![Spatiovore [II], 1959](/sites/default/files/styles/event/public/2021-11/1959%20Spatiovore%20II-3.JPG?h=19f14c2c&itok=1e3cRENS)
Let's Talk Money
Exhibition in the Rabobank exhibition space at the Depot of Boijmans van Beuningen in Rotterdam. The exhibition centres around the project The Waterworks of Money, by Rabobank Artist in Residence Carlijn Kingma. The project, which was created in collaboration with investigative journalist Thomas Bollen, and researcher Martijn Jeroen van der Linden, delves into the workings of the money system by representing money as water and thereby our financial system as an irrigation system, watering the economy. Their research spanned over two years and the project was awarded a Dutch Design Award and the Amsterdam Prize for Art. Alongside Kingma’s work, several pieces from the Rabobank collection will be showcased, including Spatiovore [III] by Constant.
OltreCittà: Utopia and Reality From Le Corbusier to Gerhard Richter
The exhibition at Villa Bardini explores the macro-theme of the city amid visions both utopian and dystopian.
This intensely experiential journey narrates urban dreams, utopian cities, metropolises and urban landscapes imagined by artists of the 20th and 21st centuries in multiple art forms ranging from painting and sculpture to architecture, photography, video and contemporary music. Curated by Lucia Fiaschi, Bruno Corà, Silvia Mantovani and Claudia Bucelli.
Constant’s Grundriss New Babylon über Slotermeer (1958) is featured in the exhibition.
The exhibition is sponsored by the Fondazione CR Firenze and Generali Valore Cultura, in conjunction with the Fondazione Parchi Monumentali Bardini e Peyron.
Constant's New Babylon
A podcast by sound Justin Bennet exploring how Constant used sound in his New Babylon project. In 2020 Justin digitalised several sound tapes from the sixties from Constant’s archive. He has since developed several projects exploring and researching sound in New Babylon. In this podcast Justin analyses the recordings and how Constant used them in his work.
Spectrum Accessoires Collection
The Spectrum Accessories Collection is available now! The new collection by Spectrum Design is a reissue of four classic, timeless designs from world-renowned designers Constant Nieuwenhuys, Benno Premsela and Friso Kramer in a fresh colour scheme, with art direction by Studio RENS. The collection highlights the solid value of leading design and celebrates the essence of functionality, ingenuity and attention to detail. An ode to the object.
Past calendar items
HARTSUYKER
Bureau Europa has invited curator Malkit Shoshan (Harvard University) to make a small exhibition about Luzia Hartsuyker. Hartsuyker’s unrealized project Biopolis envisioned a satellite city off the coast of The Hague in the 1960s.
Hartsuyker – visions on alternative housing
Following the example of the publication Mrs. de Architect and collaboration with editor-in-chief Merel Pit, Bureau Europa organises a lecture series within the framework of the exhibition Love in a mist — the architecture of fertility.
Curator at Het Nieuwe Instituut Eline de Graaf talks about the oeuvre of Luzia Hartsuyker-Curjel and her husband Enrico, who caused a furore in the architectural world during the Dutch reconstruction period with their radical designs. A delegation of the youngest generation of architects, Luca Simons (Artesk) and Omayra Mingels (SATIJNplus), will sit down to talk about their own inspirations and ambitions. This lecture is linked to the side exhibition Hartsuyker – visions on alternative housing, which can be seen at Bureau Europa from 12 June to 15 August.
The lecture will be filmed and later shared online on our channels. The lecture is on June 30, at 5.30 pm, but for a limited audience only — therefore reservation of a ticket is mandatory.
Enter New Babylon
A virtual reality that takes you to that elusive world of New Babylon, where daily work has been replaced by play and life resides in poetry. It is the home of the Homo Ludens created by Dutch painter Constant Nieuwenhuys (1920–2005) in the sixties. Young, activist spoken word artists and designers bring it to live in an interactive installation for Over het IJ Festival. Is it all that Constant dreamed of or has it turned into a nightmare?
Enter New Babylon is a co-production of Fondation Constant, Over het IJ Festival, Hogeschool voor de Kunsten Utrecht, Poetry Circle Nowhere and Feikes Huis.
Use the discount code ConstantOHIJ to buy your ticket for 12€!
Nicola Arthen – An Intricate Well
Less than 70 kilometres from the exhibition space is a landscape in which there sit a few very particularly shaped building blocks of red sandstone that arrived there a hundred years ago. They have entered the space in the language of modern logistics – the kind of containers you would expect most of the products that travel this world currently are housed in. It’s a language so familiar and basic, it’s almost dull: The surface of brown, recycled material, the wavy layers of paper sandwiched in between, curvy edges, dented corners, coloured straps, labels written for devices or a professional knowledge. It is its ubiquity which makes it a language. We know what to expect and what diverts from expectation – the building blocks require an odd grammar.
Nicola Arthen is an artist based in Amsterdam and London. His practice is an investigation into the mutual relations between objects’ and humans’ capacities, a negotiation between site and experience. By isolating artefacts from their peripheral state and turning them into protagonists, he is invested in their stories, struggles and unique qualities, as well as the poetics and politics of labour to reproduce these. He focuses on unexpected encounters in systems of standardisation – the trace of an individual’s hand or personal considerations in a serial product: a makeshift, cobbled up water meter, a smooth assembly line choreography to cope with the machines’ rhythms, a hesitation in a computer-generated voice. His work takes the form of installations and time-based mediums, often contributing to a moderated spatial environment.
Bicycle Tour to De Poort van Constant I
The Gate of Constant is a striking work of art, monument and plastic sign in one that stands at the entrance of the Ookmeer sports park on Troelstralaan near Herman Bonpad in the Geuzenveld district in Amsterdam Nieuw-West. It seems to be a cross between a building and visual art. Due to the added benches, it is also used, for example, to sit on. The artwork appeared in 1963 at the entrance as a ‘gateway’ to the western part of the sports park and was designed by and named after Constant Nieuwenhuys.
The artwork consists of thirteen meters high concrete bent pillars of different lengths and at different angles. That’s impressive above ground. However, most of the artwork is underground and cannot be seen. It has a pile foundation of 28 piles, each thirteen meters long, on which a 20 cm thick set floor has been placed. All in all, an interesting work to explore further.
On the way to the Poort van Constant, the cycling tour takes you past several other gateways to the Western Garden Cities, such as the Conny Rietschoten Bridge, and architectural highlights in New West, such as the Oeverzicht catering building (the former East Bank) designed by Dick Slebos and the Hogguerflats van Piet Zanstra. We also pass various wall artworks along the way, such as Phoenix by artist Raymond Both on one of the Hogguerflats.
Distance: about 5 km
Duration: approximately 1.5 hours
Tip: have a drink at Hotel Buiten, Th.J. Lammerslaan 3, 1064 DH Amsterdam
Date: Sunday 11 July 2021 and Sunday 22 August 2021
Departure time: 1.30 pm
Start location: Noordzijde 31, 1064 GV Amsterdam
Costs: € 12.50 (full rate) | €8.50 (discount rate) | free (children up to 12 years)
Discounted rate: CJP, student card, Museum card, Stadspas Amsterdam, Van Eesteren Paviljoen day ticket and Van Eesteren Paviljoen annual ticket.
Language: Dutch
Bicycle: you need your own bicycle for the bicycle tour.
Please note: the bike tour will in principle take place in all weather conditions. Make sure you are sufficiently prepared for the weather conditions of that day.
Accessibility: the bike tour is located in the public space in Amsterdam Nieuw-West and is accessible to anyone who can cycle. Read more about the accessibility of the outdoor museum on the Accessibility page.
Webinar CoBrA and Chaissac
Gaston Chaissac and the CoBrA artists admire each other. In this webinar, Monique Varma discusses their special soul mate.
In 1961, Gaston Chaissac (1910-1964) exhibits in a renowned Parisian gallery. The artist is truly embraced by everyone. The CoBrA painters (who then no longer form a permanent group) are the most enthusiastic and fight over the works. The exhibition is sold out in no time. Unfortunately, for health reasons, Chaissac cannot attend the opening and will never meet his admirers in person. The fact that they have been inspiring each other for years is shown for the first time by Kunstmuseum Den Haag in the exhibition “CoBrA and Chaissac – Zielsverwanten”.
Far away from the cultural metropolis of Paris, artist Gaston Chaissac leads a secluded life as a self-taught artist. Yet his expressive drawings, paintings and sculptures, provided with bright colors and black contours, are noticed. Although he never joins an art movement, the affiliation with CoBrA is obvious. It starts with the post-war zeitgeist in which the artists break with traditions and look for modern art that is for everyone; an art in which spontaneity, authenticity and honesty are paramount. The shared interest in naive art and folk art, as well as the use of motifs such as the snake and totem figure, makes them true soul mates.
Take advantage of an Early Bird rate (€ 5.00) if you order your tickets up to two days in advance! After that, the regular rate (€7.50) applies.
Bicycle Tour to De Poort van Constant II
The Gate of Constant is a striking work of art, monument and plastic sign in one that stands at the entrance of the Ookmeer sports park on Troelstralaan near Herman Bonpad in the Geuzenveld district in Amsterdam Nieuw-West. It seems to be a cross between a building and visual art. Due to the added benches, it is also used, for example, to sit on. The artwork appeared in 1963 at the entrance as a ‘gateway’ to the western part of the sports park and was designed by and named after Constant Nieuwenhuys.
The artwork consists of thirteen meters high concrete bent pillars of different lengths and at different angles. That’s impressive above ground. However, most of the artwork is underground and cannot be seen. It has a pile foundation of 28 piles, each thirteen meters long, on which a 20 cm thick set floor has been placed. All in all, an interesting work to explore further.
On the way to the Poort van Constant, the cycling tour takes you past several other gateways to the Western Garden Cities, such as the Conny Rietschoten Bridge, and architectural highlights in New West, such as the Oeverzicht catering building (the former East Bank) designed by Dick Slebos and the Hogguerflats van Piet Zanstra. We also pass various wall artworks along the way, such as Phoenix by artist Raymond Both on one of the Hogguerflats.
Distance: about 5 km
Duration: approximately 1.5 hours
Tip: have a drink at Hotel Buiten, Th.J. Lammerslaan 3, 1064 DH Amsterdam
Date: Sunday 11 July 2021 and Sunday 22 August 2021
Departure time: 1.30 pm
Start location: Noordzijde 31, 1064 GV Amsterdam
Costs: € 12.50 (full rate) | €8.50 (discount rate) | free (children up to 12 years)
Discounted rate: CJP, student card, Museum card, Stadspas Amsterdam, Van Eesteren Paviljoen day ticket and Van Eesteren Paviljoen annual ticket.
Language: Dutch
Bicycle: you need your own bicycle for the bicycle tour.
Please note: the bike tour will in principle take place in all weather conditions. Make sure you are sufficiently prepared for the weather conditions of that day.
Accessibility: the bike tour is located in the public space in Amsterdam Nieuw-West and is accessible to anyone who can cycle. Read more about the accessibility of the outdoor museum on the Accessibility page.
For the love of things previously loved
The moment has come, Constant’s house has been sold and we are moving out September 14.One more time we pick up all his belongings and decide on their fate. Nothing makes you realise that there used to be a time when objects were produced to last a lifetime then cleaning out the house of someone born in 1920 does. Most objects will find their way to our archive, storage or the auction house but there is a selection of objects that do not fit in either of these categories but which could still flourish once again in a new loving home. From artist materials, crockery to typewriters and an old record player.
Whether you foster a love for all things previously loved or you are just looking for some quality tools we would like to invite you on Friday September 10 to come browse between 15-17h. It’s on donation basis, all proceeds will go to the Constant 101 project.
Please let us know if you plan to come by registering here: FOR THE LOVE
NB: Limited slots available!
There are some larger items that we would like to bring to your attention:
- Drawing cabinet: 60,5 x 104 x 80 cm | inside drawers: 3,5 x 93 x 69,5 cm. See picture
- Easel: 202 x 88 x 85 cm
- Painting cardboard (exact measurements: quite large)
For the love of things previously loved II
The moment has come, Constant’s house has been sold and we are moving out September 14.One more time we pick up all his belongings and decide on their fate. Nothing makes you realise that there used to be a time when objects were produced to last a lifetime then cleaning out the house of someone born in 1920 does. Most objects will find their way to our archive, storage or the auction house but there is a selection of objects that do not fit in either of these categories but which could still flourish once again in a new loving home. From artist materials, crockery to typewriters and an old record player.
Whether you foster a love for all things previously loved or you are just looking for some quality tools we would like to invite you once more on Friday September 17 to come browse between 17-19h. It’s on donation basis, all proceeds will go to the Constant 101 project.
Please let us know if you plan to come by registering here: FOR THE LOVE
NB: Limited slots available!
There are some larger items that we would like to bring to your attention:
- Drawing cabinet: 60,5 x 104 x 80 cm | inside drawers: 3,5 x 93 x 69,5 cm. See picture
- Easel: 202 x 88 x 85 cm
- Painting cardboard (exact measurements: quite large)
NEW BABYLON A lecture by Constant ICA London 1963
A short performance re-enactment of Constant’s lecture at the London Institute of Contemporary Art in 1963.
New Babylon is a city plan designed to fulfill the desires of the free person, proposing new, creatively passionate architecture. Dutch artist Constant spent 20 years developing and devising New Babylon — he prepared models, blueprints, collages, sound clips, paintings, and drawings presented in a series of international lectures and exhibitions.
The lecture, which will be re-enacted at the Liebling Haus, offers a conceptual and physical description of New Babylon and explores the artist’s role as a generator of new and exciting ideas and the possibility of experiencing everyday life in the city as art.
Meshi Olinky and Eran Eizenhamer.
Producer: Olga Stadnyuk
Supported by the Ministry of Culture and Sports
NB: 19h Tel Aviv time (+1h)
New Babylon: Continuous Now with Mark Wigley
Kunstinstituut Melly and Het Nieuwe Instituut are proud to co-present an evening talks program and parkour surrounding the legacy and 101-year anniversary of Constant Nieuwenhuys. The program centers upon Nieuwenhuys’ visionary utopic architectural project ‘New Babylon’, as well as the landmark exhibition held in 1997/8 and curated by architecture historian Mark Wigley. Created in 1956, New Babylon offered a vision of a future built environment spanning the entire surface of the Earth, held aloft on pillars; of a society organized around leisure and play, work only being performed by automated machines. How does this vision look today? How does the proposition of New Babylon change from 1997 to 2021? And what was the impact of this exhibition upon those who saw it?
The evening will start with a gathering at Kunstinstituut Melly – surrounding a presentation of materials from the exhibition archive, and in collaboration with the Master Interior Architecture: Research + Design, MIARD, together with special guest Mark Wigley. The program will then enjoy a walk to the Het Nieuwe Instituut for a lecture by Wigley reflecting on the exhibition, together with responses by professionals, attendees, and students.
Do you have a memory of seeing the 1997 exhibition ‘New Babylon’? We are welcoming contributions from the public. Please contact us at office [at] kunstinstituutmelly.nl.
Bicycle Tour to De Poort van Constant III
The Gate of Constant is a striking work of art, monument and plastic sign in one that stands at the entrance of the Ookmeer sports park on Troelstralaan near Herman Bonpad in the Geuzenveld district in Amsterdam Nieuw-West. It seems to be a cross between a building and visual art. Due to the added benches, it is also used, for example, to sit on. The artwork appeared in 1963 at the entrance as a ‘gateway’ to the western part of the sports park and was designed by and named after Constant Nieuwenhuys.
The artwork consists of thirteen meters high concrete bent pillars of different lengths and at different angles. That’s impressive above ground. However, most of the artwork is underground and cannot be seen. It has a pile foundation of 28 piles, each thirteen meters long, on which a 20 cm thick set floor has been placed. All in all, an interesting work to explore further.
On the way to the Poort van Constant, the cycling tour takes you past several other gateways to the Western Garden Cities, such as the Conny Rietschoten Bridge, and architectural highlights in New West, such as the Oeverzicht catering building (the former East Bank) designed by Dick Slebos and the Hogguerflats van Piet Zanstra. We also pass various wall artworks along the way, such as Phoenix by artist Raymond Both on one of the Hogguerflats.
Distance: about 5 km
Duration: approximately 1.5 hours
Tip: have a drink at Hotel Buiten, Th.J. Lammerslaan 3, 1064 DH Amsterdam
Date: Saturday 09 October 2021
Departure time: 1.30 pm / 13:30h
Start location: Noordzijde 31, 1064 GV Amsterdam
Costs: € 12.50 (full rate) | €8.50 (discount rate) | free (children up to 12 years)
Discounted rate: CJP, student card, Museum card, Stadspas Amsterdam, Van Eesteren Paviljoen day ticket and Van Eesteren Paviljoen annual ticket.
Language: Dutch
Bicycle: you need your own bicycle for the bicycle tour.
Please note: the bike tour will in principle take place in all weather conditions. Make sure you are sufficiently prepared for the weather conditions of that day.
Accessibility: the bike tour is located in the public space in Amsterdam Nieuw-West and is accessible to anyone who can cycle. Read more about the accessibility of the outdoor museum on the Accessibility page.
Radio New Babylon
Named after the anti-capitalist visionary art project developed between 1959 and 1974 by the Dutch artist Constant, Radio New Babylon proposes a unique collection of site-specific audio pieces made by local and international artists.
The pieces can only be heard in and around the New Babylon building complex in Den Haag, The Netherlands by using the Echoes app on your phone, and headphones. Go to the Radio New Babylon website for more information!
Constant in oorlog | De verdrevenen
On Wednesday November 2th the first video from the series “Constant in oorlog” (Constantly at War) will be released on the website of Stedelijk Museum Schiedam en Constant101.nl. In this serie artists and inhabitants from Schiedam reflect on Constant’s work from their perspective.
The serie has four episodes: De verdrevenen, De Opstand, De verscroeide aarde, De executie
De verdrevenen
This episode deals with refugees and will feature Hannah en Sijda, highschool students, Antonis Pittas, artist and curator of the exhibition “The Future Can Be Humane” at the Cobra Museum, and Peter Blanker, singer song wrtiter.
Furniture Auction | Constant's Home
The house in which Constant lived from 1978 till 2005 has been sold. The househol effects from his music room, library, and home studio will be auctioned from 19 October till November 2nd 2021 at Auctionhouse De Zwaan.
Viewing days are: 25 till 31 October.
The proceeds from this auction will be used to support the Constant 101 project.
The Constant’s personal items can be found in the catalogue under “provenance constant nieuwenhuys”. They include several instruments (lotnumber 1330 t/m 1336), tribal objects including Asmat shields (3645 and 3646) and kiri wooden Japanese dansu cabinet (7030).
The Future can be Humane
Constant (Constant Nieuwenhuijs, 1920–2005) was not only an artist but also one of the intellectual driving forces behind the Cobra movement (1948–1951). As such, he can be seen as one of the leading co-founders. He became an artist who always dared to explore new paths, did not shy away from challenging collaborations and was above all convinced of the important role that creativity and art play in our society.
Artist Antonis Pittas has selected the works of Constant to be shown in this exhibition. With this selection he wants to emphasise the image of Constant as an artist with a undaunted belief in a better world, in which collectivity, peace and creativity would prevail. The selection of around 40 paintings and works on paper ranges from the childlike works from the Cobra era – in which the bird regularly returns as a symbol of freedom – to works in which Constant refers to change and even revolution. In addition to his long-term project New Babylon, in which he visualised the society of the future, a number of works from the period after New Babylon are also shown. This is the first time that the Cobra Museum focuses on this later period in Constant’s oeuvre. The culmination of the late works is the oil painting Les expulsés that Constant painted in 1999 in reaction to the Kosovo War.
New work by contemporary artists
The museum has invited Antonio Jose Guzman and Antonis Pittas (both live and work in Amsterdam) to respond to Constant’s oeuvre and ideas. These internationally renowned artists have made new work especially for the occasion.
Constant in oorlog | De opstand
On Wednesday November 10th the second video in the series “Constant in oorlog” (Constantly at War) will be released on the website of Stedelijk Museum Schiedam en Constant101.nl. In this serie artists and inhabitants from Schiedam reflect on Constant’s work from their perspective.
The serie has four episodes: De verdrevenen, De opstand, De verschroeide aarde, De executie
De opstand
This episode deals with the theme resistance and will feaure Parham Rahimzadeh, author of the book “Arab”, Carlien Lammers, curator at Stedelijk Museum Schiedam, Süeda Isik, historican and journalist) and Juan Heinshohn Huala, artist and refugee.
Quotes from the film:
Juan: When I look at Constant’s work, I immediately think back to the situation of confrontation in Chile in which my family was also involved.
Suëda: Constant’s work is hopeful because you see that people resist together. It shows that you can still achieve a lot together, that you can fight together for one goal. Sometimes you win and sometimes you lose, but it’s always worth fighting.
Constant in oorlog | De verschroeide aarde
On Wednesday November 17th the third video from the series “Constant in oorlog” (Constantly at War) will be released on the website of Stedelijk Museum Schiedam en Constant101.nl. In this serie artists and inhabitants from Schiedam reflect on Constant’s work from their perspective.
The serie has four episodes: De verdrevenen, De Opstand, De verscroeide aarde, De executie
De verschroeide aarde
This episode deals with war and will feature Esther Cappon, army veteran and photographer, Wim Post, son of a war victim and inhabitant of Schiedam and Lana Mesic, photographer, who lived through the war in Croatia as a child.
Constant in oorlog | De executie
On Wednesday November 24th the fourth video from the series “Constant in oorlog” (Constantly at War) will be released on the website of Stedelijk Museum Schiedam en Constant101.nl. In this serie artists and inhabitants from Schiedam reflect on Constant’s work from their perspective.
The serie has four episodes: De verdrevenen, De Opstand, De verscroeide aarde, De executie
De executie
This episode deals with violence and will feature Trudy van der Horst, Constant’s widow and art historian, Jacco van Giessen, journalist at RTV Rijnmond and Nabil Thkidousset, spoken word artist, podcastmaker and inhabitant of Rotterdam.
Ode to Constant – And Free Thinking
Most people know Constant as co-founder of Cobra and his visionary New Babylon. There were no limits to his artistic exploration and expression. From the beginning he also painted and kept looking at the world – eyes and mind wide open – as a painter. This presentation shows why the artists and founders of Museum Henriette Polak recognized and appreciated his art. His work was collected at an early stage and also later on. Their vision on art was — based on visible reality – above all open minded and without preconceptions. Also they share, in a very personal way, a humanistic view of life. Constant was one of them.
CONSTANT 6/2021
A thematic issue on Constant by literary magazine De Gids. For this special edition, 7 authors and poets and a photographer will be asked to make a contribution. They will use Constant’s archive as their starting point, diving into the paintings and drawings, designs, texts and musical instruments. They all suggest a vision, where thinking, drawing and painting, designing, reading and writing and living with family and friends and traveling and making music form a unity. The authors and poets who contribute to this issue are: Fiep van Bodegom, Christophe van Gerrewey, Frank Keizer, Bram Leven, Frank Keizer, Aafke Romeijn, Maria Barnas, Dirk van Weelden, Constant and photographer Johannes Schwartz.
In bookstores from December 9th 2021.
Bicycle Tour to De Poort van Constant IV
The Gate of Constant is a striking work of art, monument and plastic sign in one that stands at the entrance of the Ookmeer sports park on Troelstralaan near Herman Bonpad in the Geuzenveld district in Amsterdam Nieuw-West. It seems to be a cross between a building and visual art. Due to the added benches, it is also used, for example, to sit on. The artwork appeared in 1963 at the entrance as a ‘gateway’ to the western part of the sports park and was designed by and named after Constant Nieuwenhuys.
The artwork consists of thirteen meters high concrete bent pillars of different lengths and at different angles. That’s impressive above ground. However, most of the artwork is underground and cannot be seen. It has a pile foundation of 28 piles, each thirteen meters long, on which a 20 cm thick set floor has been placed. All in all, an interesting work to explore further.
On the way to the Poort van Constant, the cycling tour takes you past several other gateways to the Western Garden Cities, such as the Conny Rietschoten Bridge, and architectural highlights in New West, such as the Oeverzicht catering building (the former East Bank) designed by Dick Slebos and the Hogguerflats van Piet Zanstra. We also pass various wall artworks along the way, such as Phoenix by artist Raymond Both on one of the Hogguerflats.
Distance: about 5 km
Duration: approximately 1.5 hours
Tip: have a drink at Hotel Buiten, Th.J. Lammerslaan 3, 1064 DH Amsterdam
Date: Saturday 11 December 2021
Departure time: 1.30 pm / 13:30h
Start location: Noordzijde 31, 1064 GV Amsterdam
Costs: € 12.50 (full rate) | €8.50 (discount rate) | free (children up to 12 years)
Discounted rate: CJP, student card, Museum card, Stadspas Amsterdam, Van Eesteren Paviljoen day ticket and Van Eesteren Paviljoen annual ticket.
Language: Dutch
Bicycle: you need your own bicycle for the bicycle tour.
Please note: the bike tour will in principle take place in all weather conditions. Make sure you are sufficiently prepared for the weather conditions of that day.
Accessibility: the bike tour is located in the public space in Amsterdam Nieuw-West and is accessible to anyone who can cycle. Read more about the accessibility of the outdoor museum on the Accessibility page.
For the love of things previously loved III
One more time there is the opportunity to browse through Constant’s household treasures.
Nothing makes you realise that there used to be a time when objects were produced to last a lifetime then when cleaning out the house of someone born in 1920. Most objects found their way to our archive, storage or the auction house but there is a selection of objects that do not fit in either of these categories. In the right home, with the right owner they can flourish once again. From artist materials, crockery to an old record player.
Whether you foster a love for all things previously loved or you are just looking for some quality tools we would like to invite you once more in the weekend of 18-19 December at the Cobra Museum. All proceeds will go to the Constant 101 project.
NB: Normal entrance fee applies and due to current regulations reserving a timeslot is mandatory!
BRIDGING BORDERS
For Bridging Borders POST was inspired by the notion of a world without borders, which is central in the New Babylon project by Constant Nieuwenhuys (1920 – 2005). As a platform that is operating in a border-area, we would like to take this idea at heart and aim to break down the borders, in our case specifically between the Netherlands and Germany. Therefore POST invited for Bridging Borders a mixture of artists that are German based or based in Germany.
However, in Bridging Borders national borders are not the only ones who are being lifted. The selected artists and artworks are specifically selected on their dealing with the relations between the human and the machine. In New Babylon, besides the borderless world, Constant also sketches a future world in which humans are liberated from labour through automation. All selected artworks deal in one way or another with the (possible) impact of technology, automation or blending of the human and the machine. We invited art-historian Tessa Kalsbeek to write a contextualizing text on how Constant’s ideas relate to the presented artworks and the ideas they bring forward.
De Cimbalisten in het Cobra Museum
On Saturday March 5, cimbalom players Dani Luca and his father Vasile will give a try-out of their music program at Cobra Museum of Modern Art in Amstelveen. The program is a musical journey hrough Schubert’s Winterreise, Bach, Piazzola, Romanian Folk music and Debussy. A journey filled with a zest for life, love, sorrow and death.
In the last weekend of the exhibition Constant 101: The Future can be Humane music and art will meet. For more information about the music program, go to the page of De Cimbalisten.
Times
11:30-12h
13:30-14h
15:30-16h
No extra admission fee applies.
Game Design: een nieuwe wetenschap
Play is the solution to some of our social problems. From lack of connection with our body, to motivation, productivity and creativity. Game designers Niki Smit and Simon van der Linden of Monobanda use game as a “Trojan horse for behavioral improvement”, for social change. How do they do that? And will scientists, policy makers and hospitals utilize the potential of play at all, in a living space from which play and play have been expelled?
This evening game designers Niki Smit and Simon van der Linden (Monobanda) show the power of play and how play can play an even greater role in saving ourselves in the future.
Speakers: game designers Niki Smit and Simon van der Linden (Monobanda)
Afbraak van de architectuur
Demolition of the architecture
Arna Mačkić and Herman Hertzberger, prominent architects from different generations, observe an approaching disaster: the architect with a social purpose is dying out. How is it possible that we have arrived at a time in which there are no opportunities for architects who want to contribute to the public domain?
Novice architects do want to set up social projects, but as soon as they enter the field, the game of supply and demand kicks in. There is also a lack of stimulation in the training courses: young architects no longer learn about ideals and responsibilities. What can the current generation of architects, architectural schools and policymakers learn from the previous generation, who were given space to build and were encouraged to have a social vision?
In this program Arna Mačkić outlines the problem and shows the public what she believes should be the role of the architect and architecture in society on the basis of her own work. Herman Hertzberger, one of the Netherlands’ greatest architects, will talk to her: what are the lessons this heavyweight has for the current generation? Can we prevent the architect with a social vision from disappearing for good?
Speakers: architects Arna Mačkić and Herman Hertzberger
Program maker: Lola ‘t Hart
Moderator: Merlijn Geurts
Constant: religie, protest en idealisme
When you think of Constant and his work, religion is not the first word that pops up. However unlikely, religion was one of the first themes in Constant’s early works and reappears in his later work. His relation to faith will be explored through several key works in the exhibition Constant: Religion, Protest en Idealism at Museum Krona in Uden from March 19th till May 22nd, 2022. This exhibition is linked to the exhibition Het Laatste Avondmaal. Van Davinci tot Mamedov which runs from March 5th till May 15th.
Sounding the Spui
Immerse yourself in the sounds of The Hague.
On Saturday 9 and Sunday 10 April, the iconic Spuiplein in the city centre of The Hague will be transformed into the site of an immersive, sonic experience that channels sounds sourced from The Hague by a variety of composers, sound artists, students and pupils. This program is part of Rewire 2022.
On Saturday April 9th at 20:30h sound artist Justin Bennet will perform Constant: excerpts from New Baylon in which he editted Constants soundtrack for New Babylon.
Notions on the relationship between music, environmental sounds, active listening and music in relation to the public sphere are brought together in Sounding the Spui. This unique project transforms the iconic Spuiplein in the city centre of The Hague into the site of an immersive, sonic experience that channels sounds sourced from The Hague by a variety of composers, sound artists, students and pupils. Participants were asked to record environmental sounds and reflect on questions as: which sounds are typically from The Hague? Which sounds dominate the environment? Which sounds could function as sonic markers to orient oneself through the city?
The sonic investigation results in an open-access sound installation in the heart of the city. The work will temporarily compress The Hague’s geography into a single space in the city centre. Various loudspeakers are installed to immerse Spuiplein into other acoustic spaces from the city. All kinds of audience are welcome to experience the installation: invitees and passersby, experts and amateurs, young and old.
The temporal structure of the installation is modular, meaning reputation and permutation of the ‘pure’ recordings and musical compositions is possible. This results in a constant dialogue between recognizable sounds, environmental sounds and compositional work. Recordings are grouped into overlapping, thematic categories (such as infrastructure, nature, markets, sport, labour, signals, docks, language, the sea, music, etc.) and can be arranged according to the time of day, season or location of recording.
At particular moments during the weekend we showcase contemporary and historic electronic compositions relating to urban space, the city of Den Haag and/or the Institute of Sonology. These include “De Promenoir van Mondriaan” by Dick Raaijmakers, ” Il Tempo Sospeso” a non-linear reflection on lockdown by Margherita Brillada, A 1988 piece for piledrivers by BMB con. Short compositions by Ukranian composers and a remix of Constant Nieuwenhuys’ own soundtracks for his imaginary city, New Babylon from 1968.
Accompanied with Sounding the Spui is an educational project that is intended for pupils and families from various neighbourhoods of The Hague.
Sounding the Spui programme overview
Saturday 9 April:
12:00 excerpt from De Promenoir van Mondriaan (collaborative work from 1994, supervised by Dick Raaijmakers)
14:00 BMB Con. – Hei 1988
15:30 performance by school children under supervision of Hilde Wollenstein
17:00 Hilde Wollenstein: Please stop yelling at me, I don’t know what I want.
19:30 Jan Boerman: Maasproject 1
20:00 Margherita Brillada: Il Tempo Sospeso
20:30 Constant: Flarden van New Babylon
21:00 Kees Tazelaar: Luchtveld
22:00 end
Sunday 10 April:
12:00 excerpt from De Promenoir van Mondriaan (collaborative work from 1994, supervised by Dick Raaijmakers)
13:00 BMB Con. – Hei 1988
14:00 Kim Ho: Máni
15:00 Julio Molina Moya: Haagse Markt 2016
16:00 Jan Boerman: Maasproject 2
17:00 end
The installation Sounding the Spui runs continuously in between these compositions with material produced by students under supervision of Justin Bennett.
The project is realised by students of Sonology, Composition and ArtScience at the Royal Conservatoire of The Hague, in collaboration with alumni. Sounding the Spui intends to emphasise the Royal Conservatoire and new venue Amare as integral parts of the city centre and public domain of The Hague.
De Cimbalisten bij de Finissage "Constant, religie, protest en idealisme"
On May 15th we will celebrate the finissage of the unique exhibition Constant, religie, protest en idealisme at Museum Krona in Uden with a special concert of De Cimbalisten.
PROGRAM
14:00h Opening words
by Wouter Prins, artistic director of Museum Krona and Kim van der Horst, director Fondation Constant and Constant 101.
14:30h Musical performance by De Cimbalisten
15:00h Guided tour
by Wouter Prins and Kim van der Horst
16:00h Musical performance by De Cimbalisten
16:30u End
Constant, Radical Changes preview
The opening of the Amsterdam gallery season will start this weekend with a preview of the special solo presentation ‘Constant, Radical Changes’ that will be shown at Frieze Masters from 12 to 16 October.
Makers Meet and Eat ft. Kim van der Horst about Enter New Babylon
Stichting Creative Coding Utrecht, RAUM, IMPAKT and SETUP give a glimpse behind the scenes of artistic research. Are you an art lover, culture junkie, maker or creative? Then join us at the Makers Meet & Eat this Saturday.
Director Kim van der Horst is one of the speakers and will talk about the project Enter New Babylon.
Connect to a variety of makers and discover everything about their working methods and research in the field of (digital) art, culture and design. A casual afternoon for meeting creative people and learn tricks of the trade with a delicious BBQ at the end. In addition to the talks of the invited speakers, this year it is possible to start a conversation yourself at our new ‘wildcard table’.
Are you coming over?
Lunch Concert De Cimbalisten
Herberg Oude Kerk Zoetermeer organizes concerts in the monumental church hall of the Oude Kerk in Zoetermeer. Here, professional musicians perform classical music of a high level, in beautiful acoustics.
De Cimbalisten will play their musical program September 7th, 2022 from 12:45-13:15h
The concert can be attended for a voluntary donation.
Enter New Babylon
Enter New Babylon is a Virtual Reality project, investigating the possibilities and limits of this future world for creative nomads. Put on your head set and step into that elusive world of New Babylon, where daily work has been replaced by play and life resides in poetry. It is the home of the Homo Ludens, created by Dutch painter Constant Nieuwenhuys (1920–2005) in the sixties. Young, activist spoken word artists and designers reflect on New Babylon through VR and mixed reality in a theatrical installation. Is it all that Constant dreamed of or has it turned into a nightmare?
Enter New Babylon will be programmed at IMPAKT, Utrecht from September 29 till October 15, 2022
Wed-Sun, 12-17h
Tickets: 16€ regular / 7€ student
Slots are limited!
Unveiling of the Gatekeepers
Artist Monika Dahlberg has made two sculptures for Framer Framed that will be given a permanent place at the entrance of Framer Framed.
The work, titled “Gatekeepers”, will be unveiled in the presence of the artist by the alderman for Art and Culture Touria Meliani and the district councilor East and portfolio holder for art and culture Jan-Bert Vroege and in the presence of curator Zippora Elders on
Thursday 29 September from 15.45-17 hour at Framer Framed, Oranje-Vrijstaatkade 71, Amsterdam
Dahlberg is inspired by the 1948 Manifesto that Constant Nieuwenhuys (1920-2005), better known as Constant, wrote for Reflex, the organ of the experimental group Holland, which later that year would merge into the Cobra group. In the manifesto, Constant shifts the emphasis from the individual artist to the self-expression of the masses. Folk art, according to him, is an expression of life, fueled solely by a natural urge for life expression.
“The Gatekeepers are the reflection of African traditional sculptures, but also resist the prevailing norms of ‘high’ culture and the Western dictate of unambiguity and progression. The sculptures stand proudly on a high pedestal. They try to wrestle themselves from the existing ideology about African cultures, in line with my quest to combine the African visual culture considered ‘mysterious’ with this ‘Western’ stereotype. The repairs, or lack thereof, are clearly visible. That too is a response to the Western pursuit of manufacturability and perfection,” says Dahlberg.
Afternoon Concert De Cimbalisten & JongNBE
On Sunday October 9th De Cimbalisten will be the support act (30 minutes) for the JongNBE concert.
15:00-16:30h at Theater Swanla, Zevenhuizen.
Ticket: 9,50€
The NBE (Nederlands Blazers Ensemble) has founded young wind ensembles in the age of 15-20 years in various corners of the country: youngNBE north, youngNBE east and youngNBE west. These ensembles consist of 10 advanced amateurs from the region between the ages of 15 and 21. They are coached by an experienced NBE musician and perform several times per season. Once with the NBE and also some concerts in their area.
JongNBE regional has a wide repertoire from classical masterpieces to adventurous contemporary (pop) music. The ambition is to make music together at a high level and in an exciting way. The JongNBE regional ensures cooperation in the region (conservatories, youth orchestras, HaFaBra) and tries to bridge the gap between the different musical practices. The ensemble comes together in a short period of 4 rehearsals.
De cimbalisten is a program of newly arranged music by pianist and cimbalom player Dani Luca and his father, cimbalom player, Vasile Luca, to be played on the Constant’s own cimbalom. It is an homage to Constant’s passion for music, the role it played in his personal life and how it inspired his work. Music and visual art are joined together. The musical journey walks you through Schubert’s Winterreise, Bach, Piazzola, Romanian Folk music and Debussy. A journey filled with a zest for life, love, sorrow and death.
Constant, Radical Changes - Frieze Masters 2022
Constant is one of Holland’s most important and innovative artists from post-war times. He was co-founder of the international CoBrA movement, he was initiator and inventor of his visionary New Babylon projects in the fifties and sixties, a revolutionary artist in the seventies during the Vietnam war, but also a vibrant, almost romantic colourist in his major late paintings.
Borzo Gallery and The Mayor Gallery present the solo presentation ‘Constant, Radical Changes’ at Frieze Masters from 12 till 16 October 2022 in London.
Spectrum Accessories Collection
Classic design, new colours!
A preview of the upcoming Spectrum Accessory Collection, curated by Studio RENS.
This collection reveals iconic accessories by Constant Nieuwenhuys, Benno Premsela and Friso Kramer from the early 1960s.
You are most welcome to visit us during the Dutch Design Week from 22 to 30 October.
Spectrum Design
Studio RENS
Spectrum Studio
Halvemaanstraat 18a in Eindhoven
During the Dutch Design Week, our studio, on the site of Piet Hein Eek, is open daily from 11 am – 6 pm.
Constant, Radical Changes
Constant is one of Holland’s most important and innovative artists from post-war times. He was co-founder of the international CoBrA movement, he was initiator and inventor of his visionary New Babylon projects in the fifties and sixties, a revolutionary artist in the seventies during the Vietnam war, but also a vibrant, almost romantic colourist in his major late paintings.
The solo presentation ‘Constant, Radical Changes’ which BorzoGallery and The Mayor Gallery presented at Frieze Masters from 12 till 16 October 2022 in London, will be shown at BorzoGallery in Amsterdam from November 7 till 21st, 2022.
Becoming CoBrA. Begin of a European Art Movement
With the exhibition Becoming CoBrA. Beginnings of a European Art Movement, Kunsthalle Mannheim takes a look at the origins, dating back to the 1930s, of one of the most influential avant-garde groups in the 20th century. While the years from 1948 to 1951, during which CoBrA existed as a firmly defined group, have already been the subject of much discussion, the exhibition focuses on the preceding, hitherto little-examined process of the artists’ collective’s emergence. Denmark is the setting in which artists such as Asger Jorn, Ejler Biller, Else Alfelt, and Henry Heerup dealt with essential themes of the later CoBrA group as early as the mid-1930s. In their paintings, sculptures, and graphic works, some of which were created during World War II, they took Scandinavian folk art and mythology or Expressionism as models, experimented with collective approaches to art production, or tried to integrate the playfulness and spontaneity of children’s imagination into their own formal language.
In the immediate post-war period, the Danes in turn quickly established contact with artists such as Pierre Alechinsky, Karel Appel or Madeleine Kemeny-Szemere and Zoltán Kemény, who, independently of them, dealt with very similar issues. They met like-minded people, especially in Belgium, the Netherlands and France, with whom they formed the CoBrA group in November 1948.
In the context of the exhibition, approximately 150 paintings, sculptures, graphics, photographs, textile works, and ceramics, each created before 1949, by later members of the trans-European collective provide insights into the creative cosmos of CoBrA before its founding. They show how, already in the context of World War II and the immediate post-war period, a new avant-garde was formed that stood for peace, international understanding, and a redefinition of artistic modes of production.
Curators: Dr. Inge Herold and Christina Bergeman (Dr. Mathias Listl, guest curator)
Femina Ludens
How much space do we have left for play and experimentation in our largely automated lives where everything has to be done as efficiently as possible? What does the replacement of human labour by machines or computers mean for people and their environment? Inspired by Constant’s New Babylon and its Homo Ludens inhabitants, video and performance artist Kitty Maria (NL, 1992) explores these questions in her first museum solo exhibition Femina Ludens. In her work, Kitty Maria investigates this space for play, placing herself in companies to study production processes up close. Sometimes she takes part in them herself and at other times her presence provides a strange interruption to the daily routine.
The ‘Femina Ludens’ exhibition can be seen at Museum van Bommel van Dam in Venlo from 18 March to 2 July 2023.
Cobra 75: Freedom Without Borders
The exhibition Freedom without Borders. From Appel to Van Gogh is the highlight of the anniversary year, celebrating the 75th anniversary of the international Cobra movement (1948 – 1951)! A must-see for anyone interested in modern art and a unique opportunity to see these revolutionary and inspiring works up close.
Discover surprising combinations in this exhibition featuring 120 artworks by artists such as Klee, Picasso, Appel, Van Gogh, Constant, Miró, Ferlov, Beckmann, Alechinsky, Pollock, De Kooning, Basquiat, Corneille, Van der Gaag, Brown, Schwitters and Munch.
Kitty Maria x Constant 101
Join us on Sunday July 2nd for a festive day at Museum Bommel Van Dam. It’s the last day of the exhibition Femina Ludens, there will be music by De Cimbalisten and NEEF., a performance by Kitty Maria and we will present the first episode of the podcast Constant 1-on-1 the podcast.
Walk in starts at 13:30h and the program runs till about 16:30h. The museum closes at 17h. Normal museum entrance fee applies and there is no need to make a reservation.
Make sure you come a bit earlier and visit the distinctly personal exhibition Armando: door de ogen van een vriend, a retrospective exhibition interwoven with conversations between Armando and his lifelong friend Cherry Duyns (1944).
13:30h Walk in
14:00h Music by De Cimbalisten
14:30h Welcome by curator Sjors Bindels
14:45h Talk by Kim van der Horst
15:15h Break
15:30h Performance by Kitty Maria
16:00h Music by De Cimbalisten
16:30h End
Van wie is het (platte)land
From September 8th until January 28th Rijksmuseum Twenthe will organize a large manifestation regarding the question ‘who does the land belong to?’ The manifestation consists of three different exhibitions and a extensive public program. In addition to that, the museum has invited four artists to explore and develop new perspectives on dilemmas affecting the rural environment of Twente. One of them is Jonas Staal. The starting point of Staal’s research is the famous utopian project New Babylon by Constant.
Spectrum Design at DDW
Spectrum has completely renovated the Spectrum studio at Strijp-R. We cordially invite you to visit us during Dutch Design Week from October 21 to 29.
Get to know our colorful accessory collection and the latest products from our collection. Our studio at Strijp-R is located in the heart of the DDW, a stone’s throw away you will also find various other inspiring presentations, such as the Klokgebouw, VEEM and designers such as Piet Hein Eek and Studio RENS.
Spectrum Studio
Stijp-R (Piet Hein Eek site)
Halvemaanstraat 18A, Eindhoven
Open daily from 11am — 6pm
No entrance ticket required
Enter New Babylon
This November Enter New Babylon will be programmed once again at Tetem, Enschede, from November 10 till December 3, 2022
Wed-Sun, 12-17h
Tickets: 10€ regular / 6€ student.
Don’t wait too long with booking your ticket because availabilty is limited!
Enter New Babylon is a Virtual Reality project, investigating the possibilities and limits of this future world for creative nomads. Put on your head set and step into that elusive world of New Babylon, where daily work has been replaced by play and life resides in poetry. It is the home of the Homo Ludens, created by Dutch painter Constant Nieuwenhuys (1920–2005) in the sixties. Young, activist spoken word artists and designers reflect on New Babylon through VR and mixed reality in a theatrical installation. Is it all that Constant dreamed of or has it turned into a nightmare?
In this edition the installation presents two worlds:
— Echoes of Oblivion
— We Do Not Want to Fill Our Days with Regrets
The installation will be accompanied with an exhibition of photo’s of Constants New Babylon project, made in the sixties by Bram Wisman, Jan Versnel and Victor Nieuwenhuys.
We Is Future: Visions of New Communities
Our current outlook on life is coloured by the prospect of losing the world such as we now know it. Not only are demands for fundamental changes becoming increasingly vociferous they are being made by a wide variety of actors. What new ideas do we need for the future? And how can we rethink what seems to be inevitable? Against the backdrop of this current state of affairs, the exhibition We Is Future: Visions of New Communities showcases past and present ideas for alternative models of living together.
Constant. And the Quest to Enter New Babylon
Kim van der Horst, director of Fondation Constant and stepdaughter of Constant, will take you on a journey through Constant’s New Babylon project. Diving in the foundations of Constant’s practice as an artist she will elaborate on how the mixed reality project Enter New Babylon originated from Constant’s own work and ideas.
26 November, 2023, 15-16:30h
Entrance: free
LanguageL Dutch
The lecture is connected to the mixed reality installation Enter New Babylon, exhibited at Tetem from 10 November till 3 December, 2023.
Visionary: episode one of Constant 1-on-1 the podcast
The very first episode of Constant 1-on-1 The podcast is online now on Spotify or whereever you listen to podcasts! This four-episode series dives into Constant’s practice as an artist, his life and the context in which he operated and built his oeuvre. Ans Boersma and Thijs van Elten dig into the archive and question friends, art historians and contemporary artists about the relevance of a legacy like Constant’s in today’s world.
Constant was an artist who was strongly driven by social engagement and experiment, resulting in a body of work that is wildly varying in its outward appearance. The diversity in his body of work makes him less recognisable to a larger public than some of his contemporaries, like Karel Appel and Piet Mondriaan. Curators and critics recognise Constant as a great artist, but with the public he remains somewhat unknown. Exceedingly headstrong: Constant did not follow trends but created his own path. A visionary.
This podcast allows you to get to know him, or know him better. Because even more than 100 years after his birth, he still has a message for you.
Interviewees
This first episode serves as an introduction to Constant. It covers WWII, the Cobra group, Constant’s theories and ideas, his personality and the artistic turning point into New Babylon, as we speak to the following four people who knew him well, personally or through his work – or both.
Laura Stamps: curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at Kunstmuseum The Hague
Willemijn Stokvis: art historian and Cobra expert
Ronald Tolman: artist and friend of Constant
Ludo van Halem: curator of 20th Century Art at Rijksmuseum
Designer: episode two of Constant 1-on-1 the podcast
The second episode of Constant 1-on-1 The podcast is online now on Spotify or where ever you listen to podcasts! This four-episode series dives into Constant’s practice as an artist, his life and the context in which he operated and built his oeuvre. Ans Boersma and Thijs van Elten dig into the archive and question friends, art historians and contemporary artists about the relevance of a legacy like Constant’s in today’s world.
The first episode of Constant 1-on-1, Visionary, gave an introduction to Constant development as an artist until Cobra, we leave him at the beginning of the Fifties. In episode 2, Designer, we pick up where we left off: 1952, after Cobra. Constant is looking around him a wondering how different art forms can be synthesized to have a more pronounced and positive influence on the world we live in. His quest will lead him through a labyrinth of interesting collaborations and networks and eventually to the development of New Babylon. New Babylon, Constant’s design for the world wide city of the future, was inspired by the nomadic lifestyle of the Roma and Sinti people.
Interviewees
In this episode of the series, we explore how it all began and what he envisioned it to look like, by speaking to the following people:
Floris Alkemade: architect and former government architect
Laura Stamps: curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at Kunstmuseum The Hague
Willemijn Stokvis: art historian and Cobra expert
Ronald Tolman: artist and friend of Constant
Ludo van Halem: curator of 20th Century Art at Rijksmuseum
Homo Ludens: episode three of Constant 1-on-1 the podcast
This four-episode series dives into Constant’s practice as an artist, his life and the context in which he operated and built his oeuvre. Ans Boersma and Thijs van Elten dig into the archive and question friends, art historians and contemporary artists about the relevance of a legacy like Constant’s in today’s world. Listen here or find Constant 1-on-1 The podcast on Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts.
In the psecond episode we explored Constant’s New Babylon project, which he worked on from 1956 till 1974. In episode three we have arrived in the seventies and explore the idea of the Homo Ludens, the playing man. It asks the question: In what ways was Constant a homo ludens in his personality and practice, and in what ways was he not?
“Homo ludens” was a term coined by Dutch cultural historian Johan Huizinga, who, with the publication of his book Homo Ludens, a Study of the Play-Element in Culture in 1938, made an influential contribution to the field of play theory. Inspired by Huizinga, who wrote extensively on the importance of the play element of culture and how play was a necessity in generating culture, Constant created New Babylon: a city in which its inhabitants would no longer have to work and instead could spend all their time on playing and creative expression.
Interviewees
In this episode, we dive deeper into the social commentary he aimed to make with his art, as well as his love for making music, we hear from the following people:
Laura Stamps: curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at Kunstmuseum The Hague
Ronald Tolman: artist and friend of Constant
Alex Timmerman: musician and friend of Constant
Floris Alkemade: architect and former government architect
Dreamer: episode four of Constant 1-on-1 the podcast
This four-episode series dives into Constant’s practice as an artist, his life and the context in which he operated and built his oeuvre. Ans Boersma and Thijs van Elten dig into the archive and question friends, art historians and contemporary artists about the relevance of a legacy like Constant’s in today’s world. Listen here or find Constant 1-on-1 The podcast on Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts.
In episode three we have explored in which ways Constant himself was a homo ludens and what role music played in his life (and work). In this last episode we pick up the story mid seventies. Constant has concluded his New Babylon project and has started painting again. He is looking for new inspiration and finds it with the old masters. He meets Fanny Kelk and she inspires him on this new path. In this episode we look at how Constant’s art changed and what led him to these changes? And we touch on the big question that every artist asks themselves at the end of their life: is my life’s work finished?
Interviewees
This episode investigates what Constant’s influence is on artists and architects today. What can we learn from Constant today, and how do his ideals and vision help us with problems and challenges that society faces? Episode four features contemporary artists and architects, curators and people who knew Constant during these last years.
Kim van der Horst: director at Fondation Constant
Laura Stamps: curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at Kunstmuseum Den Haag
Floris Alkemade: architect and former government architect
Ludo van Halem: curator of 20th Century Art at Rijksmuseum
Antonis Pittas: artist
Alex Timmerman: musician and friend of Constant
RoXY
On 21 June 1999, artist Peter Giele was transported by boat along the Amstel to his grave. A colourful floating parade accompanied the open coffin in which Giele lay, with a crowbar on his chest. Later that day, the legendary Roxy club was in flames.
The presentation, RoXY is part of the project Ontwerp van het sociale (Design of the social) at Het Nieuwe Instituut. With RoXY curator Juha van ‘t Zelfde links Constant’s New Babylon to the club culture in Amsterdam in the nineties as embodied by RoXY.
Building a New World
Editing, arranging, organising, stacking, merging, and breaking down in order to reconstruct: the act of building is multifaceted. When creating sculptures and installations, artists are often guided by a playful, inquisitive and intuitive process that leads to new insights about architectural forms and compositions. The end result evokes associations with utopian worlds, childhood creations and constructions or, conversely, sketches a bleak and apocalyptic world view. From 30 June to 29 September 2024, CODA presents the group exhibition Building a New World. This exhibition features the work of five artists and is inspired by the 1963 manifesto New Babylon, by visual artist Constant Nieuwenhuys (1920-2005). In this manifesto, Constant gives his vision of the city of the future, which holds the creative, playful human being at its centre. Besides the work of Constant, the exhibition includes sculptures, installations, and drawings by Gerbrand Burger, Floris Hovers, Pip Passchier, and Rob Voerman.