Christopher Coppers is a Belgian artist who is based in Brussels. His current work consists, for a large part, of interventions, either with, within or on magazines. Construction and deconstruction are important key elements in his art. He has by now used many different magazines as his medium, for the most fashion related ones. Some examples are: Elle, Vogue, BEople, Playboy,View magazine, Vanity Fair and ID fashion magazine.
He Combines his love for printed matter with an obvious urge for creative distortion or destruction. Christopher extremely careful and diligent revisits these magazines, he dramatically reinterprets the original covers by intricately carving them and so transforming them into sculptures. By doing this he gives them a second purpose, a second life.

Photos: Christopher Coppers | magazines

The Kinetic Sculpture by Art+Com is a fascinating metaphorical translation of the process of form-finding in art and design. The interplay of mechanical and electronic components creates a dynamic art piece reflecting the precise exchange between a great number of individual elements and the single, coherent picture that emerges from them.714 metal spheres, hanging from thin steel wires attached to individually-controlled stepper motors and covering the area of six square meters, animate a seven minute long mechatronic narrative. In the beginning, moving chaotically, then evolving to several competing forms that eventually resolve to the finished object, the Kinetic Sculpture creates an artistic visualisation of the process of form-finding in different variations.

The installation is on display in the BMW museum, Munich, Germany.

Video and Photos: Art+Com | BMW Museum, Munich

Hello World! or: How I Learned to Stop Listening and Love the Noise is an immersive, large-scale audio visual installation comprised of thousands of unique video diaries gathered from the Internet. The project is a meditation on the contemporary plight of democratic, participative media and the fundamental human desire to be heard.

Christopher Baker engages with his work often the rich collection of social, technological and ideological networks present in the urban landscape. Read also more about him and his creations in an earlier article posted on the Warmenhoven & Venderbos blog here.

On one hand, new media technologies like YouTube have enabled new speakers at an alarming rate. On the other hand, no new technologies have emerged that allow us to listen to all of these new public speakers. Each video consists of a single lone individual speaking candidly to a (potentially massive) imagined audience from a private space such as a bedroom, kitchen, or dorm room. The multi-channel sound composition glides between individuals and the group, allowing viewers to listen in on unique speakers or become immersed in the cacophony. Viewers are encouraged to dwell in the space.

Recently the Hello World audio visual installation was also used as backdrop for an interesting special on Swiss Television (Schweizer Fernsehen) called:  special Kulturplatz Extra report. This TV special focused on the theme: “Living with the computer: blessing or curse?” The reports range from the hippie roots of personal computing in silicon valley, to robot therapy for the elderly. 

Photos,video and source: Christopher Baker | Vimeo | Kulturplatz Extra

Marcel Broodthaers, La robe de maria, mixed media on canvas
120 x 100 x 12 cm
Daled collection

Lawrence Weiner, a bit of matter and a little bit more
language + the materials referred to
original cardboard stencil, 43,5 x 57,5 cm
Daled collection

Belgian collector couple Herman and Nicole Daled refuse to perceive art as decoration. They are considering the concept behind a piece of art more important than its realization and approach art in a fundamentally different way: basis for their activities are their relationships and conversations with artists. in keeping with the aim of conceptual art that places the intellectual content of a work above its realisation, they consider themselves not collectors but communicators and producers: they provide artists with the opportunity to also realise works outside of established market mechanisms. their intense engagement with conceptual art, one of the most important movements in recent art history, goes far beyond usual collecting practices. this is not only apparent in the actual works, but also in the meticulously archived documents containing actions and works.

 James Lee Byars, Robe pour cinq personnes
Textile fabrics
dimensions variable
Daled collection

One of the most important influences for Herman and Nicole Daled was Marcel Broodthaers; more than 80 of his works are in their collection. moreover, the collection holds several works by Daniel Buren, Dan Graham, On Kawara, Sol Lewitt, Niele Toroni, Lawrence Weiner, Cy Twombly and many more.

Less is more is a very inspiring exhibition from the amazing personal conceptual art collection and archives of Herman and Nicole Daled. It will feature pictures, objects, paintings and concepts.The exhibition concentrates on the period between 1966 and 1978, thereby providing a lively portrait of the progressive, international art scene at that time. It will run until the 25Th of July 2010 at the Haus der Kunst, Munich, Germany.

On Kawara, Today Series: Oct. 31, 1971.
Oil on Canvas, 20,5 x 25,5 cm.
Daled Collection

On Kawara, I got up
Series of 108 postcards sent to Herman Daled daily between may 18 and september 3
14 x 9 cm
Daled collection

Niele Toroni, Empreintes de pinceau N° 50 répétées à intervalles réguliers de 30 cm
Paint on canvas, 100 x 100 cm.
Daled Collection

Daniel Buren, untitled
12 paintings (acrylic on cloth)
installation view Haus der Kunst
Daled Collection 

Photos: Herman and Nicole Daled collection | VG Bild-Kunst | Tenfinger | Photo bottom: Wilfried Petzi | Video: Jacques Charlier Youtube | Source: Haus der Kunst, München

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WARMENHOVEN & VENDERBOS | Diary 070510