A R T B O O K  ‘A   W I T N E S S   O F   L I F E’

A W A R D W I N N I N G    T H E S I S
F R O M   A R T I S T   E L L Y   V A N   D E N   H O U T

How basic is touch?
What keeps in touch?
Why do we want to grasp things?
What affects us and puts us in motion?
Who do touch?
Where one gets to?
Why do we want (to) be affected?

Many questions around a theme like' touch'.
Reason for me to go on this quest for answers and in particular to focus on the visual arts.
For me 'touch' proved an elementary given.
This is also reflected in my work, in my life and interactions with others.
These traces of life in particular, have been the entrance which have brought my work to form.
Touch is a witness of life itself.

Hardcover book, "A witness of life '
Author: Elly van den Hout
54 pages, dutch lanquage.
6 black and white illustrations / photos
14 full color illustrations / photos
ISBN 978.90.79427.04.8
price: € 25.50 incl. VAT

Click here to order: Book 'A witness leven': sold out!

A R T B O O K  ‘A A N R A K I N G ’

A N   O V E R V I E W   OF   10   Y E A R S   3-D I M E N S I O N A L   W O R K
O F   A R T I S T   E L LY   V A N   D E N   H O U T
1 9 9 9 - 2 0 1 0

This book shows an overview over a period of 10 years.
Seeing three dimentional work of visual artist Elly van den
Hout. Features a large number of full color illustrations. The book also contains a
impact of the price winning thesis explaining examples
of visual artists and their visions on autonomous work.
Elly van den Hout, born in Dordrecht-Holland in 1955, studied at a later
age at the Academy for Visual Arts 'Constantijn Huygens' in
Kampen (nowadays Artez Zwolle). She chose fine art direction
sculpture as her major.

Van den Hout is a creator of deepened ideas, prompted by
her philosophical background, made touchable by her sense to material.
Typical of her work is the diversity of form, imagery,
color and material. She refuses to store in a way that is familiar to her.
She is looking for new impulses and perspectives and be guided by the
space for which the work is intended. Even her free autonomous work (see archive)
which is being developed for a single exposition, is tuned to the space she is offered.
Space and theme are aspects of inspiration and to determine the material.

Quote:
"For me, touch proved an elementary given. You can also find it
in my work, in my life and interactions with others. These traces of
life have been particularly the entrance which my work to accommodate form
.
The contact is at the earliest stage of becoming, in fact, the first thing
we perceive as human beeing. He starts in the womb of the mother. The
little person is already surrounded by warmth and moisture. Its own border
thus becomes felt, albeit unconsciously.
The senses are the tentacles from him to the material. That's how it is
feeling, hearing and light for the elementary introduction to the world
around him. The period of 0-18 months developing as purely reflexive:
if you touch his hand the fingers close. Later that hand creates a
focused grab / eye coordination is required.
The most important cognitive task of the child in this stage is for differentiating
between itself and the surrounding area. The little man floats on
the perception of the sense organs, where in the contacting especially the role
has to feel safe and get contact with the environment and others.
Initially, the child experiences himself and the environment as united.
Touch is the most comprehensive sense; feeling (your skin) you can with
whole your body. With touch, you can feel what is very close. A baby feels
his mother or father, so if they keep him close. If you become
touched, you feel your own outside; a baby is just so. A newly
born baby is extremely sensitive to touch. If he is touched,
indicates that the baby strongest feeling that he is an individual. "

Hardcover Book: 'Aanraking'
composition Martin J. S. van Schaik
63 pages, dutch lanquage
29 black and white illustrations / photos
25 full color illustrations / photos
ISBN 978.90.79427.01.7
price: € 34.50 incl. VATexcluding sendingcosts

Click here to order: Book 'Aanraking'

P R O J E C T B O O K    ‘M O N U M E N T   F O R   P E A C E ’

A   P R O J E C T   I N   P I C T U R E S  O F   
A   M O N U M E N T   I N   P U B L I C   S P A C E (L I N N A E U SS T R A A T, A M S T E R D A M)

A book about the making of a work of art for the public
space may not be limited to manufacturing or design. Creative impulses,
associations and imaginations will often precede the technical process.
Elusive twists in thoughts and feelings during the interaction between two
visual artists to conceive hardly in the picture but actually belong to the
technical process. The cross-pollination that takes place between artist and engineer
has also been a source of inspiration.
Not least was the contact with the district and local residents for both
Van den Hout as Scheper reason to believe in an object, a work of art,
that her work might do in a manner such as this would have meant Muider Congregation.
Looking back on the whole process of cooperation of the artists is deepening
of the concept of peace. Both are therefore convinced that a work of art with such a
positive approach only through cooperation could be achieved
and therefore the synergistic effect proves it.

The call from the neighborhood around the Linnaeusstraat in Amsterdam East and especially
from Muiderkerk congregation to create a place where people's thoughts about peace,
freedom and coexistence can express, spawned the 'Desire for Peace Square'.
A square with a symbolic work of art, multipurpose present in the public space.
A square where people from all walks of life their thoughts about peace, freedom and
coexistence must be found. As a public space was chosen the square
of the Muiderkerk in the Linnaeusstreet.
A central and respectful place which is recognizable from the neighborhood by everyone.
Confrontation with tensions and bad news makes it exactly there meaningful and beneficial
to create a place where you can talk about peace, freedom and coexistence.

In October 2004 Trinette Scheper was asked by the Muiderkerk congregation in Amsterdam
to think with this project which was to become the 'Desire for Peace Square'.
That a recognizable object, could be the translation from the district / neighborhood seemed obvious.
Scheper, as an artist active in 2D, approached Elly van den Hout, as 3D artist, to jointly reach an all inclusive idea.
A concept that both for the Muiderkerk congregation as the neighborhood and residentsmight have a permanent and ever
recurring symbolic function .

This book describes the technical process from concept to maintenance. It also contains three interviews.
An interview with Trinette Scheper, expert on 2D, an interview with Elly van den Hout,
her skills lies in the area of ​three-dimensional design as well as an interview with
Ton Lommers of Segno d'Arte, engineer and specialist in collaboration with professional
working artists. All three interviews provide a glimpse into the process, specialization
and backgrounds on the "cornerstones".
Also the casting process, the screen printing process, the involvement of the neighborhood,
the foundation work and earthmoving gets full attention.
After handing over this project book to Roelof Offereins, director of the CBK Drenthe,
He appreciated this book as a unique document in the world of art, thought it very detailed and
gives full impact of all activities.

Hardcover book project, "Wensobject voor Vrede '
composition Martin J. S. van Schaik
96 pages, dutch language,

20 black and white illustrations / photos
294 full color illustrations / photos

ISBN 978.90.79427.02.4
price: € 52.50 incl. VAT
excluding sendingcosts

Click here to order: Book 'Wensobject voor Vrede'