donderdag 31 maart 2011
Your eyes
I can hear it..
if I listen to you
if I listen to you
your words sound so different than mine
are my gestures
so different than yoursare my gestures
your eyes
have already said everything..
woensdag 30 maart 2011
Art as a reflection on the past
The focus of mass culture "pop art" shifted to more philosophical and therapeutic forms.
Land Art was a form of art that respond to that reflection. Nature has always been a kind of safe place for people who have turned their backs against industrialization and mass culture. To the social discontent that prevailed in the seventies, was expressed by land art artists. Artists were against capitalism. American artists compared the Vietnam War with capitalism and capitalism in the art. They wanted to escape the world of urban bustle, technologies, profit and pollution to start a dialogue with nature.
Nature as exhibition space was a way to break away from becoming involved with commercial galleries or space in a museum. Not just on principle, but also because Land art artists felt that a painting or other artwork that was added to an existing space was seen as unnecessary, the room was in fact already finished.
It is clear that there was a romantic and mystical aspect of this art form , engaged in nature was a kind of meditation for the artists.
Like a composer who reads the notes he hears, the game character is important in the work of artists like Opperheim, Walter de Maria and Richard Long, which is only happening on the surface of the landscape. These artists are more interested in conventional characters used as the true dimensions of allowing time and space . These are also the artists who haven't done any physically large interventions in the landscape , which I am interested in.
It is striking how both British and American land art around 1970 show similar signs of a new romantic relationship with the landscape.
Simultaneously embody both traditions, however, a radically different approach.
Long used the landscape as an alternative for the city and visualizes it as a 'pure ' state of virgin nature.
In addition, he uses a camera, pencil and paper.
He takes an honest attitude towards the wilderness as he has just discovered and temporarily takes possession. The myth of the landscape remains maintained.
By Maarten Donders `` Traces in Time &; Space``
Land Art was a form of art that respond to that reflection. Nature has always been a kind of safe place for people who have turned their backs against industrialization and mass culture. To the social discontent that prevailed in the seventies, was expressed by land art artists. Artists were against capitalism. American artists compared the Vietnam War with capitalism and capitalism in the art. They wanted to escape the world of urban bustle, technologies, profit and pollution to start a dialogue with nature.
 |
| Walter de Maria ``The Lightning Field`` (1977) |
Nature as exhibition space was a way to break away from becoming involved with commercial galleries or space in a museum. Not just on principle, but also because Land art artists felt that a painting or other artwork that was added to an existing space was seen as unnecessary, the room was in fact already finished.
It is clear that there was a romantic and mystical aspect of this art form , engaged in nature was a kind of meditation for the artists.
Like a composer who reads the notes he hears, the game character is important in the work of artists like Opperheim, Walter de Maria and Richard Long, which is only happening on the surface of the landscape. These artists are more interested in conventional characters used as the true dimensions of allowing time and space . These are also the artists who haven't done any physically large interventions in the landscape , which I am interested in.
 |
| Richard Long Midday Muezzin Line 2006 |
Simultaneously embody both traditions, however, a radically different approach.
Long used the landscape as an alternative for the city and visualizes it as a 'pure ' state of virgin nature.
In addition, he uses a camera, pencil and paper.
He takes an honest attitude towards the wilderness as he has just discovered and temporarily takes possession. The myth of the landscape remains maintained.
By Maarten Donders `` Traces in Time &; Space``
dinsdag 29 maart 2011
Ancient lines and sacred paths
John the Baptist (so it’s written in the Bible) was the voice that cried "create a road through the desert for our Lord, even a path through the wilderness for our God." (Isaiah 40:3, Matthew 3:3).
Indians say about white people who build the roads, that they are curved, while Indian trails are very straight.
In Peru, paths are leading to holy places (often on mountain tops) and demons are waiting on those who dared to stray that way, it was thought.
The mystery regarding to the consistency or the use of straight lines in prehistoric times is only now evident by the many studies that are widely given to this fact.
Though of course the truth is that nature does not manifests itself in straight lines , but rather in circular and flowing movements.
What is actually in contradiction with straight lines and rectangular patterns.
One should not confuse human interference with natural features.
In England (and beyond) there are quite a few publications, illustrated with many maps, showing that prehistoric man would have considerable geometric knowledge, and a thorough understanding of the cosmic phenomena.
The structure of the evolving landscape would therefore be determined. This is a common basis for two research areas, namely that of the ley lines and astronomical orientation of megalithic monuments.
These are interesting phenomena, in which researchers look at the relationship between the locations (from prehistory to the Middle Ages) and their possible meanings, symbolic, cultural, historical, mythical.
The ley research, which basically deals with a possible system in the locations relative to each of prehistoric cult sites, megaliths and shrines, was first examined by Alfred Watkins (The Old Straight Track Ways, 1925) he discovered a grid pattern of straight lines, assumed there was a link to important places.
Despite the boom in publications which have followed on, there is no scientific evidence provided.
So far it remains an intriguing hypotheses. The word Ley, originally 17th century English from the word "Laia", meaning "path in a forest".
Watkins stated the straight caracter of ley lines, as the shortest route between places.
Many old roads and trails arose by following a line along the various points along a certain route.
The main markers could include megaliths, stone circles, burial mounds, ancient stone crosses, sacred trees, wells, old settlements on prehistoric relics built churches and chapels, ancient watchtowers, old fire beacons on mountain tops, cuts in the slope of hills, etc.
By Maarten Donders `` Traces in Time & Space``
zaterdag 26 maart 2011
Sacred lines across the landscape
Theories on the leylines of prehistory remain enigmatic. To increase the understanding about this phenomenon it is useful to look at straight lines from the early Middle Ages, in written documents which have been preserved. Leylines ,concrete or symbolic, are running across the landscape which have very different functions. Many lines seem to have had a spiritual, sacred character, such as an important part of a death cult . Others were profane, like Roman roads
Across England, there are hundreds of stones, "rows" and "circles". Ranging from a few loose stones to hundreds of meters long avenues.
There are also in Ireland and Brittany again much to be found.
The dating of these huge stone circles and the associated access roads running from 3400 BC, until, (from a few loose stones of worship places), the middle of the Bronze Age (about 1500 BC).
The English landscape has like many other places in Europe, mystical and mythical places and unexplained forms in the landscape that may be left over from an archaic era.
Our ancestors were aware of strong points in the landscape. They felt that these places had a powerful energy, a divine energy.
Here they attempted to liaise with the gods and the cosmos. Here their sanctuaries were located and practiced their religion. All shrines, places of worship in prehistoric megaliths and tumuli were located at the crossroads of energy lines, as previously mentioned.
This was done thousands of years. It was proved that churches, standing stones and cult places lie on straight lines, running over hills and through valleys regardless of the topography.
By Maarten Donders `` Traces in Time & Space``
There are also in Ireland and Brittany again much to be found.
Often there are priests in white robes that may or may not make bloody sacrifices to foreign gods.
The function of these remarkable monuments are frequently described as observatories or as a landing beacon for aliens. The dating of these huge stone circles and the associated access roads running from 3400 BC, until, (from a few loose stones of worship places), the middle of the Bronze Age (about 1500 BC).
The English landscape has like many other places in Europe, mystical and mythical places and unexplained forms in the landscape that may be left over from an archaic era.
Our ancestors were aware of strong points in the landscape. They felt that these places had a powerful energy, a divine energy.
Here they attempted to liaise with the gods and the cosmos. Here their sanctuaries were located and practiced their religion. All shrines, places of worship in prehistoric megaliths and tumuli were located at the crossroads of energy lines, as previously mentioned.
This was done thousands of years. It was proved that churches, standing stones and cult places lie on straight lines, running over hills and through valleys regardless of the topography.
On the nature and meaning of these lines opinions vary.
By Maarten Donders `` Traces in Time & Space``
dinsdag 22 maart 2011
Butterflies & dragons
Tanks, Butterflies & Dragons
In 1947 my father lived as a young officer in Indonesia, with the Hussars of Boreel during the police actions at that time.
From England he went by boat with a lot of guys to Java and Jakarta, Indonesia.
"The police action is actually a term used for military intervention to identify.
Apart from the police action (short-term Dutch offensives), the Indonesian War of Independence more like a guerrilla of the Indonesian nationalists against the Dutch troops.
Holland did not recognized the republic as an independent state, but regarded it as an insurrectionary movement in the Dutch East Indies colony
" During daily patrols in the jungle, with tanks and jeeps, which were dangerous enough, my father must have had a huge admiration for the overwhelming nature that surrounded him.
Constant tropical heat, day and night. Between the sounds of war during the day at night there was a very different sound, the sound of the jungle and everything that came to life.
Between all the dangers lurking, painful leeches, swarming insects and fluttering colorful splendor, he most have realize the incredible beauty hidden in the jungle .
This feeling, this magnificent beauty, which was until then virtually unknown to him, must have bin the reason to make a small collection , a document as it were of insects and butterflies.
More than a half century later, I cherish this collection, with particular and sometimes bizarre-looking insects and butterflies. Although the colors are faded, the beauty is gone , this collection is wonderful, is a life of its own, as I look through old books.
In 1947 my father lived as a young officer in Indonesia, with the Hussars of Boreel during the police actions at that time.
From England he went by boat with a lot of guys to Java and Jakarta, Indonesia.
"The police action is actually a term used for military intervention to identify.
Apart from the police action (short-term Dutch offensives), the Indonesian War of Independence more like a guerrilla of the Indonesian nationalists against the Dutch troops.
Holland did not recognized the republic as an independent state, but regarded it as an insurrectionary movement in the Dutch East Indies colony
" During daily patrols in the jungle, with tanks and jeeps, which were dangerous enough, my father must have had a huge admiration for the overwhelming nature that surrounded him.
Constant tropical heat, day and night. Between the sounds of war during the day at night there was a very different sound, the sound of the jungle and everything that came to life.
Between all the dangers lurking, painful leeches, swarming insects and fluttering colorful splendor, he most have realize the incredible beauty hidden in the jungle .
This feeling, this magnificent beauty, which was until then virtually unknown to him, must have bin the reason to make a small collection , a document as it were of insects and butterflies.
More than a half century later, I cherish this collection, with particular and sometimes bizarre-looking insects and butterflies. Although the colors are faded, the beauty is gone , this collection is wonderful, is a life of its own, as I look through old books.
This object was part of the exhibition `` Plastieken hertjes & Buzz Light Years `` (Plastic Bambi's and Buzz Light Years) in `` de Overslag `` Eindhoven , Netherlands
woensdag 2 maart 2011
Identity
 |
| Plywood; bronze; ceramics; rubber 80x 120 cm 2011 Who are we...
The connection with everything and everyone around us, gives us fulfillment, meaning and identity. Our identity is inextricably linked with the life we live,the paths we follow and to strings we are attached to.
 
Who we are is a process, a journey, an adventure.To be human is to be an explorer, not just of the external world but also of the inner world.
 Whatever else it means to be human, two experiences determine our lives: we suffer; we die. |
One for the road..
maandag 15 november 2010
Eyelashes
Short artvideo, which was achieved by simple means and simplest technique,(Camera Phone)
It's about the view you get when you look through your eyelashes, looking at a landscape with a narrow view.
woensdag 3 november 2010
Sacred and Profane landscapes
Peru
On the pampa, south of the famous Nascadesert in Peru (from where you are overlooking the Nascadrwawings), archaeologists have discovered the lost city Cahuachi from the makers of the Nasca lines.
Cahuachi was the ceremonial centre of the Nascaculture, about one thousand years ago and mysteriously disappeared five hundred years later.
What archaeologists have found there in recent decades in the cemeteries, gives some insight into the culture of the Nasca people and the possible meaning behind the mysterious desert drawings .
The population who had their habitat, was probably quite small, but because it was a pilgrimage place it grew into a very large ceremonial centre where many events took place.
These ceremonial events involved the Nasca drawings .
Because of the dry climate (probably one of the driest places on earth), very little rain and wind, discoveries in the cemeteries are well conserved .
At these cemeteries several artefacts and ceramic objects are found decorated with religious motifs.
The discovered pots and cups, in which mythological and symbolic forms are processed, have great similarities with the motifs and symbols in the desert drawings.
This piece of ancient weaving technique, which the nascapeople had developed , gives a little insight (as if you look at a map), how the lines are made in the desert.
By Maarten Donders `` Traces in Time & Space``
On the pampa, south of the famous Nascadesert in Peru (from where you are overlooking the Nascadrwawings), archaeologists have discovered the lost city Cahuachi from the makers of the Nasca lines.
Cahuachi was the ceremonial centre of the Nascaculture, about one thousand years ago and mysteriously disappeared five hundred years later.
What archaeologists have found there in recent decades in the cemeteries, gives some insight into the culture of the Nasca people and the possible meaning behind the mysterious desert drawings .
The population who had their habitat, was probably quite small, but because it was a pilgrimage place it grew into a very large ceremonial centre where many events took place.
These ceremonial events involved the Nasca drawings .
Because of the dry climate (probably one of the driest places on earth), very little rain and wind, discoveries in the cemeteries are well conserved .
The discovered pots and cups, in which mythological and symbolic forms are processed, have great similarities with the motifs and symbols in the desert drawings.
This piece of ancient weaving technique, which the nascapeople had developed , gives a little insight (as if you look at a map), how the lines are made in the desert.
The lines of Nazca are the best preserved and largest gathering of world geoglyphs. Dozens of figures of animals, hundreds of geometric shapes and thousands of lines and line patterns are preserved in the sands of the desert and plateau of Peru.
Standing on the surface, the lines seem to disappear, but looking from the air towards it, the size and beauty of the lines becomes clear to see. This shows that the Peruvians had geometric knowledge at that time. Some believe that the Nazca Indians could fly or had contact with aliens. Others say that the lines are intended as expressions of religion: the different figures could also be a symbolic path to the gods.
By Maarten Donders `` Traces in Time & Space``
zondag 31 oktober 2010
At the Edge of the Wood..!?
Short artvideo, which was achieved by simple means ( Camera Phone) . A few short lines running through the video like, mysterious appearances at the edge of the forest, the overwhelming nature, myth, the earth, the sun, desert and water, climate change and deforestation within a surreal ambience..
dinsdag 12 oktober 2010
Landscape and Myth
The myth of the pristine landscape is now centuries old and has evolved through the poetry of Virgil and the paintings of Caspar David Friedrich to the conceptual art of the present.
Nature has always been a kind of escape area for people who turned away from industrialization and mass culture, we see this phenomenon ever since the romance.
Nature takes as it were the prominent place of God, man is now subject to nature.
Nature is the place where you can be alone with the exalted nature. In the paintings of Caspar David Friedrich you can sense the loneliness of a searching soul.
The paintings have a mystical charisma, there is a mood that you experience when you walk in the mountains, that feeling of peace and freedom is reflected in his paintings.
Land and Landscape, could be traced back to the romance.
The "landscape" has lost its innocence and will only expose itself as an ideological construction if we leave out industry, urbanization and traffic jams.
Through this elimination, the nostalgic landscape presents itself as the antithesis of the harsh urban reality.
Myths and rituals are something mysterious to us, because they are related to archaic and ancient cultures.
If you look concretely to the understanding of myth, it’s in fact a story about very basic things that are closely connected to life.
In a way, one can say that myths are not necessarily connected to history, because it can essentially occur at any moment at any time.
For science a myth is the opposite of rational science.
One myth says nothing about insight, says nothing about knowledge, it says something about lifestyle, which belongs to humanity from the beginning.
It arises from the base of humanity.
``Spiral Jetty`` Robert Smithson 1970
Modern artists want to go back to the source.
Land art has redesigned the feeling of the myth .
The trip from the gallery to the natural world is like entering a time, which is a fusion with nature and therefore it can reveal life, transience, memory and death.
By Maarten Donders `` Traces in Time & Space``
Nature has always been a kind of escape area for people who turned away from industrialization and mass culture, we see this phenomenon ever since the romance.
Nature takes as it were the prominent place of God, man is now subject to nature.
Nature is the place where you can be alone with the exalted nature. In the paintings of Caspar David Friedrich you can sense the loneliness of a searching soul.
Land and Landscape, could be traced back to the romance.
The "landscape" has lost its innocence and will only expose itself as an ideological construction if we leave out industry, urbanization and traffic jams.
Through this elimination, the nostalgic landscape presents itself as the antithesis of the harsh urban reality.
Myths and rituals are something mysterious to us, because they are related to archaic and ancient cultures.
If you look concretely to the understanding of myth, it’s in fact a story about very basic things that are closely connected to life.
In a way, one can say that myths are not necessarily connected to history, because it can essentially occur at any moment at any time.
For science a myth is the opposite of rational science.
One myth says nothing about insight, says nothing about knowledge, it says something about lifestyle, which belongs to humanity from the beginning.
It arises from the base of humanity.
Modern artists want to go back to the source.
Where transcendence and religion cease to exist, art has the ability to take over this role.
Modern artists look to classical forms to simultaneously retain its atmosphere and recover them, but also to use these elements into their own work.
It is not the content what is rehearsed, it is the gesture of the myth that is recreated.
The landscape has always been surrounded by a mystical undertone and connected with myths.
The trip from the gallery to the natural world is like entering a time, which is a fusion with nature and therefore it can reveal life, transience, memory and death.
You can also look at:
maandag 11 oktober 2010
zondag 10 oktober 2010
donderdag 23 september 2010
Circles & Labyrinths
A circle is probably the most important and widely used geometric symbol, which also owes its shape to the way sun and moon appear. According to the speculations of the Platonic and Neo Platonic philosophers, a circle is a perfect shape .
Looking at a circle, there is no beginning or end, nor a direction or orientation to read, and is therefore often proposed as heaven and all spiritual.
Looking at a circle, there is no beginning or end, nor a direction or orientation to read, and is therefore often proposed as heaven and all spiritual.
Concentric circles do also appear when something is thrown into the water. These shapes are often found in prehistoric tombs engraved, can probably be interpreted as sinking in the waters of death.
Labyrinths, what was the meaning for the people who really used it, drawing in the sand or carved in stone? In the beginning, labyrinths are associated with death. The inward movement often indicates the death outwards to regeneration. "Becomming reborn" and death are often compared to the microcosm of the earth and a macrocosm of the human anatomy. At death one returns to Earth, the mother, from were we eventually will be born again.
The presence of a labyrinth in cemeteries often has a ritual meaning, entering the earth.
The labyrinth is both the earth and the human body as a source of life.
The presence of a labyrinth in cemeteries often has a ritual meaning, entering the earth.
The labyrinth is both the earth and the human body as a source of life.
By Maarten Donders `` Traces in Time & Space``
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