Under the motto 'look wild and think nimble', Hans Lemmerman and Inge van Run show how the worlds of art and popular culture can reinforce each other. Since 2000, the duo has been portraying women in traditional Spakenburg costume alongside work by various Dutch artists. This produces surprising, alienating and funny images. The long-term project now concludes with an exhibition at the Mondrian House, in which the Spakenburg Divas enter into dialogue with the grand master of abstract art.
Het Wilde Oog (artist duo Hans Lemmerman and Inge van Run) has been portraying women in traditional Spakenburg costume for 20 years. Their photo series and videos add an artistic layer to the usually historicising and touristy view around traditional costume. Corrie, Mengsje and Wijmpje Koelewijn and Hendrikje Kuis have since formed The Spakenburg Divas and are the muses of The Wild Eye. The foursome has achieved a handsome social and cultural feat over the past 20 years. With their costumes, they proudly show that they stand in a tradition, as well as having the courage to open up to (contemporary) art.
Characteristic of The Wild Eye's working method is that it offers visual freedom and leeway to the women in the photographed locations. The artists add layers borrowed from diverse worlds: from fairy tales and comic strips to surrealism.
Rigorous and playful
Hans and Inge, artists trained as theatre makers, are simultaneously strict and playful in their direction. The rigour is determined by framing, formalistically creating a composition, just as Piet Mondrian did. The freedom lies in allowing diverse visual interventions. Het Wilde Oog finds the art of allowing images to slip beyond reason. Playing a game with worlds that coexist. Which interact and clash with each other.
Moreover, the distinctive Spakenburg costume fits into the Dutch art tradition of geometric clarity of, for example, Bob Bonies, Marijke de Goey, Ronald de Bloeme and their master Piet Mondrian. Just as Mondrian was engaged in his art research to conquer the ideal proportions of colour and line, Het Wilde Oog is searching for that ideal relationship in its direction with costume women and architecture/art. In recent years, Het Wilde Oog has been a guest at the Mondrian House several times to shoot a photo series with the Spakenburg Divas.
New perspective
Het Wilde Oog freely jumps around with Mondrian's oeuvre, like jazz musicians. Suddenly 'Piet' turns up on a quay in Middelburg or in front of architect Hans van Heeswijk's house on IJburg. Piet's work is literally disconnected in landscapes in Soest and Culemborg. With its photographs and videos, Het Wilde Oog creates oxygen for new meaning. This exhibition shows that the images not only offer a new perspective on women in costume, but also provide Piet Mondrian with a new vista.
Spakenburg Divas at the Mondrian House can be seen until 25 October 2020.