Sint-Lucas Visual Arts is located in the city centre of Gent, one of the major cities in Flanders. Gent’s history dates back to the early Middle Ages, and the city centre resembles an open air museum with splendid monuments, fairy-tale fronts and statues. The extraordinary fascinating patrimony turns Gent into one of the focuses of the cultural l...
Here then is yet another new word, “innovage”, born of the marriage of “innovation” and “vintage”.
It’s really not all that surprising that so many new words are being thrown up every day. “The times they are a-changin’”, as the song goes, and in a really big way, be it in environmental, social, economic, or cultural terms. P...
The great Russian woman poet, Marina Cvetaeva, once wrote: “I’ve trained my soul to linger outside the window… I simply wouldn’t allow it
into the house, the same way as one wouldn’t let in a stray dog or an exotic bird”. That’s one, and not so infrequent, a way of keeping at bay those silly and seemingly unaccountable tricks played ...
A sketch comes into focus beneath the scrutinizing eye of a camera lens, revealing an error. Promptly corrected, a new and different figure appears, materialised and dematerialised by strong, alternate strokes of pencil and eraser flaying the surface. That’s how William Kentridge works, by fine-tuning and adjustment, dynamically, hesitantly, step...
He woke up that morning with the clear resolve of wanting to do something good, or at least something that would unequivocally outstrip all the rest. He had a quick breakfast, all the time looking in admiration upon the marvellous achievements of his handiwork over the last five days. Dawn and sunset, he had to admit were perfect; the light and sta...
To err is human, to persevere is diabolical” as the old saying goes. And yet, if we’re to go by the discoveries of cognitive psychology over the last few decades, it seems that the devil’s hoof in the works is not to blame. The fact is, that humans just seem to have been generally designed wrong. The good news, though, is that it seems they...
In your experience, how have errors affected your professional practice and what’s your attitude towards making mistakes?
Errors can critically affect the outcome of any work, but they’re also an opportunity for reviewing consolidated practices and routine ways of doing things. As such, they can be very liberating, obliging us to make new deci...
Several years ago, before cordless phones were a standard household appliance, I was busy cooking a starter – crunchy lentils salad with shrimps – when the phone suddenly rang. The caller turned out to be someone with whom I’d had a misunderstanding. It was important and urgent that the matter be ironed out, and I didn’t think it advisable ...
I personally believe learning to be based on errors; it’s essentially an ongoing process of trial and error. A baby basically learns to walk, play, talk, and generally behave in an appropriate manner through trial and error. Any skill we may acquire or ability we may master with time, whether at work or in our private lives, is likewise the fruit...
The meaning of colour evolves in parallel with culture.