Project:
Nana's
The female figures are made of iron and canvas. Their average size is 10x6 feet. Every autumn they can be seen hanging in the Living Mall Alexandrium III in Capelle a/d Ijssel (on the outskirts of Rotterdam), Netherlands.
We call these works applied art because they have a decorative function as well as a deeper meaning. The docorative function consists of adding an element to the space that unites all other elements: the shops, their products, and the people.
As mentioned, the figures are more than just decoration. They symbolize a deeper level of the situation: the contorted bodies represent dissatisfied souls who seek fulfilment in consuming; trying to compensate spiritual loss with material gain. That is a function of art: to represent repressed aspects of reality. This aspect is usually only subconsciously perceived; that is the way art conveys its message: implicit, not explicit. If implicit, the message remains subconcious and has its effect there. If the message is explicit it becomes conscious and is usually quickly dismissed by the ratio. So to confront people with aspects of their surpressed reality or a part of universal reality that transcedents one's personal reality, an implicit message is often a more effective medium than an explicit one. Also, in the latter case you really have to spell out the message you want to convey and then it's not art anymore. Because to spell it out, to put it into words, the message has to pass the filter of the ratio, and the result has inevitably lost (some of) its original meaning. In other words, art can be a communication of the artist's subconsciousness to that of the perceiver; subconscious communication. That's why art can be (but isn't always) much more than just decoration.
