Ongoing Reading Project

What’s the point of starting a project that doesn’t initially appear somewhat grotesque or absurd? On 1 Feb 2006, then decided to make a go-around in my psyche and, from that day on, make my intellectual input an essential part of my artistic process by:

• Reading aloud for 45 minutes every day, on cassette and digitally.
• Opening a book, starting on page 1 and stopping after 45 min.
• Noting the pages read and the time span.

The length of a cassette tape partly determines the time span of 45 minutes, and the time span is also related to the high school system, where a lesson is based on 50 minutes. If you then assume that a working day has eight hours, 45 minutes a day dedicated to sharpening the mind is not excessive.

When you want to sharpen a knife, you would not do it on a soft stone, but preferably on the hardest possible stone. This broadly explains the choice of my books. The selection of books is determined by the fact that there must be something at stake.

After several years in the process of reading, concluded that a mechanical act need not be immediately perceived as boring or mind-killing. The word that best describes the process is surrender; Forty-five minutes of surrender a day.

By no means agree with all books read by specific authors but the structure used means the book is then read out anyway. Whether a book is thick or thin, the 45-minute reading structure lies over it. Prefer a thicker book because you get to know the author much better.

Once you are convinced of something, and this conviction has lasted for 16 years now, there comes a form of peace, a feeling that you are touching something fundamental, something very substantial.

Another aspect of the project is; by having read the books out loud, both analog and digital, I have built up a file. Call that my Reading Audio Account, which starts on 1 Feb 2006, and each day adds 45 minutes. Just the possibility that each date within that period is linked to an audio file and that that audio file is available gives a sense of power.

Am primarily a visual artist, using my voice as material. The production cost of a work is a recurring theme when performing a work. Using my voice as a brush is free and always available. And with my voice brush, the words are painted. Sometimes twice. My canvas is cassette tape, usb sticks and QR codes.

Thinking is central to the reading project as it’s the most important human characteristic. And time itself is the ultimate commodity. This act of reading has been performed for 16 years now, but it feels like 45 minutes every day. And it feels super good. Forty-five minutes a day sharpening your mind is 5 hours and 25 minutes per week. Still plenty of time left for other things.