Safe Haven... or the aesthetic of safety'
A project organised by De Vleeshal and Guus Beumer, in collaboration with the Dutch Institute for Architecture (NAi) and the Premsela foundation for Dutch design. With contributions by: goodwill, Marjo Kranenborg, Herman Verkerk, Lucas Verweij and Tobias Woldendorp. And lectures by: Aaron Betsky, Dingeman Kuilman, Mark Wigley and Anna Tilroe.
Safety has an æsthetic all of its own. The project Safe Haven... or the æsthetic of safety¹ is an attempt to illuminate our desires & fears with regard to safety by examining the æsthetic employed.
The project Safe Haven... or the æsthetic of safety¹ consists of three components:
1. EXHIBITION AT DE VLEESHAL
24 January through 23 March 2003
Central to Safe Haven...
or the æsthetic of
safety¹ is the exhibition with the same title at
De Vleeshal. This exhibition consists of two parts.
The first part of the exhibition endeavours to provide a historical context for the present æsthetic of safety by means of a number of settings¹. The focus of these settings is not so much on any one style or designer, but rather on the development of the æsthetic aspect - and in particular the use of materials: from the velour covered interior of the 19th century to the steel and glass of the 1930's.
The second part is a 1:1 model of an inside and an outside space. This model forms an illustration of how the æsthetic of safety has led to a radical transparency of materials, resulting in the increasing blending of inside and outside spaces.
The model was designed by
Herman Verkerk,
architect and one of the founders of sloom.org, while Marjo Kranenborg
created the different
settings¹.
Elucidation Guus Beumer
& lecture Dingeman Kuilman
At the exhibition's opening, curator Guus Beumer will comment briefly
on the exhibit. Following this, Premsela director Dingeman Kuilman will
argue that the demand for safety is an expression of individual fears
and collective distrust.
The publication Directions for use¹ (designed and edited by goodwill), which accompanies the exhibition, will be presented at the opening.
Programme 24 January
17.00-19.00: Opening exhibition
20.00: Elucidation Guus Beumer
20.15: Lecture Dingeman Kuilman
21.00: Close
2. COACH TRIP AND LECTURES
BY AARON BETSKY AND MARK WIGLEY
8 February 2003
The second component of Safe Haven... or the æsthetic of safety¹
is a coach trip from Rotterdam to Middelburg during which various projects
exemplifying the current view on safety will be visited. This trip has
been set out in co-operation with Tobias Woldendorp, advisor to the
DSP-group on socially safe design. He will also be one of the tour guides.
The coach trip will commence
with a lecture by Aaron Betsky, director of NAi. Betsky will address
the banality of safety and the codification of security. The lecture
will be held at the NAi and can also be attended by those not wishing
to take part in the coach trip.
US resident Mark Wigley, author of (among others) White Walls, Designer
Dresses¹, will further examine the current æsthetic of safety
and the philosophical and societal background to the exhibition. This
lecture can also be attended separately from the coach trip.
Programme 8 February
15.00: Lecture Aaron Betsky at the NAi
16.00: Coach trip leaves from the NAi
18.00: Supper
20.00 Lecture Mark Wigley at De Vleeshal (this lecture will be delivered
in English)
21.30 Return coach trip to Rotterdam (arr. 23.00)
3. LECTURE ANNA
TILROE AND PUBLIC DEBATE
1 March 2003
The third and last part of Safe Haven... or the æsthetic of safety¹ will be a lecture by Anna Tilroe at De Vleeshal. The lecture will be followed by a public debate between Tilroe and the other participants in the project. The debate will be chaired by Lucas Verweij.
Anna Tilroe, art critic and
author of (among others) the collection of essays Het Blinkende stof,
op zoek naar een nieuw visioen¹, will address the feelings of fear,
longing and want that bring the issue of safety into the realm of art
and culture.
Verweij is one of the founders of Schie 2.0 and was recently appointed
domain keeper¹ at Premsela, foundation for Dutch design.
Thanks to: Museum Boijmans
van Beuningen, Rotterdam; Historisch Museum, Rotterdam;
MPK, Leiden; Pilkington and the University Archives, Utrecht.
De Vleeshal: Markt 1 (Postbus 6000) 4330 LA Middelburg. www.vleeshal.nl
From February through March 2003 Guus Beumer will be project director
at De Vleeshal