Week 4 Day 10(i'm gonn have to do a back blog for Week 3 Day 9, not to be missed however strange it was)

Morning pic(well late night):



With a 1 meter square piece of plywood strapped to my back I stepped off the train after returning from a late evening trip to Amsterdam to get the last of my supplies. Fighting the burly wind striking harmonics in the rigging of the huge array of saiboats in the harbor, I made my way along the wall to my new home. Ik ben de kunstenaar op de maand. or so that's the title for those of us who will be sharing the fishing house for our presentations.

I moved in today: 1. to my little apartment, house #70.








2. to the fish house KP7 for my work.


To inaugurate my entrance I did a little dumpster diving and found among other things, a variety of enameled pots to use for cleaning the glass. I wheeled them down to the shore and immersed myself in something that is hard to explain. That timeless connection with experience and process, life and living. Drawing water from the frequent waves I scrubbed the hard, caked grime from the pots with sand and crushed shells, a mixture quite prevalent here and well used for a variety of things. At first I thought of myself as immersing myself in the history of this place as I dunk the pots. But I realized that it is not a sense of history that i'm touching, but rather a connection to reality the unchanging qualities of physical existence, experience.
Exfoliating too.


I was creating nostalgia, aware of the importance of this experience and the sheer wonder of having such an opportunity. A moment you know has impact even before you can see the crater's edge.

While I spent several hours at the Museum, it felt like most of the day was spent in the train.
But here I've got to give a shout out to Jan from the metal department at the rietveld.
No other way would I have been able to cut PVC end caps O.D. 350mm but with his help...Worth way more than a few pieces of Laurierdrop candy. But it seemed to put a smile on his face.


Here at two in the morning with the fresh start just ahead I end this entry with a full brain and a new neighbor.

Week 3 Day 8

Morning Pics:

Boats

Bugs

And baby ducks!

I woke with a start at 7 and racing to the station ended up missing the 7:36 train by four minutes. As a result, I was left with an additional 20 minutes on top of the following hour train ride to get into Pure Sea Glass: Discovering Nature's Vanishing Gems by Richard LaMotte. This is kind of an amazing book that eplains what Seaglass is and how it is made...in detail sharing information such as the history of glass, the complexities of glass chemistry and coloration and more.
It is interesting to sit in this in between state. On one side I am interacting with people everyday to whom Seaglass is often not a part of the common lexicon or public culture. On the other side is a culture, that I have to admit that I'm a part of, where this material or object has achieved the status of phenomenon. From the thin strong roots of nostalgia that I experience to the deeply set hold of almost fanatical collecting and appreciation.
Again this material that is the result of alchemy of the mind suprises me in the extent that it is waste turned to jewel. Trash to treasure.
The questions are flowing now as the structure comes together for the machine.

I wonder how can Seaglass be effectively shared with the people of Holland???


Can it have the same affect that is start of my simple fascination?
Can it have the same affect that results in things like: http://www.seaglassassociation.org/ ?


What is that affect?


Is the source of that affect rooted in the nostalgic experience?


What is the process by which the human mind develops a nostalgic association?
i.e., where does nostalgia come from?


Is it possible to play and active role in that experience?



s the structure of this machine comes together and the process of exploration goes on I'm hoping to achieve some sort of understanding of this element of human experience.

Week 2 (days 5&6 -ish)

Morning Pic:


I'm bit behind in my writing, but the pieces are starting to come together...




Doesn't seem like much yet but the pieces are coming together...
Enough so that I could take some time off to frolic with some special guests.

Mom and Mim arrived just over a week ago now. I kept up with my business but was able at long last to share this wonderful land with two of my most favorite people.


Atop Kijkduin where James Turell created a portal to the entire universe of the mind as well as the physical surroundings.

One path led to the Tulips...which have come early this year.
Yes it is a touristy thing to do. But every tourist is perfectly justified in such a jaunt. Every single time I see them I cannot help but to gasp at the intense visual experience of saturated color.







They were here for a week and I think I ran them ragged...or they me.
The last day Lida and Nienke brought them to meet me at the ZZM(Zuiderzee Museum)
I got to share this project with them and then do some exploring of my own.
We drove across the Ijselmeer on the Houtribdijk to Harderwijk the home of my friend Kees who's finishing up a semester abroad at the School of the AIC.





We finished up the trip with a wonderful dinner at the Amsterdam Cafe formerly the site of a major pump station for the city of Amsterdam....keeping the city safe from seepage.



Saturday morning early, they headed to the airport. After dinners at their small apartment off of the Nieuwe Markt, breakfasts on the terrace of the BlueWave Houseboat, and fire alarms at the Lloyd hotel we were sated, bellys full of experiences.

I spent Sunday afternoon listening to jazz at the Engelbewaarder reflecting on the pleasures.

Thanks and love.

Zg - Day 4(and 1-3)

18 April 2011






Just barely made the train today. Distracted by the crisp air and the clear sky while biking then walking to the station, one thinks he has all the time in the world.

So I jumped through the doors just as they were closing and here I sit watching the waking city pass by.

After last week, progress is good on the machine:

Day 1:
Morning Pic:


I arrived mid-morning and after dropping off my Vrijwiliger's contract, I headed to the buiten museum to meet with Peter Loos the facility manager for site confirmation and to talk about electricity. To my relief, thumbs up came easily. My only worry came from the absence of the steel that I'd ordered. Though as Peter and I walked to the site my fears were quelled by the arrival of a large flat bed ruck bearing the word Metaal.

So I had all the metal and as soon as I could I set about cutting. Doors wide open, sun and fresh air streaming in. Me stumbling over "Goede Morgen" to all the passer's by...to my new colleagues for the weeks to come. I carved my way through 32 to meter's of steel over the next five hours.



Day 2:
Morning Pic:

With clouds in the sky and a chill in the air, I closed myself in the workshop and spent the day/6hours drilling, drilling, drilling. I have to boast a bit as I am proud of the jig that I made to make the marking and drilling go a bit faster...(steel plate and two broken M6 drill bits ground into center-points)






Day 3:
Morning Pic:

Welding. Jack the Metal workshop technician is in today and in a mixed English/Dutch interaction we touch base.

After a few moments he is aware that i can barely call myself an amateur arc welder. To my eternal gratitude he takes the intiative to set me straight and give me a concise lesson in Dutch and welding.
"Makkelijk, eh?" is his punctuation every time. ("Easy, eh?")
The art and craft of welding with electrodes comes clearer to me as i spend the day in the cool sun challenged by joining pieces of steel with hot caterpillars of metal.
Only one incident in which I knocked my table over sending 60 Kg of metal crashing to the ground. A few demerits noted with a sidelong glance from the Meester.
The guys from the Painting workshop are fascinated by the "foreigner" making art in their back yard.

Season Opener of the Buiten Museum-ZZM

Friday I had the opportunity to participate in the season opener for the Buiten Museum at the Zuiderzee Museum.
The Buiten Museum, the quaint historical replica/recreation of 19th century Holland will be the location of the Presentations by myself and my fellow Sandberg Institute participants. It officially opened to the public today(though our show opens on the 26th of May). Yesterday was a special opening for the entire Museum collective. I was invited to set up my manual Zeeglas machine and share it with what must have been over a hundred employees and colleagues of the museum. There was a lot of positive reaction and I look forward to working amongst these enthusiastic people. It seems it is all coming together.

Here are a few images and short films from the day.

Here I am again!!!

Hello All-

After quite a long absence, I'm returning to blogging. This time with a purpose: to register and spread the development of the story of Seaglass in Holland.

I hope you'll join me and send your thoughts and comments.
And of course you are all welcome to come visit the Zuiderzee Museum in Enkhuizen.

Cheers,
Marc

Zeeglas for the Zuiderzee

Seaglass or Zeeglas
See below for Dutch:

I have been invited to participate in the exhibition at the Zuiderzee Museum entitled: NIJVER|heden. For this exhibition I will explore the production of nostalgia through a specific object: Zeeglas. This object is made from waste or discarded glass from everyday use and while remaining waste in one sense; it derives certain attractiveness and preciousness as a result of the timeless affects of the sea. This transformation makes Zeeglas attractive to the eye and to the imagination, thus it is a strong source of nostalgia. Where I come from Seaglass is ubiquitous; everyone there has a tale to tell. In Holland, Zeeglas is rare or even unknown. Why is Seaglass unknown here?

Beyond the concept of nostalgia my aim in the context of nijverheid is to compare various means of production. To this end I will build an autonomous Zeeglas production facility to juxtapose against a manual, DIY process. The small-scale cottage industry operation I have already built uses old bicycles, machines that are intrinsically Dutch to produce something that is quite foreign, Zeeglas. This machine will be powered by myself and willing participants and will slowly etch and grind away at a limited amount of broken glass to produce something that is reminiscent of the nostalgic objects from my childhood, while silently bearing the effort of many hands. For comparison I will build a large scale machine that will effortlessly make 50 Kilogram batches of the same product. Each batch, representing the amount of glass waste produced per family per year in Holland, will be made available to those families around the Zuiderzee and beyond in a way that will seed the true product: nostalgia.

Through opportunities at the Sandberg Institute and the Rietveld Academie among others, I plan to bring this experience Directly to the heart of Amsterdam.

Zeeglas

Ik ben uitgenodigd om deel te nemen aan een tentoonstelling in het Zuiderzee Museum getiteld: Nijver|heden.

Voor deze tentoonstelling is het mijn doel om de productie van nostalgie te ontwikkelen via een specifiek object: Zeeglas. Dit object is gemaakt van na alledaags gebruik weggegooid glas dat, ook al blijft het in een bepaald opzicht afval, een zekere aantrekkingskracht en kostbaarheid verkrijgt dankzij de oneindige aantasting van de zee.

Deze transformatie maakt het Zeeglas aantrekkelijk voor het oog en de verbeelding, het vormt daardoor een krachte bron van nostalgie. Daar waar ik vandaan kom is Zeeglas vanzelfsprekend; iedereen heeft er een verhaal over te vertellen. In Nederland is het een onbekend verschijnsel. Hoe kan dat?

Naast de notie van nostalgie wil ik binnen de context van nijverheid verschillende productie vormen met elkaar vergelijken. Ik heb daarom een autonome Zeeglas productie-installatie gecreëerd, als tegenhanger van een handmatig - ‘do it yourself’ - proces. Deze kleinschalige huislijke industrie gebruikt fietsen; typisch Nederlandse machines, om iets te produceren wat de Nederlanders juist vreemd is; Zeeglas.

In de tijd van een maand, aangedreven door de kracht van de vele handen van welwillende bezoekers van het museum en mijzelf, zal deze machine een beperkte hoeveelheid glasscherven gladschuren en polijsten, totdat er iets ontstaat dat aan die nostalgische objecten uit mijn jeugd herinnert.

Tegelijkertijd zal een machine op grote schaal moeiteloos partijen van 50 kilo van hetzelfde product voortbrengen. Elke lading, die de hoeveelheid glasafval representeert dat per jaar per familie in Nederland wordt geproduceerd, wordt toegankelijk voor de families die rond de Zuiderzee en verder wonen, want daar zal het eigenlijke product gezaaid zal worden: Nostalgie.

Via mogelijkheden bij onder andere het Sandberg Instituut en de Rietveld Academie, ben ik van plan om deze beleving Rechtstreeks naar het hart van de stad Amsterdam te brengen.