portrait 07 – nick j. swarth
language is the basis

Nick J. Swarth made his debut in 1997 in the Flemish literary magazine Yang. In 1999 he won the Literary Prize of the Province of Gelderland. In 2005 the DVD poetry collection ‘De Napalm Sessions’ was published and in 2020 his debut novel ‘1980 – De Plasserparadox’. “Poetship does justice to the absurdity of existence, because it is as meaningless as existence itself.” The same goes for his ‘literary’ performances.

Nick J. Swarth debuteerde in 1997 in het Vlaamse literaire magazine Yang. In 1999 won hij Literaire Prijs van de Provincie Gelderland. In 2005 verscheen de dvd-dichtbundel ‘De napalmsessies’ en in 2020 zijn debuutroman ‘1980 – De Plasserparadox’. “Het dichter-schap doet recht aan de absurditeit van het bestaan, omdat het even zinloos is als dat bestaan zelf.” Dat geldt ook voor zijn ‘literaire’ optredens.

plea for the unknown
pleidooi voor het onbekende

“language is the basis”

starring artist:

nick j. swarth

text notes:

pedagogical academy*)
training to become a teacher

working-class children*)
traditionally, tilburg as a textile city was seen as a typical working-class city, a characterization that still has its effect

literature list*)
list of compulsory literary works for students to read before the exam

willem frederik hermans*)
the writer willem frederik hermans (1921 – 1995) belongs to the so-called ‘big three’ post war

writers of the netherlands; the other two are: gerard reeve and harrie mulish
‘the preserved house’ (het behouden huis) this novel is published in 1952 by willem frederik hermans and is set during the second world war (1940 – 1945)

spelling*)
in the netherlands and flanders (belgium), the official spelling – the correct way you write words – is prescribed by law for education and government

yang*)
‘yang’ was a flemish literary quarterly magazine (gent 1963-2009) with ample attention to contemporary poetry, prose, criticism and essays. in 2009 it merged with the magazine ‘freespace nieuwzuid’ (new south) to form the new magazine ‘ny’

city poet*)
the city poetship was established in tilburg in 2003. nick j. swarth was the second in line to become the city poet of tilburg for a period of two years (2005-2007)

tom pijnenburg*)
the dutch filmmaker tom pijnenburg made a series of programs for the pay channel djazztv – paradox-live, regularly made recordings for luycks gallery, park – platform for visual arts and pop podium 013 and is involved in the realization of internationals art © channel

tilburgz*)
columnist’s site (2004 – 2012) initiated by tom pijnenburg. columnists: jan doms with black and white lino cuts by graphic artist paul bogaert, a.h.j. dautzenberg with illustrations by bandirah, ko de laat with illustrations by linda van erve. later the blogs of politicians were added, which heralded the end. the follow-up was ‘schuimt !’ (it rubs and foams) live in jazzpodium paradox; recorded by tom pijnenburg with short films of the tilburg city poets.

frank crijns*)
many only know the tilburg musician frank crijns (nl) as the guitarist and co-founder of the group ‘blast’ and as a band member of ‘betonfraktion’, but composing for ensembles and soloists for contemporary and improvised music is in fact his main focus.

virginia woolf*)
the english writer virginia woolf (1882 – 1941) is known for her innovative way of writing. she published novels and essays and was successful with both literary critics and the general public. eventually she committed suicide by drowning herself in the river.

‘to the lighthouse’ *)
‘to the lighthouse’ is virginia woolf’s most autobiographical novel and is regarded as her most important work, about the inadequacy of human relationships and the elusiveness of time.

‘1980 – de plasserparadox’*)
the ‘plasserparadox’ (penis paradox) is the first part of a trilogy, written by nick j. swarth and takes place in the first four months of the year 1980. it ends on the day of the disturbances in amsterdam at the coronation of beatrix as dutch queen. the novel paints the group image of a young generation that found its way in the early eighties in a still stale and bourgeois netherlands, including tilburg.
(quote review magazine neerlandistiek [dutch language and literature] – jos joosten)

credits

projects shown by nick j. swarth

‘little bug blue tries to mount an orange’

on-site poetry | landscape festival woest & bijster 2018
sander neijnens & nick j. swarth

picture 1:
‘my action assessment report’
nick j. swarth

picture 2:
‘rev charlie butlight’
nick j. swarth

picture 3:
‘collecting memories (w/smell-o-rama)’
nick j. swarth

picture 4:
‘schlampi_pic tímea kovács’
nick j. swarth

picture 5:
‘wear dead people (french kiss)’
nick j. swarth

‘down the drain’
live at club solo breda (2021)
paintings: by aaron van era
performance: swagemakers swarth

live poetry ‘vertel vertel’ (tell, tell)
location: campus university of tilburg 2023
part of the manifest ‘de reit’ stichting straat (street foundation) with a focus on architecture and urban planning
initiator: berry van oudheusden focussed on de reit as a post-war residential area that has been developed in tilburg-west since 1958. south-west of it is the jewish cemetery.

on site poetry ‘lange tenen’ (long toes)
nick. j. swarth and sander neijnens
created with 207 painted wickers
on the occasion of ‘kunst op stapel’ (‘art in stack’) boxtel 2015

‘dans de orang tilbo’ (dance the orang tilbo)
text and performance: nick j. swarth
composition: jeroen strijbos and rob van rijswijk
backing vocals: marylou weijmans
sound and music: sam
video: tom pijnenburg – gilaworks (2005)

‘in between songs & whirls’
location: theater de nieuwe vorst (2020)
festival ‘murf / murw in the hut’
performance: betonfraction
nick j. swarth (performer), frank crijns (gitarist), provocase (drummer)

‘dear diarrhea’
from the album: ‘i changed my sex’
blowpipe records bp101 (2016)
performance: betonfraction
nick j. swarth (performer), frank crijns (gitarist), provocase (drummer)
live cam: agnes g.
picture: frederico c.
thanks for: occii, bugs and free footage

‘schmuddelsprudel’ – ‘shabby art that falls apart’
expo assemblages: nick j. swarth
location: metropolitan museum tilburg (2019)
production: buro dorit
curator: sir bertrand russell
many thanks to: sjon brands

‘toyboy’
from the expo assemblages: ‘schmuddelsprudel’ – ‘shabby art that falls apart’
nick j. swarth
location: metropolitan museum tilburg (2019)
production: buro dorit
curator: sir bertrand russell
many thanks to: sjon brands

adaptation city poem iii a.h.j. dautzenberg (city poet)
performance: nick j. swarth
drama: suwāsu j. nikku
video: tom pijnenburg
location: film theater cinecitta tilburg (2019)