And Now to Belgium

Or, more precisely, to Flanders. This YouTube video is published on-line in 4 parts and was a documentary aired on Flemish tv in 2010. 

When I watch this, I feel a sense of belonging, as I often do when I look at Art made in Belgium, yet each time it surprises me, it catches me off guard almost; even after all these years, and I really feel far more British/English than Belgian, I feel a much deeper connection with Belgian/Continental Art than I do with what is created here in the UK. And it surprises me. And I wonder why that is so.
I look at Japanese Art - like the installation featured in the previous post - in a different way, in the sense that my connection, the feeling I get when I see it is not one of a home-coming, but rather a being-in-awe of and wonderment at something of a different, alien - but certainly not alienating - culture, a sense of excitement and inspiration, and a wanting to find out more.
This 'Gebet in gips' (Prayer in Plaster) is like a coming home. Yet my Belgian experience, if I can call it that, is very different from Tahon's. So where does the connection lie? Where does it stem from?

I first came across Johan Tahon when I was asked to do a translation for a Flemish publishing company about this, back then, little known artist. I remember then, as I did now watching this part of the video for the first time, my first response not being wholly positive, yet the more I heard - and read, back then - the more fascinated and inspired I became. 
The depth of emotion and thought that lie within; the expression of that emotion and thought ... :

Johan Tahon - Part 1

Part 2. 
The following resonate particularly with me:
'energy passing through the artist's hands into the form';
and 
'the task of the artist'.

Johan Tahon - Part 2


Part 3. 
' the feeling that it's right'; when you feel that it's right, that's when know it's done/finished. (... saw all that He had made, and it was very good. Genesis 1:31); 
and
'the experience of sculpture' compared with painting;
and
'the tragedy of being totally involved and not being able to distance oneself (as the artist);
(His) art, (his) work is (his) reality.'

Johan Tahon - Part 3


Part 4

Johan Tahon - Part 4

Interesting (significant?) that his medium is plaster and bandages (plasterer's scrim) ...