The Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Friends, Felt and "The Future" in The Netherlands

My friend Nienke and I become part of an exhibition here...



...where even coats worn by visitors become an art installation!

Claes Oldenburg's giant screw sculpture graces the lawn of this museum.

Learn more about his original concept here.

 

 I spent a wonderful day with a dear friend...

...the exquisite and spectacularly talented feltmaker, Elis Vermeulen...

...and several of her equally genetically blessed family members! 

I made friends with one kind of 'baby' while I was there...

...and ate muisjes to help celebrate the birth of my host's new 'human' granddaughter, too! :)

Here's a photograph of the darling wee one (only one day old!) in the felted baby 'cocoon' that we made for her.

 

We stopped for a Belgian Tripel in this cheerful Rotterdam bar...

...and discovered that it doesn't take too many of those to feel rather...erm...cheerful, yourself!



A view of the future(?)...

...my "Beam me up, Scotty" shower at the Citizen M airport hotel in Schiphol.

 

Next time: lots of photographs from another Dutch museum...

...including a number of masterpieces by Van Gogh.
 

Outdoor Art in Rotterdam...Plus an Unexpected Surprise in the Suburbs!

Sculpture and other forms of outdoor art...

 

...virtually fill the city of Rotterdam.

 

Someone has even adorned a nondescript office building in the city center...

...with a large neon image of the new king and queen!

 

But it's not all new, new new, either.

Antique 'house markers' still remain in boroughs like Delfshaven.

(I'm told that these were used as identifiers prior to the routine use of house numbers.).

 

 I found the variety and scope of the outdoor works of art utterly delightful...

...ranging, as they do, from the sublime to the ridiculous!

 

Here, my lovely Dutch friends 'pall around' with Monsieur Jacques!



The most unexpected thing that I saw in Rotterdam wasn't art, however...

...but this enormous pig taking a constitutional along the water's edge in suburban Schiedam.

Overfeeding, the owner told us...

...had caused his pet pig to grow from 'toy sized'...to 'tank sized'!! :)