The annual Summer Expo at Gemeentemuseum Den Haag is open to submissions from amateurs. But in the end, as many as 70% of the entrants turn out to have attended an art school, and even 80% of the selected entries were made by professional artists. With two guests, I visit the Summer Exhibition. Museum visitor Rob van Berlo picks his favourites. Gallery owner Nena Milinkovic I ask the same, but it doesn't work out. All the work at the expo is for sale, which, in her opinion, puts the museum in the galleries' lane. It is not her only criticism of the exhibition's design. The Gemeentemuseum responds.
'Fierce' is the theme of the fifth Summer Exhibition at the Gemeentemuseum Den Haag. This year, too, a jury selected the works anonymously during preliminary rounds, shown on TV. For the first time, there are also sculptures in the museum's garden.
The enthusiast: 'Also nice. A hot chick with a kalashnikov.'
Rob van Berlo, human resources adviser at a government agency, visits a museum about once a month. He had not been to a summer exhibition at the Gemeentemuseum before, although he thought about it. 'I think there was something on TV on the Avro about the selection procedure. I saw that then. I thought it was funny that it was also for amateurs, and I think they are mostly amateurs.'
'I am positively surprised by the exhibition. I am critical of amateur art, it has to be really good for me. It's a very large quantity, and that produces just enough that appeals to me. With a lot of it I think: I've seen this before, or it doesn't do anything for me. But there are a few things that stick with me. I have to admit that I don't give the more difficult accessible works much of a chance, due to the multitude and limited time. You can also sometimes grow in appreciation of a particular work. That doesn't work here.'
1. Aafke Steenhuis, The Refugees
My vote for the audience award goes to The Refugees. A whole group of gauze-clad women. It reminds me of an experience during a Museum Night at Humanity House. There, you walk a route in the shoes of refugees. In the process, you are depersonalised: your identity is taken away from you, you become a number. These figurines assume poses that represent humiliation, or sadness or despair. But they are hollow. Man himself is not there, only his form. It also reminds me of the boats on the Mediterranean, you don't want to read what people say about them. That's because for us the refugees are stripped of their personality. By the way, I think Humanity House should purchase this work! (Price: 9,500 euros)
2. Mariken Tönis, Wallace
A doll's house. Everything full, with toilet rolls all over the floor and Euromovers boxes everywhere. I have a fascination with soiled households, people who have so many piles of newspapers lying around That they can no longer enter their own homes, how come? And there is a second reason why I find it interesting. The artist takes something everyone knows and gives it a twist. In a doll's house, normally everything is very beautiful. With this twist, it reflects a social problem. (Price: €4,000)
3. Sierk van Meeuwen, Terrorist
Also nice. A hot chick with a kalashnikov. The contrast of sex with war and violence always does well in films, but it also depicts something else. If you look at how IS recruits people, for instance, you see that they make it very attractive above all. Being an IS terrorist is almost sexy. (Price: €11,500)
4. Ad Wesseling, Untitled
Small and unfortunately already sold. Four figures in a snowstorm. It looks like a diorama, but is simply painted on wood. It stood out strongly for me because of the way he gave it depth. (Sold, €650)
5. Kees Juffermans, Don Quixote
Don Quixote is an iconic image, very recognisable, but everything has been replaced by everyday metal objects: a Singer sewing machine, an old crane... again, that has that twist. And I have a weakness for Singer sewing machines. (Price: €4,100)
6. Janine Melai, Necklace for a plane tree
I generally didn't find the sculptures outside that great, but it Necklace for a plane tree I would love to have it in my garden like this. (Sold, €4,000)
The gallery owner: 'Then the subsidy pot should also be open for galleries.'
Nena Milinkovic is owner of A Gallery Named Sue at the Noordeinde in The Hague. She has already expressed her reservations about the set-up of the expo, but would still like to come and see it. But when I ask her about favourites she would consider worth purchasing, my plan threatens to fail. Milinkovic is not going to point out any favourites. Now what? Walking around the exhibition, I decide to survey her objections.
1. Isolated image
Milinkovic: 'No, I am not going to appoint favourites. Of course I see interesting things. But then the next step is always: what else does such a person do? The works here give an isolated picture and I want to look at the oeuvre. There is also a lot I have seen before. Many artists naturally start with imitation and some things are fads. That's not bad at all, that's in our psyche, but the development after that only becomes interesting: what will such an artist do next?'
2. No guidance
'I have heard artists say about this exhibition: nice to hang in the Gemeentemuseum once, I'll tick that off my list and next time I won't participate. As an artist, you eventually want to develop in such a way that you get your own exhibition here. The Summer Expo does not offer that guidance. A gallery does. Take the pricing. There is a huge price difference. One work costs 50 euros here, another 11,000. When you exhibit in a gallery, there is a really serious discussion about it. It depends, for example, on the stage of your artistry, we look at who you are working with, what project you are working on, whether we have contacts who might be able to help you further. As a gallery, you invest time in an artist.'
She pauses at I don't want no wheelie case by Allard Boterenbrood. Three coloured roller cases cut to pieces, with advertising signs attached and the axe. 'This artist might benefit from his own exhibition, for example, with a commission, where everything would have to be right. Then you might find a specialised collector's market for his work. I would be surprised if this is sold here; a private individual is not likely to buy this.'
3. A museum should not sell
'Sales exhibitions were always not done for museums. For what purpose does that happen here? If a subsidised institution starts selling, it is in the path of galleries.'
I object: 'And when you say: to get funding, museums need to be more entrepreneurial?'
Milinkovic: 'Nonsense! Then the subsidy pot should also be open for galleries. The museum gets funds and subsidies for this, but what does The Hague or the Hague art scene get in return? It is ultimately a national exhibition.'
4. Prices and conditions of sale
Yet Milinkovic also sees positives. 'What I like is that there is a lot of video art. So there is quite a large group of people who are taking note of it now, who normally wouldn't come into contact with it. I do get that question: does anyone buy something like that, is there a market for video installations? Yes, a small market of collectors. But a video for 50 euros?" she looks at Pussy Destructor By Bars Janboud, on which a cat crawls into a spinning washing machine. 'Doesn't the maker hang a price on the work then? An artist spends so much time on such a video. It is always a bit of a guess as to how they arrived at the prices. And I can buy this video for 50 euros, but what am I buying? There are often conditions attached to sales, to be allowed to exhibit a video work, for instance. Is there exclusivity? There is probably a standard contract for all artworks, which does not say this at all.'
5. Amateur art?
'It is claimed that there are many amateurs. But there during the opening I understood that 80% comes from the academy's artists. In earlier years, it would have been 60%. It's a populist way of dealing with art: throwing TV programme against it... and it's easy for the viewer, like putting 50 galleries together. Everything is very nice, but I know artists who don't participate, who say: this is beyond a big part of my existence.'
The Gemeentemuseum responds
In a comment, the Gemeentemuseum informs that indeed 80% of the 254 chosen artists attended art school. In 2014, it was 70%. Of all 1,800 entrants, 70% attended the academy, compared with 60% in 2014. The Gemeentemuseum itself earns nothing from the Summer Expo. However, 30% of the proceeds from the works sold will go to organiser Artworlds Foundation. This amount is used to cover the costs of organisation, preliminary rounds, special activities around SummerExpo and prize money from the various prizes awarded.
- Summer Expo 2015 Fierce, Gemeentemuseum The Hague, until 20 September. The Summer Exhibition is co-sponsored by the BankGiro Lottery. Other sponsors include VSBfonds, Fonds voor Cultuurparticipatie and Fonds 1818.
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