Gerard Caris
Encyclopedia
Gerard Caris is a Dutch
sculptor
and artist
who has pursued a single motif throughout the course of his artistic career, the pentagon.
He was born in Maastricht, Holland. After attending the technical school in Maastricht he joined the marines as war volunteer trained in Camp Lejeune, N.C., United States, to end the occupation by Japan in World War II
. During his training the war was ended by the atom bomb and he was sent to the late colony of the Netherlands Indonesia
. In 1947 he came back to the Netherlands, only to leave soon afterwards to the far East in an attempt to escape the poverty of his native surroundings. Ten years later he decided to emigrate to the U.S. Here he studied art and philosophy at the New York University
. Combining his art classes with earning a living and visiting all art happenings, museums and galleries, for example the Tinguely happening at the MOMA
in NY in 1960 he was overwhelmed by Abstract expressionism
and left for the Arabian desert in Dhofar
, a sultanate of Muscat and Oman where he worked in his former trade as a petroleum engineer. He did one more important job project, the erection of the Telstar
Horn Antenna at the Andover earth station in Maine, then he traveled to California, inspired by the movie he watched while working in the Arabian desert Strangers When We Meet
. He studied at the Monterey Peninsula College, California, the Monterey Institute of Foreign Studies and San José College (arts and humanities) subsequently at the University of California, Berkeley
, a.o. with David Hockney
, R.B. Kitaj, Elmer Bischoff
and Richard Diebenkorn
In 1967 B. A. in Philosophy, in 1969 M.A. in arts .
He returned for a “short visit” to Holland where he continued his art practice without realizing there is no intellectual resonance where he works but he is so possessed with his newly discovered Pentagonism that he does not realize he has landed on the moon.
To this day he works continually, evolving new ideas, executes them, and making them public through exhibitions and publications, remaining optimistic, believing that ha has added a new chapter to the history of art self coined as Pentagonism.
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
sculptor
Sculpture
Sculpture is three-dimensional artwork created by shaping or combining hard materials—typically stone such as marble—or metal, glass, or wood. Softer materials can also be used, such as clay, textiles, plastics, polymers and softer metals...
and artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
who has pursued a single motif throughout the course of his artistic career, the pentagon.
Early life and education
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. During his training the war was ended by the atom bomb and he was sent to the late colony of the Netherlands Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
. In 1947 he came back to the Netherlands, only to leave soon afterwards to the far East in an attempt to escape the poverty of his native surroundings. Ten years later he decided to emigrate to the U.S. Here he studied art and philosophy at the New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
. Combining his art classes with earning a living and visiting all art happenings, museums and galleries, for example the Tinguely happening at the MOMA
Moma
Moma may refer to:* Moma , an owlet moth genus* Moma Airport, a Russian public airport* Moma District, Nampula, Mozambique* Moma River, a right tributary of the Indigirka River* Google Moma, the Google corporate intranet...
in NY in 1960 he was overwhelmed by Abstract expressionism
Abstract expressionism
Abstract expressionism was an American post–World War II art movement. It was the first specifically American movement to achieve worldwide influence and put New York City at the center of the western art world, a role formerly filled by Paris...
and left for the Arabian desert in Dhofar
Dhofar
The Dhofar region lies in Southern Oman, on the eastern border with Yemen. Its mountainous area covers and has a population of 215,960 as of the 2003 census. The largest town in the region is Salalah. Historically, it was the chief source of frankincense in the world. However, its frankincense...
, a sultanate of Muscat and Oman where he worked in his former trade as a petroleum engineer. He did one more important job project, the erection of the Telstar
Telstar
Telstar is the name of various communications satellites, including the first such satellite to relay television signals.The first two Telstar satellites were experimental and nearly identical. Telstar 1 was launched on top of a Thor-Delta rocket on July 10, 1962...
Horn Antenna at the Andover earth station in Maine, then he traveled to California, inspired by the movie he watched while working in the Arabian desert Strangers When We Meet
Strangers When We Meet (film)
Strangers When We Meet is a 1960 drama film about two married neighbors who have an affair. The movie was adapted by Evan Hunter from his novel of the same name and directed by Richard Quine...
. He studied at the Monterey Peninsula College, California, the Monterey Institute of Foreign Studies and San José College (arts and humanities) subsequently at the University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
, a.o. with David Hockney
David Hockney
David Hockney, CH, RA, is an English painter, draughtsman, printmaker, stage designer and photographer, who is based in Bridlington, Yorkshire and Kensington, London....
, R.B. Kitaj, Elmer Bischoff
Elmer Bischoff
Elmer Nelson Bischoff was a visual artist in the San Francisco Bay Area.Bischoff, along with Richard Diebenkorn and David Park, was part of the post-World War II generation of artists who started as abstract painters and found their way back to figurative art.-Biography:Elmer Bischoff, second...
and Richard Diebenkorn
Richard Diebenkorn
Richard Diebenkorn was a well-known 20th century American painter. His early work is associated with Abstract expressionism and the Bay Area Figurative Movement of the 1950s and 1960s. His later work were instrumental to his achievement of worldwide acclaim.-Biography:Richard Clifford Diebenkorn Jr...
In 1967 B. A. in Philosophy, in 1969 M.A. in arts .
He returned for a “short visit” to Holland where he continued his art practice without realizing there is no intellectual resonance where he works but he is so possessed with his newly discovered Pentagonism that he does not realize he has landed on the moon.
To this day he works continually, evolving new ideas, executes them, and making them public through exhibitions and publications, remaining optimistic, believing that ha has added a new chapter to the history of art self coined as Pentagonism.