Misplaced Pages

#725274

26-462: The Cobra Museum of Modern Art opened its doors on November 8, 1995, as a reference to the founding date of the Cobra movement on the 8th of November, 1948. Architect Wim Quist designed the building. Initially, the museum exhibited the private collection of collector J. Karel P. van Stuijvenberg. Later on, the collection was regularly supplemented with own purchases, long-term loans and donations. From

52-554: A cash prize, an exhibition in the Cobra Museum, and a catalog or other publication accompanying that exhibition. The museum is also involved in the triennial Amstelveen Triënnale. Cobra was an international movement of young, progressive artists. In the years after the Second World War, they caused a revolution: a breakthrough in modern art that still has an impact on art ideas and expressions today. The Cobra movement

78-608: A graphic designer, utilizing his printing skills and Neurath's Isotype system. In 1928, he started a long relationship with the Stedelijk Museum , and in 1932 became a member of VANK , the Dutch Society for Arts and Crafts. He soon joined the committee that determined the exhibitions of the museum. From 1937 to 1941, he served as the museum's curator of modern art. During the Second World War , Sandberg

104-572: A museum of science and education in The Hague (the Museon ), whose geometric forms worked in tandem with the nearby Kunstmuseum by the early twentieth-century Dutch architect Hendrik Berlage and a museum hidden in sand dunes, the Beelden aan Zee , also in The Hague. In 1995, his architectural office merged with the firm of Wintermans, becoming Quist Wintermans Architekten. In 2003 he retired from

130-468: A place in the collection. These include Anton Rooskens, Eugène Brands , Jan Sierhuis , Theo Wolvecamp and Lotti van der Gaag . During changing collection presentations, work from the collection is shown, sometimes arranged thematically. In addition to paintings, sculptures and other unique items, the museum also owns a large collection of Cobra publications. The Cobra Museum also maintains close ties with other museums of which Cobra forms an important part of

156-793: A short time, the Nazis began to expose the false documents by comparing the names with those in the local population registry. To hinder the Nazis, on 27 March 1943, Sandberg was among those who took part in planning the bombing of the Amsterdam Public Records Office . Thousands of files were destroyed, and the attempt to compare forged documents with the registry was hindered. Arondeus and ten others were later arrested and executed by firing squad. His wife and son were arrested and incarcerated for several months. From December 1943 to April 1945, Sandberg went into hiding as Henri Willem van den Bosch to avoid arrest. During his time on

182-403: Is about 2500 square meters, spread over two floors. Collection presentations are usually shown on the ground floor, but there is often also space for temporary exhibitions. The museum and shop are also located there, where, among other things, a wide range of books is sold about Cobra and related artists. Temporary exhibitions are organized on the second floor. There is also space here for work from

208-574: Is certain: there has never been a consensus about the meaning of Cobra. Cobra's character is perhaps defined by the contradictions and disagreements between its members, something which gave Cobra its vitality. The permanent collection of the Cobra Museum has its roots in the private collection of J. Karel P. van Stuijvenberg. The collection includes works by well-known Cobra artists such as Karel Appel , Constant , Lucebert and Corneille . More unknown group members, as well as related artists who were never officially part of this group, have also been given

234-446: Is mainly associated with colorful, expressive-spontaneous painting that has had its influence for a long time. The founders differed quite a bit in their ideas about the meaning of Cobra. For some that significance lies in Cobra's contribution to painterly developments, for others in Cobra's spirit of absolute freedom, and for others in the collaborations between the members and the cross-fertilization between poets and painters. One thing

260-775: Is now visible all over the Netherlands. Following his graduation from the Academie van Bouwkunst ( Architecture Academy) in Amsterdam in the late 1950s, Quist began working at Rotterdam Council. He was, however, already being celebrated as an architect, having been awarded the Prix de Rome in 1958. Shortly after he established his own architectural company. From then on began a steady stream of successful commissions, many of which were for public or utilitarian purposes. His water processing plant at Oud-Beijerland (completed in 1965)

286-548: The Kroller Muller Museum (finished in 1977), a low, rectangular glass-walled build in the middle of a forest and described as being "meticulously detailed and equally sober modernism at the service of art". The Maritime Museum in Rotterdam, completed in 1986, has been described by one critic "as demanding, but not inaccessible; finite, but not closed; austere ... but not cold." He would continue in 1989 with

SECTION 10

#1732793209726

312-702: The Mazdaznan movement. As a young man he traveled, serving as an apprentice to a printer in Herrliberg , Switzerland . In 1927, he visited Vienna , where he studied Otto Neurath 's Isotype system at the Gesellschafts- und Wirtschaftsmuseum in Wien . At this time, he also visited the Dessau Bauhaus and met Naum Gabo , a pioneer of kinetic art. Returning to Amsterdam, Sandberg started work as

338-662: The beginning of the twenty-first century, the museum has also come to focus on contemporary artists who work in the spirit of Cobra. This focus has led, among other things, to the Cobra Kunstprijs Amstelveen, which was awarded biennially between 2005 and 2017 to 'a visual artist who creates innovative work that demonstrates commitment in the spirit of the Cobra movement.' The laureates are Joost Conijn (2005), Johannes Schwartz (2007), Gijs Frieling (2009), Nathaniel Mellors (2011), Metahaven (2013), Jennifer Tee (2015) and Christian Friedrich (2017). The prize consisted of

364-419: The collection, such as Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam and Stedelijk Museum Schiedam. The five-meter high statue The fountain in front of the entrance of the museum was made especially for the museum by Karel Appel . The statue contains four water outlets and it is the only fountain ever made by Karel Appel. The unveiling of the statue took place in 2001 on the occasion of Appel's eightieth birthday. The model of

390-515: The firm as an architect. He would continue to be involved in architectural debates in the Netherlands, particularly when he objected to modifications on some of his earlier buildings, for example the water works complex in Kralingen, and the town hall in Zeewolde. In the example of the Kralingen water works, a court ruling determined that the water company had to work with Quist in order to update

416-405: The fountain was donated to the museum by Karel Appel and is on permanent display. The fist in the fountain symbolizes strength and the bird represents freedom. Various elements that make up the fountain are so-called objets trouvés . The museum was designed by architect Wim Quist. Characteristic is the large amount of natural light that falls through the large windows on the ground floor. The space

442-636: The modifications planned by another architectural firm. Willem Sandberg Jonkheer Willem Jacob Henri Berend Sandberg (24 October 1897 – 9 April 1984) known as Willem Sandberg was a Dutch typographer , museum curator , and member of the Dutch resistance during World War II. Sandberg was born in Amersfoort , the Netherlands in 1897 and studied art in Amsterdam . He became a follower of

468-642: The museum and developed new exhibition techniques, for which he gained international renown. He applied his graphic design and typography skills to over 300 catalogues. After the war in 1945, he served as director of the museum until his retirement in 1962. In his retirement, he served on the committees for the Beaubourg in Paris and the Israel Museum in Jerusalem . Sandberg has also given his name to

494-500: The permanent collection, as well as a children's studio, in which creative and educational workshops related to Cobra are organized. Appropriately enough, the building is situated on Sandbergplein, which is named after Willem Sandberg , former director of the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, who was responsible for the controversial first major Cobra exhibition in 1949. Leo Duppen, director of the Cobra Museum when it

520-510: The run, he formulated the Experimenta Typographica , a series of 19 experimental typography pamphlets. For his participation in the resistance movement and helping to save the lives of Jews during the war, Sandberg was recognized as Righteous Among The Nations on 26 November 1968. Sandberg began working for the Stedelijk Museum in 1928 and was appointed curator in 1937. During his tenure as curator, Sandberg expanded

546-428: Was a Dutch architect. Part of the modernist tradition of architecture, his style was dominated by rectangular, triangular and circular forms. His buildings focussed on the relationship between the building and its surroundings, with the function of the building itself being central. He rejected the use of unnecessary decoration. He continued designing buildings from 1960 until retiring in 2003 - his architectural legacy

SECTION 20

#1732793209726

572-550: Was active in the Dutch resistance movement, preparing forged documents for Jews and others wanted by the Gestapo . Other prominent individuals in the Raad van Verzet (Resistance Council) included painter and author Willem Arondeus , sculptors Gerrit van der Veen and Frits van Hall , cellist Frieda Belinfante , poet Martinus Nijhoff , dancer Suzy van Hall , lawyer Lau Mazirel , and composer and conductor Jan van Gilse . Within

598-590: Was an early example of his stark geometric forms. This would be accompanied by two later water-processing plants with eye-catching designs (the 1974 Petrusplaat in the Biesbosch area and in the Kralingen neighbourhood of Rotterdam in 1977). By 1974, his renown led to him being appointed Rijksarchitect , a position he would hold until 1979. In the 1980s, his public sector commissions continued. Several Dutch museums were designed by Quist. He had already designed

624-544: Was founded in Paris on November 8, 1948. Artists and poets from various European countries were members. The joy of total spiritual and artistic freedom and spontaneity had to counterbalance the nightmare of the war. Cobra caused great commotion in the Netherlands. The newspapers talked about tampering, clattering and slandering. In the meantime, the then revolutionary Cobra has become anchored in European art history. In it, Cobra

650-415: Was founded, described the building as 'thought out and functional, there is nothing superfluous and the walking route is logical. Inside everything is white and gray, the color must come from the paintings.' The Cobra Museum has a round, inaccessible inner garden, in the form of a Japanese zen garden, which was created by Shinkichi Tajiri . The garden was specially designed by Tajiri for the Cobra Museum and

676-512: Was unveiled at the museum's opening in 1995. The garden depicts a haiku , which refers to the four elements. The standing, organically shaped plates of corten steel refer to the mountains (earth), the sea (water) and the clouds (sky). The sun shining on the artwork symbolizes the fire. The sheets of steel are placed on a pattern of pebbles raked with specially crafted tools, which is maintained monthly in flowing and concentric shapes. Wim Quist Wim Quist (27 October 1930 – 9 July 2022)

#725274