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Klibansky’s ‘Change without riot’

MASTERS highlights Joseph Klibansky's iconic artworks each week in a four-part series. As Joseph explains, "My art is a reflection on society. Certain things I highlight and blow up in the form of a monumental image. I put that back into society so that the beholders can have a moment of reflection. "Text: Bart - Jan Brouwer
Online editing: Noa Verseveldt
Image: studio Joseph Klibansky

SELF-PORTRAIT OF A DREAMER (2016)

"My first sculpture in the Spaceman series. You must really be a dreamer if you're an astronaut. Because you leave your habitat to float in space. He has high goals, dreams for himself, wants to achieve a lot. That's different for everyone. Some want to travel all over the world, others have big ideas - like myself. I wanted to refer to the work of Vincent van Gogh. Therefore, I used the little chair from his work The Chair with the Pipe and the pot with sunflowers from Sunflowers. The chair is a metaphor for the fact that everything begins at the kitchen table. You sit down, grab pen and paper and start sketching, working out your dream. The sunflowers represent optimism, turning with the sun."

FOR THE MOST BEAUTIFUL ONE (2021)

"I grew up with a Dutch mother and South African father. We had a lot of different styles of art in our home, ranging from African masks to Roman sculptures. This work, a combination of a carving and an antique bust, brings together two extreme art forms. In doing so, I pay tribute to multiculturalism. Last year, as part of ArtZuid, it was very fittingly placed in Amsterdam, a melting pot of cultures. I hope it encourages people to think and stop. People who have followed the installation via social media know that behind the elephant mask is the face of a beautiful woman. Why I made that when you can't see it anyway? For me, it is important as a creator to know that behind that mask is a soul. I don't choose the quickest and cheapest way. Many people hide behind a mask, but that doesn't mean they are white - everyone has a soul."

VELVET REVOLUTION (2016)

"This represents an uprising without violence, change without riot. At the center is Lady Liberty, who stands for freedom. The basis of the work is fast food chains, which portray the consumer society on which the American economy is based. The foundation of liberty, then, is consumerism. If we continue to borrow and consume it leads to problems, as the credit crisis showed. I made this image during the crisis. Instead of the torch representing the light of liberty and the book bearing the date when America's Declaration of Independence was signed, Lady Liberty is holding an ice cream cone and a baby. The baby represents the rebirth of America - are we going to do things differently next time? - and the ice cream is the reward that awaits the baby if it grows up well."

LEAP OF FAITH

"With my first work on the astronaut theme, I want to ask a question. We are now busy with the space race, with the plans to inhabit Mars. Projects have started where, based on certain criteria, 100 people are selected to go on a one-way trip to the red planet and start a new colony there. Those people are very much screened for character traits. The question is: Should we bring the concept of religion up with us or filter it out? Religion has many positive aspects, giving hope, guidance, direction, but it has also caused strife and wars. Instead of expressing an opinion myself, with this work I want to encourage discussion."

 

 

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MASTERS #48 with guest editor-in-chief Joseph Klibansky