GHENT,  May 1, 2012:

Big on our list of must-sees in Ghent was SMAK, the museum of contemporary art. I had been really looking forward to this but when we finally got there (our passage frequently blocked by May Day parades and work stoppages) the entire museum seemed to be devoted to only one artist, Nedko Solakov, a Bulgarian conceptual artist.

Ghent SMAK exhibit featuring Bulgarian artist Nedko Solakov

At first I wasn’t too impressed but his work really grew on me and by the end I was full of inspiration and ideas. One of his many fascinations that fascinated me was annotated garbage, containing tiny stories in amongst the photos of torn plastic and debris.

By odd coincidence I ran into one of the the first garbage ‘scenes’ that I had seen in Belgium the night before, and it was so out of place in this tidy country I actually took a photo of it. Now I’m thinking maybe I should annotate it!

my garbage at night in Ghent photo – no idea why I took this photo but now I’m think I should annotate it!

even my journal entry about SMAK seems to be influenced by his work. The bit on the bottom about cross-purposes refers to the room below, where one painter is painting the black wall white while across the room another is painting the white wall black…

SMAK endless work

more thought-provoking art

For more about Nedko Solakov’s work, see:

http://www.google.ca/search?q=nedko+solakov&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=89LDUdnUGKepiAKymIHoDw&ved=0CEwQsAQ&biw=1379&bih=935

Our trip was roughly based on the Beer Route through Belgium, and here it is so far:

• a 300 year-old bar in Brussels
• a la Becasse, a traditional pub in Brussels
• a la Mort Subite, a historic brasserie in Brussels
• the Verdi Bed and Breakfast in Bruges, Belgium
• eating and drinking at the Cambrinus in Bruges
• Brugse Zot and the Half Moon Brewery Tour in Brugge, Belgium
  
• warming up a chilly day in Bruges, Belgium
• shopping for a picnic in Bruges, Belgium
• drinking at the t’ Brugs Beertje in Bruges
  
• dinner at the Cambrinus in Bruges, Belgium
• beer and museums on our first day in Ghent
• beer, food and museums on our second day in Ghent – Part 1
• Ghent SMAK exhibit, the conceptual Bulgarian artist Nedko Solakov
• beer, food and museums on our second day in Ghent – Part 2