The Tragic Death of an Identity?

MUDAM, Luxembourg

MUDAM, Luxembourg

MUDAM, Luxembourg

Today at the MUDAM Luxembourg museum of modern art, I was struck by Folkert de Jong's art work titled Actus Tragicus, 2013. It reminded me a great deal of the folkloric exhibition of Gilles costumes and masks shown at the Museum of Masks in Binche seen yesterday afternoon except the figures in the exhibition today were hanging from the ceiling. Despite their vivid colors and eccentric outfits, the hanging figures at MUDAM possessed a dark, creepy sense of foreboding. While the figures actually hung from a rope connected to their backs, the posture of the figures suggested death by hanging while their melted, waxy textures hints at the process of decay.

Binche, Belgium

Yesterday, while viewing the exhibition of costumes at the Museum of Masks, I felt slightly uncomfortable. Although the costumes were festive and celebratory, they too were simultaneously disturbing. From my observations, the costumes succeed in completely masking the human body, altering it into an unrecognizable form. The face is hidden, or perhaps obscured, by the mask, the torso swelled into a hump, the head elongated by the voluminous headpiece, the feet encased by wood and tassel. The costumes included identities of folkloric characters, representations of animals and other miscellaneous items. As such, the person within the costume ceases to exist, ceases to possess a human identity, as he is transformed into an extraterrestrial-like being. In its displayed form, the costume appeared as an empty, lifeless shell, adding to my uneasiness as I walked through the winding exhibition.

This lifelessness was echoed in the MUDAM exhibition, but more explicitly. Hanging limp and unmoving, the costumed Gilles figures tell a more disturbing tale that exceeds my initial, horror movie-esque discomfort. More than featuring hanging carnivalesque figures, this exhibition seems to suggest the hanging of tradition and culture, but in an extreme and violent manner. The multitude of hanging figures accounts for a mass murder rather than a mere death, as someone had to commit the action of hanging these figures.

While looking at this work, I immediately recalled some of the new information we learned in lecture earlier this morning. As Professor Dewulf explained, the Luxembourgian people have been suffering an identity crisis due in large to their identity relying so heavily on language. Since their language is unique to their country, it is obvious why it plays such a pivotal role in their national identity. However, it is this uniqueness that serves as the problem. Because a populayion of 500,000 people speak the language, it is not the most practical form of communication, especially between countries and in political affairs. It is no wonder that the country has so many national languages. In addition to these languages, which include French and German, the Luxembourgian people find English a more useful language, due to its universality.

While this problem relates specifically to Luxembourg, I have seen how many current issues impact the identity of the Low Countries, like the Netherlands and the effects of its multicutlurality and immigration. While the Gilles costumes are related specifically to the city of Binche, I feel that its commentary on the death of culture and tradition are relevant to each of the BENELUX country's identity.

 

Sophia