Page 9 - Enamel & More

finding a connection with the act that lies
in line of the material itself. And that I.
in searching an image for independency,
tried correctly to reach the independency
of the work of art. The image that speaks
for itself, that does not refer to something
invisible but stands up for itself and could
function independently.

Visual art is the visual memory of a long
history of feeling, thinking and acting.
In this field my work is a metapzhor of
the belief in the idea of independence.
All belief is naive and so is my belief in
independence. Still, independence is
essential for man, for when he is deprived
of it, he becomes a will less, directionless
and manipulable thing. Independence
is not a certainty that, once won is won
permanently. It is an attitude of life, an
individual freedom that is affected anew
every day.
Therefore, it is important for me to
express independence as starting point in
the visual arts.

Maria van Elk
Lecture at The Hague Municipal Museum at the
purchase exhibition of Crossings
June 5, 1983

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