The world shown by Dirk Wiersma in his photographs is a
world of rocks, rocks varying in scale from spectacular
mountains and fantastic rock formations to the mysterious
micro-world of stones and minerals. Wiersma observes this
world with the perspective of the professional geologist, but
with a high sensitivity for visual sensations. In his pictures he
expresses his emotional perceptions and by doing so he
presents us with images that have an air of fairy-tales and
enigmas. He reveals the intrinsic beauty of the realm of
rocks, that in everyday life, moulds our physical surroundings.
Rocks are everywhere around us, but the 'lifeless world' of
the realm of rocks is the antipode of emotions, of thought
and life. Stones are not alive, neither are they threatened by
death. From times far past stones are the symbols of eternity: they are affected by nothing, except by geologic processes in the course of millions of years. Rocks will still be there
when, a few billion years ahead, the phenomenon Life will
have disappeared on Earth, while our planet keeps turning
around an extinguished sun as a dark and cold globe of
stone. But although rocks are far remote from emotions,
sensations and other whims of the human mind, they still
have always aroused feelings and even passions in man.
Already in the distant past the natural beauty of precious
stones, be it crude or worked on, tempted people's vanity
and were used as symbols of wealth and power. The geometry and mathematical symmetry of crystals, as well as the
shape and architecture of rocks and mountains, are a source
of inspiration for artistic achievements. From the earliest
beginnings man has attributed magic and mysterious powers
to minerals and rocks. Crude rocks formed by nature were
worshipped as dwelling places of gods or ghosts. Stone
sculptures shaped by nature were regarded as sacred places,
where holy rituals were performed. Large unprocessed
stones were used to set up menhirs, dolmens and other
monuments for the death or as cults of the sun. Medieval
alchemists searching for the secret of matter, were convinced that it lay concealed in the mythical Lapis
Philosophicus (Philosophers' Stone).And the forever holiest
shrine of the Islam faith, to which every pious Muslim hopes
to make his pilgrimage, is the large black stone of Mecca, the
Ka'aba (most probably a meteorite). And even in our modern and ever so rational society there is still widespread
belief that stone amulets and talismans will guarantee the
bearer health and a long life, bring prosperity, avert or
attract misfortune, protect against evil, heal diseases or
bring them about, or work as an aphrodisiac.
But rocks, besides arousing feelings of spirituality, magic or
aesthetics, also playa crucial role in all material aspects of
life. The erosion products of minerals and rocks allow for
plant growth and thus for life on Earth, including that of
mankind. In the geological sciences rocks form the archive
in which the 4.5 billion years old history of Earth is stored -
much like data stored in the silicon archives of our chip era.
The geologist reads this rock archive by means of various
scientific methods. Our distant ancestors used caves,
formed in rocks by geologic processes, as places to live in or
to perform cults. Using colorants derived from finely ground
minerals of different color, they made intriguing wail-paintings in the caves, probably with magic objectives. To prehistoric man stones were the only durable material there was
to make tools of and weaponry. The first hom in ids that
worked stones into primitive tools appeared already 2.4
million years ago. In the course of time stone working developed into an increasingly advanced technology, providing
better and more refined tools. Until man at the end of the
Stone Age, about 6000 years ago, started making weapons
and tools out of metals - metals that are, incidentally, also
derived from mineral raw materials. But there is no doubt
that the hominids who first made stone weapons and tools,
according to a well conceived plan, stood at the very roots
of the whole technological and cultural development of
mankind.
In addition to his artistic photographs of landscapes, rock
formations and details of rocks and minerals, Dirk Wiersma
also strikes us with fascinating images of thin rock sections,
using various optical and microscopical techniques. In these
pictures, that are reminiscent of abstract compositions, we
recognize the professional geologist. However, as opposed
to abstract art that renounces a realistic rendering of the
world around us and seeks for a new order in form and
color, we here look at creations of nature herself, rather
than fancies of the human mind. Natura Artis Magistra or, as
world of rocks, rocks varying in scale from spectacular
mountains and fantastic rock formations to the mysterious
micro-world of stones and minerals. Wiersma observes this
world with the perspective of the professional geologist, but
with a high sensitivity for visual sensations. In his pictures he
expresses his emotional perceptions and by doing so he
presents us with images that have an air of fairy-tales and
enigmas. He reveals the intrinsic beauty of the realm of
rocks, that in everyday life, moulds our physical surroundings.
Rocks are everywhere around us, but the 'lifeless world' of
the realm of rocks is the antipode of emotions, of thought
and life. Stones are not alive, neither are they threatened by
death. From times far past stones are the symbols of eternity: they are affected by nothing, except by geologic processes in the course of millions of years. Rocks will still be there
when, a few billion years ahead, the phenomenon Life will
have disappeared on Earth, while our planet keeps turning
around an extinguished sun as a dark and cold globe of
stone. But although rocks are far remote from emotions,
sensations and other whims of the human mind, they still
have always aroused feelings and even passions in man.
Already in the distant past the natural beauty of precious
stones, be it crude or worked on, tempted people's vanity
and were used as symbols of wealth and power. The geometry and mathematical symmetry of crystals, as well as the
shape and architecture of rocks and mountains, are a source
of inspiration for artistic achievements. From the earliest
beginnings man has attributed magic and mysterious powers
to minerals and rocks. Crude rocks formed by nature were
worshipped as dwelling places of gods or ghosts. Stone
sculptures shaped by nature were regarded as sacred places,
where holy rituals were performed. Large unprocessed
stones were used to set up menhirs, dolmens and other
monuments for the death or as cults of the sun. Medieval
alchemists searching for the secret of matter, were convinced that it lay concealed in the mythical Lapis
Philosophicus (Philosophers' Stone).And the forever holiest
shrine of the Islam faith, to which every pious Muslim hopes
to make his pilgrimage, is the large black stone of Mecca, the
Ka'aba (most probably a meteorite). And even in our modern and ever so rational society there is still widespread
belief that stone amulets and talismans will guarantee the
bearer health and a long life, bring prosperity, avert or
attract misfortune, protect against evil, heal diseases or
bring them about, or work as an aphrodisiac.
But rocks, besides arousing feelings of spirituality, magic or
aesthetics, also playa crucial role in all material aspects of
life. The erosion products of minerals and rocks allow for
plant growth and thus for life on Earth, including that of
mankind. In the geological sciences rocks form the archive
in which the 4.5 billion years old history of Earth is stored -
much like data stored in the silicon archives of our chip era.
The geologist reads this rock archive by means of various
scientific methods. Our distant ancestors used caves,
formed in rocks by geologic processes, as places to live in or
to perform cults. Using colorants derived from finely ground
minerals of different color, they made intriguing wail-paintings in the caves, probably with magic objectives. To prehistoric man stones were the only durable material there was
to make tools of and weaponry. The first hom in ids that
worked stones into primitive tools appeared already 2.4
million years ago. In the course of time stone working developed into an increasingly advanced technology, providing
better and more refined tools. Until man at the end of the
Stone Age, about 6000 years ago, started making weapons
and tools out of metals - metals that are, incidentally, also
derived from mineral raw materials. But there is no doubt
that the hominids who first made stone weapons and tools,
according to a well conceived plan, stood at the very roots
of the whole technological and cultural development of
mankind.
In addition to his artistic photographs of landscapes, rock
formations and details of rocks and minerals, Dirk Wiersma
also strikes us with fascinating images of thin rock sections,
using various optical and microscopical techniques. In these
pictures, that are reminiscent of abstract compositions, we
recognize the professional geologist. However, as opposed
to abstract art that renounces a realistic rendering of the
world around us and seeks for a new order in form and
color, we here look at creations of nature herself, rather
than fancies of the human mind. Natura Artis Magistra or, as