Art is, art was fluid last Sunday
June 8, 2005
Due to the good company and delightfully engaged audience, artist initiative Artis in Den Bosch showed this Sunday (05.06.2005) that they really know how to throw a happening. Margriet Kemper opened the salon with a presentation of her book, Speak, Image! (unfortunately only in Dutch) in which she talks about how the image is actually a performer. Kemper cited Allan Kaprow, the Daddy of the Happening, explaining to us the choice of the title of the event, Art Fluid.
A.K.: ‘I want the line between art and life to be as fluid as possible’.
A presentation of culiblog was next on the menu followed by a breathtaking poetry reading by Robert Gray (AU) and the Dutch translator of Gray’s work, Maarten Elzinga. Wafts of rosey caramel in-the-make were the only distraction as both Gray and Elzinga read for the better part of 42 minutes to a rapt audience.
Now there’s only so much reflection and interior thought that an audience can take, and just when we thought we would forever be living inside of our heads, the shy noise band, SPASM performed invisibly from the guts of the cavernous gallery. It was just the lightness that the moment needed and everyone started to beam with smiles so broad they barely fit on their faces. Everyone except the young children who ran around annoyed with fingers in their ears.
What could be a better follow-up to a poetry reading and a concert of noise than a cookery presentation! Together with my fabulous assistants, Stefano and Kaj, I rejoiced in showing other Dutch people how to make the traditional Dutch ‘hang-op’. The hang-op had been dripping whey all the livelong day in linen bags hanging from pink string, defining the space of the kitchen. Stefano removed the linen bags from meathooks and helped Kaj scrape out the ‘hung’ yogurt from within. Kaj then proceeded to beat to a satiny smooth consistency, the yogurt with rose flavoured whipped cream. I know, it was very, very sexy.
While the audience enjoyed a film by Annika Ström and a presentation of Jan van Toorn’s (re)releases from the oldies but goodies of avant-garde sound-art, Kaj and Stefano prepared the banquet table with rose petals, rosey caramel, organic local strawberries and little bowls of hang-op.
Aan tafel, I sort of whispered into the microphone.
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debra at 9:57 | Comments (5) | post to del.icio.us
Recipes without words
June 5, 2005
Image: olive oil, green tea powder, ume boshi vinegar, © Debra Solomon 2004
The images above and below are from a cookbook of mine in-the-making titled Recipes without words. Or rather, with very few words. More later. I’m about to do a presentation about culiblog in the ‘s Hertogenbosch artists’ initiative Artis. This Sunday’s programme is titled Art Fluid and culiblog is just one of several interesting programme pieces. We will be making Hang op with rose caramel and local strawberries.
Image: olive oil, grass powder, ume boshi vinegar, © Debra Solomon 2004
Image: sugar, soy sauce, shrimp powder, © Debra Solomon 2004
debra at 15:19 | Comments (2) | post to del.icio.us
Recycled tetraware and even more leafenware
June 3, 2005
The image on the left shows (clockwise from 10 o’clock) a repurposeed surplus tetra-pak plate, a banana bark pressed bowl, a paper plate made out of ’surplus’ film poster and the underside of the tetra-pak plate showing its origins as a tomato paste container for an arab-speaking country. In the centre is the underside of a banana bark bowl.
The image on the right shows a beautiful sewn leaf platter (~50cm diam) backed with surplus printed plastic originally produced for juice packaging. Alternating layers of leaf and plastic make the platter just sturdy enough to carry a few things as long as those things don’t happen to weigh anything.
(Please read more… )
debra at 11:53 | Comments (4) | post to del.icio.us
