“It is not necessarily peaceful, it is also threatening. You see a kind of swirling mass.” When Artistic Director Colin Huizing of Museum Kranenburgh talks about the work of Claudy Jongstra, you feel how much the gigantic felt tapestry moves him. The ‘Guernica de la Ecologia’ therefore has a special story.
“The rug is the same size as the famous painting ‘Guernica’ by Picasso. He painted it in 1937 in response to a bombing raid on the Spanish town of Guernica. It is a pamphlet against war violence. You can see Claudy Jongsta’s Guernica as a manifesto. She calls to think about the way we deal with nature.” Huizing hopes that the work also calls for action: “It extends beyond the museum walls.”
An important story
The museum in Bergen has no less than three new exhibitions; next to Claudy Jongstra there is work by the Spanish Christina Lucas and there is the exhibition A touch of light by various artists. All three exhibitions open at the same time. And all three are about the relationship between man and nature.
With these exhibitions, Kranenburgh shows that as a museum you don’t just have to show art, but you can also tell an important story. For director Huizing this is no more than self-evident. “We also want visitors to think about the way you relate to nature. And then you cannot avoid urgent issues being raised.”
Anyone who wants to think about their own role in nature OR who just wants to enjoy the beautiful art can come and see it in Bergen until mid-September.
Culture Club at NH News
In the new Culture Club programme, NH Nieuws visits culture makers from our province to ask them about their motives. All episodes of Culture Club can be viewed at this special page.
Culture Club can be seen every week on NH television on Thursdays from 5.10 pm and then repeated every hour.