*About
Arme Des Enfants is a social-art-project started by my dear friend of nineteen years, Jonathan Haner. He and his partner Teresa Holmberg have been living and operating Arme Des Enfants out of Sibbhult, Sweden for the past five years. The social-art-project ( or art installation) involves a doll, a camera, and you.
Its artistic intention is to expose the elephant-in-the-room so to speak. The doll is a metaphor. Its expresses this fact quite eloquently in the starkness of its white featureless body. It holds zero distinctions anywhere, neither in face, hands, or feet. This doll does not bounce with delight or trickery ....it slumps with pain and begs to be seen, heard, and subsequently freed of its condition.
The dolls are affectionately called Bebe’s. They represent all the places of emotional and psychological trauma that are very much alive within humanity but are perpetually unseen (often intentionally) by those orbiting them. The art installation brings into light the frozen states of isolation, whether personal or social, which are produced through the silencing or ignoring of trauma. This project seeks to dissent against this phenomena in the human condition that desires to mask over what is vulnerable , wounded, and scarred...within the human being and within humanity at large.
It begs everyone who views it to stop make-believing everything is okay...whether that is in your own deep subconscious experience or in the societal mind around you. Through the simple act of exposing what is invisible, naming what is unnamed , and sharing it with others creates an opportunity not only for brilliant art to emerge but for a deeper integrated understanding of ourselves and the world around us.
“the bebe represents an alter-personality born via emotional trauma. The dolls silent, expressionless presence becomes a way to make visible those things which we can't see in ourselves or others, yet still affects how we act or react in different situations” ~Jonathan
Jonathan started this art project as one gigantic doll that was used for several of his installations in Europe. The gigantic metaphor of a doll was even used in civil disobedience demonstrations to expose the elephant-in-the-room around the need for affordable housing for all human beings. The installation quickly developed into a shared social-art-experiment, by first producing a few smaller bebes for his friends who wanted to participate with their own photographs and exposures. Over time this manifested into much larger social art installation about humanity, trauma, exposure, healing, and psychology which is the Arme Des Enfants in operation today. The bebes are all over the world. People borrow a bebe, make their statements through photographs, which are then installed in a gallery online. Naturally, you are free to organize art installations displaying your work in connection to Arme Des Enfants in local galleries in your area. There are posters and downloads available should you choose to do live-installs.
*my participation
I am currently finalizing my installation and it will be in the gallery online shortly. I had an incredible time with the photo shoots and all the people I worked with. I wanted to expose the horror of a Disposable Society and everything that mindset manifests around itself. Disposable Trash (bebe visits the landfill) Disposable People ( bebe visits the homeless in the streets) Disposable Minds ( bebe visits and is mind controlled/subjugated via: television sets, alters of organized religion, and many other seedy and unsavory places)
For me , art is one of the highest expressions of humanity and therefore of spirituality, itself. These two realities of humanity and spirituality can not be separated without deep fragmentation. I find art to be one of the most direct vehicles for individual change, social evolution, and spiritual enlightenment. Second only to meditation in the personal realm and second only to dissent in the social realm. Ironically Art involves both these two elements of meditation and radical dissent which creates a synergistic energy of making each one more powerful then if standing alone. Plain and simple...Art is magic, it becomes more then the sum of all of it parts. Not only is the expression a release for the artist and something that simply has to be expressed in order to embody full sanity. I find it goes even deeper for me into the very fabric of what it is to be a human being who is in connection to everything alive. Art is spirituality that humbly walks its talk. It is what it is, its doesn’t pretend, and its heart is always on display. Art is the very embodiment of empathic connection. It is the sage. The saint. The redeemer. The true guru. The heart. The full human being.
In addition to participating as an artist, I was so impressed with the project first hand....this autumn I agreed to hold the space here in the northwest as the regional coordinator of a satellite extension of Arme Des Enfants that is based in Sweden. Which basically means I making the bebes available to anyone in the Northwest who would like to participate. Whether you are in Portland, Seattle, Spokane, or even further south in Crescent City/ Humboldt County/Northern California area, please feel free to contact me about participating. I will ship out any available bebe’s I have.
There are bebes spread out all over the country and in the EU. If there isn’t one in your area Jonathan can ship one to you from Sweden. There are no rules and it is anarchistic by nature. You self direct all content from conception to production. Re: timelines and shipment you simply treat others the way you would like to be treated. Not keeping the bebe too long or allowing them to collect dust...sending it back to its mothership or passing it along to the next artist when you’re done. The program functions with basic anarchistic common sense. Mysteriously everything in life works out perfectly when people behave that way! Such a simple understanding about life yet the world is full of war, suffering and strife. Go figure. Grab a Bebe and get out there and Name It!
For additional information on this project....
Here is a link to the website: http://www.armedesenfants.com/
Here is a link to the facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/ArmeDesEnfants
*Campaign
I am posting a blog about this Art Project NOW as Jonathan and Teresa need our help re: Sweden Mothership
The property in which they have been operating out of is under very real threat of being sold despite Jonathan and Teresa’s offer to buy the property they have been renting for five solid years. They have offered to match and even exceed the offers of the other parties involved. This is a state owned property and is not a private party sell. There is no logical reason Jonathan and Teresa should NOT have the opportunity to buy their home which they have been renting from the state. Due to the obvious injustice the media has been watching this situation and they are getting great press.
However, they are in a battle these next few weeks to persuade the state to accept their offers. The Legal system is a bit different in Sweden then it is here in the United States so this is not something that can be swiftly handled through court orders and lawyers. They are asking folks to please contact the city council of their district in Sweden via email in support of them and the bebes of Arme Des Enfants.
I understand the text below is very faint and subtle. The links above will take you to text that is very bold, about this situation, if it is too subtle for you to read.
HERES WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP: The Email Campaign is Ongoing until November 29th, 2010
Letter from JH and TH,
Hello again, bebe enthusiasts
Most of you probably aren't aware that we've been struggling to keep our studio where I sew together the bebes (among other things). We've been in the same space for more than five years now and have customized it according to our needs. The local government, whom we've been renting from, now wants to sell the house. We matched the highest bid, yet they still want to sell it to some other guy. There has been an overwhelming amount of local support from people who like what we've contributed to the county in terms of art, media attention and tourism, but it just doesn't seem to be getting through to the politicians who will ultimately make the decision on the 29th of November, 2010.
I feel that art & culture play important roles in all of our lives. Art is my business - but it is also my passion. The Armé Des Enfants project is something I do for free because I find it interesting and I love the work.
The battle to keep our studio has become a local media spectacle and it feels like we're on the brink of losing. Either way, we'll be alright and set up shop somewhere else but I don't think we're being treated fairly - and I refuse to admit defeat until the very end. Local politician, Patric Åberg, recently made a statement to the local press saying that the house had already been sold. This statement is false. The City Council will decide on this matter...not Patric Åberg.
HERE IS WHAT I'M ASKING OF YOU: Let's see if this social networking stuff is all it's cracked up to be. Help us inundate the City Council here in Broby,
Sweden with a flood of emails from around the world. Even if this effort does not save the studio, it sure would be funny to bury them in email :). If you
want to play along, please send an email to the address below. If you can't think of anything original to say, copy and paste the text below and send it to:
kommun@ostragoinge.se > "To City Council-kommunfullmaktige". Don't forget to tell them where you're from and don't be shy to share this with friends.
Thanks in advance, Jonathan Haner & Teresa Holmberg
kommun@ostragoinge.se > "To City Council-kommunfullmaktige"
Dear County of Ostra Goinge,
I am a fan of the social-art-experiment 'Arme Des Enfants' which is produced and shipped from 'Ateljé Slottet' in Sibbhult. It has come to my attention that the artists who work there may be evicted despite having matched the competing bid to purchase the house. This seems illogical. It is my sincere hope that you, the City Council of Östra Göinge, understand the value of culture before deciding the sale of 'Slottet' on the 29th of November, 2010.
sincerely,
x
HERES WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP: The Email Campaign is Ongoing until November 29th, 2010
Letter from JH and TH,
Hello again, bebe enthusiasts
Most of you probably aren't aware that we've been struggling to keep our studio where I sew together the bebes (among other things). We've been in the same space for more than five years now and have customized it according to our needs. The local government, whom we've been renting from, now wants to sell the house. We matched the highest bid, yet they still want to sell it to some other guy. There has been an overwhelming amount of local support from people who like what we've contributed to the county in terms of art, media attention and tourism, but it just doesn't seem to be getting through to the politicians who will ultimately make the decision on the 29th of November, 2010.
I feel that art & culture play important roles in all of our lives. Art is my business - but it is also my passion. The Armé Des Enfants project is something I do for free because I find it interesting and I love the work.
The battle to keep our studio has become a local media spectacle and it feels like we're on the brink of losing. Either way, we'll be alright and set up shop somewhere else but I don't think we're being treated fairly - and I refuse to admit defeat until the very end. Local politician, Patric Åberg, recently made a statement to the local press saying that the house had already been sold. This statement is false. The City Council will decide on this matter...not Patric Åberg.
HERE IS WHAT I'M ASKING OF YOU: Let's see if this social networking stuff is all it's cracked up to be. Help us inundate the City Council here in Broby,
Sweden with a flood of emails from around the world. Even if this effort does not save the studio, it sure would be funny to bury them in email :). If you
want to play along, please send an email to the address below. If you can't think of anything original to say, copy and paste the text below and send it to:
kommun@ostragoinge.se > "To City Council-kommunfullmaktige". Don't forget to tell them where you're from and don't be shy to share this with friends.
Thanks in advance, Jonathan Haner & Teresa Holmberg
kommun@ostragoinge.se > "To City Council-kommunfullmaktige"
Dear County of Ostra Goinge,
I am a fan of the social-art-experiment 'Arme Des Enfants' which is produced and shipped from 'Ateljé Slottet' in Sibbhult. It has come to my attention that the artists who work there may be evicted despite having matched the competing bid to purchase the house. This seems illogical. It is my sincere hope that you, the City Council of Östra Göinge, understand the value of culture before deciding the sale of 'Slottet' on the 29th of November, 2010.
sincerely,
x
