Kunstbende
- 2012
On 19 May 2012, Dries Peeten became the national laureate of Kunstbende with a first prize in the category 'visual arts'. Kunstbende is a competition that is organised for various art disciplines in Flanders and Brussels. With his work 'No time to get away, enjoy the moment', Dries playfully tackles a number of world issues. The award ceremony took place in Arts Centre Vooruit in Ghent. In March 2012, he was already the winner in the preliminary round in Hasselt and he won the MAKS! prize over all categories (visual arts, photography, music, words, performance, dance and fashion).
"A work that is rich in references.
Aesthetically, it is worked out very well: the building up in layers, seeing the frame as a diorama, a whole world, an abundance of detail. It is also a very topical and contemporary work."
- Jury report Kunstbende -
‘No time to get away, enjoy the moment' is a playful work of social criticism. It doesn’t only refer to world issues such as nuclear energy, climate change and global warming, but also to the prevailing mentality, in particular decadence, indifference, arrogance, stress... The work represents the moment when there is actually no chance of escaping from disaster. The church clock indicates five past twelve. One can only enjoy the present moment. Using stereotypical figures, the scene shows how differently people deal with this. Among others, one can recognize the people hungry for sensation, the impatient and stressed-out businessman, the hedonist, the protesting voice of the bitten artist/musician, the narcissist who is only concerned with his own 'self'... The falling Icarus, on the other hand, depicts hubris. The viewer can also give his own meaning/interpretation to the work.
The scene also contains many references to other works of art:
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'The Great Gulf of Kanagawa' by Katsushika Hokusai;
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'No. 5, 1948' by Jackson Pollock;
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'Portrait of Adèle Bloch-Bauer I' by Gustav Klimt;
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'Boy with Pipe' by Pablo Picasso;
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'Dora Maar with Cat' by Pablo Picasso;
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'Portrait of Adèle Bloch-Bauer II' by Gustav Klimt;
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'Portrait of Dr. Gachet' by Vincent Van Gogh;
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'Bal au Moulin de la Galette' by Pierre-Auguste Renoir;
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'Laat ons een bloem' by Louis Neefs.
The work is made up of layers of paper, creating a three-dimensional effect. Various materials and techniques were used: ink, water colour, coloured pencil, acrylic paint, textile and collage technique.
The final of Kunstbende took place on 19 May 2012 in Arts Centre Vooruit in Ghent. Dries received his first prize and was interviewed by presenter Kobe Ilsen - on the eve of his 18th birthday.
