From this marginal unannounced
position important opportunities arise and if I am sincere I do wonder whether all
these opportunities were actually fully exploited. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"> Therefore,
I would like to attempt to articulate the pitfalls of this alleged
invisibility. It is in my view a missed opportunity when an artist places a representation
of his image made of cardboard at the opening party. I also do find it
inappropriate to serve crazy concepts with the knowledge that you yourself are
not the one who has to actually perform it in the city. Invisibility is a dangerous and
serious game because you never play alone. An appropriate responsibility is therefore
necessary. It is tempting to imagine yourself autonomous but before you know it you
import the introverted bubble of the white cube within the city.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"> We
sometimes seem to forget that we are part of an invisible and complex power
structure that has already observed us long ago. The rich palette of
interconnections to which we are exposed as we move is far
from neutral. It is a naive thought to place unnoticed art here in a central
position. I think it is much more important to construct hybrid imaging
applications that are able to fully seduce a certain spot to open itself.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"> The
importance and the complexity to do so became clear with
<a href="http://www.edwinstolk.nl/service.html">Denial-of-Service</a>. We advised clients on the available deals in an Albert Heijn
supermarket and asked people to join a collective action where we tried to
empty a table with discounted pineapples. We intended to investigate the influence that customers
can have on the shop offerings. Many people looked away or were in a hurry. We were
unable to get enough attention to explain that this was a collective action
with a shared goal and not about the individual question whether or not you yourself
were a fan of pineapples. While we were supportive to the shop owners advising their
clients on the best available deals both Jumbo and the AH liked to stop our
intentions. Twice we got a lesson in economics. Together as performers we
agreed that if we wanted to continue, our strategy had to be adjusted.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"> The
passivity with which you as an individual without any problem may experience a
sense of freedom in a city that is shaped by commerce will change once you
actively decide to engage playfully and differently to this very same
surrounding. You will quickly discover an image that stays too often unnoticed... <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://www.unnoticedart.com/">http://www.unnoticedart.com/</a></span></div>
Edwin Stolkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02675813353946145108noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7206738538636122110.post-32177369454415354122016-06-23T11:17:00.003+02:002016-06-23T11:20:46.908+02:00Jon Rafman<center><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" mozallowfullscreen="" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/75534042?byline=0&portrait=0" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="640"></iframe></center><br />
<br />
In his video films and installations, Canadian artist Jon Rafman (1981, Montreal) explores the social effects of digital media. The artist is fascinated by how the boundless possibilities of the Internet and virtual platforms affect and redefine our behaviour, social life, and even personal identity. In his work he oscillates between wit, melancholy and alienation.<br />
<br />
On show 21 May till 14 August 2016 @ Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam.<br />
<br />
Link:<br />
<a href="http://jonrafman.com/">http://jonrafman.com/</a><br />
<a href="http://www.stedelijk.nl/en/exhibitions/jonrafman">http://www.stedelijk.nl/en/exhibitions/jonrafman</a>Edwin Stolkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02675813353946145108noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7206738538636122110.post-5137474426007625722016-06-23T10:54:00.000+02:002016-06-23T11:06:42.814+02:00Not An Alternative<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiKPf7ykwEBn9LjJ9J6kejVPuUw0gL5GPE-yz6-23fBhlFxvAy4Yp4wQ9KRsccg6kA-MqHxR63h6w-66RKznp4lbcKbt9cCMwTyA4lIPNO7hHX9iNoSX_2vrlQGuqoJ-zQz1J6qRxjRtVM/s1600/From-BK-Museum-_-Louvre21-copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiKPf7ykwEBn9LjJ9J6kejVPuUw0gL5GPE-yz6-23fBhlFxvAy4Yp4wQ9KRsccg6kA-MqHxR63h6w-66RKznp4lbcKbt9cCMwTyA4lIPNO7hHX9iNoSX_2vrlQGuqoJ-zQz1J6qRxjRtVM/s640/From-BK-Museum-_-Louvre21-copy.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
Not An Alternative co-founder Beka Economopoulos spoke with Angie Koo of City Atlas about the ongoing project The Natural History Museum, their experiences in Paris at the UN COP21 Climate Summit, and the first international collaboration between groups involved in the museum liberation movement.
The interview <a href="http://newyork.thecityatlas.org/people/beka-economopoulos/">can be read in full here</a>.<br />
<br />
Not An Alternative is a 12 year old NY-based collective and non-profit organization that works at the intersection of art, activism and pedagogy. It has a mission to affect popular understandings of events, symbols, institutions, and history. Through engaged critical research and design, the group curates and produces interventions on material and immaterial space, bringing together tools from art, architecture, exhibition design, and political organizing.<br />
<br />
Link:<br />
<a href="http://notanalternative.org/">http://notanalternative.org/ </a><br />
<a href="http://notanalternative.org/about-us/">http://notanalternative.org/about-us/</a>Edwin Stolkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02675813353946145108noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7206738538636122110.post-64247720018508147062015-11-02T12:55:00.000+01:002015-11-02T18:18:04.594+01:00The infantilization of culture policies<span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://strangemessenger.blogspot.nl/2015/10/de-debilisering-van-het-cultuurbeleid.html" target="">Tekst in het Nederlands hier</a></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgVE_P3r8nXXVnMzHGcRAyvpZxFC8d8X6Y2Bx1IFUG2dE9WXFtBVBa_CUmt8KygZhK7GESsEwAWgMe8jJiB3TD0qBwIc-F4c2dKCTDhakE_XmoYxvZ-TASvnvP81COnlYOirYcrLtmDl6G/s1600/vlcsnap-2015-10-27-15h19m41s120.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgVE_P3r8nXXVnMzHGcRAyvpZxFC8d8X6Y2Bx1IFUG2dE9WXFtBVBa_CUmt8KygZhK7GESsEwAWgMe8jJiB3TD0qBwIc-F4c2dKCTDhakE_XmoYxvZ-TASvnvP81COnlYOirYcrLtmDl6G/s640/vlcsnap-2015-10-27-15h19m41s120.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.2px; line-height: 15.68px;">Still uit: Ruimte voor Cultuur :cultuurbeleid en culturele basisinfrastructuur 2017-2020</span></td></tr>
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<span lang="EN-US"> May I have
a minute of your time? While a large part of the Dutch </span>musicians <span lang="EN-US">is aging and governmental
budget cuts effected the music education, we witness on our screen three marching musicians that together try to represent a fanfare. In a landscape
with lots of grass, a large majority of museum properties is being rep</span>resented
and occasionally a cow pops-up. Minister of culture: Bussemaker, takes us in this video by the hand to what she believes represents the Dutch
cultural landscape.</div>
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<span lang="EN-US"> I have to excuse myself that I really have no
clue whether this is the right time for me to talk with you about this
animation from the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science. What I do know
is that a Momentum is often carefully chosen and precisely staged by
cooperating partners. These messages
seem to be at random and a bit naïve, but are actually carefully directed to ensure that its content can't be influenced by a third party. As an isolated individual, perceiving
this policy making, you are almost always too late to respond.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"> When
the document: <a href="https://www.rijksoverheid.nl/documenten/beleidsnotas/2015/06/08/ruimte-voor-cultuur" target="_blank">Space for Culture</a> was thrown at me over the digital fence on June 8 2015, Minister Bussemaker was
already discussing its content with insiders. When I had my words carefully
chosen in an <a href="http://strangemessenger.blogspot.nl/2015/09/open-space-for-culture.html" target="_blank">open letter</a> directed to this Minister, everyone had already left for
their holiday. Except a publication at <i><a href="http://bureaudehelling.nl/artikel/open-brief-aan-minister-bussemaker" target="_blank">Bureau De Helling</a></i>, I only managed to
receive the automatic replies from various politicians and policymakers who
tried to convince me of their busy schedules. Perhaps, when I am honest, I knew
somewhere in the back of my mind that no one would take the time to answer me
seriously, but still. Today even the official communication channel of the
Ministry remains silent, in an earlier stage they supplied me with codes and descriptions on which desk my
letter had arrived. My professional representatives at the Council for Culture
also wrap themselves in silence, maybe they rely on my boundless confidence in their
skills and reputation. After communicating for a while on Twitter I also found out that the account of Minister Bussemaker proved to be false. Today nothing seems
what it is. Maybe the ones involved were hiding and thought secretly that I
would bury my hatchet after their summer break ...<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"> At the
<a href="http://www.kunsten92.nl/publicaties/overig/verslag-paradisodebat-2015/" target="_blank">Paradiso Debate 2015</a>, about the Cultural Industries, I heard that the artists'
lobby must be improved. Not only army generals on television
pleading for more defense money but let also artists have their say! The necessity
of this lobby was confirmed by Birgit Donker (director Mondriaan Fund) in an
<a href="http://www.mondriaanfonds.nl/leestafel/prachtig-en-nou-de-kunst-van-nu-graag/" target="_blank">NRC article</a> about the purchase of two Rembrandt's. When I was reading in <a href="http://nos.nl/artikel/2058945-bussemaker-politieke-steun-belangrijk-voor-aankoop-rembrandts.html" target="_blank">the media</a> about the political role that Emilie Gordenker (director of the
Mauritshuis) had played with this deal, I was somewhat relieved and thought that the
quality of the political lobby in the arts was still not that bad. For a moment
I even was filled with hope and decided to contact her. I proposed to
work together, since she managed to mobilize all of the chair members of the broad
political spectrum to agree on this exceptional purchase. Keep in mind that I failed to get not even one response on my letter from the various politicians. My message to Emilie was outspoken and
combative, I explained my attempt and the systematic silence I experienced by the
addressed politicians. This time I was fortunate to get a fast answer, only her
message dampened my optimism.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><i> "I
have carefully considered your e-mail, but have come to the conclusion that I
am not the right person for your initiative. Of course I would like to
contribute to the arts where I can, but I feel I must limit myself to matters
within my field of expertise, that is old master paintings. I'm afraid I have not
enough knowledge to mediate the situation of contemporary art. In fact, I might
do more harm than good! "</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"> Her message
made me somewhat dejected and disillusioned, but I had to show my respect for
her decision. What does it actually mean to do more harm than good? And if so, which person has the right expertise to do more good than harm for the position of
contemporary art? At the aforementioned Paradiso Debate politicians were
explaining the audience that lively discussions do take place between artists and
politicians. That made me reconsider my message to the Minister, it might just
not be urgent enough! It was no accident that all these politicians here on stage, mentioning their
openness, refused to answer my letter. Perhaps they were unable to recognize the
landscape I described, while their vision was the one of the Minister; a flat
landscape with here and there a cow and some museum property...<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"> Let me be
clear that it is absolutely not my aim to criticize the makers of this
animation. What I do want to question are the political intentions that lay
behind this video </span>when it was presented on the YouTube channel of the government. While
watching this video I could not think of a better word to describe it in Dutch as 'debilisering'. I suppose a proper English translation would be 'infantilization'. A
strong word for over simplifying a situation in a childish or ridiculous way. My
observations give me the feeling that although we speak of a knowledge
economy, ‘the public’ as far as this really exists, is structurally underestimated. Later I also remembered that I had been reading
this word in an article by Jeroen Boomgaard with the title: <a href="http://laps-rietveld.nl/?p=5091" target="_blank">THE NIJNTJEFICATION OF THE NETHERLANDS</a>. He wrote this in response to a large green rabbit, that hangs
somewhat restless on the edge of the roof of the public library of Almere.</div>
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<span lang="EN-US">His message
suits quite well within the context of this blogpost: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><i><br /></i></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><i> "The
tendency to evade and encounter opposition in advance, however, now becomes so
strong that policy makers choose beforehand an infantile approach in the hope
of keeping their citizens quiet. In fact, they behave like parents who buy
large plush toys for their severely neglected children, while knowing that their
family has already fallen apart."<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"> Having said
this, I would like to invite you for a critical look at this animation:<i> Space
for Culture</i>. Please do pay attention to the political tone of voice with which
you are being approached.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"> From a
childish and flat perspective we see a separated cultural landscape. The Minister is
speaking to you about the cultural production of 'surprise' and 'emotions'. Cultural producers are served as clumsy puppets, that are presenting you a mirror that
reflects your life. Even the advisory authorities look adorable here. It's all one big party. The Dutch cultural
landscape according to this video is clearly separated from society, it has a dualistic
relationship where one is influencing the other but they never get together.
The Minister shows us a bag full of money for talented youngsters while she knows
that she has already for years nothing to offer fundamentally to this potential. Because this not only needs money, also a vision. She presents ‘a space’ where
institutions and makers can work on their own identity. As if culture
integrates best among the other brands that we know from the vending machine.
The Minister appears in this video as a funny character which creates space for
culture. If you do not see that space that she provides, you are most probably not
flexible enough.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"> Especially
in the highest echelons of the cultural elite, people are seriously lost in their own fairytale is my opinion. While at the bottom of the cultural
sector interesting innovation takes place at the periphery of society, The Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam stacks large amounts of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Zero_(art)&oldid=684240185" target="_blank">ZERO works</a> in their basement in order to upgrade their value and attract the broadest
audience possible. As if we no longer can handle a single work by <a href="http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/lucio-fontana-1102" target="_blank">Lucio Fontana</a> and this exhibition has to be degenerated to the level of a mirror that reflects the mess we are familiar with at home.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"> Yesterday
<a href="http://theartofimpact.nl/kunstenaars-worden-niet-opgeleid-tot-lobbyisten-2/" target="_blank">an announcemen</a>t reached me explaining that artists are not trained as lobbyists, but
are working without an agenda and would
therefore need 'impact producers'. I am wondering if the minister who makes
this possible has a burnout, or she might be under the influence of drugs. On a
daily basis real people invest their time in culture and fight with a full agenda in-, with- and against a
privatized landscape that systematically excludes. Here bridges are in my
opinion not built with an <a href="http://theartofimpact.nl/impact-award/" target="_blank">Impact Award</a>. Innovation requires a stimulating and
enabling government, whether it comes to the development of the pharmaceutical
industry, the ICT or the cultural sector. I think the Minister looked too many company commercials and deserves a refreshing course on the
significant role of culture as human capital.</span></div>
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Text <a href="http://www.edwinstolk.nl/" target="_blank">Edwin Stolk</a></div>
Edwin Stolkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02675813353946145108noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7206738538636122110.post-87165783284241549262015-10-27T17:25:00.001+01:002015-11-02T12:56:45.485+01:00De debilisering van het cultuurbeleid<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://strangemessenger.blogspot.nl/2015/11/the-infantilization-of-culture-policies.html">An English version of this text here</a></span></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNCxUGMPPGQ1hab4xrdwyA-IAM-zbQl__cgaLJzqfnKeCEUP9CASJiYEoeVBU3QZ9uiQAjTWNAXkUIoeC6RE8iY22w_ERcAWyJejENr1KRJt6t23BN6_-SFvW_r37fo6wTAT1Ha-CcFUq5/s1600/vlcsnap-2015-10-27-15h19m41s120.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNCxUGMPPGQ1hab4xrdwyA-IAM-zbQl__cgaLJzqfnKeCEUP9CASJiYEoeVBU3QZ9uiQAjTWNAXkUIoeC6RE8iY22w_ERcAWyJejENr1KRJt6t23BN6_-SFvW_r37fo6wTAT1Ha-CcFUq5/s640/vlcsnap-2015-10-27-15h19m41s120.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="MsoNormal">
Still uit: Ruimte voor Cultuur :cultuurbeleid en culturele
basisinfrastructuur 2017-2020</div>
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</tbody></table>
</div>
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Mag ik u even meenemen? Vanuit een sprookjesbos wandelen
drie muzikanten die na de vergrijzing en bezuinigingen tezamen nog een
fanfare proberen te vormen door het beeld. In een graslandschap waar vooral veel museaal
vastgoed wordt gepresenteerd en hier en daar een koe, neemt mevrouw Bussemaker
ons mee naar wat volgens haar het Nederlandse culturele landschap moet
voorstellen. </div>
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Ik weet eigenlijk niet of dit nu de juiste tijd is om het
met u te hebben over deze animatie van het Ministerie van Onderwijs, Cultuur en
Wetenschap. Wat ik wel weet is dat een Momentum vaak zorgvuldig is geënsceneerd
door samenwerkende partners. Het lijkt een naïef gekozen gelegenheid maar
krijgt zo een doordachte snelheid waarmee het slechts zelden door derden van
richting kan worden veranderd. Als
eenling sla je dit beleidsproces gade, maar op het moment zelf ben je eigenlijk
altijd te laat. </div>
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Toen de beleidsnota <i><a href="https://www.rijksoverheid.nl/documenten/beleidsnotas/2015/06/08/ruimte-voor-cultuur" target="_blank">Ruimte voor Cultuur</a></i> op 8 juni bij mij over de digitale schutting werd geflikkerd
zat Minister Bussemaker al aan tafel met ingewijden. Toen ik mijn woorden
zorgvuldig had uitgekozen in een <a href="http://strangemessenger.blogspot.nl/2015/06/open-ruimte-voor-cultuur.html" target="_blank">open brief</a> aan deze Minister, was iedereen
reeds met vakantie. Op een publicatie
bij <i><a href="http://bureaudehelling.nl/artikel/open-brief-aan-minister-bussemaker" target="_blank">Bureau De Helling</a></i> na, moest ik
het doen met de <i>automatic replies</i> van
verschillende politici en beleidsmakers die mij in deze standaard berichtjes
probeerden te overtuigen van hun drukke bestaan. Misschien wist ik ergens in
mijn achterhoofd wel dat niemand mij serieus zou gaan beantwoorden, maar toch.
Vandaag zwijgt zelfs het officiële communicatiekanaal van het Ministerie, die
mij eerder steeds keurig voorzien had van codes en vertelde op welk bureau mijn
brief was aangeland. Mijn beroepsvertegenwoordigers bij de <i>Raad voor Cultuur</i> hullen zich eveneens in stilte, misschien gaan
zij uit van mijn grenzeloze vertrouwen in hun kunde & reputatie. Toen bleek ook nog het Twitter-account
van Minister Bussemaker vals te zijn. Vandaag lijkt niets meer te zijn wat het
is. Misschien dacht iedereen wel stiekem
dat ik na hun zomerstop mijn strijdbijl zou begraven…</div>
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Bij het <a href="http://www.kunsten92.nl/publicaties/overig/verslag-paradisodebat-2015/" target="_blank">Paradisodebat 2015</a> over de cultuursector hoorde ik
dat de kunstenaarslobby veel beter ontwikkeld moet worden, niet alleen
legergeneraals op televisie die pleiten voor meer defensiegeld maar ook kunstenaars
aan het woord! Deze noodzakelijke lobby werd herhaald door Birgit Donker (directeur Mondriaan Fonds) in een
<a href="http://www.mondriaanfonds.nl/leestafel/prachtig-en-nou-de-kunst-van-nu-graag/" target="_blank">NRC artikel</a> over de aankoop van twee Rembrandt’s. Toen ik <a href="http://nos.nl/artikel/2058945-bussemaker-politieke-steun-belangrijk-voor-aankoop-rembrandts.html" target="_blank">in de media</a>
las over de mobiliserende politieke rol bij deze deal van Emilie Gordenker (directeur
Mauritshuis), dacht ik enigszins opgelucht dat het zo slecht nog niet was
gesteld met de politieke lobby in de kunsten. Voor een moment was ik zelfs
hoopvol gestemd. Toen heb ik haar maar gelijk per mail verzocht om samen te werken,
ze riep immers succesvol alle fractievoorzitters in één keer bij elkaar om over
de brug te komen. Mij lukte het nog niet eens om één mailtje van de verschillende
politici te ontfrutselen. Ik schreef
haar openhartig en strijdlustig over mijn
brief aan de minister en het systematische zwijgen der politici. Dit keer hoefde
ik gelukkig niet lang te wachten op antwoord, alleen de inhoud temperde mijn optimisme.</div>
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<i>“Ik heb goed over uw
email nagedacht, maar ben tot de conclusie gekomen dat ik niet de juiste
persoon voor uw initiatief. Natuurlijk zet ik mij in voor de kunst waar ik kan,
maar ik vind dat ik mij moet beperken tot zaken die binnen mijn expertise
vallen, dwz oude meesters en de schilderkunst. Ik ben bang dat ik onvoldoende
kennis heb om te bemiddelen over de situatie van de hedendaagse kunst. Sterker
nog, ik zou misschien meer kwaad dan goed doen!”<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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Enigszins terneergeslagen en gedesillusioneerd kon ik niet
anders dan respect tonen voor haar besluit.<i> </i>Maar wat bedoelt ze eigenlijk met meer kwaad dan goed
doen? En wie heeft er dan de expertise om meer goed dan kwaad te doen voor de positie
van de hedendaagse kunst? Bij het eerder genoemde Paradisodebat
gaven politici en plein public te kennen dat zij de
discussie met kunstenaars in het veld niet schuwden. Ze benadrukten zelfs dat ze
dat ook al regelmatig deden. Misschien was mijn boodschap dus gewoon niet urgent
genoeg, want de politici die dit verkondigden hebben namelijk allemaal mijn brief onbeantwoord
gelaten. Misschien herkenden zij vanuit dit vlakke landschap met hier en daar
een koe en wat museumgebouwen de door mij geschetste realiteit gewoon niet?</div>
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Laat ik helder zijn dat het mij in deze blogpost niet om de
makers van deze animatie gaat, maar om de politieke keuze deze te presenteren
op het <i>You Tube </i>kanaal van de
overheid. Ik kon voor deze beeldvorming die ons een beleidsvisie poogt te
vertellen geen beter woord verzinnen dan ‘<a href="http://www.encyclo.nl/begrip/DEBILISEREN" target="_blank">debilisering</a>’. 'Het
publiek’ wordt in onze kenniseconomie volgens mij structureel onderschat. Later
realiseerde ik me dat ik dit woord had gelezen in een kostelijk artikeltje van
Jeroen Boomgaard met de titel: <i><a href="http://laps-rietveld.nl/?p=5091" target="_blank">DE NIJNTJEFICATIE VAN NEDERLAND</a></i>. Hij schreef dit naar aanleiding van een groot
groen konijn wat lusteloos over de rand van het dak van de openbare bibliotheek
van Almere hangt. </div>
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Daarin stelt hij eigenlijk hetzelfde aan de orde:</div>
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<i>“De neiging om tegenwind te omzeilen en tegengeluid bij voorbaat te
smoren is tegenwoordig echter zo sterk geworden dat bestuurders kiezen voor een
debiliserende benadering in de hoop hun burgers koest te houden. In feite
gedragen ze zich als ouders die te grote pluche beesten voor hun ernstig
verwaarloosde kinderen kopen, terwijl ze weten dat het gezin al definitief uit
elkaar gevallen is.”<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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Dit gezegd hebbende wil ik u als lezer vragen om nog eens
kritisch naar deze animatie <i>Ruimte voor
Cultuur</i> te kijken. Let u vooral ook eens op de toon waarmee u wordt bejegend.</div>
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Vanuit een kinderlijk en plat perspectief zien we een
losgezongen culturele ruimte. De Minister spreekt tot u over de culturele
productie van verrassing en ontroering. Cultuurmakers worden geserveerd als poppetjes
die u een spiegel voorhouden. Zelfs de adviserende autoriteiten zien er schattig
uit. Het is allemaal één groot feest. Het culturele landschap is volgens deze
video los te denken van de samenleving, het heeft daarmee een duale relatie waarbij de een de ander wel beïnvloed maar ze komen nooit tot
elkaar. De
Minister toont ons een zak geld voor talentontwikkeling terwijl ze dit
potentieel al jaren niets fundamenteels te bieden heeft. Het gaat namelijk om
meer dan geld alleen. Instellingen en makers zegt zij in staat te stellen om
aan hun eigen identiteit te werken. Alsof cultuur het beste integreert tussen
de andere merken die wij kennen uit het snoepautomaat. De Minister verschijnt hier zelf als een grappig figuurtje dat ruimte creëert. Wanneer je die geboden ruimte niet ziet ben je waarschijnlijk niet flexibel genoeg. </div>
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Met name in de hoogste regionen van de culturele elite is
men volgens mij ernstig de weg kwijt geraakt in dit door henzelf verzonnen
sprookjesbos. Terwijl de onderkant van het culturele veld op eigen kracht en in
de marge op interessante wijze innoveert, meent een Stedelijk Museum met zowel publiek als privaat geld stapels <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Zero_(art)&oldid=684240185" target="_blank">ZERO</a> werken te moeten upgraden voor een
breed publiek in haar kelder. Alsof we met één <a href="http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/lucio-fontana-1102" target="_blank">Lucio Fontana</a> niet meer uit de
voeten kunnen en deze tentoonstelling enkel verwordt tot het spiegelbeeld van de
rotzooi die we van thuis kennen.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Gisteren las ik <a href="http://theartofimpact.nl/kunstenaars-worden-niet-opgeleid-tot-lobbyisten-2/" target="_blank">dat kunstenaars niet zijn opgeleid als lobbyisten</a>, maar agendaloos zouden zijn en daarom ‘impactproducenten’ nodig hebben. Is de minister die dit mogelijk maakt misschien overspannen of onder
invloed? Dagelijks vechten cultuurmakers met een volle agenda in-, met- en
tegen een geprivatiseerd landschap dat systematisch uitsluit. Bruggen worden
hier naar mijn mening niet geslagen met een <i><a href="http://theartofimpact.nl/impact-award/">Impact Award</a></i>. Innovatie vraagt om een stimulerende en voorwaarden scheppende overheid, of het nu gaat om de ontwikkeling van de farmaceutische industrie, de ICT of de
cultuursector. Volgens mij is de
Minister dusdanig op het verkeerde been gezet door reclames van bedrijven
dat zij een opfriscursus verdient over de betekenisvolle rol van het culturele,
het menselijke kapitaal.<br />
<br />
Tekst <a href="http://www.edwinstolk.nl/" target="_blank">Edwin Stolk</a></div>
Edwin Stolkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02675813353946145108noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7206738538636122110.post-5028460055511122552015-10-11T18:33:00.003+02:002015-10-11T19:22:39.942+02:00Tino Sehgal and This opposite of Progress<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.stedelijk.nl/en/exhibitions/a-year-at-the-stedelijk-tino-sehgal"><img border="0" height="411" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWQ9LGQTJTkHT6UiRxYFuC82hRsRnGchzOcR0tzNg4vUgi9boi-GLN-CzcfMHvTMYqyI-QGF2dE64V_Cae4AY5ggaeGaGdq8sERxMYIA7gbYedafoqLJZ3Btmu0mlhaOKh-7H5VVAA5cDL/s640/this+progress.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<i><b><span style="text-align: start;">“Conversation = The </span><u style="text-align: start;">exchange </u><span style="text-align: start;">of thoughts and feelings by means of speech or sign language.”</span></b></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Allow me to share with you some critical thoughts. <span lang="EN-US">As a real fan of the ZERO group it was about time to visit the Stedelijk
Museum in Amsterdam: ZERO<i> <a href="http://www.stedelijk.nl/en/exhibitions/zero-let-us-explore-the-stars">let us explore the stars</a></i> on show till 8 November. Shortly after entering the contemporary façade
of the museum I was slightly disappointed when realizing that the ZERO exhibition was
‘piled up’ on level -1 = the basement. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"> In Otto
Piene’s words “ZERO” expressed, <i>“a zone
of silence and of pure possibilities for a new beginning.”</i> Here at the Stedelijk
they choose a ‘<i>more is more’</i> approach
to ZERO. The individual works are offered almost no space as if the museum lost
all hope for a simple an pure new beginning.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"> In search of that fresh start I arrived at the top
floor of this contemporary art temple where a young girl stepped forward from a group
and invited me to follow her inside one of the museum spaces. The heavy door
closed softly behind us as she posed the question ‘What is progress?’ </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"> Seemingly
naïve and not yet thinking about Sehgals work <i>This progress (2010), </i>we started what we thought was an equal human interaction. </span>My first
answer was that the presentation of the ZERO
show in the basement was <i>the opposite of
progress</i>. My wife referred to death and
the circle of life. While moving slowly through the space another teenager appeared
and the first one started to repeat our ideas before she left. Now the second
asked to follow and so on…</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"> Tino Sehgal
makes what he calls “constructed situations.” </span>He uses the raw materials
of voice, language, and movement to build pieces of art. He hires a corps of
“interpreters who, according to a set of rules devised by Sehgal, engaged each
visitor in a conversation. <span lang="EN-US">First
a child, then a teenager, then an adult and finally an older person who all ask questions
related to the idea of progress. A <a href="http://mobile.nytimes.com/2010/03/13/arts/design/13progress.html?referer=&_r=2">New York Times article</a> refers to the </span>intensity of this job where they continuously have philosophical conversations with
sometimes 70 different visitors a day.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"> As I wrote above
I thought to participate in an equal conversation. Pretty soon I found out that the main
mission of the interpreters was to keep
us moving- and the interaction going- while delivering us to the next person
in line. The dominance of this imposed pattern (as a machine) was obviously more
important than to establish a conversation with quality. In other words, the way the artwork
had to function was more important than the ideas that could be shared in a possible exchange with the
performers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"> Progress in
general is an idea imposed on us, real human
exchange of knowledge could influence its accepted collective meaning. Words as
economical growth are depending on a preferred idea of progress as well as the
development of the artistic career of Sehgal. But what about his responsibility
when this progress leads to a museum stage where he can facilitate this influential conversation
with an audience? Sehgal provides a false image of human exchange here and </span>ignores its potential totally. He forgets to remove the so called ‘<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fourth_wall">fourth wall</a>’ between
the performer and his audience. How different is the role of the viewer here, compared
to an audience that perceives a painting? In both cases is what the viewer thinks irrelevant to the actual work, but where a painting allows you to think for yourself Seghal is busy with leading you around while keeping you talking.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"> If renewing
the arts is the highest aim here it seems to be also the only one. By arranging a (fake)meeting
between performers and the museum audience under the authority of his
leadership, Seghal acts no different from any other call centre manager. What you think is not important as long as it
sells. The performers could bring the message of any other corporation, they
don’t need to think but just do their job.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"> When we arrive
at the oldest person in line who prepares to treat us by the rules of Seghal, I
insist the man to stop. He wants to show us the exit, but I tell him that I
will find my own way out. By removing ‘the
fourth wall’, our conversation finally starts and the man reacts: “Let me help you out, this is not a concentration
camp.”<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US">Text <a href="http://www.edwinstolk.nl/">Edwin Stolk</a></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Other interesting links:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
- <a href="http://mobile.nytimes.com/2010/03/13/arts/design/13progress.html?referer=&_r=2">At the Guggenheim, the Art Walked Beside You, AskingQuestions</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">- <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2012/08/06/the-question-artist">TheQuestion Artist</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
- <a href="http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2010/03/06/tino-sehgals-this-progress-the-missing-childrens-guide/">Tino Sehgal’s “This Progress”: The Missing Children’s Guide</a></div>
Edwin Stolkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02675813353946145108noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7206738538636122110.post-79696086622971602712015-09-24T22:44:00.001+02:002015-09-29T10:49:38.019+02:00Open Space for Culture<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">After
publishing my <a href="http://strangemessenger.blogspot.nl/2015/06/open-ruimte-voor-cultuur.html">open letter</a> in Dutch to Minister Bussemaker </span>the end of June 2015 I received several
requests for an English translation.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCXBjbBP7f1eMg8vNTmgrofQRY1_4DXtdaGJ9cFiB1an55yaVIhHX6wmXcETFyNWFSkEpQ9HtRYGHzmM5MtH9X2q81B3DdXDOS8NlekA6Jj-JlP1N7AhKPyZUam7WSRbjdsLogRmsyqk9Y/s1600/GirlwithaPearlEarringduringthedrawingoflots+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCXBjbBP7f1eMg8vNTmgrofQRY1_4DXtdaGJ9cFiB1an55yaVIhHX6wmXcETFyNWFSkEpQ9HtRYGHzmM5MtH9X2q81B3DdXDOS8NlekA6Jj-JlP1N7AhKPyZUam7WSRbjdsLogRmsyqk9Y/s640/GirlwithaPearlEarringduringthedrawingoflots+%25281%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">The
Girl with the Pearl Earring from the famous painting by Johannes Vermeer comes
to life at the lottery for the world championship beach volleyball 2015 </span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Dear
Minister Bussemaker<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"> Let me
start by expressing my admiration for your work as Minister of Education,
Culture and Science. Your tone of voice in the political debates is different than your predecessor and is widely
appreciated. With this open letter it is
my aim to address the right valuation of the words 'Space for Culture' (words which
are used as the title for the <a href="https://www.rijksoverheid.nl/documenten/beleidsnotas/2015/06/08/ruimte-voor-cultuur">Dutch Cultural Policy 2017-2020</a>). It would be
disrespectful to underestimate your
value as Minister but following the debates around art I often miss the right
valuation for its potential. Therefore here my personal request to activate
your political decisiveness and provide direction to this debate. In my opinion it is time to think of a more significant role for the arts. Don't understand me wrong, my words are not intended as yet another complaint at your address, saying that in the past everything was better and I am also not
asking for extra governmental money despite my poor financial position. What I
do want is a brief moment of your precious time to discuss with you the shared responsibility when we talk about the design of our shared cultural
space. With some practical examples I want to express my concerns
and clarify my intensions. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"> Last year I welcomed a tax officer </span>together with my accountant. He took the whole afternoon to
investigate (and could afford that space in time) the status of my professional
practice. His main question was whether ‘the space’ that I use with my
practice belonged to cultural entrepreneurship or instead, the facts proved my existence as an amateur. The two beautiful courses I enjoyed at well
respected art institutions were irrelevant for his assessment. I worked with ease enough hours to be
considered a professional but the valuation of these hours moneywise was too
low and the main reason for his visit. That afternoon the employee of the Dutch tax
authorities advised me to make work that I could donate to the Stedelijk Museum
in Amsterdam. According to this
employee, doing so would increase my market value significantly. Think of what
it means when I could mention to be part of their collection! When you consider that my professional practice
consists of organizing temporary interventions in public space, you probably also
understand that his advise was not custom-made.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"> When we
take a closer look at the way our cultural space is functioning today we see
that it is divided into several categories. Within each separate ‘booth’ everyone is individually responsible for his/her own well-being and
therefore tries to get the maximum amount of profit out of the ‘other.’ Within
these categories artists inhabit a special position. They are concerned with
‘the image’ of society and investigate the ideas that lay behind. When we consider
society as their main client, we witness a great lack of interest from that
same society for the common and substantive capabilities offered by art.
Besides a missed opportunity this testifies in my opinion of cultural
poverty. You cannot reduce the responsibility for our shared cultural space and
narrow it down to the individual cultural entrepreneur in a market. The social value of a work of art can only arise in connection with a set
of spatial opportunities that exist interconnected, both -within and -outside
the market.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"> Let me give
you another example of wrong valuation. Earlier this year I saw an enthusiastic call meant for artists
living and working in Utrecht. They were asked to send in their portfolio if
they would like to partake in a group show with the theme: Under Control.
The venue for this exhibition was a former prison located at Wolvenplein in
the city centre of Utrecht. Financial
compensation for their contribution was unfortunately missing. This was clearly
mentioned, so everybody knew what to expect. Eventually there were 268 entries and
out of these applications 41 artists
were selected by a professional jury. I was intrigued by this context and my proposal was part of the final selection. It was my strong
believe that the offered "space for culture" in this prison context had
everything to do with the theme of control
itself and I had to address this. How influential
are your opportunities without financial resources? Take in account here that this
prison had to close down in 2014 after government cutbacks. At this very moment the building is waiting
for a private buyer. The State Real Estate Company is collaborating with an
anti-squatting firm that has founded ‘The Free Wolf’ to organize temporary cultural
activities until a suitable buyer is found. The art is used for free as a temporary
security concept to prevent the building from being squatted.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"> But the circumstances
which the art had to compete with were even more alarming. A few weeks before the opening I received an
email saying that visitors had to pay an entrance fee of 6 Euros. Later it became clear that the organization
had to pay rent for using the prison and cover the costs for security. Because their organization lacked enough
financial possibilities, they received a guarantee (a loan) from the
municipality of Utrecht. So by offering this space for culture they took a
large financial risk. We should be thankful as members of society that there
are people who dare to take these kind of risks, but from the point of view of
our shared responsibility something is very wrong
here. At the opening of the exhibition an
official of the Utrecht municipality compliments the organizers that they succeeded with so limited financial resources. The
money of thousands of visitors and I'm not exaggerating here (the first weekend
alone 1,500 visitors) goes as far as I understood to
Bewaakt & Bewoont and the government.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"> The
enthusiastic volunteers, the organizers of the exhibition and the artists did
their work for free. Dear Minister please do not confuse this with the flexibility
of the cultural sector but associate this in the first place with cultural
poverty and the exploitation of everybody that pays an effort to
shape our contemporary cultural space.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"> Within this setting I offered the opportunity for private meetings with visitors.
Precious conversations with a high human value in a prison cell. We discussed </span>critically the
role and function of art within this context. To inform you well the tenth of June I received an
email after the exhibition had closed, with the offer to declare 100
Euros for my expenses. Maybe there are people annoyed that I
address this situation in detail but I do think that it is important to show
how the "space for culture" is functioning today. I also want to point out that there are exhibitions organized where the artists do receive a
fee but they are rather exceptions than the norm. Let me be clear that I've seen the
enthusiasm of the organizers in Utrecht and I do not doubt their good intentions.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"> This
example shows in my opinion how the "space for culture" is a hostage
of more powerful market mechanisms. In this case the outcome is serving the
real estate businesses that abuse ‘culture’ in order to benefit themselves as
much as possible. The organizers of this exhibition are originated in Utrecht
and dependent of their relation with the municipality, therefore they have a weak position to negotiate. The artists do
not constitute a collective interest and hope to improve their individual careers.
Where all these players are sidelined we see that the city of Utrecht makes a
clear choice to apply this business model while on the other hand they do have the financial means
to organize the Tour de France. They exhibit here without any shame their
ideological poverty.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"> Today's
event culture focuses increasingly on the applicability of the art concept (as
an empty box) in a dominant commercial framework and it is less and less about
the innovative value of art for society. Artists should play a much more active
role and also demand it. It is their task to reflect
as independent as possible towards the presented conditions of our society. Real Space for Culture thus contributes to the
creation of a healthy society. The artist constructs visuals which do not only
intend to be presented in art institutions but preferably appear also outside these neutralized bastions, collaborating with- and showing inside corporations, governments and
as a dynamic part of the public space. As a valued partner when it deals with the
development of new ideas and in close collaboration with others, shareholders, to
translate these ideas in visual realizations. As a signifier of living space
and society. This position and valuation of the artist is totally lacking today. I miss a proper recognition for this
expertise in market-oriented governance models and I also do not see this role represented
in the policy papers for culture 2017-2020.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"> Let the current stimulation programs for art in
relation to society as for example: <a href="http://theartofimpact.nl/">The Art of Impact</a>, not end up
as another empty political statement. Please invest in the right value for art
and increase its influence as cultural signifier by opening up commercial
infrastructure. My practice shows that any impact of art is carefully avoided,
turned off and neutralized. A few years ago my proposal for a laboratory in an empty
shop, that intended to investigate the used commercial (visual) language in a
shopping mall was professionally blocked by the real estate owners. This
happened under the eyes of local politicians. While I am still convinced that
art can contribute to the development of new solutions for the impoverishment and
vacancy of these shopping centers.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"> Politicians
hide when an artist shows up at the municipality with a proposal that reaches
outside the box. Last year I proposed a participatory theatre piece in
Nijmegen that had to enable a broad public to research the potential of a
participatory society that we hear so often about. The immediate reason for my
proposal was a policy which stated that citizens themselves should engage
actively with the public parks, trees and bushes in the city. Every inhabitant also
had to give the public green at minimum the grade 7. Nowhere was explained how
they would organize this referendum. Art
can play a significant role here but my proposal was rejected with a phone call
and later by letter. I offered to meet me in person but they refused. If you ask me this is a missed opportunity.
For large commercial events the city is warming up and closing down every
street but for nonprofit cultural experiments the municipality rejects any
dialogue. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"> Dear
Minister Bussemaker when it comes to a debate on culture you often discuss with
the same people the (re)distribution of public funds. I think you need to
talk with other partners about the shared responsibility for the cultural design of society. It is of the utmost importance for example that
artists already during their education have studio spaces at world leading companies.
Studios where they can develop embedded their independent visuals. Offering
temporary spaces for a low rent when the company has left the building is a business
model that undervalues the artists potential. Any commercial partner should have
the interest to invest money or resources to get the right insights in
the alternative image of his own appearance. This is the only way to anticipate
on a possible future and the emancipation of consumers. Every
politician should strive for openness and involve artists when formulating political
visions and ideas. If that was the case we already had developed
ideas on how a participatory society might look like. A material fund with
interest-free loans is not very helpful if you need to realize temporary
interventions. Artists need a real
material fund where the available infrastructure of the market can be used for
their research. Not to please them but from the existential necessity to do so! Today a new generation
of artists is graduating, I hope that society is going to take these
professionals more serious. Besides a mental change in the right valuation it is also necessary to organize payment for their work. There are investigations going
on and I sincerely hope that you can implement the outcome in proper policies. The
artist is one of the few workers who is trained to relate as independent as
possible to the presented image of the
shared cultural space. He is aware of the market and keeps its rules in mind but
these rules can never prevail. It is his job to enrich society by competing and
testing the existing image of everyday with alternatives. It is ironic to note that this important
position today means a life sentence of endlessly seeking support. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"> In our
capitalist society capabilities are linked to the financial viability and when
this is missing irrelevant. This on first sight innocent system of the free market
only allows itself to be (re)created. Alternative
imaging that ignores this logic is not facilitated. All players who believe in
a real open and innovative society I would like to invite to act.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"> Because it is about
time Minister Bussemaker to convince both politicians and businessmen to
facilitate real Space for Culture that leads to the emancipation of society. Truly innovative corporations facilitate space and means to get to know
their own alternative, they dare to question themselves in public debates,
even when the outcome might mean that they have to give up their monopoly on a visual
reality. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Yours sincerely,</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.edwinstolk.nl/">Edwin Stolk</a></div>
Edwin Stolkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02675813353946145108noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7206738538636122110.post-37852146707259799782015-09-10T14:47:00.001+02:002015-09-10T15:13:23.231+02:00I salute you for a job well done<h4 style="text-align: left;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">English text scroll down</span></h4>
<h4 style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie9fcitd4SKaBOGAZDtNG2spoqQbJe_hoNkBaIpyonMYInbFwAaKG190lIchV6FXBpZZqib0ObYHIH_MfpuUsb0vUfZBpKam8FM0JIJKVHN1yI84DlqI20zmZ46LhNcHi729dkCvdttP6L/s1600/11270557_471555879666750_6976608037200629861_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie9fcitd4SKaBOGAZDtNG2spoqQbJe_hoNkBaIpyonMYInbFwAaKG190lIchV6FXBpZZqib0ObYHIH_MfpuUsb0vUfZBpKam8FM0JIJKVHN1yI84DlqI20zmZ46LhNcHi729dkCvdttP6L/s640/11270557_471555879666750_6976608037200629861_o.jpg" width="488" /></a></h4>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="line-height: 115%;">Stel je voor
dat de voormalige vliegbasis Soesterberg een denkbeeldige website is en jij deze bezoekt. Dan is het gepresenteerde beeldmateriaal embedded in de site. Maar omdat
de broncode van deze omgeving zich niet eenvoudig digitaal laat vertalen is het
de vraag of de gepresenteerde kunstenaars de juiste code gebruiken. Dinsdag 8 sept. kreeg ik een rondleiding van
curator Ella Derksen door de tentoonstelling: <i>Embedded Art</i>. Deze is nog te bezoeken in het weekend van 12
– 13 september. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"> Embedded is bijvoorbeeld
ook een YouTube filmpje op internet. Je kopieert de code en plaatst deze in de bron
van je website zodat het in een browser verschijnt. De geringste fout in de
code zorgt ervoor dat de video niet werkt. Wat overblijft is een brei van
getallen en letters.Wanneer je de programmeertaal beheerst kun je haar vakkundig
besturen en met precisie manipuleren.</span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDh03zdGCq820wp4jgDc5iZDYNCP3WEOfxHDXyoVMoLRhnqJpEbXyuv15YiFtovNopDir9z0ExH60W4JDpBwgJQTTnUI2YyrBZwszvbX7a-ZKnN5CboBLQPHbndFnamoo3VewTIvORZv7w/s1600/2266907.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDh03zdGCq820wp4jgDc5iZDYNCP3WEOfxHDXyoVMoLRhnqJpEbXyuv15YiFtovNopDir9z0ExH60W4JDpBwgJQTTnUI2YyrBZwszvbX7a-ZKnN5CboBLQPHbndFnamoo3VewTIvORZv7w/s640/2266907.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">NLD-19830618-SOESTERBERG:
Bij de vliegbasis Soesterberg wordt de demonstratie 'Hand in Hand voor de
Vrede' gehouden. ANPFOTO / STEINMEIER</span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="line-height: 115%;">De broncode waarmee
we hier in Soesterberg te maken hebben kent
niet alleen een rijk luchtvaart verleden. Het was ook de plaats van
maatschappelijke weerstand, discussie en protest. Een plek midden in de natuur waar
voor- en tegenstanders zich uitspraken over de militaire situatie. Kaleb de Groot
en Roosje Klap brachten de historie van dit gebied in kaart met hun project:
<a href="http://www.thereceptor.nl/"><i>The receptor</i></a>. </span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh0YNWPzJhSPhXZY_TJis57-jgfPYb1FSXU2Nn8_p9ZL2i027huBv4I6jr40qkU_SG8XmvYo30tlnMOSXNYddtAGKrymRJZh9dXTP3KqzoJzfHsNJNoQ45YF99JnIkkwbnbHudXUjESQ2N/s1600/WP_006704.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh0YNWPzJhSPhXZY_TJis57-jgfPYb1FSXU2Nn8_p9ZL2i027huBv4I6jr40qkU_SG8XmvYo30tlnMOSXNYddtAGKrymRJZh9dXTP3KqzoJzfHsNJNoQ45YF99JnIkkwbnbHudXUjESQ2N/s640/WP_006704.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 18.4px; text-align: start;">Detail: Het</span><span style="line-height: 18.4px; text-align: start;"> </span><span style="line-height: 18.4px; text-align: start;">Kabinet van Nagekomen Oorlogsberichten - Luuk Wilmering</span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="line-height: 115%;">Luuk
Wilmering toont hier met <i>Het Kabinet van
Nagekomen Oorlogsberichten</i> vanuit een persoonlijk perspectief een verzameling
foto’s die hij o.a. gemaakt heeft in verschillende oorlogsmusea. Hij vestigt daarmee
op speelse wijze de aandacht op het militaire verleden van Soesterberg. Hoe
herinneren mensen een oorlog? En hoe leven die herinneringen voort bij iemand
die het zelf niet heeft meegemaakt? De installatie als geheel vind ik wisselend
interessant maar niet overal even overtuigend. De locatie ‘US Airforce
Command Bunker’, bunker 600 staat daarentegen als een huis. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"> De film <i>Travel
</i>van David Claerbout wordt monumentaal in een grote vliegtuig shelter gepresenteerd.
Zonder probleem neemt hij je mee en is het alsof je met eigen ogen een </span><span style="background: white; line-height: 115%;">idyllisch
bos aftast. Claerbout zet hiermee vakkundig de maakbare natuur op de agenda. De
zoete nasmaak van dit digitale feestje levert een mooi contrast met de betonnen
militaire overblijfselen van de voormalige legerbasis.</span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUeuws9yXFg2HQYv26V6ZWTFoSAuFa7Z17_a-Qw-ARDUKMZz7JRBrTk8e1-0TfVomcPKp5bczNre-O-z-bxuYn9T6ttUYQDAvSxIjA1mJBeozIjineIl1OD7U-ojTk3on6flDbRXVwlVx5/s1600/WP_006718.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUeuws9yXFg2HQYv26V6ZWTFoSAuFa7Z17_a-Qw-ARDUKMZz7JRBrTk8e1-0TfVomcPKp5bczNre-O-z-bxuYn9T6ttUYQDAvSxIjA1mJBeozIjineIl1OD7U-ojTk3on6flDbRXVwlVx5/s640/WP_006718.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="MsoNormal">
Reconstruction 0, 2015 - Anno Dijkstra</div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="background: white; line-height: 115%;">Anno Dijkstra presenteert een enorme atoomwolk
die hij knap heeft gerealiseerd, liggend in een shelter en ondersteund met steigermateriaal.
Ik vraag mij alleen af waarom dit symbool van wetenschappelijke innovatie, wat
dood en verderf heeft gezaaid, de bescherming van een bunker verdient? Waar het
Dijkstra zou gaan om de schaal van een dergelijke explosie te laten voelen gaat
het naar mijn mening door de knieën voor de afmetingen van de ruimte. Waarom is
er niet gekozen om dit beladen symbool groots te laten vergaan in de
buitenlucht?</span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxt31eK1NNVgBNL-XDE-krxENtT8RyjIuYRZUTJ4k9zOUs8JJjerCQWlLPWbaKwniXDLIP0rdLsBDecM7lDxLDdPzV0R5AbelnS3seeiyuxptdPAcKPVvZ47U9OCloqssvOmA-hL4ookrS/s1600/WP_006716.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxt31eK1NNVgBNL-XDE-krxENtT8RyjIuYRZUTJ4k9zOUs8JJjerCQWlLPWbaKwniXDLIP0rdLsBDecM7lDxLDdPzV0R5AbelnS3seeiyuxptdPAcKPVvZ47U9OCloqssvOmA-hL4ookrS/s640/WP_006716.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="line-height: 18.4px; text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Guernica Syndrome van Fernando Sánchez Castillo</span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="line-height: 115%;">Naar mijn
smaak zijn de gebruikte beeldcodes wel sterk maar teveel als ‘kunst’ aangebracht
en daarom gebruik ik </span><span style="line-height: 18.4px;">expres</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"> het woord embedded hier niet. Embedded is een kwaliteit die ik graag meer
zou willen zien als het om kunst gaat en vraagt om verbindingen buiten de eigen
categorie. Wanneer je bijvoorbeeld kijkt naar het werk <i>Guernica Syndrome</i> van Fernando
Sánchez Castillo waarbij pallets schroot zelfverzekerd het gebied in zijn
geïmporteerd gaat de kunstenaar (op uitnodiging) voorbij aan de broncode van
het gebied en geeft de valse indruk (misschien onbewust) deze te ‘kennen’. Alleen een ‘white cube’ omgeving pretendeert
deze omgevingsneutraliteit. Door de broncode hier te negeren gedraagt het zich als
een verplaatsbaar en losgezongen product. De verbinding ontbreekt.
Terwijl het gebied zoals curator Ella Derksen mij mooi vertelde zich momenteel juist
in een interessante interbellum fase bevindt. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"> Meer in het algemeen gesproken krijg
ik soms de indruk alsof we niet verder komen dan het herwaarderen van beelden
uit het verleden d.m.v. hedendaagse esthetiek. De vraag bekruipt mij of er
misschien geen draagvlak meer is te vinden voor een experimentele beeldvorming
waarbij dit fundament ontbreekt?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"> Om bij de
voormalige vliegbasis te komen moest ik mij bewegen via een strikt
gecontroleerd en overvol netwerk van wegen. De tussenfase waarin deze verlaten
basis zich bevindt staat hier als schril contrast tegenover en biedt naar mijn
mening een zeldzame onbestemde ruimte.
Juist nu de militaire macht haar aandacht heeft verplaatst en op een eigen
museum na het gebied de rug heeft toegekeerd.</span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvU0uRQDgOygMdtfNtdUR_zajy5447SYaLhW0ocs2QkxrmlCuqISc9t-uRmlr4s_X2eEljgN6b40uURwBKamRi08clSWX-DlpYTYvw8JXyvLrDomKaCiIZo39vpPVY38EBytkCxXHwBoQD/s1600/5ff79201546f0080033ec1e870ba96faad96fac0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvU0uRQDgOygMdtfNtdUR_zajy5447SYaLhW0ocs2QkxrmlCuqISc9t-uRmlr4s_X2eEljgN6b40uURwBKamRi08clSWX-DlpYTYvw8JXyvLrDomKaCiIZo39vpPVY38EBytkCxXHwBoQD/s640/5ff79201546f0080033ec1e870ba96faad96fac0.jpg" width="448" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 14.72px;">'Hand in Hand voor de Vrede'</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"> Wanneer je
bedenkt dat hier in 1982 vijf maanden lang vrouwen protesteerden in het
internationale vredeskamp Soesterberg tegen de escalerende bewapeningswedloop
en haar symbool politiek. Zij riepen leuzen als <i>‘Take the toys from the boys’ </i>en
‘<i>ontmantel de basis</i>’. Nu dat dan eindelijk is gebeurd moet de hedendaagse kunst
toch de aanjager zijn om over het verleden heen uit te kijken naar de toekomst?
Wordt het niet tijd om de verhalende symboolfunctie, waarbij het beeld lijdzaam
wacht op de bereidwilligheid van een beschouwer en zijn genegenheid tot
reflectie te verlaten en haar werkelijk te embedden in het potentieel van vandaag?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; line-height: 115%;">Ik raad u aan om zelf de tijd te nemen en
hier een mening over te vormen, er zijn in het totaal 10 kunstwerken in deze
tentoonstelling die uw bezoek meer dan waard zijn.</span><br />
<span style="background: white; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span>
<span style="background: white; line-height: 115%;">Tekst: Edwin Stolk</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://www.embeddedart.nl/">www.embeddedart.nl</a><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">English text: "I
salute you for a job well done '<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"> Imagine
that the former military airbase Soesterberg is an imaginary website that you
visit. In that case the presented artworks would be embedded in the site. But
because the source of this environment is hard to translate in a digital
language, I question whether the presented artists are using the correct code
that enables them to appear for real. Tuesday 8 September I was given a tour
through the exhibition: Embedded Art by curator Ella Derksen. You can still visit
the show in the weekend of 12 and 13 September 2015.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"> For example
a YouTube video is embedded on the internet. You copy the code and insert it
into the source of your website so that the video appears in a browser. The slightest
error in this code ensures that the video is not working. What remains visible
is a mess of numbers and letters. When you master the computer programming
language you can manipulate the outcome and control it with precision.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"> The source
code that we are dealing with here in Soesterberg not only has a rich air force
history, it was also the site of social resistance, debate and protest. A place
surrounded by nature where supporters and opponents spoke out about the
military situation. Kaleb de Groot and Roosje Klap archived this history with
their project: <a href="http://www.thereceptor.nl/">The receptor</a>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"> Luuk
Wilmering shows from a personal point of view with<i>‘Het Kabinet van Nagekomen Oorlogsberichten’</i> a
collection of pictures that he made in various war museums. He playfully draws the
attention to the military history of Soesterberg. How do people remember a war?
And how do those memories continue to live on in the mind of someone who has
not experienced war himself? I find the whole installation alternately
interesting but not always convincing. The location instead is impressive, the
'US Airforce Command Bunker', 600 bunker.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"> <i>Travel </i>is a
film by David Claerbout and presented monumentally in a large aircraft shelter.
Without any doubt he is very capable to take the viewer by the hand and it's
like scanning an idyllic forest with my own eyes. Claerbout skillfully addresses
with his work the manufacturable nature. The sweet taste of this digital party
provides a nice contrast to the concrete military relics of the former military
base.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"> Anno
Dijkstra presents an enormous atomic cloud that he has constructed, lying
horizontally in a big shelter and is supported by scaffolding. I only wonder
why this symbol of scientific innovation, a symbol of death and destruction,
deserves the protection of a former air force bunker? Where Dijkstra wanted the
viewer to experience the scale of such an explosion, he goes in my opinion through
his knees to protect his piece within the limited dimensions of the space. I
wonder why he has not chosen for the option to present this loaded symbol
outdoors and let it perish there?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"> To my taste
the visual codes used are however strong but too much like "art" made
and that is why I avoid the word embedded here. Embedded is a quality that I
would like to see more often when it comes to art and art creation, it asks for
connections that reach outside its own category. For example if you look at the
work <i>Guernica Syndrome </i>by Fernando Sánchez Castillo, where pallets with scrap are
confidently imported into the area, the artist (by invitation) ignores the
source code of the surrounding and gives the false impression (perhaps
unconsciously) to "know" the coding of this environment. Only the
white cube is a more or less neutralized surrounding. By ignoring the source
here the work acts like a movable and independent product. The surrounding
connection is missing. While the area at this very moment is currently in a
very interesting interbellum phase as curator Ella Derksen told me. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"> More
generally speaking, I sometimes get the impression that we do not get beyond
the revaluation of images from the past by representing them in a contemporary
aesthetical way. The question that keeps me awake here is, there might perhaps not
be any support anymore for an experimental visual language that lacks this clear
historical foundation?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"> In order to
arrive at the former airbase, I had to move through a strictly controlled and
congested road network. The intermediate stage in which the abandoned base exists
at the moment feels as a nice contrast to this controlled experience and
provides in my opinion a rare indefinable space for new opportunities. Especially
now when the military has turned its back to this area except of having its own
museum located there. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"> When you consider
that in 1982 for five months, women were protesting in the international peace
camp Soesterberg against the escalating arms race and its symbolic political
function. They shouted slogans like <i>"Take the toys from the boys"</i> and
<i>"dismantle the base”.</i> Now when you realize that the base finally is dismantled the
artists cannot be speechless in my opnion and must offer a view over the past towards a
future ahead. I wonder why we don't leave this symbolic role of
art as narrator behind, in which the picture is patiently waiting for the willingness of a
spectator and his affection to open up for its offered reflection. It is about time to really embed the arts into the potential and needs of today.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I advise
you to take the time to visit the show and formulate your own opinion, there
are in total 10 works in this exhibition and worthwhile visiting.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US">Text: Edwin Stolk</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://www.embeddedart.nl/">www.embeddedart.nl</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Edwin Stolkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02675813353946145108noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7206738538636122110.post-44845339913625604592015-06-29T18:12:00.000+02:002015-09-24T23:11:19.779+02:00Open Ruimte voor Cultuur <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipAfmAaetz01KuutQpD1yaVA4emtfm9yggZRryHNt6gxp7ykx7K3bM60IwWpZaZsHk_tcrDfrwnixrnY0q7v-TflrKVkVx4KQEio1XpqnDoPnEp8SuFZkJQmQ4LJYOytrR3Aea89u_hxbi/s1600/GirlwithaPearlEarringduringthedrawingoflots.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="435" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipAfmAaetz01KuutQpD1yaVA4emtfm9yggZRryHNt6gxp7ykx7K3bM60IwWpZaZsHk_tcrDfrwnixrnY0q7v-TflrKVkVx4KQEio1XpqnDoPnEp8SuFZkJQmQ4LJYOytrR3Aea89u_hxbi/s640/GirlwithaPearlEarringduringthedrawingoflots.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="MsoNormal">
Het Meisje met de parel uit het schilderij van Johannes Vermeer
komt tot leven om lootjes te trekken voor het wereldkampioenschap strandvolleybal 2015. (<a href="http://netherlands2015.fivb.org/nl/gallery" target="_blank">bron</a>)</div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">(<a href="http://strangemessenger.blogspot.nl/2015/09/open-space-for-culture.html">Link to English text</a>)</span><br />
<br />
Geachte mevrouw Bussemaker,</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Laat mij beginnen met bewondering uit te spreken voor uw
werkzaamheden als Minister van Onderwijs, Cultuur en Wetenschap. De toon die u
gebruikt in het politieke debat is anders dan uw voorganger en wordt breed
gewaardeerd. Vanuit de maatschappij die we samen vormgeven wil ik het als praktiserend kunstenaar met u hebben over
de betekenis van ‘<a href="http://www.rijksoverheid.nl/documenten-en-publicaties/notas/2015/06/08/ruimte-voor-cultuur.html" target="_blank">Ruimte voor Cultuur</a>’. Het zou van weinig smaak getuigen wanneer
ik uw waarde voor de samenleving verkeerd inschat zoals bij kunst niet zelden
het geval is. Mijn schrijven aan u doet dan ook een beroep op uw politieke slagvaardigheid
om richting te geven en agendeert de betekenis en verdeling van waarde(ring) binnen deze Ruimte voor Cultuur. Mijn woorden zijn geenszins bedoeld als de zoveelste klaagzang
aan uw adres dat vroeger alles beter was en ik roep ondanks mijn benauwde
financiële positie ook niet om extra geld van de overheid. Wel vraag ik een
moment van uw kostbare tijd om het met u te hebben over de gedeelde maatschappelijke
verantwoordelijkheid bij het vormgeven van de culturele ruimte. Ik zal proberen met wat voorbeelden uit de praktijk te verduidelijken
wat ik hiermee bedoel. </div>
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<br /></div>
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Vorig jaar mocht ik samen met mijn accountant iemand van
de belastingdienst ontvangen. Hij had er een hele middag voor uitgetrokken (en
kon zich die ruimte veroorloven) om zich over de status van mijn beroepspraktijk
te buigen. De centrale vraag hierbij was of de ruimte die ik met mijn praktijk innam
nu behoorde tot het culturele ondernemerschap of bevestigden de harde cijfers juist
mijn hobbyisme als amateur? De twee mooie opleidingen die ik heb genoten waren
bij deze afweging irrelevant, de urennorm haalde ik met gemak maar wat daar aan
de andere kant financieel tegenover stond legitimeerde zijn bezoek aan mijn
adres. Die middag adviseerde de medewerker van de belastingdienst onder andere
om werk te maken dat ik kon schenken aan het Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam. Volgens
deze medewerker zou dit mijn marktwaarde aanzienlijk verhogen omdat ik dan op
mijn CV kon vermelden dat mijn werk in hun collectie was opgenomen. Wanneer u
bedenkt dat mijn praktijk bestaat uit het organiseren van tijdelijke
interventies begrijpt u waarschijnlijk ook dat dit advies niet echt ruimte bood
aan de mogelijkheden van mijn onderneming.</div>
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Wanneer we naar het functioneren van de culturele ruimte
kijken zien we dat hij is opgedeeld in categorieën met hokjes waarbinnen iedereen
individueel verantwoordelijk is voor zijn eigen welbevinden met als opdracht de maximale winst uit de ander te halen. Kunstenaars nemen hierbij een
bijzondere positie in. Ze houden zich bezig met het beeld van de samenleving en
de ideeën erachter maar deze ideële opdrachtgever (de samenleving) toont zelf
zeer weinig openingen voor de gemeenschappelijke en inhoudelijke mogelijkheden
van hun potentieel. Ik vind dit naast zorgelijk ook een gemiste kans die getuigt
van culturele armoede. De culturele ruimte kun je niet terugbrengen tot de
verantwoordelijkheid van een individuele culturele ondernemer en zijn product
in een markt. De maatschappelijke waarde van een kunstwerk kan in mijn beleving
alleen ontstaan in de verbinding met het geheel aan mogelijkheden die zich zowel
binnen als buiten de markt voordoen. </div>
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Begin dit jaar zag ik een enthousiaste oproep die was gericht
aan Utrechtse kunstenaars. Zij werden gevraagd om hun portfolio in te sturen
wanneer zij in de maand mei mee wilden doen aan een groepstentoonstelling met als
thema: <a href="http://www.utrechtdownunder.nl/" target="_blank">Onder Controle</a>. De locatie voor deze tentoonstelling was de voormalige
gevangenis aan het Wolvenplein in Utrecht. Een financiële vergoeding voor de
deelnemende kunstenaars behoorde helaas niet tot de mogelijkheden. Dit werd ook
netjes van te voren vermeld. Uiteindelijk werden er uit 268 inzendingen 41
kunstenaars door een vakjury geselecteerd. Omdat deze kunstcontext me intrigeerde bedacht ik een voorstel en dit werd uitgekozen. Ik vond namelijk dat de geboden ‘Ruimte voor Cultuur’ in
deze setting zelf al alles met controle te maken had en wilde hier een punt van
maken. Hoeveel zeggingskracht heb je immers zonder financiële middelen? Bedenk ook
dat deze gevangenis in 2014 haar deuren moest sluiten na overheidsbezuinigingen
en nu wacht op een koper. Tot die tijd werkt het Rijksvastgoedbedrijf samen met
Bewaakt & Bewoont die met het oprichten van <a href="http://www.devrijewolf.nl/" target="_blank">De Vrije Wolf</a> tijdelijk een culturele
bestemming geeft aan dit pand. De kunst wordt met deze tentoonstelling dus
‘gratis’ ingezet als beveiligingsconcept om te voorkomen dat het gebouw bijvoorbeeld
gekraakt wordt.</div>
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Maar de context waarmee de kunst hier voor niks moet
concurreren is helaas nog alarmerender. Een paar weken voor de opening las ik in
een email dat er 6 euro entree wordt gevraagd aan de bezoekers. Later zal mij
duidelijk worden dat de gedreven organisatie van deze tentoonstelling huur &
beveiliging voor het gebruik van de gevangenis moest betalen en
daar zelfs een garantstelling van de gemeente Utrecht voor nodig had. Met het
scheppen van deze ‘Ruimte voor Cultuur’ liepen ze dus een groot financieel
risico. Ik vind dat wij als maatschappij dankbaar moeten zijn dat er mensen
zijn die dit risico nemen, maar vanuit onze gedeelde verantwoordelijkheid voor
de culturele ruimte is de belasting hierbij niet evenredig verdeeld. Een <a href="https://youtu.be/_o23dd6nHk0?t=4m42s" target="_blank">ambtenaar</a>
van de gemeente Utrecht complimenteert de organisatoren bij de opening voor het
geboden resultaat en hij benadrukt daarbij met bewondering dat dit met geringe financiële
middelen is gelukt. Het geld van duizenden bezoekers en ik overdrijf hier niet (het
eerste weekend alleen al 1500 bezoekers) gaat dus zover mij bekend is naar het
verdienmodel van Bewaakt & Bewoont en de overheid. </div>
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De enthousiaste vrijwilligers, de organisatoren van de
tentoonstelling en de kunstenaars doen hun werk gratis. Ik raad u aan dit niet
te verwarren met de door u eerder geroemde flexibiliteit van de cultuursector
maar dit te associëren met de culturele armoede en uitbuiting waarmee vandaag
vorm wordt geven aan de culturele ruimte.
</div>
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Bij deze tentoonstelling heb ik een maand lang in een
gevangeniscel waardevolle gesprekken gevoerd met bezoekers over de rol van
kunst en de positie van de kunstenaar in de samenleving. Voor de volledigheid
wil ik hierbij opmerken dat ik op tien juni een email heb ontvangen waarin
staat dat ik 100euro onkostenvergoeding mag declareren voor mijn
werkzaamheden. Misschien zijn er mensen die het vervelend vinden dat ik deze
situatie in detail beschrijf maar ik vind het een belangrijk voorbeeld om te
laten zien hoe de ‘Ruimte voor Cultuur’ in de praktijk functioneert. Ik weet ook dat er tentoonstellingen worden
georganiseerd waarbij kunstenaars wel een vergoeding krijgen maar die zijn
eerder uitzondering dan regel. Ik heb het enthousiasme gezien waarmee de tentoonstelling in Utrecht werd georganiseerd en wil aan deze intenties dan ook
niets afdoen. </div>
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Dit voorbeeld laat naar mijn mening zien hoe de ‘Ruimte voor
Cultuur’ wordt vermarkt. Dit verdienmodel in dienst van de
vastgoedmarkt heeft daarbij de prioriteit en stelt zichzelf centraal door het concept
‘Ruimte voor Cultuur’ te misbruiken. De organiserende partij is lokaal ingebed en
heeft daarmee een afhankelijkheidsrelatie met de gemeente Utrecht die voor een slechte
onderhandelingspositie zorgt. De kunstenaars vormen geen collectief en hopen
door hun deelname aan een dergelijke tentoonstelling hun individuele positie te
verbeteren. Waar deze spelers allemaal buitenspel staan zien we tegelijkertijd
dat het de gemeente Utrecht niet aan middelen ontbreekt om de Tour de Fance te
organiseren. Het is dus een bewuste keuze om dit verdienmodel toe te passen en het
stelt daarmee op schaamteloze wijze haar ideële armoede tentoon. </div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFO8pFa6gRrS5MVjEQG9SQd3Lsex53Yfnhjfr6oxAaJU0d7TpeYuHHLHfY94xibK3zJIaYD1GQ-S2NUybykD2hYJPTZKYuPDw2LFq3mmYM0e1HFcIbPekU26XTcLTPZPi9FP-BeZujHyz6/s640/18994144360_3eb792a99a_o.jpg" width="640" /></span></td></tr>
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De in 1978 geboren strandvolleyballer Kerri Walsh wordt
volgens oude tradities met moderne 3D technieken tot een vier meter grote held
gemaakt in een FIVB campagne en verschijnt in Den Haag. (<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/roel1943/18994144360/in/photostream/" target="_blank">bron</a>)</div>
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In de hedendaagse <i>event</i>
cultuur gaat het steeds vaker over de toepasbaarheid van het kunstconcept (als
een lege doos) in een dominant commercieel kader en steeds minder over de innovatieve
waarde van kunst voor de samenleving. Kunstenaars moeten naar mijn mening een veel
actievere rol spelen in de maatschappij en deze ook opeisen. Het is namelijk onderdeel van hun praktijk om zo
onafhankelijk mogelijk te reflecteren op de gepresenteerde voorwaarden van de leefomgeving. Echte Ruimte voor Cultuur draagt dus bij aan de totstandkoming van een gezonde
samenleving. De kunstenaar maakt beeldvorming die niet alleen bestemd is voor de presentatie in kunstinstellingen maar ook daarbuiten, in, met en bij bedrijven, overheden en als
onderdeel van de publieke ruimte. Als een reële partner bij de ontwikkeling van
nieuwe ideeën en de vertaling in beeld. Als betekenaar van de leefruimte en de samenleving.
Het ontbreekt vandaag naar mijn mening aan de juiste erkenning voor deze
vakkundigheid in marktgerichte bestuursmodellen en ik zie deze
maatschappelijke rol bij het vormen van kwalitatieve ruimte ook niet terug in de
gepresenteerde beleidsnota’s. </div>
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Laat een stimuleringsfonds als <a href="http://theartofimpact.nl/" target="_blank">The Art of Impact</a> niet
het zoveelste lege politieke statement zijn maar investeer liever in beleid
wat werkelijk bewegingsruimte kan bieden aan de invloed van culturele
betekenaars. Op dit moment wordt de impact van kunst namelijk zorgvuldig
vermeden, uitgeschakeld en geneutraliseerd. Een paar jaar geleden werd bijvoorbeeld mijn ontwerp om een lege winkelruimte te gebruiken voor een beeldend onderzoek naar
de commerciële beeldtaal in een winkelcentrum van tafel geveegd door de vastgoedeigenaar.
Dit gebeurde onder het toeziend oog van de politiek. Terwijl ik er nog steeds
van overtuigd ben dat kunst hier kan bijdragen aan nieuwe oplossingsrichtingen
voor de leegloop en verschraling van dit soort centra.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Maar ook de politiek moet niet wegkruipen als er een
kunstenaar aan het gemeenteloket verschijnt met een voorstel. Zo wilde ik met
bewoners en instellingen vorig jaar een onderzoek initiëren naar de reële mogelijkheden
van de participatiesamenleving waarover we zo vaak horen. Directe aanleiding
was een beleidsnota die stelde dat burgers zelf zich actief met het publieke
groen in de stad mogen bezighouden. Iedere inwoner moest dit groen minimaal het
cijfer 7 geven. Nergens stond hoe men dit wilde gaan inventariseren of organiseren.
Kunst kan bij deze maatschappelijke processen een rol van betekenis spelen. Mijn
vraag om samen te werken werd door de gemeente schriftelijk afgewezen en ieder persoonlijk
gesprek was daarna onmogelijk. Dit zijn gemiste kansen. Voor grote publieksevenementen
wordt de hele stad afgezet maar voor culturele en maatschappelijke experimenten
zonder winstoogmerk sluiten de gemeentelijke loketten. </div>
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Beste mevrouw
Bussemaker het gaat in de discussie over cultuur te vaak en met dezelfde mensen over de verdeling van
het overheidsgeld terwijl we het moeten hebben over de gemeenschappelijke verantwoordelijkheid
bij de duurzame vormgeving van onze samenleving. Het is van het grootste belang
dat kunstenaars al in hun opleidingsfase studioruimte kunnen betrekken bij operationele
bedrijven waar zij zich met onafhankelijke beeldvorming kunnen bezighouden. Dus niet wanneer het bedrijf het pand heeft verlaten deze tegen betaling aanbieden of de kunstenaar te zien als nieuw verdienmodel. Iedere commerciële partner
zou geïnteresseerd moeten zijn om te investeren in het alternatieve beeld van
zijn eigen verschijning. Alleen zo kan het op de toekomstige leefwereld van
consumenten anticiperen. Iedere politicus zou ervoor open moeten staan om
kunstenaars te betrekken bij hun toekomstvisies. Dan hadden we nu verschillende
beeldvorming kunnen ervaren over hoe een participatiesamenleving eruit zou
kunnen zien. Een materiaalfonds met renteloze
leningen is weinig behulpzaam als je middelen nodig hebt voor tijdelijke
interventies. Hiervoor heb je namelijk een echt materiaalfonds nodig waarbij de markt
van de middelen ondersteunend is aan deze experimenten. Op dit
moment studeren er kunstenaars af en ik hoop dat de maatschappij deze vakmensen
serieuzer gaat nemen dan op dit moment het geval is. Naast de mentaliteitsverandering die
ik hierboven omschrijf is het onderzoek naar het <a href="http://www.platformbk.nl/2015/06/vervolgonderzoek-naar-praktijk-kunstenaarshonorarium/" target="_blank">kunstenaarshonorarium</a> van groot belang. Ik hoop van harte dat u dit weet om te zetten in beleid. De kunstenaar is een
van de weinige arbeiders die wordt opgeleid om zich zo
onafhankelijk mogelijk te verhouden tot het beeld van de gedeelde culturele
ruimte. Daarbij neemt hij de regels van de markt in acht maar deze kunnen nooit
leidend zijn. Het is zijn taak om de maatschappij te verrijken door te concurreren met het bestaande beeld van alledag. Het is wrang
om te constateren dat deze positie vandaag een levenslange veroordeling
betekent tot het oeverloos en vaak tevergeefs zoeken naar draagvlak. <o:p></o:p></div>
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In onze kapitalistische samenleving zijn mogelijkheden verbonden
met de financiële haalbaarheid ervan en wanneer deze ontbreekt niet relevant. Zo
geeft dit systeem van marktwerking en rendement op een dominante wijze vorm aan
de inrichting van- en ideevorming over- deze samenleving. De markt faciliteert en creëert daarmee
het beeld van zichzelf. Alternatieve beeldvorming die deze marktlogica niet volgt
wordt niet gefaciliteerd door dit systeem. Alle actoren die een werkelijk
innovatieve samenleving voorstaan roep ik op om
de gecontroleerde ruimte te openen voor alternatieven. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Het wordt
hoog tijd mevrouw Bussemaker om zowel de politiek als het bedrijfsleven te
overtuigen om echt Ruimte voor Cultuur te faciliteren. Want een werkelijk
innovatieve maatschappij creëert deze ruimte om zichzelf steeds opnieuw publiekelijk
ter discussie te stellen in een levendig debat, ook als de uitkomsten daarvan
betekenen dat het de monopolie op de werkelijkheid moet bijstellen. </div>
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Hoogachtend, </div>
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Edwin Stolk<o:p></o:p></div>
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Edwin Stolkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02675813353946145108noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7206738538636122110.post-76775954832339695692015-04-04T16:36:00.000+02:002015-04-05T15:10:54.555+02:00How to bring the Actuality of the New through Art within the De-actualized -Public Space-<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="http://ir2.flife.de/data/novartis2009/igb_html/index.php?bericht_id=1000002&index=1004&lang=ENG&image_id=23" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6GFgBn6oxRPfTnvIMG-P7_V75lWBSF9eoNo_dL6DVsdoDSv-8A882rmBr6N31yGGkTSYU6WEnlEHZpyiLKo4lc6R8vL_ddNMpLOVtM78KjNP5VjjOT9nS8PsGjC3Le6tDypTPD7paBfG3/s1600/image23.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://ir2.flife.de/data/novartis2009/igb_html/index.php?bericht_id=1000002&index=1004&lang=ENG&image_id=23" target="_blank"> Novartis Campus, Associates in front of Dan Graham's“Curve and Straight Line”; Basel, Switzerland</a></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></i></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US">“All artists are alike. They dream of doing
something that’s more social, more collaborative, and more real than art.”</span></i><span lang="EN-US"> Dan Graham.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"> The book
<a href="https://selforganizedseminar.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/bishop-claire-artificial-hells-participatory-art-and-politics-spectatorship.pdf" target="_blank">Artificial Hells</a> that is written by Claire Bishop starts with these words of
Dan Graham, an interesting book on
participatory art and the politics of spectatorship. In a <a href="http://focus-rendezvous.tumblr.com/" target="_blank">#focus lab</a> meeting
that I organized on Saturday 28 February 2015, two of my main interests came
together: the role of art in public space and the politics of spectatorship. We
were heading that day towards the shopping mall Presikhaaf in Arnhem as the
destination for our first <a href="http://focus-rendezvous.tumblr.com/" target="_blank">#focus</a> meeting in 2015. #focus is a bottom-up artist
initiative that started in 2012, where the initiators create their own
context for site specific debates. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"> In close
collaboration with the artist <a href="http://www.robvoerman.nl/" target="_blank">Rob Voerman</a> and curator and founder of <a href="http://www.motelspatie.nl/" target="_blank">Motel Spatie</a> Claudia Schouten we met in Voerman’s installation <i>‘Into the grid’</i>. His work</span><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> </span><span lang="EN-US">is on show in the mall till the 18th of April 2015 and was subject for our meeting to research questions as: “what is the role and place for the artwork
here?” and: “how does space and space
related audiences connect to- and influence the actual outcome of the work?” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"> Presikhaaf shopping centre is owned by <a href="http://www.corio-eu.com/" target="_blank">Corio</a>, recently merged with <a href="http://www.klepierre.com/" target="_blank">Klepierre</a> and the oldest shopping centre in Europe based on US principles. It was built according to the architectural manifest of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congr%C3%A8s_International_d'Architecture_Moderne" target="_blank">CIAM</a> in 1965, one of many 20th century manifestos meant to advance the cause of "architecture as a social art". At the time of construction this mall was the state-of-the-art and won prices during the 1971 World Exhibition in Paris. In 2015 <a href="http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presikhaaf" target="_blank">Presikhaaf</a> exists fifty years and today the mall is facing major vacancy. Empty shops are closed with facades that offer surreal, life size images of possible future shops.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="http://www.presikhaaf.nl/" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8reE7VYGTa7qKvwwvKH-j04Bpw5KYMErkhWGZ3jidlBY_RKxZ6TV4aO1yJj6DKMiNjzz2YnS5JioinL7STVT55wiXLBdKyj1OLKcMQpS8ObQBDycJb9j55yyVgIevc20OU_0fOEoAmRhN/s1600/vlcsnap-2015-04-03-15h35m54s62.png" height="360" width="640" /></a></span></td></tr>
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<a href="http://www.presikhaaf.nl/" target="_blank">Presikhaaf shopping centre Arnhem</a></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"> W</span><span lang="EN-US">e are witnessing a mall in transition as location for an artwork. Rob Voerman told me that he searches a more real and alive environment for his work that museums and galleries are unable to offer. Outside the white cube the art seems closer to life and in contact with a diverse audience, as I experienced at the opening of the installation.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="http://www.robvoerman.nl/" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5upznPKlVrYTv5vGm96yK6zkCWJPWd_6fL4F1jwEpPe7He8OhQzUbKWYc5RcGCyRFOu1Zsb6fytPnbr_DOnWfdGZ9RDO6ObThhXap4V0_Ux04upCPc5kjTa38IK_N7PidAiCbjHdVmJH9/s1600/tumblr_njyu1uY63A1t3vyaao1_1280.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></span></td></tr>
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<a href="http://www.robvoerman.nl/" target="_blank">'Into the Grid' by Rob Voerman 2015</a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><i>“‘Into
the Grid’ is a large installation that is slightly based on the flower of a
thistle according to the colors of the glass, green and purple, as well as the
general shape. Some might say it resembles a space module too. The construction
is embedded in a grid in the already existing amphitheatre inside the mall.” </i><a href="http://www.motelspatie.nl/project/51/Into_the_Grid_Rob_Voerman" target="_blank">link</a></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">T</span><span lang="EN-GB">he website of Rob Voerman tells us: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><i>“The fluffy seeds of the thistle fly through
the air and don't really know any boundaries in a way, while blown by the wind.</i><br /><i>
For me an excellent metaphor for migration as described also in my project
"Thistle garden".</i><br /><i>
A strong plant, which is often not welcomed by for example farmers and
gardeners. A plant that change an existing order, but is yet a beautiful and
tough plant too.” </i><a href="http://www.robvoerman.nl/projects/into-the-grid" target="_blank">link</a></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="http://silkrol.blogspot.nl/" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMRh-LOwAs-zSWKm8uYl5vonpKNTRCrETF-4k-ZsrrVaJGXT0XP84HIVKy7SoWQn_NzJzJ58gb0P6Ihvk73C9uy_Fm-mghkPZIhJDlVO2Lou09w46IPyVrJZ9j0W90LiFk7xqeVtPT4wQ0/s1600/DSC01323.JPG" height="424" width="640" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://silkrol.blogspot.nl/" target="_blank">Sil Krol explaining about his work </a></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"> For this edition
of #focus lab I also invited the artist <a href="http://silkrol.blogspot.nl/" target="_blank">Sil Krol</a> to present a few of his
projects. He intended to influence and
facilitate social interaction by his interesting architectural interventions. During his presentation he pointed at the importance of an active social
cohesion which is necessary for these platforms to function successfully.
He shared his experiences and explained that he faced difficulties to reach the right level
of engagement. It looks that we are in general not that used to allow
ourselves to engage with our ‘public surroundings.’ I</span>n the past politics
was created 'outside' in relation with others, today it seems that we are more or less alienated.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"> Where the
shopping mall was built by the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congr%C3%A8s_International_d'Architecture_Moderne" target="_blank">CAIM</a> manifest for ‘architecture as social art’
and even realizing an amphitheatre within its commercial structure, today it hosts
‘<i>Into the Grid</i>’. Through an active side program Motel Spatie and the artist aim
to facilitate social interaction with the local population of this
multicultural neighborhood where the mall is situated. </span>The artwork
seems to become a temporary and extraordinary landmark within this commercial environment
and the reason for several different activities to be organized in and around. It functioned so far as a stage for discussions, to meet locals, for
sport and music clinics. People are/were encouraged to take the initiative, as
we did for example when we organized our #focus lab. The artist is functioning
as the mediator between people, explained Rob Voerman to me. By building this structure
he tries to bridge the gap between different groups, for example with a debate
on Islam that was organized together with the Gelderlander. The question that I have:
can you facilitate an inviting environment (as in a way the mall also
tries to establish) by an architectural intervention that seduces people to
take the initiative themselves for a
cross-cultural exchange? What is the role of the artist and his work? When can we speak of a successful attempt or when do we create 'artificial hells' by our good intentions, as the title of the book from Claire Bishop suggests? </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en/collection/RP-F-F02983" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEc0RU0h9s5GsScUSO8UUvdK2xTW8iFqMQ8FbMHW0eMDLLM62P_MxD6MrEahmc4hOHuCvSlc4U7SZ6uPkAgfK5BShPzL_0urfSbARWasMczDyX9cYD_H_1LN_wIj-1D-aIsCIU02GucpAj/s1600/unnamed.jpg" height="456" width="640" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en/collection/RP-F-F02983" target="_blank">Robert Jasper Grootveld met oranje bloemen bij hetLieverdje, Cor Jaring, 1966</a></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"> Within this
context I have to think about the happenings of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Jasper_Grootveld" target="_blank">Robert Jasper Grootveld</a> (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Provo_(movement)&oldid=651318579" target="_blank">Provo</a>), that he organized around ‘Het lieverdje’
in Amsterdam. This sculpture on Spui functioned also as a landmark for people
that attended his happenings and these gatherings were critically related to the
cigarette industry that funded this sculpture. How are all these different
activities around <i>‘Into the Grid’ </i>linked
and related with this installation? Rob Voerman
was honest about his intentions:“As artist I just wanted to create <i>‘Into the Grid’</i> here in the mall. You are free to use it for your activities.” From
the individual point of view I understand his motives, but the individual wish
of the artist to present his or her autonomous work needs a reconsideration today if you
ask me. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"> Being
confronted in Arnhem with ‘<i>Into the Grid</i>’ you might stop for a moment or walk up
to the fence of the theatre to take a closer look. You might even grab your
smartphone and make a photo of this weird and impressive creature and share this photo on social media with the free wifi-signal that is available in the mall. Some parents
are dragged in there by their children with the question: daddy can we enter? The
interior is large enough for a small group of people and offers an intimate space
to get together. Entering the little ‘chapel’,
or ‘space module’ seems to break for one moment with the ideology of the large
shopping mall. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="http://www.vinger.nl/projects/bijlmer-spinoza-festival" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu4mv2h_qvs73e5TbStKkqngyfF0cqaxZdST1-f59w2Hsbs96FNRuFmHbBKBrR-zlVWZevpShrJvbluJrdrozQmjav0h5lIFIAtWtyKBWEBwUxYqucQL3L_pYBABir5RnIEPNWgHY2Ie-s/s1600/4+020509_childplay.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.vinger.nl/projects/bijlmer-spinoza-festival" target="_blank">The Bijlmer Spinoza-Festival by Thomas Hirschorn 2009</a></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"> Personally
I cannot help myself to search for a more embedded role for the artwork. Placing the work in a position that influences and innovates the message that is told by its surrounding. A visual realtion that makes the social interaction in- and around a work one with its visual outcome. As an example here I have to
think about <i>The Bijlmer Spinoza-Festival </i>by Thomas Hirschorn. There the artist
stated that it was all about ‘presence & production.’ </span><span lang="EN-GB">This meant that the focus of his
work was on the process of its creation – frequently together with local
inhabitants – and that he was always present, not just during the production
stage, but during the entire period that the work was in place. He was driven
by an underlying belief that in every human being there is a place for art and
philosophy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"> In
Arnhem it might be exactly this displacement of an (autonomous) artwork that
appears outside its 'usual' art context that makes <i>‘Into the Grid’</i> strange but allowed
and possible. You can enter the work and use it but I miss the innovative role of the artwork that really intervenes with the status of the environment. I know from my own practice that the
slightest interruption of the presented norm could be too sensitive because it is experienced as too real and lead to <a href="http://www.edwinstolk.nl/the_org_store.html" target="_blank">a rejection </a>of the work. Therefore I think that exactly by its autonomous quality
<i>‘Into the Grid’ </i>is allowed as art but neutralized at the same time. It brings the
language of art without intervening the controlled story of the mall. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Boris Groys
writes in his book <a href="http://mitp-web2.mit.edu/sites/default/files/titles/content/9780262072922_sch_0001.pdf" target="_blank">Art Power</a> the essay: On
the new, page 32/33: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span lang="EN-US">“If the museum were ever actually to
disintegrate, then the very opportunity for art to show the normal, the
everyday, the trivial as new and truly alive would be lost. In order to assert
itself successfully “in life,” art must become different – unusual, surprising,
exclusive- and history demonstrates that art can do this only by tapping into
classical, mythological, and religious traditions and breaking its connection
with the banality of everyday experience. The successful (and deservedly so)
mass-cultural image production of our day concerns itself with alien attacks,
myths of apocalypse and redemption, heroes endowed with superhuman powers, and
so forth. All of this is certainly fascinating and instructive. Once in a
while, though, one would like to be able to contemplate and enjoy something
normal, something ordinary, something banal as well. In our culture, this wish
can be gratified only in the museum. In life on the other hand, only the
extraordinary is presented to us as a possible object of our admiration.”<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="http://afmuseet.no/en/samlingen/utvalgte-kunstnere/k/jeff-koons/new-hoover-convertibles-new-shelton-wetdrys-5-ga" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN4q_pwYCOKsmI1FOuAIKNXbJ8LG8NT6Eo3hl20Db8pISPoJFB0LKpdiv0C3CpULZ596F1c7i_8gwddK2Vq3ConIwlDsqs0OZjLsgDkZr24HwWKm8UfaoZnxkrsZr93g7OdbCqCBFXTEbD/s1600/20130815_2d_3convertables_hi.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://afmuseet.no/en/samlingen/utvalgte-kunstnere/k/jeff-koons/new-hoover-convertibles-new-shelton-wetdrys-5-ga" target="_blank">Jeff Koons,New Hoover Convertibles, New Shelton Wet/Drys 5-Gallon Doubledecker 1981 - 1987</a></span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"> So here we
touch something essential, the artwork survives outside the museum only as an extraordinary
visual experience and as Groys describes, it fails to bring the new in real
life as art. Only museums are capable of this transition. Think for example
about the vacuum cleaners presented by <a href="http://www.jeffkoons.com/" target="_blank">Jef Koons</a> and imagine what happens
when you show them here in the mall. They simply would not be recognized as art. It
is the museum context that makes it a work of art. This brings about the
question if- and how art can visualize the difference, the new, within the ‘normality’ that rules outside the
museum? Into ‘real life’ it has to gain a direct influence on the presented normality
and that’s why it’s so hard to convince the forces that safeguard our
contemporary environment about this necessity to allow this -difference in
relation to the norm- to happen. We have to understand this complex environment before
we can introduce the new through art in ‘public space’. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Hardt &
Negri wrote about our environment in their book <a href="http://www.angelfire.com/cantina/negri/HAREMI_printable.pdf" target="_blank">Empire</a>, page 188:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span lang="EN-US">“According to the liberal tradition, the modern
individual, at home in its private spaces, regards the public as its outside.
The outside is the place proper to politics, where the action of the individual
is exposed in the presence of others and there seeks recognition. (Foucault) In
the process of post modernization, however, such public spaces are increasingly
becoming privatized. The urban landscape is shifting from the modern focus on
the common square and the public encounter to the closed spaces of malls,
freeways, and gated communities.” <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span lang="EN-US"> “The
place of modern liberal politics has disappeared, and thus from this
perspective our postmodern and imperial society is characterized by deficit of
the political. In-effect, the place of politics has been de-actualized.” <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">And in the
next quote they refer to Guy Debord’s analysis of the society of the spectacle:
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span lang="EN-US">“In imperial society of the spectacle it is a
virtual place, or more accurately, a non-place of politics. The spectacle is at
once unified and diffuse in such a way that it is impossible to distinguish any
inside from outside – the natural from the social, the private from the public.
The liberal notion of public, the place outside where we act in the presence of
others, has been both universalized (because we are always now under the gaze
of others, monitored by safety cameras) and sublimated or de-actualized in the
virtual spaces of the spectacle.”</span></i><span lang="EN-US"> (think also about philosopher Deleuze
and the Society of Control)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"> So within
this context we are disconnected from politics in general and part of de-actualized
non-spaces. It is necessary to reestablish our influence. The language of art outside
its own institutions should play an active role here if you ask me, to
visualize the new, question and oppose normality. To reach this level of interaction we
have to change our position as makers and understand that through the extraordinary image of mass
culture we are allowed to show but neutralized at the same time. In order to
introduce innovative visual opposition through art we have to look for different
forms of creation that enable us to appear within the current ‘norm’ and play a role of equal importance in the
universalized virtual spaces of the spectacle. Art could function as an
important tool here, contributing to a process that actualizes the
de-actualized surrounding as for example within this mall. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"> When I look back at the opening in Arnhem everybody asked Rob Voerman where they were
looking at (the art object), nobody questioned the visual appearance of its surrounding environment (the mall). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"> The ideal work
of art for me, is not shifting its place from the white cube to the mall by safeguarding
its autonomous qualities when it appears in this 'unusual' surrounding. It
needs new techniques and strategies to become capable of visualizing 'the new'.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"> When I look
at the installation <i>‘Into the Grid’</i> I am not questioning its autonomous quality. The work has
all the potential of a strong work of art. I do question its capacity to actualize the de-actualized and controlled
surrounding of the mall. </span>Within this
environment the artwork seems to me the foreigner, the isolated migrant in an
environment that only breaths the story of shopping...</div>
Edwin Stolkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02675813353946145108noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7206738538636122110.post-89483568465982169182015-02-04T16:47:00.000+01:002015-02-09T13:30:13.152+01:00Artists: it is not about if- but where the world is listening to.<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wanderer_above_the_Sea_of_Fog" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgCjuBsnFG8sF1Lu2VzpagX5D0ang3ZUIhgsTuisctU5x2csliRIviAWkX7K1p42R3Fu2eLvwBy_LSd-ugZkrI0IZS2iyCx4YiZh4zjOWRZ7RGoLlhINtuy4G6er4QDaJqeUrxdBNDv2M1/s1600/Caspar_David_Friedrich_-_Wanderer_above_the_sea_of_fog.jpg" height="640" width="497" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Der Wanderer über dem Nebelmeer, Caspar David Friedrich, 1818</span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It has been
a while since the discussion around an article by art critic Hans den Hartog
Jager was published in <i>NRC </i>(Dutch newspaper). Headline of the article: <i>Engaged</i> a<i>rtists the world isn’t listening</i>. (part <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/edwinstolk/15468352295/" target="_blank">1</a>/<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/edwinstolk/15465216351/" target="_blank">2</a>) To be honest with you, this is something I am actually
quite happy about. Only a few exceptions were mentioned
by De Jager to be interesting, but in general he disqualified these artists and
organizers by calling them leftish and predictable. During my visit in November 2014 to the
exhibition: <i><a href="http://www.foam.org/under-construction" target="_blank">under construction</a></i> at the
<i>Foam Museum</i> in Amsterdam, I passed by one shiny <i>‘candy bar’</i> after another <i>‘sweet
piece of pie’</i>. This experience made me realize that he completely had forgotten
to mention the engaged art from the more right orientated political spectrum!
Art that seems to satisfy its commercial hunger and attracts major visitor
amounts to museums and fairs. Did De Jager choose to publish his single sided
view on engagement in art on purpose or did he proved to be somewhat stuck in
an unchangeable framework of his own believes?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"> The article
led in December to a rather unsatisfactory <a href="http://www.platformbk.nl/2014/11/its-very-political-het-trippenhuis/" target="_blank">discussion</a> at the<i> Trippenhuis</i> in Amsterdam. Here the
established cultural representatives especially liked each other’s presence as
allies of the same order. Jointly confirming that this discussion was important
proved to be the highest aim for this evening. Incoherent questions from the
audience were simply countered with equally unsatisfactory answers. To be able
to influence such a discussion positively seemed hopeless. The
art scene in the Netherlands is small and the engaged discussion ended in a
cozy networking reception. Don’t forget that we desperately need each other after
all, to climb the ladder of success in the global art market. The nice fact
here is, that this doesn’t need to be discussed. Here it seems we all agree.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"> Engagement
in art is a subject that we love to discuss about. When it comes to its
practice, this specific art is not seldom qualified with terms as 'rather
inconsistent', 'ineffective', 'preaching to the choir' and 'it lacks decisiveness'.
But in the meantime we are all stuck in our own dependency to normative modes. A
global framework which rapidly holds all the tools to dominate the world with
its imperialist standard. In the name of representative democracy and throughout
the whole society we voluntary give the initiative away without protest.
Cracks are visible sometimes, but only if national politicians express their
discontent with the situation when force from the independent (non-democratic)
world organizations such as the <a href="http://www.imf.org/" target="_blank">IMF</a> and the <a href="http://www.wto.org/" target="_blank">WTO</a> makes them follow their norm. The Dutch population in general seems not so
much bothered and continues to sleep comfortable. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"> What takes
place at the backdrop of our society is the cross-border development of
biopolitics. A global situation that is well described by Michael Hardt & Antonio
Negri in their impressive book <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empire_%28Negri_and_Hardt_book%29" target="_blank">EMPIRE</a></i>.
A virtual standard that is enrolled globally and responsible for a power
vacuum. Any discussion about the autonomous artist in this light seems hilarious,
don’t even mention the effectiveness of this engagement. Questions about left
or right political orientation of art play a communicative role and establish a
collective feeling of openness. A feel good moment that strengthens the
political agenda and is created by discussing the unthinkable in a designated
safe haven: the arts.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"> Generally spoken,
the individual surrenders to these dynamics. Without arguing if their privacy
is at stake as the direct result of repetitive techniques, when night after
night the image of the terrible attacks in Paris is shown by our public
broadcaster and as a form of branding carefully pinned into our heads. After the
consumption of such a social product -the embodiment of injustice - everyone is convinced of the good intentions
that governments impose on us as politicians restrict and secure the norm and tighten
the laws in the name of terror. While we are being convinced with yet another public
discussion about anxiety, we slowly lose sight of the complexity behind all
this violence. Meanwhile, when we consume the tenth repetition of this imagery on
television, the bombs are in our name and unnoticed, dropped in hostile
territory far away.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/paris-march-tv-wide-shots-reveal-a-different-perspective-on-world-leaders-at-largest-demonstration-in-frances-history-9972895.html" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpiYXANCMnyr3JdGDv7rE6hyphenhyphencen_cSyv8fXc8SNIYzXgHtsj1D9xb2z06T5vAiihzlb7Urt1xYRkV0ofRx5Q4fh91RTMBqNrqGA1hmP1Un39FWx8lDRfP_trEZet6hf_M1DT2rv0azIsuK/s1600/Solidarity-march-wide-angle.jpg" height="312" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"> Probably we
all have seen <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/paris-march-tv-wide-shots-reveal-a-different-perspective-on-world-leaders-at-largest-demonstration-in-frances-history-9972895.html" target="_blank">these</a> behind the scene images on social media, where representatives
of state are marching together through the streets of Paris. Unraveled here is
the way they are clearly divided from the civilians. In the media it looked as
if they were leading the masses. With <i>Photoshop</i>
some female politicians <a href="http://www.mediaite.com/online/ultra-orthodox-jewish-newspaper-edits-female-world-leaders-out-of-charlie-hebdo-march/" target="_blank">were erased</a> and replaced in a final attempt to steer this
communication effectively in an attempt to guide the local sentiments.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Do not get
me wrong, I am against violence and for freedom of speech where satire is part
of. But I also think that when the edition of <i>Charlie Hebdo</i> was increased to 3 million copies we must have the
guts to ask ourselves the question how this will affect the actual message. It
might not sound as a surprise that advertisements with a different reach have a different impact. Perhaps
in this case it could serve as well as Western propaganda towards opposing
ideas. Suppose that we can touch a certain level of truth, the road towards it starts
from the nuance I think. This is why it becomes most important to take the responsibility
for the actual image to which we are all accountable. But how?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://nos.nl/artikel/2016223-tarik-z-had-geen-terroristische-achtergrond.html" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilNqkHXTCKZ8qCnOiqv6lhDoMO_wXwth0CXaj8ulwknoWc-Jj4D0C75Q0t8GHxiMXJwuOxay2SsmMC-vc4k4GXRZSfR04xfRBUUdxe0DWzmIEK1DoZE5XoXrg5mIO0UK2CVwmB1P-i6jij/s1600/xxl.jpg" height="360" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"> What a
scary moment when <a href="http://youtu.be/wh4QDSyJOU0" target="_blank">Tarik Z</a>. succeeded to enter the Dutch television <a href="http://nos.nl/artikel/2016223-tarik-z-had-geen-terroristische-achtergrond.html" target="_blank">studios</a> in
Hilversum and took the evening news off air. He seemed to me not so lost as
some might like us to believe. Although his choice to study at the technical
university in Delft instead of going to an art school did surprise me. I might go
too far when I fantasize and conclude that his choice of education confirmed the
lack of effectiveness for an engaged art practice. We must admit that he had a
good eye for an effective stage to present his performance. He managed to stop
for one moment the communication of the normative framework. The <a href="http://www.theartofimpact.nl/" target="_blank">art of impact</a>
so to say. The well prepared news selection was unable to reach its target
audience. A valuable and interesting experiment was delivered by his individual
action on unauthorized grounds and facilitated for the first time in <a href="http://www.rijksoverheid.nl/ministeries/az/documenten-en-publicaties/mediateksten/2015/01/30/persconferentie-na-ministerraad-30-januari-2015.html" target="_blank">60 years</a> a
view beyond normality. By doing so he even revealed the mechanisms for one moment.
What happened after that was obvious, to rehabilitate the norm the man was disqualified.
He was psychologically confused and not accountable. I challenge you to try to
attend the technical university in Delft with these characteristics. The way
journalists that evening reported on themselves was exemplary. But even if this
man was confused and with his fake gun guilty of a criminal act, shouldn’t we
thank him for this interesting insight he gave to us that evening? He managed
to show that day the unthinkable reality, one without the evening news.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"> When Hans
den Hartog Jager wrote his criticism down, he was aware that we are all aboard a
rudderless ship and more or less 'aware' (partly passive) of the fact that we
are heading in an imaginary direction. This imaginary direction is originated
from within our midst but we have nothing more to say about its destiny. Therefore,
what remains actual and important is a continues search for truth, as the
French philosopher Alain Badiou <a href="http://www.egs.edu/faculty/alain-badiou/articles/on-the-truth-process/" target="_blank">argues</a>. We must continue to look for the truth
because evidence is again and again failing to confirm reality. Maybe that
might look as a pointless excursion, but it delivers insights. It centers the
human search in our existence and activates a critical discourse around any
given ‘destination’. But this ongoing truth-oriented search needs to gain
support in a world that has renounced truth after WWII. Several independent and
non-democratic world organizations are establishing a new biopolitical order with
our consent. No, I am not a confused man. Well, maybe I was confused when I
preferred the art academy over the technical university.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"> As Badiou
sees art as one of the truth procedures I agree, but I am skeptical to
attribute a direct decisiveness to this medium. I also wonder if we should
strive for the immediate effect of art production instead of searching ways for
the creation of meaning with art. The normative frame that virtualizes the
world took refuge in the everyday and operates from our midst. The breeding
ground for bio-politics. The society of control facilitates, it records our
purchases and influences our behavior with expectations. To deviate from this
norm requires commitment and courage, something that can never count on a large
scale appreciation because docility is in our nature. It is simple, either you
are part of the pact or <i>terror</i>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"> We lost the
nuance. That’s why the question is not anymore about who is listening to you,
but to whom are we listening? Exactly this aspect makes the appearance of
engaged art outside the established category extremely difficult. At the same
time the engagement from within the established category is hostage of the
normative framework, which actually shapes itself from within the discussions
it generates. The same principle as Hardt & Negri mention in their book
when they write about the function of NGOs
who do not only propagate the good globally, but by doing so also function as a
communication machine for the collective approval of missions that use force. When
we are faced with otherness that not belongs to the established norm, we collectively
affirm this aberrant behavior and support unanimously the correction. We voluntarily
provide power to an unknown system of collective justice. With our docile
behavior we provide from within ourselves the crucial <i>like</i>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"> Imprisoned in
a rudderless ship we sail 'conscious' (although passive) in an imaginary
direction of a new order. We inhabit the various layers of the vessel and
conform slavishly to the prevailing standard. If necessary, we correct and police
the other. From this position the art critic uses his specialization to
stimulate ‘the category’ in reconsidering their function and existence . While
he is doing so, the inhabitants of the ship trust the situation and celebrate
their freedom. </span><span lang="EN-GB">Communication
techniques shape the actual base of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biopolitics" target="_blank">biopolitics</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"> In the book
titled <i>Het streven (to strive for)</i> by
De Jager, you can read about his idea that today’s art is still very much
influenced by romanticism. Where the artist is free to think through his art as
long as he stays within his own category, clearly divided by (white) walls from
society. In exchange for this separation the art receives its freedom. You can
read his book as well as the article as an open call for artists to leave this
comfort zone in order to become interesting, but his call to me seems in
several ways doubtful. First we have to look at his article in the context of
book sales. He urges the artists to buy his book to get to know more and this
affects the independence of his call. Secondly, he knows very well that the
artists with their knowledge of imagery are residing the periphery of society where
most of them simply lack any resources to think of an escape. After all the
artists are skillfully neutralized by ideas of an autonomous freedom of
creation and their excellence leads to marginalization by a lack of market. There
is no alternative but to keep on doing what they do from behind these 'walls'.
The micro impact of their presence is well used as a political byproduct that serves
external ideals. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"> Presenting
a demonstrative contrast ‘that no one listens’, is deliberately overthrowing the
impact of the sharp nuance that art creation is capable of and emphasizes the
political byproduct of art production. We have to understand this from a populist
point of view where byproducts constitute the norm. There is no artist that I know who wants to
have the monopoly on ways of thinking. We dealt with this type of artist at an
earlier stage of our history. The understandable spasms that came after the
experiences of WWII gave rise to the current condition where we are
deliberately choosing to walk blindfolded in the direction of an unprecedented
order. In the book <i>The rebel </i>by
Albert Camus you can read that history shows revolutions to be ineffective.
'The uprising' however can provide accurate guidance towards an effective
nuance in times of dominance. If we do represent the new order from within, the
question we have to ask seems to be the following: how can we use our body for rebellion
and establish the nuance? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="http://nos.nl/artikel/2014939-studente-slaagt-na-bijna-fataal-gipsdebacle.html" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglvIWgEIfE1wP0y2vWpSgfmrY1mD3MladngDB6q2fVfFD04H6Rg5cA7LJ5ZXpFtNa6vIP9J1249wtubrcln8UckelpwgqQExEC4mgvafa_l2tTE62yk5TuXWJsPR6iSDEYK0UXtYKQweEz/s1600/B7uQWOlCEAEMLHm.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://nos.nl/artikel/2014939-studente-slaagt-na-bijna-fataal-gipsdebacle.html" target="_blank"><br /></a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"> Maybe we
should dare to test ourselves to the limit and challenge the norm whenever we can.
New politics arises only in the crack with the complexity of the established
standard. Let’s use our visual capacities to reclaim this emancipative role for art. Exactly
here the necessity rises to liberate the experiment that derives from within us all.
Suddenly it becomes meaningful to take the evening news off air, just to feel
how that is. It makes <a href="http://nos.nl/artikel/2014939-studente-slaagt-na-bijna-fataal-gipsdebacle.html" target="_blank">the act</a> of Jelena Dolgopol who raised money before
she was able to cover herself with plaster in the center of Rotterdam a powerful act of
human curiosity. Regardless of all the risks and institutional responsibilities.
Let’s celebrate her courage. Maybe it's time to stop moralizing towards the
unilateral rejection that justifies punishment in name of the norm. But instead, to consult when was
the last time we put ourselves to the test, in a search for the condition of
our existence.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Text Edwin Stolk</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Edwin Stolkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02675813353946145108noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7206738538636122110.post-79992490004489765882014-12-27T13:54:00.000+01:002014-12-27T14:08:18.180+01:00A Natural Order, Time and Rhythm by Ronald van der Meijs Sometimes you run into an exhibition which is a real ‘must’ see, the presentation at CBK Drenthe by the artist Ronald van der Meijs is such an exhibition if you ask me.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8hLEkqlunzO98JG3FJ-PXVuqgIvb7BfkxG3Ld_npBj3Au0JsqxsnvJweFsjBQnTWpm7V3jOrKrxS0yhb2l955eRLJ0Dk1FjTv3n2ecEFNKxkhWM7E-41VnQXg6SnclAwCiO7HJTwpbydF/s1600/WP_005805.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8hLEkqlunzO98JG3FJ-PXVuqgIvb7BfkxG3Ld_npBj3Au0JsqxsnvJweFsjBQnTWpm7V3jOrKrxS0yhb2l955eRLJ0Dk1FjTv3n2ecEFNKxkhWM7E-41VnQXg6SnclAwCiO7HJTwpbydF/s1600/WP_005805.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="MsoNormal">
'For whom the tides toll 2.0' year: 2014</div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
His works appeared to me as big organic machines, that on the one hand seemed to take technique of a long gone era as a point for departure and bring them to a higher technical level in connection with humanity today, on the other hand they seem to refer to a future after the implosion of today’s fossil fueled industrial machines.<br />
<br />
The quality of these works lays for me in the confusion that these machines evoke and the way we can feel connected to them in the same time. They feel as human machines that touch a new future closer to our natural needs, fueled by natural circumstances that these installations use to breath, move and form shape.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI39f_iFDs1QwtDgsvyXl-gr0PxyK7Ka5bJWK6lVrpsltU_kagjr1VT94wVLQCYuhlYMJt9kCLOVXnePYrh8_O6eueV7PxrvA02j-jOdhSfDo3-bEihZa9aAH1jm1fG2zeHnCOpFoF4hdU/s1600/WP_005800.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI39f_iFDs1QwtDgsvyXl-gr0PxyK7Ka5bJWK6lVrpsltU_kagjr1VT94wVLQCYuhlYMJt9kCLOVXnePYrh8_O6eueV7PxrvA02j-jOdhSfDo3-bEihZa9aAH1jm1fG2zeHnCOpFoF4hdU/s1600/WP_005800.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">A Time
Capsule of Life 2013</span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Installations that are one by one built with a high level of attention and craftsmanship and here might appear my only worry, when the aesthetic looks become too dominant it might start to overrule this attempt to reach the next level of human machines. The presented art might only win territory within the so called art world and I dream of its impact outside this reserve.<br />
<br />
This exhibition shows seven recent works at the Centre for Contemporary Art, Assen, the Netherlands. On show till 28 February 2015 and open: Tuesday - Friday 10 am - 5 pm, Saturday 1 pm - 4 pm.<br />
<br />
15 January 2015 Ronald van der Meijs will give <a href="http://www.cbkdrenthe.nl/lezing-door-ronald-van-der-meijs" target="_blank">a lecture</a> about his work.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.ronaldvandermeijs.nl/" target="_blank">http://www.ronaldvandermeijs.nl/</a><br />
<a href="http://www.cbkdrenthe.nl/solotentoonstelling-ronald-van-der-meijs">http://www.cbkdrenthe.nl/solotentoonstelling-ronald-van-der-meijs</a>Edwin Stolkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02675813353946145108noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7206738538636122110.post-84528915473360651562014-10-21T21:43:00.001+02:002014-10-22T10:23:01.807+02:00Why I became a member of Platform BK <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRff9DAUE4dh1XOHssEWUstSN1gf0EcfCIIHdznvmj7TrZuHoOvB80J8XZe0MtIlMcKxAlvCArXZs6YaYFKYNTCfmmMa8xHPDxBUzzUxqysFO6OJzvhdfgjt15AiAELpQC6yPeZmgwy-al/s1600/10013721_649171488489868_4811686531086529942_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRff9DAUE4dh1XOHssEWUstSN1gf0EcfCIIHdznvmj7TrZuHoOvB80J8XZe0MtIlMcKxAlvCArXZs6YaYFKYNTCfmmMa8xHPDxBUzzUxqysFO6OJzvhdfgjt15AiAELpQC6yPeZmgwy-al/s1600/10013721_649171488489868_4811686531086529942_n.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Platform BK</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US">(for
English translation scroll down)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Waarom ik lid ben geworden van Platform BK</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Vandaag neemt de wind langzaam toe, de eerste herfststorm
raast over het land. Op een discussie
over geëngageerde kunst na, is het tussen de kunstenaars al een poosje windstil. Zomaar een gedachte die bij mij opkomt wanneer ik op maandagmorgen in de trein stap. Misschien ken je dat gevoel, je volgt iets op afstand omdat het je zeer aangaat
en hebt daar ook een mening over. De
oprichting van Platform BK was voor mij zo’n moment. Tot op de dag van vandaag volg
ik hun bezigheden met veel interesse, ik bezocht bijeenkomsten, maar waarom
werd ik eerder dan geen lid van die club? </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Opgeleid als kunstenaar, wat ik overigens als
levenshouding ervaar en dit een betere omschrijving vind dan vakgebied of
beroepsgroep, ben ik doordrongen van het feit dat er iets grondig mis is aan de
situatie waarin ik mij bevind. Het voelt na mijn afstuderen nog steeds als een
ritje met een gloednieuwe auto waarbij je vergeten bent dat de handrem er nog
op zit. Alleen in dit geval ben ik niet capabel om deze er zelf af te halen. Zo
voelt het.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Vakbonden zijn bij veel beroepsgroepen al langer uit de
gratie en wanneer de kunst gelukkig (nog) niet in een moderne volgzame industrie
is veranderd met ‘hardwerkende kunstenaars’, vinden deze broeders en zusters elkaar
(nog) niet in een collectieve staking bij het stilleggen van de productielijn. Al
blijft het natuurlijk verdomd handig dat je met je schoenendoos vol bonnetjes
naar FNV Kiem kan lopen om je boekhouding vorm te geven, een lidmaatschap van
deze organisatie heeft mij nooit weten te overtuigen. In rap tempo wist de
belastingdienst op dit moment de ene na de andere kunstenaar als
schijnzelfstandige uit haar systeem, dus ook die schoenendoos is binnenkort
passé.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Steeds als ik dacht nu word ik lid van Platform BK, verscheen
er iets waardoor ik mijn lidmaatschap uitstelde. Zo vind ik het belangrijk dat
we met elkaar discussiëren over wat er gaande is in het kunstenveld, maar
wanneer een organisatie gaat spreken voor ‘de groep’ moet je wel het gevoel
hebben achter de gepresenteerde standpunten te kunnen staan. Een weerwoord in opdracht van Platform BK geschreven
door Irene de Craen: WW#10
Populistischer dan ooit, was voor mij bijvoorbeeld een reden van uitstel. Het
was gewoon niet mijn geluid en ik verbond dit met het platform. Hoe positief de
achterliggende bedoelingen ook waren, voor mij werkte het toen averechts.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Goed, de tijd gaat verder en ik had zelfs al een paar keer
de site van Platform BK bekeken om lid te worden. Als je daar de aanmelding wilt invullen sta je
voor een duivels dilemma, crisis of Messias? Het voelt eigenlijk best vervelend
dat je moet aanvinken niet zoveel te kunnen missen. Al ben ik blij geen Messias
te hoeven zijn. Je geeft toch bloot hoe
de financiële vlag van je kunstenaarschap erbij hangt en niemand geeft dat
graag toe. Maar ik snap ook wel dat ze zo iemand die ruimer bij kas zit willen
stimuleren om meer te geven.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Toen werd er een brief gericht aan minister Bussemaker en gedeeld
op Facebook, een advies van Platform BK (een geluid van de kunstenaars). De
boodschap was dat de 8 miljoen extra voor cultuur toch vooral het beste aan de bestaande
instellingen (waaronder het Mondriaan Fonds) gegeven kon worden. Nu was ook ik geen
groot voorstander van duurbetaalde cultuurscouts en de introductie van door hun
aangewezen toptalent in het netwerk van succes, zoals dat werd geïntroduceerd door
de minister. Wel vroeg ik mij oprecht af hoe dit advies tot stand was gekomen
en hoe breed dit gedragen werd door de kunstenaars. Tot voor kort hoorde ik
namelijk bij de groep die steeds afwijzingen kreeg van de genoemde fondsen. Ik
kon me zo goed voorstellen dat dit niet hét geluid van dé kunstenaar in het
algemeen was. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Zomaar twee voorbeelden die mijn twijfel versterkten. Afhaakmomenten,
je kent ze vast. Momenten die ervoor zorgen dat als je het financieel niet
breed hebt, je een andere keuze maakt. Toch bleef ik steeds het potentieel zien en voel ik de noodzaak van het bundelen van krachten, omdat we anders vast blijven
zitten in het gecreëerde isolement. Het geheel waar wij onderdeel van zijn is
te georganiseerd om dit samen niet ook te doen. Zoals vandaag een hedendaagse maker
als solist wordt klaargestoomd voor een ‘beroepspraktijk’ in de kunsten zijn de
kansen op verzilvering van zijn maatschappelijke potentieel nihil en de kans
dat zijn positie snel zal veranderen onwaarschijnlijk. Wakker worden dus.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Ik kan natuurlijk aan de zijlijn blijven ‘keffen’, maar ik
heb een beter plan. Ik ben lid geworden van Platform BK omdat ik daar kansen
zie en vind dat deze organisatie pas echt onafhankelijk kan opereren wanneer
het ook financieel onafhankelijk is van het Mondriaan Fonds. Wanneer we te weinig verschillende visies
vertegenwoordigd zien bij Platform BK kunnen we deze natuurlijk gewoon zelf
actief introduceren en kijken hoe dit uitpakt. Als het voelt als teveel
Amsterdam, dan betrekken we het platform toch gewoon bij onze initiatieven
elders in het land? Het moet toch mogelijk zijn om allemaal iets actiever en inhoudelijk
de dialoog aan te gaan, zodat het niet steeds dezelfde namen zijn
die hun stem verheffen en waardoor je een gevoel van establishment krijgt? Goed,
ik heb mijn crisis bevestigd, je kunt er immers altijd mee stoppen als de
crisis te groot wordt. Ik lees op de website dat ik na een telefoontje kennis
kan maken met de mensen achter het platform op een maandag. Rune Peitersen
reageert enthousiast, ik heb wat te bespreken en ben nu op weg met de trein
om kennis te maken. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Onlangs las ik de reacties op Facebook over het onderzoek
naar het kunstenaarshonorarium. Dat deze enquête de kunstenaars soms teveel
werd was wel duidelijk. Het niveau van de reacties bleef wel wat achter. Natuurlijk
zijn er al veel meer onderzoeken geweest en moet de financiële situatie nu toch
wel duidelijk zijn bij veel mensen. Laten we niet vergeten dat het voor het
eerst is dat er een Platform BK bij betrokken is. Ze hebben die lastige taak op
zich genomen om mee te sturen in dit grotere geheel met haar eigen taal die niet de onze is. Laten
we er niet alleen met elkaar vertrouwen in hebben dat deze mensen er energie in
stoppen, maar laten we er ook voor zorgen dat deze mensen er energie in willen
blijven stoppen! </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Mijn gesprek maandag was verdiepend en de ontvangst
hartelijk. In het piepkleine nieuwe kantoortje op de Da Costakade 158 heb ik
mijn punten op tafel gelegd. Ik heb geluisterd naar hun ideeën en wat er is
bereikt. Een gesprek over beeldvorming, mogelijkheden binnen de beperkingen, ideeën en nieuwe kansen. Ik wil mij inzetten voor
een positief geluid met kansen voor de kunst van morgen, naast die voortdurende
strijd om ons niet alle bestaande mogelijkheden af te laten nemen. Laten we
samen deze organisatie financieel onafhankelijk maken door onze crisis te
bevestigen en mee te werken om waar te krijgen voor ons geld.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Tekst: </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Edwin Stolk<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://www.platformbk.nl/">http://www.platformbk.nl/</a></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">Why I
became a member of Platform BK </span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"> Today the
wind is slowly increasing and the first autumn storm rages across the land. Besides
a discussion on engaged art, it seems quiet between the artists today. Just a
thought that crossed my mind on a Monday morning when I catched the train. Maybe you
are familiar with this feeling, you follow something </span>intensively that happens from a
distance, because you are
very concerned and have an opinion. The founding of Platform BK was such
a moment for me. To this day I follow their effort with great interest, I attended
their meetings, but why it took so long to become a supporting member of that club?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"> Educated as
visual artist, which is more a lifestyle than a profession or discipline to me,
I am aware of the fact that there is something fundamentally wrong. It still feels after my graduation as if I am driving a brand new car without taking the handbrake. Only in this case I am
just not capable to release the brake myself. This is how it feels. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"> Unions lost
their trust and function in many professions and when the art
fortunately is not changed in a modern compliant industry (yet) with ‘hard
working artists', these brothers and sisters will not find each other (yet) in
a collective strike when shutting down the production line. Although it remains
handy that you can bring your receipts in a shoebox to FNV Kiem and let them arrange your accounting, a membership of this organization was never convincing to
me. Rapidly the tax company is erasing one after the other artist from their
registries as fake entrepreneurs, so that shoebox will soon also be passé. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"> Every time when
I almost thought now I will join Platform BK, there appeared something that
postponed the activation of my membership. I do think that it is important that
we discuss with each other what is going on in the art scene, but when an organization
is speaking for "the group" you have to be able to recognize yourself
in their statements. A text written by Irene de Craen and commissioned by
Platform BK: WW # 10 More Populist Than Ever, was for me a reason for delay. It
was just not the kind of sound I would like to hear. How positive the underlying
intentions were, at that time, </span>for me, it worked counterproductive.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"> Well, time
goes by and in the meantime I checked the website of Platform BK a couple of
times with the intention to become a member. If you want to fill out the
registration form I faced another dilemma, crisis or Messiah? It feels actually
quite uncomfortable that you have to check that box, confirming that you cannot
miss that much money. By checking the box it feels that you stress your miserable financial situation and expose the
position of your artistry. Let’s be honest nobody likes to acknowledge this. On
the other hand I can understand that it is necessary to encourage people who can to give more. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"> When I was
just about to take the step to membership, a letter appeared on Facebook by Platform BK (a
sound of the artists) and addressed to Minister Bussemaker. The letter responded to the 8 million euro extra money for culture, with the advise that it would be best to
let the existing institutions (including the Mondriaan Fund) deal with this
money. Let’s be clear, I was not a big fan
of expensive culture scouts that would introduce their designated top talents
in the network of success, as proposed by the Minister. But I was honestly wondering how this advice had been shaped and how broad it was
supported by the artists involved. Until recently I was part of a group of
artists who received rejection after rejection of these proposed funds who know
best. With a little imagination you could think that this was not the sound of
thé artist in general. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"> Just two
examples that influenced my behaviour. These are moments
that you lose interest, you might recognize this, moments that are influential when
you have to make choices where to spend your money on. I still do believe in
the shared potential and feel the need to join forces, because otherwise we get
stuck in the created isolation. The whole of which we are part is organized, so
in order to gain ‘a voice’ we need to do the same. In the current situation a
contemporary artist is being educated to become an individual brand as a 'professional'
in the arts. If you ask me his chances to activate a social potential are small and a fast change of this position is unlikely to happen. Let’s wake up. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"> I can keep
'yapping' on the sideline, but I have a better idea. A few weeks ago I joined
Platform BK where I see opportunities. I
think this organization can operate best when it becomes financially
independent from the Mondriaan Fund. If you miss for example different point of
views in their presentations today, you could easily take the initiative yourself and actively
introduce these new ideas and see how this works out. If the feeling you get is
too much Amsterdam based, then why don’t you involve the platform at
initiatives elsewhere in the country? It must be possible to pay the effort all
together, so that not always the same names raise their voices and create the
image of an establishment. Let’s become all more active and contribute to a substantive
dialogue. Well, I confirmed my status of crisis, you can always cancel when the
crisis becomes too big. I was reading on the website that it is possible to get
to know the people behind the platform and make an appointment on a Monday. After
an email Rune Peitersen responded enthusiastic. I have something to discuss
and that’s why I'm on my way by train today. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"> Recently I
was reading the comments on Facebook about the investigations on the artists'
fees. That this survey for some artists was sometimes too much, became clear to
me. There are previous studies and the poor financial situation of the artists
must be known by now. But let's not forget that it is the first time that
Platform BK is involved in the discussion. They have taken the difficult task to influence this
bigger picture. Let’s have confidence that these people put their energy into
it, but most important let's create an atmosphere that these people keep doing
what they do! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"> My
conversation on Monday was deepening and I experienced a friendly welcome. In the
tiny new office located on the Da Costakade 158 in Amsterdam, I introduced my aims and explained my worries.
I listened to their ideas and achievements so far. A conversation about communication, image
building, possibilities within existing limits,
the ideas and new opportunities. I would like to pay an effort to increase a
positive sound with new opportunities for the art of tomorrow, in addition to the constant
struggle to improve and keep all existing possibilities alive today. Let us
together make this organization financially independent by confirming our
crisis and to offer our energy to get true value for our money.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">Text: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">Edwin Stolk<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><a href="http://www.platformbk.nl/">http://www.platformbk.nl/</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Edwin Stolkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02675813353946145108noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7206738538636122110.post-18646479296438666072014-09-20T16:08:00.000+02:002014-09-20T17:20:10.808+02:00I love Unfair and follow the money.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc5TdNHTEMhnpSCkEoqQlFgipgF9GnsVDc-odysByp-OhhWPXc9fO5o3tjq5TGRVeof4yP5lZyLeJb9C2WoO4pse25vB9U-AL0npdAVMIdRBRCAyDQAwuwy8ejo3Y9mBxY-UkJNubM85FW/s1600/83c11b10-f287-4733-b9f5-8662c53de021.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc5TdNHTEMhnpSCkEoqQlFgipgF9GnsVDc-odysByp-OhhWPXc9fO5o3tjq5TGRVeof4yP5lZyLeJb9C2WoO4pse25vB9U-AL0npdAVMIdRBRCAyDQAwuwy8ejo3Y9mBxY-UkJNubM85FW/s1600/83c11b10-f287-4733-b9f5-8662c53de021.jpg" height="640" width="451" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"> Now and then I receive an email that unravels all sorts of other associations. As happened this week with an invitation for the opening of <a href="http://www.unfairamsterdam.nl/" target="_blank">UNFAIR</a> in Amsterdam. You can visit this fair till 21 Sept. at the former <a href="http://www.ndsm.nl/" target="_blank">NDSM</a> shipyard. As
the email states, 'it shows 40 young
promising artists that have graduated within the last 10 years.’ In the same email
I read further, ‘this is a fair for
artists by artists (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consumer" target="_blank">?</a>). Everything is build and organized by the artists themselves
and the result came out beautiful!’ <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"> If you can’t
get enough of these fairs, you can also visit <a href="http://www.amsterdamdrawing.nl/" target="_blank">Amsterdam Drawing</a> and <a href="http://www.unseenamsterdam.com/" target="_blank">UNSEEN</a>
photo fair this weekend. You have to pay an entrance fee for every fair, so keep that in mind if your budget is limited. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
In 2009 <a href="http://www.edwinstolk.nl/warofcurrents.htm" target="_blank">my work</a> was part of the Unfair project, organized by <a href="http://piratecinema.nl/" target="_blank">Ehsan Fardjadniya</a> and programmed
parallel to Art Amsterdam (an art fair). Metropolis M <a href="http://metropolism.com/reviews/grote-vis-eet-kleine-vis/" target="_blank">described</a> the exhibition as a
scream of protest which could not reach outside the white cube where it was presented. I think they were right. An introvert call for revolution that reached only the intellectual elite who visited this show. Today, when reading
the UNFAIR invitation, I wonder if it is a sign of our times that the
word ‘project’ became FAIR. The critique presented in 2009’s exhibition was
aimed against the neo-liberal capitalistic context of art in fairs. Today I witness how the promising artists embrace this very same word as brand: UNFAIR. Where ‘the project’ protested, UNFAIR is celebrating the market model of a fresh and trendy art FAIR. Searching new ways for selling their difficult
product, I read in <a href="http://www.mistermotley.nl/art-everyday-life/unfair-amsterdam" target="_blank">a review</a> on Mister Motley. These initiatives are very important, but can anyone explain what is UNFAIR about this FAIR and why we love it? </div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBVxkpljduh0dMtCGzn8Kpa71Vox587c8J1mOF4FeRzPATo6fOTpr00sW_DN6LL26ZwoDnW5FEicy3V_0vIjOb8QlkibGswJutdpxToEmIXwVGO9wl5vVuW-zjhYJykh3UujgrvvsqkKSK/s1600/unfair-matthieu.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBVxkpljduh0dMtCGzn8Kpa71Vox587c8J1mOF4FeRzPATo6fOTpr00sW_DN6LL26ZwoDnW5FEicy3V_0vIjOb8QlkibGswJutdpxToEmIXwVGO9wl5vVuW-zjhYJykh3UujgrvvsqkKSK/s1600/unfair-matthieu.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small; text-align: start;">Matthieu Laurette, Opportunities: Let's make lot of money, 2005</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"> When the
Dutch government took 200 million euro from the arts and culture budget in 2011,
people marched towards ‘Het Malieveld’ in the Hague to express their anger. Representatives of the scene tried to explain to the audience how wrong it was to cut this drastically in the
budget of something so vulnerable and important
as the arts. It touched me emotionally to see that so many people cared for the arts and attended the
<a href="http://youtu.be/YUToU6BXaQs" target="_blank">protests</a>. In the same time I was wondering
for whom I was protesting and I am still not sure. Looking at this UNFAIR invitation I might see the answer from the art scene towards these governmental
decisions. I get the impression that finding ways to sell this difficult product became more important than finding ways to create influential visuals. Instead of developing new alternative infrastructures embedded in society, we embrace the business models that dominate us. The brands are now branded even harder it seems and governmental support, supports
the brands.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"> 8 May NRC,
a Dutch newspaper published <a href="http://www.lost-painters.nl/wp-content/uploads/NRC_20140508_1_021_article1.pdf" target="_blank">an article</a> by art critic Lucette ter Borg. The article
deals with the fact that artists who are invited to exhibit their work on the
highest stage of the (commercial) art world -a museum-, are often not paid or have to bring themselves the money.
In the same article different established artists were so brave to express
their worries and open about their financial position. ‘A museum exhibition
simply raises the value of these works. That’s why it is in their own interest
to show for free’, is the current opinion of most museums. The Van Abbe Museum
later added <a href="http://thekitchen.vanabbe.nl/2014/05/21/the-bigger-picture-reactie-op-kunstenaars-musea-zijn-soms-krenterig-van-lucette-ter-borg/" target="_blank">online</a> to this discussion that it is not their fault that the
artist gets so less money, but the broader context of the art market. It sounded a bit like children who point at each other who did it. It definitively wasn't me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"> Two things
were missing in the NRC article if you ask me, the financial position of the promising (unknown)
artist and the role of the market when we talk about a museum context. </span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"> It is good that
we discuss and propose <a href="http://www.platformbk.nl/2014/05/hang-en-stageld/" target="_blank">models</a> that should provide income for an artist who is invited to ‘hang’. Within the idea that there</span> <span lang="EN-US">are </span>of course<span lang="EN-US"> also places to ‘hang’ the art and that can afford to pay the artist. Let’s introduce
this model today, but stop closing the platforms as </span>we are now also witnessing<span lang="EN-US">. </span>We can imply this model on all other forms of art that refuses to hang, is explained to me by <a href="http://www.platformbk.nl/" target="_blank">Platform Beeldende Kunst</a>. I think that we also have to i<span lang="EN-US">nvest in reforms of the art education system and open the art structure for multi disciplinary
exchange with influential players in 'the real' world. If these players refuse to collaborate, help them see the benefits. If they still reject, make a regulation to open 1% of the market infrastructure for visual experiment. The available art market as it appears today seems the only offer to current art students of academies</span>. The result of this situation seems to me poor and UNFAIR.<br />
<br />
The second point what I missed in the article
was the role of the commercial art gallery. Rarely we see work of an artist in
our (subsidized) museums that is not represented by one of these players in the
commercial field. This is of course not a coincidence, the gallery has its interests
too. These commercial relations of the subsidized
museum might be too sensitive to touch. But this discussion is a very accurate one when we look for example at the recent exhibition in the Stedelijk: <a href="http://strangemessenger.blogspot.nl/2014/09/marlene-dumas-image-as-burden.html" target="_blank">The Image as Burden</a>. A retrospective of one of today’s
best selling artists: Marlene Dumas. I truly don’t understand that there are
millions involved when it is about selling her work, but to show it to a
large museum audience needs governmental funding. Are her clients not able to
support a retrospective? This sounds to me as ideological poverty among the
rich. How come that this free market
that takes care of itself refuses to do so in this case? Especially when we
take in account that it will anyhow raise the value of their investments. Or is exactly this the main reason why they are not
involved in financing the show? Is the current museum a platform of financial
contradictions and suffering from an identity crises? The discussion proposed in the newspaper was single sided, I have to agree with The Van Abbe Museum here and needs a broader view.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"> Recently <a href="http://www.kunstbeeld.nl/nl/nieuws/22457/kritiek-op-stedelijk-museum-in-paginagrote-advertentie.html" target="_blank">a big advertisement</a> in daily newspapers was published and paid by</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #111111; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> </span></span><span lang="EN-US">Christiaan
Braun, a collector. He asked publicly for the independence of the Stedelijk's museum board members. The current team is also involved in market activities as collecting and could have
different agendas here, according to the collector. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"> Wednesday I was reading <a href="http://image-store.slidesharecdn.com/ac6a9119-4652-48af-a79d-52046df02d25-large.jpeg" target="_blank">an article</a> by Suki de Boer in Trouw (newspaper) about
the resources of culture fund Ammodo, a big sponsor of the current Dumas
exhibition. The article explained the origin of their money, from a pension fund for harbor workers. The newspaper calls for a <a href="http://www.ftm.nl/exclusive/besmet-geld-van-cultuurfonds-ammodo-aannemen-niet/" target="_blank">moral debate</a>
about the funding used to organize these kind of shows. </span></div>
<span lang="EN-US"></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"> In the same time a collector by the name <a href="http://news.artnet.com/market/art-flipper-bert-kreuk-sues-artist-danh-vo-for-12-million-93788" target="_blank">Bert Kreuk sues the artist Danh</a> Vo for $1.2 Million. Vo did not deliver the work that had to make profit during an exhibition of Kreuk's own collection show in the Gemeente Museum. The collector was upgrading the value of his collection on this occasion. You still follow me?</span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"> After the discussion about museum fees for artists, a large investigation is announced focussing on the financial position of the artist and is organized by different organizations. ‘This is especially necessary after the budget cuts’, <a href="http://www.nrc.nl/handelsblad/van/2014/augustus/28/beloning-onderzoek-naar-honoraria-kunstenaars-1411752" target="_blank">states</a> Birgit Donker. She is director of the Mondriaan Fund who finances this investigation. I am surprised that these organizations are all still not updated on the miserable financial situation of the ones educated for visual experiment in today's society.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"> What is our goal as artists? I have the feeling that I am continuously stepping from one sinking ship into another and I wonder
for how long this will continue. At the bottom, subsidies are canceled and
places for experiment forced to stop. The ones who stay open fear for the public
opinion and play safe. Clear brands are being developed to serve specific
markets. City branding fuels festivals and events, in search of a broad spending audience
to come to town. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"> Today’s
conservatism feels hard to overcome. Time and time again I hear, sorry but we
are not able or you are not allowed to realize this project. Some just ignore
my proposals. The knowledge of local politicians about how art could
contribute to their city is horribly low. When you directly approach the infrastructure
of the market as artist, you find out there is no will to support the experiment. It’s
hard to convince companies of something that
isn’t sporty or pretty or pimping their brand. Art is easily considered ‘useless’. To turn the tides -it looked- the Van Abbe Museum organized the <a href="http://strangemessenger.blogspot.nl/2013/12/times-of-use-and-uselessness-museum-of.html" target="_blank">Museum of Useful</a> art and you were invited to use the museum for your own activities. The political infrastructure serves the market players and creates on a high
speed new market players. In health care or culture it doesn’t matter. Visual
experiment that bothers the market or questions the current situation outside the isolated white box becomes deliberately rare. Yes an artist can
decorate here or there a new building and we love its colors, this
is not the role of art that I am talking about here. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"> In an
application for the Mondriaan Fund I recently had to answer the question how
their support will improve my economic returns. Let me sketch the situation, a
residency in the province of Drenthe, in a former milk factory that is closed in the
nineties by scaling. Youngsters leave the area and go to the city. The
rates for unemployment are high and my name is not superman. Do I need to
explain more about the situation? Follow <a href="http://www.edwinstolk.nl/thought_experiment.html" target="_blank">here</a> my <o:p></o:p></span>economic returns.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"> The Dutch
tax company is cleaning its registries from cultural entrepreneurs by
pronouncing their practice as ‘a hobby’ and their hard work as a result of that. In
January 2014 it was my turn and an employer of the tax company took a whole day to
check my artistic accounting. His advice was to become more creative, ‘give an artwork to
the Stedelijk Museum collection, like another artist that I recently visited did.’
The man is sure that this will increase my (commercial?)success. I watch at the
friendly man in silence and think of another conversation I once had. An exchange of advise with
a woman who worked for an organization in the Netherlands called: <a href="http://www.cultuur-ondernemen.nl/" target="_blank">Culture and entrepreneurship</a>. The environment for this conversation was my installation
with the title: Denial, which I made at the Media Art Festival in 2007. Just after
finishing my study at the Royal Academy in The Hague she explained that I
should really quit making these kind of works.
Nobody would like to see or buy this, she assured me. It will be of no
surprise to you that she was paid to share her expertise with me.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"> Recently
our State Secretary of Culture Bussemaker </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://www.rijksoverheid.nl/nieuws/2014/08/29/extra-investering-in-talentontwikkeling-kunstenaars.html" target="_blank">announced</a> an extra 8 million for culture from which 1,4 million will be used for five coaches that will help new young talents to
find their way into the network of (commercial?) success.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"> </span>Do we (artists) all want to become the next Dumas? <span lang="EN-US">I am
surprised and wonder when our government is going to take visual experiment seriously. Where the artist is not the outsider that he is today and has to look for his examples at a few commercially successful ones. I hereby urge this group of successful artists to speak out more than they do now, that there are different visual roles in a healthy society that are equally important. We need image-maker's that are</span> as independent as possible in a progressive society. <span lang="EN-US">A large part of today’s creative potential is
structurally deprived from resources, that means deliberatly put aside</span>. <span lang="EN-US">A terrible waste of visual potential. The artists involved stay mostly silent. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US"> Luckily there are always lights on the horizon, like for example <a href="http://www.preparture.nl/" target="_blank">Preparture</a>. Here young artists think about
their role and position in society and act together. Don't forget to follow the just graduated artist <a href="http://www.robertglas.nl/" target="_blank">Robert Glas</a>, who believes that art should play an active role when shaping and thinking about our society. He <a href="http://ultimum-remedium.blogspot.nl/" target="_blank">has to appear</a> in court 30 September 2014 / 10.00 / Paleis van Justitie, Den Haag and could use some support. Because he sued the Dutch
state for not letting him take photographs inside a detention centre for asylum
seekers in the Netherlands. </span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US"> New fairs yes, but let's guard our definition of value. </span><span lang="EN-US">W</span><span lang="EN-US">ithout
means for visual innovation and the necessity of openness to ‘otherness’ from all players in our
society makes it a hostage of itself and how FAIRly democratic is that? What will happen with our development when the ‘uselessness’ of experimental experiences disappears because it can’t be sold? </span>This sounds scarily
UNFAIR and asks for your urgent attention.</div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
Text Edwin Stolk</div>
<br />Edwin Stolkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02675813353946145108noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7206738538636122110.post-41195211765049074712014-09-13T15:44:00.001+02:002014-09-14T12:31:43.860+02:00Marlene Dumas, the image as burden<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDmRunBkBYH_dgoUZg_v62r8_2Rf_GeDrKyOR5cSvODeH35tUr8vnEX4TfIWxlH989XhnX_sSacyLqn9HM7YK3aX9Bwy8br_aNvDFfJZZfyWKsAKgYSyY_Pl0F_ZFev0yhrXJxi9CJOzO7/s1600/WP_005210.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDmRunBkBYH_dgoUZg_v62r8_2Rf_GeDrKyOR5cSvODeH35tUr8vnEX4TfIWxlH989XhnX_sSacyLqn9HM7YK3aX9Bwy8br_aNvDFfJZZfyWKsAKgYSyY_Pl0F_ZFev0yhrXJxi9CJOzO7/s1600/WP_005210.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16.2839984893799px; text-align: start;">Osama (2010), by Marlene Dumas</span></td></tr>
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<span lang="EN-US"> Not so long
ago I saw <a href="http://www.marlenedumas.nl/" target="_blank">Marlene Dumas</a> walking by on the museum square in Amsterdam. She was
carrying some bags. It was an early summer day and the weather was friendly. I was wondering how that
must feel, to walk there knowing that in a few months you will have a big
retrospective in The Stedelijk Museum. To be kind of anonymous for a large public,
realizing that your name will be out there, written in big chocolate letters on a large banner fixed on the </span>bathtub<span lang="EN-US">. By the way, isn't it a pity that there is no other way provided in the architecture to announce a new blockbuster? For those who wonder what I mean by </span><a href="http://www.stedelijk.nl/bezoeken/gebouw" target="_blank">the bathtub</a>, this is the way people use to call the new
architecture of the museum after it was reopened in 2012.</div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"> Last
Tuesday I imagined that the smoke of the opening must have
gone by now, so I decided to visit the exhibition: <a href="http://www.stedelijk.nl/en/exhibitions/marlene-dumas-the-image-as-burden" target="_blank">The Image as Burden</a>. Mentally I prepared
myself to start with the works of Dumas. My advice to you would be to take the old entrance of The Stedelijk, or walk straight from the new one to the other side. When you take the stairs from there to the first floor </span>you can meet the grandeur to approach this kind of show. I found myself lost in a design exhibition first.</div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"> The last few days a lot of opinions and critiques were published about the exhibition of Dumas. A lot of rumors are spread through the
years. Fame never comes easy. Once I heard that her work would never be
on this stage if not Charles Saatchi made her a rising star. He presented her in 2005 as one of the most important artists of our time. At the same time you should ask yourself if this is the most important show that suits these turbulent times? But reflecting on the image as burden should start with the fact that the museum is the highest stage for the top of the commercial gallery world. A solo show after 20 years of commercial success sounds legitimate within this context. The Dutch might have to start to learn to celebrate the successful ones amongst them. So despite all the gossip, in this post I will
try to stay as close to myself as possible. I wanted to become a painter but I lost my believe in the painting as medium.
Mainly because of the role and position, when and how it is shown. With this post I will try to touch this issue.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"> Confronted
with over one hundred works of Dumas I experienced a special silence. Even when
the museum was crowded and the atmosphere vibrant. Maybe it was too busy to watch poetry, but crowded enough for The Stedelijk to justify
its subsidies. It might have been a burden to paint all these photographs, watching it was definitely a true pleasure. In the meantime I had to look at the
people around me. Not to step on any toes or bump into a man or woman of age. When I
listened to what they were saying, it seemed as if everybody knew what they were looking
at. No difficult exhibition texts were required. They pointed at the
wonderful waterish colors and even the famous actor who also paints: Jeroen Krabbé, was
touching his chin while he was being observed by others and looked himself concentrated at
the virtuosity of Dumas her technique. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"> When I
mentioned this silence, I don’t mean a literal
silence. It was as if these works became flesh and for a moment even the faces
of the audience appeared to have this blurry, waterish outlook on their skin that we can recognize in the work of Dumas. It scared me to see dark shades, where you’d expect
to make contact with the eyes. It was as if she touched an almost universal mortality. On Trendbeheer I was reading
that all her paintings were great. I have to disagree here, but there is a
continues concentration in her work. A repetition of the
technique which connects the pieces convincingly together. I refuse to
think that it’s a trick and that I am usually bored by artists who start to repeat
themselves over and over again, to establish the so called recognizable
handwriting. (<a href="http://www.volkskrant.nl/vk/nl/12330/4-Uur-Nieuwsbreak/article/detail/3745504/2014/09/10/Joep-van-Lieshout-Ik-vind-Marlene-Dumas-van-de-hoogste-klasse.dhtml" target="_blank">Joep van Lieshout</a> is not my personal friend.) The nice thing about painting is that it could offer a very personal
view in the touch and the use of paint, reflecting on the daily life of the
maker and surrounding she is confronted with. Sharing this intimacy in the way
Dumas is doing, on this scale with a museums audience is convincing. Its suits well between the white walls and the current museum context.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"> Most works in the show offer this silent moment for
reflection, an exchange of humanity between the image and the viewer. She took the photographs away from the 'real' world of propaganda and gave it a mysterious Dumas touch. In my opnion it goes wrong when Dumas forgets to deform, blur and morph her subject, if she follows the anatomy</span><span lang="EN-US">. When she is depicting </span>recognizable <span lang="EN-US">people as Osama Bin Laden or </span>Mohammed B.. The murderer of Theo van Gogh is presented as your neighbor
in a painting with the title: The Neighbour (2005). Somewhere I read that she intended to reveal his eyes. The eyes that were hidden at the time when his photo was published in the newspapers. The role of the painting was to humanize the discussion. At this moment there are plenty of pictures circulating where we can see his eyes, so presenting it today could easily increase the fear of our neighbours...</div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"> Where I mentioned the feeling that the painted flesh became one with the human flesh of </span>its audience<span lang="EN-US">, I could feel a special quality which I consider the quality of the artist. But I became very aware of the
museum surrounding and questioned the position of the artist, w</span>hile I was looking in the 'kind' eyes of Osama Bin Laden's portrait:
The Pilgrim (2006). It hangs close to a painting of his son. I advise you to look slowly to the upper left corner of the
space when you are standing there. Since 9/11 we are being watched
everywhere. I wonder if the camera of the museum security system is watching for your safety, or how far they will go to
protect the value of this Osama painting?</div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"> The main context for this show is the retrospective and celebration of this without a doubt very interesting and commercially successful artist. Only the presentation of certain paintings within this context are problematic for me. I get the feeling that the painting of Osama is not digging deeper on this issue, it touches the surface of stories told by others and adds nothing new. It refers to a source which lays outside this painting and outside this museum show. Mentioning in the wall text that his hate for his enemies was bigger than the love for his sons, admits the weak position of the painting. The mentioned relation with his sons feels artificial. Dumas who points at the father son relation as poetry? I wonder why the curator decided to hang Mohammed B. on the other side of the museum. Maybe to avoid a political discussion that might be too sensitive in today's society?</span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US"> W</span><span lang="EN-US">hat </span><span lang="EN-US">are for example the </span>consequences <span lang="EN-US">if this painting is bought by a private collector that will hide it for 'the world'? </span>Or what
if relatives of Osama are interested in having this friendly piece of their old friend in their collection? Is it for sale when they offer the right price? Like <a href="http://www.christies.com/lotfinder/paintings/marlene-dumas-the-schoolboys-5459654-details.aspx" target="_blank">Museum Gouda</a> pimped its budget by selling a Dumas? What happens with the meaning of this painting if we leave all the other works away
and show only this painting of Osama in an empty museum? Can we handle that? In this painting his eyes look more friendly, I read somewhere online. Sorry, but I miss the blur of this story and wonder what would happen if her painting managed to connect with the rooms in our own minds while viewing this piece, as she managed to establish with other works.<br />
<br />
<span lang="EN-US"> In most of her art Dumas is confronting the audience in a pleasant way with our own human existence, depicting </span>anonymous bodies or morphed babies and sometimes clumsy faces made with ink or paint look at you intensively. Here <span lang="EN-US">I feel that something is happening, it touches me. When the work depicts figures from the news without enough Dumas touch it starts to refer to stories which lay outside the reach of her paintings, less interesting. Within the commercial context of the show they might even become perverse and here I am afraid that we touch</span><span lang="EN-US"> the true burden of today's imagery...</span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://www.stedelijk.nl/en/exhibitions/marlene-dumas-the-image-as-burden" target="_blank">The Image as Burden</a> is on show till 4 January 2015.</span><br />
<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Text: Edwin Stolk</span></div>
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Edwin Stolkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02675813353946145108noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7206738538636122110.post-41032190915443528762014-07-04T21:27:00.000+02:002014-07-06T21:29:54.930+02:0024/7_Trojan, the power of a way of thinking is precisely guarded<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_vqNekUffY9JdOCM2fslLfcsB1YlKMsaaz3Gm-vz3lrlypHCnKPDTaT67BZHD2eeJvv0_YOor-cTGvbiG0EcTzOCC5c4w9CbHTfIH4t5OmCLFJDTT_KLVwWMxaPyAG2pgoREmJinyTZjk/s1600/24729june.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_vqNekUffY9JdOCM2fslLfcsB1YlKMsaaz3Gm-vz3lrlypHCnKPDTaT67BZHD2eeJvv0_YOor-cTGvbiG0EcTzOCC5c4w9CbHTfIH4t5OmCLFJDTT_KLVwWMxaPyAG2pgoREmJinyTZjk/s1600/24729june.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sunday 29 June 2014 presentation 24/7_Trojan at Expoplu </td></tr>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Sunday 29 June presentation at Expoplu by Edwin Stolk:</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> Dear all, thank you for attending this presentation where
I like to share some of my experiences from the process of realizing 24/7_Trojan. But first I want to take this
opportunity to thank Stijn Van Dorpe for inviting me in Nijmegen and Expoplu
for making 24/7_Trojan possible. I want to thank the other speakers here today,
the politicians who are willing to attend the discussion and Lucette ter Borg for
being a moderator. I hope that sharing my experiences, within the context
of this meeting: <i>the role of art in
public space</i>, might lead to a constructive an
interesting debate afterwards. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMpJfXdnFQtlWu5v8qqNnAD-93OS05XM6Gj7wm8FT7JKSYVhNXjMHuLgMeVe-ZKwjDP4rpSaJSCJbSvTupgWe6DEqpjp_2tJ9tfQI4-ACMTHP0zLXVXN0UGJ3VqsFzvdIjIEXZqDuHS53N/s1600/2+The+hanging+gardens+of+Babylon+2010.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMpJfXdnFQtlWu5v8qqNnAD-93OS05XM6Gj7wm8FT7JKSYVhNXjMHuLgMeVe-ZKwjDP4rpSaJSCJbSvTupgWe6DEqpjp_2tJ9tfQI4-ACMTHP0zLXVXN0UGJ3VqsFzvdIjIEXZqDuHS53N/s1600/2+The+hanging+gardens+of+Babylon+2010.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Hanging gardens of Babylon, Heemskerk, 2010</td></tr>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> As visual artist I try to organize temporary environments
which could function as laboratories, where people can meet informally and that
invites them to share their expertise by shared interest. 24/7_Trojan is such a
trajectory which looked at the dynamics of Het Keizer Karelplein and our
relation with this public space. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkl_FsD_4Nd41MiHNc72vyQlsqTdvhRhn5UdfJr-X8G408MAcv8fYERbiAMSar9sKfK1DL63PhS6ozcm2PWbO1Z6YP_6rjmw87sHZYVfLDt6g13IjI2-Tl5-qLYv9g6Zt2vdv-fQtaIf_X/s1600/3+247trojan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkl_FsD_4Nd41MiHNc72vyQlsqTdvhRhn5UdfJr-X8G408MAcv8fYERbiAMSar9sKfK1DL63PhS6ozcm2PWbO1Z6YP_6rjmw87sHZYVfLDt6g13IjI2-Tl5-qLYv9g6Zt2vdv-fQtaIf_X/s1600/3+247trojan.jpg" height="360" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Keizer Karelplein, 24/7_Trojan 2014</td></tr>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> The work is visualized by you and me and maybe even without
realizing your role in this process. Attending actively is as much visual as
your absence in this project. What stays
most important is the attempt to visualize the conditions of today’s
environment.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCVvFB092lo6UzpQIzYyMTKeu5CfSdmekWVYHXMjYWhRc5MRIfcBHa0aKyby1Gw5AlTgwPcteQSxxOXmPmVhPY2QRtIuV3KWBx2_agt1kXaMw2t2xLTGzgV-8pE0kUllFzp-DlW5Lvm-Qa/s1600/4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCVvFB092lo6UzpQIzYyMTKeu5CfSdmekWVYHXMjYWhRc5MRIfcBHa0aKyby1Gw5AlTgwPcteQSxxOXmPmVhPY2QRtIuV3KWBx2_agt1kXaMw2t2xLTGzgV-8pE0kUllFzp-DlW5Lvm-Qa/s1600/4.jpg" height="420" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Keizer Karelplein 1882<br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> For those who are not familiar with Het Keizer
karelplein it is a large roundabout, build in 1880 after the French Place
Charles de Gaulle in Paris. It started as a pedestrian boulevard and became through
time a place where the traffic dominates, twenty four hours a day.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXjKJfzfbrZwHH0btesuiFaG6jGDWO8tVNyFR6wiTQk_GGvbl7CLsq86EVlEJfd62ZI64zNMu5NeHzKBhrQ-4hn5_zS2Kwf6AjUk0ogBibYqi2OwvfrYhCTfPC1F1gJAVb8ndfncGXfQxh/s1600/5+Het+Keizer+Karelplein+2014.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXjKJfzfbrZwHH0btesuiFaG6jGDWO8tVNyFR6wiTQk_GGvbl7CLsq86EVlEJfd62ZI64zNMu5NeHzKBhrQ-4hn5_zS2Kwf6AjUk0ogBibYqi2OwvfrYhCTfPC1F1gJAVb8ndfncGXfQxh/s1600/5+Het+Keizer+Karelplein+2014.jpg" height="330" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Keizer karelplein in front of City Theatre Nijmegen April 2014</td></tr>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> The isolated horse statue of Charles the Great in the
little park, made me think of the proverbial Trojan horse and supplied the tool
for a participatory research after the parameters of the roundabout.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVUe854PpjJJ0PBOtzBCeHa0ZKhG8RslDWru0yVHBoycW5hQAFRSzYEohyxHoxu4attCRKpZ5KqvMow_OgcKqa3UddkK3sCOZd0Arhp08FRIUpPJPwZkvk1Tq8GIMnzpMvKZruOlEYz_oC/s1600/6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVUe854PpjJJ0PBOtzBCeHa0ZKhG8RslDWru0yVHBoycW5hQAFRSzYEohyxHoxu4attCRKpZ5KqvMow_OgcKqa3UddkK3sCOZd0Arhp08FRIUpPJPwZkvk1Tq8GIMnzpMvKZruOlEYz_oC/s1600/6.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">De oversteek, new bridge Nijmegen, opened in 2013</td></tr>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> The crossing became an important metaphor within
this research, it not only refers to the name of the new bridge in Nijmegen and
its history.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbjl6ys8M3334TDzN2gohk9xZxEsqpk4-42io_jsvVHuTPV1Q-Z8F6QxCOMVgPYjMZOK5N2IZ0vtyds2Etx4BQn-KQ9iJwsSEJxHg5OLD-gcnF_9xOPKxDBN839mGPOLuOEVd6AG9IJs8x/s1600/7+thecrossing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbjl6ys8M3334TDzN2gohk9xZxEsqpk4-42io_jsvVHuTPV1Q-Z8F6QxCOMVgPYjMZOK5N2IZ0vtyds2Etx4BQn-KQ9iJwsSEJxHg5OLD-gcnF_9xOPKxDBN839mGPOLuOEVd6AG9IJs8x/s1600/7+thecrossing.jpg" height="372" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> Also it refers more broad to the difficult crossing
towards other times to come. Or more literal even, to the difficult crossing by
foot to the little park in the middle of the roundabout.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> Our Royal Highness, the Dutch King Willem Alexander
introduced in His throne speech</span><b><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: #252525; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> </span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">on 17
September 2013 the term participatory society to the people of the Netherlands.
What in my opinion lacks in the political use of the term is a clear picture of
how in neo liberal times this participatory society would look like? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> When I think of a participatory society I think of active
citizenship, a change from I to We,
from bottom-up instead of top down, involved citizenship when it is about
creating new ideas and forming our understanding about the world that we
inhabit. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> Tine de Moor professor at the Utrecht University and
expert of the commons, points at the
cult around private property and the individual as centre of the society. She states that it is an illusion to think
that you need to own something before you want to take care for it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMpyNR4-CUINxOFVP0ZuguIHyP28n4eG24tOVo0SzAaXXyxM3qzXMK_WaNrUrQ4C6ul-mdQh6HYhfLznVENRodz9saqmttFy7NCvYz4nxjOGsdX7jNKlMacObx-pN0LviAfj_cEWlqdA8Q/s1600/8.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMpyNR4-CUINxOFVP0ZuguIHyP28n4eG24tOVo0SzAaXXyxM3qzXMK_WaNrUrQ4C6ul-mdQh6HYhfLznVENRodz9saqmttFy7NCvYz4nxjOGsdX7jNKlMacObx-pN0LviAfj_cEWlqdA8Q/s1600/8.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">24/7_Trojan | The exchange photo made by Hristina Tasheva 7 June 2014, during lecture of Joost de Bloois</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> Joost de Bloois professor philosophy at the University
of Amsterdam explained in his <a href="http://247driveby.tumblr.com/post/88373329958/presentatie-joost-de-bloois-op-het-keizer-karelplein" target="_blank">lecture</a> as
part of 24/7_Trojan that real public space doesn’t exist, it is the ‘public’
space owned by the state in order to serve neo liberal ideas. This, said de
Bloois, makes a political role for art in public space problematic, because it
suggests the existence of a public space. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAtY5jdCeUiJTHXeqIFdfVgru2J2-jMxP4TAYeBD3qXzHlyLNbjeGXW0l5lx1bkgADwAH75S12QliT2wI8FalFdwZM_RriohwicDJK9xKOgAfoPRoSBibL-aIEfi4fwAYBn4HtIRETKdFt/s1600/9+coalitie+akkoord.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAtY5jdCeUiJTHXeqIFdfVgru2J2-jMxP4TAYeBD3qXzHlyLNbjeGXW0l5lx1bkgADwAH75S12QliT2wI8FalFdwZM_RriohwicDJK9xKOgAfoPRoSBibL-aIEfi4fwAYBn4HtIRETKdFt/s1600/9+coalitie+akkoord.jpg" height="366" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fragment of coalition agreement municipality of Nijmegen, where is written that inhabitants of Nijmegen should give their public surrounding at least the number 7. It is not written how this number is asked.</td></tr>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> Another interesting question here is how the
inhabitants of Nijmegen are allowed to take care of a place they don’t own?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> It is the philosopher Alain Badiou who encourages us
more than ever to question any given truth, in order to develop and innovate
this truth. He sees Art as one of what
he calls Truth procedures, next to science, politics and love. 24/7_Trojan
tried to find answers on the influence that regular users have on the actual
image of the roundabout. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> In 2012 and 2013 I was not able to realize many of my projects
because they were blocked by authorities for various, mostly economical
reasons. I decided that my proposal for
Expoplu should be able to realize itself, even if during the process different
opinions, thoughts, laws, responsibilities, interests or god knows what might
stand in its way and block its continuation. The best structure for this lays
in the hands of ‘shareholders’, people with the same interest who are willing
to pay a collective effort and can find each other in their visual presence on
the spot: <i>Het Keizer karelplein</i>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfr6IhVEj4xoTWfxN6cwGKDelqsenheHiMeGLoEW2Elq782I7P2rHr667PxY2PEmGJgCS7hqbrSoGQqW_Gg7Vel_Nn_vdawIhGfNBGKIixR6oiMxmpFK-8HAaYNABaRtwY1RMIVeB_7X74/s1600/10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfr6IhVEj4xoTWfxN6cwGKDelqsenheHiMeGLoEW2Elq782I7P2rHr667PxY2PEmGJgCS7hqbrSoGQqW_Gg7Vel_Nn_vdawIhGfNBGKIixR6oiMxmpFK-8HAaYNABaRtwY1RMIVeB_7X74/s1600/10.jpg" height="300" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Keizer Karelplein from above, Google maps 2014</td></tr>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> My first proposal was made on 4 January 2014 and send
to the organization of Expoplu and curator Van
Dorpe. 24/7_Trojan, a visual
referendum spread through the internet when using different social networks. People would be asked,
to ask their friends and them to do the same. With the message to take 14 June
at 3pm the roundabout for one hour as destination with their car, when the
current roundabout should change in their opinion. They could ignore this
message if they were fine with the current situation. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeh8wIJ9CJNgnD-MletQCN3ttOGvRldRedNxV3VR-rI1LgFyDgIA2BMA7326nxGiRjPdiPbQxIqoZZ2Vd43XIZws71AZtwfRsNqtoAXBCFZ8WjB0lahBIwTNfej_CjKyLefuzrlmRCfZdT/s1600/11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeh8wIJ9CJNgnD-MletQCN3ttOGvRldRedNxV3VR-rI1LgFyDgIA2BMA7326nxGiRjPdiPbQxIqoZZ2Vd43XIZws71AZtwfRsNqtoAXBCFZ8WjB0lahBIwTNfej_CjKyLefuzrlmRCfZdT/s1600/11.jpg" height="492" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">City Theatre Nijmegen, 2014</td></tr>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> It would be offered as a theatre play behind the large
window of City Theatre Nijmegen. This theatre was build after the second world
war to bring the art of theatre to a broad audience. 24/7_Trojan would take the
street as a stage for its appearance in the heart of society. Made by a broad
audience, for a broad audience from active to passive spectatorship.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2zRJpiz44tutUQUnuN5IURtQmKbWRd3dzQ5zWrRhDPYvaTFaRZmVd5NJKjnz3jMDRNvPpdZPXGOAY3KBVfBVe3CPqLivk13ryC0B9v-bnHH34QtkYGdg5v9Un_0RBmQ7aSN9dp8cxl_D9/s1600/12+het+labyrinth.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2zRJpiz44tutUQUnuN5IURtQmKbWRd3dzQ5zWrRhDPYvaTFaRZmVd5NJKjnz3jMDRNvPpdZPXGOAY3KBVfBVe3CPqLivk13ryC0B9v-bnHH34QtkYGdg5v9Un_0RBmQ7aSN9dp8cxl_D9/s1600/12+het+labyrinth.jpg" height="418" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">labyrinth by Klaus van de Locht</td></tr>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> The artist Klaus van de Locht made the famous Labyrinth
in Nijmegen, the city from above has similarities with the labyrinth and with our
glass fiber data networks. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGQQN4vZOA4hJLT86bomk0w_JQTOkrfq6erUw8-2JvU0iEdgr40uGn3yIx9XxzhXcEXSVjoR1jaU4HlC-Cdzbmzi4C15wJhtTW9z3nHtsTzCjWwS4TLdfQ_g4_DtZxblML2hRzTcIIJP6D/s1600/13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGQQN4vZOA4hJLT86bomk0w_JQTOkrfq6erUw8-2JvU0iEdgr40uGn3yIx9XxzhXcEXSVjoR1jaU4HlC-Cdzbmzi4C15wJhtTW9z3nHtsTzCjWwS4TLdfQ_g4_DtZxblML2hRzTcIIJP6D/s1600/13.jpg" height="472" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">scheme DDos attack </td></tr>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> Our cars could function as the data and similar to a
DDos attack on the internet, when a large amount of computers visit a website
at the same time, if enough people participate with their cars in the network 24/7_Trojan
could facilitate The crossing by foot to the little park in the middle. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> Expoplu stayed silent for a while, after a few weeks I
received an email with invitation to discuss the concept. It was an evening in
February where we discussed the responsibilities and possibilities to realize a
project like 24/7_Trojan. Consisting out of three moments, a lecture program in
the little park on the roundabout, the visual referendum as theater play presented
from City Theatre Nijmegen and a meeting where we would discuss this collective
research. After a discussion about my intentions
we agreed to ask the municipality of Nijmegen for permission, if denied we (
that means me and the organization of Expoplu) agreed to start a public debate about
this idea and generate publicity for its refusal. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimgq_zbmchBJL5M2HH2-M99m_NT_AFdNxnzo9gbddftXjiqT2LdiGtdGb7dGFyLVAYV4seZhWUzERHe6zNz2ndvgbHScvIs51t0JMgaSLoJuygBNAC5M6cW35ahE6qVcimy_48IloZdBMy/s1600/14+brief+Henk+Beerten.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimgq_zbmchBJL5M2HH2-M99m_NT_AFdNxnzo9gbddftXjiqT2LdiGtdGb7dGFyLVAYV4seZhWUzERHe6zNz2ndvgbHScvIs51t0JMgaSLoJuygBNAC5M6cW35ahE6qVcimy_48IloZdBMy/s1600/14+brief+Henk+Beerten.jpg" height="448" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">letter to alderman Henk Beerten (D66) for the municipality Nijmegen</td></tr>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> 26 February 2014 I wrote a letter to Henk
Beerten (D66), he was alderman of Culture, Mobility and Education for the
municipality of Nijmegen. In this letter I requested the municipality to collaborate
and facilitate this visual referendum which <u>could</u> lead to the crossing. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTVV70dFO1FBRaYM8rRnwSWygTt9PZ_Wi0R742WQBsKAE0SA-idSOqJlle8izrJzgk9BFlD2sycQhXag6rdBJNkD_8gWuNGpMdzgxvtO3DrS5EYI9RhtT8RuGakC_GKU173Syu6HVBqMPR/s1600/15+protest+KK+plein.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTVV70dFO1FBRaYM8rRnwSWygTt9PZ_Wi0R742WQBsKAE0SA-idSOqJlle8izrJzgk9BFlD2sycQhXag6rdBJNkD_8gWuNGpMdzgxvtO3DrS5EYI9RhtT8RuGakC_GKU173Syu6HVBqMPR/s1600/15+protest+KK+plein.jpg" height="562" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">protest announced 7 March 2014</td></tr>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> In the meantime a protest against De Mark Rutte
administration for 7 March dominated the local news. Place for protest het
Keizer Karelplein and immediately this location was forbidden by the
municipality of Nijmegen. Someone contributed to the online 24/7 archive, <i>‘ you are allowed to protest everywhere in
Nijmegen except on Het Keizer Karelplein.’ </i>We followed the news closely. It
was interesting to read the comments on internet which were mainly economically
orientated, ranging from messages to the protesters as, get a job, or you
should pay the damage of our missed profit etc. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs0umnLIIzDJ0zB7kUbzvdFnhre_qaDz-lzseS4GqnHM1ndExKre8T5hjz0aAMkJFdL0sLU5ntb8O_ZULW_ytTJmZRNZ-xHNq1UaX22Fr-KOFQwgPI6NIr2uwSxApgW5uKgHh0Z0jkFAlb/s1600/16+boete+organisator.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs0umnLIIzDJ0zB7kUbzvdFnhre_qaDz-lzseS4GqnHM1ndExKre8T5hjz0aAMkJFdL0sLU5ntb8O_ZULW_ytTJmZRNZ-xHNq1UaX22Fr-KOFQwgPI6NIr2uwSxApgW5uKgHh0Z0jkFAlb/s1600/16+boete+organisator.jpg" height="602" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">fine for the organizer</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> The protesters didn’t listened to the restrictions and
the police had to close the roundabout for the safety of the protesters, the
woman who organized it was fined afterwards.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuzscqi6Ia_Fj6O_BjrC2zX6znV7rANeIlqYRBEX3LIVAStUe1ltIkcES6MDOVY6ACv0Ulz6VecTMoYIEwr70Ea3D7arhvT8ae9eL6OG5e8wtnoCuAeEPGWAdcOF_2RjNQPuAuvZ2e1-0f/s1600/16.1+Gemeente+Nijmegen+Project+24-7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuzscqi6Ia_Fj6O_BjrC2zX6znV7rANeIlqYRBEX3LIVAStUe1ltIkcES6MDOVY6ACv0Ulz6VecTMoYIEwr70Ea3D7arhvT8ae9eL6OG5e8wtnoCuAeEPGWAdcOF_2RjNQPuAuvZ2e1-0f/s1600/16.1+Gemeente+Nijmegen+Project+24-7.jpg" height="640" width="464" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">rejection letter 17-3-2014</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> The municipality of Nijmegen answered my proposal by
phone on 12 March 2014, with the message that all lights for this project
are on red as far as the municipality is concerned. My request to discuss the
possibilities in person was rejected immediately. The spokesman also added that
they really didn't understand the point of this proposed theatre.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> Opposite of what we agreed, Expoplu stayed silent. No pushing
of a public discussion, no press to communicate the rejection. I tried to write
the newspapers and local broadcasters myself but without receiving any answers
back. Also Expoplu didn’t reply my emails at that time and I started to
complain about the situation. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><i>‘The power of a way of thinking has above all to do
with its ability to move.’</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> This was and is a crucial moment where I understood
that Expoplu changed their opinion. Later, at the expert meeting of 7 June, part
of 24/7_Trojan, one of the members explained that there had been another
discussion within the board of Expoplu about the responsibilities and possible
claims if the roundabout would get blocked by 24/7_Trojan and as far as I
understood, this might caused their change in approach to me.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8PiWZA3lMrErXXyNbM1DFPqvbk49A_ORm-Cb5vK7R3TzUUJ1i5GF7dibCLLWfvg5T8CITCD9Jhb3_-LRU1cFxNLoUBqkUblCP_xWm-Ke5JgOb_jXDSAa4n7KKqQ2dP527BpxacPaHRz6W/s1600/17.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8PiWZA3lMrErXXyNbM1DFPqvbk49A_ORm-Cb5vK7R3TzUUJ1i5GF7dibCLLWfvg5T8CITCD9Jhb3_-LRU1cFxNLoUBqkUblCP_xWm-Ke5JgOb_jXDSAa4n7KKqQ2dP527BpxacPaHRz6W/s1600/17.png" height="360" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">primary school De Driemaster visits the little park on the roundabout</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> It was clear that I had to change my strategies, I
decided to use the roundabout within my possibilities. I started with the help by Angela Visser of Expoplu to organize meetings with primary school children, asked
people for their view on the roundabout, shared these views online in an archive
and searched for experts to generate other information about het Keizer
karelplein. To activate human potential, not to protest but to facilitate a
constructive civic dialogue with the ‘public’ surrounding. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> Most children of the primary school had never been in
the little park before. When I invited them to think freely about this
surrounding they asked me for the rules of their assignment. Their tutor
explained that we learn them to function within the framework, a set of rules.
Their comments were surprisingly practical, why there is no pedestrian
crossing? Why are the benches facing the traffic? Why are the electricity boxes
out in the open and not hidden? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEholxoJH1QzmmXTMH0P2rZLCAwY-GKv6tZZRi2Mj14fU2GIK3HghPe2o10pRM3zFDtPUagQ7g1h_6Sc2aU9Bsdhws99NKYA063dsqO8zlmsm2Z5rpW5-F4SlcSyU8M3It20-1hQ4V-BwE59/s1600/18.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEholxoJH1QzmmXTMH0P2rZLCAwY-GKv6tZZRi2Mj14fU2GIK3HghPe2o10pRM3zFDtPUagQ7g1h_6Sc2aU9Bsdhws99NKYA063dsqO8zlmsm2Z5rpW5-F4SlcSyU8M3It20-1hQ4V-BwE59/s1600/18.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">new design for Keizer Karelplein</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Only the very little ones dared to think more freely .<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7OLtueyWF03eefPQeQT2bPusOCPt_tJEOLPBlPJaqBdPGw3wbq9vtM9GagnH15wl7hfYX-O3PHS7CavDZPPXmcuzPsC7KPK16RZeGYAzXtM_s3Y8zvKUFkVRutXCYU6K41GtEgyJX8-Pt/s1600/19+mail+Radboud.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7OLtueyWF03eefPQeQT2bPusOCPt_tJEOLPBlPJaqBdPGw3wbq9vtM9GagnH15wl7hfYX-O3PHS7CavDZPPXmcuzPsC7KPK16RZeGYAzXtM_s3Y8zvKUFkVRutXCYU6K41GtEgyJX8-Pt/s1600/19+mail+Radboud.jpg" height="252" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> I communicated with all the different directions of
the Radboud University which might have affinity with city planning,
governance, mobility, culture and
ecology. I spend days to get in touch
with the expertise of students without any success. Two times I was explained
by email that the University and its professors are under great pressure of rules
and financial circumstances, they added that this of course is no reason not to
reply on my emails. Students picked their subject already in January, that’s
why they are not able to answer my call. When several student platforms ignored
my emails I decided to phone them to hear why? They explained only to report events from the university.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU0B7H1ExBO_OeIR9-seD_PymvrNjCAY3iGoilxyuk-_WaZH_V_aDLESlKH4dQ5RAvrSf0HKYm_tYUNkoULsRxapRfc5LZxwr1DelUjVXnRlLWbS-8fBRmcBn_Et3hhadwOSvK1wHUGCL7/s1600/20.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU0B7H1ExBO_OeIR9-seD_PymvrNjCAY3iGoilxyuk-_WaZH_V_aDLESlKH4dQ5RAvrSf0HKYm_tYUNkoULsRxapRfc5LZxwr1DelUjVXnRlLWbS-8fBRmcBn_Et3hhadwOSvK1wHUGCL7/s1600/20.jpg" height="358" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> TNO connects people and knowledge to create
innovations that boost the sustainable competitive strength of industry and
well-being of society. I read on their website. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">FOUNTAIN</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> is a
behavior model which is developed by TNO, to influence our use of complex
traffic areas. They generate metadata of its users and influence their use of
infrastructure by this information. I invited the professor from the University
Twente who is leading this research and asked her to attend the public expert
meeting on the roundabout. She did reply
but explained that she didn’t want to come because for her it was more useful
to go to an audience more suitable for her product. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVVRfJ68Xfr07ttfrTBEIsXceNk4G2-KXeLAzP2M9LnuvAXh_MqDa2RhUpRpqcvQbrFBiSECtsZG8_Oh1mMye8G43owVWTwDRKNW-D4T5L-v90PoOlXYv3WiMOqXLsFLT2Jm8GjjqFytLB/s1600/21+Rabobank+dromen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVVRfJ68Xfr07ttfrTBEIsXceNk4G2-KXeLAzP2M9LnuvAXh_MqDa2RhUpRpqcvQbrFBiSECtsZG8_Oh1mMye8G43owVWTwDRKNW-D4T5L-v90PoOlXYv3WiMOqXLsFLT2Jm8GjjqFytLB/s1600/21+Rabobank+dromen.jpg" height="358" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> I went one afternoon to the banks which are located at
het Keizer karelplein. My mission was to ask the employers of the banks their
view on the roundabout. They see it every day from their office. At ABN Amro a
woman at the information desk took a pile of my flyers with the message that
she will ask her superior, I left my contact information but till today I have never heard of her anymore. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> After that I
went to the Rabobank. When you enter the building you are surrounded by posters which state: Dare to dream! You see a young couple with the
keys of their first house. Within this environment a bank employee asked me
what she can do for me? I repeat my question and explain, I am an artist and
want to reveal the way we all look at het Keizer Karelplein. By sharing our
views I would like to see if the actual image of the roundabout is changing? Is
there a way to involve the employers of the Rabobank? She looks at me and I can
see she means it well with me, I have never had this question before she said. I
have to ask a colleague of mine. She walks a few desks further, they now both
look in my direction and I feel a little strange. She returns back to me. I
will call the communication department she says. While she is calling I look at
the posters of young healthy people, Daring to dream. With the communication expert on her ear I
hear her saying, yes but he is right here in front of my desk, he can explain
it here on the phone, no? She puts the phone down and she explains to me that I
have to write an email with my question. What surprised me was that she
repeated that I really would receive an answer. I did send an email the other
day and until today I did not get any response. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiurfwLepgmoUSrY0chv6G3tgMuR7oD3kKw16vdgWS5jvqMhIIVJJ_krqK7qzeSmZZZE3vNwy7qMjptiJHMmW3v0WTUPdpznG9MBgYTnTNFbM8vGn8k95CaBs07dneUg3nh3_VPu4zipYTg/s1600/22+Zoekt+het+gezicht+van+De+oversteek.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiurfwLepgmoUSrY0chv6G3tgMuR7oD3kKw16vdgWS5jvqMhIIVJJ_krqK7qzeSmZZZE3vNwy7qMjptiJHMmW3v0WTUPdpznG9MBgYTnTNFbM8vGn8k95CaBs07dneUg3nh3_VPu4zipYTg/s1600/22+Zoekt+het+gezicht+van+De+oversteek.jpg" height="368" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> The visual referendum was forbidden, that’s why I
organized The crossing on 14 June, with the aim to participate in a group and
make the crossing available for a broad audience. In the park Art Historian
Feico Hoekstra revealed more information about the sculpture of Charles the
Great. Although I was very pleased that the City Theatre Nijmegen participated in
the crossing, with the opportunity to watch from behind the large window with
view on the city. It became clear that it was not their aim to activate their
publicity department to attract a large
audience for The crossing. The programmer who himself had never been in the
little park, said that he wished to see around 30 people, he added that if the
theatre would be my client I would receive much more local cooperation. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY3MLqfxYcOnjGPZ7mLeyts2Md89FmMFBvVf_znDWlsfXrFeve7bep9TKd2wYABuMSflB2VgcKJ3UdN7sWWj2xjGpUBHj6HcQeHwP1ZOGhQPuZOmtDQeHg1hZyDcPRU_k1WL_DZognmAjW/s1600/23.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY3MLqfxYcOnjGPZ7mLeyts2Md89FmMFBvVf_znDWlsfXrFeve7bep9TKd2wYABuMSflB2VgcKJ3UdN7sWWj2xjGpUBHj6HcQeHwP1ZOGhQPuZOmtDQeHg1hZyDcPRU_k1WL_DZognmAjW/s1600/23.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Feico Hoekstra tells about the sculpture of Charles the Great made by Albert Termote</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> The newspaper De Brug who was at first very enthusiastic
to announce and support The crossing stayed silent. All other media was
informed, but the crossing seemed not of enough importance.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMq5-iCFA4u6BUiJ2_15zBwSScB1ko3d1ccn_8TOlBoqDtnBkek8PIf1B4T1MlWU3aZeENZx6hQoSiR99hiXLXeepVH-vvZLtyWvqR7bmsu73ahEwI3uxNVhPrKlDsp1cTyX-18d6dOlIo/s1600/24+website.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMq5-iCFA4u6BUiJ2_15zBwSScB1ko3d1ccn_8TOlBoqDtnBkek8PIf1B4T1MlWU3aZeENZx6hQoSiR99hiXLXeepVH-vvZLtyWvqR7bmsu73ahEwI3uxNVhPrKlDsp1cTyX-18d6dOlIo/s1600/24+website.jpg" height="304" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> I contacted the organization of the year of Charles
the Great in Nijmegen, a remembrance because he passed away 1200 years ago. I asked them to submit the <a href="http://247driveby.tumblr.com/post/89642710463/het-ruiterstandbeeld-van-karel-de-grote-op-het-keizer" target="_blank">lecture</a> of Art
historian Feico Hoekstra about the sculpture which is on the front page of
their website. It took two weeks before I received an email with the message that the
municipality of Nijmegen rejected my proposal in March and that is the reason why
they will not announce the lecture in their agenda. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih987518oiIg2ZJ1PZ27S2rqcsqKKdOvCS72FktZ2tiwaD888BXvzWjB_GoKskZk_e-AnC5_8jnqHGkHousasWUlT9xf-pWzHh5MIx-Qtb5c2yl25I0rPgGEHuQYqqLk6DT62Ae0qtvwn-/s1600/25+Theater+van+angst.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih987518oiIg2ZJ1PZ27S2rqcsqKKdOvCS72FktZ2tiwaD888BXvzWjB_GoKskZk_e-AnC5_8jnqHGkHousasWUlT9xf-pWzHh5MIx-Qtb5c2yl25I0rPgGEHuQYqqLk6DT62Ae0qtvwn-/s1600/25+Theater+van+angst.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Theatre of Fear written by Beatrice De Graaf</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> In the book: <i>Theatre
of fear</i> , written by Beatrice De Graaf expert on Counterterrorism and
political violence,</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: dimgrey; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> </span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> she
writes about <i>‘performative power’</i> and
the way governments can use this in different ways to control the situation. For example to forbid an event by pointing at the
dangers it brings for the population or how they can silence an event by
influencing its possibilities to find a stage. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><i>‘The power of a
way of thinking has above all to do with its ability to move.’ </i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-XFPyt05u5u6IaukhqGb7FwLpAN9u0of-rOBV3FzgmKbcI17Acd2_uTu8O8NxmqNSsCUNQ9mjqLDrNMNFAQqybDyTTA1SXy6OrpXb1X3wSI0jq0YqazUJQnxIvF5TmO6jcn-Dcj9qk4AI/s1600/26+expoplu.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-XFPyt05u5u6IaukhqGb7FwLpAN9u0of-rOBV3FzgmKbcI17Acd2_uTu8O8NxmqNSsCUNQ9mjqLDrNMNFAQqybDyTTA1SXy6OrpXb1X3wSI0jq0YqazUJQnxIvF5TmO6jcn-Dcj9qk4AI/s1600/26+expoplu.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">exhibition view 24/7_Trojan at Expoplu 2014</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">I would like to quote Boris Groys, philosopher and art
critic, from an essay he published recently in E-Flux: <a href="http://www.e-flux.com/journal/on-art-activism/" target="_blank">On Art Activism</a>:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> “Art activists try to change living conditions
in economically underdeveloped areas, raise ecological concerns, offer access
to culture and education for the populations of poor countries and regions,
attract attention to the plight of illegal immigrants, improve the conditions
of people working in art institutions, and so forth. In other words, art
activists react to the increasing collapse of the modern social state and try
to replace the social state and the NGOs that for different reasons cannot or
will not fulfill their role. Art activists do want to be useful, to change the
world, to make the world a better place—but at the same time, they do not want
to cease being artists. And this is the point where theoretical, political, and
even purely practical problems arise.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> Reflecting on our shared visual surrounding might lead
to differences in opinion, or problems as mentioned by Boris Groys but I
suggest to be careful when we qualify these problems as part of an activist
practice. I believe that it is first of all our shared human task to give
direction to the lives we live by engaging with all aspects of life. The discussions
born out of this interaction should be the start to improve and develop our
lived surroundings.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> When government rules are there to preserve a certain
surrounding from change, it is also the task of a democratic society to
facilitate a civic dialogue with these surroundings. This might not lead to fast financial profits
for the market, as our current event culture is providing, but could raise the
quality of living by developing new theories on the dynamics of our surroundings.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpbpsDZN_eBteDeyGuQ2oDg2A2Lzh5XA6R6xNZFPKkK3AP6tkvG040k0lpGvjVQ_Gu1nnOnhC8vGfWuOk_nANaeDx2KnSjlvJhd4xB6CNNdxVpScxTDWMu67d-_44NMn1XgdYKFoEioqzU/s1600/27+Hirschhorn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpbpsDZN_eBteDeyGuQ2oDg2A2Lzh5XA6R6xNZFPKkK3AP6tkvG040k0lpGvjVQ_Gu1nnOnhC8vGfWuOk_nANaeDx2KnSjlvJhd4xB6CNNdxVpScxTDWMu67d-_44NMn1XgdYKFoEioqzU/s1600/27+Hirschhorn.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> As Stijn Van Dorpe clearly states in his introduction
about this show it is hard to see the artist and the artwork outside the neo
liberal context. I do think that the artist is amongst all other professionals
the one who is trained in making and reading images in the most confusing
environment possible, an environment where visuals are constantly questioned, the
art academy. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> A direction in education which is currently under fire
like any other form of experiment which cannot prove its profitability
beforehand. The artist is producing otherness and otherness related value within
established and fixed constructions. An important
role and position which starts to become deliberately difficult in today’s society..<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlOG3S1H7Jf6BntdikmMrCyWmBy8ykV22QEtm-szeWD6MusUpM1FCKRWKiABGfqQATnATtBh-HspbDap_R_teysoHDsNWaPu2qKXiIUGT0cIt-jNYLUau553letsA0K8YLFsTnJgKY7BOb/s1600/28+de+gelderlander.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlOG3S1H7Jf6BntdikmMrCyWmBy8ykV22QEtm-szeWD6MusUpM1FCKRWKiABGfqQATnATtBh-HspbDap_R_teysoHDsNWaPu2qKXiIUGT0cIt-jNYLUau553letsA0K8YLFsTnJgKY7BOb/s1600/28+de+gelderlander.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">article in newspaper De Gelderlander</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> When the newspaper De Gelderlander quoted me in their headline,
<i>‘I want to let the roundabout being experienced differently’</i>, they underlined
me as individual, the one to hold responsible for his actions. What I meant was:
I want to organize the infrastructure
for an interaction which is usually not there, between the people and the public
space The fact that my proposal for a visual referendum was rejected and that
no politician wanted to talk to me about alternatives wasn’t mentioned by the
newspaper, if you ask me the article had to be about this. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> The power of a way of thinking is precisely guarded,
also in the Netherlands. Experiences as
described above influence my thinking and force me to work differently. I
believe that you don’t need big budgets, but an open environment in the way it
embraces experiment as necessary part of a progressive society. Even if we believe in a market system. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ49t7noQX7F1KOEhZTjfaEi3hGCboxjVtbuj2FEDdW7wUQzxhdjkEyFyqXw4SWGLaUHYXMBt31_oq68gS1Wp5vmq7489JaqMm3lGu2n1JrNYAKwC1xJ12I1VsUUf6CfTZz1dT6ykC92Ix/s1600/29+Guardian.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ49t7noQX7F1KOEhZTjfaEi3hGCboxjVtbuj2FEDdW7wUQzxhdjkEyFyqXw4SWGLaUHYXMBt31_oq68gS1Wp5vmq7489JaqMm3lGu2n1JrNYAKwC1xJ12I1VsUUf6CfTZz1dT6ykC92Ix/s1600/29+Guardian.jpg" height="640" width="636" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> I want to end this presentation with a quote from an
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/earth-insight/2014/jun/19/open-source-revolution-conquer-one-percent-cia-spy" target="_blank">article</a> of the Gardian with the title: <i>The open source revolution is coming and
it will conquer the 1%</i>, an interview by Nafeez Ahmed </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">with Robert
David Steele, former Marine, CIA case officer, and US co-founder of
the US Marine Corps intelligence activity.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> "The
west has pursued an industrialisation path that allows for the privatisation of
wealth from the commons, along with the criminalisation of commons rights of
the public, as well as the externalisation of all true costs. Never mind
that fracking produces earthquakes and poisons aquifers – corrupt
politicians at local, state or province, and national levels are all too happy
to take money for looking the other way. Our entire commercial, diplomatic, and
informational systems are now cancerous. When trade treaties have secret
sections – or are entirely secret – one can be certain the public is being
screwed and the secrecy is an attempt to avoid accountability. Secrecy enables
corruption. So also does an inattentive public enable corruption."<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></i></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0sw50ntOkOprCVpMGzOsJ63W9oyhyphenhyphenJIkU1DuqYqEYhZ0eSgB-HDaG9wLvQa93WDhrxP2_QyD0iilAOyL20prH-Uv3GTvuR-kF6Po-8z57C0MMS1_9ajp-T_EwrnhfnCH-TX_OjqtGyfMN/s1600/30+De+oversteek.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0sw50ntOkOprCVpMGzOsJ63W9oyhyphenhyphenJIkU1DuqYqEYhZ0eSgB-HDaG9wLvQa93WDhrxP2_QyD0iilAOyL20prH-Uv3GTvuR-kF6Po-8z57C0MMS1_9ajp-T_EwrnhfnCH-TX_OjqtGyfMN/s1600/30+De+oversteek.JPG" height="424" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">24/7_Trojan | the crossing 14 June 2014</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">And within the context of 24/7_Trojan, the last
sentence is of great importance:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">"So also does
an inattentive public enable corruption."<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The word corruption should have abroad meaning here. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Within my possibilities 24/7_Trojan tried to approach
ways of thinking and showed the possibility or impossibility to find ground for
alternative forms of thinking and reflection.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Thank you for your attention.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Text Edwin Stolk</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Project websites:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 18.399999618530273px;"><a href="http://www.edwinstolk.nl/247365.html">http://www.edwinstolk.nl/247365.html</a></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 18.399999618530273px;"><a href="http://www.247driveby.tumblr.com/">http://www.247driveby.tumblr.com/</a></span></div>
Edwin Stolkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02675813353946145108noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7206738538636122110.post-11678461870536696312014-05-10T16:01:00.000+02:002014-05-10T16:29:01.682+02:00Museum as hospital– implementing an impressive digital cleansing<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"> Hito
Steyerl, artist, writer and filmmaker has her first mid-career museum
retrospective at the <a href="http://vanabbemuseum.nl/en/programme/detail/?tx_vabdisplay_pi1%5Bptype%5D=18&tx_vabdisplay_pi1%5Bproject%5D=1264" target="_blank">Van Abbemuseum</a> in Eindhoven. The show is curated by <a href="http://curatorsintl.org/collaborators/annie_fletcher" target="_blank">Annie Fletcher</a> and shown till 22 June 2014.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"> On Saturday
24 May 2014 the Van Abbemuseum and Hito Steyerl will host a series of
discussions on the expanded theme of circulationism, where Steyerl recently
wrote an <a href="http://www.e-flux.com/journal/too-much-world-is-the-internet-dead/" target="_blank">essay</a> about. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3RFwcMilqhj8inXoJ4asJO0jUgmTPWEuspALfo4kYffa2FmnNvDXB5u1Xs2I8ei0yQ9UyjgfjWPaNaTWrcfprAGn2nbUWMmwcqZoczB5B9fJHj6PwshA4A8Bphq_k-8gg15xcN2pJcEVr/s1600/Lovely+Andrea.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3RFwcMilqhj8inXoJ4asJO0jUgmTPWEuspALfo4kYffa2FmnNvDXB5u1Xs2I8ei0yQ9UyjgfjWPaNaTWrcfprAGn2nbUWMmwcqZoczB5B9fJHj6PwshA4A8Bphq_k-8gg15xcN2pJcEVr/s1600/Lovely+Andrea.jpg" height="432" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><i><a href="http://www.ubu.com/film/steyerl_andrea.html" target="_blank">Lovely Andrea</a></i>, 2007, 30 MINS </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"> </span>Steyerl suggests
that circulationism is: <i>“What the Soviet avant-garde of the twentieth century
called productivism – the claim that art should enter production and the
factory – could now be replaced by circulationism. Circulationism is not about
the art of making an image, but of post-producing, launching, and accelerating
it. It is about the public relations of images across social networks, about
advertisement and alienation, and about being as suavely vacuous as possible.”</i></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"> As I went
to Steyerl’s show last Thursday I can
tell you that I was pleasantly surprised by the impact of her works. First of
all I want to make a compliment for the total makeover of the old museum building
after the last exhibition: <i><a href="http://strangemessenger.blogspot.nl/2013/12/times-of-use-and-uselessness-museum-of.html" target="_blank">Museum of
Arte </a></i></span><span lang="EN-US"><i><a href="http://strangemessenger.blogspot.nl/2013/12/times-of-use-and-uselessness-museum-of.html" target="_blank">Útil</a></i></span><span lang="EN-GB">. This time the exhibition architecture
is made by Studio Miessen and I think they really did a great job. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"> All works of
Steyerl take the space convincingly and grab the attention of the viewer. Different
sound works were never bothering each other. Multilayered works grabbed one by
one my attention. While going through the exhibition, slowly my mindset
changed in a deepened experience where you are lost whiteout panicking. A form
of acceptance for the manipulation brought to you by the artist. A material
mess well served in a very clean digital format. Where some video’s as for
example <i>How Not To Be Seen. A Fucking
Didactic Educational .Mov File</i> are bringing awareness in a creative, messy
and funny way about of the digital ‘eye’ which can see as far as a pixel. Other
videos have different layers and directions which confront each other in
opposite meaning and direction. They supply a certain blur over the image of
daily reality which is both challenging to experience as well as frightening in
the same time. I felt a strange timeless feeling embedded within today’s picture.
The work is erasing your (fictional)
idea of focus and overwhelms you with suspicion towards the conserved reality. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8PdvWHYp9-C0QsOE_qOe2nD-dUZFcsaA4nBrqJpfOl85uBaR-Q4VefrC7s9tB6hytqwQZeMEZXRFSHRNKhEM7fGuyEluWux5TBizAmXyk5YARaw7kLBYf6aAOOV49YkbyVC0dXgYgp6eh/s1600/Museum-Berlin_Hito-Steyerl_Videolounge_726x378.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8PdvWHYp9-C0QsOE_qOe2nD-dUZFcsaA4nBrqJpfOl85uBaR-Q4VefrC7s9tB6hytqwQZeMEZXRFSHRNKhEM7fGuyEluWux5TBizAmXyk5YARaw7kLBYf6aAOOV49YkbyVC0dXgYgp6eh/s1600/Museum-Berlin_Hito-Steyerl_Videolounge_726x378.jpg" height="331" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span lang="EN-GB">How Not To Be Seen. A Fucking Didactic
Educational .Mov File</span></i><span lang="EN-US">,
2013, 14 MINS<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"> As Sven Lütticken
in his essay decribes her video works as <i>Postcinematic Essays After the Future</i> it is especially the
deconstruction of time which fascinated me. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"> On the <i>Van
Abbe</i> website is stated: S<i>teyerl wonders what happens when the effects of digitization
slip off the screen and enter into the material world. </i></span>Here I think
the problem arises within the context of this show, because the attempt of
post-producing, launching, and accelerating the image is one. <span lang="EN-US">But the artist is actually using an image herself, the art in this
exhibition. A</span>s she stated, circulationism
is not about the art of making an image. <span lang="EN-US">Therefore you might ask yourself the question if the museum setting is
the right context for this attempt of approaching the concept of circulationism.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"> If time and
focus is bothering you, this show might be your moment for alternative healing. Remember that when you enter the <i>Van Abbe</i> you
were the one deciding to do so. When the museum functions as a hospital for digital
cleansing it puts the artist in the doubtful position of the alternative
healer. Since we are looking at the work of a relatively young artist, the
medicine was not tested over a long period of time. So you are responsible </span>yourself<span lang="EN-GB"> for its long term effects. By bringing this mixture of images and confusion, you
might wonder how long the conserved neo liberal 'reality' is allowing you to stay
timelessly and subjectively digital? </span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US">Here you can find a nice warm-up online, the video<a href="http://vanabbemuseum.nl/projecten/hito-steyerl/" target="_blank"> Liquidity Inc</a>. – 2014!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Text: Edwin
Stolk<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Edwin Stolkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02675813353946145108noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7206738538636122110.post-50837502319238441152014-04-29T22:11:00.000+02:002014-04-29T22:23:01.709+02:00Conversation with Stijn Van Dorpe on creativity, knowledge and aesthetic residue<div class="MsoNormal">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIhO_va7D-Dspf_NOcWdhNmYkSKSzpZfBGRhNTeHAxXqzAJFtTIiKxLK7FSkJLXM7dg0lDdVNdWwPU1pwBPU1qF947jAenk0Ay10gJ80erGjvUIDTPmHpJM_0wBlSTnxanttLyyi2jVLcO/s1600/IMG_9360.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIhO_va7D-Dspf_NOcWdhNmYkSKSzpZfBGRhNTeHAxXqzAJFtTIiKxLK7FSkJLXM7dg0lDdVNdWwPU1pwBPU1qF947jAenk0Ay10gJ80erGjvUIDTPmHpJM_0wBlSTnxanttLyyi2jVLcO/s1600/IMG_9360.JPG" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Cambria; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 11px; line-height: 14.7839994430542px;">Stijn Van Dorpe, </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14.7839994430542px;">The Magritte Project / Charleroi - Marchienne Au Pont 2013</span></td></tr>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><i><a href="https://biblio.ugent.be/person/802001042885" target="_blank">Stefaan Vervoort</a> </i>in c</span>onversation with <a href="http://stijnvandorpe.blogspot.nl/" target="_blank">Stijn Van Dorpe</a> on creativity, knowledge and aesthetic residue</div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">1. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Stefaan
Vervoort:<i> Last summer, in the frame of
the art event HOTEL CHARLEROI, you set up a collaboration with local artists
and children from Marchienne-au-Pont. You titled the work Theater 1:1 (2013).
How did you go about realising this work?<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">I asked
local artists from Marchienne-au-Pont for a picture of one of their works,
which I then took copies of, as a kind of documentation or reproduction of the
works. Then I organized a workshop with children from Charleroi in which they
could cut up these documents into 'new' images. These images and the original
works by the artists were then exhibited in the local exhibition space of
Marchienne-au-Pont, a modernist building that forms part of the municipal
administrative centre. These are the dry facts. It is a work I long hesitated
to make, but I am very happy that I finally did.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">S.V.: <i>What sparked your interest?<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">S.V.D.:
Many things. In Marchienne for example, both the city and the Walloon Region
support many creative projects with an educational impact. Through creativity
and by means of educational projects, people are (re) integrated into society.
One of such examples is the AVANTI Institute, an active creative studio that
does work with ex-prisoners or impoverished people. Their activities range from
teaching welding techniques and making furniture and sculptures to
participating in theatre performances and building theatre sets. Another
institution I worked with, l'Espace Citoyen Porte Ouest, helps children with
their homework after school and organizes many creative workshops for them. For
me, these creative projects formed a presence in Marchienne Au Pont at many
levels. Another element that led me to this work at the time was a book on art
theorist Boris Groys.<span class="MsoEndnoteReference"> <!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[i]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span> The booklet includes, among others, two
interesting contributions: a text by Kazimir Malevetisj that forms a
reactionary manifesto on and against the art institution, and an interview with
Groys in which he contextualizes and reinterprets Malevich's text. I thought it
was interesting how Groys interprets the museum as a collection of collective
subjectivities that must be<span style="color: #4f81bd;"> </span>continuously
renewed by the artist – the artist is not involved in repetition, he says, but
in innovation. This issue was also addressed in <i>Theater 1:1</i>.<span style="color: #4f81bd;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">S.V.: <i>Why the title </i>Theater 1:1<i>?<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">S.V.D.:
First of all there was the way the works were exhibited. The works of the
children formed one cluster and those of the adults another. In this sense, the
ratio between the two groups was one to one: the exhibition juxtaposed the
'work' of two generations, whereby – as is often the case – the younger
generation reinterprets the work of the older generation, in a kind of
continuous circle of creativity. But perhaps more interesting is the way in
which this logic is deeply rooted in our cultural, social and pedagogical
thinking. The internalization, reiteration and processing of previous types of
knowledge is just how things work – it is, for example, how school works.
Children acquire information and process it into something new. That is what is
being repeated here in an artificial way, and replayed. What we see is a
representation of how things 'normally' occur, as in a theatre of the everyday.
A third, and perhaps most relevant aspect of 1:1 has to do with the specific
position I assume with this work. By working with children and amateur artists,
the work in some way dissociates itself from the elitist idea of contemporary
art, but also from the educational associations connected to amateur artists
and children. It occupies a kind of gap between these two worlds.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span><span lang="EN-GB">S.V.: <i>You have themathised notions of learning and creativity before, for
example by working with amateur actors </i>(Kristof / Christophe, 2011<i>) or students (</i>Going to the Top of
Africa, in collaboration with Euridice Kala, 2012, Witte Marmer, 2013<i>). Is it the act of making that interests
you, the creation?<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">S.V.D.:
Creativity is not what interests me – it has more to do with the meaning of
‘creativity’ today. I am interested in how creativity relates to our
neoliberal, capitalist environment. In this way, the various actors, operators
and ‘institutes' that got involved with <i>Theater
1:1</i> became an important facet of the project. There is the organizing body,
HOTEL CHARLEROI, which brought me into contact with local organizations such as
AVANTI and l’Espace Citoyen Porte Ouest. But other individuals and institutions
were involved in the production of the work, such as Isabelle, a local amateur
artist who was well acquainted with artists and art institutions in Charleroi,
or the alternative music and cultural centre Rockerill, a place where local
artists can come together. I find these links interesting because together they
form a picture of the environment and the way in which a work is realised, like
a kind of map of reality. It is a kind of miniature social environment.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">S.V.: <i>Part of the exhibit consisted of the
presentation of the children’s cut-up and collaged art images. How important
was the outcome? What is its significance within the whole of the project?</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">S.V.D.: One
of the most fascinating things – which I really only noticed in retrospect –
that grew out of the workshop with the children, was that their 'art images'
form a summary of art in the twentieth century. So one can see Arte Povera and
surrealism in the cut-up images of a kid who turned documents into rolls and
stuck them together or in a house set in the back of a cat. There is also late
minimalist work, in which the paper is hung in a very tangible way and the
hanging itself becomes the subject. Or a word game, in the manner of Mallarmé
or Broodthaers, or an expressionist painting. It is curious how the child
clippings share similarities with modernism – but I cannot say what this means
exactly.<i><o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">S.V.: <i>The production and presentation of the work
defines a 'creative network' that is specific to the context. Could the work
also have been made in another place, or with other institutions?<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">S.V.D.:
Yes, I also have the feeling that I will repeat this work. I've never repeated
a work but in this case it seems worthwhile – if only to discover what the
repetition will generate. It would again involve a number of local and
creativity-oriented institutions, as well as the local art scene (amateur
artists or artists) and children. I find it interesting how, if you consider
the project as a sculpture in the broadest sense of the word, it could form ‘new’
installations or sculptures. Simply from a purely aesthetic point of view, they
would already be <i>different</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">2.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">S.V.: <i>Does your fascination with education have to
do with knowledge transfer?<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">S.V.D.: I
don’t think that it has to do with knowledge as such, but rather certain kinds
of knowledge. I attended a lecture where curator and art theoretician Nora
Sternfeld described four types of knowledge as ‘situated’ (connected to an
environment), ‘collective' (belonging to everyone and never individual, since
knowledge always relies on the knowledge of others), ‘unruled’ (undisciplined
and always provoking debate) and ‘unsettled' (always questioning itself).[ii] This last category is very important: it concerns the fundamental uncertainty
and the limits of knowledge, knowledge that is continuously criticizing itself.
With this attempt at mapping categories, Sternfeld links the specific form of
artistic knowledge to the world, as an epistemic tool. That is also why I think
the educational is interesting. The practice of art for me coincides with an
educational practice, even though this is not always in a direct manner, and
even though knowledge transfer of art is not of the same order as knowledge
transfer in mainstream education.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">S.V.: <i>The way you describe it reminds me of Ryan
Gander, who, among other things, thematises the irrationality or arbitrariness
of conceptual art. His work often brings together disparate elements to
thematise the epistemological divide between them, to as it were expose cracks
or gaps in our knowledge. Do these gaps play a role in your work?<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">S.V.D.:
Absolutely. I recently wrote a short text for a residency application that
refers to such gaps. Actually, I am saying that where once expression occurred
through material registers, today it is much more about creating a void – a
vacuum that makes its own context visible. It is a critical place from which
society can be observed and reality made visible. In a naive way you could say
that this void is the ‘promising emptiness', the utopian place. At the same
time it is also the tactical place that allows distancing and from where one
can look to the outside, from where one can actually see things.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">S.V.: <i>Nevertheless, there lies a paradox in the
suspension of meaning, namely the fact that emancipatory potential depends on
good will. You can also read this void in a negative manner, for instance as
meaninglessness or as an escapist principle. On the occasion of </i>Two Stories<i> (2012) and the work </i>Untitled (filed 14
karat gold nib)<i> exhibited at Galerie
Transit in Mechelen you wrote: 'This performative act expresses a desire to
make visible autonomous matter (...) in the sense that it becomes utterly
meaningless.’ Emptiness might possibly provide an 'outside' or autonomy, but
also generate meaninglessness.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">S.V.D.: I
think this ambiguity can be reduced to the institutionalization of that empty
place; it is something that has also been adopted into the neoliberal ranks of
contemporary art. It is not that there is no more good will, but it has almost
become a sales tactic and might therefore also become dystopian.
Meaninglessness is not necessarily negative. It is mainly about how the 'empty
space' is used. Emptiness as such is not interesting enough: I want to think
about very specific environments, about the Educational, as well as other
topics in which – in that emptiness – things run the risk of becoming
jeopardised. This is for example why I find the work of Joëlle Tuerlinckx so
interesting: it is essentially so boring that it escapes the spectacularisation
and normalisation of emptiness. It still creates a truly empty point.<b><i><o:p></o:p></i></b></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">S.V.: <i>Much has of course to do with the art
historical reception of such works. How museums and perhaps especially art
criticism reduces works to certain positions or historical episodes. Thomas
Schütte for instance reacts strongly against this. He calls this
institutionalisation ‘Ablösungsprozesse’, meaningless relay processes from one
art era to another, from one artist to another.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">S.V.D.: The
lecture I held at Croxhapox together with Kelly Schacht is connected to a sense
of dissatisfaction with this situation. For me there was always a sense of
sadness connected to the idea of a series of interventions called <i>Brainbox</i>, in which one artist was asked
to continue on the work of another. <span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[iii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span>
There was the risk that outside, by that I mean on a social and societal level,
it would be completely ignored. I had made the radical decision to give a
lesson on the basis of seven images. The first was an installation image from
my series of works titled <i>Assimulation</i>
(2010 -). <i>Assimulation</i> consists of
squared and lined A4 sheets of paper with the word "assimilation"
written onto them in the kind of longhand writing children are taught in the
first year of elementary school. On the one hand, the work plays with the
boundaries of a social condition, in the sense that you learn to write and
communicate; on the other hand assimilation is also a concept of historical
importance to the artist's practice – as a kind of simultaneous embracing and
foregrounding of a construction. Seeing how the work, through the ambition made
evident by the word, namely assimilation, can almost be decomposed into line
and paper, it also has something very material, disconnected from its
significances. The line is a line, the paper is paper. The following images
also referred to visibility and invisibility. The second image showed the map
of Europe, which we had drawn together with the children on the playground of
the school across the street from Croxhapox. Everyone was given a paper with a
piece of the map, and there was a grid drawn on the playground so that the
pieces came together nicely. Here again, it is about the physical way in which
meaning is created, the way a work and the therewith-associated knowledge
transfer (including, among others, the borders of Europe) comes into being. The
series ended with a dry description of an event that at the time had touched me
greatly: the sunken ship at Lampedusa. Especially the fact that this disaster
remained entirely invisible – it was literally the fifth item in the news,
after the football match of the national team – was something I felt I needed
to react strongly to.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">S.V.: <i>Are you pointing the finger at Croxhapox, at
contemporary art?<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">S.V.D.:
Partly, but that is not the main issue for me. I saw it as a lesson. It is the
tone, I’m really not saying anything, I’m not judging. But there are documents
handed out and between those documents I find there is potential to think about
the place where you are and the issues presented. That is a very direct
approach to a kind of educational interaction. In a more structural way I try
to talk about how art deals with meaning, but also how it is co-opted.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">S.V.: <i>Once meaning is suspended, what is left is
form. Art historian Luke Skrebowksi writes about the 'aesthetic residue’ of the
artwork after conceptual art, the form in which or through which meaning
appears. Skrebowski describes aesthetics as an emancipatory place, a
counterpart or antagonistic force to instrumental reason.</i><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"> <!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">[iv]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span><i>
In your conceptually oriented work, form and materiality are very important as
well.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">S.V.D.:
Yes, in the case of <i>Assimulation, </i>paper
becomes meaning – or vice versa. An even better example is my exhibition <i>A Small History of Modernity</i> (2013), in
the Paraplufabriek in Nijmegen. This exhibition is hard to describe, because it
was both a very visual and a sensory experience. There were several glass
plates that were marbled by students of a seventh year vocational training in
house painting from a school here in Ghent – a moment, between school and
professional career, which can again be seen as a place in-between. What you
see is that the disconnection between meaning and material becomes possible,
and that there are pieces or parts of matter left behind. The setup included a
paper letter and a signature, the tactility of the paint on the glass plates
made to look like marble, and the tactility of a painting that was on loan from
the Valkhof Museum in Nijmegen. This kind of materiality of things I find very
important; it is an essential part of my work. I think it is the constant
withdrawing – call it a form of analysis, of what remains of a work – that
fascinates me. Although I cannot always say why. It is the element of formal
stupidity or folly, if you want to give it a name.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">S.V.: <i>You presented a second work in Charleroi, </i>The
Magritte Project<i> (2013). You wanted to
borrow the painting L’éclair (1944) by René Magritte from the Musée des Beaux
Arts de Charleroi and exhibit it to the public in a private residence. The
project did not go through, yet then you had the aesthetic 'residue' –
correspondence with the director of the museum and a reproduction of the
painting – in a backpack carried around in Marchienne-au-Pont by a donkey. Can
you tell us more about the work?<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">S.V.D.: I
can tell a whole story about that donkey. I had taken a week of vacation during
the project, because we were busy with Charleroi and I was waiting for a
response from the director of the museum. We had made a short trip to the Alps,
and I saw this donkey with one of those middle class families who had rented
the animal for a trip through the mountains. An immensely fascinating image.
The donkey is originally like the tractor of the poor, but now it carries
tourists’ belongings. I myself wanted to keep the Magritte project alive with
it.<b> </b>In the donkey’s bag was a
picture of the painting by Magritte and the letter I had written to the curator
of the Museum of Fine Arts in Charleroi, Coraly Aliboni. For me that donkey
became the locus of the exhibition; a place of display and a place where I
wanted to keep the documents of the project that hadn’t gone through. The work
obviously plays with the connotations of the animal as a double element, a
signifier to both the working class and middle class tourism, in this way
evidencing the contrast between the basic and the luxurious, but it is also a
mobile, absurdist commentary on the 'conventions' of the exhibition space.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">S.V.: <i>As stupid as a donkey, they say. Is there a
similar stupidity to the remaining material? And perhaps not only of your work
but also that of Magritte, as an aesthetic residue that has to be reconsidered
today.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">S.V.D.:
Maybe. I think that by moving Magritte, I want to activate the potential of the
work – in a way almost reactivate it, by moving it to a particular place within
a specific moment. In that respect, <i>The
Magritte Project</i> is almost obvious, and it is also quite a nice work. The
idea was a great success, because everyone could understand it almost
immediately.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">S.V.: <i>Why did you choose Magritte? Does it have to
do with his clarity or rather his ambiguity? Could you have chosen another
artist, like Duchamp?<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">S.V.D.:
There were many reasons to choose a Magritte. The first reason is that I came
across the painting on a visit to the Museum of Fine Arts in Charleroi. A work
by Duchamp can for example not be found there. Another reason, which I have
tried to describe in the letter to the director, has indeed to do with the
surrealism of the work. It was the ambiguity of interpretation, the
inconsistency that occurs when we try to read the vase with flowers – flowers
that have been replaced by abstract spots of paint. The painting embodies a
kind of blind spot, in which the imagination can run free. I connect this blind
spot, as an unoccupied space, to Hotel Charleroi and the specific intervention
I wanted to make there. At the same time, we are very familiar with the work, a
vase of flowers, very big and recognizable, and in that sense it was convenient
to introduce it in an everyday interior. The work played on the context of the
everyday, in which family members must 'take care' of the painting.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">S.V.: <i>There is also some analogy between the
obtuseness hinted at by surrealism and the way in which Gander’s disparate
elements are at odds with each other. I read much of your work as a rereading
of surrealist strategies, as a stretching or dispersion in various forms – the
aesthetic, the performative, the conceptual. Also, the rereading of modernism
as a closed period, as a 'known' period, to me seems something the work
responds to.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">S.V.D.:
That is certainly true, I think. Although I've never been much concerned with
surrealism. For me it has at least as much to do, or is even primarily
concerned, with the way in which the painting symbolizes the cultural or
economic wealth and potential of Charleroi. By moving this symbol I wanted to
draw attention to such possibilities and bring them in a context in which other
values such as everyday worries about livelihood and family exist. In this sense,
there is a connection between Magritte and Charleroi: as a child he lived for a
time in Châtelet with his family.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">S.V.: <i>Magritte would never write extensive
analyses of his own work – but after conceptual art, you can hardly do
otherwise. In your writing also, it seems as if you, method-wise, want to come
to a point of vagueness, precisely by taking the projects to the extreme and
perhaps even re-staging them? <o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">S.V.D.:
Yes, maybe. Although I think there is a difference between my work and my
writing. But, yes, it cannot be disconnect, my analysing and my work.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">S.V.: <i>It is quite apparent that you deeply analyse
the work. As if you analyse with the express aim to find that blind spot. <o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">S.V.D.:
Maybe so. I also wonder where that comes from, why I think writing and
analysing is necessary.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">S.V.: <i>To me, it seems significant that you clearly
explain the Magritte project on an A4-sheet, and then take to Charleroi and
show a donkey. It embodies the conflict between knowing and not knowing, or
between the discursive and its opposite, in an absurdist and almost surreal
strategy.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">4.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">S.V.: <i>If you don’t take cues from the Surrealists
that much, whom do you take them from?<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">S.V.D.:
There are many artists who have worked in an inspiring manner or who are inspiring;
I recently came across Joseph Albers. I find the materiality of his work
particularly interesting. We’re already in the fifties here, the era of Barnett
Newman and Mark Rothko. For me, Albers is radically different. It has to do
with modesty, or rather the level of reality expressed in the work. Albers'
work has an incredible naturalness. The paint is applied in a very plain
manner, very simply, every time. What happens is what happens. It’s
repetition, almost. Actually, it’s so dry; it’s very dry humour. Yet they’re
abstract paintings!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">S.V.: <i>From that point of view, Albers indeed
speaks from the category of the humorous and the absurdist. These concepts also
appear prominently in your work?<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">S.V.D.:
That is something I’m always being told. What is weird is that I'm really not
that preoccupied with it. I see it, but if I had to consciously deal with it,
it might not be interesting any more. But it is true. What do you think of
Albers, or Robert Ryman?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">S.V.: <i>Ryman's ‘patches’ are fantastic. Even the bits
of tape on his suspension systems, when he assembles the canvases, are painted
white. As for Albers: it is interesting to see how the poster of Camiel Van
Winkel’s exhibition </i>Valéry Proust Museum/White Cube Fever<i> (Mu.ZEE, Ostend, 2011-12) used one of Albers’
works, almost as an homage to his aesthetics and sense of materiality.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">S.V.D.:
What seems a very interesting thought to me is the fact that Renzo Martens
compares his practice with that of Robert Ryman. There is a very strange link
between their work, a fundamental way of dealing with art that also examines
itself. That's what Ryman does: he explores his painting, in materiality. He
puts himself on the line, all the time. And Martens says he injects this into
some kind of reality, in a social context. ‘Cut into reality with a scalpel,’
as Martens puts it, is basically doing what Ryman does in painting.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div>
<!--[if !supportEndnotes]--><br clear="all" />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<!--[endif]-->
<br />
<div id="edn1">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-GB"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-no-proof: yes;">[i]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span><span lang="EN-GB"> Kazimir Malevitsj,
‘Over het museum’, in: Solange de Boer (red.), <i>Boris Groys in context</i>, Amsterdam, Octavo publications, 2013, pp. 41-48.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="edn2">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-GB"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-no-proof: yes;">[ii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span><span lang="EN-GB"> Nora Sternfeld,
‘What's the point? Unruly Knowledge Production in Art and<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<span lang="EN-GB">Science, Education and Activism’, lecture at the Node
Gallery, Aalto Arts Arabia, Helsinki, Wednesday 30 October 2013.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="edn3">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-GB"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-no-proof: yes;">[iii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span><span lang="EN-GB"> The Brainbox
project ran from September 14 to December 10, 2006 in Croxhapox, Ghent. Van
Dorpe and Schacht were third in a series of seven interventions. The Croxhapox
website describes the project as: ‘the redefining of an exhibition project in
seven stages by 18 artists, split into trios. (...) The interventions follow
each other in quick succession, there is little or no time for reflection
between the various phases. The successive interventions take place during
opening hours, so that the audience can experience the transformations as they
take place.’ http://www.croxhapox.com/brainbox.html, consulted on 30 December
2013.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="edn4">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-GB"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-no-proof: yes;">[iv]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span><span lang="EN-GB"> Luke Skrebowski,
‘Conceptual Aesthetics’, in: Sabine Folie, Georgia Holz, Ilse Lafer (red.), <i>Ein Buch über das Sammeln und Ausstellen
konzeptueller Kunst nach der Konzeptkunst / A Book about Collecting and
Exhibiting Conceptual Art after Conceptual Art, </i>Vienna & Cologne,
Generali Foundation & Verlag Walter König, 2013, pp. 128-138. For a similar
argument on minimalism, see: Branden W. Joseph, ‘The Tower and the Line:
Towards a Genealogy of Minimalism’, <i>Grey
Room</i>, no. 27, Spring 2007, pp. 58–81.<span style="color: #4f81bd;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</div>
</div>
Edwin Stolkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02675813353946145108noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7206738538636122110.post-90672036663712062792014-02-13T12:20:00.001+01:002014-02-13T13:46:57.296+01:00How MONEY decides what is NOW and for how long...<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"> 11th
February I went in the evening to a presentation at <i>Leiden University</i> by <a href="http://www.wdw.nl/participant/tilroe-anna" target="_blank">Anna Tilroe</a>, amongst other positions she is an
art critic and curator. Her presentation with the title: <i>Power and commerce</i>, was part of a series of lectures by the theme: <i><a href="http://www.voorzieningen.leidenuniv.nl/studium-generale/kunst/" target="_blank">Art for the happy many</a></i>. In her
presentation she warns for the commercialization of art institute’s and follows
in a line of articles published recently around this theme on the alarming
effects of the aggressive and perverse art market. It’s a pity that these <i>Studium Generale</i> lectures are only given
in Dutch, but if you do speak the language its really worthwhile to attend. One
of the slides Tilroe showed at her presentation was a large Berlin mural with
the text: <i>How long is now</i>, which
formed later my title for this article.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span><span lang="EN-US"> 18 February
Janneke Wesseling will talk (Dutch) about: <i><a href="http://www.voorzieningen.leidenuniv.nl/studium-generale/kunst/18-februari.html" target="_blank">Thevalue of art critique</a></i> and 20 February at <i>LUMC, Leiden University Medical Center,</i> contemporary artists will
discuss (in English) how they experience<a href="http://www.voorzieningen.leidenuniv.nl/studium-generale/kunst/20-februari.html" target="_blank"> their position</a> in the current art climate.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLRpBw4jUpMcnqCCRbPg-j3eJhO8DkNzGI_ZrM1yYVWGDouxjBM9HxeOvDdtwa_a2eP_J834axzcmW0g-qzON7J8uPfHG3vYbsDQ2RFHuUUt3CdYAZqUVDCvLubsroTapRN663xh0ggL9F/s1600/Tacheles+P1080226.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLRpBw4jUpMcnqCCRbPg-j3eJhO8DkNzGI_ZrM1yYVWGDouxjBM9HxeOvDdtwa_a2eP_J834axzcmW0g-qzON7J8uPfHG3vYbsDQ2RFHuUUt3CdYAZqUVDCvLubsroTapRN663xh0ggL9F/s1600/Tacheles+P1080226.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kunsthaus_Tacheles" target="_blank">The KunsthausTacheles</a> was an art center in Berlin.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span lang="EN-US"> At times of
austerity measures, the Dutch minister of culture can follow the international
tendency of cuts -without almost any protest- and apply a system of relevance, measured by the accessibility of
institutions and the amount of visitors
they attract. Anna Tilroe points at the fact that museum boards, when we look
at the Netherlands and abroad, have
excluded their cultural expertise and embraced hardcore CEO’s to do the job. She
shared <a href="https://myjour.com/a/nrc-reader/run-het-stedelijk-toch-niet-als-bedrijf/" target="_blank">her concern</a> that the museum as public platform to meet the culture of
our times is at risk.</span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="245" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/gth8_3msnIk?rel=0" width="500"></iframe></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span><span lang="EN-US"> These
current board members, as I see it, move with a neo-liberal mindset their museums in the direction of mass entertainment by programming the so called <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Blockbuster_(entertainment)&oldid=592600225" target="_blank">blockbusters</a>. They facilitate -partly with public money (in the Netherlands)- a stage for art products and market
speculation. A process which is turning these
objects in candy for the rich (investments) and implement the accessible user
friendly experience, so that we all (public) can experience what we can’t afford.
What we can’t have/own has always been easy to ‘understand’ and attractive to
watch. In the news reports we are often
informed on the outrageous Sotheby’s sales, hardly ever we hear about the
deep influence of an artwork in society.</span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"> <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span><span lang="EN-US"> Let’s go
back to the presentation of Anna Tilroe, we see an image of Jeff Koons and the
triptych of Francis Bacon which was sold for 142,4 million. <i>The Young British</i> artists are mentioned
and how that all started with the show: <i>Sensation,</i>
organized at the<i> Royal Academy</i> in
Londen by <i>Charles Saatchi</i>. Every time
when we try to reflect on the question who decides what we see in a museum, the
word money pops up. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span><span lang="EN-US"> The
perversity of big galleries as <i>Gagosian,</i>
who locate themselves at airports for the private jets to fly in and the rise
of art fairs as <i>the Frieze Art Fair</i>
and <i>Art Basel</i>, are all based on the
concept: <i>people who buy fabulous homes
buy fabulous art</i>. Art as object for
speculation and profit, visibility, publicity and status. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"> Museums of
great reputation have small budgets -as <i>The
Stedelijk Museum</i>- and are no longer capable of serious achievements for
their collection within the art market. Therefore they became highly dependent
of private partners. Financed and
influenced by corporate players, the museum turns into a stage for
advertisement (sometimes hidden) and a place where these ‘big boys’ can expose
their expensive collection of ‘art toys’ as form of prestige, in order to pimp
their status. Anna Tilroe gives the
example of <i><a href="http://www.kunstbeeld.nl/nl/nieuws/18351/museumplan-caldic-collectie-in-wassenaar.html" target="_blank">The Caldic Collection</a></i>, where
in the past collectors were donating their collections to museums, we now see a
tendency that they build their own museums. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span><span lang="EN-US"> I am truly wondering
why Anna Tilroe still believes that museums should be the only places to get in
touch with our culture. A large audience
is already long time ago disconnected from these cultural reflections she seems
to defend. Somebody from her audience states that art was always highly
influenced by power, so that there is nothing new here. Tilroe explains that
for democratic times you would expect the situation to be different. But I am wondering, is referring to democracy
in this discussion the right way to defend her cause? It was 60% of the Dutch
population who was <a href="http://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2011/07/03/meerderheid-nederlanders-staat-achter-bezuinigingen-op-cultuur/" target="_blank">in favor</a> of art cuts by our government and thought that the
arts should manage on their own. Maybe museums show exactly what our current democracy
has to offer and what a majority of people would like or accepts to look at? The audience wants <i>Koons</i>, they love the kitsch and are
hungry for speculation about the bed of Tracy Emin and who, or how and with whom
she used it! <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1oBTg-sJqoZtN-frHKb-9ose5lEiUC-Ct0DUdk_HhOIzPP3UFlFPuVP7oayLI6EzhthfrQtk58uEToqpmw37eYimzyuuM5_3R7AS0vx14a6RJetRBVdfLNrKylUWNJVEQ9U3V7Qtq8g6Q/s1600/For+the+love+of+god.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1oBTg-sJqoZtN-frHKb-9ose5lEiUC-Ct0DUdk_HhOIzPP3UFlFPuVP7oayLI6EzhthfrQtk58uEToqpmw37eYimzyuuM5_3R7AS0vx14a6RJetRBVdfLNrKylUWNJVEQ9U3V7Qtq8g6Q/s1600/For+the+love+of+god.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">For the love of god by Damien Hirst</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span lang="EN-US"> Only <i>Damien Hirst</i> was missing in Tilroe’s
presentation about <i>power and commerce</i>, if you ask me, he is the only one who really managed to make human perversity
subject for discussion. I still remember the people lining up to see the scull:
<i><a href="http://www.damienhirst.com/for-the-love-of-god" target="_blank">For the love of god</a></i>, with diamantes.
He achieved the right amount of public by the latest rules for governmental
funding. Exactly using this personal perversion is why I think his position in
the art world is so often discussed and sometimes rejected by ‘experts’. Tilroe
explains that art should serve a public interest, but maybe this commercial perversion
she refuses to accept can count on the democratic votes of the general public?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span><span lang="EN-US"> It is not
for the first time that I hear artists explaining that they show their work for
free in these CEO run museums. They say that they do this to improve their Resume
and hope that this investment will lead to sales. In the presentation of Anna Tilroe
I witnessed this same glorification of the museum as the final stage for
culture that matters. The place for reflection and the transformation of times
is a marketplace if you ask me. It is Boris Groys who <a href="http://www.uoc.edu/artnodes/espai/eng/art/groys1002/groys1002.html" target="_blank">explained</a> all the powers
that be when an art object becomes part of a museum collection. That the
collected artwork stops to be accurate because it will be conserved and stay
the same endlessly. That this process affects and influences its original cultural
message and the start of a new -objectified- message. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiF0o5idQhsRiIizByG8QMT1WAbXrI0iRgaaOW-gbJicIHcgwk6hBnAoWAqHVnlbXO86VCZaoGWBLFb4-lo0fwYygRk4mHDHqdATf_CcxI7AySERpT67BBJCLrfylYHLWlpcBtY6tNcOyT/s1600/JB+600.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiF0o5idQhsRiIizByG8QMT1WAbXrI0iRgaaOW-gbJicIHcgwk6hBnAoWAqHVnlbXO86VCZaoGWBLFb4-lo0fwYygRk4mHDHqdATf_CcxI7AySERpT67BBJCLrfylYHLWlpcBtY6tNcOyT/s1600/JB+600.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1973 <a href="https://sites.google.com/site/socialsculptureusa/freeinternationaluniversitymanifesto" target="_blank">Manifesto</a> Joseph Beuys and Heinrich Boll</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span lang="EN-US"> It is Anne Tilroe
herself who explains that Joseph Beuys could not escape from the art market and
the commercial value of his work when he entered the hall of fame. It made me think of a remark by the artist
<a href="http://www.loekgrootjans.com/" target="_blank">Loek Grootjans</a> who was my tutor at <i>Sandberg,</i>
he said that it’s easy to be a selling artist embraced by the white cube, but
that it’s asking a lot more courage to keep up outside these gallery and museum
walls! How many times I didn’t hear people say that the artist was interesting
until he/she was institutionalized. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span><span lang="EN-US"> What we
didn’t discuss this evening is where the real cultural reflection takes place.
Too often we think it’s the museum where we meet our culture, I start to
believe that this is a big mistake. I understand the concerns of Anne Tilroe,
but she forgets to talk about new forms of organization, so that artists can become
less dependent of commerce and the powers that be, when realizing their
cultural gestures. We forgot to ask the audience how they could help realize
new forms of cultural production. Asking the audience if they would visit a
young artist in <i>The Stedelijk Museum</i>
instead of a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Blockbuster_(entertainment)&oldid=592600225" target="_blank">blockbuster</a>, as Tilroe did, is old school politics. You're also not going to an entertainment park, when you know that the rollercoaster is not going upside
down at least a few times! </span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span><span lang="EN-US"> As long as the
public is educated about art in the form of outrageous sales and artists are trained
towards self branding in the art market, to achieve the museum status, we fail
to tackle the problem. It makes an evening like this feel as a complaint towards
a system we are all part of ourselves. Forgive me for generalizing, but too
often I hear a fifty plus generation of experts, often well established in the
art world, bringing clouds of rain and thunder to their audience of what goes
wrong. But while they stay in their seat, they forget to bring the new
perspectives with two feet in the mud. It becomes about time to fire the energy of younger generations towards a change of what can be changed and develop new trajectories where the old ones obviously
fail. Especially in the arts scene after
the budget cuts and protests I witness a dominant shift towards a selling art
only, we recently have been celebrating days of art fairs in Rotterdam. There
where the art is mentioning in the real world it is too often blocked by
economic interest and ignored by conservative public funds. We didn’t discuss their role in this
picture, when it comes to funding shows of market products on a powerful museum
stage of commerce.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US">Text Edwin Stolk</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Edwin Stolkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02675813353946145108noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7206738538636122110.post-81315967972474005112013-12-17T13:53:00.001+01:002013-12-20T22:32:26.527+01:00Times of use and uselessness, Museum of Arte Útil<div class="MsoNormal">
Friday 13
December I travelled to the <a href="http://vanabbemuseum.nl/en/" target="_blank">Van Abbe</a> Museum in Eindhoven to visit <i><a href="http://museumarteutil.net/about/" target="_blank"> Museum of Arte Útil</a>.</i> The first time
the term <i>Arte Útil</i> was used was by <a href="http://www.artealdia.com/International/Contents/Artists/Eduardo_Costa" target="_blank">Eduardo Costa,</a> an Argentinean artists who in the 60s wrote a manifesto, which was the
description of a work he wanted to do in the streets. <i>Arte Útil</i> roughly translates into
English as 'useful art' but it goes further suggesting art as a tool or device. During opening hours you can visit the show in Eindhoven till 30 March 2014. I was seduced
to go there after reading the website text which mentions the social function of art:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span lang="EN-US"> The Museum of Arte Útil is a place where
art’s use value and social function will </span></i><i><span lang="EN-GB">be analysed.</span></i><i><span lang="EN-US"> Museum of Arte Útil is initiated by the artist Tania
Bruguera, developed with the Van Abbe museum and constructLab and realised by
its users.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://museumarteutil.net/about/" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO_bJEZUROJ2DPfxJXdVYUHeYCmnlu5TThhIb1aNETRqoCAbSLsf2GNZNPNZp9wJyTGrBUl7T4dccrI2UZ3TNCEjaKxjHaqohKRee6yTzRA7HFr34pv-3oRg3P6lZ09tcBOfTnPRRhWno1/s1600/WP_002184.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="MsoNormal">
<i>The Museum of Arte
Útil</i> at the Van Abbe Museum, Eindhoven.</div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"> Interesting
and promising words to start with, especially in times where the role and
function of art is discussed as well as in the Netherlands as abroad, a debate focusing
on the use of art, its target audience and the role of governmental funding. Where
I was first planning to attend the festive opening event 7 December, I decided to visit the exhibition
on a regular day, to be really able to find out this mentioned realization of
the work by its users and to sense the social atmosphere and usefulness of this
presentation. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"> The very
same day of my visit to the museum, Friday
13 December, the well respected Dutch
newspaper NRC published an interactive map on their <a href="http://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2013/12/13/bekijk-hoeveel-mensen-in-jouw-wijk-gebruikmaken-van-sociale-regelingen/" target="_blank">website</a> with the headline: <i>Look how many people in your neighborhood use social support from the government. </i>The
interactive map makes it possible as an alternative version of street view, to
search on street level how many people in your neighborhood receive social money
by the government. Throughout the web, where the link appeared, people reacted
emotionally and most reactions asked: “ truly, why we need to know this
information?” Others mentioned to be happy with this knowledge and asked if
there are ways to turn their neighbors in, if they suspected misuse of these
arrangements. An interactive map, a
visual tool available for use with an effect in the streets, which defines, maps,
the ‘useful’ people who are managing in society without support and divide the ‘others’
by statistic colors, a useful visualization of the separation between ‘useful’ for
society and let’s call it as it is, ‘useless’ ones because they fail to manage
themselves. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"> When living
in these times of qualifying and valuing human behavior, measuring the
relevance of individual existence and putting the future of solidarity in the
hands of privatized, public opinion, it brings about the question what exactly is
the definition of useful? Google tells me that useful means, able to be used
for a practical purpose or in several ways.
The opposite of useful is useless and means, not fulfilling or not
expected to achieve the intended purpose or desired outcome. How do these qualifications
relate to our neo-liberal times? How do these qualifications relate to art? Who
decides? The government? You? Me? How
useful is for example <i>Waste land</i> a
work by <a href="http://www.edbprojects.com/artists/lara-almarcegui/" target="_blank">Lara Almarcegui</a>, where she saves a piece of earth from being build
upon? It is part of the useful art archive so is it useful?
Is it art? Is it serving neo-liberal ideas in terms of use?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"> Here we touch
the role of ‘Judges’ and at <i>Museum of
Arte Útil</i> we read that the set of criteria for useful art was formulated by
the artist Tania Bruguera and curators at the Queens Museum, New York, Van Abbe
museum, Eindhoven and Grizedale Arts, Coniston. Reading this, the
question rises where is the role of the audience when defining a degree of
usefulness in art? The audience is expected to realize<i> Museum of Arte Útil</i> by
using it, as stated in the first lines of the introduction. Maybe we need a map with statistics of use, as
published on the NRC website, to discuss the value of use by public opinion? Honestly,
we cannot deny that the idea behind <i>Arte
Útil</i> presented in the concept of Bruguera is formed by an old school top
down model. So the usefulness is the usefulness described by a certain group of
people who created a collection of examples in an archive which they consider
useful art and most important, they were in the position (authority) to do so. Your
project could be useful, but if not qualified as such by the committee, sorry,
but then you’re not part of this collection and it will be hard to prove usefulness
without support. Submit your projects <a href="http://museumarteutil.net/archive/" target="_blank">here</a> on their site and you will find out
how useful your project is. The rules of the game are online and clearly
presented on the exhibition wall:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The
criteria of <i>Arte Útil</i> state that initiatives should:<br />
<br />
1- Propose new uses for art within society<br />
2- Challenge the field within which it operates (civic, legislative,
pedagogical, scientific, economic, etc)<br />
3- Be ‘timing specific’, responding to current urgencies<br />
4- Be implemented and function in real situations<br />
5- Replace authors with initiators and spectators with users<br />
6- Have practical, beneficial outcomes for its users<br />
7- Pursue sustainability whilst adapting to changing conditions<br />
8- Re-establish aesthetics as a system of transformation<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.kunstreservebank.nl/" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggK7nzAe0NUCJgh-Rz9cxVYFp0STZXOt9XTFPr99XW6ycXR_5Dk4IQVLKDHcz4me-DyuIEVuiqD_7io1sg__67GKXUKyoQa4xyiAI3Cze-Bl7Zm3ovaoKoHOr1camLiNqL96akr0MyEgzx/s1600/WP_002323.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>'Art Reserve Bank’</i> at
Eindhoven trainstation.<span style="font-size: small; text-align: start;"><i>‘</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span lang="EN-US"> To speak
about this usefulness, after I arrived in Eindhoven and left the station, the
first thing that got my attention was the ‘<i><a href="http://www.kunstreservebank.nl/" target="_blank">Art Reserve Bank</a></i>’ which stays after
Amsterdam in Eindhoven till the beginning of next year (2014), and will travel
abroad after that. </span><span lang="EN-GB">They
offer an alternative banking system (they claim), central to the system is a
new reserve currency: a currency which value is not based on the expectation of
endless economic growth, but on the value of Art (with a capital letter). This
currency is minted in public with the bank's own coin press. This month the
artist Gabriel Lester is the designer of the reserve coin which you can buy at
the counter, only not today. But is this
an accurate representation of the facts? Questioning the current economic
system sounds as a useful thing to do, but presenting the value of Art as
opposite value from expectations for endless economic growth denies the very
aspect of Art products being part of that same market principle of trade and speculation.
It denies the role of Art for investors
and speculators in the commercial Art market. When the city is crowded with
people, this Friday, doing their Christmas
shopping in the real world, I read on a note at the pay desk that the Reserve Bank
is closed because the coin press broke down, it looks that today the real money
celebrates its victory by disqualifying the usefulness and reliability of the
presented Art currency. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"> But let’s
go back to the Van Abbe, </span><i><span lang="EN-US"> Museum of Arte Útil</span></i><span lang="EN-US">, you, the audience, can enter for
free where <i>Arte Útil</i>
is showing, for the exhibition<i> Once Upon
a Time... The Collection Now</i> you pay
the normal entrance fee with real money, no Art goodies. Not many entered the <i>Arte Útil</i> section (for free) when I was there. When you wish to use
the presented structure for your own group activities you have to ask
permission by email or at the desk of the museum, but it looks possible, wished
for and wanted. </span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbnqNkFWJe5OJpdTekOm9O1S9rUfodXTdaS2my41lj4mZgm3d4TRZVsLtzkfhkWdXNrhU52JBRf7Cd_kqr12rtY1DDOmFEPoDRFLmP8b0mCLufh8Kq9UUUovuXZpbCREri9hAHR0Z1o3a_/s1600/WP_002255.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbnqNkFWJe5OJpdTekOm9O1S9rUfodXTdaS2my41lj4mZgm3d4TRZVsLtzkfhkWdXNrhU52JBRf7Cd_kqr12rtY1DDOmFEPoDRFLmP8b0mCLufh8Kq9UUUovuXZpbCREri9hAHR0Z1o3a_/s1600/WP_002255.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span lang="EN-US">The Museum of Arte Útil</span></i><span lang="EN-US">, The Light Therapy Room is open for
classes, meetings, workshops or individual use at the Van Abbe Museum,
Eindhoven.</span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span lang="EN-US"> When I am walking through the archive it is very quiet and the long
tables and spaces can’t wait for your active use, photocopiers are breathing their air workless into the white cube spaces, bright lights are on and
computers are waiting for you, connected to the internet. Lucid spaces which are carefully and well
dressed up with a wooden construction which gives you the feeling of unity, of
being part of and wondering through one installation. It has something of a
smooth booth presentation of different companies at business fairs, only now we
are ‘selling’ useful art from individual ‘initiators’ presented by one
organization.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span lang="EN-US">The design and what they call scenographic
conception of the<i> Museum of Arte Útil</i>
was developed in collaboration with constructLab – a collaborative group of
architects, designers and intellectuals. The building and its spaces are
divided by ten thematic spaces, a lot of texts stare at you, sometimes offering
you a service, often calling for a better and a nicer life, or resistance and
activism. A power plant. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://museumarteutil.net/about/" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2T3_t4psewbZJIt6kgEC8VaYGZi7UGcHFG7VXMHFZjzADhaxdzQDE03DLMTqTBILRKsU9aH20aiiX-EuHkCltCnuOuLAPuWeHFUGkAhO-G8tUTR4Tt1S-jaBcGjmLRvUiOuuF21uK8_oR/s1600/floorplan_en.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="MsoNormal">
Image of floor plan: <i> Museum of Arte Útil<o:p></o:p></i></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://museumarteutil.net/about/" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrRj_cHijbB3eHmxdvjDicgyIFV5pqBw_bw3fHJF5NKE0pId80i-yIVN87aQlUDAbSD9cACGHCIavcQDHxf8dHwfGZQhaHF9SGGa05UiXgmb9NRbduDSHPgOe1esSEESS3mb9xoD5Be7ZF/s1600/WP_002198.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="MsoNormal">
Space A1-06, photo of a the wooden construction containing
A4 sheets with concepts by artists and artists initiatives.</div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"> My journey
starts in the Archive room A1-06, where I see a large wooden construction
containing A4 sheets representing
concepts by artists and artists initiatives. Ranging from names as Joseph Beuys
to Augusto Boal and from Ant Farm to Constant and so on and so on, really a lot. If you’re interested in the social function
of art as I do, this archive is really nice to spend some time and read the
concepts one by one at the large available tables next to this archive, or
simply copy the sheets on an available copy machine and bring the information
home. As far as I understood, the whole archive is also available online <a href="http://museumarteutil.net/archive/" target="_blank">here</a>,
but hey, in this case you would miss the games, a pity because they
are waiting for you on the tables present in the museum. While walking through
the rest of the construction you find a selection of these concepts of (so
called) useful art in ten spaces, presented by a small sheet and guided by a number
on the wall, corresponding with the concepts in the archive room and often
represented by an artwork or small presentation. Sometimes a video is presenting the artist/initiator
while being interviewed through Skype about his/her project. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"> In one of
the spaces there is a video of the museum director <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Esche" target="_blank">Charles Esche</a>, his function
is head propaganda here, the interviewer jokes. In the interview he explains that the current
form of contemporary art museums in general is outdated, based on an outdated idea of western art. Change
is not going fast enough he thinks and he points at the fact that we are at this
very moment facing venerable times of transition. He links these changing times
to the new political situation after the collapse of the Berlin wall. He
explains that this exhibition shows this venerability of shifting tides and analyzes
the perspectives for art and the way it is presented. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"> Another
video shows the artist Jeanne van Heeswijk, a representation of her <i><a href="http://www.jeanneworks.net/#/projects/freehouse_-_radicalizing_the_local/" target="_blank">afrikaanderwijk project</a></i> (2008) is
available in one of the rooms of the museum. She explains her believe that
art should be part of society and shares that in the Netherlands, other than
abroad, her way of working is often judged in terms of effectiveness. Exactly
here van Heeswijk brings about an interesting point, isn’t it exactly what this
exhibition is trying to do? To stress the usefulness of art, to define it and
to propagate the potential effectiveness of art? Isn’t it the philosopher
Badiou who explains that art could produce an effect which might not yet be
known, that art can create a version of ‘truth’ which we were not able to think
yet, but which could only be witnessed afterwards? How is this idea relating to
the criteria for <i>Arte Útil</i>?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"> Maybe art
is more or less haunted by its own fear, for the questions about effectiveness
and usefulness. Maybe it becomes especially venerable by showing an event as <i>Arte Útil</i> in this more or less artificial
museum surrounding, totally dislocated when you think of the social role it
wants to play in society. Maybe it is a big mistake to think that the museum is
the place where art should prove, or contribute to, its usefulness in the ‘real’
and wishes to attract a ‘new’ audience which is not thinking about art at all. Therefore
the museum of <i>Arte Útil</i> is in my
opinion only a museum of useful art because it is held in a museum, the word
museum is not contributing to the concept of useful art, it’s also not an art exhibition because it
shows an archive, numbered sheets with valued ideas, guided by interesting interviews
with artists themselves about their concepts. This archive tries to show
artists as initiators of social actions, where the art might be useful, the
museum context brands their names. Numbered in the collection of <i>Arte Útil</i>, named as authors and presented
without their actual intervention in the so called ‘real’ situation. So where
the guidelines of <i>Arte Útil</i> point
out that it is not about authorship, I believe it plays a tremendous role here.
This is also proven by the list of
established names selected for the archive, we cannot think of these names as
sideline initiators, because they are important players in the commercial art
world. Their names are not problematic in the museum, but it becomes
problematic when you intent to present these projects as independent social
tools made by its users. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"> Part of <i>Arte Útil</i> is the announcement of the <i><a href="http://www.visibleproject.org/blog/2013-visible-award-the-jury-as-a-public-event-at-the-van-abbemuseum-of-eindhoven/" target="_blank">Visible Award</a></i> winner, the prize went to the <i><a href="http://thesilentuniversity.org/" target="_blank">Silent University</a></i> by <a href="http://www.ahmetogut.com/" target="_blank">Ahmet Ögüt</a>. This
project is part of the archive and presented in one of the spaces. Prizes stress the importance of an author, Ögüt
wins this prize for his competing product. This prize will contribute to the growing
value of the artist, this is exactly the Art value as referred to and used by
the <i>‘Art Reserve Bank’</i> and proves not so different from speculations when it
comes to economic market value. Talking about the <i>Silent University </i>again, it’s a
total mystery to me to read in the project description (a folder, which is available
in the museums archive of useful art) that this university should be explicitly
hosted by established art and culture institutes? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://thesilentuniversity.org/" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqJoWQE3PFNg4vw5dmPGj46Vnyx22JH3h-h47Kq2UiuYuFXlqlUwraEGjEJSeqpRe4qEbwQ4B5Q6ZkVuGjV7vRYi-d7xYcFByQ0JMf83acJG2W0Wol8REKMVYpvaE28WyHX8OuD3uwWNhB/s1600/WP_002263.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="MsoNormal">
Photo, folder <i>Silent
University</i> by Ahmet Ögüt.</div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"> The only explanation
I could give for this is to be successful in the category where the artist is
part of. Practically it means when serving
this category, writing your concept into and for this category only, could
generate resources. But is this project when it takes place at established institutions
(free art zones) really delivering a ‘real’
situation, a social tool, contributing to social change as described in the
concept of<i> Museum Arte Útil</i>? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://museumarteutil.net/about/" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaRCWmrwzSfF6U3oERYZt7eemcXyjLSqHdcB864B0YC7NG7zBrDvufRzkm2fRAz8YR60cXhpSPR5aIDHc0m9DHswgMwAbybBha7tc16n3sXHHMeVzapqalDxhgetkDxr-8h6pY4Oen5AIU/s1600/WP_002228.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="MsoNormal">
A-legal is a term that refers to behaviour and actions that
do not adhere to the letter of the law meaning rules are bent or side stepped
to achieve a desired outcome.</div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"> Where the
director <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Esche" target="_blank">Charles Esche</a> in the video interview mentions that we develop and
innovate not fast enough, that the museum as we know it should change, he might
forget that showing <i>Arte Útil</i> in
this museum context is maybe different from ‘usual’ shows, but not really a constructive
move towards change. The concept of an art exhibition seems not functioning here
and looks imprisoned in its own ideas of representation. <i>Arte Útil’s</i> archive is useful for artists and other spectators who
are interested in social art practices and search to find a new role for art in
society. I am only not sure if this presentation as such, the whole environment,
helps as a (practical) tool to serve their interest and become of use other
than as a form of sharing we already know. The upcoming lecture <a href="http://museumarteutil.net/calendar/" target="_blank">program</a> sounds very
interesting, the presented
infrastructure looks hostile, but this whole construction is not actively inviting and feeding </span>alternative forms of production and
creating necessary networks, multidisciplinary crossovers, knowledge and resource exchange to make the difference in the real world. It approaches
usefulness without an immediate deepened discussion about contexts, the risks and benefits,
the political consequences, its borders and possible abuse of use in the suggested ideas itself. Usefulness as shown in the structure here in the museum is presented in a harmless and innocent way.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"> When, after
spending quite some time at<i> Museum of
Arte Útil</i>, surrounded by different projects and
being able to study nicely in silence, I paid a short visit to <i><a href="http://www.vanabbemuseum.nl/en/browse-all/?tx_vabdisplay_pi1%5Bptype%5D=18&tx_vabdisplay_pi1%5Bproject%5D=1173&cHash=25a46086bc173e48f7ecb3bdf83698e1" target="_blank">Once Upon a Time... The Collection Now</a></i> in the other part of the museum. What occurred
to me was the amount of people who were watching and discussing all these
carefully collected and presented works of Art. It looked as if these spectators were not so interested in qualifications
of use and usefulness as presented by<i> Museum of Arte Útil</i>, or maybe they already
discovered, the
subjective nature, ambiguous consequences of mapping and archiving social change with useful intentions…</span><br />
<br />
<i>Museum of Arte Útil</i> is shown till 30/03/2014</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Text Edwin
Stolk<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Edwin Stolkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02675813353946145108noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7206738538636122110.post-6729297347205352912013-11-08T22:58:00.000+01:002013-11-09T14:01:06.070+01:00Prix de Rome 2013<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"> Where I
first was planning to ignore the <i><a href="http://www.prixderome.nl/" target="_blank">Prix de Rome</a>
</i>this year, the debate around the prize made me engaged to write about its
function and position in today’s landscape. You cannot write about something you haven’t
seen, so yesterday I visited the exhibition venue at <i><a href="http://www.deappel.nl/exhibitions/e/830/m/" target="_blank">De Appel Art Centre</a></i> in Amsterdam. The exhibition is on show till 26
January 2014.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_OgYlzSQFKZU2XQdc0_5VksnXauqEAPJUiRxSV5qzdFamf89kVnP_uVeeElSAL08JN0E_JkjyGLUaEYhvqCqc908fh-Z5w16sI_GBiNZjVibDdgeEIhdnwBlziTyQDJG5xan8uPoC7OTd/s1600/p1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_OgYlzSQFKZU2XQdc0_5VksnXauqEAPJUiRxSV5qzdFamf89kVnP_uVeeElSAL08JN0E_JkjyGLUaEYhvqCqc908fh-Z5w16sI_GBiNZjVibDdgeEIhdnwBlziTyQDJG5xan8uPoC7OTd/s1600/p1.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"> A few days
ago I watched the VPRO documentary: <i><a href="http://youtu.be/kFQJNeQDDHA" target="_blank">TheWall Street Code</a></i>, where we see the story of <i>Haim Bodek</i>, who is a genius builder of algorithms and worked among
others for financial monopolists as <i>Goldman
Sachs</i>. He was the designer of a perfect and always profitable algorithm
used for <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-frequency_trading" target="_blank">High Frequency Trading</a></i>. When
his code suddenly stopped functioning he was puzzled and started an
investigation to find the bug. What he
discovered was that other personalized codes, referring to ‘secret’ and
‘hidden’ social connections, passed by his code with priority and disqualified
the speed of his algorithm. I would like to bring up this example in relation to
the <i>Prix</i>, to show there is the visual
code of quality made by an individual which is in an individualistic society always
highly depended for its success by the few ‘hidden’ numbers added to the code by
its networked support.</span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.remcotorenbosch.com/" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8Cu53qx5yIxVsr-W_bwHymmzPLMWv5AErnrYH8hLPbuIkDlMFX9MFBbmuLBDazUDTzyJBs5e007LmI8zJougjWnP-wihAmUlBf-fY9Tiwa95zfeGrHYP1JpqvqMKbztCGdbkLyoSSKEh9/s1600/p2.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="MsoNormal">
Research: European contextualising in analytical sociology
and ethnographical representation on history and the present by Remco Torenbosch</div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span lang="EN-US"> This year
‘transparency’ was the sub context for organizing the oldest art prize in the
Netherlands which is often surrounded by rumor and dates from 1808. For me ‘transparency’
is not of the biggest importance here, since honesty is under pressure as long as
human existence. The <a href="http://www.rijksakademie.nl/ENG/" target="_blank">Rijksakademie</a> who organized the prize before was suspected
of partisanship so now it’s up to the <i><a href="http://www.mondriaanfonds.nl/en/" target="_blank">MondriaanFund</a></i> to show how it has to be done.
Where the <i>Rijksakademie</i> used a
submission system (since 1985), open and anonymous for everyone, you delivered
your work to be judged coded. This time the <i>Mondriaan
Fund</i> appointed 35 scouts with their names out in the open and asked them to choose 2 artists each for the <i>Prix
de Rome</i> shortlist. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"> Where the
system of the Rijksakademie was ‘transparent’ on paper, we should keep in mind
that art academies until today teach their students to design the winning
personalized visual code. If you like you can test my expertise on reading contemporary
art, but I promise I can read a lot of these visual codes and of course especially
the more promoted ones. That possibly made the argument to be transparent by
the Rijksakademie questionable, but in the same time – is it possible to ask
from 35 scouts not to submit visual codes from their friends for this
opportunity? This is so against human nature, of course the answer is NO you cannot. When the
whole procedure ended, four artists were shortlisted: <i><a href="http://www.prixderome.nl/ENG/uitgelicht/uitgelicht-8-christian-friedrich" target="_blank">Christian Friedrich</a></i>, <i><a href="http://www.edbprojects.com/artists/falke-pisano/" target="_blank">FalkePisano</a>, <a href="http://www.remcotorenbosch.com/" target="_blank">Remco Torenbosch</a></i> and <i><a href="http://olavasiljeva.com/" target="_blank">OlaVasiljeva</a></i>. They made new visual codes for the occasion shown to an international jury, their task was to appoint
the winner: <i>Falke Pisano</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqvUl20rL0Z1r_XqrvQDrkmjkJGkScly1-Ua3ettA7h3wGUXCAZvEN3ax92kqyfi3XFr3yvRNIA7ZZ6SqUH6Bzl4_fVey1s1r-_9n9KL1Fa56Y7SETb17ZxqFEo_uqMN5VWbV5hqocC1qX/s1600/p3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqvUl20rL0Z1r_XqrvQDrkmjkJGkScly1-Ua3ettA7h3wGUXCAZvEN3ax92kqyfi3XFr3yvRNIA7ZZ6SqUH6Bzl4_fVey1s1r-_9n9KL1Fa56Y7SETb17ZxqFEo_uqMN5VWbV5hqocC1qX/s1600/p3.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Police motorcycles outside De Appel Art Centre</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span lang="EN-US"> On 5 November,
while inside <i>De Appel Art Centre</i> our
minister of Culture <i>Jet Bussemaker</i>,
who had just a few days before <a href="http://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2013/11/02/bussemaker-prestaties-belangrijker-bij-verstrekken-kunstsubsidies/" target="_blank">announced</a>, that only proved quality could count
in the near future on governmental support (Brief: <i><a href="http://www.rijksoverheid.nl/bestanden/documenten-en-publicaties/kamerstukken/2013/11/02/cultuurstelsel-2017-2020/kamerbrief-cultuurstelsel-2017-2020.pdf" target="_blank">het cultuurstelsel in de jaren 2017-2020</a></i>), starts her <a href="http://www.rijksoverheid.nl/documenten-en-publicaties/toespraken/2013/11/05/toespraak-door-minister-bussemaker-bij-de-uitreiking-van-de-prix-de-rome.html" target="_blank">speech</a> with a
quote from <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Luc_Godard" target="_blank">Jean-Luc Godard</a></i> who
criticized mainstream French cinema's "Tradition of Quality", which
"emphasized craft over innovation, privileged established directors over
new directors, and preferred the great works of the past to
experimentation." Outside of <i>De Appel Art Centre</i> the real visual manifestation
took place of what it takes to keep hierarchical differences functioning in
today’s society. A massive police force
was waiting for Queen <i>Maxima</i> who was invited
to upgrade the event. We should not forget that this theatre is contributing to
the important status of proved success and delivers an upgrade to the visual
code for trading the presented arts.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"> On the
internet started a debate about two
critical newspaper articles from <i>NRC</i>
and <i>Volkskrant</i> which dared to mention
that the Queen might not ‘understand’ the presented artworks because of their hermetic
nature. The online discussion suggested that valuing the queen’s opinion about these
works was stepping back in time and populist, neo liberal rhetoric, referring
to the so called gap between art and the
general public.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"> When you
look at history you see that artists embraced the value of Royal presence continuously
without any complaint, they like to receive the Royal confirmation about the
quality of the delivered visual codes so why critics are not allowed to wonder
if this appreciation is based on understanding? The pictures shared on <i>Facebook</i>, showing artists next to their work
together with the King at the <i>Royal Prize
for painting</i> are still fresh in my memory. Nobody argued about the populist
use of the King or the Queen to upgrade the importance of a painting or the
artists career? Nobody refused a Royal prize because this value judgment meant
stepping back in monarchic times and populist rhetoric?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"> In a text
written by <i>Irene de Craen</i> (freelance
writer, curator and tutor in art theory at the <i>Rietveld Academy</i>)</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></span><span lang="EN-US"> published on <i><a href="http://www.platformbk.nl/2013/11/ww10-populistischer-dan-ooit/" target="_blank">BK platform</a></i> (an organization that intends to give direction to the
public discussion about art) she states that the cultural sector attacks itself
and contributes to the disappearance of
the autonomy in arts. I dare to question if autonomy exists at all, but besides
this, do we consider ourselves to be one big family as suggested in her text? Where family members don’t (dare to) criticize
each other? I also read in her statement
that <i>De Prix de Rome</i> functions as a conceptual free-zone which could be claimed
by artists. Are you sure we talk about the
same event, the same space? Is this giving a direction to the public debate about art which leads to a future or do we refer here to a progressive past where everything looked so
much better and which we want to return to? As long as we feel attacked for
what we don’t understand we fail to innovate and liberate art, we will stay the
puppets in a theatre play made by others.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"> With
surprise I followed <i>Birgit Donker</i>,
director of the <i>Mondriaan Fund</i> in
this discussion. She published<a href="http://www.mondriaanfonds.nl/Blog/item/2013_10_31_Hoezo_hermetisch/" target="_blank"> a blogpost</a> on the<i> Mondriaan</i> website saying
that the children liked the show so in other words it was proven that the art
shown was approachable, non-hermetic . She repeated this in her opening speech
at <i>De Appel Art Centre</i> as well. What
does this remark tell the art public? It was obvious that she felt attacked by
the art critics from NRC and Volkskrant, but why? I always thought that the Mondriaan
Fund was an independent governmental fund which made its choices by independent
committee members based on their expertise. Why mentioning in the public debate
about quality? It is the task of the <i>Mondriaan Fund</i> to facilitate the visual
food independently and not to mention in the discussion about how the visual
meal is being eaten by its society. Also
sharing links to articles which were pro <i>Mondriaan</i>
and against <i>NRC</i> and <i>Volkskrant </i>is not something which I
would expect to see on <i>Facebook</i> from
a professional independent institution. It visualized self-assertion, produced metadata
in a strange world of competition, secret wars and hidden agendas. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipbxzxJIIk-lBJhSmqL7ahnON_8JoMmHxY9Nd94anhR_ZwISdpoRIzjyOCDC0qnB0m6Et2Kcm5KTi6Pav3H2QK1V8Rwm_krF3_6UFRnfG1TNu_LUHYgQbEwcr7luzvigQQmWzgkJlZ2R_C/s1600/p4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipbxzxJIIk-lBJhSmqL7ahnON_8JoMmHxY9Nd94anhR_ZwISdpoRIzjyOCDC0qnB0m6Et2Kcm5KTi6Pav3H2QK1V8Rwm_krF3_6UFRnfG1TNu_LUHYgQbEwcr7luzvigQQmWzgkJlZ2R_C/s1600/p4.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Queen Maxima, Artist Falke Pisano, Minister of Culture Jet Bussemaker</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span lang="EN-US"> <i>De Prix de
Rome</i> is a symbol for artistic success, young artists dream to be in the
position of <i>Falke Pisano</i>, next to <i>Maxima</i> and <i>Jet Bussemaker</i> and they have all the right to do so. It’s the absolute image of a winner, heading
for even more guaranteed success. Young artists realize, to reach that
level of coding you need to focus on the self, don’t waste time but develop and
connect with the right ‘others’. Another
good advice from <i><a href="http://www.platformbk.nl/2013/06/ww7-beste-afstuderende-kunstenaar/" target="_blank">BK platform</a></i> was written
by artist and tutor <i>Frank Koolen</i>, that
you have to learn to lose, but later maybe more about the quality of this advise. The
photo of the winner is a symbol of hope and dreams, a lucid visualization of
success. Do not confuse the image with innovation or collective awareness in art. That
brings me back to the documentary: <i>The
Wall Street Code</i>, where <i>Haim Bodek</i>
almost in the end explains what is happening. Beautiful intelligent minds, people capable of
developing revolutionary medicines that could cure life threatening illnesses
spend their time and capacity to create winning algorithms, codes to cash the
flow… <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"> Seven times
a day you can enter the work of <i>Christian Friedrich</i> at <i>De Appel Art Centre</i>,
12u12, 13u18,14u25,15u31,16u38,17u44 and 18u51 the door of the installation
opens for only 30 seconds, so hurry up! Only six people are allowed to enter, the others have
to wait another 70 minutes. Inside it took about 15 minutes before all six
people went out, the work continued for
55 minutes without an audience. 7 times 6, 42 people a day can visit the work, but the
voice of Anni Kaila was breathtaking...<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Text by Edwin Stolk</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://www.prixderome.nl/">http://www.prixderome.nl/</a></span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.deappel.nl/exhibitions/e/830/m/"><span lang="EN-US">http://www.deappel.nl/exhibitions/e/830/m/</span></a><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></div>Edwin Stolkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02675813353946145108noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7206738538636122110.post-36216753503539497402013-11-03T14:03:00.000+01:002013-11-03T22:18:00.582+01:00Paralyzed by the "dizziness of freedom." <div class="MsoNormal">
The group exhibition <i>DREAD - Fear in the age of
technological acceleration</i> at <a href="http://www.dehallen.nl/en/exhibitions/" target="_blank">De Hallen Haarlem</a> is curated by Juha van’t
Zelfde, winner of the Young Curators’ Grant. You can vistit the exhibition till
24.11.2013.</div>
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<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8vigym9ONHk05iTfz9JA2Cu-ofz7LIB-4Zqs4vOCAkJJQCNy3vlmGbJRftJgBvBhAVF1vv6gVDdbMhuDWQZp2V48H0Tr3HFX9iJogrkkBQOD-zlLMyfgVSoAP2hWmEP83KLZKC9j_6W_W/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8vigym9ONHk05iTfz9JA2Cu-ofz7LIB-4Zqs4vOCAkJJQCNy3vlmGbJRftJgBvBhAVF1vv6gVDdbMhuDWQZp2V48H0Tr3HFX9iJogrkkBQOD-zlLMyfgVSoAP2hWmEP83KLZKC9j_6W_W/s1600/1.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Design:
Metahaven, Dread<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Every two years De Hallen Haarlem offers a young curator the
chance to realize an exhibition project. With this initiative the museum for
modern and contemporary art wants to stimulate the development of talent among
young curators in the Netherlands and bring about a fruitful exchange with
young thinkers and makers from outside the museum. </div>
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Dread (literally: being anxious for) the exhibition theme and
brand of the show, is the ominous feeling in our body that warns us for possible
dangers. According to the Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard dread is not so
much a fear of the here and now, but a fear of the future. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i> For Kierkegaard anxiety/dread/angst is unfocused fear.
Kierkegaard uses the example of a man standing on the edge of a tall building
or cliff. When the man looks over the edge, he experiences a focused fear of
falling, but at the same time, the man feels a terrifying impulse to throw
himself intentionally off the edge. That experience is anxiety or dread because
of our complete freedom to choose to either throw oneself off or to stay put.
The mere fact that one has the possibility and freedom to do something, even
the most terrifying of possibilities, triggers immense feelings of dread.
Kierkegaard called this our "dizziness of freedom."</i> (source
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Concept_of_Anxiety" target="_blank">Wikipedia</a>)</div>
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As De Hallen Haarlem’s <a href="http://www.dehallen.nl/en/exhibitions/" target="_blank">website</a> tells us: <i>“Dread shows works
in diverse media that in various ways represent the fear of the future” , “Dread
warns us of danger”, “Art offers
perspectives” , “Dread (the exhibition) explores how artists seize this
ominous expectation of the future as a productive source for their work.” </i></div>
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<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlbmKMt6Jxyuin2d_rqfvOxTApGZNxlJ9hy4KNAogb0A_86lG-YXwKoO7uYQcF5i2P0dWJcmZdH5pxQeWZKgIoSE8JlHr7LzNncV8-px2Q1WTLiSiMZObchlHHWNW13Un2Xx65fYZWGl8Q/s1600/2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlbmKMt6Jxyuin2d_rqfvOxTApGZNxlJ9hy4KNAogb0A_86lG-YXwKoO7uYQcF5i2P0dWJcmZdH5pxQeWZKgIoSE8JlHr7LzNncV8-px2Q1WTLiSiMZObchlHHWNW13Un2Xx65fYZWGl8Q/s1600/2.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Museum wall text by Paul Virilio at the exhibition Dread</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In the small <a href="http://www.dehallen.nl/media/medialibrary/2013/08/DHH-NLboekjeSEPT2013-DEF.pdf" target="_blank">guide</a> (unfortunately without index and page
numbers) which you receive when entering the show I read that the utopian nomadic
city <a href="http://www.gemeentemuseum.nl/en/masterpieces/themes/new-babylon" target="_blank"><i>New Babylon</i></a> from artist-architect <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constant_Nieuwenhuys" target="_blank">Constant Nieuwenhuys</a> (1920-2005) was
a key work establishing this show. This
utopian city based on play and freedom could also incorporate its own
destruction by this very same force of freedom. Something Constant realized after the
war in Vietnam and the students uprising in 1968, it changed his view on <i>New
Babylon</i>. This fear for the possible
destruction is dread. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But it was Constant Nieuwenhuys who allowed himself an utopian attitude by creating his models for <i>New Babylon</i> and even
after he realized it might incorporate its own destruction. The freedom he took
to face a possible future in a utopian way delivered insides which are
implemented and still of use in today’s society. It influenced the way we
experience architectural possibilities, the do’s and don’ts as you also could read in my previous article on <a href="http://strangemessenger.blogspot.com/2013/09/call-of-mall-and-wake-up-to-better-world.html" target="_blank">a show</a> at Hoog Catharijne, Utrecht.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When I am walking through the exhibition at De Hallen it
occurs to me that I miss this freedom of opportunities in the presented works.
There is no work which tries to reach beyond the presented (technical)borders, threats and techniques of control. What I see
are relatively safe works, not challenging the risk of a possible failure which could be present in the nature of the work itself. The artists in the exhibition
mainly observe their surroundings carefully and represent their observations
often in smooth esthetic messages. They
deliver comments, no 'prototypes'. When you look for example at <i>‘They Watch the
Moon’ </i>from <a href="http://www.paglen.com/" target="_blank">Trevor Paglen</a>, you see a very nice presented
mysterious photo he made of a secret service base located at the National Radio
Quiet Zone in West Virginia. This photo visualizes what we all have heard about
in the news, related to PRISM, the NSA
and Snowden. The work serves the context but isn’t this the visual you would
expect next to a news article? Or like I’ve seen them being spread through Facebook
and Twitter? What is the museum presentation adding to this photo, other than feeding
our fear for not knowing what they’re up to over there? A work as for example <i>Faraday Tent </i>from <a href="http://www.sarahvansonsbeeck.com/" target="_blank">Sarahvan Sonsbeeck</a> tries to protect the individual human vulnerability. <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Faraday" target="_blank">Faraday</a> Tent</i>
is a small tent made from fabric which protects you from
electromagnetic fields and WIFI signals.
All artists seem to reflect from their individual point of view but forget
to oppose, fight and influence monopolies behind this part of the technological
acceleration. Where Constant dared to think in a collective form of living as
playful human beings, I am afraid that here we are faced with the result years of individualization brought to us.
The isolated individual who is subject from a collective (technical) oppressor.
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Where dread also could lead to alternative ways of thinking and behavior, to avoid falling,
being hit, caught or trapped in systems, it seems here that all hope is gone and
hangs frozen on the wall in captured moments. As the New York Times from
Tuesday, September 11, 2001 a work by <a href="http://www.gertjankocken.nl/" target="_blank">Gert Jan Kocken</a>, which was already
printed before the terrorist attacks happened. <i>Robot Readable World</i> by <a href="http://www.elasticspace.com/" target="_blank">Timo Arnal</a> shows machine vision, the way machines analyze the world. The art in the show seems obviously
stuck in (technical) contemporary fear and shows only one side of dread. The exhibition feels cold and distant it offers an
isolated feeling to the viewer where he or she is introduced to its powerful opponent
without showing who that might be. The
show addresses and analyses a certain
direction but seems incapable to transform the "dizziness of freedom"
towards vulnerable but progressive future perspectives.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkfIOc4aZ0SKs1MdyP3EjuvyR_j4lS3XPcxP3B8UMB7kYe7zud1NRb3jAMbFwCr2KfOen3Lw3-8y05IFPZhtI59APvpRwN0kFmB7zeT5ba4-CTXgJKPeP23F727Md55xFjfZQ5RTBnEkmt/s1600/3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkfIOc4aZ0SKs1MdyP3EjuvyR_j4lS3XPcxP3B8UMB7kYe7zud1NRb3jAMbFwCr2KfOen3Lw3-8y05IFPZhtI59APvpRwN0kFmB7zeT5ba4-CTXgJKPeP23F727Md55xFjfZQ5RTBnEkmt/s1600/3.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Permanent camera surveillance
system, Dread the exhibition at museum De Hallen</span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In my opinion this arrangement of works serves the political fear
machine, it feeds this feeling of an unknown opponent which is used to legitimize
undemocratic governmental actions in the name of the so called war on terror. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4f-xbTn-dWICvPob5B8xstlp9egtG9VVUel4xzykHk8UDgtcC_nG5qvglNjszZdMTxo8g_dnQdeI1RPmIMynkhTC-0Fej43l-HT-U_nlDkXXI5FyMuBPUmfItiY0NtxY6mCjiUUpY6_g_/s1600/4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4f-xbTn-dWICvPob5B8xstlp9egtG9VVUel4xzykHk8UDgtcC_nG5qvglNjszZdMTxo8g_dnQdeI1RPmIMynkhTC-0Fej43l-HT-U_nlDkXXI5FyMuBPUmfItiY0NtxY6mCjiUUpY6_g_/s1600/4.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Museum wall text by Lebbeus Woods at the exhibition Dread</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The young curator shows (unfortunately) established artists (as
<a href="http://www.dehallen.nl/media/medialibrary/2013/08/DHH-NLboekjeSEPT2013-DEF.pdf" target="_blank">the guidebook</a> explains) in a museum of contemporary art. The chosen format is what
we would expect to find in museums today. While the museum cameras follow my presence I am witnessing the arranged
destruction of New Babylon’s intentions and dream for a new sensibility, a new
basis for creative action. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Text: Edwin Stolk</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The exhibition: <i>DREAD - Fear in the age of technological
acceleration</i> is on show till 24.11.2013</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.dehallen.nl/en/exhibitions/">http://www.dehallen.nl/en/exhibitions/</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://thedreadexhibition.com/">http://www.thedreadexhibition.com/</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Edwin Stolkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02675813353946145108noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7206738538636122110.post-14473848119520067082013-10-27T14:34:00.002+01:002013-10-27T20:23:43.091+01:00Let the guilty hang…<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-US"> It was
Monday 21st October around noon that I travelled by train to the <a href="http://www.kabk.nl/" target="_blank">Royal Academy</a>
in The Hague to visit <a href="http://www.studiumgeneralekabk.nl/samdurant/" target="_blank">Studium Generale</a> (these lectures are free of
admission and open to all)</span><em><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> </span></em><span lang="EN-US">with a presentation of <i>Scaffold</i>, a work by the American artist
<a href="http://www.samdurant.net/index.php?/projects/scaffold/" target="_blank">Sam Durant</a>. <i><a href="http://www.stroom.nl/activiteiten/manifestatie.php?m_id=309807" target="_blank">Scaffold</a> </i>premiered in The Hague on Sunday 20 October and will be
shown till the end of October 2014 at the President Kennedylaan 5 in The Hague.
This work is part of a bigger manifestation organized by <a href="http://www.stroom.nl/index_en.php" target="_blank">Stroom</a> (centre for art
and architecture with a wide range of activities) with the title <i><a href="http://www.stroom.nl/activiteiten/manifestatie.php?m_id=7944751" target="_blank">‘See you in The Hague’</a>.</i></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-US">This title
refers to:</span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><i> “See You in The Hague,” which the
Palestinians yell threateningly at Israeli border guards who behave badly.
But ‘See You in The Hague,’ could also be the slogan of a The Hague’s
city marketing brochure, in the hope of luring tourists to the city by the sea.
The cultural program See You in The Hague sheds light on both the bright and
dark side of a city that not only is the royal capital and seat of the Dutch
government, but since 2012 also bears the motto of Peace and Justice in
its coat of arms. See You in The Hague is a multifaceted narrative
about a city that evokes feelings of hope and freedom throughout the entire world,
but also of fear and conflict. </i>(source Stroom website)</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">
</div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; orphans: auto; padding: 6px; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.samdurant.net/index.php?/projects/scaffold/" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCWmKRN31T4k144H3WESnvm_XRmz60A7RUONNEhEAP79kNX5LYuhuxF_e4gkGj4RA6o7STEGnelh4isdoTHY0_ZVFb1Nx2PMAqTOcryP6d2-dK4YPwFboDCV5kZOwHsP1ptm1U1IiID0-l/s1600/Scaffold+1.jpg" style="cursor: move;" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px; padding-top: 4px; text-align: center;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0px;">
<i><span lang="EN-US">Scaffold</span></i><span lang="EN-US">, a work by Sam Durant</span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"> Well, mentioned this context let’s take a closer
look at <i>Scaffold</i> by Sam Durant. An
idea which the artist originally developed for the United States but was
presented for the first time in 2012 at <a href="http://d13.documenta.de/#participants/participants/sam-durant/" target="_blank">dOCUMENTA (13)</a> in Kassel. There it was seen as one of the highlights of
the Documenta. Durant’s <i>Scaffold </i>consists
of reconstructed wooden gallows (or scaffolds as they were once called) that
were used in executions of significance throughout U.S. history, from
abolitionist <a href="http://www.examiner.com/article/john-brown-execution-occurred-on-december-2-1859" target="_blank">John Brown</a> in 1859 to <a href="http://youtu.be/fAErkIORcQQ" target="_blank">Saddam Hussein</a> in 2006. As the artist
explains in his presentation at the Royal Academy, he is no expert but studied
the history of these executions carefully and developed together with an
architect one construction out of the seven selected gallows. He also mentioned
that realizing this piece in the United States is impossible, he even added
that there is only public space available in the States for art like
‘celebrations’.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.samdurant.net/index.php?/projects/scaffold/" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRJwjQezUGmazfRxpQXfETWZAqMv_A559-x6jIXU0GYCBT56VcXvffNJdIv71ub8L1qa36ZARioBwuJwDn5CcJd24zsdXx_8FOnTyGD4YlVW6QW24GK7F2JTbAsnFsKJZlBrbMm5fTgNXC/s1600/Scaffold+2.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span lang="EN-US">Scaffold</span></i><span lang="EN-US">, a work by Sam Durant</span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"> This well
established artist and teacher at the California Institute of the Arts in
Valencia, California, obviously knows how to follow the rules which could lead
to a successful piece of art. No doubt about that, but when it comes to the
site and surrounding where the piece is presented it occurs to me in several
<a href="https://vimeo.com/67396306" target="_blank">interviews</a> that he allows himself a less strict attitude. He agrees to embrace
the opportunities to show the piece and accepts the ambiguity of different contexts
which belong to different places. That this affects the essence and relation of
his work he seems to take for granted. All
countries where <i>Scaffold</i> is shown so far,
inclusive the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capital_punishment_in_the_Netherlands" target="_blank">Netherlands</a>, have no clean historical track record when it
comes to capital punishment, so this piece could at least at first glance immediately justify its presence. It’s only a little too easy for me to hear from
the artist in his presentation that the Netherlands has such a nice <a href="http://www.mondriaanfonds.nl/Gehonoreerd/item/2013_Stroom_Den_Haag_See_You_in_The_Hague/" target="_blank">funding</a> system and praises their tolerant attitude that allows this kind of critical artistic statements. Here he forgets to mention the changing
context of the environment and stresses the role of money when it comes to his
‘activism’. Exactly these aspects are very important
and inescapably influencing the way we have to look at <i>Scaffold </i>in The Hague. It is
misleading when he explains exactly this in front of a large audience of young art
students which will soon find out themselves that this ideal funding system in the Netherlands might not be that ideal at all. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.samdurant.net/index.php?/projects/scaffold/" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA0aXyNY67FSgO7FA_NUwh7YT_2_rapd6QYGZ-sDHS0GdvcMpSXJ6vKWHOz_VDbJNw9h6-hXwwjOCsyWheUvj1I6bTLoZDWm6dWAy6iukITz02PLlmJihMKmyMJnr3Y0H6Xwx0Jj3YwQLo/s1600/Scaffold+3.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span lang="EN-US">Scaffold</span></i><span lang="EN-US">, a work by Sam Durant</span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"> The
question of real importance here is, where is the activism which returns in the
artists oeuvre when it comes to practically realizing this piece in the United
States, the place where it was designed for? All you really need is volunteers, materials, transport and a
place to build <i>Scaffold? </i>There must
be a lot of <a href="http://www.ncadp.org/" target="_blank">people</a> supporting its message?
That place could be on private ground as where <i>Scaffold</i> was shown for example this summer at <i><a href="http://www.jupiterartland.org/artwork/36/scaffold" target="_blank">JupiterArtland</a></i> in Wilkieston Edinburgh in the United Kingdom. There must be somebody out there in the
States which is against the dead penalty and owns a piece of land big enough to
host <i>Scaffold</i>?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.samdurant.net/index.php?/projects/scaffold/" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYnhJbt6w1_YekYsS6ERckYvYOjpRd3I0jBLFuPvNGNp_1JwWYhSqZk4qvKE57A0HPmcOv2_j1qNtL7WYUwb1OqmrTykOVx9-YJktcTLHmWXxiAR9UCPrm0PCodTxdg6AZaCg7s1oPelwj/s1600/Scaffold+4.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span lang="EN-US">Scaffold</span></i><span lang="EN-US">, a work by Sam Durant</span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"> On a question
from the audience if the artist is involved in the public side program which is
planned to take place and will use the platform for discussion about the
death penalty, democracy, national administration of justice and international
criminal law, the artist said no. He explained to step back and leave this
program in the hands of the organizers. Durant adds even that he would not mind if the
platform is used by organizations in favor of the dead penalty. The audience
attending the presentation that
afternoon at the Royal Academy were kindly asked to get involved and to apply their
ideas and organize events on top and around his platform. Later, after visiting Stroom and having email
contact with the project manager there </span><span lang="EN-US">Vincent de Boer,</span><span lang="EN-US"> I understood that especially
students of the Royal Academy are invited to propose ideas. They can contact <a href="http://www.stroom.nl/paginas/pagina.php?pa_id=3506639" target="_blank">Stroom</a> or <a href="http://www.studiumgeneralekabk.nl/info/" target="_blank">Studium Generale</a>, Royal
Academy of Art. But if you have a good idea I would suggest to just give it a
try. My question what the guidelines are for proposals stayed unanswered. Please do inform me when you’re planning an
activity on <i>Scaffold, </i>I could add it
to this article.</span><span lang="EN-US"> Vincent de Boer mentioned to work on a side program
which could consist of performances, concerts, walks and talks.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.samdurant.net/index.php?/projects/scaffold/" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfJAih9Z70PXzJO-Xy0PYY0Yw1eygH9bMPU_HK9xd396e1407ayBiGjCufQnvM0R6LLpaeESyhCpNrScP5Ud5f8zw-LfZMXUCnF7ZtV8O6vprfTHnZj-HUDBoPRa4Jsi-gRAutCdytlsvb/s1600/Scaffold+5.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span lang="EN-US">Scaffold</span></i><span lang="EN-US">, a work by Sam Durant</span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"> Important
issues which rise here deal with the intentions of this platform to host and stimulate
a social debate when starting from an obviously strict, fixed work of art. Okay
it seduces children to play and the view is nice when you climb on top of this
structure. But is this work effectively
capable to connect with a broad audience when the artist decides to move the
same construction (materialized political message rooted in the States) in
changing environmental contexts? When
you search the internet you find out that every </span>different location the artist
adds new specific aspects of the environment to the piece in order to justify
this monument for being right there at that spot. How important is for example
its presence near <a href="http://www.icc-cpi.int/Pages/default.aspx" target="_blank">The International Criminal Court</a>, which is repeatedly
mentioned in his presentation, when it is also possible to show the piece at
the Wilkieston, Edinburgh countryside? I am afraid that here the (art)market will
decide where it will show up the next time. It is not a bad work, but Scaffold obviously proves
to be build by the rules of static sculpture. That makes the wish by the artist and the
organization for active interaction with <i>Scaffold </i>a strange one.<i> </i>You can ask yourself, is being
an audience looking and thinking about it not enough here? The artist went
home… what are we going to do?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"> In my
opinion Durant designed a monument based on his well documented <a href="http://www.stroom.nl/media/Booklet_Scaffold_web.pdf" target="_blank">research</a> referring
to all aspects concerning capital punishment in the United States. Watching Scaffold will bring us the
opportunity, with a little effort, to
look at our own history on this subject. Durant who <a href="http://samdurant.net/defaced_monuments/" target="_blank">studied</a> the rise and fall
of monuments knows very well what kind of support it needs from society to establish a permanent
monument in public space. The way <i>Scaffold</i> is traveling now is relatively safe and easy to sell, it refers to something which
is not directly here, right now. I wonder what happens if an artist really
dares to stress the political issues of the international zone and puts his/her
finger in the flesh of contemporary decision-making in The Hague? Would it
hurt? Would it be allowed to happen at all?<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.samdurant.net/index.php?/projects/scaffold/" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTduA5FUmoKGjr2YoqmP-zjle17m0ei26MeVpUMjaQUnIT-oqhZCYBFz8fRoOgbdkjcM4q-7hfMhbZgIFz9uq04HN1ncUxlRc2T5yqKB3KLPFprJIsvFTwSoN9nuXo1pm8wNNDfK0qqH9M/s1600/Scaffold+6.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span lang="EN-US">Scaffold</span></i><span lang="EN-US">, a work by Sam Durant</span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"> When the
artist explained in his presentation that showing the piece here and elsewhere in Europe might eventually
lead to realizing the piece in the United States, he confirms the abusive
position of the work right now in The Hague. When I asked him how he is using this political potential and communicate its presence and his activities here to the United
States? He answered this question by
saying that he is not using Twitter, Facebook or Pinterest, if that was what I
meant. He leaves it up to the art market and network he explained later, which
will publish about his activities. Too
often artists say that art is political – dot – that might explain the attitude of Durant here. If art is political in itself the question is, how
far is the political sphere allowing a work of art to be political? As part of
a complex whole you need strategies to communicate your aims, every little
detail influences the actual and temporary outcome, it simply cannot be something
you can consolidate in one object and give it in the hands of market mechanisms
to wait what is going to happen. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-US"> Although
the work is a layered and well constructed piece of art it lacks the hybrid
quality to change places without consequences. It also lacks the qualities to naturally
rise as a social platform for debate and exchange about the issues mentioned
before. For me <i>Scaffold</i> is a fixed
monument which has no place yet within the context where it was originally
created for<i>. Scaffold</i> is based on American History
which you could connect to the Dutch, but in The Hague this work functions as a
metaphor for Dutch tolerance and understanding and becomes part of city marketing.
The Dutch as trained salesmen embrace these visual gestures that communicate
tolerance because it pays of when it comes to doing trade with the rest of the
world. Even with countries where capital punishment is still a daily practice. The
rules of the game were followed well by the artist which offered to integrate
his ‘activism’ legally in society. <i>See You in The Hague!</i> Now it’s up to you
to engage<i>, </i>the art is done. Lets refer in this light to another work by
Sam Durant, <a href="http://www.samdurant.net/index.php?/projects/electric-signs/" target="_blank">a light box</a> text which he installed in 2006 at the Palace of
Justice in Arnhem and: <i><a href="http://www.academia.edu/951266/Tell_it_Like_it_is_Sam_Durant_in_the_Arnhem_Palace_of_Justice" target="_blank">Tell it Like it is!</a></i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<i>Scaffold</i> by Sam Durant will be shown till the end of October 2014<br />
President Kennedylaan 5, The Hague.<br />
<a href="http://www.stroom.nl/activiteiten/manifestatie.php?m_id=309807">http://www.stroom.nl/activiteiten/manifestatie.php?m_id=309807</a><br />
<br />
Text:<br />
Edwin
Stolk</div>
Edwin Stolkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02675813353946145108noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7206738538636122110.post-22665315640189473332013-10-14T12:40:00.001+02:002013-10-14T14:11:45.493+02:00Leisure, Discipline and Punishment <div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"> In the fall
of 2012, Mechelen in Belgium was passionate about human rights with
the exhibition <a href="http://www.newtopia.be/" target="_blank">NewTopia</a>, unfortunately my agenda was full and I missed the
event. This year’s 6th edition of the biennial for moving image listens to the
title: <i><a href="http://www.contour2013.be/en" target="_blank">Leisure, Discipline and Punishment</a>
</i>and is open till 3 November 2013. Curator for this edition of Contour is
<a href="http://www.jacobfabricius.net/" target="_blank">Jacob Fabricius</a> from Denmark, who is currently director at <i><a href="http://www.kunsthalcharlottenborg.dk/" target="_blank">Kunsthal Charlottenborg</a></i> in Copenhagen. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9oBxolnVTrRITA98RZ0vLHXaYhoWQfz17JX3a3quZrzC7oTJlEsq_Fnpkq3qq7tVi-9GNYwZVw8qkdC5MCJlJwgHbZvDncFFmyWOlmUKwe8Dgbi_wL3c4g9wV2s_NqF_WJRwxyk8LzGmu/s1600/badhuis.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="De stedelijke badinrichting located at het Rode Kruisplein in Mechelen" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9oBxolnVTrRITA98RZ0vLHXaYhoWQfz17JX3a3quZrzC7oTJlEsq_Fnpkq3qq7tVi-9GNYwZVw8qkdC5MCJlJwgHbZvDncFFmyWOlmUKwe8Dgbi_wL3c4g9wV2s_NqF_WJRwxyk8LzGmu/s1600/badhuis.jpg" title="De stedelijke badinrichting located at het Rode Kruisplein in Mechelen" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-GB">De stedelijke badinrichting</span></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: small;"> located at het Rode Kruisplein in Mechelen, since 2001 is it out of use.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB"> When
arriving in Mechelen I decided to park my car at <i>het Rode Kruisplein</i> in front of the old abandoned bathhouse (see
the picture above). Mechelen,
a mid-sized city is located between Antwerp and Brussels and
one of Flanders' prominent cities of historical art. It was notably a centre
for artistic production during the Northern Renaissance, when painters,
printmakers, illuminators and composers of polyphony were attracted
by patrons such as Margaret of York, Margaret of
Austria and Jeroen Van Busleyden. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB">A nice parking
attendant saw me struggling that morning with the sms parking payment service
(it simply wasn’t working properly) and assured me friendly that he will keep
an eye on the car not to get a parking fine. The atmosphere in Mechelen was
friendly and quiet on this gray Friday morning. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyKjLKpOlgWxEsdrBhiIk21w9RwopYy4xl5orNxIPiwk9e8peO7FKPyxnZyQtnGXJFdBtvEuhYMPdzciWNfN13Dv6uhLqZ4Db9sMbAat4hsz6AU6cUyBfqtgUKoFSEM7CNKXkxL9Ztywdx/s1600/busleyden.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="The Hof van Busleyden (Court of Busleyden)" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyKjLKpOlgWxEsdrBhiIk21w9RwopYy4xl5orNxIPiwk9e8peO7FKPyxnZyQtnGXJFdBtvEuhYMPdzciWNfN13Dv6uhLqZ4Db9sMbAat4hsz6AU6cUyBfqtgUKoFSEM7CNKXkxL9Ztywdx/s1600/busleyden.jpg" title="The Hof van Busleyden (Court of Busleyden)" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">The Hof van Busleyden (Court of Busleyden)</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span lang="EN-GB"> By foot I
continued my journey to the Hof Van Busleyden, the main venue for this
exhibition</span><span lang="EN-US">. The Hof van
Busleyden (Court of Busleyden) was built at the beginning of the sixteenth
century for Hiëronymus van Busleyden, ecclesiastical jurist and member of the
Great Council, the highest court of law in the Netherlands at the time. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"> Besides
this main venue the exhibition continues at the KV Mechelen football stadium,
the prison and Church Of Our
Lady-Across-The-Dyle. All venues refer
in their particular way to the title and themes of the biennial.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"> Before I
continue my review I want to underline that a specific element in the <a href="http://www.contour2013.be/en/contour-2013/curator-jacob-fabricius" target="_blank">curators description</a>
got my attention,<i> “Frabricius does not
limit himself to the institution space and has, as a director, initiated a
number of exhibitions and projects at unusual venues“, and </i> <i>“</i></span><i><span lang="EN-US">Fabricius was(is) interested in doing hands-on projects, where a direct
exchange between the curator and artist takes place.” </span></i><span lang="EN-US">When you read the whole text<i> </i>it occurs to me that there is a specific
attention for the place where art is shown and the curators relation with the
producing artists, but I miss the role of the audience in this process.</span><i><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"> Before I
enter the dark exhibition hall situated under the beautiful building the Hof
Van Busleyden the atmosphere is nice and the people are very friendly. I am amazed by the nice designed toilet area where I bring my bag in a locker and see the
first set of rules by <a href="http://www.davidshrigley.com/" target="_blank">David Shrigly</a> after using the </span><span lang="EN-US">water closet. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">A big
staircase is leading me now down to the artworks, I pass by <a href="http://www.contour2013.be/en/artist/liz-magic-laser" target="_blank">Liz Magic Laser</a>’s
video <i>Flight,</i> a registration of a
performance which delivers me a <i>‘ a wish
I was there when it happened’ </i>moment. Then I pushed the big massive door to enter a
large scaffolding construction in a dusky space. Within this construction each
particular work received a small, very well measured intimate space. Only the
sounds of videos were mixing sometimes, or the sound of people walking over the iron construction. But
I was truly amazed by the level of focus each work received in this
construction where you would expect much
more disturbing noises. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.paulhendrikse.net/works/the-twelfth-man/" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbUaxQyYWxrUL6cxeZqxL4n1J5m3AJqbHEODD91yRH_PVAfpl9N0QFNUsw3E6pL2DblwJe0HFPdfTpm4kLYlOVV3F1wMd7Be92TfwRRqJ7Rs6teTeMTog-IBZVFITUfJrtW4khfwBo3nHf/s1600/12th+man.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Paul Hendrikse, still from The Twelfth Man (2013)</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span lang="EN-GB"> The first
video which I want to mention is by <a href="http://www.paulhendrikse.net/" target="_blank">Paul Hendrikse</a>, called The Twelfth Man
(2013). The title refers to football supporters, in this case</span> from <a href="http://www.kvmechelen.be/" target="_blank">KV Mechelen</a> and the way they verbally
support their team and form the twelfth man. By studying their behaviour and verbal support to the team, the artist
came about a scores sheet and let three of them perform this in front of a
camera.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.contour2013.be/nl/kunstenaar/edgardo-aragon-diaz" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Edgardo Aragón Díaz, still from the two channel video Hunter (2013)" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjdal1vfW0k8uMtj7MbpPbSaJfWfSrAdEwhaz-VrXRMqaE4pQweszWVwX4TGUyjMnRBgFDZbtphzeTdWwJSn3ygJc-8m9R1jBunhUCHLgmjP5GQXFFO6n6kcVAKhWvXM3fKnhNLEGD8Aqk/s1600/hunter.jpg" title="Edgardo Aragón Díaz, still from the two channel video Hunter (2013)" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small; text-align: start;">Edgardo Aragón Díaz, still from the two channel video Hunter (2013)</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"> <a href="http://www.contour2013.be/en/artist/edgardo-aragon-diaz" target="_blank">EdgardoAragón Díaz</a> shows the two channel video <i>Hunter </i>(2013), one of the best works in
the exhibition if you ask me. The
exhibition text says: <i>“In Hunter an
African man gives a guided tour in a Belgian zoo. He sings songs about hunting
in his homeland. Sometimes he seems to be directly addressing the animals in
captivity.”</i> And then from here I start
to disagree with the exhibition text which says: <i>“The artist draws attention to the contrast between the quality of life
of immigrants from post-colonial countries and the protected life led by the
animals in the zoo.” </i>For me this video was all about human alienation from
nature and roots in general, quiet poetry in a manmade distorted surrounding
where as well as the animals as the humankind were imprisoned and disconnected
as a result of their actions. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.contour2013.be/nl/kunstenaar/agnieszka-polska" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Agnieszka Polska, still from "Future Days" (2013)" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi35pMdsa894q58PRR5zsOP5_oE1LsrVpTWWrRThD45R3gNj3nYBDzPOEcLBglAPLOk237Enw3UI7IS6pkiaPTm1Dl4qJ98cbOR8OYf1jIjnYqdMyfQTYh3OuBcNeCWidG-iChYrbyo76j3/s1600/Agnieszka+Polska.jpg" title="Agnieszka Polska, still from "Future Days" (2013)" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small; text-align: start;">Agnieszka Polska, still from "Future Days" (2013)</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"> <a href="http://www.contour2013.be/en/artist/agnieszka-polska" target="_blank">AgnieszkaPolska</a> shows the amusing and melancholic video <i>Future Days</i> where
she combines elements of animation with images shot on the Swedish island
of Gotland. She created a fictitious ‘after world for artists’ where artists
from different generations meet after death. </span><span lang="EN-US">Artists such as Lee Lozano, Charlotte
Posenenske, and Bas Jan Ader search together for “impossible art.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.sarahvanhee.com/" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Sarah Vanhee, still from I screamed and I screamed and I screamed (2013)" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKYSedUzeyLz08TQNsm6Lv8CYwNPRruhexMP48hTRJAKilMnnb32g39p5T3yFFe8DLphtx24J35XiJ-hH7nmGxZ9eNFSB5FQVq76jN2eAbG4g7Qs0h1D10HgKK_Lr0aRVGqMEX-y-ZGmNH/s1600/vanhee.jpg" title="Sarah Vanhee, still from I screamed and I screamed and I screamed (2013)" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: small; text-align: start;">Sarah Vanhee, </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: small; text-align: start;">still from</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: small; text-align: start;"> </span><span style="font-size: small; text-align: start;"><span lang="EN-GB">I screamed and I screamed and I screamed (2013)</span></span> </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB"> Since
long I had no goose bumps by watching a video installation as <a href="http://www.sarahvanhee.com/" target="_blank">Sarah Vanhee</a>
managed to achieve with her work: <i>I
screamed and I screamed and I screamed</i>. She took the prison in Mechelen as
a point for departure. Where the prison from the outside functions as a warning
or a reassurance. The prisoner himself doesn’t have a face. He is reduced to
legal matter, to government penal policy. Within the prison walls, there is
only space for silent, obedient bodies. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB">A silent
photo of the prison wall is what you see when you enter the space (picture
above), when you put on the headphones hanging on the sides, you not only stare
at the abstract prison wall but hear and feel the scream of the isolated
inmates. There is a nice and important hand out available where you can read
about the whole process of creating this installation and adds value as far
as I am concerned. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"> After going
through the whole show I had the feeling of missing something, something
fundamental in all these formal approaches. The stadium and church didn’t
change this feeling, maybe it was the ticket seller at the stadium who brought
me closer to that what I was missing or it was the cheerful foreign cleaning
lady in the smooth designed toilet of the Hof Van Busleyden. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.davidshrigley.com/" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="David Shrigley at Argos Stadium, KV Mechelen, Belgium" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV1djWm9Q-xOWigk4P9bsOUxl5pDTZC-hW8YprQgKN7NcRaN7INguWxcJWAUW-UsP4PXTBS-jl3lYrm0zVjELfS_acgv6Avw5nZuhql3UlqgUzOlPknZ8kKaARJtbpKr7I1snltu-ReW0r/s1600/stadium.jpg" title="David Shrigley at Argos Stadium, KV Mechelen, Belgium" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small; text-align: start;">David Shrigley at Argos Stadium, KV Mechelen, Belgium</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"> The
artworks were not able to compete or add to the stadium environment where the
smell of piss referred to what was at stake in the last played match. Where the
signs <i>‘not to piss’</i> everywhere,
referred to the nature of human being. Where David Shrigley is funny at the prison he
becomes annoying at the stadium, repeating
the trick over and over again doesn’t make a good work of art. The videos in the church mainly showed me the
idealistic bankruptcy of the catholic
church, its architecture delivered a firm and overwhelming resistance against
the digital intruders. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.kvmechelen.be/" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Argos Stadium, KV Mechelen, Belgium" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXqUnNMy8abqGNvIrjSVrFRyEF4NeuA6O8Gv5mqsWTh6tkHzajt-JDlULxZym8C8yEl2UeOrrD9LDosbuNBqdiQk2xB9qBWXjmCQQ5sVr5MZRa52y0c8TncVoFD4kof7UZB4dH5lUVJFR9/s1600/stadium2.jpg" title="Argos Stadium, KV Mechelen, Belgium" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small; text-align: start;">Argos Stadium, KV Mechelen, Belgium</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"> Philosopher
<a href="http://filosoffen.dk/english/" target="_blank">Anders Fogh Jensen</a> made a publication of twenty pages as part of the exhibition
called: <i>Prison, church, football field -
or how society became a project society. </i>In this publication he describes the shifting tides from a disciplinary society
(Michel Foucault) towards a project based society. A place where spaces are opened up and
flexible for multiple use, he forgets to
mention the role and influence of contemporary control. When we imply his theory on this exhibition
you cannot other than conclude that the art was imprisoned by formality and in full
control of its own set of rules. Nobody seemed to dare to step out of his/her
medium or thought and presented really out of the box. In an<a href="http://blog.contour2013.be/2013/10/petra-bauer-ik-geloof-niet-in-objectiviteit/" target="_blank"> interview</a> with participating artist Petra Bauer I read, <i>“the artist has the luxury position that
he/she does not have to prove his/her arguments to anybody.” </i>This is an outdated idea and far too easy
attitude if you ask me. This is about an art without public and without
participants, disconnected from the world. But it confirms my overall feeling
of the show. The artists worked together with the curator in carefully chosen hands-on
(social)projects, some went into the streets to meet their subject and they
dragged their observations back into their holes. Here they created visuals by strict rules of the medium and the market. The exhibition
construction is so precise and nice designed in order to perfectly host the controlled
treasures, that nobody seems to notice that these treasures self are lost in a
fixed and controlled construction. Let’s
liberate these settlements. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Text by
Edwin Stolk<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">You can
visit Contour in Mechelen Belgium till 3 November 2013<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://www.contour2013.be/">http://www.contour2013.be</a></span><span lang="EN-US">/<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Edwin Stolkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02675813353946145108noreply@blogger.com0