forum research @ ts2 - exploring the transnational 9 Jun 2011 Program: 1:30 pm Introduction by Hendrik Folkerts and Margreeth Soeting 1:40 pm Lecture by Jelle Bouwhuis (curator, Stedelijk Museum Bureau Amsterdam) 2:10 pm Lecture by Kerstin Wenking (assistant curator, Stedelijk Museum Bureau Amsterdam) 2:40 pm Lecture by Anne Ruygt (trainee curator, Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam) 3:10 pm Questions and discussion 3:30 pm End Note: All indicated times are approximate. More information on lectures and speakers: 1. Considering the notion of “African Art” by Jelle Bouwhuis This lecture begins with a brief outline of the background of Project “1975,” recently started by Stedelijk Museum Bureau Amsterdam. This Project investigates contemporary art and curatorial practice in the post-colonial era. The very term “post-colonialism” indicates a politically charged directive, more than, for instance, transnationalism or multiculturalism. Bouwhuis will illustrate this with a brief discussion of the notion of “African art” as it is currently branded by well-known curators such as Okwui Enwezor and Simon Njami. This notion of an art addressing an entire continent illustrates certain Eurocentric anthropological roots, albeit updated and turned into a politically engaged perspective driven towards the emancipation of non-Western artists within the global contemporary art mainstream. Bouwhuis will also trace this with regard to a type of iconography that is related to the discursive field of African art: the boat installation. The fact that boat iconography in contemporary art is generally quite common might show the way to a more transnationally informed example for addressing contemporary art in the age of globalization. What would be possible ways for a museum of modern and contemporary art in Western Europe to introduce such examples in its hitherto modernist and usually Eurocentric collecting policy? Jelle Bouwhuis (b. 1965) is an art historian. After working in the field of museum communications, first at the Boymans Van Beuningen Museum, Rotterdam, and since 2000 at the Stedelijk Museum, he became curator and Head of Stedelijk Museum Bureau Amsterdam (SMBA), the project space of the Stedelijk Museum in the city centre. At SMBA he curated more than 30 solo and group exhibitions. He was curator of Monumentalism at the Stedelijk Museum as part of The Temporary Stedelijk, which ran from August 28, 2010 to January 9, 2011 (with catalogue). He is co-editor of the lecture series and accompanying collection of essays Now is the Time – Art and Theory in 21st Century (2008/2009), among other publications. In 2010 he was co-recipient of the Abraaj Capital Art Prize in Dubai, together with Hala Elkoussy. In addition, Bouwhuis has worked as a freelance curator and art publicist since 1994. 2. Contemporary art and the appropriation of transnational signs and signals by Kerstin Winking This lecture looks at the work of artists who appropriate corporate branding strategies and integrate them in their work. Contemporary art is often accused of propagating neoliberal ideologies: cities, businesses and countries are accused of using contemporary art as means to lubricate diplomatic efforts or to upgrade districts or parts of the city. Contemporary art is therefore vulnerable to playing the role of a political ally. This lecture does not deal with the fact that multinational corporations often use art to connect with wealthy and/or elite groups while giving the impression of being altruistic. Its focus is not on a practice of art that is explicitly critical of “the cultural logic of transnational capitalism,” but on art that shows that corporate branding has an influence on the way in which we perceive the world. Artists who make this sort of work are seen as indicators of developments that point forward to the future. The works they produce are distinguished by a combination of digital and analogue techniques and use a range of materials—from oil paints and plexiglass to computer software and printers. Works by Julie Mehretu, Pascale Marthine Tayou and Kerstin Brätsch are discussed, among others. Kerstin Winking is an assistant curator at the Stedelijk Museum Bureau Amsterdam (SMBA). She graduated in 2004 with a Bachelor of Fine Art degree from the Academy for Art and Industry in Enschede and then studied History of Art and Museum Studies at the University of Amsterdam, where she later did a research master’s degree in Cultural Analysis. Her research includes the relationship between globalisation and contemporary visual art, postcolonial theory and the history and theory of exhibitions. Together with Jelle Bouwhuis, Winking initiated Project “1975,” a program of exhibitions, lectures and other events that explores the relationship between contemporary art practice and colonialism. She is the curator of In-between Things and Ahmet Ögut – Informal Incidents (both 2010), as well as Identity Bluffs (2011). Currently Winking is preparing solo exhibitions with Vincent Vulsma and Tala Madani for the SMBA. 3. Photographic works of Lothar Baumgarten in the Stedelijk Museum collection by Anne Ruygt In 1985 the Stedelijk Museum organized a solo exhibition of German conceptual artist Lothar Baumgarten and made a purchase of screen prints and photographs. Although they have not been exhibited since that time, they are presented as part of Temporary Stedelijk 2 as a result of recent research into Baumgarten’s work in the museum’s collection. During the past year, a new inventory was drawn up of the works in the collection, looking at the significance and relevance of these works and investigating how the museum could exhibit them once again. The results of this research will be explained in this presentation. One thread that runs through all of Baumgarten’s work is his involvement in the culture, nature and history of Latin America, in particular the Yanomami Indians. Baumgarten is interested in the influence of colonialism and anthropology on the imagery and language development of these indigenous tribes, and his views are related to the postcolonial critique of the 1980s. Anne Ruygt is doing a master’s degree as a museum curator at Free University, Amsterdam, and was a trainee curator at the Stedelijk Museum. During her internship in the photography collection, she was supervised by the curator Hripsimé Visser and has worked for the past year on research and preparation for the exhibition of work by Lothar Baumgarten. Ruygt is currently writing her dissertation on Baumgarten for her master’s degree. She also worked on the presentation of On Kawara’s artwork One Million Years and the exhibition Monumentalism for the Stedelijk Museum, along with various research projects on modern and contemporary photography and visual art.

• Trefwoorden
  Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam [Activiteiten/Lezingen/Muziekuitvoeringen], beeld- en/of geluidsdrager, post-kolonialisme
• Persoonstrefwoord
  Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, Lothar Baumgarten, Stedelijk Museum Bureau Amsterdam