Winand Staring / Carel Richter (Drawings)

and Their "Artist Impression on the World Trade Center Site," at Berliner Kunstprojekt

By Françoise Mouly

The "Artist Impression on the World Trade Center Site" by Winand Staring and Carel Richter on show at the Berliner Kunstprojekt from February 7th began in September 2002 with Staring's "Yin-Yang vision" about the World Trade Center. He then contacted his friend, the artist-architect-and-much-more, Carel Richter and together they worked out the designs on show.

Staring is an international artist, a colorist who paints evocative, abstract pictures. His main theme is "Water: The Challenge for the New Millennium," which reflects his twenty-year work in the field of economic development in countries such as Thailand, Sri Lanka, Peru, Nicaragua and Guatemala. He now lives in Holland and Spain, most recently exhibiting in Amsterdam (gallerie Mia Joosten), Brazil (University of Itahija, Santa Catarina), Barcelona (Gallery Sala Barna), Miami (Florida Latin America Art Museum) and Berlin (Berliner Kunstprojekt). Later this year he will also be showing at 450 Broadway in New York.

"Artist Impression" articulates both healing and rebirth, how loss is remembered and renewal is celebrated. It is designed around people moving, working, enjoying life and searching for balance and unity.

Staring answered some questions about his and Richter's project.

The World Trade Center is foremost part of the history of the City of New York. How do you come into that history?

Winand Staring: Completely by coincidence. I was working on my Miami show and some commissioned work in Holland. The WTC was not particularly in my mind when this Yin-Yang vision for the two WTC towers forced itself upon me. I found it strange, why me? I didn't consider it as my calling to involve myself in architectural designs. So I didn't pay any attention till later that day I learned from CNN that the worldwide public was invited to submit ideas about the site. The feeling then grew that I was obliged to do something with this "vision" by at least putting it at the disposal of the decision makers. That's when I approached Carel Richter, and together we took it further. Seated on the top of a hill in Guatemala, Richter let his creativity flow and came up with a series of drawings inspired by Yin-Yang, to be merged with some of my text in a later stage.

Also, New York has been very special to me in my life. After twenty years working in development cooperation, I was very much encouraged by Mr. Ivan Karp of the OK Harris Gallery in Soho to continue painting after he saw one of my very first pictures. Since then I have become a full-time artist so you could say that New York changed my life!

Your design is based on the concept of Yin and Yang. Why did you feel that this approach would fit in perfectly into a new design for the World Trade Center Site?

Winand Staring: Yin and Yang is an ancient Chinese symbol which originates from mapping on a Sun Chart shadow lines between Winter and Summer Solstice.

Yin and Yang stand for balance between two natural, complementary and contradictory forces of change in our universe.

It is a 2-unity in many ways: female-male, softness-hardness, even-odd, docile-dominant, evil-good, earth-heaven, moonlight-sunlight, completion-creation, and so on.

Each of these opposites produces the other. Yang would not grow without Yin. One moves, the other responds. Yin-Yang also stands for movement, change and development.

Yin and Yang is unifying, forgiving, daring, simple and glorious.

Is that not what it is all about when we think of the rebirth of a radiant and glorious World Trade Center?

How do you suggest your vision can be incorporated into any of the architectural plans released end December 2002?

Winand Staring: You may envisage several ways. I'll just mention two:

1. Take the design in its complete entity and construct it along architectural norms.

2. Take the most important Yin and Yang elements of our design and combine it with American heritage and culture. A good example would be the Daniel Libeskind design, inspired by the Statue of Liberty, combined with Yin and Yang elements at its roots: "West meets East."

Wouldn't it be great to send out a signal of unity and balance, simplicity, equality and compassion to the world.

We need a symbol of outreach and harmony which transcends world emotions.

This would need a change of mentality, but I'm sure that if New York can make this happen, then everywhere in the world we also could!

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