Location Scheltema,
19th January till 28th February

Koen Hauser; Catharsis


"Catharsis: purification or purgation of the emotions (as pity and fear) primarily through art: a purification or purgation that brings about spiritual renewal or release from tension."

A green screen. A digital animation workplace. A wall full of sketches and cut-out images from old books. Video images of interviews. Clothing and props.

Scheltema is an exhibition space for contemporary art in Leiden, the Netherlands. For six weeks, it will be transformed into a filmstudio for a project that connects art, mass culture, psychology, documentary, cinema and music.

During this working period I will be interviewing people on situations or conditions that makes them feel abnormal and different from others. These conversations form the starting point for creating new ‘staged’ moving images in which the interviewees also play a part.
As these images refer to cinema of a by-gone era in our collective memory, personal stories and the look ‘behind the scenes’ interweave with the visual language and universal themes of the classical Hollywood movie.

There will be a finissage and final presentation during the Scheltema art festival Niet Normaal, february 27th and 28th. Final imagery will be presented with a live performance of Wilma Paalman on Saturday the 27th 16.00 hr.
Meanwhile, stop by to watch the interviews and scenes already made, and see what we are working on!
You can also participate if you want. Sent an email to catharsis@koenhauser.com

20-10-2009 through 03-01-2010
Van Doesburg and the International Avant-Garde: Constructing a New World

In close cooperation with Tate Modern in London, Stedelijk Museum De Lakenhal in Leiden presents a major exhibition on Theo van Doesburg (1883-1931), and this artist’s influence on the international avant-garde. Energetically and enthusiastically, Van Doesburg broke new ground as the initiator, ambassador, promoter and organiser of the new art. The 300-plus works by some 80 artists – among whom El Lissitzky, László Moholy-Nagy, Gino Severini, Kurt Schwitters, Hans and Sophie Arp, Hans Richter, Piet Mondrian, Vilmos Huszár and Alexander Archipenko – are on loan from museums from around the world. Many of these works have never been on display before in the Netherlands.
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