Visibility to the Neighborhood - "Life after Planning" at Virtual Museum Zuidas

Nice project seen today at the conference "Life after Planning" by graphic designer Femke Herregraven

During a three-months residency at Zuidas Free Spaces, graphic design Herregraven has decided to give names and addresses of one category of future (and in some cases actual) neighbors of the Zuidas. Envisioned and described in all the communication brochure as a future 'heart', and important knot of the financial world, Zuidas is at moment an empty area where you can (still) see wastelands interrupted by massive construction sites. During the presentation today, Herregraven told that at the beginning of her stay, she went on a visit of one of the newly completed tower building where new flats were put on sold, mostly for expats. From this first impression of empty spaces (offices and houses) waiting for someone to come..she was triggered to know more about them: the future, coming neighbors..she wanted to MEET the neighbors, Basically to go behind the glasses and shining surfaces of the new blocks and to not stop at their reflection now. From here she started her own research into Dutch tax laws, international and Dutch trust management: she decided to make visible the names of plenty of the international business companies which are or going to reside at Zuidas,, to know more about the nature and the size of their businesses and what makes possible/attracts them here in the NL. The working motto for her project has been : Visualize the Moment, and for that she has relied on as simple as useful image along her project, that one of the 'carribbean island', largely known (also for whom is outside the financial world as me) as the places commonly used by international companies to save their profits from painful taxation [In one of the poster -see below- she recreated the Zuida business area as an island in a deep blue Ocean]

The presentation was very well received (the combination of different information she retrieved and presented kept everybody's attention very high), even though it was impossible - while the images were running one after another- not to think how the project resembled (for graphic style and chosen subject of research)- to Metahaven's approach, in particular "Stadtstaat"..
However it is definitely to be appreciated the choice of the theme, how she carried it out and the result she achieved.. a very good example for Zuidas of 'making visible' some of the 'forces' at play (really at play) in the shaping of this place, and more generally of our world, and who as some politicians said should be kept "as low profile as possible" in order to keep the matter outside of the public arena, and discourage the connection of the NL (also on the level of the imagery) to other offshore islands which are considered fiscal paradises.

The project resulted in 3 books (one with the list of companies 'names'; one with the list of addresses of the company and another with (?)) and a series of posters. (see foto's)
The reason for the books was also that, when asked to know the details of the business companies coming to be located in Zuidas, the artist's inquiry was neglected..

In short, I think this project is what is mostly expected and considered a good work/observation for an artist landing in such a political charged context as Zuidas, YET in order not to remain at the level of a well-thought and executed exercise it must (but maybe it will) 'circulate' further in another places and among other people beyond the audience of today, possibly it should instigate in a indirect way some more reflections and actions.. I think. But then the question is, whom should do that? who are the mediators/translators for that? is that art, it is not? it is important to think of this, or it is outside the realm of our professional competence..?

Thinking of this, there is a sentence which I remember I've picked from the recording of a panel in US with martha rosler, andrea fraser and less known artists..in which one of the two stated: "we were not thinking or studying those actions at the University or school, and then making them outside- at that time we were doing things, we were doing them in reaction to facts, conditions which were surrounding us in our life.. - only afterwards, now, those things have become subjects of study' - Again the point here it's the relationship between complexity and beauty of knowledge and the energy/commitment/and reason of making an action (and the irreducibility of the value of action to a well thought/and taught formula) - how to create more osmosis between those two spheres today then? and should we (curators, artists) do it or not?

Here a short overview of the images and books at today's presentation.
For More info, see: http://www.virtueel-museum.nl/nl/home/