Work by Maartje
Helicopter view
If you can imagine something, one day it will be possible. This is more true today than ever before.
Storytellers of the past who sketched their ideas for the future rarely saw them come to fruition. Leonardo DaVinci drew ideas for a helicopter in a time when the materials to build it had yet to be discovered. Still he dared to dream that one day this would be reality. That it took about 450 years for this to come about makes it all the more remarkable. All the more imaginative. What was the point of putting such an idea down on parchment and devoting energy to it if, as he must have been aware that there would be no actual benefit for himself or, in fact, any of his descendants for at least the imaginable future?
Leonardo
Leonardo was first and foremost an artist and he created some of the finest examples of western art during his lifetime. Things he imagined. Always true to his own vision. And these works made more of an impression on his peers than all his other ideas put together. So was it his ability to tell stories that united art and science? But DaVinci lived in a time when thinking was not divided into art and science. Our modern world has subdivided and distilled thinking into categories that appear at times to be opposites of each other. With the danger of specialisation resulting in alienation. It is so important that we maintain an overview. Remembering that where imagination leads… solutions follow.
Design
Artists and designers share their dreams through their works and designs. Sometimes they provide a us a glimpse into the future, sometimes they share a contemporary look at the past (Leonardo did both these things too). Encouraging us to slow down, absorb the moment and reminding us we are human. Through providing a new perspective they tell us a story, in space and time. Not with words but with shapes and textures. Solace and contentment in the here and now. Sharing a new vantage point.
A helicopter view?