Stitches and Thrills

A must see this summer are the 3 exhibitions at the Textielmuseum in Tilburg. It's where I spend this lovely Sunday afternoon! A major attraction is the overview of 20th-century textile designs from famous artists like Miro, Picasso, Warhol. The historic background is very interesting, the textile designs by painters and other artists were often created to make art more accessible ("Art by the yard"). But the real stars of the exhibit are of course the fabrics themselves. It is a good thing they put a lot of notes around saying: Don't touch! because some fabrics look so inviting.  (3:Estelle Laverne | 4:Nevill Johnson | 5:Eduardo Poalozzi | 6:Steinberg | 7:Andy Warhol) ARTIST TEXTILES, Picasso to Warhol (- till September 14, 2014) - - - x x x - - - On the first floor of the museum I felt like stepping into wonderland. There are 2 intriguing and surprising exhibits. The first one is the 8 fascinating tapestries based on the subconscious hallucin...

Yesterday I came across a fascinating art installation at the Aalmarkt in Leiden: A big red threatening button, montaged outside a former shop window, and above it a big sign saying: DO NOT PRESS! In the shop window there was a siren, a monitor, and much display of possible bells and whistles. So, what does one do when seeing a great big threatening button... Exactly!  (From: Doctor Who - The Christmas Invasion) I pressed the button, anticipating a lot of noise, lights and movement. But what happened was... nothing at all! :( Unfortunately there was not a name of an artist on the installation. Because now I am curious about his or her intentions. Was it on purpose that nothing happened, was it all about the moment of anticipation? Or did the neighbours complain? Perhaps dysfunctional due to the snow and ice? And how many passers-by did press the button despite (or because!) there were so many warning signs? - - - - - - + - - - - - - Anyway: her...