Werkplaats Thorbecke, foto: Hagen Mumm
Workshop Thorbecke
Perspectives on a new monument
Date: 19 October t/m 7 December 2008
Location: Stroom Den Haag, Hogewal 1-9, The Hague
At the end of 2007, the Hague City Council approved the initiative proposal for a statue of Johan Rudolph Thorbecke (1798–1872), the founding father of Dutch parliamentary democracy.
The initiator, Ms. Oosterholt (council member, VVD), emphasized in her proposal that the statue should be recognizable and of dignified quality. These and a few implicit assumptions from the proposal sparked our curiosity:
Is contemporary art still generally perceived as synonymous with abstraction and incomprehensibility?
And what exactly is meant by recognizability: the figure or the face of Thorbecke the person, Thorbecke the statesman, Thorbecke the revolutionary, or a representation of his ideas...?
And for whom should it be recognizable: the resident of The Hague, the politically aware citizen, the new citizen, the tourist, the passerby...?
These are extremely interesting and meaningful questions that cannot be left unanswered when realizing such an important monument.
That is why, under the name ‘Thorbecke Workshop’, Stroom invited artists—whose work regularly explores the relationship between power/image, monument, art, and urbanity—to present their vision of a contemporary monument for Thorbecke:
Florian Göttke (Amsterdam), Hans van Houwelingen (Amsterdam), André Kruysen (The Hague), and Gerlinde Schuller / Information Design Studio (Amsterdam).
VIEW THE PROPOSALS HERE:
Gerline Schuller (pdf document)
Hans van Houwelingen (pdf document)
Florian Göttke (pdf document)
Andre Kruysen (pdf document)
The four artists have each produced highly valuable and complementary documents. These include a cultural-historical framework of 'the monumental', a location analysis, an exploration of possibilities for contemporary relevance, and a formulation of political and social contexts.
What stands out is that the artists’ visions are nearly unanimous in several areas: the preferred location (in or around the seat of government – the Binnenhof), the desirability of referencing the Thorbecke monument in Amsterdam, and the need to periodically update the representation of the man and/or his ideas (through ritual acts, formal programs, or public debate).
The documentary presentation ‘Thorbecke Workshop’, curated by Mihnea Mircan, showcases the contributions of Göttke, Van Houwelingen, Kruysen, and Schuller against the backdrop of several existing works. It expressly focuses on visions that complement each other in many ways and serve as a foundation for a potential commission.
The Thorbecke Workshop presentation is made possible with the support of the Municipality of The Hague