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.

ok i'm back with a new video

so i've been gone for a while. but i'm back in amsterdam and well i'll splain that later.
now i just want to show my new video:

Birth

i just made this.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-f4QwTt3uNY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SnnDPf-K-8U

Pippa's last hurrah!

Man i'm still trying to catch up...but for those of you who are still there and interested, there's lots more to come.
yesterday i learned to watergild...putting gold leaf or silver leaf on objects using water and gelatin...amazing...i'm hooked. pictures soon.
but for right now i'm still blogging in last week...
this was the last dinner with Pippa Dickson and her boyfriend Mark. He was a chef for many years. french training....so it was a special night since he agreed to give us a lesson.
the menu besides the chateau CONDOM:




potato-leek soup


roasted leg of lamb, roasted with rosemary a bit of garlic and salt and pepper.
the juices were then mixed with a stock made from trimmings and drippings and cooked down with red wine. butter, more fresh rosmary...incredible.


frenchie style potatoes peeled and one side cut off. face down in a deep pan with broth and butter....ahhhhh.


ta daa......


i think this picture best indicates the levels of satisfaction and this was only barelyinto the massive amount of wine consumed that night!


and finally dessert! of course...rhubarb creme brulee no less!

Kröller-Müller to mull over...mmmmm

This post is dedicated to Mr. Charles MC and A'dam Nezbootie: i would have given anything to have you two with me on this day...it was last monday and actually i'd be glad to share that day with everyone.
The Kroller-Muller Museum is the pearl in the oyster that is the Park Hoge Veluwe a gigantic and magnificent park with a landscape unlike i've seen anywhere else in holland...



the park was originally the hunting grounds for the family Kroller-Muller a family that made it's wealth in the blast furnace industry, a successful business that allowed them to amass one of the most spectacular private collections i have ever seen as well as build a small hunting lodge on the property:









Along with around 91 Van Gogh Paintings and 180 of his works on paper are some other highlights that struck me and i wanted to share:


this woman was stunning standing in an opening staring into the woods. graceful, refined yet simply beautiful.


this is true voluptuousness...the sexiest fat i've ever seen...



this piece by richard serra entitled "one" is a solid piece of steel nearly 6 feet tall and six feet in diameter...you can almost feel it's gravity when in proximity to such a mass!


Kenneth Snelson's "Needle Tower"


This one's for you Nezbootie: an exibition comprised of their conservation lab. definitely something people don't think or know much about...here's the Nez in his lab at the clark art institute helping me with a project in march:





Self-portrait in a piece by Michelangelo Pistoletto


This French or perhaps Belgian couple was so inspiring to watch as they strolled the gallery looking at the art conversing and pulsing with tangible appreciation.


this one i fell in love with...the woman and the artist.
"Woman in Black Evening Dress" by Isaac Israels...ugh so sensually painted...

they had to kick us out of the museum and we were all suffering from Stendhal syndrome, tearing up and blushing...or maybe we just needed some stustenance...let me tell you this picnic tasted almost better than anything i've ever eaten with the museum as an appetizer...course it helped that it was of champagne, sausage, cheeses both french and dutch, vegetables and chocolates. savored with the company of durk, anna, mark and pippa!





http://www.kmm.nl/?lang=en

Suprise

A surprise visit from steve gibbs resulted in a nice tour of zaandam and some great conversations. Discussions reaching from blowing glass on cruise ships to blowing glass with wood burning furnaces.
great stuff as usual followed by great food!!





oh yeah, and this same evening i saw a stunning, exciting, inspiring movie: "One Night in One City"
GO SEE IT AS SOON AS YOU CAN!!!!
an amazing czech stop motion animation film with no dialogue and yet i was riveted....could have been hours i have no idea i was completely consumed by the movie.
http://www.jednenoci.cz/indexen.php

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWG81TJgC8c

full of surprises. every detail from imagery to timing so effective so well considered and yet effortless in it's meticulousness. ahhhhh.


an finally here is a surprise for you...since it's been a while...