Friday, November 30, 2012

Artist Focus: Jochen Kruger-Allenstein

Green Avant Garde Artist


The creative landscapes created by prolific land artist and landscaper Jochen Kruger-Allenstein snake through soil, reach up to the sky, and embraces the essence of the space. His symbols and shapes remind of ancient cultures, while it compliments the lines and textures inherent in the landscape.


Jochen studied fine art in Basel, Switzerland and in the early 70’s had a few exhibitions of painting, drawing and sculptures in Germany. With experience and skill in stone and wood crafting, printmaking, ceramics and fabric design, Jochen has a wide range of skills to utilize in his art.


He is open to working  with any materials to create a unique landscape or art piece, but loves to work with rocks, stones, and clay. Living material, plants and water are also often used to create and grow new worlds with rivers, streams, waterfalls and ponds. The spaces that he chooses to transform are often areas of unspoilt nature, or destroyed land which offers an empty canvas.


His work can mostly be characterised or described as being permanent land art, which he started to produce in South Africa in the late 90's. His first land art project, however, was created in the early 70's in the Black Forest. The project consisted of 12 to 15 different size cast iron ears attached to the exposed root system of a huge tree.


Jochen's work is inspired by the simple act of being within the landscape, of spending time in nature. He allows inspiration to flow through his being, and finds it important that his unconscious mind gets connected to the space.


For more information or to commission the artist:

Jochen Kruger-Allenstein
Cell: +27794027467
Email: greenavantgarde@gmail.com
green-avant-garde.blogspot.com
kruger-allenstein.blogspot.com


Thursday, November 1, 2012

Interview with Strijdom van der Merwe on GYA

Have a look at an interview between Strijdom van der Merwe and Chelsea Amor Lotz, on the GYA (Green Your Art) blog: greenyourart.blogspot.com/2012/11/focus-feature-on-land-art.html.


An excerpt from the interview:

Amor:  How do you see land art as relevant to the connection between man and nature?

Strijdom: We are nature. We are in the danger of losing our balance with nature. No matter how sophisticated we become, we are still part of the cycles of nature. Land art strengthens that connection and reminds us of our close connection. It also makes us aware of the dangers of not living sensitive towards the resources we have. We can't keep on taking, we have to learn to share.

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Strijdom's work seen from space



After its construction in 2010 
the first Google earth images
can now be seen of the art work:


am/pm Shadow lines

7000 tons of earth moving
100 meter in diameter
1 meter high
Done for De Beers Namaqualand mines, West Coast South Africa
as a land rehabilitation art work.

artist: Strijdom van der Merwe  /  www.strijdom.co.za


New work by Strijdom van der Merwe:


New sculpture for house:
 Gawie Fagan / Hudson
Wynberg , South Africa 2012

artist: Strijdom van der Merwe  /  www.strijdom.co.za



Friday, September 7, 2012

SAND(work] by Janet Botes


5 rocks, Janet Botes
Sunset Beach, Western Cape, August 2012



"Kampsbaai op Sunset Beach"
Janet Botes, Sunset Beach, Western Cape, South Africa, August 2012

The sand sprinkles or thrown onto the level/flat sand on Sunset Beach comes from Camp's Bay. This sand was collected from Camp's Bay for and art installation, created at the Walk This Earth Alone exhibition at the Gallery @ Grande Provence in Franschhoek. Some sand was left over after the installation were done. Instead of returning this sand to where it was found, it was displaced further North along the coast.






Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Friday, August 10, 2012

Rock Trails



RockTrails by Janet Botes on Vimeo.

Stopmotion animation/video clip, 7 seconds
Each rock represents a different type of person, and the mark each makes onto the landscape.

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Surface Lines




Twigs/grass stalks intersected
Janet Botes
Upington, 2011

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Buigkrag by Hannelie Coetzee


'The strength it takes to bend something as far as it can go'. A land Artwork by Hannelie Coetzee, documented by Reney Warrington, whilst on a Nirox residency in March 2012. 'Buigkrag' is a site specific installation that now forms part of the NIROX Permanent Collection.

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Sunset Beach, Western Cape




As part of 350.org's Climate Impacts Day - a global day of action which took place on 5 May 2012 - a small group of us created dots with pebbles on Sunset Beach, Milnerton, after doing a beach cleanup. The overall aim by 350 for the day was to issue a wake-up call, and connect the dots between climate change and extreme weather. To educate, protest, create, document, and volunteer along with thousands of people around the world.

On some beaches the amount of plastic outnumbers the amount of rocks and shells. Sunset Beach is part of the Cape West Coast, and the impact of pollution was our focus as we created our dots after doing a beach cleanup.

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Call for Participation - HumanEarth

Call for Participation - HumanEarth



IN AN ATTEMPT TO EXPLORE (BUT NOT DEFINE) THE TERM, ‘WASTELAND’, HUMANEARTH INVITES YOU TO EXPLORE YOUR LOCAL ‘WASTELAND.’ AND TO DOCUMENT YOUR EXPLORATION UTILISING ANY MEDIUM YOU FEEL COMFORTABLE WITH.

Please follow the link below and download the concept proposal for further insight

humanearthproject_proposition.pdf

FOR INFORMATION OR TO PARTICIPATE
CONTACT |
NASTASHA DANIELS
078 8577 551
Nastasha797@gmail.com /
Humanearthexhibitions@gmail.com

Friday, March 30, 2012

Drawing Clouds in the Karoo


Drawing Clouds in the Karoo, Strijdom van der Merwe
At Circa on Jellicoe, Johannesburg
Tuesday 3 April 2012 at 6.00 pm
Exhibition concludes Saturday 5 May 2012

Friday, January 13, 2012

The Floating World



"A great icon of the ocean is the Great Wave by Hokosai. This wood block print made in the Floating World movement in Japan has endured as an incredible depiction of the raw power of nature. It has many interpretations that differ dramatically from East to Western cultures. The Floating World movement is briefly described as a time of opulent hedonism, a time that mirrors our modern age in many respects, namely materialistic capitalism. The wave comes as a looming presence of disaster, clawing at your fears, a notion that things are too good to last. I often feel this threat, an anxiousness of the masses"