Courtesy of the Artist

Performance with son, dried raw wheat, wood, rotating platform, frequency controller, 170 cm x 170 cm

In the performance Courtesy of the Artist, the artist’s ten-year-old son sits on a round, very slowly rotating platform, in the middle of a mound of raw ears of grain. He separates the wheat from the chaff. After the exhibition, Roos van Geffen grinds the grain into flour and bakes a loaf of bread from it, which she and her son eat together.

Roos van Geffen:
“The classical image of the artist; autonomous, free, fully devoted clashes with motherhood. I may devote myself entirely to my work, but I must give myself completely to my child: leaving my son home alone is neglect, taking him along to my work or an opening undermines my professional status. Courtesy of the Artist breaks through this impasse and raises questions such as: What truly has value? How do you balance art, care, and economic necessity? How much is care worth? Who decides that? Where does the artwork end and life begin?

Artist Marina Abramović once said: “There’s plenty of talented women. Why do men take over the important positions? It’s simple. Love, family, children, a woman doesn’t want to sacrifice all of that.’ But I do not sacrifice my children, my family, my love for art, it actually adds another layer! That’s why I weave life into my work.”