texts 2008 - 2025
About the social and individual
About the emotional and rational
About places, believing and
unconsciousness
Reading, listening, with a sense
of rhythm and moods
Working on the soul in the age of
rage
which leads me to the unknown.
ERf_
Over de schrijf-tekenschriften
Sinds 2020 werk ik in tekenboeken met de
bedoeling te experimenteren vanuit het idee dat taal het tekenen beïnvloed en
andersom. Daarnaast neem ik de intuïtie serieus en de behoefte om notities in
woorden, tekens en tekenbewegingen te maken komt daaruit voort.
De situatie en omgevingsomstandigheden zijn van
invloed mijn aanpak, net zo goed als mijn levensloop. Betekenis is persoonlijk,
herkenning is mogelijk.
Eng.
About the
writing-sketchbooks
Since 2020, I have been
working in sketchbooks with the intention of experimenting based on the idea
that language influences drawing and vice versa. I also take intuition
seriously, and the need to make notes in words, signs, and drawing movements
stems from that.
The situation and
environmental conditions influence my approach, as does my life course. Meaning
is personal, recognition is possible.
ERf 2025
Book no. 5 - page
27
2014
In her artwork Ellen Rodenberg gives both a differential as well as an apt
dynamic picture of her progress. Initially the artist was self-taught and
subsequently she continued at the Koninklijke
Academie in Den Haag to obtain her Degree in Fine Art over a two-year period.
Besides paintings she also makes three-dimensional installations and videos; which have been frequently used in music
performances in the The Hague underground scene where
her videos have been shown as a part of the overall programme. This broad range
of activities appears to have consistently contributed to a painterly
development, which has lead
to an interesting new body of work. In the paintings the previous formal
characteristics continue to prevail; they have been divided in four squares. In
the four forms a different approach is used, but throughout this approach in
all four the same subject or motif flows…
http://rdpauw.blogspot.nl/2013/04/ellen-rodenberg.html
2010
The dynamics of
Ellen Rodenberg
In her artwork Ellen Rodenberg gives both a differential as well as an
apt dynamic picture of her progress.
Initially the artist was self-taught and subsequently she continued at
the Koninklijke Academie in Den Haag to obtain her
Degree in Fine Art over a two-year period.
Besides paintings she also makes three-dimensional installations and videos; which have been frequently used in music
performances in the The Hague underground scene where
her videos have been shown as a part of the overall programme.
This broad range of activities appears to have consistently contributed
to a painterly development, which has lead
to an interesting new body of work. In the paintings the previous formal
characteristics continue to prevail; they have been divided in four squares. In
the four forms a different approach is used, but throughout this approach in
all four the same subject or motif flows.
This subject is recognizable at times, at times only partially and in a
few works it disappears from sight altogether enabling
the painting to become a complete abstract geometric canvas although through the transparent layers of paint it is still
possible to detect a suggestion of the original subject matter. In some instances the subject matter deals with landscapes in which
the spatial referential remains. For instance: in a recent canvas the
landscape is divided in four sections unto which a disco ball is painted, which
in itself has again been divided in four different
sections and through this process the disco ball acts as a repository. If one wonders what exactly is going on here the fist
thing that becomes apparent that the internally divided and at times faded
landscapes are an important and informative element in her work;
as memories partially faded and tinted.
On the other hand these elements have been
sufficiently incorporated that the painting can be seen as an autonomous
abstract work. The cross, which divides the canvas, forms an important part in
the whole picture; the four approaches, separations appear as an integral part
of the canvas and structure and thereby further support each other’s
context. The more flat painted canvasses strongly
suggest the flag motif and its suggestive countenance makes it an important
theme in the artists work.
Ellen Rodenberg has also discovered a third dimension to
her work; the need to investigate her concerns with other means at her disposal
such as making installations out of Styrofoam and in which she employs toys, photo’s and small dolls to make
these spaces dynamic. Photographs made of these installations can act again as
a source of inspiration for new paintings.
In 2004 the artist began a web log ‘MULTI-IMPRESSIELOG’ where she noted
personal observations and experiences and in doing so positioned herself in a different manner in the art world.
.
In the new studio in de DCR a number of things
took place in the development and progress of her work. In the paintings a
concentration unto two subject matters takes place. Firstly
a number of used motifs in the work are erased and in doing so these abstract
elements used in the process strengthen themselves The
abstract elements flowing out of the motifs are used in rhythmic patterns and
again in these paintings the aforementioned characteristics emerge: the
canvasses are colourful, contain depth are dynamic and contain a
confrontation of different picturorial elements. Conflicting ideas move and collide in the pictorial space.
Following
a residency in her Cemeti Art
Centre in Djokyakarta in
Indonesia organised by HEDEN in 2008 Ellen Rodenberg
began to use a new discipline: besides photography and making studies she began
to make videos to record her observations and noticed how important national
identity is in Indonesia. This identity is confirmed in public spaces through
symbols as well as the public’s behaviour. This
gave Rodenberg the idea to return to her theme of flags. She
began to make fictitious flags containing four equal
colour fields. In the first instance the flags were sown together
using textiles and displayed in various public venues. She further decided
to use them as projection screens and was surprised by the result as the
projected video’s appeared in a filtered
coloured light. They resembled fragments of memory as they
surface in our minds. Back in The Netherlands she further experimented with
this subject matter and edits found synchronised
sound. This leads to numerous collaborations and public performances with sound
artists.
Photographs taken from the video projections emerge subsequently as a
source of inspiration for work to follow. Paintings with text and in a flag pattern suggest memory; filtered, coloured and fragmented. Simultaneously the paintings are
completely abstract and the flag motif adds to its
autonomous identity. The way in which they are worked out refers to Modernism and even further to formalistic work. This
explorative way of working is extended in the current series: the separating
cross moves across the surface and in doing so it causes the divided surfaces
to become asymmetrical.
You could surmise and say that Ellen Rodenberg would like
to be called a painter whose idea’s
are formulated and executed in multiple and dynamic ways. She develops her ideas and themes in a constant state of flux and
motion and through experimenting with all sorts of different media and
techniques. The confrontation of her work with work done by others and her own
by form a continuous challenge in her work practise. The paintings which emerge out of this process balance on the edge of
figuration and abstraction which equally occurred at the time of the
transitional stage of Modernism: the tension found in the opposites and the
energetic research by the artist are visible in the strength of the paintings by Ellen Rodenberg.
Adaptation Ineke Van der Wal
Taken from the original text by Kees Koomen of October 2010.
2008
Following a Trail, Creating
Texture
I don’t think Ellen Rodenberg is just playing
with the dozens of objects she collected during her residency in Jogja, after I
observed the way how she arranges the various plastic toys, such as toy
soldiers, tanks, cars, motorcycles, trees, flags, etc., on her worktable. Her
methods recall the joys of a child in selecting whatever she likes and placing
them into positions. This, collecting various objects that caught her fancy,
was the first thing Ellen did upon arriving in Jogja.
It was interesting when
Ellen, an artist born in Amsterdam in 1955, shared her worktable with her
children. It is probable that we, adults, would be annoyed with sharing the
space, because the objects Ellen collected were similar to
her children’s toys. However, Ellen partitioned the table, drawing a clear
boundary between her children’s playing area and her own art space. This proves
she was not just playing, as she was busy arranging and rearranging,
repositioning the various objects, while trying to identify them and understand
their symbols and meanings. Ellen is currently conducting historical research
on these objects that she will present as footnotes. There is a deep conviction
to follow the history of these objects. For instance, the swastika is a Nazi
symbol associated with the terrifying and oppressive Hitler regime. However,
this is not the symbol’s meaning for which Ellen is searching; rather, she is
focusing on the other meanings and relevancies that developed and are used in
other contexts. The swastika is also a devotional symbol for the Hindus. These
contrasting and contradictory meanings become the base for Ellen’s research.
She focuses her attention on the diverse perspectives of a symbol. In essence,
she wants to prove that any one symbol does not belong to any specific group,
language, or discourse, but rather a symbol can have different meanings, uses
and rites in different contexts. Ellen’s background in painting explains how
she views these objects in two and three dimensions.
At this point, I see Ellen’s
unique artistic language. I think her experience in conducting this unusual
exploration provides a valuable opportunity to witness the process behind a
final product. The stability of painting conventions that represent two dimensions
on a canvas seem to be shattered by Ellen’s exploration process. For her,
process represents the basic foundation of the final
product. She demonstrates how a miniature landscape of flags must be seen from
two visual aspects, i.e., flat and three-dimensional. Ellen’s artworks are
explorations of thought and intuition, a balance between mind and soul.
Sometimes, she intuitively seizes objects she finds without needing any
previous intense contemplation.
The final result of this process is an installation in the Cemeti Art House exhibition space. This is Ellen’s painting.
Not a two-dimensional painting, but one with volume that fills the space.
Various compositions of objects are spread out; some in miniature form, others
that have been magnified. Dragon Ball, as a hero from a Japanese comic series,
is present in life-size form, in the four corners of the simulation arena. The
Dragon Ball character and a number of other objects
were chosen because they are cartoon figures and are associated with strength
or can be perceived as metaphors of authority.
This Landing Soon #7 project
has enticed Ellen to become familiar with, understand, or,
to be more specific, play, with the similarities and differences of cultural
symbols. Three months is too short to understand the cultural milieu of
Yogyakarta, as the heart of the Mataram kingdom,
which has a long history in the crossroads of Javanese traditions, diverse
religions and the formation of a modern society. Of course, one of the unique
features is how the colonial Dutch presence in the past remains in buildings,
language and various cultural practices. Ellen is aware of this past from the
Netherlands, a European country that has complex history. Differences,
similarities and various relationships in the past form a kind of collective
memory that can be recalled, forgotten, or become a symbol ready to be
deconstructed. These symbols may at one time have been sacred signs of
reverence and nobility, but now have assumed totally
opposite meanings. Symbols are the most articulate signs of a perspective or
ideology. The use of symbols in society represents a kind of undivided bond.
The presence of these symbols is a way of identifying and marking an existence.
The need for the presence of these symbols is as old as humanity, homo symbolicum.
During the period of her
residency in Jogja, Ellen became aware that following the trails of symbols was
one way to get to know a new place, space and culture – both universal symbols,
such as the popular Dragon Ball, who everyone knows, regardless of territorial
boundaries and national ideologies, as well as symbols used actively in local
contexts in Yogyakarta.
This can be seen in the
documentary photos and videos Ellen recorded of various monuments, landscapes,
plants, animals, and people that she felt were potentially both similar and
different. This recording process took place not only in Yogyakarta, but also
when she visited and made presentations in Solo and Semarang. Symbols, in the
context of Ellen’s search, are like a spider’s web. The symbols exist in a
structure and are experienced culturally. One symbol is like a footnote for a
supra-structure. I think Ellen stops here. She guides us to the face of this
symbolic structure. Perhaps “symbolic texture” is more accurate. As texture, it
becomes a composition. We can see this in a number of
two-dimensional painting fields, where colors and
lines form specific symbolic contours. What is Ellen searching for through this
long process that involves interpretation and duplication of various signs? I
think Ellen is one who ponders.
Beneath her methods in
learning about a new place and culture, there is another underlying process, as
if she wants to redefine herself as a “new symbol” in various forms of language
play that are constantly in the process of evolving
A.
Sujud Dartanto 2008
(text: Landing Soon #7 catalogue)