Tuesday, December 12, 2006

The Tree part 3

If it has become a matter of creating an event to reach successfully and relevantly with photography a larger audience, it is vital to have a subject for the event that touches deeply.
In this he has been rather successful. He seems to have the virtue to feel what is on the mind of many people, what touches them and what is brooding among the general public.
There is the example of his project “World of energy”, from the year 2000, which was showing how in 20 different countries worldwide in 20 families a form of energy was produced and consumed. This project was widely published and exhibited and even these days, pictures from the project are still published. Since 2000, energy became a very important issue and topic.
Another example is his project “World of little heroes” from 2004, where two same aged girls of 9, being both physically challenged but living in very different places, Samantha in Canada and Hasina in Bangladesh, were compared in their lives. This project was also published worldwide and presented as an exhibition at “Visa pour l’image” at Perpignan, France, the most important photo festival for photojournalism.
Although his most recent project “The most beautiful people in the world” is not completed yet, it has been published and exhibited worldwide already and requests for publications keep coming in.

Why is he convinced that a solitary tree in a landscape will excite a large audience? Why does he believe that many people will figuratively come to the tree? Gather around it. Wishing to share the experience, add their part to it and absorb all together more well-being?
As his other activities in photography, like the recent PS-series, he doesn’t think so much rationally about his initiatives, plans and ideas.
It is more a matter of taking initiatives and decisions based on instinct. What he feels he should do. Without immediately having a rational and convincing explanation for it.
He does make though an enormous effort to be alert and informed about the public. And about what is going on in the world. Knowing that this is part of the breeding grounds from which his plans and ideas come.

However, he never is much concerned about predictions about whether his projects will be successful or not. Like now, he has this strong feeling he must do this project “The Tree” and he even doesn’t know why exactly….
It feels like it has been gently put inside him and now he is responding to this gift by kindly performing it.
There have been artists who have been saying that they came to know that they were not more than transmitters.
Receiving something and next distributing it.
This explanation, how grotesque maybe, appeals to him.
And he is not very interested to know who needs people like him to transmit their messages.
Because no adequate and convincing answer can be found to this question.
He believes not everything should be questioned: there are several fundamental issues in our lives which are screaming to be answered and we may decide that we are just not ready to find and understand an answer yet.
But what he does believe is that he has an obligation to be available as a transmitter. Not to get diverted by unrelated activities. Therefore he never goes on holidays. Therefore he has no hobbies. Nor is he doing senseless activities. He is 100 % focused on receiving and transmitting. Everything in his life what he undertakes has as a function to be as optimally available as a transmitter as possible. This is also why he lives as healthy as possible having a strict regime of food intake, physical exercises and meditation.
Being the go-between. That is his duty. His obligation. That is why he lives.

He has been deeply influenced by Doris Lessing’s books. The Canopus in Argos: Archives-series.
Particularly the books:
“Shikasta” (1979. ISBN 0-224-01767-5),
“The Sirian Experiments” ( 1980 ISBN 0-224-01891-4),
“The marriages between zones three, four and five” (1980 ISBN 0-224-01490-X)
“The making of the representative for Planet 8” ( 1982 ISBN 0-224-02008-0).
Books rather unknown and obscure while extremely fundamental to understand our lives. Understand our past and future.

To understand the background and birthplace of the project “The Tree” one should read those books.
While in the meantime enjoying the thrill “The Tree” is already giving.

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