The first harvest of an afternoon's session of Witty Art Live!

 
Seven poets, writers and singer-songwiters on stage during the live poetry, art & food event Horen & Zien & Schranzen (loosely translated: Hear No Evil, See No Evil and Eat a LOT) I co-organised with my other creative business Studio PuRRR, last Sunday June 26th.

Well, eight, to be precise, because I took to the stage to create Witty Art Live. The challenge: to use the verbal input by the other performers and to translate that into my art. Whether that'd be narrative illustrations or more autonomous, abstract images, was entirely up to me.

The result of that live drawing session proved to be both surprising and inspiring. Surprising, because when you are drawing live on stage and you are primarly and directly responding to what is being said or sung, your mind is seriously working overtime. You are trying to take it all in while at the same time listening and grasping the images your own brain comes up with. It's literally a clash of your world and that of the artist performing up there with you. Almost like a mutual jam session.

So, it's always challenging, but definitely an inspiration because it stirs you into directions you weren't set on going, exploring sometimes familiar but mostly unfamiliar territories. I love it.  

So, the first harvest is here. And some works even spotting Dutch titles, highly unusual for those of you who know Witty Art well. Then again, all poets were Dutch, from the city of Groningen, to be exact. 

From left to right, the titles of the drawings, followed by the artist who inspired it:

'Roteenden (Lame Ducks') inpsired by a story by poet and writer Fieke Gosselaar.
'When Your Depression gets MAD at you'' thanks to a very depressively uplifting song by singer-songwriter Melvin Bonnet.
'It's Us Again... We Keep On Judging You'', thanks to Fieke Gosselaar
'When You Invite Depression In (Unwillingly)' thanks to Melvin Bonnet, again.
'I Picked Him Up.. Where?' a bizarre girlfriend-turned-bodybuilder experience by slam poet and ace performer Joost Oomen.
'Ode To The Absent Minded', inspired to quite an intimage and poignant song by singer-songwriter Lou Lou Elisabettie.

There is quite some more stuff I need to sort out and add a few finishing touches to, and then the result of that afternoon will be all finished and I will publish them all here on this Witty Art Blog!

Terugblik op geslaagde eerste editie Horen & Zien & Schranzen!

Met Studio PuRRR kijken we terug op een enorm geslaagde eerste editie van Horen & Zien & Schranzen gisteren in Schiezicht. Een podium vol Groningse dichters, schrijvers en singer-songwriters, die speciaal naar Rotterdam waren afgereisd om het daar verzamelde publiek te trakteren op een portie verbaal vuurwerk.

Zo gaven Fieke Gosselaar, Melvin Bonnet, Joost Oomen, Richard Nobbe, Bill Mensema, Kasper Peters en LouLou Elisabettie acte de présence en zorgde Irene Siekman tijdens de pauze voor een dichtrijk intermezzo met haar typewriter poetry. De door Studio PuRRR's Tante Timmie vers bereide Aziatische rijstcurry kon eveneens rekenen op een warm onthaal.

Zelf was ik behalve ik mede-organisatorische hoedanigheid ook zelf aanwezig op het podium, met Live Witty Art. Als iemand die buitengewoon veel inspiratie ontleent aan het geschreven èn het gesproken woord, in de vorm van boeken, songteksten, gedichten, spoken word, noem maar op, kon ik de gelegenheid niet weerstaan om te kijken wat het werk van het Groningse zevental mij zou brengen. En dus zat ik telkens samen met de optredende artiest op het podium, en liet me ter plekke leiden door wat zijn of haar performance.

Het bleek een uitdaging, zeker omdat het allemaal in stijl totaal verschillende schrijvers en dichters zijn, wiens manier van voordragen ook enorm verschilde. De bijna as a matter of factly, ingetogen, onderkoelde schrijf en voordrachtsstijl van Fieke Gosselaar; het bijna afgemeten, en op gezette momenten rauwe cynisme van Bill Mensema's werk lieten zich moeilijker vangen dan de sfeervolle, beeldrijke teksten van LouLou Elisabettie of de inktzwarte, maar niet van enige bizarre humor ontspeelde beelden die Melvin Bonnet bij mensen wist op te roepen. Van elke artiest heb ik geprobeerd iets van de essentie van zijn of werk te vangen en te vertalen binnen mijn eigen beeldtaal. Dat is in sommige gevallen heel goed gelukt, in andere gevallen minder. In een enkel geval totaal niet. 

Hoe dan ook, ik ben een flinke voorraad nieuwe tekeningen verder, en allemaal geven ze weer aanleiding tot het zoeken van verdieping en verkenning binnen mijn eigen werk. Daarom alleen ben ik dit Groninger zevental erkentelijk, waarvoor veel dank! 

Binnenkort hoop ik een selectie van de tekeningen te plaatsen op dit blog! 

(met excuus voor de slechte kwaliteit van sommige foto's, het is door omstandigheden helaas alles wat we van deze middag hebben, better luck next time!)

Witty Art Live tijdens Horen & Zien & Schranzen op 26 juni in Schiezicht!

Op 26 juni a.s. is Witty Art LIVE te zien tijdens Horen & Zien & Schranzen in Schiezicht Rotterdam!

HOREN & ZIEN & SCHRANZEN
Poëzie, kunst en eten. Een totaal programma met live performances, art improvisaties, poetry on demand inclusief een overheerlijke vers bereide maaltijd. Samengesteld, bereid en geserveerd door een samenwerkingsverband van De Lege Ruimte en Studio PuRRR.

Kom ook Horen & Zien & Schranzen op zondag 26 juni in Schiezicht aan de Mathenesserdijk 272B in Rotterdam Delfshaven. Aanvang programma: 16.30u (inloop 16u). De toegang bedraagt slechts € 5,- inclusief maaltijd. Kaarten bestellen (en meteen via iDeal betalen) kan via deze link. 

Meer informatie ook op de eventpagina op Facebook:

Podiumprogramma:
Voor deze pilot een compleet Groningse line up van bekende en minder bekende dichters, schrijvers en singer-songwriters:

Fieke Gosselaar (Groningstalige dichteres en schrijfster van spannende verhalen); Melvin Bonnet, (cabaret en lied); Bill Mensema (groot schrijver); Richard Nobbe (dichter en filosoof); Joost Oomen (dichter en vol liefde); Kasper Peters (dichter en momenteel stadsdichter van Groningen) Lou Lou (singer-songwriter).

Plus live art & poetry on demand van Rotterdamse makelij:

Typewriter Poetry
Een gedicht op maat, speciaal voor jou. Ter plekke geschreven, correctie: getyped door dichter/schrijver Irene Siekman op haar vintage Triumph typemachine. In ruil voor een kleine donatie krijg jij je gedicht meteen mee.

Witty Art Live
Kunstenares Christy de Witt maakt tekeningen en schetsen geïnspireerd door het werk van de optredende dichters en performers. Miss Witty improviseert live: zij put inspiratie uit het verbale en vertaalt dat naar het visuele

Tante Timmie Kookt
Al dat Horen & Zien gebeurt niet op een lege maag. Tijdens het programma serveert Tante Timmie Kookt een overheerlijke, verse en voedzame maaltijd. Dat wordt Schranzen geblazen!

Over de locatie: 

Schiezicht
Schiezicht is een plek waar je je ding kunt doen. Gelegen aan de Schie, in Rotterdam Delfshaven. Schiezicht biedt ook de ruimte om je idee uit te voeren. Van buurtactiviteit tot workshops en brainstormsessies, buurtbijeenkomsten en kinderactiviteiten en nog veel meer!

Over de initiatiefnemers van Horen & Zien & Schranzen:

Studio PuRRR
Studio PuRRR: studio & projectruimte (in wording). Creatieve & culinaire projecten. Kunst, koken en kostuumontwerp. Een initiatief van kunstenaars & ondernemers Deborah van de Beld (House of Westenwind) en Christy de Witt (TWC Works). Homebase voor o.m. Witty Art en Tante Timmie Kookt. Bij gebrek aan een eigen ruimte ‘op poppend’ op diverse plekken in Rotterdam.

Tante Timmie Kookt | Een initiatief van Studio PuRRR
Tante Timmie Kookt graag en lekker èn deelt haar kookkunsten graag met anderen. Smakelijke, voedzame maaltijden voor een goede prijs. Ontbijt, lunch of diner: Tante Timmie Kookt het allemaal (ook vegetarisch!). Tante Timmie Kookt is een project van Studio PuRRR, studio en projectruimte voor creatieve en culinaire projecten. Studio PuRRR is een initiatief van kunstenaars Deborah van de Beld & Christy de Witt.

De Lege Ruimte
De Lege Ruimte is een Rotterdams podium voor muziek, theater en poëzie. De Lege Ruimte is een initiatief van Irene Siekman, podiumdichter en theaterregisseur. In haar werk zoekt ze naar dwarsverbanden tussen beide disciplines. Daarnaast is ze actief als organisator, presentator en docent.

Witty Art Expo in Stroop proves to be another Witty Art Wall in progress!

A great day for some LIVE Witty Art action in Stroop, as I set out for some live drawing on location. I mean, making art, having coffee and a homemade syrup waffle on the side really IS the great combiantion it is on paper. 

So, made a couple of new multi-pieces this afternoon, all of them featuring Lost Bear and his quest for just a bit of love. I just need to add some touch ups and than have to frame them and add them to my exhibition. So yes, I suppose that, in a way, I am creating another Witty Art Wall again! The only difference being, that this time all the work actually is framed. 

I am looking forward to add them to 'my wall', where they will feature up and untill with April 30rd. On that day, the closing date of my exhibition, a very special lunch will be served for visitors. More details on that very soon, too!

'Of Wolf and Mice': a Tale of Evil and Lesser Evils

 
Back in January 2012, I worked on a live art performance in joint collaboration with actress/performer Margo van der Linde. She and I were asked to develop a gig for the first edition of art manifestation Winterwolven (Winterwolves), held at the venue WORM in Rotterdam. This gig witnessed the birth of one of my other alter ego;s (yes, other than Miss Witty), called Frau Doctor Katerina Wittenstein. The ebodiment of a crazy scientist obsessed with creating the perfect mix between a wolf and a mouse, the latter brought to life by my creative partner Margo. It all made for a succesfull live art performance, a combination of both theatre and visual art, of improvised acting as well as role playing.

WORM's escalator was transformed into Frau Dr.'s Wittenstein's laboratory, the scene of sinister and devious experiments with a whole bunch of innocent mice. This bascially meant the lift's walls were covered with blank sheets of white paper, on which I was continiously drawing scenes from life in this evil environment. Spectators were lured in the lift one by one and were witness to the bizarre relationship between the Doctor and her life-sized pet Mouse. A relationship that spiralled out of control as the performance developed, because, surprise, surprise, nothing is what it appears to be.

You see, the relationship between Frau Doctor and The Mouse is an interesting one, as the latter is not so innocent as one might expect. Far from it. This Mouse acts as an opportunist accomplice to Dr. Wittensteins malicous plans to turn poor unsuspecting rodents into merciless lupine killers. In fact, she might very well be the first result of one of the Dr's earlier experiments. One gone horridly wrong, because, Evil Genius or not, Frau Wittenstein does not always fully know where she's at with her very first creation. Because, it wouldn't be the first time in history, man's own artificial design turns against him...

Basically, it's classic story of struggle between evil; and a whole array of lesser evils and innocent individuals getting caught up in between. And, not surprisingly, what appears to be good does no good whatsoever; and what seems evil, might not be all that bad after all... 

These are the ingredients for a Witty Art Fairy Tale called 'Of Wolf And Mice' I have, in between all other things, been working on behind the scenes. It's far from finished, still in its early stages to be honest, but I felt an urge to share it with fans and followers of my work, as I find that once I do so, work starts to develop more rapidly. 

So, here are the first drafts, quick sketches made during the live art performance it all started with back in January 2012. I plan to post some newly made ones online soon!

Pop Up Pin Up a la Witty : tribute to the great masters of Pin Up Art!

So, last Saturday was the last day of our series of Pop Up Exhibitions at the Entrepotbuilding, Rotterdam. It coincided with a North America themed festival, with lots of vintage cars and hot rods present, so I got inspired to draw Pin Ups.

Now, it's no that I am a great lover of the classic vintage and pin up era and I am a great admirer of the work of the great pin up artists such as Gil Elvgren. So, I decided to create a series dedicated to their work and the great pin ups of the forties and fiftties. All Witty Styled, ofcourse! 

The result so far: a series of graphite pencil sketches featuring a bunch of hybrid pin-ups, as one visitor described it: ''Seriously bad ass sexy and seriously bad ass sinister as well!''

Well, that's how I like Witty Art to be!

New Witty Art created live during this series of Summer Pop Up Expo's!

 


One of the reasons, this series of Summer Pop Up Expo's was such great fun, was because of the way the participating artists encouraged each other to create work live on location. I myself made what I think to be quite an impressive number of drawings, using pencil, crayon and charcoal: the simple basics necessary for the highly enjoyable art of drawing. Whicb, in my case, is just a severe attack of Gotta Draw.

Also, working with (seemingly) simple materials such as pencil and charcoal, instead of using my biggest love ink, enables me to work out a couple of new ideas, as I have been stewing on new images and combinations of elements, previously used in Witty Art.

Hope you like it, and feel free to let me know what you think by leaving a comment below this blogpost; or, alternatively, on my Instagram feed, where I post Witty Art on almost a daily basis. If you are an Instagram user, feel freel to follow me there as well!

Last day of my Witty Art Wall during this series of summer Pop Up Expo's!

 
Today was the last day of our series of Summer Pop Up Expo's at Entrepothaven Area, Rotterdam. In total of 4 Pop Ups took place, starting May 17th and ending today. During which I had the pleasure of showcasing my artwork as part of a collective of various artists:

Antoinette MH Brandenburg
Natasja Dolk/Droomcreaties
Thea Sabelis
Ejub Deary
Hans La Hey 
Debby van der Drift
Gabrielle Marie 
Janneke de Pater
Erik Leeuwenbergh
Ida Broekhart
Hanneke van Santen
Lara Muradjan
Tineke Noordzij

It was an absolutely great experience and an excellent opportunity for me to showcase another version of my Witty Art Wall. I had a great time, not only talking to many interested visitors and viewers, but also actively collaborating with the other artists. We created live art on location, inspired and encouraged each other, learned from each other's different views and skills. It was a truly enlighting experience - and great fun!

I am looking forward to the next Pop Up and definitely to working again with my fellow Pop Up organisers Antoinette MH Brandenburg and Natasja Dolk. It has been an absolute pleasure working with you two, so much it didn't feel like working at all.

More pictures of my Witty Art Wall during last weekend's Pop Up!

Just some more pictures of my Witty Art Wall during last weekend's Pop Up Expo at Entrepothaven, Rotterdam. 

It included many works that I hadn't publically showcased before, or only in its first stages, as a rough sketch. 

My Witty Art Wall sparked interesting conversation during our latest Pop Up!

Again, a good turn out for second Pop Up Exhibition at Entrepothaven, Rotterdam. It was great to see so many peole take an interest in my Witty Art Wall, and, ofcourse, Witty Art. It is always a pleasure to engage in conversations with people who are genuinely interested in my work; and there were quite a few of those during the last weekend. 

Some visitors really took their time to take in the whole wall, making up their own stories, as they were combining words and images. That was an inspiring thing to see take place!

The icing on the cake was this very personal tribute made by fellow artist Herman Schouwenburg, who had come especially to have a look at Witty Art, after he had first discovered it during the opening of my showcase at Rotterdam Coffeebar Ookami/Heiilige Rotterdamse Boontjes Koffie. I felt both honoured and touched when I saiw it - and gotta admit it, Herman really got the essence of my work and managed to capture it in this image below: 

If you want to see more of Herman's work, go visit his Flickr!

The first of a new series of Pop Ups at Entrepot Area, Rotterdam!

Today, a whole new Pop Up Expo opened at Entrepotgebouw, Rotterdam. Same area as the last Pop Up of May 17th, but different location. Though still situated at The Marina, right on the waterfront. Again, an initiative by artists Antoinette MH Brandenburg en Natasja Dolk/Droomcreaties in joint collaboration with myself, under the name of Kult@R Collective. 

We will be organising a series of three Pop Up Expo's, which starts today, June 26th and ends on July 19th. Exact dates and times are: 

June 26-28, open: 0-17 hrs

July 3-5, open: 10-17 hrs

July 19th, open: 10-17 hrs 

Again, I set up a version of my Witty Art Wall, which has turned out to be a very handy 'up & go' concept, which makes it extremely suitable for short-term pop-up events. Also, I started to see the concept of an Art Wall more and more as one big, mural-kinda-like sketching board. It provides me with an overview of how various elements and characteristics of my art work interact with each other,; and how they influence each other as well.

This time, I also took the opportunity to show a mix of both Singles and Series, like 'Crawl On The Catwalk', drawings inspired by a documentary on the French Maison of Lanvin. But also 'Roadblocked' and the threepiece 'Came To Dance' made its way to this selection. 

 

 

Other artists showcasing their works were:
- Antoinette MH Brandenburg, paintings
- Natasja Dolk/Droomcreaties, handmade mandala's, mandala designs, drawings and more
- Thea Sabelis, sculptures
- Ejub Deary, paintings & drawings

It made for an interesting collection of artwork from a broad range of artists from various disciplines and each with their own, characteristic style.

The coming days, we will get company from other artists such as Hanneke van Santen (handmade jewellery and designs); Ida Broekhart (contemporary textile art); Tineke Noordzij (paintings, iPad paintings and drawings); Debbie van der Drift (drawings, paintings and objects): Lara Muradjan (paintings) and more!