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Collecting

Group project in the Van Abbe museum of modern art, Eindhoven

"Museumnacht" is an interesting once-a-year event. We of deKunstClub.nl love to take part .... We go as a group, because such a collective visit is quite inspiring and great fun. Thirteen artists attended.

To heighten the fun, Alex developed the following ad-hoc performance / project. From somewhere in his collections of old technical stuff he produced a very old handwritten indexcard-system. This documented in at least 500 A5-size indexcards all the castings manu­factured by an Ironfoundry in the period 1930-1990. A veritable collection .... The company failed in the early 1990s and nothing physical remains except those indexcards to remind us of the works.

The cards were distributed over the group of artists and all set to work. Cards were left in all kind of places in the museum, some very clearly visible, some a bit less obtrusive, some hidden. At the same time, visitors were approached and asked to accept one of the indexcards, to keep it clearly visible in their hand and to look carefully for other similar cards while they made their way through the museum. They were further asked to pick up any card they spotted and add it to the growing collection of cards they held in their hand. They were finally asked to present their little collection to some other visitor when they were leaving the museum. Other cardcollectors could easily be discerned - they held their collection in their hand .... At the end of the museum night, the last visitor to leave the museum would then hold the final collection, as complete as it could be made.

The project was quite successful. All people we approached were very willing to cooperate. Most became real fanatics. Everywhere you saw people holding cards. Not all were completely clear about the aims of this project. That uncertainty of course led to a number of interesting effects .... The museum staff was enthousiastic and became involved - we thank them all for letting us do our thing, completey unannounced and without any previous complicated negotiations and requests for permission. Fully ad hoc, as good art always is ....

(photo's Tanya Cnossen)