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Schetsopdrachten#1
OpTrek gave sketching assignments to eight artists. On 24 May 2003 an information day took place. Urban planner Jeroen Geurst, of Geurts&Schulze b.v. architectural firm, Ogun Mellek, former resident of Transvaal, and Nicole Teuwse of Stichting Boog (organization for community structure) gave their views on the district. During a walk through the neighbourhood the artists further oriented themselves in the district. The artists had three months' time to develop their project proposals. By the end of September 2003 the project proposals were presented to the public. In 2004 and 2005 some of the ideas were realized.
Brief description of the artists:
Tatsurou Bashi (Tazro Niscino, Japan) is fascinated by details in public space, which he places in a different context with his work. Around sculptures, monuments or street lighting he builds spaces furnished as private living rooms, complete with bookcase and chairs. By this shift from outside to inside a change of perception occurs and he draws attention to everyday things that are often not even observed (any more). He also studies the meaning of a place by relocating objects from the city centre to the periphery. Click here for his project...
Guy Bahir (Israel-the Netherlands) is interested in the city as a living organism. He works with the material the city provides him with. In his work - which has the form of temporary sculptures - there is frequently a tension between construction and demolition; or controlled constructions and unplanned chaos. For example, he built very fragile constructions from old bricks, which remained standing without any mortar. Click here for his project proposal...
Helmut Dick (German-Dutch) is inspired by individual and collective behaviour in society. According to him, besides general acceptance, such behaviour may also contain a certain madness. From this point of view he tries to deal with important elements of his own life with the aim of creating ambiguous situations showing a private, individual poetry. In Berlin he made the work: 'field of lettuce as large as a block of flats'. He planted a field of lettuce in the shade of a block of flats; later he divided the heads of lettuce among the residents. The situations of his work are characterized by humour and absurdity, everyday things leave their familiar surroundings, so that new layers of meaning can arise. Click here for his plan...
Wapke Feenstra (Nederland) the relationship between man and environment, particularly the biased mental image one fosters about this relationship, is the subject of Wapke Feenstra's work. Invited by the CBK Dordrecht she developed c-a-n-o-p-e-n-e-r (1998) which provided alternatives to existing ideas about art in public space. Within that framework a number of artists designed temporary meeting places. For Transvaal Wapke Feenstra proposed a project which focuses on 'the deal'. After all large scale negotiations take place in this district . The city negotiates with the residents and in addition to that with companies and housing corporations, which in turn negotiate with house hunters. In their turn real estate agents negotiate with all parties involved. On the Hague market many negotiations take place as well and elsewhere in the district drugs are pushed. Feenstra wishes to explore a specific kind of transaction. To that purpose she proposed toe invite other artists to negotiate similar deals in a vacant shop in the Paul Krugerlaan. These deals will focus on values that differ from the usual ones. Click here for his plan...
Petra Gerrits (Nederland) Behaviour in public space is the starting point of Petra Gerrits' work. She is particularly interested in the unplanned use of residual spaces. Petra Gerrits proposes to screen two films on the Hague market, with two opposite views on urban renewal in Transvaal. One of these films represents the professional, corporate perspective of an urban planner, the other one shows the personal (emotional) involvement of the resident. She herself will be present in a market stall in order to discuss things with passers-by. She offers the visitors of her stall a walk to a vantage point on the roof of an apartment building on the Hobbemaplein. She regards this high spot as an observation post from where the visitor has a new perspective on the area, a perspective which will perhaps create space for both positions. Click here for his plan...
Tilmann Meyer-Faje (German-Dutch) occupies himself with the difference between the language used to describe buildings and their actual appearance. This led e.g. to a number of conducted tours in urban environments (Mozart-really, Mannheim, 2001). He is interested in the distinctions in the appearance of reality: what do we see, what is real, how is meaning created and how do we communicate about it? In what way do urban planners in urban-renewal areas discuss plans? How are these plans presented in public and what do they mean in reality? These past years he has primarily given conducted tours in public space. Click here for his project...
PIEK! (the Netherlands-Sri Lanka) works as a duo. In their work they occupy themselves with the tensions arising in a multicultural society. Globalization and the differences in religion are frequently their themes. For an art commission in Meppel concerning the question of bringing more life to the 'dead water' of a canal, they made a hole in the water surface of the canal and the money for the commission was sent to India in order to finance a water project there. Click here for their project proposal...
Ahmet Polat (Turkish-Dutch) is interested in the lifestyle of Turkish communities, in the stories of second and third generation migrants and the way they deal with integration. He derives his motivation from his own quest for his roots in Turkish culture. Polat lived in Transvaal for two years, becoming familiar with the people in the area and experiencing the area's dynamics. During his working period he engaged in conversation with residents. He wrote these conversations down and added them to his photographs. The stories he collected in this way made him curious about the personal histories and the daily lives of the people he met and their relationships to the area where they lived. Click here for their project proposal...