During the last four years I have been researching the life of Grete Trakl (1891-1917), sister of the well-known Austrian 'expressionist' poet Georg Trakl (1887-1914). Although Georg has been a research topic ever since he died, the biography of his favorite sister Grete, with whom he is said to have had an incestuous relationship, has been remarkably sketchy. Until now.
My book is planned for late October 2014, to celebrate the centennial of Georg's death on November 3, 1914. I plan to issue at least one interactive version of the book on a digital publishing platform that I am building at this moment, with music and with film footage I made on my travels to hotspots in Grete’s life.
Dr. Marty Bax, art historian, international expert on the work of Piet Mondrian, and on Modern Art & Western Esotericism; Expert provenance researcher on the Einsatzstab Reichsleiter Rosenberg (ERR) in the Netherlands for the Claims Conference-World Jewish Restitution Organization Looted Art and Cultural Property Initiative
• Bax Book Store - ebooks on art and culture
13 July 2013
17 May 2013
Happy days with pianist Andrej Hoteev
Last week the St. Petersburg concert pianist Andrej Hoteev flew in from Hamburg, his current residence, to be interviewed and filmed about his friendship with Ben Joppe (1915-2007), artist and private secretary of the orchestra conductor Bernard Haitink, and about all the historical events leading to this friendship. It was a truly inspirational meeting, in romantic surroundings, with an excellent team of professionals: artist Guido Pera, Ben's last close friend; Jeroen Hommels, restorer and dealer of Steinway pianos; Robert van Voren,
expert in Russian mental healthcare and professor in Sovietology and Oral History in Kaunas (Lithuania) and Tbilisi (Georgia); and Vincent Nijman and Fuji Rademaker, a swell camera team. We also made a history tour to Ben Joppe's house, still intact in Zeeland, where Andrej could see the painting he first saw during his visit to Ben's apartment in the 1990's, above the Steendrukkerij Amsterdam. Which is where I met Ben, during my job as the gallery assistant. History can move in strange circles.
07 March 2013
'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.
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.
07 December 2012
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.
06 October 2012
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.
19 July 2012
The suffragette and the Dodge heiress at The Art Archives
Muriel and Gilbert on their honeymoon, 1891. |
04 April 2012
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.
26 March 2012
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
|
|
|
|
|
05 March 2012
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
03 March 2012
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.
Today the story of the Lithuanian Count Maurycy Prozor.
11 January 2012
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
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
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
|
22 December 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
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.
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.
12 December 2011
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
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.
18 November 2011
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).
26 July 2011
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.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)