“clearly, herman de vries belongs to that family of artists of the same generation, most notably joseph beuys, james lee byars, robert filliou and allan kaprow, for whom art is worthless if it does not help mold the way we live and give shape to our existence; if it does not lead to wisdom, that is, to making good use of ourselves and of the world. for these artists, art is a practical form of teaching, an existential education and, particularly for herman de vries, an introduction to true philosophy, a felt philosophy, ‘immediate, actual,’ as he wrote shortly after his stay in luang-prabang. this philosophy is experienced through every act of daily life (writing, reading, eating, seeing, sleeping, etc.) and every day, as my poetry is the world proclaims.
more than a manifesto, my poetry is the world is a hymn of joy at belonging to the world and gratitude for its beauty, but also a sign of the artist’s humility before its overabundant riches, which no human art can rival. humility? in latin languages, and even in english, the root of the word is humus, that is fertile, nourishing earth.” - Anne Moeglin-Delcroix
A printed folder (32 x 22,5 cm) made from rough-fibred paper containing, in another printed paper folder, 4 posters (folded: 29,5 x 21 cm / unfolded: 59 x 42 cm); one poster features the text of ‘My Poetry Is The World’, a poem originally published in 1973; the second poster features the translation of the poem in Lao, posters 3 and 4 feature a reflective text by Anne Moeglin-Delcroix in English and French respectively, with photographs by Alain Menoni, English translation by Paul Henderson, published following an exhibition at Pha Tad Ke Botanical Garden in Luang Prabang, Laos; ed/600, Luang Prabang / Paris 2019
