A FLIGHT WITH HARALD VLUGT

Harald Vlugt makes a huge collage for an ocean liner...

Probably finished by now, this film is of 2011... But I had it in store and wanted to post it.

Harald Vlugt - "Nieuw-Amsterdam" - a clip by Ger Poppelaars 

ALDO VAN DEN NIEUWELAAR

Kunst + Interieur, a modern antique shop in the centre of The Hague houses some designs by Aldo van den Nieuwelaar. Probably they were his on the moment of his death. Most objects were lamps from the mid seventies.

Last time I visited, I was stopped by this large B/W picture. But that's ...

And I took this iPhone picture. This is how we got to know him in The KABK [Koninklijke Academie van Beeldende Kunsten, in The Hague]

I always state he was one of my 'greatest' teachers. His approach to teaching was new then and is still interesting today. 

Aldo died 23 september 2010 [wiki] still rather young, being born in 1944.

His circular tube lamp, which I bought some time in the late seventies is a iconic classic now.

ANISH KAPOOR / PARSIFAL / AMSTERDAM

The Dutch Opera [DNO / De Nederlandse Opera] has brought out a new production of Wagners Parsifal. It went on show in June 2012. Interesting because of the scenography, which is by Anish Kapoor. 

A huge mirror used back and above the singers Had a huge effect on the scenes, as seen above.
Some other examples can be found in the links below.

Kensington Gardens / Smile for London / Turning the world Upside Down

Leviathan / Grand Palais / Paris

And watch this delightful film about a building in New York, yet to be built.

Herzog & de Meuron / Tribeca Plans

In Holland we can always collect our share of visual pleasures in De Pont in Tilburg.

Next a link [maybe only for dutch viewers] showing an interviewing with Kapoor and Audi.

DELVING INTO THE UNKNOWN

There was a time that the Bibliotheca Philosohica Hermetica seemed to go astray. Joost Ritman spend so much money on his life's passion that he went bankrupt. Nobody seemed willing to save his library, but recently the Bibliotheca reopened. 

 Joost Ritman comes from a family of Rosicrucians. He began collecting rare old books when he was sixteen, but his enthusiasm was really fuelled when his mother gave him a copy of Aurora, a work by the German Protestant mystic Jacob Böhme (1575-1624). The work also fed his interest in Hermetic  philosophy. In fifty years’ time he collected not only the essential works of Hermetism, but also related currents such as gnosis, theosophy, non-Western philosophy and  kabbalah. The core of the collection, however, consists of the Corpus Hermeticum. Like Cosimo de’ Medici, Ritman commissioned a translation of the Corpus Hermeticum, in Dutch, in 1990.

Joost Ritman is now only surrounded by family members in the library: his daughters Esther (director and librarian) and Mirjam (art historian and curator of the Ritman Art Collection) and his granddaughter Rixande. Ritman had to let go the academic staff formerly connected to the library. ‘The library is like a ship in a storm’, he says. ‘We had to steer it to a safe haven. The crew originally consisted of seven people, we are now carrying on with four. We are hiring our former staff on a freelance basis.’

To prevent attachment of the collection in the future, a new organisational structure has been designed for the library. The ownership of the collection has been entrusted to a foundation headed by the Ritman family. The right of usage of the library is held by a second foundation, which has an ANBI status, an official accreditation for charities, making donations tax deductible. The board is made up of Ritman’s daughter Mirjam, former Education and Culture minister Hedy d’Ancona, and Amsterdam notary public Maarten Meijer.

GIDSY GETS YOU TO KNOW THE PLACE

Ze vertrokken van Amsterdam naar Berlijn en gingen daar aanvankelijk klussen voor andere bedrijven. Maar iets zelf maken is leuker, concludeerden broers Edial en Floris Dekker al snel. En zo kwamen ze op het idee van Gidsy, een dienst die past in de trend van Etsy en AirBnB, platforms waar vraag en aanbod op een gebied bij elkaar komen. Bij Etsy vinden artiesten en makers van handwerk kopers, bij AirBnB vinden huiseigenaren tijdelijke huurders. En bij Gidsy? Bij Gidsy tref je bijvoorbeeld mensen die een rondleiding rondleiding door de stad langs belangrijke plekken van de Amsterdamse school geven, of hardlopers die anderen voorgaan op hun loopronde, of een tocht maken per Trabant door Berlijn. Mensen die iets weten of kunnen bieden hun diensten aan. Een percentage van de inkomsten gaat naar Gidsy.

Het verhaal van Gidsy luistert als een gesproken jongensboek. De twee broers zijn super enthousiast, vinden veel heel erg cool en zien met hun goede idee kans om wereldvermaarde investeerders achter zich te scharen. Ze zijn nog maar net bezig, maar de vooruitzichten voor Gidsy zijn goed. En de gunfactor is groot. Floris en Edial Dekker zijn 'good blokes' met een sympathiek initiatief. En ze geloven in de goedheid van de mens. Van het bekijken van deze aflevering van Top Names word je vrolijk. Gegarandeerd.

Hier is Gidsy

MINDMAPPING [3] JAN ROTHUIZEN [2]

From the maker of The Soft Atlas Of Amsterdam... 

The Soft Atlas Of The Netherlands. Book 

launch: november 17.

The Netherlands

Amsterdam

LOOK: http://janrothuizen.nl/

MINDMAPPING [2] JAN ROTHUIZEN [1]

Jan Rothuizen is an Amsterdam based artist. I came across "his" room of Cohen, which was a part of the 'Soft Atlas of Amsterdam' in a magazine stand on his site and discovered the project "Somewhere over the Rainbow". Here he makes a self-portrait without self, which consists of photographs collected from men. All pictures have been chosen because it is in some way recognizable. Not only in the present but also in elements of the past and even images which he himself recognized as possible future looks. "
In an exhibition the photographs were exhibited in chronological order, so they start forming an imaginary life. It begins with a baby and ends with an old man.
A good assignment for starting art students, I reckon...

LOOK: http://janrothuizen.nl/

ALL ABOUT FOOD [3] PROEF AMSTERDAM

Studio MV = Marije Vogelenzang

After graduating from the Design Academy Eindhoven in 2000, Marije Vogelzang developt a new direction in the design profession. After founding PROEF in Rotterdam in 2004 and expanding to Amsterdam in 2006, she broadens her experiments and develops her vision one food.
After 10 years of experience, she is considered a pioneer and the 'grand dame' of course eating design
(De Volkskrant).

She travels the world for inspiring lectures about her work and vision, in which she researches the potential of her new approach to eating (or is it a new approach to design?).
Marije Vogelzang's lectures are well received in the Netherlands and among others, Cape Town, Beirut, Bangkok, Dubai, London, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Norway, Romania, Berlin, etc.
In addition, Marion is also part of brainstorming sessions and works as a consultant for the food industry.

Studio Marije Vogelzang is a small personal company with big ideas. they work both on restaurant concepts and do hospitals and medical projects. They do community projects such as workshops to inspire, but they also work for the food industry. They create art installations and new rituals concerning food.

Take a llok at the works at: Proef Amsterdam of Proef Rotterdam

 

THEREFORE I AM

I read somewhere: "I organize, therefore I am." Seems an essential thing to stay alive, these days. It reminded me of a lot of other THEREFORE I AM's, so I started to look around...
First of all; well known Barbara Kruger. Recently in the reopened The Temporary Stedelijk in Amsterdam.

  

I shop, therefore I am http://www.barbarakruger.com/

But beside that there are more existence confirming ways to be [or not to be] 

I smell, therefor I am, of perfume fanatics Brian and Abigail;
... http://ismellthereforeiam.blogspot.com/

I tag, therefore I am, Jim Baretts, Soul Sphincter blog;
http://www.soulsphincter.com/2008/07/i-tag-therefore-i-am.html
He also does some interesting blogging on augmented reality: http://realmixed.blogspot.com/
And on pedagogy: http://blog.humlab.umu.se/

I write therefore I am, of Dutch writer Karin Spaink. Funny to click on... http://blogger.xs4all.nl/kspaink/

I organize therfore I am, seems a logical one to be amongst the existing ones, but wasn't found...

Finally...
Therefore I am... simple as that of the Boston Hard Rock, Indie band: http://www.myspace.com/thereforeiam