Cas di Culture was busy Friday night with a concert and an exhibition.
The exhibition, drawing with Light, presents three local artists, three photographers. It is open to the public from January 24th to February 23rd, 2022. Curated by Ana Maria Hernandez, who did a good job integrating the art with the space, it is worth visiting, and is part of Cas Di Culture plan to host regular contemporary art exhibits showcasing works by local artists, bringing us closer to Aruba’s national theater and cultural center, since 1958.
Please support. Drop by Monday to Saturday 10am to 4pm.
Why?
Because ART contributes to our life by expanding our understanding of the world, it adds beauty and spice to our existence and provides out-of-the-box commentary on the goings-on.
And talking about out-of-the-box commentary on the goings-on: Cado de Lannoy.
I enjoyed his segment of the exhibit, putting trash washed up on the north coast of Aruba, behind the California lighthouse on display, as a work of art.
We’re all familiar with the plastic and driftwood soup found on the beaches on the other side. Cado took six of these random objects out of their offensive debris-context and intimately focused his camera lens, on an empty container of engine oil, a colorful branded sneaker, eaten up by salt, a banged up pink cap-less bottle, a yellow mini female torso, a baby blue piggy bank and an athletic shower slide, emblazoned with the number 23. They each got a well-lit portrait in the exhibition, transforming them from disgusting left overs of an over-consuming society, to an eye-pleasing commentary on our bad habits.
I enjoyed the visual effect, and must of course admit, we are litter bugs. We are a trash producing society and it’s high time we took a good look at the way we do things.
It’s ok to consume, but what should we do with the remnants?? And If we can’t possibly discard the remnants, perhaps we should consume less?
We know Cado, as an artist and organizer from his previous involvement with Korteweg pop ups, and I saw some of his work presented with fellow photographers Anuar Habibe and Armando Goedgedrag, yet in this current trio he shines brighter.
Rafael Barragan and Antoine Bowers share the exhibition space with Cado, both presenting out of the box commentary on how we see the world.
The concert with pianist Alexander Kraft van Ermel, outlining the connections between the Polish born Chopin and the Antilles, introduced us to the charming work of Curacao pianist/composer Wim Statius Muller, 1930-2019, Alexander’s grandfather. The lecture slash concert was very enlightening and entertaining.
