News — Aug 27, 2014

Amsterdam, August 19, 2014 — The Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam will open the cultural season with On the Move, an exhibition that explores new developments in photography. It is the latest edition of the Proposals for Municipal Acquisitions organized by the Stedelijk bi-annually with the financial support of the Municipality of Amsterdam.

Press preview

You are cordially invited to the press preview on Thursday 28 August, 2014. The artists will be present. Program:

  •  18.20 hrs.: enter through the Main Entrance
  • 18.30 hrs.: speakers’ program: Introduction by exhibition curators Carolien Glazenburg and Anne Ruygt
  • 18.45 hrs.: exhibition preview
  • 20.00 hrs.: festive exhibition opening with Alderman Kajsa Ollongren.

 RSVP via pressoffice@stedelijk.nl

About the exhibition

On the Move reveals the many ways in which artists and photographers work today, also in collaboration with graphic designers. The title On the Move refers both to new developments in photography and to the photographers who are literally on the move, travelling through the Netherlands and abroad for their work. 28 projects were selected for the exhibition, created by both young and more established artists and designers.

Notable projects

Persijn Broersen (Delft, NL, 1974) en Margit Lukács (Amsterdam, NL, 1973) created an installation especially for the museum escalator, based on Sci-Fi movies. In a sequence of stills of futuristic cities and buildings, they explore the history of this film genre.

Johannes Schwartz (München, GE, 1970) visited a Moscow zoo to discover what a wild animal is fed on to keep it ‘wild’ and if the animal retained its predatory instincts in such a cultivated environment. The result is an extraordinary series of photos. In his work he also experimented with graphic printing techniques. Schwarz has been working closely with design bureau Experimental Jetset since 2003.

In the video installation Das Fenster

Gábor Õsz (Dunaújváros, HU, 1962) shows us a wonderful view. Nothing in this idyllic scene betrays the layered constellation of historic events, films history and photography that the artist presents with this work. It was inspired by a photo of the remains of Adolf Hitler’s villa in southern Germany. Õsz became fascinated by the 4 x 8 meter window that offered a panoramic view of the Unterberg. Hitler’s window on the world had precisely the same proportions as a cinema screen. Later, it turned out that the proportions of the frame also correspond with the image-ratio of analogue film – of which Hitler was an avid fan. 

The work #IDIDNTJOIN by Thomas Kuijpers (Helmond, NL, 1985), engages in an anonymous Twitter campaign by US soldiers in 2013 about their government’s position in the Syrian civil war. The protest was prompted by US support for the Syrian rebels after Assad’s alleged chemical attack on the Syrian people. Shortly after, the photos proved to have been uploaded by the Syrian Electronic Army, a pro-Assad hackers group, to critique Obama’s decision to back the rebels who also receive support from the Al Qaida terrorist network. Yet a week later, the first US soldier admitted to having uploaded a picture. Kuijpers also added anonymous photos to the campaign. His installation invites the viewer to choose: what is real and what is fake?

Please click here to find the previous press release about the exhibition with more information.

Videos have been made about all the artists. They are viewable from 29 August on www.stedelijk.nl/onthemove

Selected for inclusion in the exhibition: 

Samira Ben Laloua, Ernst van der Hoeven and Frank Bruggeman │Marc Roig Blesa and Rogier Delfos │Verena Blok │ Sara Blokland │Olivier van Breugel and Simone Mudde │Persijn Broersen and Margit Lukács │Sarah Carlier │ Elspeth Diederix │ Meike Eggers and Michael Anhalt │ Ringel Goslinga │ Rob Hornstra and Arnold van Bruggen │ Robert Knoth and Antoinette de Jong │ Thomas Kuijpers │ Kadir van Lohuizen │ Anaïs Lopez, Eva Smallegange and Linda Braber | Hans van der Meer │ Theo Niekus │ Gábor Õsz │ Rune Peitersen │ Ahmet Polat │ Johannes Schwartz │ Petra Stavast │ Anoek Steketee and Eefje Blankevoort │ Martine Stig │ Nadine Stijns │ Andrea Stultiens │ Elisabeth Tonnard │ Witho Worms and Hans Gremmen

On the Move is compiled by Carolien Glazenburg, Anne Ruygt and Hripsimé Visser.

During the exhibition, Beatrix Ruf, director of the Stedelijk Museum, will purchase a number of works for the Stedelijk collection.

Publication

The exhibition is accompanied by a cahier with an introduction by Anne Ruygt and an essay by Taco Hidde Bakker, writer and photography critic. The publication will be widely distributed among Dutch art schools and other institutions. It is on sale for € 2 in the museum. The exhibition and publication were designed by Kummer & Herrman.

Public Program

Gallery talks will be held during On the Move when the curators and members of the jury will give a personal guided tour of the presentation. These guided tours take place on six Fridays. For more information please see www.stedelijk.nl/onthemove

Note for editors: 
The press preview will be held on Thursday August 28 at 18.30 hrs. in the presence of the artists. The curators will give a short introduction to the exhibition. Please register for the preview by emailing us at: pressoffice@stedelijk.nl.

Opening

The exhibition opening on 28 August immediately follows the press preview. The festive ceremony features a short opening speech by the new alderman for culture, Kajsa Ollongren, and Karin van Gilst, managing director of the Stedelijk. The press is cordially invited to attend.

For more information and visual material, please contact Annematt Ruseler, Stedelijk Museum Press Office on: 020 – 573 2660 or at: pressoffice@stedelijk.nl.