'Character is destiny' - Piet Mondrian and his horoscope

Recently the Netherlands Institute for Art History acquired the Harry Holtzman Estate on Piet Mondrian. Among the very few documents Mondrian preserved until his death is an interesting one: the horoscope Mondrian had drawn for him late 1911-early 1912.

Already in 1993-1994, as I was working on the exhibition Piet Mondrian 1892-1914. The Amsterdam Years in the Amsterdam City Archives – now housed in the building designed by Mondrian’s co-theosophist Karel de Bazel – I had several talks with my colleague Robert Welsh about the horoscope. I wondered which insights Mondrian had drawn from it, concerning his personality and his career. Judging from the vast network I uncovered during my investigations, it had become clear that Mondrian was not the stiff, introverted man he has always been judged to be. A better characterization would be: a solitary person among his fellow people, someone who weaved in and out of social circles in a receptive and playful, but at the same time reserved, independent and reflexive way. ‘Piet, now you see him, now you don’t’, was the jokey description of him at gallery openings in Paris.

Yesterday, on 7 March 2013, the birthday of Mondrian, the website www.mondriaan.nl was launched. Posthumously Mondrian received an impressive and modern birthday present. In another way Mondrian himself celebrated his birthday on 7 March 1908 by treating himself to the lecture Rudolf Steiner gave in Amsterdam. He kept the Dutch transcription of Steiner’s lectures all his life, together with his horoscope. Apparently they meant much to him.

Edwin Lutyens, Charles Bressey and my mother

In one of my previous blogs I mentioned the suffragist Lady Emily Lutyens. Emily was née Bulwer Lytton, daughter of the Viceroy of India Robert, and wife of one of the most prominent architects of her time, Edwin Lutyens. Edwin became famous as a country-house architect, but even more so as the architect of New Delhi, a job which he got through his father-in-law of course. Emily became a member of the Theosophical Society in 1910. As an upper-class lady she became a pillar in the financial and social support of the Society. 

Theosophical connections or influence do not interest me much this time, however. I am more interested in the architect Edwin himself and his connections. Because these eventually, in a wide arch and only indirectly, come back to my own family. More precisely: my mother. It is too amusing a story not to tell, with an unusual twist, interesting historical dimensions and even a connection with art! It also serves to tell how someone can strike a deep note within someone else, without ever hearing how effective the strike had been.

A theosophical chemist and a touchy art collector. Hermann Hille vs. Albert C. Barnes

This story begins with the German organic chemist Hermann Hille. Hermann was born on June 7, 1871 in Mölln, Northern Germany, the city where the famous prankster Till Eulenspiegel presumably died in 1350. The young Hermann studied in Würzburg and received his PhD in 1900 in Heidelberg for his mere 42-page study Ueber das primäre und sekundäre symmetrische Hydrazid der Propionsäure und Valeriansäure. The title sounds as if the 29-year old Hermann was a bright young guy in his field. That is why he was soon recruited by a young American chemist, Albert Coombs Barnes, who lured him into an adventure in the USA. It was to be a great adventure.

The suffragette and the Dodge heiress at The Art Archives

Muriel and Gilbert on their honeymoon, 1891.

Countess Muriel De La Warr, nee Brassey (1872-1930), became a member of The Theosophical Society as a convinced and active suffragette. She did not pride herself on her progressive work and her financing of the movement, according to a close friend, the Christian Socialist George Lansbury. Lansbury was one of the founders of the Daily Herald and a fervent supporter of women’s rights. His campaigns were largely funded by Muriel. George had been a railway contractor before his political career, just as Muriel’s grandfather had been, Thomas Brassey (1805-1870). He laid the railways throughout the whole of the British Empire. And had as a result become unfathomably rich. But this was not enough for Muriel. She wanted to have the title of a countess. Therefore Muriel married Gilbert Sackville, 8th Earl De La Warr (pronounced as: Delaware) in 1891. Gilbert belonged to the oldest of English upper-class families. However, his family’s fortunes had dwindled, and he needed money. Muriel had enough of the stuff.

The Victory Boogie Woogie - a corpse dissected

Last week I received a review copy from the Amsterdam University Press: a new book on Piet Mondrian, Inside Out Victory Boogie Woogie, edited by Maarten van Bommel, Hans Janssen and Ron Spronk. Mondrian started on the painting Victory Boogie Woogie in 1942, but it stayed unfinished because of his death in February 1944. The painting was bought in 1998 from the collector Samuel Irving Newhouse at a whopping price of 82 million Guilders (approx. 37 million Euro’s) through a gift of the Dutch National Bank to commemorate the introduction of the Euro in the Netherlands. The acquisition caused a public outrage, and even the House of Representatives raised questions about the way it was acquired. But now the painting is on victorious display in the Gemeentemuseum of the Hague, and is by now a prominent attraction of the museum.

ORF Sendung 'Schwarze Löcher der Wissenschaftskultur - die magische und technische Evidenz der Medien'

Hören Sie die Ö1 Sendung "Dimensionen – die Welt der Wissenschaft" zum Thema "Schwarze Löcher der Wissenschaftskultur. Die magische und technische Evidenz von Medien" von Gudrun Braunsperger vom Dienstag, 14. Februar 2012 um 19.05 Uhr in oe1.ORF.at. Die Sendung ist hier im Audiostream abhörbar bis dem 22. Juni 2012.

Ich danke Dr. Gudrun Braunsperger and Dr. Franz Tomandl, Chef-Redaktor of 'Dimensionen - die Welt der Wissenschaft' herzlich für diese spezielle Genehmigung!

In December 2010 the Internationales Forschungszentrum Kulturwissenschaften (IFK) in Vienna hosted a conference 'Touché. Die magische und technische Evidenz der Medien', to which Bax Art contributed. Reporter Dr. Gudrun Braunsperger of the Austrian ORF produced the radio program 'Schwarze Löcher der Wissenschaftskultur' in the section 'Dimensionen - die Welt der Wissenschaft'. It was broadcasted on February 14, at 19.05 hrs at oe1.ORF.at. The audiostream is freely accessible here until June 22, 2012. 

Many thanks to Dr. Gudrun Braunsperger and Dr. Franz Tomandl, Editor-in-chief of 'Dimensionen - die Welt der Wissenschaft' for this special permission!

News and recent activities - Newsletter March 2012

In December 2011 the IFK in Vienna hosted a conference 'Touché. Die magische und technische Evidenz der Medien', to which Bax Art contributed. Gudrun Braunsperger of the Austrian ORF produced the radio program 'Schwarze Löcher der Wissenschaftskultur' in the section 'Dimensionen - die Welt der Wissenschaft'. It was broadcasted on February 14, at 19.05 hrs at oe1.ORF.at. Bax Art received special permission from ORF to give you free access to the audiostream until June 22.

The opening of the Ben Joppe exhibition, performed by the designer Wim Crouwel, was a great success. A few hundred fans attended the opening with performances by the Amsterdam Chamber Theatre and Rusalki Quartet and with superb sushi from Yatta Sushi. Full report is given on the Ben Joppe Facebook page.

The intelligent, beautiful and utterly professional social media expert Jennifer Delano brought Ben Joppe back to life through Facebook and Twitter. Discover how she crept into the skin of Ben Joppe and created a host of fans!

Jan Stap published a book on 'Mondrian the man'. Not his art, but his character and social life is the main focus, with totally new information on Mondrian's youth in Winterswijk. Jan Stap donated his documentation and images exclusively to TheArtArchives for study by others. Many thanks! The files will be uploaded soon.

TheArtArchives recently posted a new portion of the membership list of the Theosophical Society. Now the period 1875-1915 is available, covering nearly 58.000 members. A valuable source for genealogy, art history and social history!

Membership list Theosophical Society online at TheArtArchives

On January 1, 1915 the Theosophical Society registered its 57.762th member at the headquarters in Adyar, India.The popularity of the society had increased immensely. More people joined the society in this decade compared to the 30-year period 1875-1905.

Many new countries are now represented, e.g. Hungary, Finland, Cuba, Egypt, Tasmania, Mauritius, Russia, South-Africa, Greece, Turkey. And the first Japanese member registered.

All 57.761 members can now be studied at TheArtArchives! 

The list shows a colorful bunch of people: Karl Wolfskehl, Piet Mondrian, Yiddu Krishnamurti, Christian Morgenstern, Fritz von Herzmanovsky, Ada Fuller, Emily Lutyens, Ely Star, Ananda Coomaraswamy, Marie Langen-von Strachwitz, Countess Maria Radziwill, Baroness Maya Knoop, Henri Soubeyran de Saint-Prix and Prince Mohamed Riza Khan.

Behind every name is a story, sometimes with a surprising twist. Today the story of the Lithuanian Count Maurycy Prozor

The story of Count Prozor

On January 1, 1915 the Theosophical Society registered its 57.762th member at the headquarters in Adyar, India.The popularity of the society had increased immensely. More people joined the society in this decade, compared to the 30-year period 1875-1905.

All 57.761 members can now be studied at TheArtArchives!

The list shows a colorful bunch op people: Karl Wolfskehl, Piet Mondrian, Yiddu Krishnamurti, Christian Morgenstern, Fritz von Herzmanovsky, Ada Fuller, Emily Lutyens, Ely Star, Ananda Coomaraswamy, Marie Langen-von Strachwitz, Countess Maria Radziwill, Henri Soubeyran de Saint-Prix and Prince Mohamed Riza Khan.

Behind every name is a story, sometimes with a surprising twist.
Today the story of the Lithuanian Count Maurycy Prozor.

Two Ben Joppe exhibitions in Amsterdam

Welcome on Saturday 14 January 2012 at the festive opening of two Ben Joppe exhibitions: 14-16 hrs: ARTTRA,Tweede Boomdwarsstraat 4, 1015 LK Amsterdam  Location  Exhibition info    16-18 hrs: Lauriergracht 80, 1016 RM Amsterdam Opening by Wim Crouwel ex-colleague of Ben Joppe at the World Exhibition Osaka '70 Performance by Amsterdam Chamber Theatre  Location  Exhibition info   The sale of Ben Joppe’s works contributes solely to the aim of the Ben Joppe Foundation: to support artistic talent in symphonic music and other arts.

Ben Joppe 1970 Wim Crouwel 2011

Der aufgeklärte Künstler

Konferenz: Touché! Die magische und technische Evidenz der Medien

Veranstalter: IFK Internationales Forschungszentrum Kulturwissenschaften an der Kunstuniversität Linz, in Kooperation mit dem DFG-Forschungsprojekt der Universität Siegen.

Datum, Ort: 15.12.2011-16.12.2011, Wien, Reichsratsstraße 17, 1010 Wien.

Programm: http://hsozkult.geschichte.hu-berlin.de/termine/id=17901
ORF Radio Programm:  http://oe1.orf.at/programm/295462

 Vor zwei Jahren hat die holländische ‚pagan’ Musikgruppe Omnia das CD Wolf love veröffentlicht. Dieses CD trägt ein Motto des bekannten englischen Comicsautors Alan Moore, eine Rasputin ähnliche Erscheinung:

Art is like Magick … It’s the science of manipulating symbols, sounds or images to achieve changes in consciousness. It is not the job of the Artist to give the audience what they want. It’s the job of the Artist to give the audience what they need. If the audience knew what they needed, then they wouldn’t be the audience, they would be the Artist.

VBCN-lid spendeert nog geen 25 euro per jaar aan innovatieve curator

Deze tekst werd ook gepubliceerd op de blog van het Register Freelance en Zelfstandige Kunsthistorici.

Over de VBCN heb ik een aantal jaren geleden een artikel in Het Financieele Dagblad geschreven. De bedrijfscollecties gingen zich aansluiten en wilden een positie in de internationale expositiemarkt innemen die vergelijkbaar is met het museum. Ik was heel benieuwd of deze sector zich anders in de kunstwereld zou positioneren. Dat blijkt nu van niet. Helaas, moet ik er wel bij zeggen. Want een begeerde reputatie levert kennelijk ook de overname van museale praktijken op. En die zijn niet gunstig voor de zelfstandig werkende curator.

Sashiburi in Amsterdam

Sashiburi ('long time no see') Ben Joppe in Steendrukkerij Amsterdam 

14 January - 18 February 2012 

Lauriergracht 80,1060 RM Amsterdam
Contributions: Wim Crouwel, Amsterdam Chamber Theatre

  

Ben Joppe (1915-2007) lived at Lauriergracht 80, Amsterdam, the address of the Steendrukkerij Amsterdam Gallery, from 1983-1993. In January 2012 he returns as an artist. The Ben Joppe Foundation, founded by the artist shortly before his death in 2007, sells Ben's expressive paintings and works on paper to support its aims: to stimulate talent in symphonic music and other forms of art.

    

The exhibition follows two biographical and artistic strands.

Art & Western Esotericism: from rejected knowledge to blockbuster

From 1996 onwards, Dutch art historians Marty Bax, Andréa Kroon and Audrey Wagtberg Hansen have realized various projects aimed at drawing attention to the relationship between ‘art & western esotericism’. Because our goals have largely been realized, we feel the time has come to focus on other lacunas in our knowledge of art history. This column therefore marks the end of our joint ‘lobby’ for this fascinating subject. 

Art and religion are closely related. Like the main world religions, lesser known religious currents have also provided artists with inspiration. Freemasonry, spiritualism, theosophy and anthroposophy for instance, were relevant to the development of modern art. Within the academic Study of Religions, these organisations are seen as part of western esotericism: an umbrella term for a group of related currents, which date back to the gnosis of Antiquity, the hermetic philosophy of the Renaissance and the ‘occult’ sciences (alchemy, magic, astrology).

The birth of Theo van Doesburg's alias

Have you ever wondered why someone takes on an alias? I can think of a myriad of reasons. There is one thing in common: all of these reasons are tied to the person who takes on this alias: his person, his personal life and his life within a community, and also aspects like tradition and ‘fashion’. The basic questions here are: ‘why’ and ‘why this specific alias’? Because the choice of an alias is always the choice of the person involved. 

Let’s turn to the alias which Christian Emil Marie (Emil) Küpper (1883-1931) chose as an artist: Theo van Doesburg. He was one of the chief promoters of De Stijl and Dada. Van Doesburg also used other aliases in his life: I.K. Bonset and Aldo Camini. Until I researched his youth (in 1999-2000), no art historian had really questioned the personal reasons behind Emil Küpper’s choice of the alias ‘Theo van Doesburg’. His genealogy provided the only plausible answer. Moreover: family circumstances also gave rise to new hypotheses about, and possible answers to, why Emil Küpper had such explosive relationships with his fellow-artists.