Do you also regard domestic work as a nuissance and a waste-of-time, but realise that it unforunately is a necessary evil? I do. 😦
Sometimes I try to cheer myself up, by pretending it is all a creative and fun adventure. And this is the result of that happening the other day when I was supposed to do the washing:
Domestic Sculpture in Blue (or how to avoid doing the washing)
Wishing you a wonderful and creative week ahead!
The Great Bather Detail View ©ImkeRust
Cutting out a landscape photo from a calendar and framing it in a cheap frame seems to be a general habit all over the world. Do people really think that is cool? Ok, it is cheap and at least usually calendar photos usually show an average pretty landscape. But still, as my art lecturer would say: “Why, Larry? Why?”
Our bungalow on the island Poel in the Baltic ocean was small, but had a few typical holiday bungalow decoration gems on offer. This faded landscape of the area was one of it and in urgent need of improvement.
Found calendar photo or the BEFORE pic
I decided to pimp the calendar image with some ‘real’ painting and a view which looks slightly more exciting and challenging. On the previous day I photographed an old man going for a swim in the shallow water and decided to add him to the idyllic island landscape.
AFTER: The Great Bather final pic ©ImkeRust
While painting, I had all kinds of ideas for the title, envisioning the man to be a mythical, cow eating giant responsible for the mysterious disappearance of the cows. Or a ghost who only appears at certain times in the water and stares at the cows before submerging in the sea again. Or just the friendly village eldest who has been going for a swim every day without fail for the past 28 years….
But I guess I leave the stories for the viewers who will hopefully notice something strange in this picture and start wondering.
Making of The Great Bather ©ImkeRust
The Great Bather back on the wall©ImkeRust
Did you like this? You can view more similar actions on my webpage under Interventions. I will be posting future deco busting actions on my blog, so be sure to sign up to receive notifications of updates via email. 🙂
Sleepy Eyes
rainy skies
sleepy eyes
watching
over you
and me
(c) Imke Rust
I took this photograph on a rainy day just a few days before the great floods in Meissen, Germany. The Elbe, the river running through Meissen was already filling up more and more at that time… Now large parts of the old city center are under water.
So I am posting this thinking of all the people who are affected by the great floods in Germany at the moment.
After a brief appearance in Berlin the sun and warmth have disappeared again, making way for cold winter temperatures and a thick layer of snow.
So this is my official call for the sun to return. And my goldfish once again helped me with the task, by reminding the universe of the shape, colour and fun the sun can bring.
Goldfish, sun & snow ©ImkeRust
And since my family and friends back in Namibia are still desperately waiting for the rain, I thought I just send over a some clouds which I have collected some time ago (knowing that they might be in demand soon 😉 ). And I have asked them to take along all the clouds from Berlin and other rainy friends which they encounter along their way. Common clouds – the party is happening down in Namibia, so get yourselves over there in a hurry!
Cloud#1389 ©ImkeRust
Cloud#1394 ©ImkeRust
Wishing you all a happy week! Filled with sun or rain – whatever you need! But mostly filled with gratitude and love for that what is…
That is my plan. In the past I have hold back on sharing many everyday things which inspired me or made me smile, because I thought that I should stick to only posting things related directly to my art. I have come to realise lately, that in many ways my life is my art and my art is my life, and I cannot really separate the two – or want to anymore.
I want to live and see my life as an artwork. I actually like the German word “Lebenskünstler” a lot. Directly translated it would be: life-artist. I understand it as somebody making his or her life an artwork. Unfortunately it is generally used to refer to people who do not earn a steady income and rely on others for their survival, in a negative way.
So, even if some future posts do not have an obvious or direct link to my art, I feel it is an important aspect influencing my art and who I am, and I hope you will enjoy the occasional ‘non-art’ posts too.
Love is… sharing a bit more of who I am with you.
Thank you for being part of my life and art!
Sometimes real life is more fascinating than art…
I have been visiting two of the five Berlin Biennale 2012 venues so far (and hope to see the rest in the next few days). From what I read about it, it sounded interesting with a big hype around its political agenda etc. . Honestly, I do hope the rest of the show is more exiting than what I have seen up to now (please note, that is just my very personal impression, based on my likes and preferences).
When searching for the Biennale display in the Akademie der Künste we got a bit lost and ended up on the wrong level. Not realising this, I got really excited when I peeked around one corner and saw, what I thought was the most brilliant political statement art installation at the Biennale so far:
Sleeping MP © Imke Rust (Berlin Biennale 2012 / Akademie der Künste)
When I walked closer to get a full view, I realized that it was NOT an art installation, but a very tired Military Police guy… and his artful statement made the visit worth our while.
Chemical Reaction (Namib Desert) © Imke Rust
Recently I have invited you all to come to an exhibition of a selection of photographs which were submitted to the “Our Coast Your Photo” Competition, which was on show in Windhoek and Swakopmund.
Initially I was informed that I was one of the finalists, but then at the opening it turned out that the judges did not think that hand-coloured photographs are photographs but are art, and therefore my works were not considered for the actual prizes. A detailed discussion of this decision would be interesting, considering that hand-colouring photographs is a technique used in photography for almost as long as we have photography itself, but maybe I leave that for another time or for the comments.
For now, I am happy to say that the organizers did think that my work still deserved a “special mention for making a powerful statement. … Rust managed to convey a message of “pretty promises” made by industrialists that paint a pretty picture, while the result would actually be unnatural – and even detrimental to the environment.” (quoted from The Namibian, 2 April 2012, pg7). The special mention came with a small financial prize and a bottle of unpolluted Namibian sea water – which I thought was a very nice touch in line with the background of the exhibition. It might become a rarity soon, but I hope not!
Here are the works which I have submitted for those of you who were not able to see them in person.
Toxic Flow (Swakop River)
© Imke Rust, Digital Photograph
Toxic Waste (Moon Valley) © Imke Rust
About the works:
“My entries are hand-coloured photographs of Swakopmund’s surrounding environment.
The idea came while I was in Berlin and was hearing about the planed chemical works that might be built near Swakopmund. I looked at my photographs of Swakopmund and its surrounding area which I took earlier in the year and wondered what it will look like should the chemical plant be build with all its toxic waste and side effects. I also thought of the “pretty promises” that are made of all the wonderful things (like job creation) such developments would bring Namibians. What at first glance might look pretty and interesting might turn out to be really dangerous, and we are not really aware of how far-reaching the negative effects might be. The colourful interventions on the photographs, give a striking and ‘pretty’ effect, but also allude to the chemical and toxic interference with nature.
We are so used to see really good photographs of the Namibian environment and we often taken our environment for granted. That is why I decided to make some physical and ‘chemical’ interventions in bright and ‘unnatural’ acrylic (plastic) colours to the photographs. I hope this artificial, tampered view, makes people sit up and notice and think about what they are seeing and want to see.”
The exhibition is still up in Swakopmund at “The Art Gallery” in the Brauhaus Arcade till the end of April. According to that gallery it is one of their most visited exhibitions to date. So, if you are in Swakopmund, do take some time to go and see all the finalists work (and mine 😉 ) if you enjoy photography, art and our beautiful coast!
Oh, and I would love to hear your thoughts on the subject: is photography art and is art photography? Should a hand-coloured photograph be judged differently than a photoshopped one, or an 100% untouched one? Let me know what you think…
(Read right to the bottom, as there is a chance for you to win N$ 1000.00, too!)
In January Tony Figueira of Studio77and the Namibian Newspaper launched a photographic competition “Our Coast Your Photo” in an attempt to highlight the concern about the coastal environment in light of the proposed industrial & mining plans….
From the close to 600 entries a selection of about 50 photographs, plus the top category entries, will be exhibited. The winning photograph will be announced at the opening of the Swakopmund exhibition on 31 March, and this person will walk away with the N$10 000 in cash.The judges of the competition are Amy Schoeman, Roy van der Merwe and Taimi Shejavali.
I participated in this competition, because I believe strongly that we all need to get involved to protect our environment and what better way for an artist to use their art? And this particular subject matter bothered me some time ago and I actually just had finished some work, which I thought would be perfect for this competition. And why this is even more exciting? I have been told that I am one of the finalists….*blush*
So all you lovely people, if you happen to be in Windhoek or Swakopmund at those dates, come to the opening and support this great cause! I would love to see you all there and I am sure there will be many exciting works on show. If you cannot make it for the openings, well, there is more time to view the shows afterwards too, so don’t miss it.
And there is another good reason to go and view the exhibition:
The Organizers have now compiled the top photographs for each category, and are inviting the public to predict the winner in each category via SMS! The person who predicts the correct photographs in all the categories, will stand a chance to win N$1000! For those of you who are not in town, these photographs will be available as from 8 March 2012 on the website of The Namibian Newspaper and the Facebook site for the competition.
Looking forward to seeing you either in Windhoek or Swakopmund. And keep watching this space – I will post some pics of my artworks after the opening.
Imke Rust 