Just like that, in the middle of Haarlem’s Van Zeggelenbuurt, small works of art are popping up this spring. They are placed there by artist Hans Bossmann.
Culture Club 16 – NH News
Bossman sees art in everything. From an old found plank to a bottle of pur foam that exploded, you can think of it as crazy as he uses it in his work. “Everything can be art, it doesn’t have to be aesthetic or well thought out. Precisely that which arises spontaneously has a sparkle that much regular art does not have.”
Art or kitsch
This spring, Bossmann is painting pottery figurines: “I call it kitsch myself and put them on the street in unexpected places.” He has already placed the figurines on ledges, electrical boxes and walls. Because he thinks the Van Zeggelenbuurt could use some art: “There is no public art in this neighborhood, so I thought: ‘let me put something down myself.’ It’s very different from a museum, people come here who will be amazed, at least that’s how I imagine it.”
“That it is temporary is part of it”
If you want to see the works of art in the Van Zeggelenbuurt, you should be quick. Everything Bossmann puts down is almost immediately gone. “Some of them are already out of place within a day. People take them with them, because I don’t see any smashed figurines or anything. So far everything has disappeared, but that’s not a problem because it’s also part of the artwork. I like surprising people the most . That it’s temporary is part of that.”
Until a few years ago, Wendy Moore was mainly found as a talented dressage rider at the riding school, until she bought a second-hand guitar when she was 17. She fell in love with the instrument and discovered that she could sing as well. She has now signed a contract with record label Zip-records in Amsterdam, where Alain Clark and Barry Hay have also housed their music.
“I’m super excited about what’s to come and I’m really looking forward to it,” Wendy says enthusiastically. In the coming months she will release three singles that she can’t reveal much about yet. The first is expected in the summer. “This is the moment. I had to wait a long time because of Covid, but we have very big plans.”
Songs about experiences
De Zandvoort is inspired by different music genres. She calls herself a pop singer-songwriter with a slight edge to Indie rock. Her songs are about things she experiences herself. “Sometimes I also write about other people’s experiences. Like Relapse, which is about a friend of mine who was in a bad situation at the time.”
Wendy has developed enormously in recent years. Especially in the corona years, when she was at home a lot, she discovered more and more about herself. “I have found that I am quite a go-getter.”
Culture Club at NH Nieuws
In the new Culture Club programme, NH Nieuws visits culture makers from our province to ask them about their motivations. All episodes of Culture Club can be viewed on this one special page.