Midsummer Night Scream

Inspired by the exhibition Munch : Van Gogh (25 September 2015 - 17 January 2016) in the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, ten prominent Amsterdam cultural institutions, including de Appel arts centre, are presenting a cultural program based on the legacy of these two kindred artistic spirits. Film, performance, discussions and music will show how the influence of Edvard Munch (1863-1944) and Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890) is still alive in contemporary art and culture.

Discover the world of the Norwegian Munch and the artistically like-minded Dutch painter Van Gogh in de Appel arts centre in Midsummer Night Scream, an evening of performances and lectures by Norwegian artists and curators.

Entrance: Regular entrance fee de Appel arts centre + 3 euro

reservations: reservation [​at​] deappel.nl

Fantasy, mythology and imaginary worlds are elements that often recur in artistic practice in Scandinavian countries. This will be delineated in de Appel in performances by Trygve Luktvasslimo and Martin Skauen, in combination with a lecture performance by Marianne Zamecznik and Gernot Wieland. The evening will present a picture of the distinct artistic and poetic practice of contemporary Norwegian artists.

The protagonist of Norwegian Trygve Luktvasslimo (1978) are searching out seduction and transcendence, while trying to make sense of spiritual concepts such as worship and redemption. In his drawings and videos Martin Skauen (1975) confronts the viewer with dark, but also humorous images and characters.
“Jeg kniver deg" is a lecture performance written by Austrian artist Gernot Wieland and performed by Norwegian curator Marianne Zamecznik and the author himself. The piece is based on a psychoanalytic setting and comprises of projected images, two performers and two hand puppets. Based on the theme "Intoxication" the lecture performance combines different associative narrative structures bringing together absurd and fictitious elements, historical reports and personal memories.

Van Gogh Year is being widely celebrated all across Europe in 2015, reaching its undisputed climax in the Munch : Van Gogh exhibition in the Van Gogh Museum. Both artists are known for their emotionally charged paintings, their unique and innovative styles and their dramatic lives. Both championed the renewal of art, and developed a personal, expressive visual language that could convey the universal emotions in human existence.

With thanks to OCA Office for Contemporary Art Norway