Coffee anyone?

Jan Schoonhoven – Elanden Jazz Prize – 1972

Jan Schoonhoven is regarded as one of the most important Dutch artists of the late twentieth century. His body of work is considered minimalist and consists mainly of white geometric wall reliefs made from cardboard.

Jan’s wife Anita Schoonhoven was heavily involved in the jazz scene of their hometown of Delft. Because of the Schoonhoven’s donations many renowned jazz artists performed in the small Dutch city. In 1972 the couple sponsored a Jazz award called the ‘Elanden Jazz Prize”. The award itself was an artwork by Schoonhoven: a wall relief, at that time already worth thousands of dollars. The winner was Han Reiziger, a jazz minded radio presenter for broadcasting organization VPRO.

Reiziger: “The award was meant for me, but I was too nice and I felt the work should be hung on a wall of the VPRO building.” Soon after the ceremony Reiziger moved to the United Stateds for half a year. “When I came back, it was nowhere to be found.”

In an interview in 2011 another VPRO employee remembers the relief was very suitable for serving plastic cups of coffee. “They fitted perfectly. Soon it was full of coffee stains.” What happened after that? “No idea, probably thrown away…”

May 23, 2017 0

Cleaning Kippenberger

Martin Kippenberger – ‘Wenn’s anfängt durch die Decke zu tropfen’

In 2010 a cleaning woman in museum Ostwall in Dortmund ruined an valuable artwork by German artist Martin Kippenberger by… cleaning it.

The installation was called ‘Wenn’s anfängt durch die Decke zu tropfen’ which translates to ‘When it starts to drip through the ceiling’.

Kippenberger had created a tower of wooden slats under which a rubber trough was placed with a thin beige layer of paint representing dried rain water. Taking it for an actual stain, the cleaner scrubbed the surface of the trough clean.

A spokeswoman for the museum said that cleaning crews had orders to remain 20 centimetres (eight inches) away from artworks but it was unclear if the woman had received the directive from the external company that employed her.

“It is now impossible to return it to it’s original state,” she added

The work had been on loan to the museum from a private collector and was valued by insurers at €800,000.

May 14, 2017 0

Make that bed!

Tracey Emin – My Bed (1998)

As one of the shortlisted works for the Turner Prize ‘My Bed’ by British artist Tracy Emin was exhibited at the Tate Gallery in 1999.

The artwork generated considerable media furore, particularly over the fact that the bed was surrounded by condoms, soiled knickers and bottles of vodka and the bedsheets were stained with bodily secretions.

The bed was presented in the state that Emin claimed it had been after languishing in it for several days; at the time she was suffering suicidal depression brought on by relationship difficulties.

More media attention came when a South Wales housewife attempted to clean up the artist’s bed. Chris De Ville from Swansea said she felt “outraged” after hearing of the unmade bed on show. Security guards moved quickly to prevent the mother of three from damaging the work. Mrs De Ville, who drove 200 miles to London to make her statement, said she was used to tackling the bedrooms of her children.

“I thought I would clean up this woman’s life a bit,” she told the BBC. “After I heard about it, I drove straight to London with a 500ml bottle of Vanish. “I had a go, but unfortunately I could not get to wash the sheets, just a pre-wash.”

Mrs De Ville said she may have done the artist a favour. “In her video, she was bleating on about a lack of a love life.” “She will never get a boyfriend unless she tidies herself up,” claimed Mrs De Ville.

‘My Bed’ didn’t win the Turner Prize

May 14, 2017 0