painter

“Kranenburg was built by the van Reenens, the family of the Lord of Bergen. It soon became a mayor’s residence. After the municipality of Bergen bought it, it stood empty for a while. An old childhood friend of mine was allowed to live there. Ans Wortel, the painter.
Ans went to school with me. As a child she already could draw well. I could also draw pretty well – at least I spent a lot of time on it. But I was always dissatisfied with the results, so at some point I stopped. Not her. She was Freek’s second cousin, that’s why I knew her. Not my type, way too rough.
I still had an old drawing from her school days. When she lived in Kranenburg, I brought it to her. What a mess there! Everywhere paint supplies, half paintings and things she needed for painting. I got coffee – not normal filter coffee but very strong coffee from one of those pots that you have to press. She had to move stuff on the table aside! And she was so happy, because she no longer had any drawings from that time. In exchange I received two other drawings from her. They now hang at home.”

Huize Kranenburg

“Kranenburg werd gebouwd door de van Reenens, de familie van de Heer van Bergen. Al snel werd het een burgemeesterswoning. Nadat de gemeente Bergen het kocht, heeft het een tijdje leeg gestaan. Toen mocht een oude jeugdvriendin van mij er wonen. Ans Wortel, de schilder.
Ans heeft bij mij op school gezeten. Als kind kon ze al goed tekenen. Ik kon ook wel aardig tekenen – ik besteedde er in ieder geval veel tijd aan. Maar ik was altijd ontevreden over het resultaat, dus op gegeven moment ben ik gestopt. Zij niet. Ze was een achternicht van Freek, daarom kende ik haar. Niet mijn type hoor, veel te ruig.
Ik had nog een oude tekening uit haar schooltijd. Toen ze in Kranenburg woonde, heb ik die naar haar gebracht. Wat een zooi was het daar! Overal verfspullen, halve schilderijen en van alles wat ze nodig had om te schilderen. Ik kreeg koffie – geen normale filterkoffie maar enorm sterke koffie uit zo’n pot waar je op moet drukken. Ze moest van alles op de tafel aan de kant schuiven! En ze was zo blij, want zelf had ze geen tekeningen meer uit die tijd. In ruil heb ik twee andere tekeningen van haar gekregen. Die hangen nu thuis.”

I did it. I created Art with a capital A, and it hung in a museum. A dream come true. In the Belvedere museum in Vienna, Austria, amidst all grand names of art history.

In fact I completed the work Quasimodo of Franz West. “The title of the installation, “Quasimodo” by Franz West, can be translated as ‘the Incomplete’. Consisting of a forged iron hook and a video, this only becomes complete when the hook is hammered into a wall and objects – or in the worst case one’s self – are hung up on it at will, according to the artist…”

So I asked the attendant if I was allowed to hang up something there. He chuckled shyly, not really knowing how to react. “Oh dear… I just started working here. But I guess… if I you read what the artist says, the idea is to do just that…”

I smiled at him “I totally agree. You are so right, and I would really love to do it!”

While the other visitors watched in a bit of a shock, I hung up my camera. Like a statement: Look! I am temporarily pausing my photography as a tribute to the artist and his art. Of course by hanging up the camera I prevented myself from taking professional high quality images. Thereby strengthening the incompleteness, as I was powerless and empty handed as a photographer. I could only take a snapshot with my mobile phone. For me, this snapshot now has become a piece of art in itself, mirroring different layers over the original work.

I call it: Sicut modo. So happy with it!

Art and adoration. I went to Vienna just to see this picture. Recently I visited the Klimt experience at the Fabrique de Lumières in Amsterdam. That raised a few memories: The shop in Amsterdam so many years ago when I was a high school teenager. The cards I found there – all about Jugendstil and fairies and so. And this one that I immediately loved.

So I decided to go and see it. No reproduction can give the feeling of the real thing. I tried to take pictures of the shimmering gold and silver particles, but it’s impossible. You have to see it for yourself. In the Belvedere museum in Vienna.

Art touches one´s sense of beauty. Museums always tickle my creativity and wake up my inner muse. There is so much beauty all around! Just a glimpse out of the window tells me there is a world full of splendor waiting to be transformed into masterpieces. And after leaving the building, I feel enlightened and ready to create the most stunning art myself. View of the Naturhistorisches Museum in Vienna through the blackout screen of the Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien.