Insight- On Site
Art in AmsterdamI had a great time in Amsterdam! There was so much to see! I also came away with some good work! Our studio time was from 9-5 Monday-Friday, and outside of a few scheduled museum stops, both in Amsterdam and Paris, we had the remainder of the time for ourselves. I filled the time with many photo walks, museum stops, writing and drawing in my journal, and even went to the Opera in Amsterdam. Sometimes we would split up into small groups and other times we would take individual excursions.
Our studios were in the Kunst (Art) Academie, which was affiliated with the Wackers Institute of Amsterdam. First Summer Session was over after the first week so we had all the studio space to ourselves. There were ten of us, so we each had a studio half the size of a class room, with plenty of props, easels, sculpture stands and spot lights. It was an ideal location.
As a class, we visited the Rijkes Museum for a tour lecture by an art historian that teaches at the Kunst Academy during the school year. We also visited the Van Gogh and the Stedelijk Museums. We spent another day drawing the plants at the Botanical Gardens. They actually had an entire greenhouse devoted to butterflies!
My favorite project was our drawing marathon. We had made a collection of objects that we found throughout the city. Mostly discarded objects, bicycle parts, lamp shades, bottles, cloth, bubblewrap, etc. We then combined the objects into a form of sculpture which took up a good portion of a room. Some collections were humorous, some were surreal, and some were clever. The idea was to draw the variety of objects available, combining objects that wouldn't normally be seen together. We came up with some very unusual drawings. The energy level was definitely high, it was very stimulating. We drew from 9:00 a.m. until 11:00 p.m. with time off for lunch and dinner and by 11:00 p.m. no one wanted to leave.
During the three week period, we discussed art, critiqued our work, sculpted and painted. But mostly worked out new concepts and new approaches to continue our own work. Each person came away with ideas that will further their own unique work.
David and I had a week together in Amsterdam before my class began. We stayed at the Canal House Hotel through the 6th of July. The hotel was on the Keizersgracht, just one block, or canal, from the Prinsengracht. The hotel was built in the 17th century and had been refurbished with 17th century details. They put a lot of care in the details. The rooms and the halls had beautiful lamps, vases, pictures and crafted objects.
The Westerkerk was a couple blocks from our hotel. The bells of the church would chime every 15 minutes. The church is famous for its history of coronations and the fact that Rembrandt was buried there. This canal is called the Prinsengracht. Also located along this canal is the Anne Frank House.
We spent the week getting a sense of place. Walking, shooting photos, observing similarities and differences between Boston, New York and Amsterdam, taking in the sights and sounds and smells, taking the trams, trying various restaurants, visiting the Anne Frank House, the Royal Palace, and Nieuwekerk. We also walked through the Van Gogh and the Rijkes Museums and took a boat tour on the canals.
Amsterdam is truly a city for bicycles. People would ride their bikes to work either carrying briefcases under their arms or strapping them to the bike. People of all ages rode the bike. Even parents would bring their children to day care via bike. Special bike paths are set up along the sidewalk, you not only have to watch out for the cars but for the bikes too. They rule the road. During one of our walks, we found this small shop with a colorful bike displayed above the door and I had to take the picture. It is the symbol of Amsterdam.
The train station is a majestic brick building that was built by the same architect that designed the Rykes Museum. The area outside is congested with taxi traffic, bikes, canal tour excursions, and just plain, people traffic. The area is known as Damm Square. The Royal Palace, which serves as the city hall, is in the center of this area. We toured the Royal Palace and the Nieuwekerk and found that the Queen only visits the Palace for special occasions. The actual town she lives in is Den Haag. The Nieuwekerk is used for coronations and as a museum.
The area southeast of the station is the Red Light District.
We discovered that it always rains, sometime or other during the day, but, the daylight hours are actually 5:30 a.m. until 10:00 p.m. As long as you're prepared for a brief shower during the day, the extra hours of light are very addicting.
The cheese cart in the above photo was used as an outdoor display for a cheese shop that I frequented. The sandwiches were delicious. Also, did you know that if you ask for coffee in Amsterdam, you get espresso or cappuccino? We went for pizza one evening and we were offered a free cup of cappuccino while we waited.
The route to our dorms, in Amstelveen, was a 15 minute Tram ride, then a 15 minute walk down a wooded pathway. There were canals on either side of the path, with small Monet-like arch bridges over the canal. One day I walked another 10 minutes on the path and first came across a soccer field, then I saw cows grazing on my right and a windmill on my left! A small farm with roosters and chickens was near the end of the path, and at the crossroads was a small restaurant that had outdoor seating on a pier overlooking a river. So, I stopped for a cappuccino.
Kunst Academie
Rykes Museum
