Crossing Borders
Johan Thorn Prikker and European Modernism

This symposium will be held on the occasion of the exhibition Johan Thorn Prikker. Beyond Art Nouveau in 2011 on show in Rotterdam and Düsseldorf. One of the aims of this retrospective is to pay attention to the career of Thorn Prikker as a whole, by uniting his Dutch and his German works. In line with this we are organizing the twin conference "Crossing Borders. Johan Thorn Prikker and European Modernism" as a binational event on Januari 28th, 2011 in Rotterdam and on April 8th, 2011 in Düsseldorf.

This academic conference devoted to Thorn Prikker and his time aims to discuss the perception of an almost forgotten modern artist by bringing together Dutch and German researchers from different areas of expertise: museum professionals, curators, university scholars and students. The conference should be a platform to exchange observations on Thorn Prikker and research in ‘the long’ 19th century, contextualizing the results of the monographic exhibition and catalogue.

Approaches from cultural history, especially research on national identity, the avant-garde, and the canon of Modernism, including art critique and the history of collecting, will give new perspectives on Thorn Prikkers work and his position in the applied, monumental and figurative modern art.

Part one
January 28th, 2011
The Netherlands, Rotterdam, Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen

Part two
April 8th, 2011
Germany, Düsseldorf, museum kunst palast

Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen Rotterdam
Museum Kunst Palast, Düsseldorf

It is possible to participate in only one of the two days.
Conference languages:
Rotterdam: English, Dutch
Düsseldorf: English, German

contact: heiserboijmans.nl
Reservations Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen: www.boijmans.nl
Reservations Kunst Palast Dusseldorf: www.museum-kunst-palast.de

Part one
January 28th, 2011
The Netherlands, Rotterdam
Museum Boijmans van Beuningen

9.30 Registration and coffee

10.00 Welcome by Sjarel Ex and Mienke Simon Thomas

10.15 Introduction by Christiane Heiser

10.30 Collecting Thorn Prikker:
Karl Ernst Osthaus and Museum Folkwang
Rainer Stamm, Landesmuseum Oldenburg

11.15 Tea break

11.30 Thorn Prikker and the avant-garde in the Netherlands and Germany: Thorn Prikker, expressionism and the Blaue Reiter
Ina Ewers-Schultz, Cologne

12.15 New perspectives on monumental art:
Thorn Prikker and Monumental Art around 1900
Lieske Tibbe, Radboud University Nijmegen

13.00 Lunch break and visit of the exhibition

14.30 Fine art, arts and crafts and design:
Dutch parallels to the German Werkbund?
Frederike Huygen, Dutch Society for Design History Amsterdam

15.15 National Identity and the canon of Modernism:
Thorn Prikker: Dutch or German?
Ron Manheim, formerly Museum Schloss Moyland Kleve

16.00 Conclusion and closing of the symposium

16.15 Visit: Thorn Prikker´s murals in the Rotterdam town hall

Part two
April 8th, 2011
Germany, Düsseldorf
museum kunst palast

9.30 Registration and coffee

10.00 Welcome by Beat Wismer and Barbara Til

10.15 Introduction by Christiane Heiser

10.30 Collecting Thorn Prikker:
Helene Kröller-Müller and her collection
Eva Rovers, University of Groningen

11.15 Tea break

11.30 Thorn Prikker and the avant-garde in The Netherlands and Germany:
Are Thorn Prikkers stained glass windows related to those of De Stijl?
Sjarel Ex, Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam

12.15 New perspectives on monumental art:
Monumental Christian art. Iconographic issues in modern religious art
Stephanie Muhr, Heinrich-Heine University Düsseldorf

13.00 Lunch break

14.30 Fine art, arts and crafts and design:
Dutchmen in the German Werkbund
Renate Flagmeier, Werkbundmuseum-Museum der Dinge Berlin

15.15 National Identity and the canon of Modernism
A different modernity or new perspectives on figurative art
Mieke Rijnders, Dutch Open University

16.00 Conclusion and closing of the symposium

16.15 Visit: Thorn Prikker`s mosaics and stained glass windows in the
Ehrenhof in Düsseldorf