MARIJKE VAN WARMERDAM, Klok, 1995
height ca 40 cm, different heights
bronze, ceiling clamp, electric device
series of 12 unique doorbells, cast in different pitches
Collection Kees van Gelder

‘Marijke van Warmerdam could be the very founder of Reaction Art, i.e. context triggers her imagination. The idea of making a school bell in the form of a carillon with two melodies struck Van Warmerdam as a good alternative to the piercing sound of the bell that normally rings out across the schoolyard. She invited composer Jeff Hamburg to make one melody for the start of lessons and another for when school ends. From there in the context of her first commercial gallery show in Amsterdam in 1995 she decided to turn the gallery’s doorbell into a doorbell bell creating a very deep sound in the building when visitors rang it.’ september 2012 KvG

MARIJKE VAN WARMERDAM, ‘Vuilnisbak’, 1995
65 x Ø 35 cm
zinc dustbin, gold leaf, varnish
signed, dated, numbered
edition 20
Galerie van Gelder, Amsterdam        

‘We use a dustbin every day and half our lives end up in it.’ Based on this idea, the artist felt it was time to place the dustbins on a pedestal by providing them with a layer of gold leaf.