DCCAC is setting up a collection of artworks that show the relationship between contemporary arts and crafts and to deal and offer consultancy in these fields.
DCCAC is initiated by Frank Dekempeneer and is the direct result of his own experiences in the field of craftsmanship. In the past Frank provided expertise, consultancy, dealing, restoration and production.
From experience, build upon highly skilled craftsmanship to the use of advanced technologies he was able to deliver the ultimate output in quality and refinement, for both private clients, interior designers, architects and renowned artists alike
Today DCCAC attempts to arouse the interest of contemporary artists in craft-related techniques and to inspire them to experiment and envision what might be created out of unique and exceptionally rare materials. Furthermore, it seeks to re-imagine such craftsmanship in light of cutting-edge technological advancements. By interrogating how age-old techniques and the most precise mechanical technologies of our time might be brought together, it brings into relief the fashion in which craftsmanship might re-enter the creative stage—that is, by taking up production where machines fall short.
The organization has privileged and unprecedented access to the ateliers of Rome, Venice, Ravenna, Florence, Paris and other historically-important sites of craftsmanship. The ateliers, usually closed to the public, are not only hidden gems in and of themselves, as extraordinary places, but also provide collaborators with the unique opportunity of working closely with skilled artisans trained in ancient, almost-forgotten crafts.
DCCAC thus provides a unique space where contemporary art practice can learn from age-old practices and ways of attending to the specificity of each material, which often lies hidden, waiting to be carefully drawn. It aims to highlight the extraordinary wealth of knowledge and skill involved in culture-specific techniques for working porphyry, ancient marble, mosaic, micro-mosaic and gemstones, and hopes to encourage artists to engage both the practical potential of these techniques and the rich and diverse histories of the worked materials. Porphyry, for example, derives from the Greek word for the colour purple, which in turn also means true original. Agate gemstones, have also come to signify uniqueness, as each translucent gem displays a different colour pattern, no two stones ever the same.
Importantly, however, the aim is not only to carefully attend to tradition, but also to challenge it and put it to work in new and innovative ways. Richard Sennett has suggested that what craftsmanship exemplifies is not merely the acquisition of skills and techniques, but “the special human condition of being engaged.” DCCAC thus aims to open a space in which this engagement and commitment can be brought to the very practices of contemporary art itself. It encourages experimentation, juxtaposition and combination of techniques and ways of handling materials that in traditional craftsmanship are held to be strictly distinct, and tries to facilitate exchanges between different practices of creativity and production, content and technique. It aims, in other words, to open a space in which the ancient and the contemporary can meet and collaborate in ways that exceed the individual potential of either the techniques and skills of craftsmanship or the conceptual depth of contemporary art. It hopes, ultimately, to show the results of these creative collaborations and to make them available to and appreciated by a wider public.
DCCAC was created under the premise that crafts are not only relevant to art practice insofar as they aid restoration of works, but may actually find a place within the arts and, further, in many ways revive contemporary art itself.