COLLECTION 5 THE MALE - A FASHION SPECIAL!

would be too much over my head. I’m thinking of architecture
for instance, I’d be interested in getting together with an
architect to see how images could be incorporated into a
building without ending up with a Blade Runner knock-off. It’s
the kind of idea you just can’t pull off on your own.
KALTBLUT: What do you do when you don‘t work. Does Peter
De Potter have a day off? How do you spend that?
Peter De Potter: No, never a day off. It’s not so much a
deliberate choice. It’s the way it is, and the way it always has
been I guess. When your main goal is to make art it would
almost be some sort of misconduct not to try and be alert and
perceptive all the time. But maybe there’s a misconception
about the general way of living of an artist, any artist. As a
profession it’s a very tough proposition but the work itself is
not. Because the work itself is the most natural thing in the
world, even if it might not seem that way to anyone looking
in. And the kind of things that most consider to be relaxing, I
find the most stimulating and inspirational anyway. You know,
drinking, having sex, dreaming.
KALTBLUT: Often there is text that goes with your images. How
important is that text? How do you come up with it?
Peter De Potter: I think words are like images. They exist,
they are around so they can and should be used. I agree that
sometimes words in a artwork can come across as being too
didactic, too weighty. It depends. The words in the Angelic
Starts series for instance are in fact the most important part
of the images. Each work spells out a certain virtue. Each
virtue is written across a body and each body is selected for
its statuesque outlook. So they’re almost literally carrying
around a set of virtues. In general the titles of the works are
very, very important – as a series of words put together they
are an integral part of the work, even if they’re not tangible
or visible in the piece.
KALTBLUT: You use the word “routine” on one of your websites.
Why routine? What does it mean to you in this specific
context?
Peter De Potter: Yeah, one of my pages is called ‘Routine
Routine’. I have a preoccupation with order and arrangement.
I think routine is both the biggest burden and the biggest
blessing. In a way, everything is routine. Everything is a system
that goes on indefinitely. A day has 24 hours, and it’s like
that every day. Over and over again. Morning comes, evening
falls, never missing a beat. All routine. Even our bodies are
following their biological routine. It’s only our minds that
want to break out and disrupt the regular. All because we are
afraid that routine will engulf us, make us docile and boring,
bring us closer to, well, death. We are conditioned into
thinking that routine is a bad thing, like it’s the antithesis of
freedom and adventure. I think it’s almost a controversial idea
to try and program our minds into a routine as well. Routine
to keep you company. Routine as an instigator. Doing and
thinking the same thing over and over–not to numb yourself,
but to make you focus even more. Maybe treat your emotions
as routines as well. Something you program into your day.
Like a must-do. A few hours of anger. Then a dose of desire.
Then some compassion. And imagination of course, always,
always. Fantasies are really what keeps us going, we should
really nurture that, train them and develop them, like a muscle.
Repetitive fantasising.
KALTBLUT: What are you working on at the moment? Is there
something you are engaged with or eager to begin with?
Peter De Potter: Well, like any other artist I’m waiting to be
name-checked in a Jay-Z track. OBVIOUSLY!
www.peterdepotter.com
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