charl landvreugd resides

The making of Atlantic Transformerz during residency at tembe Art Studio, February, 2011

2011-03-07T22:32:00.001+01:00

My last week at Tembe Art Studio AiR program and the completion of 'MOVT nr.3"

2011-03-07T19:01:00.007+01:00

Best to do this one in pictures;

Placing and finishing "MOVT nr.3" on location in Moengo.

title: MOVT nr.3
year: 2011
size (in cm): 354 x 246 x 212
medium: wood and galvanized aluminum

1 year Tembe Art Studio Celebration

The truck that moves the sculpture to the final destination.

Hooking it up

Problems with the electricity lines

Placing it on location

3 days later the completion of "MOVT nr.3"

The man and the object; Tree, Revolution, Sculpture

2011-02-27T15:15:00.007+01:00

The rain was coming down like there was no tomorrow. As if the skies needed to empty out all that was good for the land. Rain, rain and more rain for several days in a row. Apparently Paramaribo was flooded and fortunately Moengo is on a bit of a hill thus letting the water flow to the lower grounds.

The rain stopped us in our tracks on Monday and Tuesday. The only thing left to do was sit on the porch; discuss the weather and reply to overdue emails. It felt like autumn without the cold.

On Wednesday the whole thing cleared up. With renewed energy I started working on the sculpture. Trial and error. The exact working method for smaller sculptures doesn’t hold up when working on this scale in the outdoors. It is absolutely impossible to cut perfectly straight strips of aluminum let alone attach them to the wood leveled. Nails go in crooked or bend and replacing those without ripping the material is undoable. Cut and hammer, bend and twist and meanwhile the sun is taking another shot at your body. Punch, slap, smack,.. c’mon be a trooper about it and as we say in Rotterdam ‘Don’t complain, but carry (it), fast as the fireman and pray for strength’ (Niet klagen maar dragen, gaan als de barndweer en bidden om kracht). And then it’s lunchtime!

Later that day I went to Ricanau Mofo to work with the kids. I already told you about that. The experience is more or less the same, but different kids, different exercise. The most memorable thing about Ricanau was the enormous Kankantri. It most have been at least 40 meters high. The Kankantri is the holiest of trees in the Suriname rainforest. It is considered the God of the forest and is seldom chopped down. Research shows that within Afro-religious context it’s ancestor is the Baobob from Africa. I was happy to encounter one in real life rather than seeing it from a distance. Hugging it was impossible because trying to do so my arms would still be stretched and would make the smallest of angles. I was glad to meet the personification of the great God in person!

Friday was a day off for the people of Surinam. It is the day that commemorates the Revolution/ Coup d’Etat/Liberation of February 25, 1980. It was a remarkable day because of the documentaries that were on TV the day before. I remember I was in Surinam in that period with the excitement of a 9 year old. In school we, the children, knew something was going on. Military men took the Memre Buku barracks in the city. They were glamorous and tough with machine guns and reflecting shades.

Then they took parliament or something, people were talking, no going out in the evening. Then all of a sudden an uncle that worked at the Fernandes bakery came home with large amounts of cakes and sweet pastries. Apparently they could not be sold because of the ‘situation’ (whatever that meant). We as kids were just happy to eat cake until we couldn’t eat any more. One or two days later a truck arrived at the school bringing cases and cases of bananas. All children could bring home two cases, again because the ‘situation’ did not allow them to be exported. We ate bananas for a week. A lot was discarded because it went bad. Anyhow, that is what I remember. It was a fun period with things happening that I only knew from books.

The documentaries on TV last Thursday showed what happened form different angles, hence the ambiguity about Revolution, Coup d’Etat or Liberation. I did not grow up in Surinam, but seeing what I saw on TV I can see why the people would choose the leader of February 25^th as their democratic leader today.

Ken Doorson, Charl Landvreugd, Sculpture

Picture by: Nancy Hoffman

Back to the sculpture;

When I used to do clubs in the 1990’s and we were building environments, one of the first lessons I learned was Big Gestures. The people would be too visually impaired to notice small details anyhow, so big forms was the way to go.

With a sculpture on this scale it’s the same thing. You can only grasp the total form from a distance and from a distance there is no way you will notice a nail. Realizing this I started treating it with more force and rawness. Now that it is getting covered the size of it becomes more of a reality. It is not finished yet. Tuesday it will be moved to the final location. It is there will the finishing touches will be made and the final presentation will occur. For now it is just a man dealing with his object.

Today Tembe Art Studio exists for One year. There will be presentations and festivities. Tomorrow or so I will post some pictures of the event online. Or in other words;

I’ll keep you posted.

‘Kleur zwart symbool voor uitsluiting’

2011-02-22T17:54:00.009+01:00

dWT Foto/ Claudio Barker
Charl Landvreugd vertelt over zijn kunstervaringen aan de aanwezigen.

De Ware Tijd (DWTonline.com)
Arts Entertainment and Lifestyle section, Tuesday February 22, 2011
Claudine Saaki

Paramaribo - “Er is in elke gemeenschap wel een groep mensen die niet als volwaardig lid van de maatschappij wordt beschouwd. Als zwarte man heb ik ervoor gekozen om dit te onderzoeken via het idee ‘zwart’, maar de strekking is uiteindelijk universeel”, vertelt Landvreugd, een Nederlands beeldend kunstenaar van Surinaamse afkomst die in New York woont. Aan de hand van zijn werk ‘Atlantic Transformerz’ verklaart hij tijdens zijn lezing aan de Nola Hatterman-academie zijn voorkeur voor de kleur zwart.

De manier waarop zwarte mensen die in Europa zijn geboren of opgegroeien hun identiteit als zwarte Europeanen vorm kunnen geven, vormt de rode draad in het werk van Landvreugd. “Ik onderzoek in dit thema het idee ‘zwart’ als zowel esthetisch, politiek, sociologisch en als formeel gereedschap”, verklapt de beeldend kunstenaar. “Ik ben ervan overtuigd dat de problematiek niet per se een Europese is, maar een wereldwijde.” De beeldend kunstenaar heeft het gevoel dat de aanwezigen deze centrale these wel hebben begrepen.

Hij ging ook in op zijn residency bij Tembe Art Studio in Moengo. De ervaring om met een aantal kunstenaars uit verschillende landen samen te werken, beschouwt hij als erg leerzaam. “Je leert van elkaars technieken en inzichten en het geeft een nieuwe kijk op je eigen praktijk. Daarnaast is de wijdsheid van Moengo zo enorm dat de schaal van werken anders wordt. Het sculptuur dat ik hier nu maak is 4 meter hoog. Overal is het een enorm ding, maar hier in Moengo valt het weg tegen de achtergrond. Dit is een mooie ervaring. Wanneer ik weer terug ben in New York zal ik het anders bekijken in die omgeving.”

Zijn inspiratie
Twee jaar geleden was Landvreugd ook in Suriname voor het Wakaman project in Fort Zeelandia. Daar maakte hij een eigen sculptuur en een installatie samen met de kunstenaar Marcel Pinas. Hij zegt heel erg geïnspireerd te zijn door de Afro-Surinaamse bevolking. “Wanneer je niet in Suriname opgroeid bent, ga je op latere leeftijd op onderzoek uit om uit te vinden wat met name dat Afro-Surinaamse is. Ik haal heel veel inspiratie uit de Afro-Surinaamse filosofische benadering waar alles uit gaat van balans. Een mooi voorbeeld daarvan is de uitspraak hier: ‘néks no fout’. Ik interpreteer dat zo, dat de waarde van elke actie afhangt van de context. Zo kijk ik ook naar de benadering van de elementen en het uitgangspunt van harmonie. Daarnaast is Suriname als multi-etnische samenleving een mooi voorbeeld van hoe het ook kan.”

De kunstwereld over vijf jaar
“Ik denk dat over vijf jaar de kunstwereld in ieder geval in Suriname meer onafhankelijk is.” Hij vertelt dat er nu projecten in werking gezet die het idee van zelfredzaamheid ten grondslag hebben, oftewel: minder afhankelijk van externe krachten. Die projecten zullen de mogelijkheid creëren om een kunstroute in te slaan die Surinaams is. “Wat dat dan precies is dat zal de toekomst uitwijzen, maar een initiatief als het AiR-programma waar ik nu deel van ben, zet Suriname internationaal wel op de kaart.”In zijn persoonlijke visie ziet hij meer aandacht voor kunsttheorie die ontwikkeld is vanuit niet-Westerse waarden. Deze ontwikkeling begint volgens de kunstenaar langzaam op gang te komen en zal in de toekomst een ander idee geven over wat kunst nu eigenlijk is. “Ik heb vijf jaar kunsttheorie achter de rug en kan deze vraag ‘wat kunst nu eigenlijk is’ nog steeds niet beantwoorden. Alles is context”, zegt hij eerlijk.

Kunst in Amerika
De kunstwereld in Amerika en in de rest van de wereld is verdeeld in segmenten. Landvreugd bevindt zich met name in gezelschap van Afrikaanse-diasporakunstenaars. “In deze hoek is er momenteel in de Verenigde Staten veel interesse voor kunstenaars met een Caribische achtergrond. De Caribische diaspora zit wat dat betreft in de lift in de Amerikaanse context.
Ik denk dat juist door de zelfredzaamheidsgedachte die nu vorm krijgt, de relatie met de VS een goede toekomst tegemoet gaat”, voorziet de kunstenaar. Over de belangstelling in Suriname is Landvreugd alvast te spreken. “Het was een gevarieerd kunstpubliek.”

2011-02-21T19:36:00.010+01:00

It was a busy week once again, that is the way things go.

There was the presentation at the local MULO High school which was pretty interesting. It was for teenagers between 12 and 14 years old. One of the good thing about it is that I finally got the chance to get into one of these schools. They are all around and are basically rooms that are open so the wind can come through. All the kids wear uniforms. A basic blue shirt with some jeans. I guess it comes from the colonial system and is in lieu with some e galitarian thought.

Anyway, as with teenagers, some are more interested than others but they all seemed to have a good time with my presentation rather than having drawing lessons. The idea that a practice could take many forms (other than drawing and carving) was hopefully inspiring.

kids at Dantapu

Later that day I went to Dantapu where I did a little workshop with kids aged 3 to 14. I asked them to pick a leave, draw it large and look at the colors they saw. We then started coloring the drawing using more colors then just green. After that we made a cut out, colored the back and then I stitched the whole thing together to make a leaf sculpture. The whole thing took about an hour.

paper leafs sculpture Dantapu

After that I took the boat back to Moengo. It's trip of about an hour that takes you over the Cottica river. The sights are amazing. The water is so dark and in places still that it resembles a perfect mirror. At times the sensation you get is like flying because you can see the sky under the boat. Certainly a trip worth doing for anyone coming to Suriname.

Cottica River

Later that week there was another presentation at the Nola Hatterman Institute. Here I talked about my practice and its theoretical background. The good thing about doing these presentations is that people ask you questions you may or may not have thought about already. In this particular case I ended up discussing the process of making a sculpture this big in an open space that just makes anything look small. Thinking about this will most certainly influence my practice in the future.

picture by: Marieke Visser -
Charl Landvreugd speaking about his Atlantic Transformerz project and his residency in Moengo at Tembe Art Studio. Nola Hatterman Art Academy, Paramaribo, February 20

Concerning the sculpture I am making at the Tembe Art Studio; We found a good quality galvanized aluminum to work with. Obviously I cut myself trying to mold it into shape. This is the kind of mistake you only make once. Now the gloves don't come off even if you paid me. It is progressing quite well even though the rain stops the work. All of a sudden it isn't just cloudy but coming down relentlesly. I was hoping to get it finished before the coming up weekend. It will be the one year anniversary of the Tembe Art Studio. Now I just wait for the rain to stop,... Rain rain go away, come back another day.....

Legs of the sculpture
picture by: Wouter Klein Velderman

I'll keep you posted,.....

2011-02-12T18:50:00.005+01:00

This week was a good week at the TAS residency. On Monday I went to the village Ofia Ollo to work with a group of kids there. They were all between 10 and 15 years old and eager to learn something new. It was the first ever time to work with such youngsters. It requires a whole different approach, also because the education system here is quite different than in the West. It seems that rather than promoting individual thought the children are trained to do exactly what they are told. The class lasted about an hour and was good fun to do.

Monday was also the day I started on the sculpture. The wood we ordered arrived the Friday before. The expectation was to get the frame up in a week. With little to no experience working on something this size, it became quite hard work. Thankfully my colleague Wouter is used to working on a monumental scale. He made some very useful suggestions on how to fortify the structure. (mind you, his sculpture will be about 12 meters high)

First I made the bottom part of the head and the top part. This took about two days to do. Then I had to think about the three legs on which the head was going to be mounted. This proved to be more difficult then I expected because the legs needed to be bent and connected in such a way that they could withstand the pressure of the head on top of it. This process again took about two days of calling friends who know about constructing stuff and putting it together. Eventually the whole thing will be about 3.5 meters high.

picture taken by Wouter Klein Velderman

Next time it might be wise to be more architect-like about it rather then do the organic approach. Having said that, the difference in approach between my colleagues and I has delivered a nice exchange of knowledge between the residen

ts in this program. Speaking about your work and getting tips and critique is almost like being back in the academy.

As this is my first ever residency, living together with different artists for a length of time, I am becoming a big fan of grouping artists from different backgrounds together. There is so much to be learned from the others in the program. At this moment there is four of us combining Surinam, the Netherlands, Kosovo and Barbados.

What is also inspiring and demanding of a new attitude is the way things work in a different country. As they say here, you have watches, but we have time. Being here for a few weeks I totally get it. It is just too warm to produce anything substantial after 2pm. The whole thing slows down dramatically when the sun is burning and giving you the mother of all beatings. The only thing you can do is have lunch and wait for it to cool down. By that time, say 5pm you are so exhausted that there is nothing else to do but make dinner and wait for the evening.

The other thing is the availability of goods. I planne

d to make my sculpture out of aluminum. But, it is not like you can go on the Internet, research it and the order the amount you need. Finding aluminum plates is like looking for gold. It is neither available in Paramaribo nor here in Moengo. With Moengo being the mining city for the raw material that produces aluminum a sculpture made out of it seems like a fitting idea. The fact that it cannot be found and I will most probably have to make it out of a substitute may say a lot about the circumstances in the area.

picture taken by Wouter Klein Velderman

Either way, the process proves to be physically challenging, meaning that when getting up in the morning I can actually feel my body. Surely you agree that this is much better than going to the gym.

Coming week I will start covering the construction with the material that is available.

I’ll keep you posted,…..

Transiting into Tembe Art Studio

2011-01-21T16:53:00.013+01:00

The welcome sign at the Tembe Art Studio.

I’ve arrived at the Kibii Foundation residency program in Moengo (THE mining (small) city of Surinam) several days ago and we already went about town, exploring the likes of this city.

There are two other artist here; Wouter Klein Velderman (Netherlands) and Sheena Rose (Barbados). We are the first batch of artist to actually live in the house and work communally.

Sheena and Wouter

My stay will not be as long as Wouter's and Sheena's.

Marcel Pinas invited me two years ago when we did an installation together for the Wakaman project. Up until now my diary was packed but now I am here, ready to rock.

For now, we have been discussing the sculpture that will be made for the Moengo sculpture park. Initially the idea was to keep working with ceramics, however that may prove to be a problem in the long run. As the sculpture will be in public space there is no way it can be protected. My friend Ken Doorson, who is an active member of the Kibii Foundation suggested working with aluminum. The moment he mentioned it the idea hit home. As Moengo is the aluminum city it only seems logical to work with that material. The fact that it is a major step away from my ‘black on black’ aesthetics only makes it more interesting.

The fact that time is limited (one month) forces me to work fast and allow whatever happens to happen.

waiting for the boat to take us to Jodensavanne

The current time constraints have to do with the “Atlantic Transformerz” project that started during the BijlmAir residency. On April 9, 2011 the project will provide the surroundings for the BLOOM! Event in NYC. More details about that will follow soon.

Either way, in the 10 days back in NYC we photographed and filmed the footage that will be combined with the rest of the material and turned into a live performance.

Updates will follow soon,…. I’ll keep you posted!

Presentation: Atlantic Transformerz 2010

2010-12-02T17:32:00.002+01:00

Charl Landvreugd - bijlmAIR resident - FINISSAGE 13/12/2010
SMBA (Stedelijk Museum Bureau Amsterdam) Rozenstraat 59 1016 NN Amsterdam T 020-4220471

(ENGLISH BELOW)

Charl Landvreugd zal in het SMBA een afsluitende presentatie geven over zijn
ervaring als BijlmAIR resident. BijlmAIR, waar Landvreugd van september –
december 2010 verbleef, is het artist-in-residence programma van Centrum
Beeldende Kunst Zuidoost (CBK Zuidoost), Stedelijk Museum Bureau Amsterdam
(SMBA) en Stichting FLAT. Tijdens de avond zal hij zijn nieuwe werk
Atlantic Transformerz 2010 tonen en bespreken.

Landvreugd is een Nederlandse kunstenaar, geboren in Suriname en opgegroeid
in Rotterdam. Zowel esthetisch als politiek, theoretisch als praktisch is
zwart de basis kleur in zijn werk. Na zijn studie aan Goldsmiths University
in Londen en Columbia University in New York vervolgt hij zijn onderzoek
naar zwart en Zwartheid. Hij kijkt naar de veelvoudige tinten in de kleur en
maakt zich hard voor het kunnen onderscheiden van de zwarte diversiteit.
Geïnspireerd door de samenkomst van de Afrikaanse diaspora in de Bijlmer
verenigt hij de vier continenten rond de Atlantische Oceaan in het videowerk
Atlantic Transformerz 2010.

Tijdens de lezing legt Landvreugd verbanden tussen zijn werk en dat van de
continentaal Europeese zwarte denkers Frantz Fanon en Edgar Cairo. Hij is
geïnspireerd door het concept Ujamaa (extended family), Sun Ra, The
Transformers, Star Wars, de 90er jaren club-scene, Bruce Weber’s weergave
van het mannelijk lichaam, en de videoclips van Hype Williams. Deze
Afro-Futuristische en post-koloniale elementen vorm en de context waarin men
zijn werk kan plaatsten.

Klik hier voor de making of Atlantic Transformerz 2010
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKOiye-7IgM

Aanvang 20.00 uur

Voertaal: Nederlands

ENGLLISH:

Charl Landvreugd - bijlmAIR resident - FINISSAGE 13/12/2010 SMBA (Stedelijk Museum
Bureau Amsterdam) Rozenstraat 59 1016 NN Amsterdam T 020-4220471

Charl Landvreugd presents his new work Atlantic Transformerz 2010 and
discusses his experience in the BijlmAIR residency, where he stayed for
four months (sept-dec 2010) during the production of the work. BijlmAIR is
an artist-in-residence programme run by Centrum Beeldende Kunst Zuidoost
(CBK Zuidoost), Stedelijk Museum Bureau Amsterdam and Stichting Flat.

Landvreugd is a Dutch artist, born in Suriname and raised in Rotterdam.
Aesthetically, politically, theoretically as well as practically, black is
the base colour in his practice. The artist has studied at the Goldsmiths
College (London) and Columbia University (NYC), and now continues his
investigations of black and Blackness. He explores the plurality of black
hues and advocates for distinctions in black diversity. Inspired by the
gathering of people from the African diaspora in the Bijlmer, he unites the
four continents around the Atlantic in the video work Atlantic Transformerz
2010.

In his presentation Landvreugd makes connections with the legacy of the
Continental Black European thinkers Frantz fanon and Edgar Cairo. He is
inspired by the concept Ujamaa (extended family), Sun Ra, The Transformers,
Star Wars, the 90’s club-scene, Bruce Weber’s portrayal of the male body,
and the music videos by Hype Williams. These Afro-Futuristic and
postcolonial elements constitute the context of his work.

The making of Atlantic Transformerz 2010
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKOiye-7IgM

Start: 20.00 hrs

Language of the evening: Dutch

Curiosity

2010-10-17T11:51:00.003+02:00

Six years old and full of curiosity. Our house had a storage space on the top floor. Adjacent to it was the space of the neighbors and of course I needed to know what was in it. If I tell you how I got in, you will not believe me, so let's just say the key was under the mat.

Inside the space were the most wonderful technical things. Mind you this was somewhere in the 70's and the neighbor was really really old. (When you are six all adults are really really old). So was the TV in the room, an oldie, black and white with buttons that needed turning to get a channel. It was older than the one we had downstairs. That one also needed turning buttons to get one of the five channels that were available at the time. (Wasn't everything better in those days?).

There I was, face to face with the machine, wondering 'How does a TV work?'. The box that brought me Sesame Street, Tatort, Top Pop, Six Million Dollar Man and of course the Bee Gees. At that age already the understanding was there that a screw driver was needed to get inside. With the intention to take it apart and put it back together I started on my quest for knowledge. But what does a six year old know? Unraveling the mysteries of a TV is one, re-assembling it is quite the other. The most mystical part of the inside, to me, was the tube. It was big and oddly shaped. Possibly one of the most intriguing things I had ever seen at that age. There was this need to know what was inside it, but I knew that to know that I had to break it as it has no entry point. I decided to leave that for the next time and started on the impossible task to cover my tracks. Unsuccessful,.....Obviously.

It comes as no surprise that several days later the really really old neighbor woman was screaming and throwing a fit at our front door. As you can imagine sitting down became a problem for the rest of the day ;)

Dwight Marica 'Space Object'

Many many moons later I was researching Black Dutch artists and came across Dwight Marica and his 'Space Objects'. They (the always unnamed band of anonymous others), say that we know each other. Apparently we ran in the same circles when we were doing tags and graffiti in the inner city of Rotterdam. Youth is a cruel age and my memory of these days resemble a cheese with holes in it. Anyway I really admire his work and in a way the fact that he can not be found. Maybe he has dissolved in space like Stanley Brouwn...........

Marica's 'Space Objects' are made out of these TV tubes adorned with electric wire. In my memory we used to braid these wires to make little bracelets and necklaces to swap on the playground. The way he places them also remind me of maraca's and the Caribbean sounds coming form the record player. A shared youth can be discerned from these objects pointing towards a childhood that turned us into Dutch subjects.

I found a TV, on the garbage heap, close to the residency space. NOKIA,...yeah! And pulled it apart leaving just the tube. With the same amount of curiosity and excitement I am studying it from all angles wondering how to turn a childhood memory into an adult fantasy.

If you know of any other artists who used TV tubes,..let me know.

I'll keep you posted....

For Art's Sake,....

2010-09-28T14:00:00.003+02:00

A sparkling idea on a winter night, a bath tub, a macbook, a ceramic sculpture, a piece of music (2009)

There are professors who leave an undeniable mark on the work process long after you may have forgotten what they actually looked like. I had one of those, a Japanese fella, totally friendly, who charmed me with his wit, but more importantly with his insight. He was the man who explained to me the difference between practice and product which to me became the basis for the idea of theory/practice.

As he put it, the practice is a life long examination into a single subject. Emerging yourself into it and study it from plethora of different angles. As a consequence the work that is being produced during this investigation is merely a byproduct. One of the main consequences of this approach is that a work as part of the practice becomes a piece of text that with careful study may give visual insight into the subject of study. (e.g. what new knowledge does the piece produce?, or as I came to call it, the Goldsmiths doctrine)

A single sparkly idea about form, becomes a flickering abstraction that can help give a lengthy and difficult paper that little push which can turn it into a unique piece of research. Yeah, the spark, once named genius but as genius carefully undone by theory. No there is no such thing as autonomous ideas, it is all a construction, yadda yadda yadda.... and the sparkle needs to be carefully deconstructed to its barest core before we can continue.

So, what happens then, to the type of stuff that comes up in your head in the heat of the moment? Taking a jar of marmelade and smashing it on the white walls of your living room. Running up and down stairs 40 times. Dress like a bum and go to the Hermes store. Cook a pot of pasta and let it burn until the smoke alarm goes off. Is it just research, are these actions just sketches in a drawing block?

I guess it depends on your position and yes the magical word,..... context.

As I am thinking about the work to be made in this BijlmAir residency context becomes increasingly important. Is the Bijlmer an angle through which I can study the subject of my practice, or is my practice an angle through which I can study the Bijlmer? Obviously, both are possible and there is also the middle ground.

I'll keep you posted,.....

Ethics and Aesthetics,....

2010-09-24T18:17:00.003+02:00

Anon.Portrait, late 19th century. Hand-coloured American tintype

When entering a community as an artist, with the intention to make work inspired by the community and it's surroundings, the problem of ethics arises.

Let me explain.

In my initial proposal, I was trying to react to the SMBA's project 'Beter Beeld van Afrika' (freely translated; Better view of Africa). The general idea was to take my cue from West Arican Photography e.g. the usual suspects Sidibe, Keita, Apagya etc. and translate the idea behind the photographs to contemporary representations of self through social sites as Facebook and Hyves. Thus creating a view of Africa in the Bijlmer.

Interesting here could be, among other things, to contemplate the route of that concept of photography from the west to west Africa and via migration straight into the Bijlmer. Carefully crafted surroundings are part of the image and express wishes, dreams and ideas of the subject in the picture.

photographer Philip Kwame Apagya

Now here is the problem; Since the row about 'Paris is Burning', to me at least, it seems unacceptable for an artist to create a piece of work about a group of people and use the 'lure of authenticity'. However, (don't ask me why) in my head there was this idea that because I am black and belong to the racial group it would be ok. Well, it isn't. There is no way one could get away with it and claim autonomy unless it is clear from the start that I am an outsider to the neighborhood and to the African group.

Why would you care? Well, as I can not reason my way out of this dillema, I decided to go for aesthetics, unleashing the tropes of my practice onto 'Beter Beeld van Afrika' and just see what view of Africa arises.

I'll keep you posted,....

Florijn ...

2010-09-16T22:25:00.000+02:00

Florijn of florin kan verwijzen naar:

Bezig met bewerken van Italiaanse florijn, ‘De Gouden Florijn’ is a small, typical Amsterdam-style ‘old brown’ bar right in the center of the Jordaan.De gulden was vanaf de Middeleeuwen tot januari 2002, een Nederlandse munteenheid en wettig betaalmiddel. Business Development and Marketing Specialist experienced in (online) marketing management and strategy. Het 1-guldenstuk of gulden of florijn, De Arubaanse florin, 3.18."could not find ParserDetails.ini" Tot 1999 kende de forint een onderverdeling in 100 fillér. De Oostenrijks-Hongaarse Gulden,

Lees eerst de informatie verzenden en betalen indien U een bestelling heeft geplaatst! Rene FLORIJN, an adoptive son of St-Maarten for 30 years, With 8 years Financial Services Operational Management experience followed by 12 years change management in Banking, Waarom bedrijven daarvoor bij ons blijven terugkomen? is a former rower from the Netherlands and two-time Olympic gold medallist.

apartment Florijn in Amsterdam Zuidoost

1102 BA Amsterdam Zuidoost Noord-Holland, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TrAIDbyMDIo ,

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Townhouse Aesthetics

2010-09-13T23:05:00.000+02:00

Townhouse fragment

This entry is only a testament to the limitations set by one's fantasy. As a friend of mine and I always say; 'If you can imagine it, it must exist somewhere.'
However, some things are so blatantly simple they do not enter the mind. One of these things is the townhouse.

The way I have come to know them is that they are always inhabited by a certain type of person. Particularly the new style townhouses are mostly bought by people who have what I tend to call 'beige taste'. Much like the art world, the interior of the houses is within a certain color range with the odd sanctified extravagance expressed on the wall in the form of paint, wallpaper or a very very expensive piece of art. All of course win the limits of what is considered good taste in a Western context.

This image is so strong that the idea that one could depart from it never ever, at least in my world, enters the mind. Maybe it is because I am an apartment dweller (eg keep it practical, no nonsense city boy galore). Or maybe it is because I have become so beige myself, who knows?

So, to my surprise and excitement, here in the Bijlmer I see townhouses that do not fit into the above mentioned category. There are house that do not have the standard 'good taste' curtains that say 'Hey, I understand what it's all about.', but lace curtaining instead. It's lace of the kind that was popular when I grew up in the late 70's early 80's.

First of all, I didn't know they still existed and could not possibly imagine how something as simple as that could change the known aesthetics of the contemporary townhouse.
Secondly, the lace, yes of course the lace, how could I not have known about where my love for it comes from? (it features extensively in the Anarusha series)

use of lace in Anaruka sculpture

I guess my childhood is catching up on me and I come to fully realize how something corny can be used to create a new aesthetics

What does it mean?

2010-09-08T22:49:00.000+02:00

We the Dutch are notoriously not nationalistic. It is almost like we are ashamed of being Dutch. We only take minor pride in our heritage or the accomplishments of our country. (I am deliberately staying away from the wind of the day that is the neo-nationalistic movement that is taking place).
When we speak of what we achieved in the world, it is always with a hint of 'well it's nothing special really, anyone could have done it with hard work'. Nationalism to us is like Socialism to the United States,.... its wrong and we don't want anything to do with it. (spoken with broad overstatement and general terms mind you).

How surprising thus it is in countries like Greece, Turkey, Egypt and the United States to see large, and I mean LARGE national flags waving and adorning the skyline. It is something to be envious about. To see national colors flying and reminding you and foreigners of where you are. A purposeful reminder of history, heritage and pride.

It is the same when you go to Harlem (NYC). Walking down 125th street the red, black and green remind you of the fact that you are in the center of Black America. At the Studio Museum in Harlem, David Hammons Blackified American Flag waves proudly. Crossing 5th avenue, the Puerto Rico flag dangles from balconies or is stretched behind windows.
In the US where one is first American then something else, the African American and Puerto Rico flags, to me, seem to represent pride in heritage and history. (among other things)

So what does it mean, in the Netherlands, in the Bijlmer, to see Suriname flags swing from flagpoles and cover windows? Can the signs in this enclave be read in the same manner as in Harlem? In this climate where one is first and foremost an 'allochtoon'? What particular brand of nationalism is expressed here?

A question I guess worth exploring.

What was always there...

2010-09-07T15:53:00.000+02:00

It is odd, how sometimes, one has to go away to come back and see what is really there.
As a good friend said "Never close your eyes".

I grew up in Rotterdam. From a Dutch perspective, the 80 km distance between Rotterdam and Amsterdam is not the kind of thing you do in a day. At least, not without a very good reason.
Growing up where I did, the Bijlmer was this far far away place which you had to avoid.
In my late teens, I made visits to a friend in Ganzenhoef, but did not discover the neighborhood at all. It was always a get in, get out kamikaze action.

Living in Harlem (NYC) is a great experience, if not only because of the concentration of Black history and energy in one area. I partied on 125th street when Obama got elected and mourned at the Apollo theater when MJ died. Outside of Rotterdam, never did I feel more at home than in Harlem.

Now, here, in the Bijlmer it is amazing to see the same sort of energy flowing through the buildings and Bijlmer square as one can feel in Harlem. It seems like the whole African Diaspora is concentrated in this one Dutch place. The swagger may look different, but it is definitely the same feel, ..... only greener.

Yes, it is odd, to come back and see what was always there.