

ARTBINOCULAR ARTSINGRONINGEN:WHOCHANGESTHE PAINTINGS?
EUROVISIONSONGCONTESTEXPLAINED UNIVERSITYCATS
AMONTHLYTASTEOFCULTURE: Death in her hands
Valerie and her week of wonders
IKEVENTS ARTSYMINDS
Akira Toriyama, the creator of the popular manga series Dragon Ball, passed away on March 1st at the age of 68.Announcing his death caused by a blood clot in the brain, Bird Studio's statement thanked fans for their support during Toriyama's over 45-year career and expressed deep regret, as the artist was in the midst of creating many more projects. Many others expressed their shock and sadness, including Eiichiro Oda - the creator of One Piece.
The official posters for this year's Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris have been designed. Created by French illustrator Ugo Gattoni, the two surrealist, magical and celebratory posters of the utopian city complement each other to create one big image. It is the first time that the Olympic and Paralympic Games have been depicted in such a unified way. This beautiful image encourages discussion about the relationship between these two sporting events and draws attention to all the athletes participating. It is rich in symbolism, referring to Parisian monuments, the traditions of the Olympic Games, Ancient Greece and the French Republic.
On the other hand, for some, it lacks some very important attributes. Outraged conservatives point out that a cross and a French flag are missing from the top of the Hôtel des Invalides, as well as from Napoleon's tomb. According to Francois-Xavier Bellamy, a member of the European Parliament from the conservative Republican Party, these images are "ready to deny France, going so far as to distort reality in order to erase its history". Other right-wing politicians, such as Marion Marechal, agreed, saying it was pointless to organise the Olympic Games if it meant hiding their French identity.
Best known for his sculptures of balloon dogs which fetched the record price for a work by a living artist at auction, or world’s largest flower sculpture, Puppy, outside the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Jeff Koons decided to take his art to the moon.
Landing on a SpaceX rocket on 22 February, in the spirit of President Kennedy’s vision of space exploration and inspiration by the moon, which to the artist is “a symbol of curiosity and determination” and with the intention of encouraging viewers to reflect and contemplate their place in the vast universe, his artwork Moon phases consists of three components. Send to the Moon, 125 miniature lunar sculptures of different phases, each approximately one inch in size, all inscribed with names honouring groundbreaking historical figures from different eras and disciplines, are displayed together in a fully transparent cube. 125 larger, 15.5 inch high, mirror-reflective, stainless steel lunar sculptures remain on Earth. Unique NFTs (non-fungible tokens) paired with sculptures on both the Moon and Earth are being offered by Koons’s gallery, Pace.
In this way, Moon phases became the first “authorised” artwork on the Moon. Although it was the first project to link art on Earth and in space in this way, it wasn't the first work of art to be placed on the lunar surface. Examples of cosmic art date back to 1969, when The Moon Museum, a ceramic tile with drawings by six artists - Andy Warhol, Robert Rauschenberg, John Chamberlain, Claes Oldenburg, Forrest Myers and David Novros - was sent on Apollo 12 and is said to still be attached to the leg of the lunar module. In 1971, the crew of Apollo 15 left behind a small figure by Belgian artist Paul Van Hoeydonck.
from 21 february
IMAGINE! 100 YEARS OF INTERNATIONALSURREALISM
BRUSSELS,PARIS,HAMBURG,MADRID, PHILADELPHIA
AcollaborationofRoyalMuseumsofFine Art of Belgium and Centre Pompidou in Paris,atouringexhibitionthatfocuseson world’s most famous surrealists such as Giorgio De Chirico, Jackson Pollock, Salvador Dalí, Joan Miró and Man Ray, to look for similarities as well as fine lines between surrealism and symbolism, the history of emergence of the style and recurring themes of dream, metamorphosisorsubconscious.
8 mar14 jul
ROY LICHTENSTEIN: A CENTENNIAL EXHIBITION
THEALBERTINA,VIENNA
Incelebrationoftheyearthatwouldhavebeen his 100th birthday, a retrospective exhibition of Roy Lichtenstein’s works that parodied low art of American comics, and in the end led to popularisingthestyleworldwideandmadehim aleadingroleinthepopartmovement.
16 mar14 jul
MARINAABRAMOVI STEDELIJK AMSTERDAM
Largest exhibition the Netherlands includes sculptures reperformances most known such as (1977) or (1997).
THEGRANDEGYPTIANMUSEUM,GIZA
Workstakingplaceforthelasttwodecadesare comingtoanendandthebiggestmuseuminthe world is said to fully reopen to its visitors in a brandnewlooklaterthisspring.Neverdisplayed before, antiquites from Pharaoh Tutankhamun’s tombwillbecomeapartoftheexhibitionaswell.
ABRAMOVIĆ
STEDELIJK MUSEUM
AMSTERDAM
retrospective of her work in Netherlands which photos, videos, and live reperformances of her known performances
Imponderabilia or Luminosity
21 sep26 jan
DIOR:ANEWLOOK
KUNSTMUSEUMHAGUE
Exhibition different from the well-known Dior: Designer of Dreams will take a distinct approach to focus on the house's essence and the preservation of its unique character. It will dive deeper specifically into the connection between Christian Dior and Dior’s current creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri.
Every evening on my way home, I would walk down the same small sleeping street and always stop at one of the windows of the houses with a childishly bated breath. In that window, glowing brighter than the dim light of the streetlamps, was always a painting - and I saw some mystery in it, both because it was an abstraction that I always want to solve and because someone invisible to me changed these paintings time after time and, it seems, not at all by chance.And I knew that the time would come when I would recognise this city story and tell it to you.
I was back in Groningen at the beginning of February to take my last exam. I spent the week before the new term getting my life back on track. And all that week, the city was bursting at the seams from some unrelenting storm. I was still suffering from insomnia and waking up delirious from the howling wind. After such nights it was impossible to live in the morning, and I had no sleeping pills so once I went for a run. The bicycle road missed the motorway and passed in the middle of fields that were not visible at night. Gulping the air, I suddenly felt that it smelled of spring, the wind was confusing, but I could feel that it was already warm. And I stopped, threw back my head, standing alone in this uncharted wilderness, and saw the stars in the breaks of the clouds, which, perhaps, only this wind didn’t let too tight the whole sky. In the night gloom, I suddenly saw large birds crossing my path at a leisurely pace. They looked as if they were out of the way and trying to settle in. And I was so happy to see them, migratory birds, came at night. And in the morning, spring had begun. There was no trace left of the week's storm.
But one thing was missing to make me finally believe this spring - I waited for the evening - to see the new painting. And there it was - the colours of the crocuses that sprinkle the local parks in spring - green, violet, white - bright stripes were beating with the black plane, thin lines, like music girdling the canvas, bringing the colours together. A few days later the artist, telling me about the painting, would say: "This is Spring".
On the eve of this encounter, the very week the city was caught in a storm, peering through the gallery window, I saw my artist at work - I saw Spring being created, in the city and on the canvas. A few more days later, I saw the "welcome" sign on the gallery door for the first time. It was then that I thought a new chapter in the city story had begun - I would soon find out who was changing the paintings. I called the phone number, the only scrap of communication I could find, and asked for a meeting, saying I was writing about art for a student magazine. Stelma said she was at home and I could come round right away - that's how stories always happen and you have to go to a meeting without a second thought.
Stelma Trijntje was born in Haus, Friesland in 1946 and now lives and creates in Groningen. Most of her artworks are abstract, she began to paint the colour and later found the starting point for her works in nature and the feelings it evokes. I'll tell you what we discussed while I was so absorbed in the paintings that I forgot to take notes.
I try to convey the atmosphere of the surroundings in my paintings. As you feel connected (especially spiritually) to your environment, the choice of colours becomes obvious. I have painted in the south of France, Brittany, Rügen, Sicily, Normandy, but also closer to home, namely the Wadden Sea. I hope this can be felt in my works. Moreover, I prefer to translate everything into colour, line and plane.
Tell me about your way to art, when and how you got into it?
My interest in art has grown from a hobby. I used to be a children’s school teacher and most of all I loved drawing classes. I never went to art school. I learnt on my own and from artists.
Which artists influenced you the most?
Benno Sloots, he was my teacher. And he learned from Beppe Assenza. Courses that have been important to me in connection with my art: Rijkskweekschool Drachten,
De Esdoorn, art centre in Meppel, workgroup Arts in Driebergen, Marianne Polhout atelier de Bark Zutphen , Nicole Schwertfeger. and Jens Kilian (Dusseldorf).
The people I learned from are very dear to me. They have encouraged me very much and set me free so that I have now developed my own brush strokes and hope to develop many more hidden ones.
Do you have a final image in your mind when starting a new painting?
No, I create in chaos. I have to fight with the colour.And when the colour is created I add the lines, they add balance and complete the painting.
Do you want people to see the same thing you see in your paintings?
I want people to have their own interpretations. Everyone can feel and see in a different way looking at the same painting. I don’t make titles for my artworks because I don’t want to define them. Who are your favourite artists?
Julius Bissier, Robert Motherwell, Willem de Kooning.
How much do your paintings cost?
There are small ones for 10€ and 20€, medium-sized are 500700€. I had long wanted to start collecting contemporary art, but I had no hope at all that I would find anything affordable in this gallery. Art seemed out of my reach. Such was the story of how I bought my first painting, which seems to me a dusk-to-dawn sunset in the middle of nowhere, beyond the hills covered in withered grass.
The gallery's website - https://www.trijntjestelmakunst.nl/ welkom.
The Eurovision Song Contest is – as the name indicates – a song contest between countries in Europe, which the European Broadcasting Union organises annually. It is important to note that it is indeed a song contest and not a singing contest, which means that the song and songwriting should be what makes a country win (technically).
The performances are accompanied by a specially-commissioned opening act, an interval act including guest performances by famous international musicians and media personalities of the host country. Since 2013, this opening ceremony has also included a “Flag Parade” – similar to the Olympic Games – where participants enter the stage with a flag of their country. As since 1958 the contest is traditionally held in the country which has won the last contest, it provides a great opportunity to promote the host country and the host city that was chosen by the country.
The contest can claim the title of the longestrunning international music competition on TV, with it having been held every year since 1956 (with the exception of 2020 because of Covid). This simultaneously also makes it one of the longest-running TV shows in general. The contest was developed as an experiment to see how different broadcasters and countries could collaborate after the Second World War. Switzerland, as a neutral country, agreed to be the first host country of the contest, which then had the title “European Grand Prix” (the name “Eurovision” was first used in 1951 by George Campey, a British journalist for the London Evening Standard). The show took place in Lugano in 1956 and seven countries participated in it - Switzerland, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands - with each country bringing in two songs, which was changed to one song per country in the next contest.
The contest has changed due to technological developments, such as colour broadcasting, and streaming. Over the years, more countries started to join Eurovision, including countries that lie outside the geographical borders of Europe. In the 1970s and 80s, there was a rise of countries from Central and Eastern Europe taking part.
Currently, all active members of the EBU – European Broadcasting Union – are allowed to participate, which allows countries outside the geographical borders of Europe to join, such as Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Ukraine, Israel, Cyprus. Russia, Turkey, and Morocco. In 2015,Australia became the first and only country to participate without being part of the European Broadcasting Area, as it was invited by the Reference Group of the contest. There is a maximum of how many countries can take part in one contest, which is 44.
Each broadcaster that is participating in the contest has full freedom over what song to choose for their country and how. Over the last years it has become typical for countries to have their own televised national final where the song they are sending in is decided by a public vote. Other methods include an internal selection made by a committee. One of the most notable examples of a national selection show is the Swedish “Melodifestivalen”.
As more countries joined, ESC has employed more and more rules and regulation systems since 1994. From 2004, a semifinal was included and a second semi-final was added in 2008 to manage the amount of countries wanting to take part. Now the contest is performed in 3 parts. In the semi-finals, all countries of the year have to compete, except the host country of the year and the “Big Five” – the five biggest financial contributors of the contest: France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom. This automatic right to compere has been under intense scrutiny over the years.
In the semi-finals, countries are placed into groups that depend on their geographical location and voting history. Then they are assigned a random spot, including whether they compete in the first or second half of the semi-final. The running order of the final is less random, it is decided by producers after the second semifinal, depending on a multitude of factors, such as the musical qualities of the songs (as decided by producers), the stage performance, lighting set-up, etc.
While it has become a bit of an inside joke that different countries love to give each other points, such as Cyprus and Greece, Eurovision has received a lot of criticism for its political dimension. Allegiances and rivalries between countries as well as political conflicts or wars continue to affect the voting results. There have been a lot of controversial moments in Eurovision’s long history, from withdrawals to censorship scandals.
To give a few examples, the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan has affected the contest multiple times. Song titles had to be changed, fines had to be paid, disciplinary action followed. The war in Ukraine has highlighted the politics of ESC in recent years. Russia was prohibited from competing ever since 2022, the contest which was subsequently won by Ukraine. Similar things occurred in the 2009 contest in Moscow between Georgia and Russia, in light of the Russo-Georgian War. Georgia withdrew from the contest after their song “We Don’t Wanna Put In” was seen as too political and they were asked to change lyrics.
Another continuing controversy of the contest is Israel’s participation. The country first appeared in ESC in 1973, less than a year after the Munich massacre. Israel’s first win in 1978 was controversial, as mostArab broadcasters cut the feed before the voting had ended. Now, for the Eurovision Song Contest of 2024, Israel’s participation in the contest has become even more controversial once more, with many people making efforts to ban the country from the contest, similarly to Russia in 2022, whereas others believe this would make the contest even more political. In recent years, studies have been conducted to identify voting “clusters” within the contest and it has been discovered that voting preferences are not only based on politics but also shared religions between countries, as well as “patriotic voting”, people living in one country voting for their country of origin.
The ESC has a long-running history with its LGBTQ+ community and arguably wouldn’t be the same without it. Paul Oscar was the contest’s first openly gay artist, representing Iceland in 1997. In 1998, the first trans performer, Dana International, was the first to win the contest. Many of Eurovision’s winning artists and wellknown stars have included famous drag personalities, such as Conchita Wurst who won the contest for Austria in 2014, and Verka Serduchka, who landed 2nd place for Ukraine in 2007.
In recent years, political ideologies of various countries have clashed with the LGBTQ+ friendly space that Eurovision presents, and multiple countries have withdrawn from the contest because of it. Turkey was the first in 2013, citing queer performances as the reason, as they refused to show Finland’s same-sex kiss of 2013 on TV.
Hungary left in 2020 and since then the contest has been described as “gay propaganda” by Russia and received criticism from China – needless to say, most European countries weren’t impressed and queer artists continue to feature prominently in the contest.
1969 was the only year four countries have all been declared winner
72 countries and 70 songs have won Eurovision so far
52 is the total number of countries to have taken part in at least one contest
43 is the record for how many countries have participated in one single contest
25 countries have yet to win once
7 winning songs have been performed fully or at least partially in a language other than English
4 countries have had back to back wins (Spain, Luxembourg, Israel, Ireland)
2 countries have won the contest on their first appearance: Switzerland and Serbia
The spring is right there and what better activity is here, than reading under the tree or at home, experiencing another rainy afternoon with windows wide open? Your favourite Magazine has your back and will help you with tasty book recommendation!
Most of the people pull warm, light reads for the springtime, but I am well aware that some of us like to shiver in feverish thrill while devouring a crazy, uncomfortable story. That is where Ottessa Moshfegh is to be found and to occupy your mind with intense thoughts. You may hear about her famous novel My year of rest and relaxation, which became a bestseller and is also worth your time, but I would rather delve deeper into her less known novels. Death in her hands is Moshfegh’s novel from 2020 and follows a story of an older woman named Vesta living alone in the cabin in the middle of a forest after her husband’s death. Her dog is the only company she has and beside that, she is a lonely woman. Her daily routine is simple and does not require much contact with other people. On the day when the novel begins, she is on a walk with her dog, when she suddenly finds a piece of paper on the ground. “Her name was Magda. Nobody will ever know who killed her. It wasn’t me. Here is her dead body” says the note, but there is no dead body and Vesta did not hear about any Magda or any recent murder. She starts to wonder who Magda might be, why is she dead now and who left the note on the ground? Vesta slowly starts to fall in the loop of mystery she wants to solve and her own delusions and solitude. The reality is blending with her imagination and possible dangers of her own mind.
Ottessa Moshfegh’s writing is truly captivating and hypnotising from the first page. You enter this heavy, mysterious world where you can’t trust anyone, even yourself. Things might be different from what they seemed to be and perception of reality is bent.
Novel is slowly revealing more about the creepy side of human nature that we sometimes do not want to know about. It is twisted and psychological in a scary way and leaves more questions at the end than it asks at the very beginning. If you want to go on a mystery trip (solving murder or just dangerous side of the human brain) and you are brave enough, Death in her hands will hopefully help you to distract from the exam period and transfer you to mysterious forest in the middle of nowhere with a note in your hands and large expanse of your own imagination.
The sun is more and more present, the temperature is finally high enough to enjoy walks without almost dying from the wind or cold. Even in exam period, it is important to spend some time outside or meet up with friends to take a break from intense studying. Watching a film together is a great idea and if you can’t come up with good titles to watch because of being tired from absolutely killing this block (and exams), we are here to help!
In this issue's book recommendation, I recommended a novel with a horrifying plot, but for the film I want to get more into spring, lazy aesthetic (but don’t worry, the uncomfortable plot is not going anywhere!) and that is why Valerie and Her Week of Wonders is a great option here. The film represents Czechoslovak new wave and has been directed by Jaromil Jireš in 1970.
The plot is following a teenage girl named Valerie living with her grandmother in the cottage house. Valerie starts to enter womanhood, which is represented in a very symbolic way. The film captures girlhood as something not only beautiful, but dangerous and horrifying. She starts to feel more aware of her own sexuality, being terrified of it and its consequences at the same time. The fantasy subplot is just a cherry on top, adding more symbolism and transferring teenage girl’s nightmares into monstrous characters. The religious theme connected to expectations on young women and sexuality and marriage creates large room for interpretations and discussions. The scariest and most obscure sides of girlhood are being explored here (therefore, if you are sensitive to violent and sexual scenes, trigger warnings for some scenes as they can be really uncomfortable).
The characters are being part of Valerie’s journey and help the spectator experience sadness and grief of lost girlhood and innocence. Different people stand for different archetypes and different stages of woman’s life also having regard to religion and its presence in small communities.
The visual aspects of this film are also worth mentioning; the light, cottage aesthetic with very symbolic, subtle touches is a great background for the dark plot and characters that are not always black or white.
If you want to watch something visually appealing, with a twisted storyline to discuss with friends after screening and you're not scared of uncomfortable traits, Valerie and Her Week of Wonders is worth giving a chance to!
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As often, on the Papengang street, highlighted by the colorful lights illuminating the evening, night life was thrilling in Nachtcafe Warhol. On the 15th of the march we had an opportunity to experience an inspiring Neo Global concert organized by our study association. The evening consisted of a list of performances giving us a peek through music from various decades, styles and countries. There was a moment for everything: a chance to dance to bangers, a dive into delicate ballads, and the alternative revision of classical hits. In between the concerts there were nice moments for refreshment and opening an undeniably obvious discussion about the arts and music. With every song played on that evening we got to uncover more definitions of understanding music. The atmosphere of the event left participants with uneven feeling and as I assume, special curiosity for more future events such as this.
February was a great month to all party animals in IK Study Association, thanks to our amazing Party Committee who organized the Midterm Party. With the “Childhood Dream Job” theme, all people attending could experience amazing fun with great music, games, drinks and wonderful company. The Walrus club was decorated to fit into the theme and it is important to admit; people’s costumes were amazing and creative. I believe that was the night to remember and have fun after finishing the first semester at university.
On the 22nd of March in Groningen an event organized by the Arts Conference committee took place. Speakers - Manuel Pinto Reyes, Annemarie Kok, Linda Nijenhof, and Dan Leberg gave talks and answered questions on interactive art from the perspectives of music, film and visual arts. Interactivity is becoming an increasingly integral part of contemporary art. At the conference, the guests were able to dive into this theme from different angles, gain new insights into the perception and study of art, and find topics for future research.
Trip to Delft organised by the Excursion committee became an exciting story and I believe, different for everyone. That is thanks to that we had both the itinerary and the freedom to explore the city.
First, my friends and I went to the tower of the new church, from where you can see the whole city, among stone carved spires to look at the sea of roofs and a network of canals. If you see the city from high up, it starts to seem somehow cosy and long familiar. We almost spent the whole time in the church, but did get down town.
Without excitement I met the idea of visiting the Vermeer Information Centre, somehow I felt uncomfortable with the printed paintings, but for nothing. The lack of originals was compensated by enthusiasm in the approach to the methods of display. Whoever worked on the lighting design for the exhibition is no less a master of light than Vermeer himself. They installed light sources in the gallery with varying intensities so that it matched the light on the painting, bringing it to life. It is incredible how much we lose by not having such skilful lighting in the museums where the originals are kept.
Still, in Delft you can see something that is closer to the original than the painting itself - we went to the place that for me was originally the main purpose of the trip - the View of Delft.
And it was worth it - even though much has changed, there is a sense of continuity and history when you see the subject of a painting made several hundred years ago in reality.
Finally, it was time for the adventure prepared for us by the Excursion committee - the Highlight Delft exhibition. The event takes place in several buildings scattered around the city, the interactive way to experience contemporary art is to follow the neon lights on the night avenues. It's impossible to talk about all the interesting works of the event, but I can't help but mention one that is special to me. Ouroboros is a multi-sensory installation, for which a separate hall is reserved, immersed in darkness, spires form a ring around the participants, light and sound respond to each other, creating a three-dimensional environment that controls your attention, you feel as if you are on a spaceship, somewhere in the middle of the galaxy. This art object was the starting point of a new perception of art for mefor the first time I didn't just think it was interesting, beautiful, or unusual, for the first time I really felt contemporary art, I thought it was amazing.
Not every trip becomes an adventure. For an adventure there must be something to encourage and inspire it. And here I want to pay a tribute to the Excursion committee. Looking forward to more adventures on the 3 day trip to Bruges, 19-21April, sign up while there are still places available and we'll see you there!
Janine Antoni, I open the gates , 2019.
Mixed media gilded with 24 karat gold leaf.
I open the gates -
The gates to eternal damnation
The gates that whisper: “It hurts. It hurts to stand still, hold my breath, and silence my beating heart.”
I tear my chest apart and meet your gaze with a voiceless mouth.
My column resembles a colonnade
Polished with gold and covered by dust.
My blood cells are colorless and my eyes are blind - they pretend to see nothing.
My heart is sacred - it pretends to feel nothing.
My hands are sinful - they dismember my breast and invite you to love me to feel my love and touch me from without
The severed breasts shout my name: Agatha of Sicily
The broken column whispers my pronouns: Frida Kahlo
The gold leaf, the white skin, the unseen face expose the fact that I am a Woman
I open the gates and breathe out:
“I hold myself. Behold myself. Withhold myself. With my holding I open to self.”
Lia CalanceaDutch train lines’ trains have extremely smooth rails and extremely smooth floors perfect for crawling in your own three-day sweat same as their stations what a beautiful piece of concrete and glass for someone like me and their city centres full of haunted tombs which tries to hide forever lost worlds
i remember that day when without phone because i love to destroy them i wandered to my hotel on the opposite side of the cassino and the office building from balcony i could have seen smoking roofs and burning windows with ants inside who were making shakes in their arses streets were filled with stoned dreadlocks on bikes threatning sky and dice and with charming youngs of perfect blonde hair and innocent eyes of mileage none
everywhere coffeshops with smoke of paranoia
pizzerias with tuna pizzas twisted art on squares and dirt in drains what a beautiful place not for living at the very morning i made skincare and smoked a joint on my tiny balcony underneath garbages were taken by orange mosquitos smoke above roofs slowly were starting to choke windows were all grey and dead next to the bench by the river a dealer asked me if i’m not interested in buying some cocaine 5 minutes later i almost missed my bus
MouldyOldCarpet