ANBI
1016
Street Art
Street Art piece
Tolerance
Street Art Museum Amsterdam
Author:
Alaniz
Artist Bio:
Exactly in Burgemeester Fockstraat in Slotermeer
Place:
Slotermeer
Date:
2012-08
Technique:
brush
Material:
Brick
Acquisition:
Commission
Completed:
2012
Condition:
Very bad / Almost illegible
Physical Description:
Alaniz's work stands out for the craftsmanship with which it is produced. In keeping with the artist's tradition, the emphasis is on the ability to create an almost photorealistic portrait of the chosen situation, which blends harmoniously with a slightly rougher style reminiscent of the Latin muralist tradition. The use of colour is also important: we have already mentioned Alaniz's ability to play with colour combinations and here this is translated into a lively and vivid use of colour, both in the woman's skin and in the ornaments that accompany her. This not only provides a striking visual effect, but also ensures that the work can be admired from a distance and, above all, that it is well preserved in time. The colours, as well as the iconography and the appearance of the woman are always related to the plastic taste for the Latin-Mexican tradition, thus creating a work capable of dialoguing simultaneously with several cultures.
Iconography:
"The artwork is stylistically symbolic consisting of many little elements, as if a Monumentalistic mosaic. It is a direct reflection of artist's observations of Nieuw-West the summer it was depicted. The woman is positioned in the water protected by water lily flowers, with thorns intertwining around her and reaching towards the sky. Alaniz depicts a Water Lily in Sloterplas, a flower that he sees everywhere in the organic canals of the city, positioning it as a flower truly representative of the city, in contrast to stereotypical tulips or sunflowers.
The woman - Dianne is breastfeeding her baby Thyrisa. Her thumb is bleeding being cut by thorns - a reflection on many difficulties different cultural demographics experience when it comes to integration. However, there is confidence in the future because the child is firmly holding onto the necklace on his mother’s neck - 7 life-like curling snakes. Alaniz chooses 7 as a lucky number and symbolical snakes because Dianne had them living in her house.
Alaniz's subject of breastfeeding, taken from the real-life scenery is in fact omnipresent classical subject in both religious and secular art and is meant to epitomize the concept of Tolerance, which gives the artwork's title. The real-life scene that led to this depiction of a female nudity, as well as the depiction itself could be a subject of judgment or stigmatisation in such a diverse neighbourhood where it was produced. But the scenery and the subject were in fact accepted by the residents. The woman’s closed eyes and humble facial expression and open hair partitioning around the face reflect on the idea of Tolerance. On a top of her head is a crown which also has 2 elements - present and future. The Present is illustrated by the portraits of the most active residents during the production of the artwork, peeping out of the crown. The future is represented by a skyline of brown walls, that stand behind the group, the typical architecture between Slotermeer and Geuzenveld. They represent the future ‘canvases’ for the creation of street artworks in the name of the first Street Art Museum in Amsterdam.
The artwork transports the viewer to the landscape of Amsterdam Nieuw-West defined by green belts and blue water and filled with its characteristic architecture. The artwork is 'not for nothing' called Tolerance: when Alaniz arrived, Thyriza was 2 months old, and Dianne who lived in the building was mostly outside helping us. She breastfed the baby, without shame in public."
Gallery
