Inside the Space

Introduction to Art (PennStateUniversity via Coursera)
The purpose of this assignment is to select a meaningful outdoor site and create a site-specific environmental installation closely considering use of space and material.

Appeltjes van Oranje / Apples of Orange

‘Appeltjes van Oranje’ / ‘Apples of Orange’ is a Dutch expression.

The ‘Apples of Orange’ is a prize awarded annually to three exceptional, innovative and successful projects in the field of social welfare and social cohesion,  by the Orange Fund in The Netherlands. The prize includes a bronze statue designed and created by Princess Beatrix (former queen of The Netherlands). The statue is not the model of an apple, but an orange, formerly called ‘orange appel’ because of the color.

In Dutch: orange (the fruit) = sinaasappel and apple = appel.

Form and location: three dimensional piece of art in a border church monument in the forest.

Concept: This site specific environmental installation is a symbolic representation of the past and the present. 

The location 
I chose to prepare my artwork in an almost 400 year old border church monument.

When the Catholic faith was banned entirely in 1649 in The Netherlands, Catholics often had to resort to clandestine churches. This is one of the hidden churches founded that year. It is located in a forest .The path to the church is the current county boundary, but it used to be the border with the German Empire. Therefore it was called a border church. Catholic residents could profess their faith in this border church. This  church was used until 1682. In 1981, 300 years later, it has gained the status of a monument.

I often walk in this forest with my dog and stop at this monument to eat some fruit. 

The oranges
For this installation I used oranges. The oranges have a symbolic meaning.The Dutch Royal House is

the House of Orange-Nassau. The history of this House is closely linked to that of The Netherlands since the fifteenth century. From that time the Oranges deliver as princes, kings and queens an important contribution to the governance of our country.The Dutch royal family gets its name from the French town Orange (once a center of trade from the fruit orange). In many languages, the same word is used for 'orange' (the color) and 'orange' (the fruit).

The oranges symbolize the Dutch royal family. Orange is the color for all national sports teams in The Netherlands and synecdoche mostly for the Netherlands.But also, the fruit of the orange symbolizes the knowledge of good and evil. Bright emotions and liberation of trauma. Which refers to the war, religion and faith. Orange is also a symbol of relaxation. And peeling it a silent

protest against the breakneck pace of modern life.Consumers find it difficult to peel and eat the fruit. Eating an orange is time consuming. You can’t eat an orange while multitasking, it requires full concentration and the use of both hands.

The color orange has a very high visibility. In this installation it is used to catch attention and highlight the most important element of the design, the V-shape.

The ‘V’ is the first letter of the Dutch words for peace (vrede) and freedom (vrijheid). It refers to the time this border church is founded, at the end of the war. It also refers to freedom of religion.

The color orange stimulates enthusiasm and creativity. Put some orange in your life when you want to increase creativity. This refers to me, enrolling and participating in this Introduction to Art class. I want to increase my creativity and I would like to gain new ideas.

Curiosity is a driving characteristic of orange, and with it comes exploration of new things and relief from things becoming too serious.

The surrounding space

This installation is made against a background of green. Green is the color of nature. It symbolizes growth, harmony, freshness, and fertility. Green has strong emotional correspondence with safety. But also balance and a sense of order are found in the color green.

Change and transformation is necessary for growth.

When you want a new state of balance, feel a need for change or growth or when you need freedom to pursue new ideas you have to put some green in your life.

Interaction 

In the 3th photograph you can see the interaction between the installation and the audience. 

The border church monument is a public space. There are walking trails and bike paths to this monument. People come, sit down for a moment and eat or drink something. In this case you can see an orange that is peeled. The peeled orange on the altar refers also to enlightenment.

Stories through the lens

Introduction to Art (PennStateUniversity via Coursera)
The purpose of this assignment is to first shoot an evocative black and white portrait of someone, striving to capture through your lens some aspect of your model’s personality. Then, to deepen the understanding of the role of value and texture in your portrait, you will recreate it in a collage medium made from small pieces of newsprint (newspaper).  

51 Shades of Grey

’51 Shades of Grey’ is a black & white newspaper collage from my 2 year old daughter.

The only used colors are black, white and different shades of grey.

Newspaper was torn into pieces average size 0.5 cm. x 0.5 cm. 
I used text pieces sparingly to add interest and define certain areas as eyebrows, hair and the stripes on her shirt.

Fantasy & You

Introduction to Art (PennStateUniversity via Coursera)
For this assignment you will have to create an artwork that demonstrates your understanding of the Fantastic Art Movement.

Your artwork should be a personal approach to Fantastic Art that in some way addresses the concepts and/or techniques of the movement and its artists. Write a brief Artist Statement.

Dis-Connected

‘Dis-Connected’ is the representation of being connected and dis-connected in different kinds of forms. Dreaming about the benefits and fears of being connected and to become disconnected.

Form: A two-dimensional piece of art with flat and textured surfaces. Size:  27”x12” (68x30 cm.)

The space between the images is meant to create a work of art that exudes calm and serenity despite the use of a variety of media and techniques.

The space also gives the audience room for self-reflection. 

This piece of art tells a story.  It is build up with a variety of images all with their own meaning and a meaning as a whole.

The moon is a female celestial body, her cycle is similar to menstruation (periods) of women. She represents also dying and rebirth - and the dark side of reality, the unknown.

The castles in the air are a place to project your happy fantasies. But thoughtless, vain or frivolous dreams and fantasies can later "go up in smoke."

The pregnant women is sitting on the moon, building air castles and dreaming of her unborn child. Physically connected when in the uterus and physically disconnected after birth. She is giving birth to an adult man with a hedgehog head. 

The hedgehog head is a representation of pain of giving birth and releasing your child. The man can’t wait to leave her. He jumps away from her with the umbilical cord attached to his neck. On top of the rock is a bird with the head of a baby. 
Both, the adult man and the bird are a metamorphosis. The woman’s dream turns into her worst nightmare. This is where the dark side of reality, the unknown, represented by the moon, connects with the women. 

The rose, actually a symbol of love, pure beauty and ideal form, reaches into the clouds connecting heaven and earth with each other.

A man climbs the rocks without safety line. The man chases after career; he is disconnected from his family. His wife is making pictures sitting in the rose, watching the beauty of the sky and the moon. Before the man realizes, life is over and he has been living his life disconnected from the most important things life can give: Family. This man is made of water which represents the transience of life.

He also refers back to the castles in the air. The castle towers are connected by stairs. 

The man is climbing and the stairs in the air castles represent the message not to build your air castles too high, at least if you do not want your whole life climbing. Instead of building air castles maybe you also can built sandcastles in sandglass. 

The rocks and water represent resilience and flexibility (fluidity).
The desert represents endless possibilities and also abandonment and loneliness.

The bodies of the fishes in the sky are made of eyes. They represent identity theft by phishing. These modern times the way you become disconnected from your own identity.

The Statue of Liberty has become disconnected from her base.  In her hand she holds a bunch of cables which represents unplugged and wireless work. (The new way of working nowadays). The connection to the workplace changes. The Statue of Liberty is connected with a turtle and pulled into the water by the turtle.

The turtle is a representation of transformation and release. It also teaches prudence, perseverance and patience as keys to achieving your goals. A turtle can help you find the balance in your life and liberation efforts. He tells you to stay connected with yourself, to stay connected with your kids and have confidence in your kids. (Sea turtle babies will find the way to the sea by their selves and with guidance of moonlight when leaving the egg).

 release life patterns 

even if they fit you properly

and 
open your heart 

for unprecedented change