Dutch artist Marit Otto experiences art on many levels and in many different ways. She looks for aesthetics and eloquence but also for a particular angle.
Marit Otto creates contemporary engaged art. She says: "It has a certain urgency. It is reflecting us, people and the zeitgeist. Images speak louder than words and basically appeal very directly to our feelings. My images are something of a mix between activism and philosophy, they want to engage in dialogue.”
ArtDependence (AD): How does your work reflect your view of the world right now?
Marit Otto (MO): My work is a reflection of the Zeitgeist. It’s what I distract from the daily news, developments, movements and fashions. Questions it provokes, sadness it arouses, anger that it sparkles need to find their ways into something visual and meaningful. Everything eventually solidifies into an image that hopefully radiates something universal, embodies beauty and is also identifiable as critical or/and philosophical. The image may be abrasive, provocative and controversial, but it must also be attractive. It must appeal to the viewer.
This appeal is essential so that, after their initial encounter with the image, viewers feel
compelled to explore it further.
AD: What role do you think art plays in connecting people today?
MO: To be honest, I have mixed feelings. On one hand we see an increase of art lovers all over the world. It has become less elitair and accessible for the masses. That's a good development. On the other hand we see that commerce is getting a vast grip on every aspect of art in every art discipline. It has more and more become so intertwined with capitalistic motives. While I truly believe, artists should be independent in their minds and souls. Their talents should not be used for mere financial gain and profits but to offer the world an alternative route or narrative. I believe that art is essential for connection and nuanced communication. But, that being said, also for a bit of fresh air in the minds and hearts.
AD: What message or feeling do you hope viewers take away from your art?
MO: I hope to shake them up a little and make them contemplate about the topics I present to them. This is my message always; there are alternative routes to the one we are all walking now. Change is up to us. But for seekers of beauty I hope to meet their
expectations too. Celebrating beauty in art is not vain.
AD: Can you tell us the story behind the artwork artwork, Man's World, painted this year.
MO: We see a few men toying and tossing around with a blue ball, resembling the earth. One of them pushing the biggest ball has a likeness with Sisyphus, a figure from Greek Mythology. Sisyphus was a cunning man but made the mistake to challenge the Gods. Time and again he managed to escape the wrath of the gods, but in doing so he only made his ultimate punishment worse. His penalty was that he had to push a boulder up a mountain in Tartarus until the end of time.
There are a few hooks in this respect with this day and age where men challenge Gods
and her creations in many disrespectful ways. What and who this challenged God is and
what it represents is something that differs for each individual. Yet we are all witnesses to the dismantling of her creation. You could say whomever God is: supernatural, a miracle or nature, she’s used and exploited by fickle men with egoist mindsets.
The rock that is eternally pushed up the mountain represents history, which, though
possibly in a variety of guises, repeats itself endlessly. I would add: without genuinely
learning from it. The other men in the picture are no celebs in this regard, but merely a group that enthusiastically and devotedly follows a supreme leader, which is the one manifesting itself by masculine scream and roar.
On my website I wrote about this painting along the lines of two famous songs. Obviously I used, Man’s World by James Brown, the eponym of my artwork, to extract some lines. And second some lines from the Real Men lyrics by Joe Jackson. They said it all.
James Brown cried; ‘It’s a Mans World’,
‘Do you know that man makes money
To buy from other man
This is a man’s world
But it wouldn’t be nothing, nothing
Not one little thing without a woman or a girl
He’s lost in the wilderness
He’s lost in bitterness
He’s lost, lawd have mercy now, in loneliness‘
I’ve condensed it a little on the key points.
And then I imagined Joe Jackson replied with his Real Men;
‘What’s a man now? What’s a man mean?
Is he rough or is he rugged? Is he cultural and clean?
Now it’s all changed, it’s got to change more
‘Cause we think it’s getting better but nobody’s really sure
And so it goes, go ‘round again
But now and then we wonder who the real men are
Time to get scared, time to change plan
Don’t know how to treat a lady, don’t know how to be a man
Time to admit what you call defeat
‘Cause there’s women running past you now and you just drag your feet
Man makes a gun, man goes to war
Man can kill and man can drink and man can take a whore
Kill all the blacks, kill all the reds
And if there’s war between the sexes then there’ll be no people left
And so it goes, go ‘round again
But now and then we wonder who the real men are.‘
And again me condensing it on key points……
But still, a mans point of view on men and I agree on it.
Mans World By James Brown:
Real men by Joe Jackson
AD: What inspired you to take part in the Art to Collect project?
MO: Art to Collect approached me and asked if I was interested to take part. At first I was reluctant to say yes. There are many requests for artists to take part in numerous online platforms, exhibitions, interviews and so on, so I am very selective.
What tipped the balance was the look and feel of Art To Collect, the selection of other artists that were of high quality and serious in depth editorials. After some considerations and conversations, I decided to go for it. Now I am curious about what comes next.
Main Image: Marit Otto, Man's World, Acrylic on canvas