Tag Archives: Scream

Screaming for the Namib (Part I)

Today I have an extra-special treat for you:

Its video time!!!

For the first time I will share one of my art videos on my blog. I still must get around to update my webpage with pics and info about my latest solo exhibition for you, but till I get to do that, I thought of sharing the video “An infinite scream passing through the Namib” with you. The 4min video is a short documentation of an art action which I have done in Swakopmund in April 2012. It was publicly shown for the first time at my exhibition in December 2012 in Swakopmund. Guests of the exhibition loved this fun video so much, that I decided to share it with everybody on my blog too.

Me re-enacting the Scream by Edvard Munch on the Swakopmund Jetty.

Here a short info what the whole art action is about:

In order to raise the local and global awareness about the dangers of the exploitation and destruction of the Namib desert and coastal area through mining and other proposed industrial developments, I initiated this public art action based on Munch’s painting “The Scream”. During the hour before sunset I asked passersby to re-enact the scene of the original painting to show their concern for our Namibian environment and have photographed their ‘screams’, while the whole action has been captured on film by Steffen Holzkamp of Onexa A+V.

In 2011 I have painted my own version of the Scream (you can see it here). Munch’s “Scream” painting has always reminded me of the jetty in Swakopmund where I grew up, and slowly the idea developed for this art action. The title came from what Munch has said about his inspiration for the painting.

“I was walking along a path with two friends—the sun was setting — suddenly the sky turned blood red — I paused, feeling exhausted, and leaned on the fence —there was blood and tongues of fire above the blue-black fjord and the city — my friends walked on,and I stood there trembling with anxiety — and I sensed an infinite scream passing through nature.”
Edvard Munch (1863-1944) about his work “The Scream (of Nature)

And here the video – Enjoy!

"An infinite scream passing through the Namib" 
Video, 3:57min, © Imke Rust
An Art Action by Imke Rust documented in video and photographs 
@ The Jetty, Swakopmund, Namibia. 17h00-18h00, 2 April 2012
Based on the artwork "The Scream" by Edvard Munch. 
Concept & Photographs: Imke Rust
Filming & Video: Onexa A+V

With special thanks to Martha, Makafa, Erson, Isabel, Brad, Britta, Lena, 
Luisa, Stefan, Jasoni, Helia, Elina, Burkart, Steffen, Armand, Logan, Ros,
George, Jan-Daniel and Janelle for your "screams" and Onexa A+V and the 
National Arts Council of Namibia for supporting this project

Also have a look at Part II to see some of the photographs taken during this action!

Did you like the video? Did it put a smile on your face? Or a new thought into your head? Does it inspire you to think of what you can do for the environment?

Then please share this post with your friends via Facebook, YouTube, Twitter or by email. And please show your support by leaving a comment or “Like” either here or on YouTube. Thank you!

Interview on the German radio

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Do you understand German and would like to listen to an interview about my latest art exhibition?
Then I invite you to please tune in to the NBC German Radio Station on Sunday, 13 January 13 at 18h00 (Namibian time).For those of you who are not living in Namibia, you can listen to the interview on NBC’s livestream via the internet @ http://96.31.83.87:8110/ . If you have missed that one or cannot make it, don’t worry, there will be a re-broadcast on THURSDAY at 22h00 (17 January).

The program’s name is Kaleidoskop and it will feature a 30min interview with me, hosted by Annemarie Brell. The interview will give you an insight into my views on environmental art, we are talking about my works that have been exhibited recently in Swakopmund at my solo exhibition “…and I sensed an infinite scream passing through the Namib” and I share information how the works originated and what my intentions are.

Many people have commented that they have really enjoyed my earlier brief interview done in the beginning of December, just after the opening of the exhibition, so I hope this will be equally interesting. 🙂

You can find more information on the radio station’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/germanradio

Me busy installing the 99 black roses (made out of barbed wire and rubbish bags) in the Namib desert for a temporary site-specific installation.

An Infinite Scream – Press-Release

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SubRosa
Temporary site-specific art installation by Imke Rust

What do you do, when an arts association cancels your exhibition because they find it too political? And when a cultural centre asks you to change your exhibition proposal to hide the true message so that it might stand a chance of being shown? You make sure it gets shown anyway, in an unbiased space.

And so Imke Rust’s latest solo exhibition, entitled ‘… and I sensed an infinite scream passing through the Namib’ will open at “The Last Resort Wellness Centre” in Libertina Amathila Ave 5, Swakopmund (opposite of Hotel Pension A la Mer) on the 9^th of December at 17h00. It can be viewed thereafter till the 29^th of December, between 14h00 and 18h00, Mondays till Saturdays.

In this environmental art exhibition Imke Rust, who grew up in Swakopmund and is still closely connected to it, addresses the current debates and happenings concerning the plans for increased mining and industrial activities in the coastal area. In her work she uses a variety of media and approaches to highlight the concerns of the general public and to search for alternative solutions in the environmental conflict. While she is painting a gloomy picture of possible disastrous long-term effects of the current developments, she also reminds people of their responsibility to look after their land and that they have the power to make changes towards a better future.

Once more, Imke Rust has produced a powerful body of work, exploring and openly questioning social and political controversial issues. Central to the exhibition are temporary land art works that the artist has installed in the Namib Desert. At the exhibition these installations and interventions will be presented through photographic and video documentation. She evocatively combines natural and man-made materials such as thorns, salt, dung, rubbish bags, barbed wire and videos in her captivating artworks. She even got complete strangers involved in a documented art action for the environment on the jetty.

The artist neither preaches nor dictates what the viewer’s stance should be. Instead the exhibition draws you in and compels you to engage and consider the complexities of the debate. It is an empowering experience and should definitely not be missed.

A small part of the exhibition has already been shown in Berlin earlier this year, where it was received with great interest. Intriguingly the Swakopmund Arts Association has cancelled Rust’s booking of the Woermann Gallery on the premises that the “impertinent and unscientific public debate against the economically important uranium mining industry […] is politically charged“.

For more information please contact me via this blog and webpage or find my artist page on Facebook (and like it, if you are also on Facebook 🙂 ) or go directly to the Event’s page, also on Facebook.

Looking forward to seeing many of you at the opening or afterwards!

The Last Resort Well/ness Centre – Swakopmund
Libertina Amathila Ave 5

Save the date!

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You are invited!

“…and I sensed an infinite scream passing through the Namib”

An environmental art exhibition by Imke Rust

From the 9^th till the 29^th of December Imke Rust will show her latest body of work in Swakopmund. The exhibition addresses the current debates concerning the plans for increased mining and industrial activities in the coastal area. Through her diverse artworks she invites the viewer to engage in and consider the complexities of the controversial issues. The artist will be present at the opening.

Opening: 9^th of December at 17h00

Venue: The Last Resort Well/ness Centre, Libertina Amathila Str. 5, Swakopmund.

Duration of exhibition: 10^th – 29^th of December 2012

Opening Times: 14h00 – 18h00, Mondays till Saturdays

A(nother) Scream

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“The Scream” by Edvard Munch is up for sale at Sotheby’s in New York. If you have not started saving loooong ago and been earning a ridicules salary, or recently inherited vast sums of money, you will most likely not be able to afford the U$ 80 million price tag on this one.

What I find particularly interesting is that “The Scream” is not your usual “pretty picture” which would sit comfortably above your dining table. It is angst-ridden and full of paranoia… not pretty, but honest, and because it seems as if it came straight from the heart, it also touches our souls in a deep and sometimes disturbing way. It lays bare our vulnerabilities and fears, which we usually hide behind a façade of prettiness (pretty clothes, pretty make-up, and pretty deco in our pretty homes….). Maybe its strength lies in reminding us that we are intensely alive and human, even in the mediocre, materialistic and semi-comatose rat-race which we have created for ourselves. We all can identify with it, and, even if only for a short time, it changes our perceptions and gets our primal instincts roaring. At least that is how I feel.

There are two reasons, why I am sharing this with you today. One is that I have often heard the following said about my own art: “Wow, this work is so powerful and interesting, but I do not want to buy it, as it would be too depressing to hang above my couch (or in my dining room)”. Granted, those who know my art well, agree that many of my works are not easy to live with because of their powerful content or expression. I totally understand that.

I am very fortunate that I work in such a wide variety of styles and subject matter that many different tastes and needs are catered for and my artworks are hanging in homes all over the world. And quite a few of my more socio-political and ‘disturbing’ works have also found appreciation and buyers. So all I am saying, if an artwork touches you but is not pretty in the traditional sense, maybe you can buy it anyway. You do not need to put it up in your living room. You can keep it somewhere where you can contemplate it every now and then and where it can be kept save as a possible investment for your grand-children. Art investments generally bring good returns, if you are patient and lucky – after all, not all artists are Munch or Picasso, but you would usually only find out after we are dead.

Secondly, recently I have made my own version of “The Scream” which I wanted to share with you. It is based on a press-image that I have found several years ago (I think it was from the Iraq war) and on Munch’s painting. It is titled “A(nother) Scream”.

A(nother) Scream by Imke Rust (c) Mixed Media on Canvas 29x41cm

Sorry, this work is already reserved for an interested buyer, but if you like to have an option on it, drop me a line. Munch has made four different versions of “The Scream”; so, in case you are interested, I would be happy to make a personal version of “A(nother) Scream” for you.

Or browse my webpage for getting an impression of the other artworks I have available – you might just find something worth investing in 🙂 .