NEWS
Aktuell zu sehen
VISCERAL 2022
International Contemporary Art exhibition
June, 28th - July, 4th 2022
How do we know what is the wisest thing to do? In the heat of the moment, how do we decide? If you talk to some philosophers, they may tell you that we simply need to reason. But experience suggests that things don't work that way. Most of the time we don't have time to sit down and think. So how do we make decisions? Often, we follow our gut feelings and instincts. Visceral, deep, instinctive, but also irrational. The word visceral derives from the late Latin visceralis and literally means "of the bowels", or in medicine it is what affects one or more viscera, in a broader sense everything related to the systems responsible for vegetative life, the systems that allow us to to live. Metaphorically it has therefore assumed the meaning of all that is profound, inherent in each of us. Doing something visceral means acting instinctively, following the voice of our deepest self that often guides us and makes us act without thinking too much. At the same time it also indicates something irrational and non-critical, as if it arose from the guts and was inherent in our individual biological constitution. Since ancient times it has been said that the belly is the seat of emotions and the unconscious. In recent years, medical research has discovered that there is a second brain that we could define as abdominal/visceral that functions independently from the upper one. The existence of a direct abdomen-head communication has been demonstrated: serotonin continuously keeps the head updated on what is happening in the belly. It was then discovered that the intestine works autonomously, helping to fix memories related to emotions and has a fundamental role in signaling joy and pain. In short, it is the seat of a real second brain. The word "visceral" is in fact used to indicate that a thing, an attitude or a way of expressing oneself is very intimate, passionate, intense. Something significant, full of feelings (both positive and negative), linked more to the impulse and instinct than to the rational. As the word itself says, when we use the term visceral we refer to a way of expressing ourselves that comes from within us. The idea that there is something that emerges directly from us and that comes out naturally gives us the feeling that it is something truly natural, not rationalized, which appears through instinct and which does not always measure the consequences it can generate. In this sense, art has, in many respects, a profound relationship with what is visceral, since it has always been the most sincere and least rational way that human beings have of expressing themselves. Artists are often seen - in fact - as carefree people, not repressed by social guidelines and who bring out of their being all those feelings and sensations that arise in their bowels and that they cannot repress or silence. Art has always had the power to be the means of expression to give vent to one's irrational instinct. Through their art, each artist can truly express himself without being subject to rules, without having to follow a line or a thought.
M.A.D.S. calls artists from all over the world together to shout loudly: «Let your instincts free! Let it guide you! Don't repress it! Leave it free to express itself through your art! "
BOLIDT ANNOUNCES WINNER OF INAUGURAL DESIGN CHALLENGE
THORBEN STUBBE
2 December 2021
The inaugural Bolidt Design Challenge has been awarded to Meyer Werft concept designer Thorben Stubbe for a versatile, carbon-negative cruise decking solution that combines science and nature to stunning effect. Named ‘Algae Lifecycle Floor’ (ALF), the innovative concept will now be turned into a physical sample and displayed at the Bolidt Innovation Center outside Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
After accepting the award at Cruise Ship Interiors Expo Europe, ExCeL London on 1 December, Stubbe commented: “I am honoured to be the first recipient of the Bolidt Design Challenge award and excited about seeing ALF on display at the Innovation Center. Hopefully in the near future, we’ll be seeing it in operation on board cruise ships,
where it can be of significant value in efforts to reduce the industry’s carbon footprint.”
Thorben Stubbe
Art & Design
My name is Thorben Stubbe and I'm a German artist and designer.
I have been working in the field of art and design since 2005. After training as a communication designer and media designer, I studied industrial design in Osnabrück. In addition to my freelance work as a designer, I designed the exterior and interior of various super yachts for several years. For almost a decade I am the industrial designer at MEYER WERFT, which is a leader in cruise ship construction. My area of work includes the architectural design of the external appearance, as well as the conceptual area and the future orientation of the product portfolio. So, you can say that the steel construction of the shipyard is my everyday canvas.
My job in this industry is therefore very technical and numbers-driven, while the cruise ship in action is very emotional. People of different nations and ethnicities come together to have a good time, away from the everyday madness of what we call life. This duality of technology and emotion serves as an inspiration for me, which I would like to reflect in my work as an artist. The facets of life are sometimes chaotic and often au contraire but still forms a harmonious picture that we encounter every day as empathy. In addition to the figural-abstract art of recent years, in my latest series "The Art of Engineering" I address the cosmos of the cruise market in an artistic context and place the technical product in the emotional world of the viewer.