Minerals and rocks are the foundation of everything, the first
solid substance to have materialized from the gases and liquids
in space. And life, in a way we still do not entirely understand,
sprang from minerals and rocks. Right up to the 17th century,
rocks and minerals were still being referred to scientifically as a
form of'livestock',sprouted from seeds or from a kind of intercourse between primary substances.
Geologically speaking minerals are natural, homogeneous solids
made up of two or more elements. They are usually inorganic
and crystalline and over 3500 types have been defined. They are
the basic building material of the earth's crust, the moon and
other celestial bodies.The word mineral is derived from minare,
the Latin term for mining. The word implies 'usefulness', and
indeed minerals are the raw materials from which we derive
many things that are essential for our survival.
Rocks are composed of one or more minerals. Rocks exist in
countless types and varieties, coarsely textured or fine, hard or
soft, dark, light or polychrome. Hot lava, volcanic ash, mud or
sand, but also plants, bones and tissue, all come from rock and
will become rock again.
Although we think of rocks as the basic stuff of which the earth
is made, they actually only form the outer crust of our planet.
Rocks float - literally - on what geologists call the earth's mantle, a hot and viscous substratum, underneath that solid crust.
Apart from the geologist's outlook, there are many other ways
to view minerals and rocks. From an archaeologist's viewpoint,
rocks and minerals are at the roots of civilization, the oldest
tokens of human culture, including tools, amulets, tombstones
and dolmens, monuments and ornaments. Others treasure minerals and rocks for their preciousness or for their healing
power; as objects of singular beauty or strength, sublimated
from complex geologic processes in the deeps beneath us.
Whom do rocks and mountains not awe, who is not fascinated
by crystals and gems or intrigued by fossils that speak of life in a
distant past? Strolling along a beach or a riverbed, looking down,
we pick up pebbles and marvel at their smoothness and shape.
Which child has not taken home flints and pebbles for display
on a shelf in his bedroom, or for a collection in a shoe box or
jam bottle?
p OLOGUE
Adri Verhoeven, a Dutch sculptor, thinks of rock as a deeply
spiritual and timeless material: 'When you look at rocks you
only see the eroded outside. When you split a rock you see a
new outside; by polishing it you create yet another outside.You
still never uncover the real inside'.
The artist's experience is not unlike that of the scientist. Every
discovery, each deepening of knowledge leads to new mysteries.
My fascination with rocks and minerals as presented in this
work comes from two converging paths in my life: geology and
photography. One could also say: science and imagination or
impression and expression.
The images presented in this book range over a broad scale,
from the field perspective to the microscopic. 'Zooming in' like
this means venturing into new spaces time and again, full of surprising new forms and abstractions. Fantasy and imagination
gradually overtake all notions of scale and realism.
In the field, rocks are perceived in their natural setting; in mountains and outcrops, in the riverbed, along a rough coast, in quarries. This may be massive granite and basalt or orderly sediments, parallel bedded or graciously folded. Well rounded pebbles and smoothly polished rocks in one place: erosion, rubble
and chaos elsewhere.
Closer up, on the macro-scale, the images become more elusive, the viewers imagination is challenged. Grotesque mocklandscapes and other miraculous scenes arise in the form of
crystals or capricious mineral growth. Illusions and mirages
materialize on the polished surface of an agate or inside the tiny
cavities and cracks in a rock.
Closer up again, on the microscopic scale, yet another universe
opens up. There is increasing abstraction, finer detail and delicate texture, but also more plan and order. Most of the pictures
on the microscopic scale are made of thin sections, wafer-thin
slices of rock observed in transmitted light. Polarization of the
light brings out the wondrous, spectral colors that result from
birefringence in crystal sections. If we allow our mind to drift
away, we see dendritic crystals of manganese-oxide forming
shrubs and forests; we see how radial crystals of prehnite mimic
bird feathers, how pinpoint stars of tourmaline adorn stampsize firmaments, and how garnets are helicoidally deformed into
milky ways!
solid substance to have materialized from the gases and liquids
in space. And life, in a way we still do not entirely understand,
sprang from minerals and rocks. Right up to the 17th century,
rocks and minerals were still being referred to scientifically as a
form of'livestock',sprouted from seeds or from a kind of intercourse between primary substances.
Geologically speaking minerals are natural, homogeneous solids
made up of two or more elements. They are usually inorganic
and crystalline and over 3500 types have been defined. They are
the basic building material of the earth's crust, the moon and
other celestial bodies.The word mineral is derived from minare,
the Latin term for mining. The word implies 'usefulness', and
indeed minerals are the raw materials from which we derive
many things that are essential for our survival.
Rocks are composed of one or more minerals. Rocks exist in
countless types and varieties, coarsely textured or fine, hard or
soft, dark, light or polychrome. Hot lava, volcanic ash, mud or
sand, but also plants, bones and tissue, all come from rock and
will become rock again.
Although we think of rocks as the basic stuff of which the earth
is made, they actually only form the outer crust of our planet.
Rocks float - literally - on what geologists call the earth's mantle, a hot and viscous substratum, underneath that solid crust.
Apart from the geologist's outlook, there are many other ways
to view minerals and rocks. From an archaeologist's viewpoint,
rocks and minerals are at the roots of civilization, the oldest
tokens of human culture, including tools, amulets, tombstones
and dolmens, monuments and ornaments. Others treasure minerals and rocks for their preciousness or for their healing
power; as objects of singular beauty or strength, sublimated
from complex geologic processes in the deeps beneath us.
Whom do rocks and mountains not awe, who is not fascinated
by crystals and gems or intrigued by fossils that speak of life in a
distant past? Strolling along a beach or a riverbed, looking down,
we pick up pebbles and marvel at their smoothness and shape.
Which child has not taken home flints and pebbles for display
on a shelf in his bedroom, or for a collection in a shoe box or
jam bottle?
p OLOGUE
Adri Verhoeven, a Dutch sculptor, thinks of rock as a deeply
spiritual and timeless material: 'When you look at rocks you
only see the eroded outside. When you split a rock you see a
new outside; by polishing it you create yet another outside.You
still never uncover the real inside'.
The artist's experience is not unlike that of the scientist. Every
discovery, each deepening of knowledge leads to new mysteries.
My fascination with rocks and minerals as presented in this
work comes from two converging paths in my life: geology and
photography. One could also say: science and imagination or
impression and expression.
The images presented in this book range over a broad scale,
from the field perspective to the microscopic. 'Zooming in' like
this means venturing into new spaces time and again, full of surprising new forms and abstractions. Fantasy and imagination
gradually overtake all notions of scale and realism.
In the field, rocks are perceived in their natural setting; in mountains and outcrops, in the riverbed, along a rough coast, in quarries. This may be massive granite and basalt or orderly sediments, parallel bedded or graciously folded. Well rounded pebbles and smoothly polished rocks in one place: erosion, rubble
and chaos elsewhere.
Closer up, on the macro-scale, the images become more elusive, the viewers imagination is challenged. Grotesque mocklandscapes and other miraculous scenes arise in the form of
crystals or capricious mineral growth. Illusions and mirages
materialize on the polished surface of an agate or inside the tiny
cavities and cracks in a rock.
Closer up again, on the microscopic scale, yet another universe
opens up. There is increasing abstraction, finer detail and delicate texture, but also more plan and order. Most of the pictures
on the microscopic scale are made of thin sections, wafer-thin
slices of rock observed in transmitted light. Polarization of the
light brings out the wondrous, spectral colors that result from
birefringence in crystal sections. If we allow our mind to drift
away, we see dendritic crystals of manganese-oxide forming
shrubs and forests; we see how radial crystals of prehnite mimic
bird feathers, how pinpoint stars of tourmaline adorn stampsize firmaments, and how garnets are helicoidally deformed into
milky ways!