Blog Archive

29/11/2015

Working class hands

In almost every art show I went lately I saw imagery of working hands: At the 2015 Venice Biƫnnale, this years Rijksakademie open weekend and at the current show at SMBA of Antony Pittas.

My concern is not only that my own fascination for hands at work is not so original anymore, but the fact that all the hands I see seem to be working class hands, estheticized for an artist's concept.

I am worried that there is a distance growing between the hands on the screens, the ones that made the video and the people that are buying them, which I presume are not covered in callus.

video fragment Antonnis Pittas





16/11/2015

notes

Telephone notes, documentation Role Model project 2015.

I read about some artist a couple of years ago that did a residency in the office world. Let me look up his name….Shit, can't find it. Anyway, what I remember is that he collected post-its around the offices and researched in what way drawing is important in a world without art: the office discourse.
Saskia Janssen also collected other peoples drawing outside her own discourse, in her project with homeless people in Amsterdam in 2006-2008. In shelter Blaka Watra, she discovered that people there were drawing all the time. On notes, on the table surface, on the walls. She also invited the people at the shelter to collect all the so called careless drawings. She published them in an interesting publication: Blaka Watra Spiders, Saskia Janssen, Roma Publications 2009.

Blaka watra centre, picture by Janssen in her book.

My first three meetings with the nurses have past, and I can say there a few points that had my attention. Hands and language through hand gestures; the soft but firm touch of the woman hand with her clients. I have asked one nurse to collect all her telephone notes and doodles. But I also have a set up in mind where I document her on video when she is on the phone for an hour or so.




02/11/2015

Nurses and art

Nurses have always impressed me. My parents both started out as nurses, that's how they met. Before I went to art school I highly doubted if an artist is really necessary in this world, compared to a job in care. My generation, from where I come from, is brought up with the idea that one should follow a passion to build one's career - I was one of many thousands arts students graduating in 2009.



In my current practice there is still the question of necessity present. Part of this discussion inspired me to start a project in 2010 for a company in home care, Buurtzorg. I made 5 large interior portraits of their clients. (watch them here) It gave me the opportunity to enter a world that I knew about from my parents and their stories. It learned me that being an artist can be great, also outside of the conventional art world. 

I had set up a construction so that all three parties benefitted from the pieces: The company had large drawings that gave insight to their work field; The clients received a smaller drawing of a favorite object in their house and could hang it in their home; And I had an entrance into hyper private spaces, gaining knowledge on the relationship between artist and model, finding my own role outside the art world as I knew it, and for the first time becoming completely emotionally involved in my work. 

This month I start a new series, commissioned by the almost 10 year old foundation Buurtzorg: Role model. Together with their clients and direct colleagues, I will make portraits of a selection of nurses in the Netherlands. We will make a collection of drawings, photographs, video's and small sculptures around the individual nurse.

During my days with the nurses I will explore my own position as an artist within this private home context. 



Miss Kessel, Damrak Amsterdam 2010. ( She was 103 back then!)