WORK CONCEPT

Rene Rietmeyer

Work Concept

Artworks are created, recognized, and exist in time and space. This seems so obvious that the actual significance of this statement is often overlooked.

TIME; always implicates movement or change. Time always passes, there is no standing still.  The way we experience, think, and perceive time is in constant flux. The possibilities for visualizing time using artistic means inevitably change over the course of time.

SPACE; although many have provided philosophical and scientific thoughts concerning Space, I am the opinion that even today there is still a lot to learn about Space itself.  

EXISTENCE; in its strict philosophical sense, is the “kind of being” that seems to apply exclusively to humans. “To exist” does not merely mean to be present, but rather it is “self-design”, being open to develop one self. One’s own existence, with its particular terms and conditions, can become an artistic subject and thus, serve as model for the self-encounter of the viewer.

My works, my Boxes, do not simply reproduce visual representational images of a subject. The emotionality and subjectivity of my concept are an expression of my own existence and personality. I create an atmosphere that mirrors my very personal subjective thoughts about the subject.

My Boxes create an atmosphere. They transport my emotional and intellectual relationship with the subject by using form, color, texture, composition and a conscious choice of material. Whether my work is visually attractive or not, is not relevant. My objects mirror my thoughts concerning existence and thereby, at the same time, also say something about me, my life, regardless whether the result is aesthetically attractive or not.

My work is therefore more than just an abstract reproduction of perceptions; it includes my reflections, my existence as a human being, as well. The unavoidable dialogue with my own works heightens also my own awareness of my existence as being part of this world. It is an encounter with myself, my surroundings, with me as a person, with my past, the present and my reflections upon this.

 “Time-Space-Existence” are for me increasingly conscious and important factors. With my ongoing personal development, my awareness concerning life is growing and the confrontation with questions about life itself and my own existence, are taking on increasing importance. The expression of my “here and now” exists in all of my works, a very conscious experiencing of life itself.

The confrontation with your own existence as a human being in relation to your own surroundings teaches you many things about priorities and values in life. The communication with other people, either directly or through my work, allows me to make known my thoughts and my presence as a person.

Being aware of all thoughts, research, subjects and topics that I myself put in my works; I have to come to the conclusion that above all, my work is nothing other than the proof of my existence. Not much different than the 30,000-year-old handprint of the painter in the Chauvet cave in France.