Page 66 - Studio International - March April 1975

the Van Abbemuseum. For the English artist. Together with the influences, but they are hardly are not installation shots but
last four years the Frans show, a book with texts by distinguishable after a thousand photographs of people at parties.
Halsmuseum in Haarlem has Phillips and many colour years of cooking. The English Bored and happy, glass in hand,
organised four similar exhibitions illustrations is edited by have pretended for centuries that standing, sitting on stairs, smiling
between 'real art shows'. Hansjorg Mayer. Britain is a united kingdom. We at cameras, talking business,
The Frans Halsmuseum is Liesbeth Brandt Corstius have chopped and changed looking for someone to talk to,
housed in a seventeenth-century between the best of French, arm in arm but almost always
old men's home, later an German and Italian culture, oblivious of the work in the
orphanage. One of the art objects calling the mixture Anglo-Saxon. room. The photographs are not
in the museum, a stone sculpture Belgium One wonders why the Belgians do enlarged or specially posed, they
of an old man with a 'poor-box', not make the most of their are just the snapshots of an
is now being used as the emblem advantages — the best of a bad job. event. The catalogue for the
for the exhibition 'This is our care' Instead of trying desperately to exhibition is a collection of
(350 years of children's and old As a result of the October artificially encapsulate their
people's care in Haarlem; until issue on Belgium a young critic culture, they should realize the
23 March). Frans Hals's famous from this magazine was invited to advantage they have in a world
paintings of the governors and spend a month or so in that which is also developing towards
lady governors of the old men's country. C'est moi. As a result of cultural anonymity. They have a
home are normally on show in the the Belgian issue one spent a lot cool view which should be able to
museum exclusively for their of time listening to criticism of it. distinguish between the
beauty. In this exhibition their Either it was good or bad because nationalism of culture and the
historical context is shown it confirmed Belgian suspicions nomadic idealism of
with the help of other objects, of Belgian culture. international art.
texts and prints. The visitors get The issue restricted itself to The arts in Belgium,
to know the kind of society in Belgian art and what is particularly the visual arts which On Kawara
which these trustees, old men and interesting in the Belgian art are not obstructed by languages, Installation Shot at the Palais des
homeless children lived, and how. scene has little to do with Belgian are well supported by private Beaux Arts — Bruxelles
Not only historical curiosity art. The magazine tried to define patronage from individuals and 42x 120 mm
will be satisfied, but what is Belgian culture, when the culture from groups. With some
perhaps even more important, of that country is a complex of exceptions, the patronage occurs photographs taken at the
links with the present are made. influences from the cultures of as investment and secondly as opening of his own exhibition, so
What do we do with our older other countries. This is untrue social status. There is little it did not appear until the end of
people and homeless children? of the history of Flemish art, it is understanding of the critical the exhibition. Charlier works,
During the preparations of the only an undercurrent in the negation of 'le monde occedental' and has worked, for more than
show, contacts were made with remaining vestiges of Magritte's implied by twentieth-century ten years at the Provincial
the local social welfare Belgium, but it is completely avant gardes. Art is accepted as Drawing Office for the city of
organisations. They in their turn revealed in the contemporary the high altar of materialism, Liege. His ironic glimpse of the
organized all kinds of activities in situation. Belgium is a maquette modernism means progress and 'art world' is one of a young
the town during the period of the for the United States of Europe. once the new avant garde becomes artist who stood for many years
exhibition. Likewise the The reasons are more complex famous it is assimilated without outside the enchanted circle. He
schoolchildren in Haarlem played than their recent manifestation as the slightest glance to the left. could see what it looked like, and
an active part in the preparations the headquarters of the EEC. Belgium is the perfect place to he, as a painter, knew a lot about
of the show. The organisers of the Belgium is a multi-national understand the paradox of what it looked at, but he could not
exhibition did everything to corporation posing as Ruritania. contemporary art. understand its engima. Perhaps
involve the population of An economic union of The sociology of the Belgian he still can't but now he is part
Haarlem with 'their' museum. discordinate aspects of other art world is a more complex of it, so the engima no longer
The director of this museum is countries. It is a country where and fascinating topic than any matters. He built his bridge across
a historian. (He was appointed people prefer to think of attempt to define a national the chasm by flattering the
two years ago under protest of the themselves as Europeans rather culture. In Brussels the Palais enigma into believing it actually
Dutch art historians!) Their than nationals. des Beaux Arts houses both the was important. Aspects of
educationalist, who planned this 20% of the Brussels art and the sociology. A pink conceptualism led him to think
exhibition, is a sociologist. Two population is non-Belgian. It marble staircase contrasts with an about his everyday activity as art.
art historians — one for old and takes about two hours to reach old pre-fabricated roof in He exhibited pen wipers from his
one for modern art complete the Paris, Amsterdam or Cologne. constant need of repair. Jacques fellow workers in Liege at the
scientific staff of this museum. Belgium is a bilingual country, the Charlier is a Belgian artist who Belgian exhibition in Oxford last
There is no need for the readers French population are called explores the art in the sociology. year. Other documentation and
of this art journal to be afraid Walloons, and the Dutch photographs of his office job
that enjoying pure art is not population are called Flemish. have formed the bases of most of
possible in Holland anymore. A well-educated Belgian speaks his recent work. A recent
The Stedelijk Museum in and reads French, Dutch, English exhibition at the MTL Gallery in
Amsterdam is preparing an and German. Although the Brussels was snapshots of a
interesting group show around Flemish outnumber the French holiday in Venice, in 1972, with
the theme: 'the boundaries of 60-40, the French have his family. The holiday naturally
painting', including painters like traditionally dominated in all coincided with the Biennale. The
Mangold, Ryman and Marden questions of power and culture. photographs are divided between
and their Dutch counterparts like This status quo is breaking down. feeding the pigeons in St Mark's
Berghuis, Van Koningsbruggen, Dutch belongs to the Germanic Square, eating icecreams by the
Smits and Rajlich. A show family of languages and French Jacques Charlier Lido and views of the art in the
Preparations for his Opening Party
around a special theme with — we to the romance family. The two at the Palais des Beaux Arts — pavilions of the Biennale. The
hope — a clear explanation as to linguistic traditions, and ways of Brusseles third aspect of his work, is also
the method of selection and thought of European culture are 42x 120 mm the most endearing, his cartoons.
rejection; what in effect are the confronted within a tiny country. His small exhibition at the Charlier managed to draw
resemblances between the These questions are further Palais was a room full of enough attention to himself with
chosen artists and what makes confused by religion. Belgium is photographs of the main art the cartoons that he managed to
them different from those not the Catholic stronghold in events in Belgium and surrounding by-pass the power of the galleries,
represented ? This will be a Northern Europe. The catholic countries in the past year. There and introduce himself to the art
difficult, but necessary attempt to tradition insulates Belgium were photographs of previous world. His caricatures gently
give the public an insight into our against the climate of rational openings at the Palais; the ridiculed art world myths. The
complex operation (15 April — protestantism which surrounds it, International Avant Garde and drawings were simply xeroxed
22 June). but the geographic location is a the subsequent party at the home and posted to the exclusive
At this very moment (30 thousand miles from the of Daled (see Studio International group. People were charmed by
January) Tom Phillips is Mediterranean heart of the October, 1974), the Broodthaers their notoriety and Charlier's
overlooking the last details of his religion. It is rather like a and Ryman openings, the Art career as an artist progressed.
retrospective in the twentieth-century version of the Fair at the Casino in Knokke, The Palais was also showing in
Gemeentemuseum of The Hague, confrontation between the the Sol LeWitt opening at the January another artist who
which opens tomorrow and will northern and southern Stedelijk in Amsterdam, the believes that the current avant
last until 27 April). The renaissance. opening of Projekt 74 in Cologne garde needs more humour.
retrospective gives a perfect The English language and and the Cologne and Düsseldorf Ger van Elk's exhibition had
insight into this many-sided culture is a stew of similar Kunstmarts. The photographs travelled to Brussels from the
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