How inflatable dolls brought Martijn back to the classical sculpting tradition
- Fine Art
- Design
After graduating from the then sculpture department of AKI ArtEZ Academy of Art & Design, Martijn Stellinga worked both inside and outside the cultural sector. Seventeen years after graduating, he began studying Fine Art and Design in Education – Tailor Made in Zwolle. Following up on art school, this course enables you to obtain a full teaching licence within two years. A few weeks before completing his studies, Martijn talks about his graduation project.
'I myself am so amazed at what I came up with. It's actually 18+ work…. I found a material last semester that I find fan-tas-tic. I started my creative process by thinking and sketching about three themes: amusement park/circus, DIY and the sex industry. This led me to the idea of inflatable dolls, which come in numerous forms. And, in addition to dolls, there of course are all kinds of inflatable animal figures, for example for use in the pool. I started cutting and pasting that material, combining human and animal, or human and human. For example, I endowed a woman with three breasts. The first figure I created was very difficult. It kept leaking all the time, which I constantly had to fix. Now I have a much better grasp of it. The material is so rich. For my graduation work, I'm creating three figures, in different poses. I'm actually returning to the old sculptural tradition, but it's becoming ironic in this way.'
Female nude
Martin refers to the female nude, a classic theme in sculpture and other forms of art. 'I would never have thought I'd be working on that theme: the creator versus the model, which he can bend to his will. That's how it feels, but differently. I can make her how I want her to be. The artist-man who manipulates women the way he wants them, that's the line I pursued.' During the conversation, Martijn shows his work in progress. A female inflatable doll with three breasts has the head of a llama carefully glued on top of it. A ponytail adorns her behind. Martijn says: 'Inflatable figures are a form of fantasy. But as a creator, I think even that isn't good enough, so I give her an animal head, for example. For me, this makeability is also a picture of the future. People interact less and less and the artificial becomes more prominent. Everything becomes makeable, all needs can be satisfied. During a work review, we talked about gender fluidity. In my work, not gender, but humans and animals intermingle. This, incidentally, is an ancient notion, which you also see in nature religions.'
It's amazing to have a whole group of fine people around who are doing their work from love, and each of whom has unique experiences that they bring to the academy."
Dynamics
Even Martijn himself was surprised by his graduation topic, for the study and interaction with fellow students comes with a tremendous dynamic, he says. 'Besides the advice from lecturers, the exchange with fellow students is very enriching. You interact with a regular group. There were five of us joining the third-year students part-time. It's amazing to have a whole group of fine people around who are doing their work from love, and each of whom has unique experiences that they bring to the academy. You're infected before you know it!'
Twee werelden komen samen
Nu de opleiding bijna is afgerond, ziet Martijn het proces dat hij en zijn medestudenten hebben doorlopen als een logisch geheel waarin de onderdelen verrassend op elkaar aansluiten: “Als je begint aan de opleiding, lijken je beeldende en educatieve vakken vaak twee losstaande werelden. Door de nadruk op eigen inbreng leer je vanzelf beeldend werk en didactische en pedagogische vaardigheden met elkaar te verbinden. Zowel mijn beeldende als mijn educatieve vaardigheden hebben zich hierdoor enorm verbeterd. Gaandeweg realiseer je je dat er samenhang ontstaat tussen de verschillende vakken.”
Meer weten over Docent Beeldende Kunst en Vormgeving op Maat?
Deze bachelor leidt je op tot een deskundige, inspirerende en maatschappelijk betrokken beeldend docent die zijn enthousiasme voor kunst op een aanstekelijke manier weet over te brengen. De opleiding Docent Beeldende Kunst en Vormgeving op Maat is speciaal bedoeld voor professioneel beeldend kunstenaars en ontwerpers met een afgeronde hbo-kunstopleiding en voor docenten met een tweedegraadsbevoegdheid tekenen, handvaardigheid, textiele werkvormen of beeldende vorming.
