springtime

source: lludus

Artist Is Swarmed by 250,000 Bees in Silent Video

Known for his short films, video installations and photographs, Jeroen Eisinga (Dutch, b. Delft, 1966; lives and works in The Hague) combines the conventions of centuries-old portraiture and cutting-edge performance art in the harrowing video “Springtime” (2009­–2011). The single-channel, silent, black-and-white work is open in the Black Box space in the Smithsonian’s Hirshhorn Museum.

Shot on 35 mm film and digitally reformatted, “Springtime” is a fixed view of the artist as he is slowly enveloped by a quarter of a million bees. This dangerous performance is initially hard to watch, particularly as the insects alight on Eisinga’s face and gather around his eyes. Over the course of nearly 20 minutes, the artist’s icon-like gaze is obscured and his form is cloaked in a living shroud. The table before him and the wall behind him also become covered by this swarm.

Eisinga’s action is opposite in intention to sensationalistic “bee bearding,” a competitive stunt popular at carnival sideshows and agricultural expositions. “What is riveting is the shift viewers experience from horror to empathy to identification,” said Hirshhorn associate curator Kelly Gordon. “Eisinga’s imagery draws on the legacy of saints and martyrs who were driven to extreme acts to prove their faith through endurance. In Gothic and Northern Renaissance painting, many are depicted as exemplars, demonstrating their devotion through self-sacrifice.”

The artist directed the work, but not from behind the camera, as it was important to him to undertake the performance himself. Planning and preparation took two years, including coaching from bee handlers. In addition to raising support to complete the project and mastering its technical dimensions, Eisinga had to cultivate the mental and physical discipline required for maintaining one’s composure when engulfed by the potentially threatening insects. He had neither resources nor opportunity to do run-throughs, double back or stage retakes. “Springtime” documents a singular, haunting performance.
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source: thedropspotcomau

For some reason, Jeroen Eisinga decided it would be a good idea to cover himself in bees to celebrate springtime.

In his artist statement he said, “I was covered with 150000 bees and I was stung thirty times. I did not feel any pain. Except towards the end when I was stung on my eyelids. I felt resistance up to a certain moment, but after a while I let it go and surrendered to the experience. I think I must have entered a state of trance at some point. I started to feel completely empty inside and entered a state of complete freedom. Towards the end I only heard the beating of my heart and my own breathing.”

Pretty deep, but we’re not going to argue with a dude that covers his entire body in bees.
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source: filmfestivalrotterdam

‘Een bevrijdende ervaring’, noemde maker Eisinga deze performance, waarbij zijn lichaam in bezit genomen wordt door insecten. De kijker kan het meebeleven.

Een man, een tafel, een camera en vijfentwintig kilo bijen: het werd een avontuur dat eindigde in het ziekenhuis. Kunstenaar Jeroen Eisinga maakte met zijn filmperformance Springtime een hedendaagse rite de passage die noch hem, noch de kijker onberoerd laat. In zijn zorgvuldig opgebouwde tableau vivant tilt de maker de imker-sport ‘bee-bearding’ naar een hoger niveau. Langzaam nemen de bijen bezit van zijn lichaam – en van zijn en onze geest.
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source: alfavitagr

Ο Ολλανδός καλλιτέχνης Jeroen Eisinga καλύφθηκε από τη μέση και πάνω με 250.000 μέλισσες χάριν του project του, με τίτλο Springtime. Ο ίδιος δήλωσε αργότερα σχετικά με τη συνολική εμπειρία, ότι δεν πόνεσε ιδιαίτερα. Ένοιωσε ότι εισέρχεται σε μία κατάσταση έκστασης και πλήρους ελευθερίας, αισθανόταν άδειο το εσωτερικό του και κατά το τέλος το μόνο που άκουγε ήταν οι χτύποι της καρδιάς του και η αναπνοή του.

Τα τσιμπήματα που δέχθηκε ήταν 30 στον αριθμό και ο πόνος έγινε ανυπόφορος όταν οι μέλισσες επιτέθηκαν στα βλέφαρά του.