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MADAME MONSIEUR – Bergen European City of
the Culture 2000
The West Norway Museum of Decorative Art
Nordahl Brunsgt. 9
N - 5014 Bergen
www.vk.museum.no
23rd October - 5th November
The "Vestlandkse Kunstindustimusem" is housed in an impressive stone building complete with staircase dating from the late 19th century.
The façade is adorned by a discreet monument to one of the illustrious sons of the town: a statue representing the painter I. C. Dahl created in 1902 by the Bergen sculptor Ambrosia Tønnesen.
The museum was closed for a period of 11 years for renovation purposes. The interior of the museum features a mixture of traditional and contemporary Nordic styles. The exhibition rooms provide a suitable backdrop for the museum's new and unique collections.
The Australian architect Susanne Urban and the French artist Christel Moreau collaborated on the transformation of a series of classical exhibition rooms into a modern installation figuring people and possessions from five centuries. A large female figure constructed entirely from piping reclines through three entire exhibition rooms, her head and navel in one room, her legs in another.
A great variety of Norwegian artwork is displayed along the length of the figure. A onetime functional object of daily life such as glass or a couch forms part of each of the pipe constructions and constitutes a second framework for the exhibition. It is of course in itself one of the attractions of the museum.
The museum boasts a collection of furniture and porcelain from Bergen and further afield in Europe and a separate section of Norwegian silver, mainly from Bergen.
One of the main attractions of the museum is its Chinese collection on display for the first time since the museum reopened. It is one of the largest and most notable collections outside of China and contains, in addition to porcelain and paintings, a unique collection of Chinese sculptures, collected by the Norwegian Officer Johan W. N. Muntbe, who served in the army of the last Emperor in 1895 becoming Commander of the Guard of the Chinese Republic in 1911.
A further highpoint among the museum's exhibits is the collection of art objects and furniture collected by the American artist W. H. Singer. A number of his paintings in late impressionist style are included among the exhibits.
The project MADAME MONSIEUR made use of the staircase and some of the exhibition rooms. A number of exhibits, e.g. the renowned collection of Asian sculptures were also featured in the performance.
Bit teatergarasjen, which provides a renowned Norwegian platform for contemporary dance and theatre was co-organizer of the event in Bergen in collaboration with the Museum.
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