Improvisations by Henri van Zanten» Category ‘Journal’ | Improvisations by HvZ

Photography is most existential improvisation

henri — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 19:08:00 +0000

Photography is the most existential practice of improvisation and can be sublimated into Phototheater. Checkout Het Fototheatre presenteert

Special guest:
Zkukkuiz

In a grey country like Holland you’ll have to create your own colourful past.

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What can life be but improvised?

henri — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 03:00:01 +0000

You can book Henri van Zanten improvising as

Henri van Zanten > Suerealist Omniartist & Stressdesigner on Dipity.

Sometimes i have to improvise my real face & appearance

henri — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 00:35:10 +0000

I can’t tell how it happened, but with a little help of my friends Anthony Hopkins and Wimo Ambala Bayang this seems to be a trailer to promote me as an omniartist. Well? You tell me!

A surprise selfconfrontation on the web

henri — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 19:53:05 +0000

Today i came across a documentary made by Ferri Ronteltap in 1991 about my work. Funny timeless experience of selfencounter!

Projecties van een theatermaker
Uploaded by Kristalfilm. – Watch feature films and entire TV shows.

Crazy Nietzsche appears in Night of the churches

henri — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 01:56:27 +0000

This is a research performance for the piece Zarathustra’s Nietzsche to be written by Henri van Zanten for Mach.

In 1982 Henri van Zanten started making theatre with pieces he wrote himself. The Collectors. The Lecture of a taciturn person. In the 90’s he started rapping and writting poetic texts for Phototheatre pieces like “Bluebeard paints his beard” and “The Devil’s Workshop”. Apart from that he has written and improvised lyrics for his bands.

De Lachende Rappers Komen er aan

henri — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 16:12:29 +0000

The Laughing Rappers coming your way! Double Dutch!

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Transparant burlesque design made my day

henri — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 09:52:22 +0000

Deena Ray is a rising burlesque star from Rotterdam. I had the honour of giving her a theatrical training in my FutureSquad 1996-2000. And now i have another honour: being her web-spider! Here is the result of this morning attack

It’s long ago i was here…

henri — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 00:34:51 +0000

Funny thing is that the monkey reminded me of my official site…i am all over the web, but my own site… anyway i am not wasting my time on being bored. It’s not “been there, done that”.

Like with the fact i have a band again. God Knows the Absence came together after 20 years gave a few brilliant concerts and then the boys were too busy with kids and divorces. Music is important, especially when there is stress. So through Prof. Sidhi Ïdiopath i have become part of Yokocola, and that is never routine. But the monkey, i was telling that the monkey reminded me of my site. Let’s have a look

Link:

My chewing gum heroes in the picture

henri — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 03:53:27 +0000

I have been studying and photographing the chewing gum heroes for a long time already.
Now i put them in the picture.

Presenting my Webmeister Helmuth Ziegenmalte

henri — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 06:43:37 +0000

Now this site is, uh was in the top 10 (now nr. 14) of improvisation on google, i feel ashamed i haven’t honored my Webmeister Helmuth Ziegenmalte more explicit before. I am making up for that now. Also because i managed to launch my TubeMogul-account, enabling me to spread my work to 10 different video channels! And so enlarging my audience.

And i did all that without any help of Helmuth! So, having become independant in a certain way, my thanks will be independant too.

Ziegenmalte is a gentleman, with a sharp mind and a kind heart. His sense of humour is quite tricky for those not paying attention. Above all he has patience. With that he defragmented my scattered knowledge of computer and internet, and made me within a year a true cybernaut and internet/computer-fanatic. Claustrofobic as i am, i now have ’a stage’ on which i can play my play and show my show to the whole world.

I cannot express my gratitude for that training in any other way than with two clips. Thank you Helmuth!

Immer wach! is our motto…

Depression Promotion Centre 2 closed spectacularly

henri — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 17:14:51 +0000

During the weekend of 15 till 17 of August 2008 the DPC2 presented to the general public the First Rotterdam Summerexhibition and the worldpremiere of the Bandorchestra directed by MC Wisecrack in his musical armour. Fuck the Writer & Illlitterrats edgy folkrock, The Outskirts exploded rock, Of Melancholy Burning death metal, The Rotterdam Free Jazz Ensemble & Oude Rokken (Old Skirts) 4 vocal chords embodied the first Bandorchestra.

On Sunday there was last but not least the second Foot and Mouth Disease Convention.

Then the DPC2 disappeared for the time being. Like the pheasant challenging the sunset in my video.

“Depression Promotion is merciless”

This header might sound a bit scary, but actually it’s an invitation to take a real look at the world, letting our eyes do their work uncensored. The Depression Promotion Centre is the embodiment of the optimism and healing power of the arts. It’s a homeopathic satire on “the new world order” atmosphere, reminding us that we just live in a well marketed upgrade of a concentration camp, with bar codes instead of barbed wire.

So here’s a video just to cheer you up! It’s a new world every day fucked up by old-fashioned bastards!

When? Where?

The DPC2 invites you – in the weekends from July, 25th until August, 17th 2008. You can find it in the former “Nederlands fotomuseum”, Witte de Withstraat 63 in Rotterdam.

Cultural Cures by Depression Promotion Centre 2

The DPC2 offers you various potential remedies:

More than 50 very different visual artists.
The Soundtrack Lounge with exotic movies only in sound.
The Lyrical Tankstation with poets bringing their poetry as fuel for your mind, embedded in music.
The Suicide Salon for meditation on the free will and the Nonsense of life.
The world premiere of the Bandorchestra.
And concluding four weekends of excitement and creativity with the singer/songwriter Foot and Mouth Disease Convention.

So come to Rotterdam, if you aren’t here yet.

Any comments or questions?

Feel free to let them out! Depression Promotion Centre 2 is made for you, obviously more or less improvised.

Ad fundum, Batavia!

Thanksgiving by Curator X after Depression Promotion in cultural desert storm

henri — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 18:23:05 +0000

Even if you don’t understand the words the emotion in our great leader’s voice can be felt.

August 2008, Depression Promotion Center 2 in the former Dutch Photomuseum, Rotterdam.

Heart Attack Caused by Dutch Political Climate?

webmeister — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 12:46:10 +0000

Dear reader of Henri van Zanten’s Improvisations,

Normally my function as the webmeister of this blog takes place behind the scenes: Besides maintaining the technical aspects of the weblog I hope that my media training sessions with van Zanten will continue to be as fruitful as up to the present. Although I could mention some points of critique. At the moment I don’t want to write about irregularly posting intervals with long breaks, keeping the interested readership in a painful state of uncertainity.

But now it’s not the time for criticism, first things first. The Grande Opening of the second edition of the Depression Promotion Centre was overshadowed by a dramatic incident. After an inspiring speech by DPC veteran and PvDA polititian Ronald Motta the notorious Curator X appeared in public and addressed the audience from the balcony. Maybe he got upset about the general Dutch cultural and political climate moving to yet to be explored low pressure areas, maybe he got overexcited about the mental, spiritual and certainly physical expansion space he created together with curator Verbrugge, resulting in the convincing manfestation of Depression Promotion Centre 2 in the former Dutch Photomuseum.

I heard rumors about a latent valvular heart disease of Curator X but actually I cannot confirm this by any official source. Anyhow, after a few opening sentences Curator X caught a conceptual heart attack and collapsed all of a sudden. The public grew stiff by this apparently unfortunate calamity. Even the floating pancakes of our fellow artist Hugo Lammerink couldn’t comfort the frightened listeners, but who knows…

Probably inspired by this substantial rural meal, the art loving farmer Harm Koeimaar from Het Boerenbond entered the scene like a Deus ex machina from a Greek tragedy. Thanks to this brilliant stylistic hat trick the instant surrogate of Curator X succeeded in boiling down pretentious musings and intellectual reflections (about art and its function in society) to the very essence, hereby increasing awareness and enlightment at a larger part of the audience than Curator X possibly ever would have managed to. Although I have to admit that his dialect in combination with the reverberation of the hall complicated the understanding slightly:

“Art? What is art? something about quality that is supposed to generate quantity, right?
… [unidentified dialectic articulalations] … !
Everybody is able to appreciate art, therefore you don’t need to understand art.”
“Art can be … [more unidentified dialectic articulalations] … as well as at the farm.”
One obsession of the average taxpayer seems to be the notion that “the artist” is wasting exactly that particular fraction of the taxpayers’ money which he paid himself. Based on this false assumption the average taxpayer is claiming a certain decisive power regarding the artist and his artistic fate, … [more unidentified dialectic articulalations] … leads to some sort of public tribunal.”

In a final attempt to silence any possible doubt and upcoming discussion about his bold claims our substitutional farmer used a little help from Godwin’s law, he referred to the rather unsuccessful painter A. Schicklgruber from Austria, who gained quite some fame for the substitution of his artistic failure with a rather “turbulent political career”.

After these nothing hindered the art loving farmer Harm Koeimaar from Het Boerenbond to open the exhibition.

Please leave your “Get well soon!” wishes in the comments! Flowers, gifts, cards and other signs of appreciation for Curator X you can send or deliver to:

Curator X
Witte de Withstraat 63
3012 BN Rotterdam

Thanks in advance. Curator X, get well soon!

Depression Promotion Centre 2: FAQ & Facts

henri — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 08:46:18 +0000

If you can find the answer to your questions in the FAQ & Facts section of the Depression Promotion Centre 2 you can ask your questions in the comments section at the bottom of this post.

? Is it true that the Depression Promotion Centre 2 wants me to be depressed or even more depressed than i already am?
Not at all. Feel free to enjoy the Depression Promotion Center, but in case you are really suffering from depressions, you are welcome to join the club. Like Stigmadome for example.

? Can i become a member of the Depression Promotion Centre 2?
Unfortunately the Depression Promotion Centre is not an organisation or society or club.

? Does the Depression Promotion Centre 2 have a management team or general staff?
No, it is organised by autonomously acting hosts: Harmen Verbrugge for the art exhibition, Henri van Zanten for the live performances and musical activities, Curator X for the overall ideology, O.W. for interviews.

? Who designed the flyer?
Henri van Zanten in collaboration with Herman Keetbaas of
De Boog Printers
Rotterdam
Tel. +31 – (0)10 – 4661454

? Will the catering in fact only consist of water and bread during the openings?
Yes, you are supposed to attend the exhibition for the sake of art and artists.

? Is our society really victim to all those apocalyptic questions put in the flyer?
Who knows.

? Why is the Depression Promotion Centre 2 hosted on www.henrivanzanten.com?
Because Curator X is too shy to have his own siteblog.

Any question? The please leave a comment and I will answer you ASAP.

Heiner MÃ¼ller’s Hamletmachine: Wild & Unpolished Theater

henri — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 06:36:30 +0000

I don’t want to seem sentimental, it’s just that i finally cut up the video of Die Hamletmaschine in scenes and put them in a player, for you all to enjoy the wild youth of former Eastern Germany. The Hamletmachine is an ideological requiem, written by the East German dissident Heiner MÃ¼ller in 1977.

I staged it 13 x since 1981. Doing it in Jena was a special experience. There was still the smell of Stasi and distrust. When i started working with my group, they were shy, but after 3 weeks stressdesigning we ended up as a wild bunch together.

Well see for yourself!

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Impro on Kraftwerk’s ‘Autobahn’ by Pretty Evil ends in total loss…

henri — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 10:25:05 +0000

Pretty Evil (Fuck the Writer & McWisecrack) on their hasty way to 48 Hour Film Project 2008, yet finding time to have some fun, but not without risk! But nothing is perfect: life isn’t, we aren’t, the world isn’t. Only death is perfect in absence. But in a certain way improvisation compensates for all this by being the perfect reflection of the moment… Enjoy the ride!

Pretty Evil Autobahn

Improvisation on time, while having no time

henri — Mon, 19 May 2008 23:53:11 +0000

Finally i force myself to write a post for my journal. And i promised i would do this regularly! But i am so busy living material for it that i don’t have time to write about them. The interesting parts of that living material. So, good night. I’ll try to improvize my way into it!

Distorted Musical Improvisations by God Knows the Absence

henri — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 07:56:43 +0000

On the first day of spring we did a last minute session. It was freezing cold. But the incubation of not having played for about 10 weeks burst into a fever….The collective subconscious of God Knows the Absence did it again! But after a break of 20 years, only eternity can come between us now, ha ha.

Also check God Knows the Absence on mySpace!

Improvisation on Januari 14th 2008

henri — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 16:07:15 +0000

There is no centre, that’s the point!

As omniartist I do many things at the same time. In that way I can keep my creativity on a high energy and concentration level – like a permanent orgasm. And of course, having a skull filled with fireworks, every ‘explosion’ (spark of the big bang) is a message looking for it’s medium. So no time for a dull moment! Life is to be discovered, dis-covered, otherwise it will be suffocated and then suffocate.

It is in fact a happy story, because it never ends. This part we – the spirits we are – choose to be in a body on the earth.

Tabula Rasa Perpertuum Mobile …. Status Quo Vadis?….Utopia Fata Morgana Deja Vu …don’t call in the desert it’ll make you thirsty …. There is no centre that’s the point…/>

Blank or blank again without end / were do we go with what stays the same / utopia a fata morgana which is a deja vu / …………………………/ ……………….

Now the first line just came up and then the quotes came together into this quatraine. Like the 4 winds. West ahead of sundown/East into the sunset/South sunbathing and famine/North snow and white seals… And then the line in the centre!?

My Webmeister Helmuth Ziegenmalte started complaining that I neglected my website.The last page was my first journal entry, ‘god knows how long ago already’. It is true, I confess. But, yes BUT …take a look at http::/www.youtube.com/henrivanzanten and you will see for yourself what I have been doing with what i have been doing…

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Improvisation on December 2nd 2007

henri — Sun, 02 Dec 2007 19:17:29 +0000

Today i slept through a grey rainy windy day. Catching up with some sleep.

Today i will start my journal at last. Have been too busy up to now. That’s what i said to myself all the time. But time is our own decision. A decision to make an incision in oblivion.

Last friday i gave a concert for the first time since 20 years with my band God Knows the Absence. It was in the Arminus Church in Rotterdam, as part of a revival party of the antiscene in the 80’s, also in Rotterdam. A book of photo’s of that period by Carla van Marel was presented. It was not back to the past or the future. It was back to the present. A Merlin-machine action.

Check God Knows The Absence – I Could Give. This was our final song of the concert.

I’ll keep in touch with more bedtime stories.H.

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The exciting lives of an Omniartist

henri — Mon, 28 May 2007 19:55:50 +0000

Just imagine you have no hesitation to express yourself in whatever medium, with whatever experience or technique you have, not wanting to please anyone, just materialising your spirits projections, just imagine…. an Omniartist is born. Probably.

But let that be ! On this site you can observe me rolling like a rock through the arts and media like a wild creature. If you don’t enjoy it yet, it’s not your fault. The times are a’changin. I am aware i share. Be welcome. Fasten your…….