Archives for posts with tag: life

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During the competition Saturday will be the day of rest. So Devil is soaking in the bath tub today. Not entirely voluntarily though. Mouse made him have one because he has a terrible sulphur smell about him, and you know that is a horrible rotten egg smell. From next Monday on he will be the MC for the Super Dede Competition and in this capacity he has to get close to the other Dedes. I think they will be all grateful to Mouse. Mouse herself doesn’t have a day of rest. On Instagram she made a little film, reminding everyone that commenting on your favourite contestant will give them a better chance. It is really interesting how these different media work.  She really wanted to try if a video makes a difference and it was the first one she took with the smart phone.

With the competition next week everything will change slightly. While the Instagram followers voted for the contestants, the blog reader will get the full story each day. The Instagram readers will only get the news clips. Before the votes closed we already got our first complaint. One of the contestants accused the organisation team of negligence. But he will withdraw his complaint if he makes it into the finals. So you have to wait until tomorrow to find out what happend.

 

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Phew, Detail has managed to find 10 brave Dedes to put their heart on the line for the new Super Dede Competition. I don’t know how, but she has. For the moment she is still holding the list close to her chest. It will be revealed in the week starting tomorrow.

I have to commend the three puppets on the management team. They work excellently together. Mouse is the hard worker, Detail makes sure, nothing is overlooked and Devil is the pretty public face. So, tell me what can go wrong?

However, there are still a few organisational issues to clarify and discuss. First of all, what is in it for our readers who comment or make suggestions? The management team decided that every single comment and suggestion will go into the draw for a signed copy of the first Dede puppet book Hermit’s Web or the few friends I need, I handcraft myself.  This is the story of how it all began. The puppets haven’t said exactly how many copies they will make available. If there is good participation they will up the ante and make more prizes available. They will keep you posted. Also, should you win and you already have the book, we find another Dede prize for you :).

So far, the Dedes have posted only one image a day on Instagram, for the competition this will most certainly change. To be honest, the Dedes totally dislike when you get bombarded with images from one single person, but to get all the information out they will definitely need more space. The headquarters for the competition is located on the blog. Here you will always find more info than on Instagram or Facebook.

Any questions?

Tomorrow morning Mouse will post the rules…

 

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It looks like the idea of a Super Dede Competition 2016 has found general approval. The preparations are running high and the competition will start on Monday the 4th of June.

Not everybody is excited though. Smuggy, who was mainly noticed for his heckling last time, tried to prevent it all from happening by running away with the curtain. But Chambermaid held on tight, she does not want to let go of her dream. This morning Snippedy, the clown put Smuggy in his place. He said it is okay for Smuggy to be opposed, as he doesn’t have any talent whatsoever. Snippedy on the other hand, has been working hard in the past years to improve his skills. You might remember that last time Snippedy didn’t make it into the final group of five contestants. He had absolutely no votes from the viewers. This won’t happen again, he is adamant. I had to bite my tongue. Don’t you think the comment was very imprudent, knowing that this guy’s talent is definitly heckling.

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Yes, the Dedes are back to normal. Unfortunately part of their normality is their struggle for survival. They don’t want to have anything for free, but for some of them it is very difficult. Look, for example, at Rob D Light. He has been looking for a job for ever and lives under a blanket of newspapers. His old one is ripped and he gratefully grabbed the discarded ransom note because it was glued on 120gsm paper. That will be a bit warmer than the thin newsprint in the approaching New Zealand winter.

SuperDedeCompetition_CoverMouse said Cool Cat should do some work to get noticed, but that is easier said than done. Mouse works relentlessly. She is a workaholic to be precise, but does she earn a decent income? No! She has put together the Artist’s Survival Cookbook which is available in print, and just two days ago, she put the latest publication The Super Dede Competition as an ebook on smashwords. The problem is the marketing. Not one Dede is an expert at that.

So, Mouse has taken charge of this now as well. She put the price on US$3.99, which for an ebook might appear a bit dear, but she argued it should be viewed as a donation to the Dedes. They don’t want to have anything for free, though it is obvious they can’t survive on thin air. “Look at it” she said defending her decision. “It is the price of a cup of coffee”. Then she went on to explain where the money is going. $1 from each book goes to Rob D Light and another $1 goes to L’Artiste so he can continue his carefree work. The rest that is not withheld by Smashwords for administration will go to repay debts the Dedes have accumulated in recent years. Originally she wanted to put it in the kitty for a rainy day, but no, it is better to get rid of debts first the others said.

So here we are: click on the image, buy the book, donate to the Dedes and tell all your friends about it. The Dedes will be eternally grateful.

xxx

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I am often asked how the Dede puppets came about and I think now is an appropriate time to tell the story as it was Mother’s Day last Sunday.

Here is the short version of the story:

When I was little, my mother used to tell us kids about a devil hand puppet she once made but left behind when moving house. I never saw the puppet but she talked about it with such passion that in my mind it must have been the most beautiful hand puppet ever. Some decades later I tried to get rid of a rather large pile of newspaper and I was quite surprised when I suddenly had a very strong desire to make a devil hand puppet. My mother and I didn’t have a particularly good relationship and when I started making the puppets I realised I was about the same age my mother was when she told me about her puppet. Anyway, the devil turned out beautifully – even if I do say so myself – and I continued making more. Within a week I had a cast of fifteen and they were received very favourably by my friends. At this stage my mother was still alive and could see pictures of the first puppets and hear how well they were received. Sadly she passed away shortly after. I can but view the puppets as my mother’s legacy to me. There isn’t a day when I don’t think about her and develop a better understanding of her life and her motivations.

In the picture above Cash Cow, who has my eyes, holds a picture of my mother. Can you see the similarity?

Below is my very first Dede puppet, Devil. He will always have a special place in my heart, even though I am sure he has nothing in common with my mother’s devil.

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I was lying in my last post! It wasn’t all hard work. Before we dived into the hot phase of the last preparations for the exhibition, L’Artiste wanted to have a little time out. To get away from the others he suggested a road trip up North. As he can’t drive, (he is too short to reach the pedals)  L’Artiste usually keeps himself busy with an ongoing project he calls “Driveby shooting.” It is pretty easy in New Zealand. You just have to hold the camera out the window, press the button and presto, you have an amazing photograph. No, honestly, there is a message in his project. :) This time he used the mobile phone for the first time to take the pictures and he found out it is much more diffcult than with his trusted SLR. Anyway, here are the images from from the last trip. They were taken around Broadwood in the Far North.

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The last few weeks were pretty hectic with preparations for the exhbition opening. The whole affair was organised in a timeframe of only 3 weeks, as it had to fit in with the opening of the law firm that is in the same building. It was amazing how well organised the 14 exhibiting artists were. All of them are highly professional and it was a pleasure to be involved in putting the biographies, statements and the descriptions of the work together. We also managed to get flyers for the first three workshops ready in time.

It is not that easy for the Dedes to leave their friends behind, so I promised the ones that went and sat in the Gallery a new mobile phone. In the end I took four Dedes, but as Alien has his own antennaes he didn’t need to be bribed with a new device. Before we even left the house the others got into their new toys straight away and they haven’t looked up since. Because of this, Alien quickly got annoyed with his mates and in the end he wandered off to make friends with the goat my friend Carly has put in the exhibition. The goat looked at Alien but wasn’t the least bit interested in his advances. He was very well aware that he is king of the show and admired by all the visitors.

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If you are in Auckland, the show is in the brand new space of Studio 541, at 541 Mount Eden Road. The gallery is open from 11am to 4pm, Tuesday to Saturday.  Check out the space, it is truely amazing. We have three teaser workshops organised. If you are interested in how to non-destructively work in Photoshop with layers and masks, join me on the 14th of May from 9am to 3pm. I will be running the workshop, assisted by Carly van Winkel and it is a real steal at $80 for the day.

On the 4th of June we will have an intro to Photography course in which Carly will explain all the awkward technical terms so that you can use your camera on manual and create the most amazing shots. This time I will be assisting. For more info go to the website of Studio541

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The Dedes are getting on with their lives as usual. They all have their own ways of dealing with the current situation Harvey for example is dreaming of the big lottery win and Pig and Professor are out on the turps.

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On Sunday they woke up and wondered what the white residue in the bottle might be. They looked, turned the bottle, looked again.  Both agreed it looked suspiciously like a pickled brain, but neither of them wanted to admit that maybe the alcohol was taking it’s toll.  Gee were they reliefed when Top Dog came in and asked what they were doing with his bottle. Everybody knows that Top Dog has drowned his grey matter in the substance a long time ago.

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Meanwhile L’Artiste is preparing for an exhibition he is taking part in. Unfortunately Sunny, the wannabe artist, has broken L’Artiste’s jigsaw just when he needed it the most. Sunny didn’t apologise, he just grinned like an idiot – I assume because he felt really guilty – and quickly scuffled off

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As Sunny doesen’t have the money to replace the jigsaw blade L’Artiste said he has to help him with his preparations for the exhibtions – to pay for it. Though the master is not very pleasant at the moment. When it comes to putting the finishing touches to the work he is always unsure about everything. He wants to discuss the finer detail with Sunny. But the assistant with  his overly happy disposition believes everything will be just fine. He simply can’t understand why L’Artiste painfully deliberates over every little detail. “Who cares!” he says.  “It is not your heart, that will be nailed to the wall”, says L’Artiste disappointedly and continues deliberating.

This might explain why L’Artiste is the more successful artist and Sunny still a wannabe, eh.

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Just in case you are interested, here are the four works L’Artiste is putting into the exhibition.

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Down the road from the fairytale gardens (2011)

Black and white photograph on 220gsm lustre paper, mounted and framed | Framed size 600mm by 440mm | Edition of 3 prints.

A walk down memory lane, this image is a homage to those who, for whatever reason, failed  to prosper in a seemingly nourishing environment. The dead tree is uncomfortably juxtaposed with the peaceful glade and the channel of light that symbolises hope. The image was taken in a nature park in my hometown in Germany.

 

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Enigma (2014)

Composite photographic print mounted floating on layers of black paper. | Framed size 330mm x 330mm | Edition of 3 prints

A very personal description of a typical German baby boomer conundrum: the riddle of our parents’ generation’s inability to trust and communicate. It interweaves my mother’s Red Cross Helper’s badge with a well-used page of her cookbook. The swastika emblem on the rim of the badge painfully alludes to an undisclosed past negating the caring symbolism of the image. The red cross is placed on it’s side to look like an x in an official stamp, which loudly declares the key message of my parent’s generation: “Don’t ask!”

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From a distance (2016)

Mixed Media. | Dimensions 390mm x 390mm

Impossible and inconclusive ponderings on the refugee crisis in Europe from a distance. The white raft is approaching the rigid mainland and breaking its boundaries.

With this work I returned to my favorite symbol of ambiguity – the saltire (x). Depending on the viewpoint, it can mean “x marks the spot” like on a treasure map or it might mean “no entry”

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Absolutely for or totally against it (2016)

Acrylic paint on wood | Size 295mm by 163mm

The work is a reminder of the possible and peaceful coexistence of conflicting opinions about the same issue. Concurrently, the thin separating line and parallel tracks stipulate the impossibility of converging these differing notions, even in the future.

 

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The Dedes are in a strange state at the moment. We are currently preparing to move to the countryside and there is heaps to do on the house before this happens. The strange is, the Dedes came to life when we extended the house and created a big studio space. Now they seem to die, because we are about to leave. I am truly looking forward to new beginnings, though at the same time I still have trouble letting go of this perfect space we have created here. It has been my safe haven in recent years, when my outside world seemed to be collapsing around me. I don’t know when, if ever, I will be able to create something I am equally comfortable with. But before we move we have to get rid of a lot of junk. (This is exactly the reason why I created the Dedes in 2012 – I had to clear out the spare room and get rid of all the old newspapers). This time I have to get rid of a lot of building material :)

A friend of mine, who was one of my students years back, has created an amazing studio space in Mt Eden in Auckland and she has invited me to take part in a big opening exhibition at the end of the month. So L’Artiste is in a flurry to finish off half completed work. Sometimes he is totally lost in his studio. Can you find him in the picture below?

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Happy Easter everyone. I love Easter: four days of peace and quiet, the weather is still warm, the homely sound of the lawn mowers in the neighbourhood. It is not unlike the Northern Hemisphere, unfortunately we are now heading into the colder period.

Anyway, I have to give you a run-down what happened in the Dede world since my last post. So Evan G List said to Milky Bar Devil he should read up on morals, values and beliefs to understand what a devil is. Punch Drunk (picture above) thought it was hilarious that Evan G List wanted to teach a devil morals. But Milky Bar Devil is an eager and conscientious student and he grabbed all the books he could find on the bookshelf. We are pretty sure we won’t see him for a while, we all know how difficult it is to read a philosophical text :)

Here a little gallery of what else happened