ESSAY—TRYING TO GET A GRIP ON THE SITUATION

Since, no matter how cliché, “everything has already been done”, there’s no need for contemporary artists to reinvent the wheel. Every work of art, every oeuvre, is built on the shoulders of previous artists. An oeuvre therefore never floats through a galaxy like a lonely planet, but is always connected to the stars around it. Contrary to the persistent myth of the artist as a lone genius, a work of art is often the result of collaboration between the artist and craftsmen or assistants. However, the myth demands that the work be assigned to a single person, to the one who finally signs the work.

But if I have an idea for a work of art and then have it executed by a third party, can the work of art only bear my name? And if I see my work within a tradition of certain artists, but at the same time get frustrated when I see someone else making similar work to me, isn't that contradictory? In other words, what does ownership mean to an artist?

Perhaps the most famous work of art in art history, Fountain by Marcel Duchamp, is actually not 'by' Marcel Duchamp, but 'by' Elsa von Freitag-Loringhoven. The work initially received little attention, until Duchamp appropriated it a few years after Freitag-Loringhoven's death. Freitag-Loringhoven stripped the urinal of its function and repurposed it as a work of art, but Duchamp subsequently claimed ownership of the work. Does Fountain then belong to Freitag-Loringhoven, simply because she is the spiritual mother of the work of art and signed the urinal, or to Duchamp, because the whole world accepted his lie as being truthful and after Fountain he produced several, hugely successful replicas that took a life of their own?

The concept of 'ownership' is a characteristic part of the functioning of the art world, but it also touches a nerve: it exposes the egocentrism of the art world and its artists. Das Leben am Haverkamp plays with this discomfort, albeit in a non-uncomfortable way. As an extension of the previous exhibition Vier attracties, één kermis, Das Leben am Haverkamp once again distills an important part of artistry, and then overhauls it. Where the four artists from the collective exchanged identity and art practice in the previous exhibition, this time it is an artist from outside, namely Ton Zwerver, who comes to shake up the structure of the collective. For this exhibition Trying to get grip on the situation, Zwerver delved into the archives to create new work from existing pieces, prototypes and residual materials from Das Leben am Haverkamp. As in the exhibition Vier attracties, één kermis, artistic ownership is once again questioned in the current exhibition.

Ton Zwerver (1951) is a sculptor, photographer and creator of performances. Like Freitag-Loringhoven or Duchamp, Zwerver often appropriates everyday objects and then makes them part of a sculptural work. He strips the objects of their function or assigns them a new one. In recent works, aptly titled Sculptural Situations, he creates sculptural situations. In these works, his own body forms the empty canvas for colorful, multiform, absurd, sometimes eerie, but more often humorous compositions that are somewhere between costume design, sculpture and performance. His video sculptures move, sometimes meditatively, sometimes excitingly through an object that threatens to fall. Like kinetic sculptures that are not driven by a mechanism, but by the body of the maker. In form, Zwerver's situations are reminiscent of happenings from the last century: his moving sculptures are always temporary in nature and are created by improvisation. The temporary sculptures exist by the virtue of the video recording and last as long as the video is playing. After this, the individual attributes go back into the archive, waiting to be taken out at a later time for a new composition.

Trying to get a grip on the situation is Zwerver's most recent exhibition, with works that were created in the studio of Das Leben am Haverkamp. The collective not only lent him a place in their workspace as an artist in residence, but also gave Zwerver access to their archive. Zwerver made the works that can be seen in this exhibition from archive documents, prototypes, residual materials and forgotten works by Dewi, Christa, Gino or Anouk. “An exhibition by Ton Zwerver”, I read in the invitation that appears in my mailbox. The sentence reads as an answer to the question of ownership that forms the basis of this exhibition. The works of the collective have proved their worth in fashion shows, exhibitions and photo series. Now it is up to Zwerver to take responsibility for these objects and materials. As a result, ownership becomes something temporary: the work belongs to the person who takes control of it at that particular moment. This means that the work belongs to no one and yet also to everyone - but not at the same time. At this moment the works are by Ton Zwerver. Until the collaboration comes to an end and the pieces go back into the archive, waiting for someone else to take charge of them.

Thanks to Creative Industries Fund NL.