2010

• Africa scores!
• Colourful African commemorative cloths in the Tropenmuseum
• Tropenmuseum turns RED
• Betsabeé Romero, Cars & Traces

Tropenmuseum turns RED

From 5 November 2010 until 8 May 2011, Amsterdam's Tropenmuseum will be turning red. The exhibition RED (ROOD) will focus on the colour in all its many aspects. Red is one of the most important colours in almost every culture and has many meanings. Visitors will see Armando and Constant alongside masks from Oceania and a statue of Lenin juxtaposed with a Chinese bridal gown. Over three hundred objects, including ethnographic artefacts and modern art, will arouse all the senses. The colour red is what gives all these objects their power and significance.

From blood-red and scarlet to Burgundy and the red of the evening sky. The objects are displayed in a transparent, flowing setting created by designers Maarten Spruyt and Tsur Reshef, well known for their work in the Rijksmuseum’s Art Nouveau exhibitions, Voici Paris! – Haute Couture and 15 years of Marlies Dekkers. Of course, the colour red means something different to everyone, but it also has universal associations. These meanings are numerous and contradictory. Red can stand for happiness, fertility and love but also for power, violence and danger. Red can be romantic, but it can also be deadly. All of these associations are included in the exhibition in themes such as life cycles, energy, power, identity, deities, demons and love.

Spectacular entrance hall

In a spectacular entrance hall, which focuses on visual powers of expression and emotion, powerful works from Singaporean artist Kumari Nahappan are on display alongside an impressive and sensual art work featuring red tights, created by Dutch artist Madeleine Berkhemer.

Sensory experience

After the entrance, there are ethnographic and cultural historical objects alongside art works from across the globe. The visitor is encouraged to look at and interpret things in a new light, focusing on the sensory experience.

Highlights

The Tropenmuseum combines its own objects with the collection from the Museum of World Cultures in Basel, presented there in its RED (ROT) exhibition in 2007/2008. There are also objects on loan from a range of different museums including the Cobra Museum, the Amsterdam Historical Museum and the Dutch Army Museum. Visitors will see controversial works of art, including an remarkable erotic costume by Belgian fashion designer Walter Van Beirendonck and a monumental sculpture by Heringa/Van Kalsbeek. A key focus of their works is the central role played by this colour in many societies. The museum will exhibit sculptures by Gerard Quenum (a native of Benin) featuring dolls, found objects and red accents. The Widow (white) by photographer Inez van Lamsweerde will also be on display. In this portrait, the colour red both illustrates and accentuates the themes of mourning, suffering and death.

 

Alongside the contemporary art works, there are also numerous objects from ethnographic and cultural history. The highlights include a beautiful headdress from North America, a remarkable ancestral mask from Papua New Guinea, statues of Aztec deities and a Romanian devil’s mask. Other examples are a British soldier’s tunic from the Battle of Waterloo, political posters from the Netherlands, Iran and China, a bridal dress from Marken and a ceremonial robe created for Cardinal Simonis by fashion designer Aziz Bekkaoui. All in all, visitors will be treated to an exceptionally broad panoply.

 

Red is contradictory and meaningful

A close look at the chosen themes shows how contradictory red objects can be. For example, red can be used to emphasise the deadly nature of a spear, but it can also represent the protection offered by a shield. The way in which people distinguish themselves from others in terms of gender, ethnic background or status can be seen across world cultures through the use of red body paint, precious items of clothing and masks. Red was chosen for royal ceremonial attire because of its precious pigments but is also used for traffic lights because of the signal function of the colour. These universal functions of the colour red are widely used by advertisers across the world.

Unknown beauties

Because red has so many different meanings, the full story behind every object is not always known to those creating the exhibition. The section ‘Unknown beauties’ (‘Onbekend maar bemind’), features a number of objects of which the significance of their red colour is not known for certain. Visitors are invited to give their own reaction or interpretation at the exhibition.

Multimedia red

The theme ‘red and power’ fascinates photographers across the globe. A presentation on three screens shows marching armies, frenzied demonstrators and the red neck-ties of world leaders. Visitors can also discover the exciting visual world revealed when the search term ‘red’ is typed into Google. The film compilation by Jandries Groenendijk and Ton van der Lee depicts the ritual ceremonies performed by Masai warriors. A special interactive programme features extraordinary stories about red pigments and their history and the psychological effects of the colour red.

RED magazine

The glossy magazine RED (ROOD) examines the themes included in the exhibition even further and relates them to the present day in a series of columns, interviews and other features.

 

About the Tropenmuseum
The Tropenmuseum presents, researches and promotes knowledge of and interaction between cultures. It aims to enrich the perception and experience of a wide public, using all kinds of museum resources: exhibitions, collections and expertise, publications, the historical building itself, educational activities and other activities. The museum receives support from the BankGiro Lottery and is part of the Royal Tropical Institute (KIT), which is celebrating its hundredth anniversary this year.

Address:
Linnaeusstraat 2
Amsterdam
020-568 8200
tropenmuseum@kit.nl
www.tropenmuseum.nl

The Tropenmuseum is open daily from 10:00 to 17:00.
Closed on 1 January, 30 April, 5 May and 25 December

---

Note for the press
For further information, please contact the Tropenmuseum, Nanja Ruiter, tel. 020 – 568 8422 or e-mail: n.ruiter@kit.nl. Visual material is available via www.tropenmuseum.nl under the press section.

Press photos

---