On January 29 the exhibition about social media I curated for Kunstenlab closed. Today I updated this website with new content for the last time.

You can find a nice selection of pictures taken by Kunstenlab and me on Flickr and a video by Egbert Scheffer on YouTube. Looking back I’m really content with the way this project turned out. In some degree it even changed my own perception of social media. I think ‘#isthemessage’ succeeded in the multitude of goals I set out at the start, although I would have expected it to gain a bit more media attention then it actually did.

I would like to thank Kunstenlab for their invitation and support, and all participating artists for their work.

Social media have made a name for themselves in society. For many, a life without is barely conceivable. How does art relate to social media? Artists are, as with the introduction of photography and video, first at the scene to explore the (artistic) possibilities of the medium. But also to critically examine and question them. Reason enough for Kunstenlab to ask me as a guest curator for an exhibition on this topic. Not only because I’m an artist, designer, curator and owner of a record label, but also as early and frequent social media user.

The exhibition ‘#isthemessage’ shows a kaleidoscopic and intriguing image of social media and the phenomena triggered by them. For example, Christopher Baker makes you aware of the nature of tweets in his Murmur Study, Birgit Bachler lets you listen to the Internet and examines an anonymous communication network in physical public with The Discrete Dialogue Network, Philipp Teister made the login of his personal Facebook profile known in his Facebook Life Sharing project and Nicholas Felton (also graphic designer of the new Facebook Timeline) shows very personal infographics in his Annual Reports.

As with other media, it is primarily how, why and by whom social media are used that matters. The exhibition is the result of research into a multitude of different perspectives from which social media can be viewed: e.g. psychology, identity, communication, utopia, altruism, social criticism, corporate business, data mining, marketing, revolution, democratization (of art) and – somewhat obvious – privacy. The exhibition ‘#isthemessage’ opens new ways to experience the power of social media and to ask critical questions about the place these media have in our lives.

Given the particular subject of this exhibition I decided not to fill the entire exhibition to leave room for a social aspect. The public can contribute and participate by mailing directly to the printer that is installed in the exhibition area (starting December 17 to isthemessage@hpeprint.com) or be a guest curator of this input by making a personal selection of the prints accumulating on the floor. Of course, participation via Twitter (#isthemessage) and this Facebook wall is also possible.

I created the website hashtagisthemessage.net for this exhibition. Usable as an online version of a catalogue. In the middle column you’ll find an additional selection of works, which can be found online. This website will be updated once more with all added content and data obtained during the exhibition.

The opening of #isthemessage takes place on Sunday 18 December at 16:00 with the participation of De Bubbelebim, an (anti)literary and absurd theater-stage-performance-viduo from Rotterdam. De Bubbelebim appears to have something to say about sociale media as well.

This morning I finally completed a project I have been working and waiting on for a long time (due to many unforeseen circumstances). About a year ago, I was asked by Kunstenlab to design and produce four benches for the Landtonen project in Okkenbroek. Practically the only requirements in this assignment were that these benches should blend in with the rural surroundings and incorporate a few lines of selected text in the design. The budget was extremely tight.

I decided to go with tree trunks (how can you go wrong with lumber?) and contacted IJsellandschap to provide me with a local harvest of trees. It took some time but eventually I had four weighty pieces of wood I could work with (thank you Gerben). I removed the bark, chisseled square holes in the logs and fitted them with four classic coffee table legs each. I planed the seating area and surface milled the provided texts (by hand).

Oh well, you can see the results in the pictures below.

Special thanks go out to Josien in ‘t Hof (at Kunstenlab) and Ap Haverslag (for initiating the Landtonen project, helping me with the positioning of the benches and providing me with all sorts of insights in the local community of Okkenbroek).

I just received a message telling me that Wegwerk is on display in an exhibition hosted by Eerst! and Filter in Tetem, Enschede. There will be a party on Friday the 3rd of September. Multitupper might be on display during this party. Both Wegwerk and Multitupper were already in the collection of Eerst!, a nice art-store initiative in Enschede.

Update: The exhibition is cancelled due to heavy rain fall. The party is still on… for now.

Like I mentioned in my previous post, I have tried to make some decent photo documentation of my prints currently on display in the Bergkerk. Because of the reflections and the subtleness of the prints this wasn’t easy… but here is my first attempt. It’ll give you an impression at least.

There are three works, they are all untitled. Basically they are short sentences in fine print on a black surface (40 cm x 50 cm). Because of the glass in the frames these black surfaces turn into very effective mirrors (as you can see). The typography is so small that you have to get real close to be able to read them.

I think the contemplative nature of these prints works very well in conjuncture with the vast space of the church they are in now. There is also sufficient approaching distance. Someone said they made him think of empty flatscreen monitors at first. I hadn’t noticed that visual link before, but I think I’m quite happy with it.