1980-’90

Traditions & Crossovers

Studio Teaching – Engagement – Publications

In the early 1980s, I wanted to return to Europe, to my ‘own’ painting tradition of ‘sideway light captured in oil paint’.
But while painting the series ‘Erotic Landscapes’, the question arose: how do I combine the old with modern painting?

_____________________

Studio

Pelsterstraat, Groningen

The anatomy lesson -/- Erotic landscapes

Faces of Asia

How to connect east with west

Without losing identity?

Selfies

Self portrait as Lord Shiva -/- Self portrait as Soup Turtle

______________________

Rockin’ Kimono’s

______________________

Old’ painting is the illusion of a three-dimensional ‘reality’ on a flat surface.
Modern’ art is the autonomy of form and colour.

In the series ‘Rockin’ Kimono’s’, I connected the ‘classical illusion’ with autonomous applications.
The two-dimensional with the three-dimensional

Drawing/Graphics/Comics

.

Armadillo

________________

Armadillo was set up as a sheet for a score by the composer Sytze Smit and was later transformed into a graphic novel with the Gilgamesh epic as a narrative counterpoint.

Etchings

______________

I make a screen print for the Liberation Manifestation Groningen (exhibitions a.o. Groninger museum and several provincial capitals) and design the logo for the foundations ‘Monument & Material’ and ‘WWK’.

The Frankenstein-construction

I illustrate the pamphlet ‘The Frankenstein Construction’ (author D.Kraaijpoel, publisher Academy Minerva) that opposes a merger of the academy with other H.B.O. institutions to form the Rijkshogeschool Groningen.

.

Plein air

Rodellar

I travel through Europe, Turkey and Egypt,

But the most inspiring place was Rodellar in the Pyrenees.

Architecture

.

the description of the Free State of Rottum

__________________________________________________________

Islands and structure of Rottum

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, I worked on the architecture of the future: the description of the Free State of Rottum, designing five different schools of architecture within an industrial building style.

The Post-antique School: The Central Bath

To make it accessible, I write a connecting story.

The Hard School: the Great Market

In it, I have the Moroccan explorer Ibn Battuta, after the apocalyptic ‘Great Trouble’, embark on an adventurous exploration tour to the unknown shores of the North Sea.

The Free School: The Dom and Hermeten Park

When he landed in Rottum, he met a failed architect, Adolf Loose, who made acidic comments on the local architecture.

The Golden School: The Town Hall

Meanwhile, Ibn Battuta encounters nothing but trouble in a foreign culture, where hospitality does not count, where everything revolves around interests and where football supporters are not afraid of violence.

Antarchis: the Assistance

But thanks to his enterprising Harem and with the support of an obscure Islamic society, the Karakoyun, he manages to pull through.

.

Teaching

.

In 1984, he coordinated the opening event of the new Minerva Academy with a large number of lectures, theatre performances, symposia, exhibitions and a royal opening.

New building Minerva Academy

Initiates in- and extracurricular (post-academic) courses Art in Commission, Minerva Academy, partly in cooperation with the Academy of Architecture.
Becomes coordinator of all part-time courses in 1986.

.

Engagement

.

He is an advisor to the BBK (chairman Frits Linnemann) and a member of the Council of the Netherlands Fund for Visual Arts, Design and Architecture.
He is also a member of the art advisory committee artcommissions for the University of Groningen, and chairman of the art advisory committees for the new Minerva Academy and the new Conservatoire.

He is a member of the board and since 1986 chairman (and unpaid director) of the WWK Foundation, and manages about 80 studios in 7 buildings.

.

Publications

.

Writes for the BBK the memoranda ” the artist in Appelscha” (concerning regional money flows) and “income position visual artists” (this is followed by the ministry of Culture – evaluation in 1988 concerning “The money flux visual arts); “The quality of the policy” following the ministry of Culture-evaluation 1988; (edited by BBK, analysis of the effects of the WVC money fluxes) and the discussion memorandum “Structure & adventure”, about the organization of (mainly) decentralized visual arts policy (this led to study days in Haarlem, Deventer and Maastricht).

.

PDF

.

Click here to open PDF: Prologue Rottum Book I

Click here to open PDF: Astrological Birthday calendar

Click here to open PDF: a chapter of Armadillo

.

Video

.

Click here to open video: Cappadocia in 1980