Tarantula Authors And Art's Inspiration For April

1425 minutes with Koen de Vries

With my self-developed sketchy modelling style, I make portrait busts for the 21st century. 

The human facial expression is one of the most direct and basic forms of communication. Everyone 'understands' it. The face provides an inexhaustible source of inspiration for theater makers and portraitists. I use this form of communication, with a contemporary and unique design language, to ask contemporary questions about what it means to be human. 

But keep in mind that my focus in on the poetry which I use to tell the story. The brain draws a series of associations from flashes of detail floating on a blur of matter (but which are not necessarily the same each time you encounter the image).

Portraiture has changed as a consequence of the emergence of film. Until then, portraits were static, like immortalizing a notable client. Film fragments provided a new, intimate look at the range of human expressions. I like to compare my images to a film still, the core of a scene. The 'locked in' moment is brought to life by the viewer who goes around the image.

At the same time that film allowed for a more intimate look at people, the psychological image of man shifted. At the same time that Darwin was developing his theory of evolution, the concept of the self.made man and his 15 "minutes of fame" emerged. This journey of discovery is reflected in my work. But I look beyond those famous 15 minutes to the time that remains, the remaining 1425 minutes of the day.

- Koen de Vries

Koen de Vries