Erik Van Loon
Art Change The World

I WILL WIN
I Will Win (2005) | The News (2006) | The Statue (2007) | The Runner (2008)
The History (2009) | The Creation (2010) | The Crisis (2011)
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I Will Win 4 - The Runner
by Erik Van Loon

I Will Win 4: The Runner

The Streaker is Erik Van Loon fourth ‘I Will Win’ self-portrait of 30 x 22 feet (10 x 6 m) for the ING New York City Marathon. This renown artist from Amsterdam, the Netherlands reveals - since 2005 - every year an enormous self-portrait along the course of the Marathon. In order to show his latest I Will Win self portrait to approximately 38,000 runners and 260 million TV viewers in 125 countries worldwide for six to seven second.

THE INSPIRATION:
Inspired by Google Earth, Erik Van Loon decided in 2005 to make a painting which can be photographed by satellite. Though limited by his studio in Rotterdam and NASA technology he learned that a satellite photo of his 33 by 20 feet paintings would not be bigger then a stamp. Inspired by the small size he decided to paint a portrait as portraits on stamp has become the most familiar icons of all time – recognisable by people all over the world and shortly after he decided to make even a self portrait as the Netherlands has a rich tradition in self-portraiture, exemplified by such great Dutch masters as Van Eyck, Rembrandt, Van Gogh and more recently Akkerman.

THE SERIES:
Which resulted in an annual painted homage to all individuals who strive day in and day out to achieve their personal goals in study, sport, work and relationships, etc or more negative which result in an annual painting about the individualization of mankind and its survival of the
fittest. As you can see below:
I WILL WIN (2005)
: He portrayed himself traditionally using the colours and elements of the Dutch and American flag;
I WILL WIN 2 – THE NEWS (2006): He portrayed himself as the front page of the New York Times with which he demonstrated the use of letters and words in imagery to challenge and stimulate the viewer’s experience of art like Johns, Nauman and Rauschenberg did.
I WILL WIN 3 – THE STATUE (2007): He portrayed himself as the Statue of Liberty by painting himself as
the Greek soldier Pheidippides, who was sent from Marathon to Athens to announce the Greek victory over the Persians at the Battle of Marathon.

GUERILLA ART:
After several attempts to reach the organizing committee of the NYC Roadrunners by phone, letter and email, he decided to show his self-portraits without permission of the organisation at the Harlem River Yard Ventures near mark 20 next to the Bronx side of the Willis Avenue Bridge. In an interview for Dutch TV, Mr. Anthony M. Riccio, Vice President of Harlem River Yard Ventures explained why he gave Erik Van Loon the permission to show his I Will Win selfportraits:
"He's just full of energy, I mean, I have never seen a person so interested and devoted to what he is doing.  So how do you say no to that?  You don't." - Anthony Riccio, Sr. at RTV Rijnmond (www.erikvanloon.com/iww/iww1/publicaties.htm)

The Streaker:
This year he will reveal I Will Win 4 – The Streaker. In The Streaker he paint himself running naked the last mile of the ING NYC City Marathon in Central Park. 

Location:
Harlem River Yard Ventures, Willis Av. Bridge
November2nd, 2008, New York
12:00 – 17:00

 

 

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