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1. Postcard Project IMAGINE BEAUTY! / work in progress, 9 x 13 cm, Iaşi/Chişinău/Helsinki / 2003–2004 / © the artist
People were given blank postcards with the inscription “Imagine Beauty! Define Beauty! Describe Beauty!” (written in English, Dutch and Romanian) and were asked to write, draw or create collages which would illustrate what they believe beauty to be and then they were asked to post them back to the artist. This project began in September 2003 in Iasi (Romania) and it was continued in Chisinau (Republic of Moldova), Helsinki (Finland) and during 2004 in Amsterdam (Holland) and again in Iasi, in collaboration with Vector under the umbrella of Cartier project.
Imagine Beauty! Define Beauty! Describe Beauty! challenges the understanding of beauty. The way this “old-fashioned” concept is visualized today and how people may position themselves in relation to it by means of communicating via another old-fashioned medium: postcards. Generally a postcard as a means of communication sends a positive message, and due to this medium (the postcard being a tool of communication that obeys quite precise rules) it forces people to make an active use of clichés in order to find a single image (visuals, text or both) to illustrate beauty and make the connection between themselves and the artist.
How do both women and men speak of beauty and tackle this subject? What is the difference between children’s perception and that of adults? Between educated and non-educated people? What do people commonly associate with the concept of beauty? Love, nature, freedom, home, safety, God, innocence, small children, starlit skies?