Remains Of Today (English version)

The artworks, the installation & audio experience

Remains Of Today is a series of 100 small communicating artworks. 

Verbals   At the end of 2018 I started creating small artworks no bigger than 30/30cm. This is more or less the result of tidying my atelier. I was about to move to a new workspace and was re-considering every item. Throughout time I collected amongst other things, many inspirational materials, leftover canvasses and wood. I decided to process these leftovers into something new. This is how the first circular artworks emerged. I called them verbals because each artwork was a small statement of found characters. These characters originated from plastic bags, magazines, newspapers and wrappings referring to all kinds of contemporary issues, words with a certain load or iconic statements coming from popular culture. 

UFO’s   Next to this I found all kinds of strange but graphical interesting plastic objects on the streets. With many of these objects it was difficult or not possible to determine its origin or function. These objects also turned up in my artworks by the name of U.F.O.,which means in this particular context: Unidentified Found Object. 

Circular art   The support for the characters (verbals) and objects (UFO’s) are scraps of canvas, plastic Bags, used t-shirts, shower curtains and much more leftover materials. The supporting frame itself is also made of residual wooden slats. So, the artworks are entirely circular. Actual remains of a day, therefore the entire installation is called ‘Remains Of Today’.

Context Each artwork goes with a reflective story, a lightweight philosophical contemplation. By this contemplation I migrate it to current affairs, dilemmas and observations at present. Sometimes the approach is light footed, absurdist or even critical. The found objects have because of their origin also an alternative story, the story of the ‘throw away consumer society’. During these walks I made, and still make, I discovered gradually, next to the usual litter stuff as tin cans and plastic bags, these small indefinable pieces of plastic. By placing these typical pieces of plastic on a proverbial pedestal, it reflects our daily apparently trivial but harmful actions. 

Society of Images Due to social media and internet images are always and everywhere. Its power is immense.  In ways we cannot even imagine we are continuously affected, manipulated and directed without even being fully aware of it. My multi-panelled artwork appeals to that conspicuous feeling. It sends all kinds of signals to the viewer but at the same time you are not sure of the message it sends. The paradox is that all artworks itself all emerged from pure coincidence and gained secondly its meaning based on what was found and collected at the time and the hunch of the artist. 

Installation 100+ (2021) In the meanwhile I still work on this installation, which counts more than 100 artworks currently (2021). It is still a work in progress,

Spin Off projects Remians Of Today.

25-10-2020 it resulted in an exhibition ‘Zielenroerselen van de kunstenaar’ in het Rietveldpaviljoen in Amersfoort, NL.

A series of musical compositions by musician and composer A.R.T. (Ali Reza Tahoeni) inspired by the visual art installation ‘Remains Of Today’ by Marit Otto.

About the music composition and special collaboration with composer Ali Reza Tahoeni.

I have known Ali for approx. 10 years now. We got to know each other when I was a hobby DJ at a jazz café in Zwolle called Jazzy Jam. We shared a passion for music. Now, years later we are working in the same communal workspace in Zwolle Rieteweg 10. It seemed we did not only share the love for music but also the love of art. Ali got inspired by my series of artworks in progress and started making his musical interpretations. He is intended to complete it up to all 100 tracks, the total of the current installation. 

The first ten tracks are to be enjoyed here on soundcloud and @ the Rietveldpaviljoen during the exhibition. Soon the list of tracks will be expanded.

Curious? check

https://www.maritotto.nl/the-audio-experience-by-a-r-t/

More about the individual artworks:https://www.maritotto.nl/remains-of-today-75-100/

More about A.R.T. https://dancefair.nl/artists/a-r-t/

Remains Of Today – Video experience

As Ali responded to my art initially, now I am responding back on his music with videoart that correspond to both the rhythm of his music as to the philosophical thoughts of the original artwork.

Check video’s: https://www.maritotto.nl/remains-of-today-video-experience/

More about Remains Of Today: (https://www.maritotto.nl/remains-of-today-english/)