we went to the troppen museum, which is fun to say. we trip-tropped to the troppen on a tuesday (actually, i think it was wednesday, but that's not alliterative.)!
the troppen museum opened to the public in 1871, to show the dutch people what life was life on dutch possessions like indonesia. it later expanded to house artifacts from people and cultures from the tropics, regardless of their affiliation to the dutch.
that's the face of a girl who is happy to not be photographed in the same damn coat. although- i was too cold.
even if spring is almost here.
this is a billboard for the artis zoo, and also is your first fetus of the day. this one is classified as: elephant, living.
i think you are supposed to notice the pants primarily. did you notice them?
view from the top of the museum. we'll talk about rood later.
these were dioramas of incan life. this is the tortilla factory.
an altar depicting a great battle. here's something you should know about the troppen museum: it's big. one of the biggest in amsterdam. and it's FULL of stuff. and most of the placards are in dutch. so you have to guess a lot. i do not claim any of the following as bona fide fact. do not use it in your research papers.
and here's the second, third and fourth fetuses. these are classified as: llamas, fossilized. apparently, people in central america buried lama fetus' under their doorsteps to bring good fortune. some of them fossilized.
and here's the last one, number 6. also llama, petrified.
this is cool. this is an installation by Betsabee Romero, who is inspired by wheels. She says, "Since I started working on the wheel as an icon of speed, my cause has gone in the opposite direction. to recover that which has been trampled upon, that which speed has left behind: cultures, architectural fragments, real and symbolic weaves." her work is gorgeous:
this is a rolling print block, made from tires.
etched windshields. this would be cool, albeit problematic, in my car.
and, this is a coffin. i think in new zealand (DON'T QUOTE THIS), people were buried in coffins that symbolized their occupations. this man was a fisherman. my coffin would look like a suitcase right now. haha.
these wax figures are less scary than madam tussaud's because:
1. they are in plastic cages.
2. they are not as good, and parts of them (like this ladies ear) don't have wax coating on the acrylic bodies. so you know they are fake. i have no idea what this is about. it was all in dutch. there were headphones, which gave you more detail. in dutch. and while i can sometimes pick out a written word or two (you should see me with picture books, i'm solid), spoken dutch sounds nothing like i think it should. sigh.
okay. this is the temporary exhibit (here till may!) ROOD. from the website:
A visual spectacle inspired by the colour red across all cultures
From 5 November 2010 until 8 May 2011, Amsterdam's Tropenmuseum will be turning red. The exhibition RED (ROOD) will focus on the colour in all its many aspects. Red is one of the most important colours in almost every culture and has many meanings. Visitors will see Armando and Constant alongside masks from Oceania and a statue of Lenin juxtaposed with a Chinese bridal gown. Over three hundred objects, including ethnographic artefacts and modern art, will arouse all the senses. The colour red is what gives all these objects their power and significance.
From blood-red and scarlet to Burgundy and the red of the evening sky. The objects are displayed in a transparent, flowing setting created by designers Maarten Spruyt and Tsur Reshef, well known for their work in the Rijksmuseum’s Art Nouveau exhibitions, Voici Paris! – Haute Couture and 15 years of Marlies Dekkers. Of course, the colour red means something different to everyone, but it also has universal associations. These meanings are numerous and contradictory. Red can stand for happiness, fertility and love but also for power, violence and danger. Red can be romantic, but it can also be deadly. All of these associations are included in the exhibition in themes such as life cycles, energy, power, identity, deities, demons and love.
got it? it's a whole bunch of red objects. here were my favorites.
can you tell what these lipsticks are shaped like at the tip????
red hats, all in a row. i want the one with the red balls all over it.
that couch looks like it'll eat you alive...
ryan, and a ferarri someone knitted.
see? this was knitted. awesome.
oh, and we weren't really trapped. but it's a huge, huge, huge museum. i only posted a few pictures. i didn't want to overwhelm you. but my lord. it got to the point where i would do a little dance when i was done with a floor. you just....keep......seeing.....new.....stuff... and it's all interesting. but there's only so many THINGS i can look at before i need to be outside. that's what's great about this trip, you see. lots of time, so no more than one museum a day! perfect!
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