Hertogenbosch: Design Museum- Part I

Radical Art Movement

On a Friday afternoon, before the weekend, I made a trip to Hertogenbosch. It is a small city possessing exquisite cultural traditions and historical relics. To add spontaneity to life, I randomly stepped into a Design Museum. It hosts a variety of exhibitions around the year.

As I entered the museum, an atmosphere filled with enigma engulfed me. This is because the visuals and theme of the exhibition were very alien to me.

So, I felt like being a student again in my life.

Today, the theme was the radical art movement that took place in Austria during the 1960s. This movement was marked as one of the iconic movements. Because it led to the creation of a new radical architecture.

I looked at the wallpapers and tried to learn more about these movements. Soon, I heard the tapping of people’s shoes and the folding of big paper sheets. And there was also persistent silence in the hall. I noticed people were sometimes walking fast by hopping between different wall pictures. At other times, they were anchored to a single picture, staring at it anxiously.

Mind expander

I spoke with a couple of people stationed inside the hall to gain more insight into the mind expander. One of the chief highlights of this movement was the urge to be liberal towards different aspects of life. According to them, the helmet, the air balloon, and the people wearing the mind expander (in the picture above) depict the concept of mind expander. It signifies the mind, perception, and experiences.

It was an attempt by the creators to motivate people to see everything in a different light. But, keeping aside the conventional viewpoint.

The space around the mind enabled people to fulfill this aim. After a while, I realized that this perspective is very important in each aspect of daily life. This is because it can result in new inventions and conventions. These will be further beneficial for society.

Performance Art

During this movement, people wanted to spread the message of architectural liberty. For this purpose, they used to go to the extremes of physicalities. In the above picture, people painted themselves with red-colored paint. This makes their performance more appealing to the public. There were many other similar activities that were severe. Hence, they are not advisable to adopt.

But these artists were pushing the boundaries to resonate with the wider population. On a positive note, this was very inspiring.

In life too, at a certain moment, it becomes essential to push the boundaries of our effort. Then we can fulfill our dreams.

As I kept learning more about this movement, I could hear some taped voices. Mostly, it was from the audio guide people were holding close to their ears. They were listening attentively to it.

Also, I could notice wall pictures of more mind expanders and groups of artists. The works of some prominent groups, like Coop Himmelblau, Haus-Rucker-Co, Zünd-Up, and Walter Pichler, were also displayed. These included the mind-expanding helmets, furniture, alienating effects of technology and fashion, etc.

In short, the movement encompassed the societal, technological, and spatial fabric of life.

As time passed by, the entire place appeared as a very large hall. The entire hall was divided into smaller cubicles with temporary partitioning walls. In each of the cubicles, a different aspect of the Radical Art movement was highlighted.

The advantage of such an approach lies because it leads to a better focus on each of the aspects of the movement. This further holds significance in life, too. Classification of each situation helps us in getting a clearer picture.

The place was also illuminating with different colors of the lights on the ceiling. Also, there were colorful reflections and shadows of the different artifacts. These were hanging on the walls and placed in showcases made up of different colors.

Closing remarks

One of the chief characteristics of this place is its universal appeal. People of all age groups, i.e. teenagers to old aged, were visiting the exhibition. This is proof of the spectacular artistic aura that was emanating from this place. Everybody was drawn to the explorative nature of art in this place. On a final note,

The art that is beautiful The art that gives a message The art that touches our heart The art that evokes emotions in us That art is the way of life!

References https://designmuseum.nl/en/tentoonstelling/radicalaustria/ Hertogenbosch Design Museum: Part II

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