Idealism 

Today, I was working on several things. For instance preparing the coming of our first artists in residence at the I.B.B. next wednesday.  About that, later on more…..I want to write something regarding to some notes that I was writing for my lecture on my work at the Rietveld academy next week in
Amsterdam. 

“You are now studying at the Rietveld and my question is if some of you are asking one selves once in a while: what do you expect of yourself and what do you expect to become after this safe context (like a school should be)….?! Uncritically following the system, belonging to a cowshed (gallery), seeking for contact with a ‘day-delusion’ scene, which is controlled largely by a bunch of drop outs. People who mostly wanted to be an artist themselves, but not in the possession of the guts, balls and talent. Now they have reached a different form of freedom and especially lots of power in making and breaking.I am not saying this to demoralize you or to put out your ambitions. On the contrary, it’s more like an attempt to ‘demystificate’ this art world full of ‘fried air’ and ‘being so special’. “Doe maar normaal, dan doe je al gek genoeg” is an old fashioned(calvinistic) Dutch expression, that I’ll translate very clumsy in “Behave normal, because that is already unusual enough”! I would like to point out on your responsibility as an artist. Be real, don’t act  and don’t become “the flesh grown attitude” type of artist, but live, wonder, amaze, be critical and make things happen in a sincere way…….” 

Good lord, what a pathetic ass I am……

Spectator with “Zapper” sculpture, city of Vlissingen, The Netherlands

 

“Midliver”, pencil on paper, A4, 2007

Homework: Mama

With regards to our workshop at ‘Kollegio monsigneur Henriquez’ te Fuik

Fuik-ArteSwa-Villa Zebra

Fuik and ‘le petit prince’ This morning,
Tirzo Martha and I, we went for the third time to the primary school ‘Kollegio Monsigneur Henriquez’ in Fuik. Fuik is an area east on the island, also called Bandabao. We are striking to goals at one time with this series of workshops we are giving.

1. I was asked by the museum ‘Villa Zebra’ (www.villazebra.nl) in
   Rotterdam to participate in a project ‘De Kleine Prins’. A project referring to the well known book ‘Le Petit Prince’ of the French writer and philosopher Antoine Saint Exupéry. Because I am mostly based on Curaçao at the moment I am not able to follow their proposed process of 7 artists visiting a primary school in
   Rotterdam and collaborate with these kids. I suggested to start a similar process over here. Joyfully the organization of ‘Villa Zebra’ acknowledged the extra dimension in cooperating with the school here in Fuik. The idea is that the professional artists get inspired by the ideas of the youngsters with regard to their opinions towards the idea of an adult. So every participating artist is dealing with a stereotype adult figure like the father, the postman, grandfather or mother, and an idol figure, etc. I choose the role of the mother, which is an universal one, but interesting to see how specific that one is here on Curaçao.After a brainstorm Tirzo and I, we let them work with cardboard, asked them to create something 3-dimensional, which I can fold inwards to take everything with me in a huge suitcase to
   Holland. I will build an installation out of it.
2. Because it’s such a pity that these kids cannot see the final results in
   Rotterdam, we thought it is a good idea to do something special here as well with the thoughts and creations. Therefore we are starting a new ArteSwa project out of it (www.arteswa.com). On the I.B.B (www.institutobuenabista.com), we are developing an ‘ArteSwa- mobile/ vehicle’. We have bought an old car, that we’ll strip down till the frame body. Then from time to time we’ll furnish the whole outlook completely. The first setting will be done by the school kids of Fuik and our pupils of the I.B.B. This new ArteSwa vehicle must have a multi usable function. Being an eye catcher, a very recognizable ArteSwa piece, which can bring us very easily to different places for spontaneous interventions, site specific workshops, etc.
   Today, it was again fantastic to experience how motivated these kids are. Next week the mothers are invited to come to school and to do one’s bit!

Catch of the Day…

Recently send to my galery in Italy: www.galleriadeltasso.it, “Catch of the Day at Boca Sami”, 2006, acrylic on canvas, 60 x 80 cm.

www.institutobuenabista.com, Curaçao Center for Contemporary Art (part 1)

Today, it was my colleague Tirzo Martha who was teaching at our I.B.B. He has started the new year with a course of new media. The pupils have to make a small film/video-piece. They have drawn storyboards and today there was the moment of the first exploration of the camera. Amazing to see how these kids shoot their first images. Clumsy, pure and without any ‘Arty’ pretension. It even reminded me of a lot of  accepted video art in the mainstream circuit, which has been taken seriously (often too easy in my opinion). The thought came up that a particular result, which means it looks like contemporary art, quite easily has been achieved. Especially, when one projects such a clumsy (mostly formal exercise) on a big screen, it is pretty impressive. Moving images have their obvious power followed by attention. These Curaçao kids do not really have  materials for comparison or impressive art shows to look at, which are often very influencing and being copied….We will fight to keep them fresh and sincere without staying naïf, but developing formally the medium, like they develop drawing, sculpting, etc……Writing this I am again realizing that it is not easy to understand this particular situation on Curaçao, when you are not aware of  the context. On the one hand there is a fantastic sort of pureness, not spoilt by a decadent industrial art system which prescribes …… On the other hand, it is sad that we are not able over here just to step into an art museum to catch a view of real heavy stuff, and smell the paint of a real video piece…….. 

However we are working very hard for  more quality. One of our pupils, Kendrick Boelijn (24 years old) went with Tirzo Martha to Miami very recently. Tirzo participated in a special show; “Caribbean Crosscurrents”, at Art Miami (US). Kendrick assisted Tirzo, experiencing for the first time this kind of  mainstream context. We (the team of I.B.B.) contributed  personally to his ticket, to support his process. Back at the I.B.B. evaluating his trip and being interviewed by the other pupils, he told enthusiastically: “I saw a real painting of Frida Kahlo!!” with a grin from ear to ear. A few weeks before we had seen the movie “Frida” at the institute. The best thing he said he saw in Miami were some Bruce Nauman video’s….

Thank you for the encouraging reactions so far. It is still a bit odd to share all this with …the net. Somebody was talking about “a great way to get under the skin of the artist” and “a great way to GIVE”. That seems to be true. However, all this ‘exhibitionism’ should not lead to ‘staring at the navel’ or getting bogged down to artificial talk and pseudo sophisticated or pseudo funny ‘columnistic’ style. (We’ve got enough of that!) Probably, some people would justlike to see and read either more of that. However, I see this medium more or less as a website, and will try to use it as extra value with respect to my process.

Enough of this waffle, let’s see some more work!

 

The installation “Jozef”, which I had made for the exhibition ‘Bling Bling’ for the Stedelijk Museum ‘s Hertogenbosch in 2006. On the front of the surfboard, there is a real sculpture of Josef (out of an east-European church and sold in rich western trendy shops where spoilt housewives can buy their home and garden decorations and some artists take the benefit out of it as well!). I bought Maria as well and she is permanently incorporated in one of the permanent sculptures for the city of Vlissingen (see picture). This group of 6 sculptures I finished last year. I will show more of them later and the specific process leading to the result as well…  

 More of “Badende beelden” Vlissingen at: www.kunstenpubliekeruimte.nl

That was quite a bizarre experience this auction yesterday night. To gather money for the battle against cancer, many items of all kinds of backgrounds were sold by auction. For astonishing prices (a soccer ball signed by Johan Cruyff and ‘touched’ by queen Beatrix’s hands for more than € 1500,-; shirts of well known cyclists for € 1000,- or more and Erik Dekker’s (who the f…is he?)bicycle on which he rode his last race on Curaçao for ca. €16.500,-)local ‘nouveau riche’, ‘self-made’ (white and semi-black) ‘sucsexful Antillean’ and ‘afro-makamba’ businessman showed their muscles and bought their little moment in the spotlight and receiving applause. My work(see picture of it at the 19th. of January) went for ca.€ 3500,-, which is far below market price in
Europe. Bad for regular business, lucky for the buyer and especially bad for the organization of this event ‘Ride and Swim for the Roses”. Anyway, it’s ok, this is Curaçao and the coin roles differently over here! Different and peculiar is the reception/ perception of arts in any case here. We have a long road to go. However I am hopeful, because we are with a few professional artists and historians who fight for the real arts and a proper position in (this) society and have an enterprising mentality as well!!Look at our foundation sites: www.institutobuenabista.com and www.arteswa.com

 Since I have started this ‘Blog’ thing, I am asking myself: What is the purpose, does it make sense and who is waiting for ‘bla bla’ from me? Is it vain and pretentious asking for this attention?! So far no serious  problem I think. It is like a sort of public diary. And as I am a visual artist, wanting to communicate in a large scale, I see the medium as a practical tool to do so. To express and show what I am doing and present older stuff from before as well. The ‘Badeblog’ will function as a website as well.For example herewith a picture of my latest sculpture in public space. It is actually rather private, because the person who has given me the assignment is the owner of the land, Marcello Zaccagnini. He is a wine farmer from Abruzzo (
Italy) and a enthusiastic art collector (www.cantinazaccagnini.it). Montepulciano d’Abruzzo is the specific grape of this area of Italy and a pulcino is the bird I like. Especially the idea that a bird has wings in stead of arms and hands and when they walk, it is as if they are walking with their hands behind their back. In stead of a streetwatch, this is a landwatcher!

W139/ Column

Yesterday evening the renovated building of the artcenter W139 in Amsterdam reopened. The new director of W139, Gijs Frieling, asked me a few months ago if I would like to make a periodical colomn in drawing criticizing the (Dutch) artworld. Our visions on that subject seemed to be similar. “Of course I would like to do that!”

Beneath the drawing I made for January/March.  It is my observation of the little riot that is going on in the artworld in the Netherlands. A vain discussion about who thinks himself more important, more influencial, etc. In my vision it’s about the heads/faces and not the content. Will be continued…

 

 

This morning I finished this painting. It’s called: “When I shoot you’ ll be dead for ten seconds…” I have made this painting as a donation for the auction of the ‘KWF Kankerbestrijding’ on Curacao, a fund that raises money for research on cancer. Although the bright colours, the painting is not about happy things. It is about looking a – sometimes – fatal disease in the eye. I’ve put a lot of Dutch sayings about sickness, death and the weakness of mankind in this picture. Keep on looking… 

“Als ik schiet, ben je 10 tellen dood”/”When I shoot you, you are dead for 10 seconds”, 2007, acrylic on canvas, 240×180 cm.

Hello world!

Just landed! Have to think about what I am going to write and show you……New media….Let’s do this!