year: 1990
material: wood, paint, lighting, plaster, etc. / 2 full colour pages in art an magazine
dimensions: 12 models, approx. H.30 x W.50 x D.60 cm.

In 1989, when they were studying at the Rijksakademie in Amsterdam, Driessens & Verstappen found themselves in a situation that forced them to question the art practice. They were under the impression that a work of art seemed to be primarily a strategic instrument guaranteeing the continuity of the institutionalised art establishments. New artworks had to be shown every month, and production had to be kept up. The journals gave the most extensive and favourable reports to those galleries and art institutions buying big expensive pages of advertisements in their magazine. The so-called new and interesting seemed to be strongly intertwined with mutual commercial interest. The artists concluded that the art world was a generative system maintaining itself.

Twelve photographs taken from different art magazines served as a starting point for the project that reflects this issue. They give a view of a gallery or museum space where works of art are exhibited. Omitting the art works, the depicted rooms have been mapped by means of perspective analysis. Based on these drawings, 3-dimensional reconstructions could be made. This has resulted in twelve architectural maquettes, each representing a section of an exhibition room. These tabletop sections of rooms are detailed down to every discernible element. Each one has its own lighting system.
The models represent only half of the project. The other half consists of an insert in an art magazine, consisting of two full-colour pages. Each of the pages represents six empty exhibition rooms. For this purpose, each maquette has been photographed from one particular point of view, similar to the original photographs in the magazines. The pages were published in Artcribe #84 in November 1990. The magazine served as a catalogue to the exhibition of the models in Museum Fodor in November 1990.