anne de vries presented his photography on monday, march 31, 2008.
"how much do we matter?
this is the question that has been in my head ever since the anne de vries’s presentation 3 weeks ago. this netherland based artist/photographer gave us a fun yet deep lecture via his photos and videos and installations.
most of his works are about different objects interacting with people however reducing the presence of human being as much as possible. people in anne’s works tend to become a supporting role or a tool of the objects. rather than revealing a specific feeling through human face or body, anne is trying to convey emotions through objects.
this presentation however, brought up a very subtle yet interesting point to think about. the relation between the human being, the objects which are created by human and other creatures living in this planet such as animals and plants. in Anne’s various works, one can barely see the existence of human particularly human’s facial expression. their faces which usually represent most of one’s personality are usually covered with cloth or objects, leaving the audience a sense of disconnection and blackout. this sort of weird sometimes even a bit creepy atmosphere surrounded in his photographs truly makes his work outstanding and beautiful.
the inner beauty is always more precious, to paraphrase someone’s saying. to anne de vries, this beauty is none other than the contrast of numerous objects human creates ,masks they wear and the emptiness of their spirit. everyone in his work is seeking and hiding something. nothing is definite. nothing needs to be definite. it is an eternal enigma.
in a sense, we are all patients. the disease comes from ourselves, from our ever boosting ego. the ego becomes so predominant that we can’t see anything else other than ourselves. thus we become blind. the ego becomes the tumor.
what is the perfect way to get healed? the answer is simple: go back to where one is from. bodies will eventually disintegrate into powder and ash. leaves will eventually be decomposed. water will eventually merge with the ocean. like the people in anne de vries’s work, although they are in the different process of self-healing, they are at least trying.
maybe they don’t even need to suffer from the beginning. maybe we all don’t. trees have eyes. masks have faces.
we are only part of the system.
the world creates us. human is plague."
-galen wang
this is the question that has been in my head ever since the anne de vries’s presentation 3 weeks ago. this netherland based artist/photographer gave us a fun yet deep lecture via his photos and videos and installations.
most of his works are about different objects interacting with people however reducing the presence of human being as much as possible. people in anne’s works tend to become a supporting role or a tool of the objects. rather than revealing a specific feeling through human face or body, anne is trying to convey emotions through objects.
this presentation however, brought up a very subtle yet interesting point to think about. the relation between the human being, the objects which are created by human and other creatures living in this planet such as animals and plants. in Anne’s various works, one can barely see the existence of human particularly human’s facial expression. their faces which usually represent most of one’s personality are usually covered with cloth or objects, leaving the audience a sense of disconnection and blackout. this sort of weird sometimes even a bit creepy atmosphere surrounded in his photographs truly makes his work outstanding and beautiful.
the inner beauty is always more precious, to paraphrase someone’s saying. to anne de vries, this beauty is none other than the contrast of numerous objects human creates ,masks they wear and the emptiness of their spirit. everyone in his work is seeking and hiding something. nothing is definite. nothing needs to be definite. it is an eternal enigma.
in a sense, we are all patients. the disease comes from ourselves, from our ever boosting ego. the ego becomes so predominant that we can’t see anything else other than ourselves. thus we become blind. the ego becomes the tumor.
what is the perfect way to get healed? the answer is simple: go back to where one is from. bodies will eventually disintegrate into powder and ash. leaves will eventually be decomposed. water will eventually merge with the ocean. like the people in anne de vries’s work, although they are in the different process of self-healing, they are at least trying.
maybe they don’t even need to suffer from the beginning. maybe we all don’t. trees have eyes. masks have faces.
we are only part of the system.
the world creates us. human is plague."
-galen wang
AN INTERVIEW WITH ANNE DE VRIES BY GALEN WANG
1. what do you usually eat? do you go to mcdonalds?
i prefer simple food, with fresh and healthy ingredients. i often eat vegetarian. i drink allot of soy milk. but when i eat meat i enjoy it. although i prefer to cook myself, i often go to little take-away restaurants because i forget to eat all day! specially if i am alone. i dont go to mcdonalds.
2. what is your favorite fruit?
i like raspberry
3. which one do you prefer? color or b&w?
i like both. but in pictures i like color
4. how do you know pascale?
the first time i saw pascale she was invited by joke robaard to tell about her own work in the fashion department at the gerrit rietveld academy.
some years later we got to know each other true common friends and colleagues.
i saw her work first time true purple magazine.
5. i remember you said you were in fashion before you got into photography, why did you give up fashion?
fashion always was a world of pleasure for me. i loved it.
but not enough to give up on other interest yet.
it's just a matter of following your bliss. and then concentrate it.
6. tell us a little about the music you listen to...
i love music. lots of different genre's and subcultures, i enjoy to explore.
i like the obscure and the experimental, synthesizers and fast rythms, flutes, and the combination of sad and happy in one song, often does it for me.
in general: i like minimal wave for example from brasil, polka from china, italo disco, aavikko, felix kubin, kap bambino, gina x, klaus nomi, d.a.f., film music, electrelane, gang gang dance, final fantasy, vashti, bunyan, etc...
7. do you hate people in general?
no
8. do you collect stuff? if you do, what kind of stuff do you collect?
objects that radiate..
objects which do not belong to a sub culture yet.
9. what gives you the most energy?
to be creative and cold showers in the morning.
10. if you were to work with a fashion designer, who would be your ideal choice?
i still like bernhard willhelm because he plays with visual language.
besides that i admire many other (young) deisgners. whoa re inspired to create yet unknown characters.
indstead of underlining the existing one's. i like beauty as a strong method to re-engage the rejected.
11. last but not least, how do you relate your presence with the world that you are surrounded by?
although it often feels seperate. i know i am part of the whole.
the more i bring my dreams into practice, the more i feel part of the world around me.
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