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Dave de Leeuw the 31 year old Dutch artist painter and video installations has been interviewed by Homa Nasab for an article published in Blouin Artinfo titled ‘Q&A with Dutch Artist Dave de Leeuw’. During the interview Leeuw states “Birth, life and death are always quite astonishing experiences, but I like to step out of my perishable self and see a slightly bigger picture. When I see both the sun and the moon in the sky I have this natural urge to figure out the true proportion of this phenomenal triangle of celestial bodies. When I manage to do this and I feel the burning heat of the sun on my face I can experience a fraction of the sheer power and greatness of the universe. And then, I can put my existence in a more realistic perspective again for another day or so. Sometimes I wonder if this is real, because if it is not, then it could be art! …[When asked who was the most influential person in his life, Leeuw stated] Andre Franquin (1924-1997), a Belgian comic artist most famous for his Gaston and Spirou series. As a kid I used to read his comics every night before I went sleep. I remember his drawings as the first works of art that fascinated me. I stopped reading the story to watch the amazing lines he used to make his fantasy world come alive. I didn’t undestand properly how this was possible but I knew this was something I wanted to do too. …The best thing about the art world is the stage you get to show your art, to share the thoughts and feelings you put in your work with others and let them experience this in their own way. …The responsibility of artists is to produce an artificial experience of their ideas and/or feelings. Not only for entertainment, but most important to provoke the mind.”  Inspired by Homa Nasab, Blouin Artinfo ow.ly/lMFAE Image source davedeleeuw ow.ly/lMFmS Most important to provoke the mind (June 29 2013)

Dave de Leeuw the 31 year old Dutch artist painter and video installations has been interviewed by Homa Nasab for an article published in Blouin Artinfo titled ‘Q&A with Dutch Artist Dave de Leeuw’. During the interview Leeuw states “Birth, life and death are always quite astonishing experiences, but I like to step out of my perishable self and see a slightly bigger picture. When I see both the sun and the moon in the sky I have this natural urge to figure out the true proportion of this phenomenal triangle of celestial bodies. When I manage to do this and I feel the burning heat of the sun on my face I can experience a fraction of the sheer power and greatness of the universe. And then, I can put my existence in a more realistic perspective again for another day or so. Sometimes I wonder if this is real, because if it is not, then it could be art! …[When asked who was the most influential person in his life, Leeuw stated] Andre Franquin (1924-1997), a Belgian comic artist most famous for his Gaston and Spirou series. As a kid I used to read his comics every night before I went sleep. I remember his drawings as the first works of art that fascinated me. I stopped reading the story to watch the amazing lines he used to make his fantasy world come alive. I didn’t undestand properly how this was possible but I knew this was something I wanted to do too. …The best thing about the art world is the stage you get to show your art, to share the thoughts and feelings you put in your work with others and let them experience this in their own way. …The responsibility of artists is to produce an artificial experience of their ideas and/or feelings. Not only for entertainment, but most important to provoke the mind.”

 

Inspired by Homa Nasab, Blouin Artinfo ow.ly/lMFAE Image source davedeleeuw ow.ly/lMFmS

Ian Buruma the 61 year old Dutch Professor of Democracy, Human Rights, and Journalism having  authored numerous books, including ‘Murder in Amsterdam: The Death of Theo Van Gogh’ and the ‘Limits of Tolerance and Taming the Gods: Religion and Democracy on Three Continents’, has published an article on the Project Syndicate titled ‘Does Europe Need Britain?’. Buruma states “Many people in the United Kingdom believe that their country can do perfectly well outside the European Union. Members of the UK Independence Party even think that Britain would do better, as do a considerable number of Conservative “Euro-skeptics.” They dream of Britain as a kind of Singapore of the West, a commercial powerhouse ruled from the City of London. That is why Prime Minister David Cameron felt obliged to offer the British people a referendum on a simple question: in or out. …In the meantime, there is another question to be considered: how many Europeans want Britain to stay in the EU? The answer depends partly on nationality. …it would be wrong simply to dismiss British doubts about the European drive toward greater unity. It is not just a nationalist reaction. Many Europeans now resent the expanding powers of EU bureaucracy. British resistance to grand European plans is the democratic grit in an enterprise that could become authoritarian, despite having the best intentions, and should serve as a necessary corrective to the utopianism of the technocrats. Those who favor European unification should take criticisms of its political flaws very seriously. Doing so is the only chance to ensure that a united Europe, whatever form it takes, will be democratic, as well as economically beneficial. That is why Europe needs Britain: not as an offshore center of banking and commerce, but as a difficult, questioning, stubbornly democratic partner.” Inspired by Ian Buruma, Project Syndicate ow.ly/hLPmO Image source Larry D. Moore ow.ly/hLPfa Does Europe Need Britain? (February 19 2013)

 

Ian Buruma the 61 year old Dutch Professor of Democracy, Human Rights, and Journalism having  authored numerous books, including ‘Murder in Amsterdam: The Death of Theo Van Gogh’ and the ‘Limits of Tolerance and Taming the Gods: Religion and Democracy on Three Continents’, has published an article on the Project Syndicate titled ‘Does Europe Need Britain?’. Buruma states “Many people in the United Kingdom believe that their country can do perfectly well outside the European Union. Members of the UK Independence Party even think that Britain would do better, as do a considerable number of Conservative “Euro-skeptics.” They dream of Britain as a kind of Singapore of the West, a commercial powerhouse ruled from the City of London. That is why Prime Minister David Cameron felt obliged to offer the British people a referendum on a simple question: in or out. …In the meantime, there is another question to be considered: how many Europeans want Britain to stay in the EU? The answer depends partly on nationality. …it would be wrong simply to dismiss British doubts about the European drive toward greater unity. It is not just a nationalist reaction. Many Europeans now resent the expanding powers of EU bureaucracy. British resistance to grand European plans is the democratic grit in an enterprise that could become authoritarian, despite having the best intentions, and should serve as a necessary corrective to the utopianism of the technocrats. Those who favor European unification should take criticisms of its political flaws very seriously. Doing so is the only chance to ensure that a united Europe, whatever form it takes, will be democratic, as well as economically beneficial. That is why Europe needs Britain: not as an offshore center of banking and commerce, but as a difficult, questioning, stubbornly democratic partner.”

 

Inspired by Ian Buruma, Project Syndicate ow.ly/hLPmO Image source Larry D. Moore ow.ly/hLPfa

Controversial figure in Netherlands and abroad (September 29 2012) Controversial figure in Netherlands and abroad (September 29 2012)

Geert Wilders the 49 year old Dutch far-right politician, founder and leader of the Party for Freedom the fourth-largest political party in the Netherlands best known for his criticism of Islam, summing up his views by saying, “I don’t hate Muslims, I hate Islam”, views that have made him a controversial figure in the Netherlands and abroad. Anno Bunnik has published an article on Aljazeera titled ‘The rise and fall of Geert Wilders?’ stating “…Wilders is labelled the sorcerer’s apprentice. Trained by one of the most prominent Dutch politicians in recent decades – “sorcerer” Frits Bolkesteijn – Wilders transformed from a relatively unknown Member of Parliament into the most outspoken and influential politician in the Netherlands. But his magic seems to have worn off, as Dutch voters are increasingly getting tired of his yearning for political hysteria. …Even when Wilders-admirer Anders Breivik slaughtered 77 children and young adults in Norway it did not harm his position. PVV-voters are able to distinguish between a terrorist and a legitimate politician, even if they share similar views. Nothing seemed to stop Wilders rise to power. …Wilders, however, failed to observe … the majority of voters simply do not want more political crises, but instead long for politicians to take up their responsibilities – even if that means tough austerity measures. Not a single person that I spoke to in recent weeks, irrespective of their background, is really looking forward to yet another general election. Most voters hold Wilders accountable for tearing down the minority government and blame him for prioritising his own interest over national interest.”

 

Inspired by Anno Bunnik ow.ly/dPe4t image source Twitter ow.ly/dPeGA

Voyeurs caught spying on moments of grace (August 10 2012) Voyeurs caught spying on moments of grace (August 10 2012)

Rineke Dijkstra the 53 year old Dutch photographer renowned for her single portraits usually in series of work taking in groups such as adolescents, clubbers, soldiers, recent mothers, or bullfighters; has been profiled by Kyle Chayka in an article published on Artinfo. In the article Chayka states “While working as an editorial photographer on assignment, the artist got into a serious accident. Doctors warned her that if she didn’t exercise extensively she might lose the use of her legs, and so she took to swimming. One day after climbing exhausted out of the pool, she noticed that her eyes were rimmed with red, as if she had been crying. Dijkstra decided to turn that moment into a self-portrait, and the resulting image hangs on the Guggenheim’s gallery wall. …Dijkstra is seen standing against a geometric tiled wall, eyes staring straight ahead at the viewer, worn out yet ferociously self-possessed. It was then that the photographer realized the power of shooting her subjects in moments of distress or suspension, times when the wall between the individual and society comes down and the soul is bared. The strategy pays off viscerally in Dijkstra’s series of portraits of new mothers shot just after birth. The women stand in the hallways of their homes (where Dutch women often give birth) cradling their newborns, faces communicating a captivating mix of shock and bemused joy. … We, of course, are the voyeurs caught spying on their moments of grace. Yet Dijkstra’s accomplishment is that she doesn’t sexualize, idealize, or exoticize what she captures.”

 

Inspired by Artinfo ow.ly/cECZx image source Twitter ow.ly/cEEfe

Pieter Wezeman the 42 year old Dutch Senior researcher with the SIPRI Arms Transfer Programme with expertise in Arms flows and procurements claims the Asian states are the largest of the arms buyers of the world. In an article published on the Press Service News Agency, Thalif Deen following his interview with Wezeman states “China, India and South Korea – three of the most vibrant economies in Asia – are also beefing up their military arsenals with new weapons systems from the United States, Russia, Germany, France and the UK… beating out the traditional frontrunners – the rich, oil-blessed Middle Eastern countries. India was the world’s single largest recipient of arms, accounting for 10 per cent of global arms imports, followed by South Korea (six per cent of arms transfers), Pakistan (five per cent), China (five per cent) and Singapore (four per cent). The five biggest arms suppliers in 2007-2011 were the United States, Russia, Germany, France and the UK. With the exception of Germany, the four other suppliers are veto-wielding permanent members of the UN Security Council. The top five suppliers accounted for 75 per cent of all international arms transfers.”

 

Inspired by Thalif Deen http://ow.ly/a6WSs image source Thella Johnson http://ow.ly/a6Xiy

This work is about iconic people, places and events of our day.  Recorded visually through daily compilations of manipulated digital images, the work is posted online and disseminated via online media and social networks. The works are diaristic in nature, that metaphorically record a spectator’s experience of the contemporary digital age.  The resulting work intentionally has a painterly aesthetic acknowledging the artists historical painting practice. 

Adapting Pop Art’s notion of mass media imagery into a context of the contemporary digital age, the work draws on a myriad points of reference. Utilizing fractured images to provide an allusion to the digital noise pounding away daily into our sub consciousness.  The work diverges from the traditional Pop Art notion of a pronounced repetition of a consumer icon, instead this work focuses on the deluge of contemporary digital content. The compilation of the fragmented imagery is vividly distractive, not unlike cable surfing or a jaunt through Times Square.

The work is premised on the basis that Pop art in its beginnings, freeze-framed what consumers of popular culture experienced into iconic visual abstractions. With the advent of the techno age, visual information circulates in such quantities, so rapidly and exponentially, that to comprehend a fraction of it all becomes a kind of production process in itself.  Hence this work considers fragmented elements of Pop Culture through an artistic and conceptual exploration of specific people and events of the day.

www.ianbunn.com

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