Famous words of the Dutch
poet Slauerhoff happened to be; "my home lays in my poems only". For Hundertwasser
we could use the alternative reading; "my home lays in my creations only".
His paintings are so playful, so free from boundaries and yet they are
in an organic way connected to everything in nature, that this commitment
gives away his real poetic home.
Hundertwasser was like the
poet Slauerhoff a traveler by heart and these nomadic souls embrace the
world in it's magnificence totality. Only allowing themselves a temporary
stop in the arms of a lover, or an inspiring friend.
The painting I have chosen
for this introduction is a clear example of such an alliance.
During his
first mayor trip Hundertwasser traveled to Italy where he met the French
painter René Bro and his companions. Bro was well known for his
odd heads with the almond shaped eyes. While Hundertwasser had a real passion
for trees. They mixed their fascinations together in a daring experiment.
As they worked together on the painting above. The image is done by Bro,
while Hundertwasser gave it color.
Underneath all the other images
I have given notification of the materials used for the creations. The PC is very well capable to reflect
beautiful colors, but what's lacking is the structure of an image. While
this is of utmost importance in the work of this artist. Poor as he was
at his early start, he used about everything he could lay his hands on.
Often his creations were done on delicate pieces of rice-paper. Which
were easy to take on his travels. In a later phase the small pieces were glued
together .
When, in the sixties, I first
got acquaintance with his art it was this very specific and playful use
of materials which opened my heart.
For closing I would love to
use these winged words of Hundertwasser; 'Everything is indefinitely
simple. Everything is indefinitely beautiful'.
To be able to understand
the essential of this almost Boedhistic pronunciation we have to place
it into the light of his process of growth. Here is not the place to go
into all that. The only thing I tried to achieve was to rise your curiosity
for more.
Believe me, a man who could almost directly benefit from artists
like Egon Schiele and Gustav Klimt, and who's thoughts came straight in
opposition to the famous rationalist Loos, doesn't bring only delicious
eye-candy, but brings also mighty interesting stuff to read about.
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