How information becomes knowledge

How information becomes knowledge (2012) is a conceptual work by Berend Strik that directly addresses the transformation process — from raw data to meaningful understanding — that lies at the heart of his own artistic practice.

Strik describes the work: "The work features hand-drawn outlined text reading 'How Information Becomes Knowledge' in pencil and colored pencil, with the words partially obscured by textile-like swatches of color, suggesting that information is always filtered through the senses, the body, and the accumulated experience of the viewer."

This work is characteristic of Strik's practice: he takes something that seems purely intellectual (text, language, conceptual art) and makes it physical and tactile through his textile interventions. The text "How information becomes knowledge" is not merely read but felt — it is something that happens in the body as much as in the mind.

The 2012 date places this work in the period when Strik was developing his Deciphering the Artist's Mind series (begun 2012) — a project that itself addresses the question of how we come to understand creative practice and artistic intention.

Sources: Galerie Fons Welters