Impromptu: the World in a Collage

An Inner Constellation relating to the dynamic nature of impulse, Impromptu was first a relatively simple automatism. Only later it became more elaborate and symbolic.

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Mariano Akerman (Akermariano), Impromptu (initial state), Jerusalem, December 2001. Crayon and watercolor, 21 x 27 cm.

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 Mariano Akerman, Impromptu (revised state), Manila, July 2007. Crayon, watercolor and collage, 20 x 24.2 cm. Duehring-Patel Collection, Berlin

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In its revised version, Impromptu features a central motif, whose origin can be traced back to a Map of the World depicted by Heinrich Bünting in the late sixteenth century. That Map presents a clover-shaped world, with Jerusalem at the center. There, Europe, Asia and Africa converge. Jerusalem becomes thus the center of the world and the Holy City of the three continents. 

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Heinrich Bünting (Buenting/Bunting, 1545-1606), Map of the World as a Clover (Die Welt als Kleberblat), woodcut from Itinerarium sacra scripturae, Magdeburg, 1581.  National Library, Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

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In Bünting's Map, the world is symbolically represented by a three-leafed clover, which not accidentally was also symbolic of that cartographer’s birthplace, Hannover.

Initially, the Map of the World was a black-and-white print (woodcut). Its later version involved the application of color and the differentiation of the continents via the use of distinct pigments.

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After Heinrich Bünting, Map of the World or Cloverleaf Map (from Itinerarium Sacra Scripturae), color engraving, 1588. Mappa Mundi, Knokke.

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It is noteworthy that in such versions of the German Map the American continent is marginal and remains excluded from the central three-leafed motif, i.e. disconnected from the center of the world.

Curiously enough, other important areas of the world are depicted in analogous terms (when not obliterated altogether). The insular aspect of England, for instance, is geographically justifiable, but that of Denmark and Sweden rendered as a single territorial mass, disconnected from the European continent and notably amputated, is ethically objectionable.

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Mariano Akerman, Impromptu (revised state), Manila, July 2007. Crayon, watercolor and collage, 20 x 24.2 cm. Duehring-Patel Collection, Berlin

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Mariano Akerman, Impromptu (digital I), Manila, July 2007

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In 2001, Impromptu was a closed composition. Only in 2007, with the artist’s desire of associating this image to Bünting’s Map, it became an open design. To achieve such an association in a direct way, the format of Impromptu was to be changed and Jerusalem had to become its real center. Such requirements led to the suppression of part of the original composition. Yet, the initial appearance of Impromptu,  its original format and composition, have been preserved in a photograph taken when the work was still in progress.

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Mariano Akerman, Impromptu (in progress), photograph, Manila, July 2007

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The photograph showing Impromptu in progress was to generate two additional images, which are fresh and surprising. 

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 Mariano Akerman, Impromptu (digital II), Manila, July 2007

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Mariano Akerman, Impromptu (digital III), Manila, July 2007

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As Einstein once put it, “Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. But imagination encircles the world.”[9]

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Impromptu, pictures, comments and layout by Mariano Akerman. © Copyright 2007 Akermariano. All rights reserved.

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What Kind of Art is This?

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