Collective Collage

“44 fingers from six photographed women’s hands and five men’s hands. The corresponding thumbs and palms are part of a so-called ‘Collective Collage’ that will be on display starting tomorrow at Gele Rijdersplein in the center of Arnhem, as a contribution to the Beethoven Festival taking place from June 5 to 29, commemorating the 150th anniversary of Ludwig van Beethoven’s death.

The Festival Arnhem Foundation, which also organized the Romantic Festival in 1973, calls the Beethoven Festival a “total experience” because there is not only much to listen to but also much to see. In addition to a concert series by the Gelders Orchestra featuring a large number of Beethoven’s works, there are also visual arts and film events. Under the motto “Beethoven music for the millions,” twelve visual artists from various European countries were commissioned to ‘realize a project.’ The “Collective Collage” is a submission inspired by the Beethoven theme by the Belgian artist Roland Van den Berghe. At first glance, the collage looks like an ordinary billboard, plastered with posters. But when those are peeled off, entirely different images come to light. How this artwork will ultimately look—on the last day of the festival—depends in part on the audience. It’s no coincidence that the collage is called “collective”: every passerby is welcome to tear pieces off and add their own.