write first

think

later

am i evil

for buying things

on amazon

city noise

a gentle breeze

passing through

not much

i can do

about that

what

where

when

plate was full

now it’s empty

back to work

can’t sleep

tried everything

still can’t sleep

very hot

very humid

very summer

no meaning

no message

no answer

beautiful

average

ugly

i’ve tried

to spend less time

on my computer

new software

new hardware

same me

i love you

you love me

we love each other

fuck the syllables

this

is a haiku

dark room

bright screen

time for bed

everything’s fucked

might as well

be happy

downloading file

less than a minute

remaining

soft bed

heavy eyes

almost asleep

should i run

should i tea

should i nap

spring sun

summer breeze

winter mood

buy buy

sell sell

happy happy

will it ever happen

am i good enough

do they understand

hot in here

hot out there

no escape

might go well

might go bad

might not happen

sharp light of spring

sound of

honking cars

don’t overthink

don’t think

don’t

as long as

you’re not dead

you’re alive

thank you toilet

for swallowing

my poop

a strong urge to write

even if

there is nothing to say

what it was

what it is

what it will be

chill out

take it easy

it’s cool

something

never seen

heard or felt

writing down

whatever

comes to mind

Soft Focus, an exhibition by Rafaël Rozendaal at MU, 2015

Photos by Boudewijn Bollmann

thinking about

doing sit-ups

never mind

Google Drive, 260 x 144 cm.

Daily Beast, 260 x 144 cm.

LA Times, 260 x 144 cm.

Pinterest, 260 x 144 cm.

Technorati, 260 x 144 cm.

Yahoo, 160 x 90 cm.

I was interviewed by Marvin Jordan for DIS magazine. We talk about the social, economic, and aesthetic conditions that characterize the landscape of internet-based art.

Very happy about this text, read it here.

Press release:

all i want to do
is sit on a beach
and write haiku

once again
staring
at a screen

sun rises
sun sets
repeat

Postmasters is very pleased to present a show of haiku wall paintings by Rafaël Rozendaal, Haiku2014 Rozendaal. Catching a daily moment, freezing a thought, a shortcut from one brain to another, easily transferable raw data, truly mobile, universal and indestructible, haikus are an essence in text. Artifacts deteriorate, but words are forever.

Rozendaal’s art, be it his websites, his lenticular paintings, his installations, or his animations, are always about focus, locating an essence of a thought or an image. For this show all it takes is a color and a font.

Like www.muchbetterthanthis.com, his current installation in Times Square, where a simple, minimal animation of a kiss transcends its frenetic surroundings for the fleeting three minutes before midnight, Rozendaal’s haiku rise above the noise and chaos of contemporary art. It’s a joy to write them, so little trouble, just an idea, he says, I find comfort in simplicity… it’s an escape.

The exhibition is accompanied by a $10 book of almost one hundred haiku.

would you create
something amazing for us
we have no budget

February 2015, Much Better Than This at Times Square New York

Photography by Michael Wells

Organized by Times Square Arts, Times Square Advertising Coalition and Dutch Culture USA

when there is nothing

i think of something

and dream of quiet

thank you spoon

you make it so easy

to eat soup

in my chair

wondering if i’m

sitting too much

cold out there

warm in here

hard to leave

Much Better Than This .com is this month’s Midnight Moment on Times Square.

Each night in February, from 11:57 to midnight, the work will play simultaneously on 47 screens.

Big thanks to: Times Square Advertising Coalition (TSAC), Times Square Arts and Dutch Culture USA.

Photography by Ka-Man Tse for @TSqArts

trying to remember

something

i forgot

never working

never

not working

what i should do

what i can do

what i will do

so much to say

not sure

how to say it

too much

too many

too think

a red stain

on my brand new

white suit

nothing

never

nowhere

imagine

loving

everything

whatever i do

there is always more

to be done

morning cold

just before

the sun rises

what

where

right there

not here

not there

somewhere

i should be

at a beach

right now

amazing

incredible

see you later

thank you socks

for making sure my feet

don’t touch my shoes

almost nothing

hardly anything

barely something

i am sorry

won’t happen again

my apologies

complex

computational

compositions

not knowing why

is the best

reason why

felt sad

ate steak

feel good

Someone finds a trick to simplify a task. This person finishes the task faster and has more time to relax.

Once everyone starts using the same trick, there is no time to relax any more. You have to use the trick. What used to be normal is now slow.

what better way

to spend your time

than surfing the web

a tiny mosquito

walking across

a big pond

no idea

nothing

at all

This is a selection of texts from my Spheres book, in collaboration with Philippe Karrer.

When we stare at the ocean, we can’t see that far because of the curvature of the earth. Clouds are not that far away either. Stars can be very far away, but a lot of stars don’t even exist any more by the time their light hits our eyes. The further something is, the longer it takes before you see it.

People always emphasize it’s good to grow and innovate, but it’s also good to repeat and refine.

In the future, people will not carry around devices to access the internet. Instead, with a pocket knife, they will cut a rectangle out of thin air, right in front of them, and there the internet will be. Unfortunately, many people will leave pieces of sky on the floor which might be dangerous. (More…)

not here

not there

not anywhere

I cannot explain why, but one of my favorite activities in the world is throwing stuff away. After graduating, I started moving to different countries, so I had to. I could only take so much with me. Possessions restrict movement. I don’t need much.

I love the idea of empty spaces. I love visualizing an empty home with big windows in an empty landscape. I imagine windows opened on either side of the house, the wind blowing from miles away entering the house and leaving quickly, hardly obstructed.

Emptiness is very elegant. It is luxurious.

The reality is that I am never in an empty house in an empty landscape. I am always in very crowded places. I live in Chinatown New York which is dense with tourists and garbage. I travel in crowded airplanes and eat while my elbows touch the passenger next to me. I sleep in hotels packed with people and their luggage. I swim at crowded beaches and walk through crowded museums and sit in crowded subways.

Emptiness seems beautiful yet I hardly ever go there. I hardly make an effort. I could take a bus to the countryside and sit in an empty field for a few hours. I could but I don’t.

I like the idea of emptiness more than the reality of it.

it’s fun
it’s new
it’s light
it’s open
it’s cheap
it’s free
it’s everything
it’s always
it’s everywhere

no history
no stress
no boss
no budget
no deadlines
no hassle

all i want to do

is not do

what i have to do

what

should i do

today

add

subtract

zero

Austin Lee interviews Rafaël Rozendaal for SFAQ magazine.
New York, February 2014.

AL: Your artwork has strong ties to both painting and animation. How do you think about time in both mediums and how does it function in your work?

RR: I’m interested in movement, and I’m interested in staring. That means I want to make moving images that don’t have a beginning or ending, no specific duration. The computer makes it possible to create images that run infinitely, always a bit different but also kind of the same. Think of a fountain: it’s in motion, it’s moving, but it’s not going anywhere.

(More…)

blue sky

black metal

green tea

for a brief moment

my inbox

was empty

today is a good day

not great

but quite alright

all i want

is a little bit more

than anyone else

i have to remind myself

again and again

how lucky i am

why

is bad food

so delicious

you can’t

argue

with crazy people

External Memory, exhibition by Rafaël Rozendaal
at Upstream Gallery, Amsterdam. March 2014.

Photography by Gert Jan van Rooij.

sometimes

everything

feels right

maybe

kinda

sorta

i write haiku

because there is nothing

better to do

america

even though it sucks

it’s awesome

would you create

something amazing for us

we have no budget

i’m not sure

who reads my poems

you do

a room full of people

talking

holding drinks

yeah totally

i know

for sure

there’s so much out there

why would anyone ever

create anything

i just paid $15

for a glass of orange juice

it was worth it

clickidiclickclick

clickclickclickclickidiclick

clickclickidiclick

why do they

get more than me

not fair

take it easy

breathe in

breathe out

all i want to do

is sit on a beach

and write haiku

find a space

invite many artists

ask them to bring their projector