I really felt that my
art practice, in general, needed art for art's
sake. So I took this urge literally and asked some of the poets and writers of the English-speaking
world, whom I
tremendously admire, to join my project and to write
one poem or text in
exchange of one of my smaller paintings.
I was very fortunate to have Peter Clothier,
Peter Frank, Norman Dubie, Robert Wynne & John Fuller joining in first
hand. Here upon, Robert C. Morgan was ready to underscore my project with a text and a
recommendation! More voices joined in: Emily Bilman & Andrin Schütz from
Switzerland, Eva Bosch from Catalonia, Dinah Berland from LA, Domenico de
Chirico from Milan, Saul Ostrow from New York City,
the enigmatic Joy Harjo from Tulsa, Oklahoma and,
closer to home,
my two good friends Robbie Dell'Aira & Juliën
Holtrigter and new acquaintances Diederik Oostdijk & Onno Kosters.
As always a
spark drives me
on. The spark of inspiration seems to ignite a
force beyond my control as if I'm driven forward. Basically, I was driven by my conscious desire to expand my poetic and
spiritual awareness and to connect and share my work and feelings with powerful
creative people.
How this truly happens is an inexplicable
dark thing. The poetic brilliance of Norman Dubie opened up my consciousness to new colors. Robert Wynne's poem gave me
the idea that, indeed, life and art show a form of symbiosis in inexplicable parallels of feeling and visual
expression; perhaps, the Romantic Sublime in its full significance. John Fuller really took it to heart and repositioned
the "I" within the body of truth, feeling, life & poetry.
Dr. Emily Bilman's text is central to the project and is available in four different
languages. Peter Frank
& Emily Bilman deserve special mention for their guidance and editing. Joy
Harjo's poem reconnected me with my childhood experience. Robert's striking
critique elevates perception and I'm grateful to be able to share it with my readers.
I wish to thank everybody who contributed, in their own specific manner, to the richness
of my feeling and art, to the completeness of this
book, which may very well be the beginning of a new awareness of the intricate relations of
the different arts and their values reinforced by
the individuality of their voices and the mystique of their universality
.
May you enjoy reading this book as much as you enjoy viewing my
paintings.
Joost de Jonge Vianen, the 30th of April
2015, The Netherlands.
***********************************
Prof. Dr. Robert C. Morgan
inspired by six small paintings (impasto improvisation 015, 1-6) by Joost de Jonge
Thick milk may stir the soul
Or so it is said to happen.
Like tough molecules bending toward lightness
with no age in particular
Only the solemn grace of footing against a hill
of thieves
who wait to see inside
Recumbent nerves and luminous froth come forth
from the sea of time
as the colors explode.
Or so it is said to happen.
Like tough molecules bending toward lightness
with no age in particular
Only the solemn grace of footing against a hill
of thieves
who wait to see inside
Recumbent nerves and luminous froth come forth
from the sea of time
as the colors explode.
14-08-2015
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