Arno Coenen

Arno Coenen
Digital artwork depicting a tardigrade on a brick road pushing a coronavirus
'Ark van Noach 3.0' (Noah's Ark 3.0) by Arno Coenen
Born1972 (age 53–54)
Deventer, Netherlands
EducationAcademie Minerva, Groningen (1997); MFA computer graphics, Media-GN, Groningen (1998)
Known forVisual art, digital media; Horn of Plenty, inner façade of the Markthal, Rotterdam
Websitearnocoenen.art

Arno Coenen (born 1972 in Deventer, Netherlands) is a Dutch visual artist who makes extensive use of digital media in his work.

Life and working method

Arno Coenen graduated in 1997 from the Academie Minerva in Groningen. A year later he also obtained an MFA in computer graphics at Media-GN, Groningen.[1] He lives and works in Dordrecht.

Coenen works across a wide range of media: from video art and 3D animation to stained glass and mosaic. All of his projects are developed with the aid of computers. His work frequently connects with contemporary subcultures, youth culture, and popular culture. He is particularly interested in outspoken subcultures such as hooliganism, heavy metal,[2] and martial arts.

Coenen's art is considered highly accessible and has a social character, which is why he is regularly described as a "people's artist".[3] On most of his projects, Coenen works in collaboration with others. From 1994 to 1999 he worked regularly with fellow artist René Bosma.[4] Coenen is also active as a VJ, curator, and organiser.

In June 2022, Coenen was introduced to OpenAI — the American artificial intelligence research company — by creative director Rodger Werkhoven, who is based in Amsterdam. At the time, OpenAI's image-generating AI, DALL-E 2, was still in the research phase. In July 2022, on Werkhoven's recommendation, Coenen joined a select group of Dutch artists and creative professionals with access to the AI, with the goal of training it through creative experimentation and addressing societal biases. When DALL-E 2 entered beta at the end of July, Coenen made public his first artworks produced with the AI: three series, including a portrait series of Anthropocene children at landfill sites, a series of children with smartphones in mountain mist, and a series of still lifes combining birds, food scraps, flowers, and household waste — all Anthropocene in character and critical of the problem of waste.

Works

Oud-West, thuis best (2007)

The collection of the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam includes a tile tableau designed by Arno Coenen and executed by Norman Trapman, commissioned by the Paradiso foundation. The tableau, measuring 3 by 6 metres, pays tribute to multicultural society. It combines Moroccan tiles and stars, the cross of Saint Andrew from the coat of arms of Amsterdam, a portrait of William of Orange after Adriaen Thomasz. Key, and two kickboxers.[5]

Horn of Plenty (2014)

In 2014, Coenen's work Horn of Plenty (Dutch: Hoorn des Overvloeds) attracted international media attention.[6][7][8] The piece is a digital image covering 11,000 m² (equivalent to two football pitches) on the inner façade of the new Markthal in Rotterdam. Coenen was selected for the commission from nine international candidates.[3] The artwork consists of 4,000 panels and depicts dramatically enlarged fruits, vegetables, grains, fish, flowers, and insects. Pixar was enlisted to help render the enormous file.[9] According to Coenen, the work is a reference to the "source of life in the cosmos" — a veneration of nature and an ode to the universe.[9] Some publications have described it as "the largest artwork in the world" (a claim that is likely inaccurate)[8] or "the Sistine Chapel of Rotterdam".[8] Coenen realised the work in collaboration with Iris Roskam, Marinus de Ruiter, Michiel van Iperen, Frank aan de Stegge, Dustin Kershaw, and Frank Hanswijk.

Selected other works

  • Deus Ex Machina (1996), video, with René Bosma
  • The Last Roadtrip (2000), video
  • Time to Bone Remixx (2002), video
  • Baghdad Disco (2005), video, with Transformer di Roboter
  • Virtual Fairytale 2.0 (2007), street mosaic on the Trumanlaan in Utrecht, featuring figures from video games[10]
  • VOC/VIP: Holland Experience! (2007), video, with Peter Leeuwerink
  • Eurotrash Brewery (2008), a self-produced beer brand
  • Monument René Kempenaar (2009–2011), Weerwaterplein, Almere[11]
  • Brothers of Metal (2010), video
  • Metal Heart (2010–2012), a series of art events about heavy metal, in collaboration with Marinus de Ruiter and others[12]
  • Wapen van Holendrecht, a street tile artwork for the Holendrechtplein in Amsterdam-Zuidoost
  • Die 2 Brüder von Venlo (2013), an initially controversial sculpture on a roundabout in Venlo, a gift from supermarket Die 2 Brüder[13]
  • Geachte cliënten, 't wordt lente (2014), stained glass window for the Dutch Tax and Customs Administration in Hoofddorp; the title references a lyric by Annie M.G. Schmidt advocating for friendlier language in government communication[14]
  • The World is Yours (2015), light artwork on the Tiendplein in the Oude Westen district of Rotterdam, in collaboration with Iris Roskam[15]
  • Amsterdam Oersoep (2016), in the Beurspassage, Amsterdam

Personal life

Arno Coenen is the brother of mixed martial arts fighter Marloes Coenen, and the son of cartoonist and draughtsman Huub Coenen.

References

  1. ↑ "Biography Arno Coenen". International Film Festival Rotterdam. Archived from the original on 12 August 2014. Retrieved 28 July 2014.
  2. ↑ "Arno Coenen: Brothers of Metal". International Film Festival Rotterdam. 2011. Archived from the original on 12 August 2014. Retrieved 28 July 2014.
  3. 1 2 "Artist selected for inner façade of Markthal". Markthal Rotterdam. 28 January 2013. Archived from the original on 12 August 2014. Retrieved 28 July 2014.
  4. ↑ "Biography Arno Coenen". V2_ Institute for the Unstable Media. 2000. Archived from the original on 19 August 2013. Retrieved 28 July 2014.
  5. ↑ "Arno Coenen: Oud West, Thuis Best". Rijksmuseum Amsterdam. 2007. Retrieved 28 July 2014.
  6. ↑ "De Hoorn des overvloeds van Arno Coenen". VPRO. 13 June 2014. Archived from the original on 29 July 2014. Retrieved 28 July 2014.
  7. ↑ Azzarello, Nina (29 May 2014). "Arno Coenen + Iris Roskam wrap Rotterdam's Markthal in a digital mega-mural". Designboom. Archived from the original on 29 July 2014. Retrieved 28 July 2014.
  8. 1 2 3 Brooks, Katherine (2 June 2014). "Biggest Artwork In The World Hits The Netherlands, Dubbed 'Sistine Chapel Of Rotterdam'". The Huffington Post. Archived from the original on 19 July 2014. Retrieved 28 July 2014.
  9. 1 2 Roet, Leander (19 May 2014). "In Rotterdam is zojuist het grootste kunstwerk ter wereld afgerond". The Creators Project. Archived from the original on 29 July 2014. Retrieved 28 July 2014.
  10. ↑ "Virtual Fairytales 2.0". Gemeente Utrecht. 2007. Archived from the original on 10 August 2014. Retrieved 28 July 2014.
  11. ↑ "Arno Coenen, Monument René Kempenaar (2009–2011)". Museum De Paviljoens, Almere. 2011. Archived from the original on 29 July 2014. Retrieved 28 July 2014.
  12. ↑ "Metalheart. Battle cries, beer and travesty". arnocoenen.nl. Archived from the original on 9 August 2014. Retrieved 28 July 2014.
  13. ↑ Smets, Sandra (30 December 2013). "Wat doen twee Duitse adelaars in Venlo?". NRC Handelsblad. Retrieved 28 July 2014.
  14. ↑ Geist, Henk (13 June 2014). "Bijzondere klus voor Haarlems glasatelier Schmit". Haarlems Dagblad. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 28 July 2014.
  15. ↑ "The World is Yours". BKOR. Archived from the original on 28 January 2021. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
This page is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.