As devoted followers of this blog and my art know, I got into the hang of creating collages about a year or two ago, as I was overcome with a strong desire to both destroy old work (okay: work I considered failures) and create something new. So why not combine those two forces, and instead of looking at drawings that didn't turn out so well as ''failures', use parts of them and turn them into the foundation for a whole new series of Witty Art all together?
Hence, the creation of the series 'Once Upon A Time.. Never Happened!'
Now, it was time for more.
Lately, I accumulated a lot of ''half-way-there-works'' (half finished or just not-quite-that-good drawings, etc) dwhich to me provided more than enough volume for a whole new process of what I've come to call 'Creative Destruction and Resurrection': cutting or just downright tearing or ripping things up and readjusting the remaining fragments, trying to see if and where they'd fit in - and if not, that that'd be also fine because than they simply belong elsewhere.
No shortage of paper or canvas to create more works of art!
While working on this new batch of Witty Collage Art, something interesting started to happen. Comicbook-style elements like text balloons started appearing out of nowhere, while trusted characters and familiar faces popped up (including a couple of little lost bears and sinister looking rabbits, ofcourse), as I began mixing different materials and techniques into one big blend of both cartoon and surrealist art - without having any real idea of what on earth I was doing.
But boy, am I pleased with the outcome! It's almost like I've unknowingly been creating the picture book I'd always dreamt of, except that there is not such a thing as a storyline involved - well,not at the moment, that is. And perhaps there is no need to, as I got taught by a somewhat unexpected visit of an expert in storytelling - but more on that in my next blog!
So, what do you think? Is this gonna be a book or not? What's your opinion?
So, it's been over three (!) months since my last blog entry here and that is just way too long. Time for a much needed and looooong overdue update on all things Witty Art, as there has so many things happening - that I don't even know where to begin... You see, it's not that I haven't been busy creating new artwork (those of you who follow me on Instagram know better) but overall, my other (creative) projects have absorped so much of my time, it's been very challenging to find the time to properly write about my art these days. Instead, it's just easier posting them on my Instafeed, add a short text and that's it.
So, what better way to start with posting a brandnew series, then? This one I created a couple of weeks ago and it's one very, very dear to me. Ofcourse, all of my work is extremely dear to me, but there are those just a bit closer to my heart than others, because, well, they bascially are me in my most pure, honest form. Perhaps even more true to my true self than I am even capable of being in person. Because every now and then, it just feels safer wearing a mask of some kind, a protective shield between the world and me, myself and I, so to speak.
Not that I am in any way implying I am ''fake'' or constantly pretending to be someone am I not. It's not that simple - if only it were! It's not a matter of being deceitful at all, it's about trying to fit the mould that society has carved for you and expects you to fill and fit, even if you don't. And no matter how hard you try, no matter how you twist and turn, bend over backward and forward, you just know you won't do it - not because you don't want to, but simply because you can't. You cannot ever fit this mould, because it was never carved with you in mind. Yet, you try - and for a while, the longest while, you succeed. Well, at the surface at least.
But not inside. Inside, trying to fit in just tears you up from inside. It eats away at the very core of your existence, of your identity, of your true self. And while your life appears to succesfull to others, inside you are a mere shadow of the person you could have been.
You are succesfully passing for something, for someone, you are not.
... So, I dedicate this series to all those years in which 'I Almost Succeeded In Passing', untill I managed to break free and stopped trying to fit in - but to reclaim my own spot, both personally and professionally. And, though it hasn't been an easy path, far from it, I feel all the better for it, and definitely all the more creative!
And I dedicate this particular series to all of you out there, who felt or perhaps still feel the same way, those of you who feel like you just don't belong, those Perfectly Imperfect Misfits, those beautiful people, of all colours, shapes and sizes, all of you who feel they need to adjust their beautiful neurodiverse minds to a neurotypical world - well, to anyone who ever felt bending & breaking over backwards to fit in.
This one's for you: a small but heartfelt reminder that you, too, belong.
As promised, some more pictures of the Makers Expo at the recently opened (pop up) Community Museum (Museum van de Wijk) at Toko51, my joint project with Cretopia Rotterdam. I think this selection gives a pretty good impression of the creative potential of local artists and makers, whose work is very rarely given a platform within the established art scene - or not even given one at all!
Het Museum van de Wijk July 15 - September 30 2017
Toko 51, West-Kruiskade 51 Rotterdam
Open Thursdays - Saturdays 13-17hrs.
Artwork & Creative Crafts by Jaap de Korte, John Vandergalien, Wolbert van Dijk, Rio Holländer, Snotnose, Mireia, Amine van Lieshout/BagMe, Margo Ramp, Diana van Wijk, Judith de Leeuw/JDL Streetart, Donovan Spaanstra, Esther Schoonhoven, Lenny O., Piet Hein, Robin Hendriks, Francisca Ghiraw, Laura Ketting, Akke Haarsma & Students and Christy de Witt.
Foto's courtesy by yours truly ;-)
For an impression of the opening earlier on July 15th and some background information on how this project came to be and what it is about, please click here.
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| Foto: Cretopia Rotterdam |
Yesterday, the Museum van de Wijk (The Community Museum) of Het Oude Westen, Rotterdam has opened its doors with its first ever exhibition of local makers, either living and/or working in the area. The opening drew quite a crowd of interested visitors, who witnessed yours truly taking to the stage to do the honneurs of hosting the event, before giving the stage to our key note speaker Arnoud Molenaar, CEO of Resilient Rotterdam.
Arnoud spoke about the importance of resilience within a city's inhabitants, and especially present in artists and makers, whose creativity often enables them to offer a different approach when tackling problems and taking on challenges that 21st century cities face. Whether it's issues like (over)population and gentrification, sustainability or mobility, the environment and so on, it's more and more social and creative entrepreneurs working together with local government, corporate businesses and other parties to come up with solutions. In that light, he spoke about the significance of local grass roots initiatives such as this Community Museum for connecting people and bringing them together through art and culture.
In times like these, when art and culture indeed are often under pressure, it's a very important and welcome message - one I fully support. But given my passion for the arts, that should come as no big surprise to you all.
After Arnoud's speech, the museum was official open to the public and it was time for people to mix and mingle, while browsing through all the artwork and engaging in conversations with many of the artists who were present. All the while, local singer-songwriter and musical multitalent Nani Kry was playing the Toko51 piano and singing his bluesy/R&B-like songs. It was a very intimate, but positively-spirited event and I can say I am extremely proud to be an active part of all this.
So, time to share with you all something about how this whole project actually came to be. A couple of weeks ago, I sat down with fellow creative and social entrepreneurs of Cretopia Rotterdam, who currently have their homebase at Toko51 at the West-Kruiskade and, talking about art, art galleries and art institutions like musea, we wondered (not for the first time) why these organisations often have very little connection with the city they are based in - or at least, they very little show sign that there is such a connection at all. Though I am all for galeries and cultural institutions operating and programming on an international scale, for it is my firm believe that art knows no borders - so I am all for that.
However, it is my personal and professional experience that these organisations are still very much high brow, highly academical and conceptual and have very little room or space for the often exciting work of outsider and street artists, the illustrators, cartoonists and sketchers who do a lot of commissioned work for (online) magazines, who promote and sell their work via online channels such as Instagram, Etsy and so on. It's like there is still this big artificial (and superficial) divide between high and low art - and if there is anything I hate (with a vengeance) it's labels like ''high'' versus ''low'', well, when applied on social structures and statues, and especially when applied to art.
One thing I have also loved about Cretopia and Toko51, is that from the very first moment they opened up, they literally opened the doors and welcomed people from literally all walks of life and from all kinds of different backgrounds to host their events and projects there. Which resulted in the occasional chaos every now and then - but it set the tone for a space in which a lot of exciting creative things could and would happen.
So, when speaking about art and museums and all that, we just thought: why not set up our own neighborhood museum? With the aim of showcasing as much work created and made by local artists and makers, especially those who have very little to no access to existing platforms for exhibiting, promoting or selling their art, products, let alone their skills. So we went out to find both amateur and professional makers, selfmade and outsider artists, makers of handmade products and other craftspeople and asked them if they would display their work at Toko51 during what we apptly named Het Museum van de Wijk (The Community Museum), which now is open weekly from Wednesdays through Saturdays from July 15th up and till with September 30th.
So far, we already found over 20 artists who are exhibiting their work, from drawings and paintings to handpainted or handcrafted objects and accessoires, such as clothing, jewelry and bags. It's a very nice group coming from and working in various disciplines - and naturally, yours truly is one of them!
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| Foto: Caroline de Jager |
You can view way more pictures of yesterday's opening on the Cretopia website, of which I shall post a small selection at this blog too, later this week or so.
For now, here's a first impresson of the actual exhibition as it looks like right now, including a couple of pictures of the day before, when we were all busy preparing the venue for the opening. The exhibition will run up and untill with September 30th, so if you are around, feel free to drop by!
Het Museum van de Wijk July 15 - September 30 2017
Toko 51, West-Kruiskade 51 Rotterdam
Open Thursdays - Saturdays 13-17hrs.
Artwork & Creative Crafts by Jaap de Korte, John Vandergalien, Wolbert van Dijk, Rio Holländer, Snotnose, Mireia, Amine van Lieshout/BagMe, Margo Ramp, Diana van Wijk, Judith de Leeuw/JDL Streetart, Donovan Spaanstra, Esther Schoonhoven, Lenny O., Piet Hein, Robin Hendriks, Francisca Ghiraw, Laura Ketting, Akke Haarsma & Students and Christy de Witt
