Report | Madelon Vriesendorp at the 2017 November Talks in Paris
Follow your passion and work with your hands
Madelon Vriesendorp's lecture opened the November Talks in Paris. At the École Nationale Supérieure d'Architecture de Paris-Belleville, she spoke passionately of her career and called on students not to lose their ability to work with their hands. Vriesendorp would like to see them all start sketching.
Madelon Vriesendorp attended the art academy in Amsterdam in the 1960s, a time of rebellion against old methods, including old fashioned teaching methods. She completed her studies and moved to London with her boyfriend, where she started creating and exhibiting etchings. Two years later, Vriesendorp went to America with her boyfriend, where, inspired by New York's skyscrapers, she started a series of paintings. Returning to London, the young Vriesendorp began to teach colour theory at the Architectural Association, gave birth to two children and started working and exhibiting independently.
During her talk Madelon Vriesendorp repeatedly emphasised her passion to motivate people to sketch, collage and the like. The artist highlighted her concern that people could lose the ability to work with their hands and advocated that, above all, architects should really start getting their hands dirty again.
Her message was that people should pursue their passion. Vriesendorp also encouraged students to go and live in another country for a while. Each one of us should step out of our comfort zone at least once, take a look around and experience things. Everyone should find out what they really want and not keep running after everything and anything.
Interview with Madelon Vriesendorp
The Video can be found on our YouTube-Channel.
November Talks
The successful “November Reihen”, a lecture series on contemporary architecture, has been funded by the non-profit Sto Foundation since its launch in 2006. Stuttgart, Graz, Milan, Paris, Prague and London are the six venues . Exciting work reports by renowned architects can be experienced there.
