Junk vs. Art

Today, I decided to take advantage of the few hours of clear skies and headed over to one of the many shopping areas in Utrecht. On previous trips down this street (which has many different names -- Vismarkt, Twijnstraat, Oudegracht), I'd spotted an interesting looking store with junk pouring out of it's doors. So, today, I finally went inside.

I'm Sure There are Treasures Here Somewhere

This might be redundant, since I just showed you a picture, but it was quite overwhelming. Also, the store was so narrow that only one person could be in the aisle at once. And, since there was someone else in the store and only one aisle, I felt obligated to hurry along.

After this experience, I went in a few less-cluttered antique and resale shops, and I ended up with 3 new books (in English) by the end of the shopping trip. 

Along the way, however, I decided to pop into more modern location with a lot less junk: the Aboriginal Art Museum, which displays contemporary art from the indigenous population of Australia. You may remember (but probably not) that we previously purchased a year long Museumkaart, which is valid at many of the museums around The Netherlands. Since this museum is on the list and right in our backyard, I figured I might as well check it out.

Ticket and Program - No Pictures Were Allowed

Aboriginal art is in general (from what I could tell from the museum -- I am certainly not an expert) very abstract. I caught part of the video which explained that the use of symbols is intentional so that only people in the specific groups can tell what the art means. Different shapes, colors, and patterns stand for certain concepts. For example, white is the color of bones and is used to represent mortality. Of course, since people have started studying Aboriginal art, the symbolism is now more widely known.

In the handout in the above picture, the objects in the bottom right are representative of art that might be used at a funeral to guard the soul. Objects like these were the first type of Aboriginal art to be displayed in an art museum. This initially caused a lot of controversy because before this point the art of indigenous Australians was not considered actual art, but only ethnographic artifacts. After viewing the art in this museum, I would argue that it was of a much higher quality than some of the work I have seen displayed in museums like the Tate Modern in London or the Dallas Museum of Art.

I enjoyed learning a little more about a different culture and my visit to the museum was definitely a nice little break from my usual routine. It's interesting to think that in the middle of Utrecht is "the only museum in Europe that is entirely dedicated to contemporary Aboriginal art from Australia" (according to the museum Web site).