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Dutch Exhibition "Chips With Everything"
Press Release
Chips With Everything
with works by Baked Beans, Circus, Minivegas 16 January – 13 February 2010 The Dutch Cultural Pop-Up Space
40-42 Riding House Street, London W1W 7ET
“Chips With Everything” is an exhibition of works by three innovative Dutch collectives/studios working across the disciplines of digital design, animation, multimedia direction, art direction and art. The exhibition curated by intendant Ken Pratt, will be held from 16 January to 13 February 2010 at the Dutch Cultural Pop Up Space in Fitzrovia, London.
Baked Beans, Circus and Minivegas are three contemporary Dutch studios based in Amsterdam. Their work is seen internationally within the commercial sphere, for example on television or as part of brand campaigns, not only in the Netherlands but worldwide where they have won commissions. But, as can be seen from some of the works on show, they occasionally cross the floor, veering into the realms of media art and visual art, something that perhaps has a longer tradition within the Netherlands than in the UK.
Given that they operate fluidly across platforms – television, the Internet or viral radio- and use a variety of creative media ranging from traditional filmmaking to 3-D computer-generated animation (often combining techniques and approaches), the exhibition explores the nature of these particular Dutch creative studios. Are they traditional creative directors operating primarily in the commercial sphere? Or are they a new kind of artist? Not entirely within the traditional realm of visual arts, nor really completely outside of it either…
Drawing inspiration from the media-saturated world around them and making use of its techniques, the presented studios underscore a certain Dutch contemporary digital design tendency to make little distinction between the worlds of street culture and the aspirations of serious contemporary art, design or cinema. Skateboarding or the worlds of Japanese anime may mingle with multimedia design seriously informed by mid-twentieth century Dutch Modernism. Quite aside from a certain eclectic egalitarianism within their shared sensibilities, the other key aspect that the gathered works highlight is the very creative application of computing technology as a means to a highly aesthetic and creative end.
We see all of this encapsulated, for example in one exhibited interactive work originally produced by Minivegas for a special project coinciding with Art Rotterdam, the leading contemporary art fair in the Netherlands,. A screen displays a floating image of a head, rendered stylistically to reference the particular graphic identity of Rotterdam Terror Corps, the music group synonymous with the distinctive Gabber dance music scene arising from that particular city. Yet, when approached, the head is hardly a static thing. It morphs into something that locks in on the viewer and interacts with him or her, depending on individual body language and movement, thanks to sophisticated bespoke computer programming. An almost tongue-in-cheek jibe at the pretensions of the ‘art world’ –by siding with the vibrant underground culture of Rotterdam- it is a work that nonetheless leaves us with little doubt of its conscious referencing of everything from underground music culture and video games to Disney’s iconic ‘mirror, mirror’ in ‘Snow White and the Seven Dwarves’.
Minivegas, like Baked Beans and Circus, eschew the notion of highly individualistic creatives in favour of existing as loosely formed collectives that can involve any number of relevant creative practitioners according to the needs of a project. Indeed, the levels of cooperation become evident when one realises that these studios sometimes cooperate on projects, such as a recent critically acclaimed advert for Bol.com. If one realises that, inevitably, there are a number of key driving creatives behind the success of these studios, then they, nonetheless prefer that we think of them as a brand – or perhaps even a movement- rather than traditional hierarchical design studios.
NL the Dutch Cultural Pop Up Space will run a broad programme of exhibition/display activities offering London audiences the best examples of Dutch contemporary art, craft, architecture, media, performed arts and design culture. In turn, this can be complemented with appropriate on-site events that engage with other aspects of Dutch culture (e.g. recitals, readings, discussions, lectures).
The Pop-up Space is an initiative of the Public Diplomacy, Press & Cultural Department of the Dutch Embassy in London in cooperation with the Sovereign Art Foundation
“I am very pleased with this programme as it offers us an opportunity to work more closely with Dutch and British artists and designers bringing the latest of Dutchness to the heart of London.” says Jan van Weijen, Counsellor (Public Diplomacy, Press & Culture) at the Dutch Embassy in London.
NL - The Dutch Cultural Pop-Up Space is located at 40-42 Riding House Street, London, W1W 7ET. The exhibition is open Thursday to Saturday 12.00 to 18.00
Notes to the editor
For more information please contact the intendant of the Dutch Cultural Pop Up Space:
Ken Pratt
Dutch Cultural Pop Up Space
Email: info@centrifugalprojects.org Mobile nr: 07943 844676
Please also see:
http://www.circus.fm
http://www.minivegas.co.uk
www.netherlands-embassy.org.uk
with works by Baked Beans, Circus, Minivegas 16 January – 13 February 2010 The Dutch Cultural Pop-Up Space
40-42 Riding House Street, London W1W 7ET
“Chips With Everything” is an exhibition of works by three innovative Dutch collectives/studios working across the disciplines of digital design, animation, multimedia direction, art direction and art. The exhibition curated by intendant Ken Pratt, will be held from 16 January to 13 February 2010 at the Dutch Cultural Pop Up Space in Fitzrovia, London.
Baked Beans, Circus and Minivegas are three contemporary Dutch studios based in Amsterdam. Their work is seen internationally within the commercial sphere, for example on television or as part of brand campaigns, not only in the Netherlands but worldwide where they have won commissions. But, as can be seen from some of the works on show, they occasionally cross the floor, veering into the realms of media art and visual art, something that perhaps has a longer tradition within the Netherlands than in the UK.
Given that they operate fluidly across platforms – television, the Internet or viral radio- and use a variety of creative media ranging from traditional filmmaking to 3-D computer-generated animation (often combining techniques and approaches), the exhibition explores the nature of these particular Dutch creative studios. Are they traditional creative directors operating primarily in the commercial sphere? Or are they a new kind of artist? Not entirely within the traditional realm of visual arts, nor really completely outside of it either…
Drawing inspiration from the media-saturated world around them and making use of its techniques, the presented studios underscore a certain Dutch contemporary digital design tendency to make little distinction between the worlds of street culture and the aspirations of serious contemporary art, design or cinema. Skateboarding or the worlds of Japanese anime may mingle with multimedia design seriously informed by mid-twentieth century Dutch Modernism. Quite aside from a certain eclectic egalitarianism within their shared sensibilities, the other key aspect that the gathered works highlight is the very creative application of computing technology as a means to a highly aesthetic and creative end.
We see all of this encapsulated, for example in one exhibited interactive work originally produced by Minivegas for a special project coinciding with Art Rotterdam, the leading contemporary art fair in the Netherlands,. A screen displays a floating image of a head, rendered stylistically to reference the particular graphic identity of Rotterdam Terror Corps, the music group synonymous with the distinctive Gabber dance music scene arising from that particular city. Yet, when approached, the head is hardly a static thing. It morphs into something that locks in on the viewer and interacts with him or her, depending on individual body language and movement, thanks to sophisticated bespoke computer programming. An almost tongue-in-cheek jibe at the pretensions of the ‘art world’ –by siding with the vibrant underground culture of Rotterdam- it is a work that nonetheless leaves us with little doubt of its conscious referencing of everything from underground music culture and video games to Disney’s iconic ‘mirror, mirror’ in ‘Snow White and the Seven Dwarves’.
Minivegas, like Baked Beans and Circus, eschew the notion of highly individualistic creatives in favour of existing as loosely formed collectives that can involve any number of relevant creative practitioners according to the needs of a project. Indeed, the levels of cooperation become evident when one realises that these studios sometimes cooperate on projects, such as a recent critically acclaimed advert for Bol.com. If one realises that, inevitably, there are a number of key driving creatives behind the success of these studios, then they, nonetheless prefer that we think of them as a brand – or perhaps even a movement- rather than traditional hierarchical design studios.
NL the Dutch Cultural Pop Up Space will run a broad programme of exhibition/display activities offering London audiences the best examples of Dutch contemporary art, craft, architecture, media, performed arts and design culture. In turn, this can be complemented with appropriate on-site events that engage with other aspects of Dutch culture (e.g. recitals, readings, discussions, lectures).
The Pop-up Space is an initiative of the Public Diplomacy, Press & Cultural Department of the Dutch Embassy in London in cooperation with the Sovereign Art Foundation
“I am very pleased with this programme as it offers us an opportunity to work more closely with Dutch and British artists and designers bringing the latest of Dutchness to the heart of London.” says Jan van Weijen, Counsellor (Public Diplomacy, Press & Culture) at the Dutch Embassy in London.
NL - The Dutch Cultural Pop-Up Space is located at 40-42 Riding House Street, London, W1W 7ET. The exhibition is open Thursday to Saturday 12.00 to 18.00
Notes to the editor
For more information please contact the intendant of the Dutch Cultural Pop Up Space:
Ken Pratt
Dutch Cultural Pop Up Space
Email: info@centrifugalprojects.org Mobile nr: 07943 844676
Please also see:
http://www.circus.fm
http://www.minivegas.co.uk
www.netherlands-embassy.org.uk
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