artefact – we act – insight on backstage
Whenever people experience themselves in social art projects, they experience the – common – moment of doing, of action. Then they connect the work with what they have experienced themselves. One’s own action is perceived as spontaneous, direct and immediate. Attention is focused on the moment.Nevertheless, there is always a story before the story, a story of the idea, the concept, the preparation.This is the story of the preparation of the series “ARTEFACT – WE ACT DADA 2023” for the art project ARTSURPRISE. The story begins in spring 2023 with a call from a dispatcher at a wood processing company. He asks if there is interest in a larger quantity of prefabricated olive wood sticks. A customer dropped out and now you have this batch in stock.At the same time, there was the concept of a series of stamps that should be conveyed to people interested in art via ARTSURPRISE.…
hablar-mirar-ser – expo and more
Imagine you get a letter, a real letter, delivered by a postman, like a hundred years ago. You feel the paper, the weight, you look at the envelope, the sender. There is a person, somewhere, who has thought of you, who has done physical work, designed an envelope, put together a content. There is a message for you! There might be something written on a piece of paper, black and white, almost like it was carved in stone. A commitment to communicate with you. There is anticipation when opening. The surprise when discovering the content, your eyes fly over the text, the drawings. You read. you read again You think of the person who wrote to you, of the distance. And you feel connected. About space and time. Around 1910, artists in Europe began to write letters to each other. Directly from artist to artist. The letters contained messages, small…
HABLAR! – TALK! – SPRICH!
exhibition 24.03.2023 – 15-04.2023opening 24.03.2023 – 8pm Location: CASAdelDRAGON, Las Parras 19, 12578 Cervera del Maestre, Castellon, Spain speak! Whoever speaks in times of fear wins! Communication is more important than ever. When contemporary art is a beacon, facilitating navigation on unknown shores, then it speaks to us. Art has something to say. It’s her job to say something. And in their elegance lies the beauty. Good art strives towards culture, without pressure. She is taken in and does not defend herself. She just allows it. Contemporary art gives you the space, use it: speak! ¡hablar! ¡Quien habla en tiempos de miedo gana! La comunicación es más importante que nunca. Cuando el arte contemporáneo es un faro que facilita la navegación en costas desconocidas, entonces nos habla. El arte tiene algo que decir. Es su trabajo decir algo. Y en su elegancia reside la belleza. El buen arte se esfuerza…
FLUXUS
This is the story about a classmate at school, about a photography workshop as part of my art class, about a woman who preferred playing soccer to playing with dolls and about the beginning of my love for art production. And it is the story of the evolution of this production, from an individual to a social artistic creation. As Webster mentioned: “Fluxus is an avant-garde art movement of the 1950s and 1960s that was heavily influenced by Dada”. George Macinuas coined the term Fluxus to describe his wide range of artistic activities. As Britannica knows: “In its early years, from 1962 to 1966, Fluxus fused conceptual art, minimalism, new music, poetry, and chance-based work into an intermedia phenomenon, identifiable more through its irreverent attitude toward art than through the use of any distinct style. Utilizing humour—in the spirit of Dada—and everyday materials and experiences, Fluxus created original and often…
The art of shopping
You can buy my art, but you can’t pay for it. Juan Petry Shopping trolleys wait in long lines in front of the supermarkets. It is part of our everyday life to take such a trolley, collect our groceries with it and push the heavy load to our car. Basically, the way is short. We pay little attention to the trolley and at most get annoyed when the wheels don’t move easily. In times like these, there are others who roll shopping carts through the streets. Their ways are long, their burden is much heavier. Their hunger is much greater. They look for metal and take it to the scrap dealer. They are homeless and stow all their belongings in a single truck. Politicians call them “white trash”. What had waited as a promise in front of the temples of consumption mutated into a symbol of decay. The noise of…
Sant Pol de Mar – Quina hora es? – the time inbetween
On February 15 in 1714 the troops of Philip V. wanted to lead Catalonia into French absolutism and 50 brave men entrenched themselves in the marina tower. Again the people of Sant Pol de Mar were fighting for their freedom and independence, like so many times before and after. This is the story of a fishermen village located between Barcelona and Gerona, it is the story of a Spanish-German family, it is the story of wars in Europe, the story of childhood, expulsion, departure and return. It is the history of analog black and white photography, the history of photographic emancipation. It is the story of a fading past and it is the story of your future. The history of Sant Pol de Mar is closely linked to the history of Catalonia. The integrative power of language has repeatedly fueled the desire for freedom and independence. The natural desire to…
la maison du dragon – puppet theatre – first proof of concept – stage details
In October 2021 we designed the first parts of the lower stage ground. The most important decision was the grid pattern for the lower stage. It will support various connections to other components and it will be used in the design of many construction parts like upper stage, walls and trusses. Part of the stage will be a moving segment. Based on the capacity of the laser cutter it comes along in 4 segments. Each segment provides 90 degree of a full circle of total of 48 cm. Also we realised a first pillar based on the same grid design to support (right photo) fastening eyes. A color scheme should lead to seperate the prefabricated parts. More about the general project you find here.
MUARCO 2 – the exhibition in the museum in the exhibition – Valencia – Russafa – 2021
In August 2021, the MUARCO project was invited to Valencia. The DeSouza gallery showed a selection of artists under the title “Tierra i Libertad” in the Sporting Club Russafa in Valencia City. The mobile museum showed 130 works by various artists and invited photographers and visitors to the gallery to create additional works of art and integrate them into the exhibition. Over 60 creative people accepted the invitation. The results are summarized in a documentation (PDF). In this third MUARCO exhibition, too, the visitors reacted very positively to the offer to become active themselves. The power of social sculpture shapes reality and assures the participants of their own creative energy. More than three quarters of the participants confidently left not only a work but also names and contact offers. A selection of these new artworks will be seen in the next public event of MUARCO. Credits:Thanks to all creative visitors…
Tierra y libertad
This is a story about space and freedom. It is a story about the people who facilitate and maintain such a space. It is a story about the relation and dependence between a free space to try – and even fail – and freedom and libery. It is a story of the hosue of the dragon, the exhibitions, the workshops, the guests, the community and even the harsh reality. It is also a story about an exhibition which will take place in S.C.R. Gallery in Valencia in August 2021. And it is a story about YOU, if you like. These spaces are alll around us, sometimes obvious, sometimes hidden. In the following selection i browse thorugh some spcaes and touch some amazing lifes of citizens on my way, who are engaged in working for such spaces and liberty. Pere Vidal is running a fantastic space in Valls near Tarragona. He…
Masterpieces of a pilgrim
The role of contemporary art in the intermingling of cultures in times of the Great Migration We are living in contemporary times, as ever. In these times of reconstruction we experience a movement of people in Europe and abroad. Some people are on their way from the North to the South, from the West to the East. They give political reasons. Some people are on the way from Southeast to Northwest. They give political reasons. And politics means hunger, fear or danger to life. In 2011 – 10th anniversary – i started the project artsurprise.eu. My first series was about masterpieces of a pilgrim, a collage based on papers on the way of my life. These papers describe my path in life, have accompanied me to a certain extent, and when processed into a collage they become a contemporary document that goes beyond me and my little life as an…
