Following my post “Who is the composer?”, I got the opportunity to have a conversation with the man himself: Ozark. He told me the story of what happened when he tried to conduct a philharmonic orchestra for a film soundtrack he had written. I did not know he wrote a score for a film, but he did. It is the score for the film Crusade in Jeans and the music is performed by with the Metropole Orchestra from The Netherlands. All professional musicians used to work with artists in residence.
There is some real classical music stuff going on here
As a composer, he knew exactly what needed to be played when and how. He could as well conduct the orchestra himself, no? Or so he thought… But he learned the hard way that doing so was breaking hierarchies. He stepped out of his role as the composer when he tried to be the conductor of the orchestra.
An orchestra is like a ministry. Every unit has a role. The conductor does not communicate directly with the violist, no he/she speaks to the lead of the violin ensemble who speaks to the violist. Ozark brought also copies of the score with him, ignoring that copying the score was the job of somebody from the orchestra team. He could as well have said: “You know what? I found this great tribe of horn players, so they will play the horns this time.” Basically putting the original team in unemployment.
In a reaction of self-defense, the orchestra started playing – well-intentioned – games, sabotaging what Ozark tried to achieve. These games were well-intentioned because the intention was the care of the team.
In Dutch, there is a word “bezorgdheid” usually translated into “concern”, mostly an anxious type of concern. In my sense of Dutch language (my mother tongue), there is also an almost “mother-care” type of concern encapsulated in that word. A team-mother-care about what the orchestra is concerned about, the cohesion they wish to protect. This is not about care for the team, but care/bezorgheid of the team.
I often think back to the old Innotribe days, where we had a fantastic team. In my 2013 post Breaking and Making Teams, I described with quite some cynicism the recipe for breaking successful teams successfully. Remember: cynicism is a knot in the heart.
It is a paradox: to innovate, one must have the courage to challenge the status quo, the existing processes, and hierarchies. But on the other hand, a team and a hierarchy have a built-in DNA-like patrimony of craftmanship and care-manship. Breaking that patrimony is a recipe for failure.
One can cut-and-paste the breaking hierarchies metaphor straight into corporate mergers and acquisition scenarios, for example when a successful team is acquired into a new company. Instead of looking how the strengths of an acquired team and its internal language, proceedings, and patrimony can help to imagine new worlds – in other words, making the team even more successful in its new environment – in many cases the CEO is only interested in how that team can help him/her be more successful.
In such cases, we wonder why the team is not willing to share its secrets, wondering why the best folks leave, wondering why there is no team left at all after 1-2 years. We shouldn’t be surprised: we just broke the team hierarchies.
Sometimes, the orchestra metaphor is used in leadership contexts, representing the leader as the conductor, steering/leading the orchestra. I believe the asymmetric relationship of the “leader” with his/her “followers” is a flawed metaphor.
The more interesting and critical question is “Who wrote the score?”. In other words, “Who is the composer?”. I already alluded to this in my good/bad-change-post.
"Heroes" and others by Ozark Henry and National Orchestra of Belgium
Quote by Robert Fritz
“In an orchestra, it is not the conductor or individual musicians who are in control. It is the composer. The composer’s job is to make sure that the parts fit together. Too often, no one is actually composing the organisation, and it leaves one of two bad choices: command and control or organising systems. Much has been made in the last 20 years, glorifying organising systems, but, what happens over time is that these systems self-organise into structural conflicts, which lead to oscillating patterns.”
“That’s why a “composed” system can lead to advancement and forward movement toward building the company but the other alternatives do not live up to their promise.”
The composer creates an immersion. A good example in music is Ozark Henry, who now spends his days creating immersive soundscapes. He got into this 360° sound experience when setting the bar for his immersive album “Paramount”, recorded with the Philharmonic Orchestra of Belgium. The full documentary of the making of this album also shows Ozark Henry in his role as “Composer” working with the Orchestra.
Ozark is NOT the conductor. He hired the conductor. He hired the director. He hired the musicians. He is the composer.
What are the qualities of the composer? Also here, Ian Cheng comes to our help.
Ian Cheng - from the book "Emissary's Guide to Worlding"
As can be seen from the diagrams above, the stretch for most artists is to become “composers” rather than problem solvers or conductors. The composer is an artist/alchemist, trying to create harmony between four internal forces/roles:
The Director at work, focused on “What is the story/narrative?”
The Emissary at work, focused on “A future you can believe in”
The Cartoonist at work, focused on a uniting Cartoon/Mascot metaphor
The Hacker at work, focused on iterating hacks “It might not be science but it works”
All roles need to be present in the composer. In my opinion, this model does not only apply to artistic endeavors but works very well in a business context. Most businesses struggle to get to the right side of the graphic; in seeking surprise and going into unknown territory, and imagining alive worlds that they believe in. That’s where the future innovative opportunities are.
I suggest the composer is the ideal archetype for dealing with ambiguity.
As mentioned in my August 2019 update, I am helping a client with an immersive leadership offsite. I am starting to label this sort of work “Artistic interventions, interruptions, and provocations that lead to higher states of alertness and aliveness.”
Back to meaning and ambiguity. In the design of this off-site, we confront the participants with increasing levels of ambiguity in the BANI world. In their responses, we expect the participants to progress from learning into problem-solving into “Worlding”. See also my post on “The Tyranny of the Problem Solver”.
It is one of those books where one makes annotations on every page, a big eye-opener and page-turner. Highly recommended.
Worlding is about imagining a future world you can believe in.
Some inspirational quotes from Ian Cheng’s book:
A World is a future you can believe in: One that promises to survive its creator, and continue generating drama.
A World is a future you can believe in by promising to become an infinite game
A World evokes a place.
A World has borders.
A World has laws.
A World has values.
A World has a language.
A World can grow.
A World can collapse.
A World has mythic figures.
A World has visitors.
A World has members who live in it.
A World looks arbitrary to a person outside of it.
A World satisfies both the selfish and collective interests of its members.
A World grants magic powers, especially the power to filter what matters to it.
A World gives permission to live differently than the wild outside.
A World creates an agreement about what is relevant.
A World counts certain actions inside it as meaningful.
A World undergoes reformations and disruptions.
A World incentivizes its members to keep it alive.
A World is a container for stories of itself.
A World expresses itself in many forms, but is always something more.
For us humans, life is filled with the familiar contests of finite games: Deadlines. Deals. Rankings. Dating. Elections. Sports. College. War. Poker. Lotteries.
When our finite games are won and done, what is strange is that we don’t exit back into base Reality. We wake up in a field of infinite games that perpetually mediate our contact with base Reality.
We choose to live in these infinite games because they give us leverage, structure, and meaning over a base Reality that is indifferent to our physical or psychological health.
We have many names for these infinite games: Families, Institutions, Religions, Nations, Subcultures, Cultures, Social Realities
Let’s call them WORLDS
When a World can “survive its creator,” that means it has achieved sufficient stability to regulate and safeguard its potentiality without authorial intervention.
This is a World’s requirement for Autonomy.
When a World can “continue generating drama,” a World is sufficiently interesting for people to care about and want to explore.
This is a World’s requirement for Aliveness.
When a World is keeping its promise, it continues to be a future you can believe in
All the credits for the quotes above go of course to Ian Cheng. Great book.
There is a new edition of Petervan’s Delicacies. Number 124. An irregular, unpredictable, incoherent, unfocused set of mind-sparks that got me thinking.
As an appetizer, the last one on this edition is about Nakatomi Space, the tower that McClane explores in Die Hard via elevator shafts and air ducts, crashing through windows from the outside-in and shooting open the locks of rooftop doorways.
This is about “A ghostlike military fantasy world of boundless fluidity, in which the space of the city becomes as navigable as an ocean.” The physical walking-through-walls is a strong metaphor for radical innovation
Check-out issue #124 here. And if you like it, subscribe to future (unplanned, unguaranteed, unfocused) edition here.
Ambiguity is often related to “uncertainty”. Uncertainty is the “U” and Ambiguity is the “A” of the VUCA world (Velocity, Uncertainty, Complexity, Ambiguity). VUCA is a term that dates from 1987, and almost 30 years old.
Jamais Cascio
Already end 2018, Jamais Cascio (Institute For The Future) coined a new acronym that in my opinion better captures today’s “ambiguity”: “BANI”. The term kept on simmering in my brain. My summary:
BANI stands for:
B = BRITTLE = strong systems breaking down, hard but likable to break easily
A = ANXIOUS = feeling there are no good options
N = NON-LINEARITY = strong differential cause-effect
I = INCOMPREHENSIBLE = too complex for the human to understand, at least at the present or without augmentation
“Being geared for ambiguity” is about being able to develop “hints and responses”, “pathways” for dealing with the new environment. Pathways, not necessarily firm answers/solutions to specific problems.
Moving beyond problem-solving and developing these “responses” is what it is all about in reaching more mature levels of leadership. See also my post on “The Tyranny of the Problem Solver”
What are those responses?
BRITTLENESS is dealt with by RESILIENCE
ANXIETY is dealt with by EMPATHY/AGENCY
NON-LINEARITY is dealt with by FLEXIBILITY
INCOMPREHENSIBILITY is dealt with by INTUITION
We need to create another narrative to make ourselves comfortable with the new reality of BANI worlds. The Kayaker in white water is a good metaphor for how one feels in ambiguous environments.
The BANI environment (the white water) is what it is. It “is” like the weather. One can complain and lament about it (ruminate), but that won’t change anything. It is difficult or impossible to change.
Brittleness and Non-linearity are characteristics of the humans and the organizations, of the general conditions and situations of the individuals and the environment. Anxiety and Incomprehensibility are “feelings”, human traits of understanding and are NOT qualities of the general conditions and situations.
The stability of the kayaker (her response to instability) comes from her body sensory experiences.
The more experience (practice), the better the body reacts automatically and sensory to instability.
Great kayaking is based on a lot of immersive experiences.
In an abstract environment, the “body” is a metaphor for authenticity, integrity and personal agency.
Agency is our ability to act with effect in the world.
The artistic interventions, interruptions, and provocations that I try to create lead to higher states of alertness and aliveness of our personal agency in ambiguous worlds.
Your lessons were always fun for me. You speak in poetic and philosophical words and sentences. I have written them all down and someday I will publish an anthology of them. Chris and Inge advised me to use them as inspirations for my paintwork.
Here are a few examples of sentences and statements that flow from your mouth:
Je lessen waren voor mij altijd genieten. Je spreekt in poëtische en filosofische woorden en zinnen. Ik heb ze allemaal opgeschreven en ooit publiceer ik een bloemlezing van ze. Chris en Inge hebben me aangeraden om ze te gebruiken als inspiraties voor mijn schilderwerk.
Hier zijn een paar voorbeelden van zinnen en statements die zo uit je mond vloeien:
Last year I had the pleasure of attending the Art and Culture classes at the Academy of Visual Arts in Ghent. The teacher is Fiorella Stinders, who conveys her enthusiasm for art to us in a very poetic way.
At the end of the academic year, we were given an assignment: applying what we had learned about looking at art. We were allowed to choose two works from an imposed list by Fiorella, and a third work that we had chosen ourselves, but that we had seen in real life (not in a catalog or photo).
I am happy to share my contribution in this post. First in Dutch, and then as a separate post in English (a translation by Google Translate, with only minor edits).
A separate blog post follows with a number of the poetic statements of Fiorella that have stayed with me. My coaches at the academy (Chris, Inge, Koen, Annick, many thanks btw!) have suggested that I use these quotes as inspiration for the next academic year.
Two selected works from the Fiorella list
Four Fairies – Michael Borremans
A painting – oil on canvas – in a fairly large format (110x150cm). Striking is the large diagonal table oil stain in which the figures seem to be sinking. The void left at the bottom was intentionally left open by the artist. The brown-grey background works as a support surface.
We look from the top down. The colors of the figures are rather neutral, in the sense of not being dominant. There is a surreal peace from the work. The painter uses Claire-obscure effects, especially the shadows against the wall in the background. The mirroring of the hands on the black surface is subtly suggested. It is also the reflection that evokes the black oil effect. The vertical drop of paint has been deliberately retained and accentuates the verticality of a table or of a bath in a stone or concrete base.
There is a depth in the work; the composition is more central horizontally, but vertical light above the center. A diagonal from bottom left to top right.
The work has a certain lightness in color but a certain darkness in the subject. The brush strokes are fast, rhythmic. Shadows and light spots are suggested in a “simple” way: look at the light spot on the black pull of the woman at the very back.
The work is clearly figurative, but not photo-realistic. Depth and light are indicated. When I zoom in on the photo in deep close-up, the self-confident brush strokes of the artist become clear: the light reflections in the hairstyles, the patterns on the green dress, the light-darkness of the left. An inspiration for my own evolution towards the next year painting at the academy.
In some figures I sometimes recognize the silhouette of the artist’s skull, wondering if he has tried to suggest a self-portrait of four schizophrenic transgender identities. The figures are busy with something – something with their hands – but it is not exactly clear what they are doing.
From the work alone I cannot determine whether the artist wants to communicate a message. For me, it evokes themes of devotion, dignity, humility, and also ignoring a dark reality peeking around the corner. It seems like a report or a snapshot of a surreal dream.
The role of the spectator is passively looking; there is no participation as in a performance for example. The viewer views the work from the front. There is no 3D aspect as with a spatial work.
Video animation of +/- 6:30 minutes. Used material: charcoal and pencil (I think) on paper. Further information searched on the artist’s website. http://sadik.nl/ali-boat
The video is part of a larger set of videos, sketches, drawings, etc. Inspiring in itself on how the theme of the boat/letter is worked out and internalized in almost infinite variations and can give rise to a total exhibition: nothing has to be thrown away!
The perception of the video is, of course, different from that of a 2D image, as this also includes the aspect of time and storytelling. Rhythm becomes important. Music is supportive and determines the atmosphere.
The atmosphere of the video is rather dark, sad, and melancholic. The “light” of the video is grey. A lot of things move and flow at the same time: the face, the background, the boat that transforms into a bird and back. The tears and the rain. With the eye as a permanent anchor in the composition.
The meaning of this video animation has to do with fleeing and immigrating. The paradox of escaping the misery, while at the same time detaching the identity of your youth and the oddity of the new destiny. The universal desire for happiness, peace and security. The desire and awareness of travel – such as being on the road – for a better future. The image as an expression of this desire where words fall short.
The artist invites us to judge rather than condemn the alien “problem” from a more empathic point of view.
The artist makes a clear link to his own identity and immigration past.
The spectator is invited to participate and reflect emotionally.
Title: Dunlop Geomax 100/90)19 57M 720° 2X – Made in 2013
Based on the catalog, this work is apparently made from polished and patinated stainless steel, made from 3D prints. And then painted and chromed. When viewing the work in real life I did not know this, and I really thought that the artist had somehow twisted together existing wheels with rubber tires. The intended illusion was already successful.
I have viewed the work as part of the larger Delvoye exhibition, giving the work more context. I was enchanted and fascinated by the twisted crucifixes and truck cathedrals. On another side of the room, there were large truck tires carved out like lattice. The lighting of the whole was precise: the dark backgrounds and bases, and the laser-sharp lighting of the subjects themselves.
As in a claire-obscure painting, the artist plays with contrasting dark (matte) and light (shiny) chrome surfaces and shows he is a master in the intertwining of torsion and movement. This work – and the retrospective exhibition as a whole – provided a broader view of the work and the identity of the artist. Suddenly the provocateur of the tattooed pigs and the cloaca turns into an accomplished craftsman, artist, messenger, and questioner.
I suspect the artist is trying to make us doubt between real and unreal. It is probably not the intention of the artist, but he allows me to make the link with our online world where it is becoming increasingly difficult to distinguish real from unreal (example: fake news), or to sustain the illusion of control of personal freedom and choice in a world that is increasingly driven by artificial intelligence and algorithms. The human “androrhythms” – evoked by the artist – are a relief because they move away from the binary “if-then” computer logic.
This speculative and virtual connection with the world can be perfectly linked to a physical relationship and connection: a relationship bent and twisted time and space.
The spectator is invited to step around the work and to investigate and explore the interweaving of spokes and tires from both close and remote.
Ik had het afgelopen jaar het genoegen de lessen Kunst en Cultuur te mogen volgen aan de Academie voor Beeldende Kunsten in Gent. Lesgeefster is Fiorella Stinders, die op een bijzonder poëtische manier ons haar enthousiasme voor kunst overbrengt.
Op het einde van het academiejaar kregen we een opdracht: toepassen wat we geleerd hadden over kijken naar kunst. We mochten twee werken kiezen uit een opgelegde lijst van Fiorella, en een derde werk dat we zelf hadden gekozen, maar dat we wel in het echt (niet in een catalogus of foto) hadden gezien.
Ik deel met veel plezier mijn bijdrage in deze post. Eerst in het Nederlands, en dan als een aparte post in het Engels (een vertaling door Google Translate, slechts minimaal bijgewerkt).
Er volgt nog een aparte blog post met een aantal van de poëtische uitspraken van Fiorella die me zijn bijgebleven. Mijn coaches op de academie (Chris, Inge, Koen, Annick, veel dank hierbij) hebben me gesuggereerd om deze als inspiratie te gebruiken voor volgend academiejaar.
Twee gekozen werken van de lijst van Fiorella
Four Fairies – Michael Borremans
Een schilderij – olie op doek – in redelijk groot formaat (110x150cm). Opvallend is de grote diagonale tafel-olie-vlek in dewelke de figuren lijken te verzinken. De gelaten leegte onderaan is bewust open gelaten door de kunstenaar. De bruingrijze achtergrond werkt als een steunvlak.
We kijken van boven naar beneden. De kleuren van de figuren zijn eerder neutraal, in de zin van niet overheersend. Er straalt een surreële rust uit van het werk. De schilder gebruikt Claire-obscure effecten, vooral de schaduwen tegen de muur op de achtergrond. De spiegeling van de handen op het zwarte oppervlak is subtiel gesuggereerd. Het is ook de spiegeling die het zwarte olie-effect oproept. De verticale verf-druppel is bewust behouden en accentueert het verticale van een tafel of van een bad in een stenen of betonnen sokkel.
Er zit een diepte in het werk, de compositie is horizontaal eerder centraal, maar verticaal licht boven het centrum. Een diagonaal van links onder naar recht boven.
Het werk heeft een zekere licht-heid qua kleur maar een zekere donkerte in het onderwerp. De toetsen zijn vlug, ritmisch. Schaduwen en lichtvlekken worden op een “eenvoudige” manier gesuggereerd, kijk vooral naar de lichtvlek op de zwarte pull van de vrouw helemaal achteraan.
Het werk is duidelijk figuratief, maar niet fotorealistisch. Diepte en licht worden aangegeven. Als ik inzoom op de foto in diepe close-up, worden de zelfzekere toetsen van de kunstenaar duidelijk: de lichtspiegelingen in de kapsels, de patronen op de groene jurk, het licht-donker van de gelaten. Een inspiratie voor mijn eigen evolutie naar het volgende schilder jaar toe.
In sommige figuren herken ik soms het silhouet van de schedel van de kunstenaar, me afvragend of hij een zelfportret van vier schizofrene transgender identiteiten heeft proberen te suggereren. De figuren zijn bezig met iets – iets met hun handen – maar het is niet precies duidelijk wat ze aan het doen zijn.
Vanuit het werk alleen kan ik niet bepalen of de kunstenaar en boodschap wil meedelen. Bij mij roept het thema’s op van devotie, deftigheid, gedeisdheid, een negeren ook van een donkere werkelijkheid die om de hoek gluurt. Het lijkt een verslag of een momentopname van een surreële droom.
De rol van de toeschouwer is passief kijkend, er is geen participatie als in een performance bijvoorbeeld. De toeschouwer bekijkt het werk frontaal. Er is geen 3D aspect zoals bij een ruimtelijk werk.
Video animatie van +/- 6:30 minuten. Gebruikt materiaal: houtskool en potlood (denk ik) op papier. Verdere informatie opgezocht op de website van de kunstenaar. http://sadik.nl/ali-boat
De video is deel van een groter geheel van video’s, schetsen, tekeningen, enz. Op zich inspirerend hoe het thema van de boot/brief op een bijna oneindig variaties wordt uitgewerkt en geïnternaliseerd, en aanleiding kan geven tot een totaal tentoonstelling: niets moet worden weggegooid!
Uiteraard is de waarneming van video anders dan die van een 2D beeld. Omdat hier ook het aspect van tijd en storytelling komt bij kijken. Ritme wordt belangrijk. Muziek is ondersteunend en bepalend voor de sfeerzetting.
De sfeer van de video is eerder donker, droevig, en melancholisch. Het “licht” van de video grijs. Er beweegt en vervloeit veel terzelfdertijd: het gezicht, de achtergrond, de boot die transformeert in vogel en terug. De tranen en de regen. Met het oog als vast anker in de compositie.
De betekenis van deze video animatie heeft te maken met het vluchten en immigreren. De paradox van het ontvluchten van de miserie, en tegelijkertijd onthechten van de identiteit van je jeugd en het bevreemdende van de nieuwe bestemming. Het universeel verlangen naar geluk, vrede en geborgenheid. Het verlangen en bewustzijn naar reis – zoals in op-weg-zijn – naar een betere toekomst. Het beeld als uitdrukking van dit verlangen waar woorden te kort schieten.
De kunstenaar nodigt ons uit om het vreemdelingen “probleem” vanuit een meer empathisch standpunt te beoordelen eerder dan te veroordelen.
De kunstenaar legt hiermee een duidelijke link naar zijn eigen identiteit en immigratie verleden.
De toeschouwer wordt uitgenodigd om emotioneel te participeren en te reflecteren.
Naam van het werk: Dunlop Geomax 100/90)19 57M 720° 2X – Gemaakt in 2013
Op basis van de catalogus, is dit werk blijkbaar gemaakt van gepolijst en gepatineerd roestvrij staal, gemaakt van 3D prints. En daarna beschilderd en verchroomd. Bij het bekijken van het werk in het echt wist ik dit niet, en dacht ik echt dat de kunstenaar bestaande wielen met rubber banden op een of andere manier verwrongen in elkaar gevlochten had. De bedoelde illusie was alvast geslaagd.
Ik heb het werk bekeken als deel van de grotere Delvoye tentoonstelling, waardoor het werk meer context kreeg. Ik was betoverd en gefascineerd door de verdraaide kruisbeelden en vrachtwagen-kathedralen. Aan een andere zijde van de ruimte stonden als kant uitgekerfde grote banden. De belichting van het geheel was precies: de donker gelaten achtergronden en sokkels, en de laser scherpe belichting van de onderwerpen zelf.
Zoals in een claire-obscure schilderij, speelt de kunstenaar met contrasterende donkere (matte) en lichte (blinkende) verchroomde vlakken en toont zich een meester in de vervlechting van torsie en beweging. Dit werk – en de overzichtstentoonstelling als een geheel – geven een ruimere kijk op het werk en de identiteit van de kunstenaar. Plots ontpopt de provocateur van de getatoeëerde varkens en de cloaca zich tot een volleerd ambachtsman, kunstenaar, boodschapper en vragensteller.
Ik vermoed dat de kunstenaar ons probeert te doen twijfelen tussen echt en onecht. Het is allicht niet de bedoeling van de kunstenaar, maar hij laat mij daardoor de link maken met onze online wereld waar het ook steeds moeilijker wordt om echt van onecht te onderscheiden (voorbeeld: fake news), of om de illusie van persoonlijke keuzevrijheid en controle hoog te houden in een wereld die meer en meer aangestuurd wordt door artificiële intelligentie en algoritmes. De menselijke – door de kunstenaar geëvoceerde – “androritmes” zijn in zijn werk een verademing doordat ze afstappen van de binaire als-dan computer logica.
Deze speculatieve en virtuele verbondenheid met de wereld kan perfect gekoppeld worden aan een fysische relatie en connectie: die van de ge- en verbogen tijd en ruimte.
De toeschouwer wordt uitgenodigd om rond het werk te stappen en de vervlechting van spaken en banden van zowel dichtbij als vanop afstand te onderzoeken en te verkennen.
For those interested, here is an overview of what happened in the last couple of months, some new insights, and some updated plans. I often hesitate to publish these snapshot-updates, because 1) they are snapshots only and don’t connect you with the day-by-day journey, 2) plans change over time, and 3) I always wonder who would be interested in this at all. Maybe it’s a way to give some counterweight to some form of imposter behavior.
The Artschool Project
Compared to the previous period, my production of paintings was relatively low. I continued my birds-project, and painted/sketched probably hundreds of birds, in small and big format. I internalized the shape of the bird in a way that it almost becomes a calligraphic artifact
With this great still of what else I could do with birds:
Other paintings and sketches include “Fox-on-the-Run”, “Doorway”, “Interior”, and “No Title”, all Acryl on Canvas – Format 50x50cm
The academy year ended in June, and for the 4th year students, this meant showcasing your work to an external jury. I got some juicy comments but passed.
The last year, I also followed the course “Art and Culture” by Fiorella Stinders, whose enthusiasm is contagious. I will make a separate post on this, but suffice to say here that we had to apply what we learned about seeing and understanding art to 3 pieces of art: two selected by the teacher (I picked Ali’s Boat below), and one self-selected artwork that you had seen in real life.
Artschool will start again on Sep 2019, and I will start my 5th year painting. This year, I will combine it with Digital Visual Arts. They call it a “cross-over”.
Time Capsules Project
The Time Capsules Project (see my previous update) is a bit on hold. We (my cousin and I) had some good interview with possible candidates. We got a very interesting intro to an art collector living in a castle in the Austrian Alps.
We have a draft proposal ready, but we first want to have at least a prototype of our Beyoncé project, before further engaging with this Austrian patron.
Delicacies
I decided to change the format of Delicacies somewhat. Instead of the weekly deluge, I see an irregular, unpredictable, incoherent, unfocused set of mind-sparks that got me thinking. I gather them as I go, and once every month (maybe every two, three months), I condense the harvest in maximum 5-10 Delicacies. Also a bit back to the joy of discovery and awe, away from the pressure to pump out a too bulky newsletter every week. Hope you find the same joy in reading as I did in discovering.
Blog rhythm was slow. That’s an understatement. However, I queued up a huge list of reflections. I will try to post them in short blogs, 1-2 per month.
Mixes
More playing. This time playing around with DJ Pro for Mac. I finally discovered how to mix audio and video. With hindsight, I could as well have done this in iMovie or Adobe Premiere, without the luxury of tempo-synching.
Petervan Mix of Robyn and Lil' Louis
I am considering the idea of sharing on a regular basis some of my mixes. The working title for this project is “Petervan’s Rides”.
Visual Collisions
For a client project, I started collecting a number of “visual collisions”. Most of these are videos, a minority are pictures. These visual collisions are intended to de-frame an audience before introducing something new.
Currently, the list includes almost 200 video snippets. Here is an example snippet:
Books
I have been reading quite a lot. Some books on design such as “Design Unbound Volume 1 & 2”, and “Speculative Everything”.
I also liked a lot David Weinberger’s “Everyday Chaos”, James Bridle’s “New Dark Age”, Paul Mason’s “Clear Bright Future”, and the fantastic memoirs of Marina Abramovic “Walk Through Walls”.
The absolute #1 recommendation is Ian Cheng’s “Emissary’s Guide to Worlding”. The quote that drove me crazy was:
“A World is a future you can believe in: One that promises to survive its creator, and continue generating drama.”
You can find a link to all the books I am reading in my Goodreads.
Exhibitions
I visited some art exhibitions: The SMAK Anniversary in Ghent (still running till end Sep 2019, and Wim Delvoye in Museum of Fine Arts in Brussels (just closed end of July 2019)
Wim Delvoye - Embossed Maserati
Royal Museums of Fine Arts, Brussels
Korakrit Arunanondchai Letters to Chantri #1 - SMAK Ghent
2014 video and digital projection (colour, sound), mixed media
My own exhibition
Since I started academy some years ago, I produced something like 500 drawings, paintings, sketches, soundscapes, and video experiments. Many of you have asked whether I even thought of setting up an exhibition of my own work. Well, guess what? That’s exactly what is going to happen begin June 2020 (exact dates to be announced). The challenge will be to make a selection of what to showcase. I have secured a wonderful location somewhere deep into the Flemish Ardennes.
Outdoors
Great summer so far, with a couple of solid heat waves. Getting a nice tan, as maintaining the garden and biking keep me busy. I have about 150 meters of hedges (x2 both sides), so by the time you get to the end, you can start again ;-)? And biking tours are semi-regular small distances (20-40 km) at a very-very low speed.
Astrid ignoring Flying Arrow Warning in Tillegembos - Brugge
Tour De France - Belgian Surrealistic Chocolate Advertisement
The Tour de France 2019 was also close by. A romantic impression of the passage in East-Flanders.
Freelance
Begin 2019, I started doing some freelance gigs.
I do some work for Futurist Gerd Leonhard. Mainly some research, blogging and podcasting. See also my announcement here. In June, we did a gig together in Bucharest, where I acted as Gerd’s assistant for interacting with the audience.
If you look carefully, you see me somewhere in the back. Good to see some friends there as well (shout out to Ioana and Innes!).
Some event content curation: some clients ask me to help them with selecting speakers and content for their events
I am also involved in a special project for a client, who asked me help creating a truly immersive leadership offsite, think of an Innotribe@Sibos 2016, but then created as a private high-touch retreat/offsite. The client allows me to go deep, to take the time needed to let structure and concepts emerge, like a piece of fruit needs time to mature into something well-developed and juicy. I am starting to label this sort of work “Artistic interventions, interruptions, and provocations”.
All the above helped me getting sharper on what I really want.
Reflections
Retirement is coming closer. If all goes well, I will retire on 1 May 2020. What will I do with all that free time? I wrote about “The Perfect Day” in my post “Freed from Desire”
“Life out of the rat race, but still in the comfort zone, can give the chance to be in the moment, and bring real peace of mind.”
It feels I already made the great switch in 2018 when I left corporate life and started doing the things I really love doing in and with my life, following what inspires me: art and reflection. You can already witness the shift in the articles I queued up for Delicacies. With that background, a good summary of what I do could be:
I create artistic interventions, interruptions, and provocations that lead to higher states of alertness and aliveness. Formats can be analog and digital artwork, installations, performances, writings, poems, soundscapes, recordings, and time capsules.
Petervan Studios
This strange mix of formats – or “containers” as Ian Cheng calls them in “Emissary’s…” results in different practices or studios (plural). That’s why I am starting to brand my collective work as “Petervan Studios”. I switch from the easel to the audio mixing panel, to digital drawing panels, Adobe Premiere, iMovie, Ableton Live and Ableton Push. I now also installed an architect drawing table and chair (found them for FREE on a second hand website), additional lavalier microphones for better audio quality in videos, and some extra tripods for stable imagery.
Looking at the mess, it’s time I commission some studio renovation works: it will include some fresh paint, some better lightning, a huge whiteboard for brainstorming, a quality projection screen, and a shower.
Petervan Studios - The place starts looking very messy now
I also discovered an interesting piece of software called “Descript”, a tool for automated transcripts, and simultaneous editing of text, audio, and video: amazing.
So, what’s next?
The plan for Aug – Oct 2019 is to work on:
Finalize and deliver the immersive Leadership Off-site
Doing some more cool stuff with Gerd
Paint, Paint, Paint
Private community test V1 of “Time Capsules”
Studio renovation
Take some time off in November
So, that’s it for this edition. If there is something worth reporting, next update is for Oct-Nov 2019.
Petervan Studios 