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Lore SMOLDERS (BE) - From foreground to infinity
From foreground to infinity refers to a general drawing mistake described in amateur drawing manuals, when drawing an endless road towards the horizon without vanishing point. As a drawing teacher, questioning my role and the role of drawing in art education, I am collecting these manuals for years (with titles such as ‘Creatief bezig zijn voor de vrouw’, ‘Drawing simplified’, ‘Still life is exciting’), doubting how drawing instructions seem to define a ‘true’ way of drawing. Looking into the archive of Les Brasseurs, which used to be a store for textiles from 1969 on, named ‘Jean Box’, I got intrigued by a document filled with indications written to female vendors of the shop to improve the sale. These rules gave advice about the ten first words, the gestures to be used and what not to say to the clients.
From foreground to infinity brings together a new visual vocabulary evolved from observing these systems and indications, navigating between basreliefs, blind prints, instructions, alphabets and signs.
Lore Smolders
