Postmodern Minimalism

A lot of art galleries are inaccessible and only for the rich people. The Public House of Art is "not a f*cking gallery" and satisfies everyone's need for art, because they believe art is for all. To adorn the walls of castles and bedsits. To disrupt, not to bankrupt. To move, to shock, to offend or go fabulously with your sofa.

They have bi-annual themed, eclectic shows that are open to all. The Public House of Art sells photographs in limited editions and unique one-off sculptures and paintings, verified by the Public House of Art itself and signed by the Artist.

They believe in housing art that is affordable, yet highly collectable. That is why the art can go up in value and status. There are four price categories, House, Villa, Mansion and Castle. House is bottom of the market, Castle is top of the market.

The Golden Age as a spectator

The concept for the awareness campaign has been made up as a result of the trend 'Postmodern Minimalism'. The main message in the campaign is that art is for the many. If you're a penniless student or if you use cash to wipe your ass, Art is for everybody. Because irony was a big feature in the Postmodernism, and the Public House of Art is quite offensive as well, I'm combining these features in the campaign.

Because the Public House of Art is Dutch, I'm referring to the Dutch Golden Age: A period in Dutch history, roughly spanning the 17th century, in which Dutch trade, science, military and art were among the most acclaimed in the world. This is also a bit ironical, because pieces of art from the Golden Age are now world famous and being sold for high prices, while the Public House of Art already sells art from 100 euros. So what I'm doing here is, I want to activate people to think about art and what it's worth and who determines what it's worth. In the Postmodern era questioning concepts such as the truth and authenticity was really common.

There are metaphors hidden in the campaign that denounce the obsession with numbers that people have in today's world of art. The metaphors include famous Dutch sayings and expressions that stand for worth and value.

In the end, I created a series of four photographs that include the sayings 'een kat in de zak kopen', 'geen rooie cent hebben', 'te mooi om waar(d) te zijn' and 'niets om het lijf hebben'. What the sayings mean in English: 'buy a pig in a poke', 'penniless', 'too good to be true' and 'it doesn't look like much, in fact, it isn't like much'