University Database Concept

Process and explanation: The question was to create a concept in which we could use the university database of pictures to create an art work. Despite the fact that I have access to such a database I find it unethical to make use of these pictures, thus I decided to refrain from creating a work but instead merely write down a concept. I attend a small college, approximately 900 students, this brings with it a promise of a more individualized educations, class size is limited to 22 students, teachers know each of these students on a more personal level and administrative staff is more approachable. At least, this is the utopian view of the system. However, during my time here at Bogazici I have experienced more and more that this is not necessarily always true, and that, although Bogazici is a much bigger institute, I feel closer to some of my teachers here, and more helped by the system, than back home. If I was to create an art work with these pictures I would thus try to comment on this lack of individual attention, an example could be by erasing the names of the students in the directory and instead placing their student numbers, or any random number to identify them. I have above placed an example of how this would change the directory by using my own picture.

Additionally I also thought about changing all the pictures into curriculum vitae’s and grade lists, since this seems to be of bigger importance to many students, at least in my school, then the actual process of knowledge acquisition and development as a person. There often seems to be a large emphasis on doing something just so that it will look good on your resume, rather than because you are very passionate about it. So instead of showing yourself, and showing who you are in daily life, you show a paper version of yourself on which you list everything you have accomplished. 

Street Art Concept

Process:
For this picture I placed a printscreen of my Facebook page in a fictional billboard that could be placed next to the highway. 

If I would want to carry this out in reality I would have to create a poster that would fit the billboard and paste it onto an actual one. Since I do not have my residence permit yet and the Turkish police scares me, I did not do this. 

Explanation:

Many people have been worrying over the recent changes in Facebook and Whatsapp in terms of privacy issues. They argue that on January 1st 2015 our current level of privacy will be severely compromised by these media. I agree with them on the fact that our privacy will be compromised, I, however, disagree with the fact that this will happen from January first onward. I argue that media such as Facebook and Whatsapp have always placed a risk to our privacy, and we should accept the fact that this is the case, although it may be a warped logic in the sense that they should have never used our personal information to begin with, I would say that we should take responsibility for our own actions online, and thus only place images and text that we are not ashamed of. In order to demonstrate this argument, I would place my Facebook page on billboards and project it on buildings, to show that I have nothing to hide, and that I take this responsibility. 

Interpretation Michelangelo's Creation of Adam

Michelangelo Buonarroti - Creation of Adam

1511

Fresco

4.8m x 2.3m

Sistine Chapel

Rosa Paardenkooper - Digitalized

2014

Photo Layers
3008 x 2000

Istanbul

Process:

I added an Iphone to the picture which I placed in Adams hand.

Explanation:

Through this very subtle adjustment I aim to criticize the ways in which we let our lives be mediated by electronic devices. When we step out into any touristic area we can observe an increasing number of people who hardly seem to look at their environment, apart from through their phone, tablet or camera screen. I think that this is compromising the experience in many ways, since people no longer seem to be taking the time for contemplation but rather only aim to document their lives in order to show this footage to others. At first I wanted to make the Iphone bigger and more present, by tilting it slightly to the viewer and showing the picture Adam is making (either of himself or of God), but I decided to keep it to this subtle adjustment, since this development seemed to have taken over our lives in a similarly quiet fashion, making it almost inevitable for people to take on this attitude for themselves. In addition to that I also wanted to criticize the inattentiveness of people to the art works, which is almost inherent to the electronic mediation, by making the change so small that many would perhaps not even notice, were it actually to be there in the Sistine Chapel. 

Interpretation of Joseph Beuys' Felt Suit

Joseph Beuys - Felt Suit

1970

Stitched Felt

170cm x 100cm

Private Collection

Rosa Paardenkooper - Handyman

2014

Interpretation of Joseph Beuys' Felt Suit

Mixed Media
2400x1800

Istanbul

Process:

I first assembled the three pictures of the hands, I found the right and left one online, and the middle one is my own hand print. After that I edited the hands into the picture of the art work by Beuys with the help of an online photo editor.

Explanation:

I wanted to demonstrate how a small adaptation to an art work, but also to anything else, can change our perception, through juxtaposing three identical suits with a different hand. Each of the hands create a surrealist effect due to the fact that they are not fully attached to the suit, and the suit is clearly not worn by anyone. However, this effect is more expected from the middle piece, since this does not contain a real hand, then from the other two, since they could, realistically speaking, be coming out of a suit, as they are human hands. Each of the hands also show a different gesture, the first being open and reaching out, the second being completely spread, either because of tension or as a wave, the last one trying to grab something or trying to put his fingers around an unknown object. Through these different gestures I wanted to show that we can interpret someone through something as small as the way in which they position their hands, the first and second could be more welcoming, the third could be more closed. 

Interview Natalie Bookchin

Natalie Bookchin is a new media artist based in Los Angeles California. In her works she has used the internet as a site and medium for art making, producing video games, compilations of online videos and other works strongly related to new media. Her works mainly consist of video installations and web projects which she has published both online and exhibited in several institutions. She often aims to question or discuss the far-reaching consequences of the internet and digital technologies. In addition to that she emphasizes the relationship between participatory culture and the public sphere. Her work metapet of 2002 addresses the social implications of genetic research. Metapet is a video game in which Bookchin depicts an era in which genetic interventions are no longer reserved for cows and soy beans but are increasingly applied to human beings. What interested me personally in Bookchin's work is the way in which she addresses social issues without placing any clear judgement, in my interpretation she seemed to leave this open to the viewer to decide. I asked her about this, and other things, in a short interview;

Bookchin's Metapet Character
(2012)

Q: Your works seems to take on thought provoking political and social
themes, such as would be the case with metapet, in which you discuss
the social implications of genetic research. However, your works
almost never seem to take on a very obvious stance on the matter under
discussion, is this a conscious decision? Do you feel that the viewer
should remain free to form their own opinion?

A: Yes. I hope to open up a conversation in my work, rather than shutting
it down. I think that posing provocative questions or positoningviewers in conflictual environments or situations can  open up
a space for reflection and dialogue.

---

Q: In your works you have not only used the internet as a medium but you
have also used it as a platform to exhibit what you created. What made
you decide to shift from the internet as an exhibition space to
displaying your work in museums and galleries as well?

A: I  took my work offline in order to better control the environment in
which the work was seen. The scale, sonic space, and architecturalenvironment in which the work would unfold began to matter more, and  Iwanted the works to be seen in a less distracting more contemplative
space.---

Q: Would you say that the viewer experience is altered, or perhaps even
compromised by the physical exhibition space as opposed to the virtual
world?

A: I think for the video installations I’ve done since 2009, it is the
online space that compromises the experience. Seeing them live is a
more fully embodied experience. Viewers become viscerally and
psychically a part of the installations, as the narratives, sounds,and images unfold around them. The faces in videos act asmirrors to the viewer, and viewers can feel  as if they are in a
crowded room filled with the virtual presence of my video subjects. Of
course most people see my work online, and I don’t want to discount
that experience –  in fact I encourage it by putting my work online –
but experiencing the installations in physical space is really
something different. Now he’s out in public and everyone can see from
2012 unfortunately can’t really be viewed online – it is a difficult
piece to translate – and must be seen live in physical space where 18
channels of video surround and interpellate viewers .

---

Q: Your work often emphasizes the amount of information we store online,
and leave accessible to others. This very much links to your theory of
the narrative form of the loop, which you have introduced in ‘Databank
of everyday’. Is this something that you personally fear? Or is it
rather something that you would encourage?

A: I would put it differently – I am interested in ways of “performing”
data archives we are making, of finding ways of bringing them to life,or into the spotlight, of animating them in order to reflect onthis new condition we are making for ourselves.---

Q: A final question, your new project ‘Long story short’ has a very
strong social message, and takes on the huge topic of poverty in the
United States. How do you find the balance between working on such an
emotional subject on the one hand, and remaining a strong artistic
judgement on the other hand? Is it difficult to decide to cut out
parts of people’s personal story in order to uphold the artistic
quality of the final work?



A: In Long Story Short, I edit to sharpen and clarify, rather than to
diffuse the stories. My editing is a way to link the many individual
narrations  together, in order to make visible the relationship of the
individual to the collective. In the case of American poverty, wherepoverty is often misunderstood as a result of personal choices and individual
failings,  this is a political as well as an aesthetic decision. I also
hope that the aesthetic of the project –its poetry,musicality, and its  rhythm – becomes a way to draw viewers in, to
lure them into engage with a very difficult and raw, but also very
urgent subject.


Natalie Bookchin's website: http://bookchin.net/
Long Story Short: http://longstory.us/
Metapet: http://metapet.net/
Dutch wikipedia page created by me: http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natalie_Bookchin 

Interpretation willi Baumeister - Mortaruru with Red Overhead

Willi Baumeister - Mortaruru with Red Overhead

1953

Oil on board

100cm x 81cm

Private collection

Rosa Paardenkooper - Tasty
Interpretation of Willi Baumeisters' Mortaruru with Red Overhead
2014
Fruits and vegetables and pen on paper
720x960
Istanbul

Process

The assignment was to recreate an art work with fruits and vegetables, I decided to recreate the painting by Baumeister. I first cut the eggplant in the right shape, and placed the tomato above it. I then continued to cut the pepper and eggplant pieces so that they could represent the smaller parts in the work. I added the decoration at the bottom of the paper with pen, and finally I colored one piece of eggplant blueish so that it would match the piece in the top right. 

Explanation:

This was the assignment so there is not much I can say here. However, my choice for the art work by Baumeister was based on the fact that, first of all it is easier to recreate these shapes with vegetables, then for example a more figurative piece. I also felt that the piece resembled something organic in a way, based on its shapes and most of its colors. Finally I thought that the explanation in the art book was very interesting: "their [the shapes] relationship to each other - both formalistically and and colouristically - is unclear, creating a disjointed feeling of tension and uneasiness" (Phaidon 1996). I disagree with this statement and actually thought that the forms were all interacting with one another, I tried to emphasize this interpretation by choosing fruits and vegetables that go well together in terms of their taste, so as to make them more connected. Finally, I thought it would be more of a challenge to choose a piece that is not originally made up of food. 

Interpretation the School of Athens - Raphael

Raphael - The School of Athens

1510-1511

Fresco

5.0m x 7.7m

Vatican Museums and Galleries, Vatican City 

Mickalene Thomas - Origin of the Universe 2

2012

Rhinestone, acrylic paint and oil enamel on wood panel

111.8 cm x 121.9 cm 

Lehmann Maupin Gallery, New York

Rosa Paardenkooper - Origin

Interpretation of Raphael’s the School of Athens
2014

Picture layering
2400x1800
Istanbul

Process:

I used the original picture of Raphael’s School of Athens and layered it with Mickalene Thomas Origin of the Universe 2, which references the famous l’origine du monde by Courbet. I made the Origin of the Universe painting transparent so that both paintings were visible. In addition to that I tried to place the painting by Thomas so that the vagina was central and mimicked the shape of the arches in the background.

Explanation:

Upon my last visit to Arter I was very inspired by an art work by Vasan Sitthiket a Thai artist who created a collection of work called ‘we come from the same way’ representing iconic historical figures who are shown emerging from women’s legs, allegedly representing birth. There are several interpretations possible to this painting, it demonstrates a certain equality in all people, it can criticise the famous saying ‘all men are created equal’ by presenting the necessity of women in creation, it can criticise the marginal role of women in general throughout history etc. I chose this last interpretation as the inspiration for my own art work, in which I aim to emphasize that each of these men whom we represent as great thinkers do not rule out the possibility of female thinkers amongst their time who were equally as intelligent, but were not granted the same possibilities as these men. 

Other Visual References:

Courbet - l'origine du monde
Vasan Sitthiket - We Come From the Same Way

Interpretation Edvard Munch - Madonna

Edvard Munch - Madonna 

1894-95

Oil on canvas

91 cm × 70.5 cm (36 in × 27.8 in).

Version from National Gallery Oslo, Oslo. 

Rosa Paardenkooper - Everyone is a Slut

Interpretation of Edvard Munch's Madonna

Istanbul. 2014. 

900x1200

Mixed Media

Process:

I found 80 passport photos of women all around the world by using the word ‘passport photo’ in various languages. I then applied these pictures onto Munch’s painting. After that I recreated the background which should intensify the whole or flames in which she lies. I then edited the picture so that her boobs would be a different colour in order from them to pop out. I finally added the word slut in a label-styled font to cover her eyes.

Explanation:

My interpretation of Munch’s work is that of a female who is enjoying sexual intercourse either with a man or with herself and loses herself in the experience, this interpretation has been hinted at before, and if true, would be highly controversial given the fact that the woman in question is referred to as the Holy Virgin, Madonna. In the current social climate of glorifying rape culture and continuous slut-shaming, sex has moved away from the pleasure Munch represents in this painting, and has become something that women in particularly need to justify themselves for, in a way similar to the criticism offered by the Christian church. In this piece I aim to criticize this tendency by taking passport photos of women from different ages, races and backgrounds and providing them all with the slut label because they are taking part in the enjoyment of the Madonna. I want to argue that there exists, and has always existed, a stigma against women taking pleasure out of sexual intercourse. To intensify the element of judgement I have embedded her in flames, which need to represent hell, this also to refer back to the original piece which in my opinion criticizes and provokes Christianity. Finally I used the reddish colour of her boobs to emphasize how the current focus is moved away from female faces and more importantly minds, and instead only looks at their bodies and how they use them. 

Other Visual references:

Rene Magritte - Rape, 1934, Brussels, oil on canvas
Rene Magritte - Dangerous liaisons, 1926, oil on canvas

Edvard Munch - Madonna 

Version from National Gallery Oslo, Oslo. 1894–95. 

91 cm × 70.5 cm (36 in × 27.8 in).

Rosa Paardenkooper - I'm Every Woman
Interpretation of Edvard Munch's Madonna

2014

Mixed Media
Istanbul

After the advice of Dr Gülan and the class I decided to change my picture into something that had a little less adjustments and was a bit easier to read. I incorporated the following changes:

Process:

I found 80 passport photos of women all around the world by using the word ‘passport photo’ in various languages. I then applied these pictures onto Munch’s painting. In addition to that I altered the saturation of the picture so as to make the colours warmer.

Explanation:

Interpreting this painting as a representation of female pleasure, no matter in which way (religious, sexual or other) we could say that this demonstrates the agency of a woman to show her pleasure. This contradicts more traditional and conservative notions of femininity in which the woman is required to stay indoors and is not supposed to be involved so much in the public sphere. This painting goes against that notion by displaying a woman who is, in my opinion, experiencing pleasure, built up out of all these different women from different backgrounds who are enjoying this pleasure with her, and are thus also allowed to express this in their daily lives. I have made the colours warmer to enhance the feeling of joy.