The Making of Composition 2025
The Making of Composition 2025 — 145 × 145 cm
After making Boogie Woogie I (2020-2021, 113x113cm) and Porcupine Boogie Woogie II (2021-2022, 163x163cm), there came another impulse to create a work with porcupine quills. There was still a remaining stock of quills, and more porcupine quills were ordered from the taxidermy shop in Nijmegen. Unlike the previous two works, this work would be more pictorial in nature, and would say more about the life, places, and preferences of the artist.
There were about 250 quills in total. A new challenge was that many quills with approximately the same pattern were of unequal length. After much brainstorming about this, an elegant solution was found. At both ends, light brown straws were carefully slid on and glued. The color combination black-white-light brown is an interesting addition to the age-old black-white pattern. The straws were inserted through small wooden pegs into the holes of the wooden slats. (Fig. 1) The longer quills that tend to warp would be fixed in place to rectangles using 'combs' with protrusions that fit between the quills. The rectangles were provisionally distributed at random across the 145x145cm canvas. (Fig. 2)
Fig. 1 — The porcupine quills divided in rectangles
Fig. 2 — The porcupine rectangles laid out at random
The Role of Chance
Chance also played a major role during the making of this work, at the following moments.
1) During the autumn auction of De Zwaan Amsterdam auction house, the artist came across a beautiful work by Björn T. Hansen (Danish, 1942-2007). Nine portraits of approximately 9x14cm were made on May 17, 1988, and all nine were signed. The work was framed with a matboard in 3 rows of three. The nine small works were removed from this, taking care of the signature which was preserved. They are beautiful little works, built up from painted paper layers. The hammer price was only €220 (+ €64.90 auction costs). The portraits are reminiscent of Lucebert's early work from the 60s and 70s. They are very detailed little works, built up with many paper layers. It is curious how perfectly this work by Hansen fits with Cobra. He was undoubtedly too young (1942) to be able to connect with this movement, which manifested itself from 1948.
Fig. 3 — The nine portraits by Björn T. Hansen (Danish, 1942-2007)
2) Also from De Zwaan auction house, November 2022, three painted book pages, first half of the 20th century from Persia, with depictions of hunting scenes, notables, and Arabic texts. The price was low (€50 + €14.75 auction costs). The book pages were framed in old, ugly wooden frames. It was estimated that the beautiful soft colors of these Persian prints would fit beautifully in the future work. As often happens, the three Persian works had to wait almost 2 years for their turn for application. But the time was now ripe for application in this work.
Fig. 4 — Example of one of the three Persian artworks
3) Around this time (Oct-Nov 2024), the artist paid a visit to a restorer (of ethnographica), because several ethnographica of the artist had to be restored, repaired, or mounted. In the studio of this restorer, the artist saw fretsaw wooden panels that served as applications in Dutch grandfather clocks. The three donated panels had a very suitable size to be applied in the new work of 145x145cm. The panels received three shades of brown, from light brown to dark brown. That the artist encountered these three panels at this stage is completely by chance. Without these panels, it would have become a different artwork.
4) A very long time ago, the artist had bought a reproduction of a (collage) work by Kurt Schwitters, Merz 1921 (Fig. 5), at the book market on Spui in Amsterdam, with matboard. An intriguing work by Schwitters, a work that does not often appear in books about Schwitters. For many years the artist had been looking at this fine work, for this work too the time was ripe to be applied in a larger work. Because of the surface, it had to be fitted quite early into the work-in-progress. It was also decided that the horizontal porcupine quills would get a counterweight in vertical self-made quills with the colors blue – green – orange-red and white. With the nine portraits by Björn T. Hansen, the three Persian book pages, the three panels, the work by Schwitters, the real horizontal porcupine quills, and already 2 compartments with the vertical colored quills, a next provisional arrangement could be made:
Fig. 6 — 11 January 2025: Work-in-progress
Filling in the Compartments
In the following steps, more and more compartments were filled in.
5) With small Islamic text leaves from a Koran school, 19th century: in 4 smaller compartments.
6) With the well-known Coptic texts on parchment, of which the artist still has stocks; in 7 compartments.
7) The large central vertical plane remained. Initially, an image of a Russian ballet poster with Isidora Duncan was intended for it. But the effect was disappointing when viewed from some distance, the details disappeared too much. In the same period, the artist was much occupied with Japanese prints, also acquired two. A cut-out from a Japanese print was chosen (offered at auction, but not purchased by the artist): Morning Waves by Kabamatsu Shiro (1898-1991). The cut-out fitted beautifully in color with the work-in-progress, and also gave the work depth at this central point. It was a quality print, fortunately there was no need to cut into an original print.
Fig. 7a — Ballet poster with Isidora Duncan: ultimately not chosen
Fig. 7b — Cut-out from Morning Waves by Kabamatsu Shiro (1898-1991): chosen
Fig. 8 shows the state of affairs after adding all items discussed so far. Note that the wooden panels now have a color, the background has received a pink color. In the middle at the top already lies a small ethnographic shield, presumably originating somewhere from Oceania. Also added are two comic strip images, which also played an important role in the artist's life. On the right side middle top a comic strip by Edgar P. Jacobs, La Marque Jaune (Blake & Mortimer) 1953-1954 (NL Het Gele Teken), with an impression of a rainy London. On the left side middle top a comic strip image from À la recherche du temps perdu. À l'ombre des jeunes filles en fleurs. Volume II, created by Stéphane Heuet. Young Marcel on the Normandy coast in Balbec (fictional, with elements of Trouville-sur-Mer and Cabourg).
Fig. 8 — Work-in-progress on 1 February 2025
Saul Steinberg & Personal Photographs
8) An important next step was the addition of beautiful little landscapes by Saul Steinberg. The landscapes were on 1 large sheet from the publication Derrière le Miroir, Maeght Edition 1971, according to information the sheets would even be lithographs. Years ago the artist bought this in a bookshop, probably for Fl 30 (it was before 2001, guilder era). On the internet it is still for sale for €50. The choice was not difficult, rather the little landscapes in this current artwork than not visible in the Maeght edition in the bookcase. As a miracle and again by great chance, all the little landscapes fit in the still remaining open compartments of the work-in-progress. The colors matched very well with the work-in-progress and gave the work a great degree of unity.
Fig. 9 — Work in progress on 18 February 2025 – with the Saul Steinberg landscapes
9) In the next phase, several personal photographs of the artist were added to the work.
Fig. 10a — Evening view of rear neighbors, Amsterdam South
Fig. 10b — Trouville-sur-Mer, 6 Aug 2023
Fig. 10c — Castello, Venice, 13 Aug 2024
Fig. 10d — Cloister corridor Isola San Michele, 8 July 2022
Fig. 10e — Marble pattern floor Santi Maria e Donato, Murano
Fig. 10f — Cloister Fondazione Cini, Isola di San Giorgio, 13 Aug 2024
Fig. 10g — Blagoveshchenskiy bridge, St. Petersburg, May 1994
Fig. 10h — House on Fontanka, St. Petersburg, May 1994
– left middle bottom: evening view from the artist's residence on the rear neighbors in Amsterdam South. Despite the many lights in the houses, no living being can be discovered: life in a big city. At least something happened in Hitchcock's Rear Window! The photo also somewhat recalls the atmosphere of Magritte – L'Empire des Lumières.
– left top: evening view in Trouville-sur-Mer on 6 Aug 2023.
– right top: a view of the Castello district in Venice, 13 August 2024. Venice is among the artist's favorite cities, a city with an unprecedented density of cultural monuments, so much older than St. Petersburg and Amsterdam.
– next to it: a beautiful abstract marble pattern on the floor in the old church Santi Maria e Donato, Murano, Venice.
– left middle: to stay in Venice: the beautiful cloister on Isola di San Giorgio, not yet overrun by tourists, also on 13 August 2024.
– in the middle: the beautiful cloister corridor on Isola San Michele, a different shadow pattern every hour. 8 July 2022, in the morning.
– below, middle: a mysterious house on the Fontanka River Embankment, in afternoon light. In May 1994 relatively little traffic passed by here, which enhanced the beauty.
– to the left of this, middle: the beautiful decorative horses on the Blagoveshchenskiy bridge, May 1994, over the Neva River in St. Petersburg.
The Last Compartments
Fig. 11a — Handmade Venetian carnival mask by Chiara Bellunato, Aug 2024
Fig. 11b — Tribute to George Braque, 1961
Fig. 11c — Oceanic tribal object, source unknown
Fig. 11d — Ukraine Oct 1992, banknotes with Lenin
Fig. 11e — Roman head with mosaic floor on background
Fig. 11f — Reproduction of old Arabic manuscript
– middle top: the handmade carnival mask, purchased in August 2024 in Castello, fits very well in the work-in-progress.
– left top: tribute to the beautiful work of George Braque.
– middle top: the Oceanic tribal object had been waiting a long time and was mounted on an orange background color.
– left top: the colors of the two Ukrainian banknotes from 1992 with portrait of Lenin match well with the other colors of the artwork.
– middle: the Roman head with mosaic structure in the background fits well with the other themes in the artwork.
– to the left of this: reproduction of old Arabic manuscript. The last compartments with the colored quills (blue, green, orange-red) were filled in. With this, the work Composition 2025 is completed.
The Completed Work
Composition 2025 — 145 × 145 cm
A third variant of works based on porcupine quills, and this variant has a completely unique expression. Less strict in design than the first two works, and with a great pictorial expression, and with many references to the life world and personal interests of the artist, such as special objects (e.g. the wooden panels, porcupine quills), old cultural heritage (the Persian book images, old Coptic writings on parchment, old manuscripts from Koran school), tributes to known and unknown artists (George Braque, Kabamatsu Shiro, Björn T. Hansen, Kurt Schwitters, Saul Steinberg, Edgar P. Jacobs, Stéphane Heuet, Chiara Bellunato), favorite cities (Venice, St. Petersburg, Trouville-sur-Mer, London, Amsterdam) and beautiful landscapes.
It has ultimately become a multicultural work, a more 3-dimensional execution compared to the large 2-dimensional mosaics from 1997. However different the content per compartment may be, the whole of all compartments together greatly strengthens the artwork. It is a work, because of the many details, where the viewer will not quickly tire of looking.