Source work:
1686/93
Hendrik Stroebel (b.1954)
Pleasures and Treasures
c.1993
Ceramic, mixed media
Treasures and Feasts: a discourse about stars - Estelle Liebenberg-Barkhuizen
Estelle Liebenberg-Barkhuizen (b.1954)
Treasures and Feasts: a discourse about stars
Fibre art: paper, beads etc
R4 000 (Negotiable)
The Muslim star in Hendrik Stroebel's Pleasures and Treasures immediately drew my attention, leading me to think of other stars: the Jewish 'Star of David'; the 'Bethlehem star'; the morning star; a bookbinding structure which is known as a 'star book'; my name, which means 'star'.
I chose the 'star book' format for a number of reasons: the first is a thematic one, namely that of the star, which links the book with the image on the vase. The second one is physical: it takes time to walk around the vase to see all aspects of it as it takes time to read a book. This involves some chronology. Both the vase and the book require memory in order to 'read' their meaning; both objects are sculptural without actually being sculpture; and both have no beginning and no end. Stroebel also makes use of eastern type lettering, thereby asking us to 'read the vase'. Likewise, the visual images in the book are asking you not to 'read the book' but to 'look' at the book.
The title of Stroebel's vase, along with the multi-cultural references and layers of meaning, led me to the idea of feasts. I chose a Christian subject matter as there are many feasts in Christianity, and to set up a discourse or dialogue with the imagery in the vase. Christianity has no cultural boundaries, hence the inclusion of patterns from different cultures. Some Christian feasts are represented in the book through images and writing. The pattern of the thorny crown runs along the bottom of all pages, indicating the continuation of a Christian theme across all cultures, in the same way that the Stroebel vase uses a recurring Islamic theme.
Ideally, I would like viewers/readers to handle the book to experience each page and discover its imagery directly. Unfortunately, the book has to be placed in a display cabinet, which creates the idea that the book should not be touched or handled. While looking at the book, imagine what it would be like to hold this object in your hands, to feel the texture of the paper, and slowly page through the book to 'read' its imagery and to 'see' its meanings.