Natuur / Nature / Nature / Natur

Ensemble

From a very early age, Joseph Beuys was fascinated by nature, obsessively busy cataloguing the fauna and flora in his living environment. At the same time, he delved deep into mythology and folklore, and so we might understand that Beuys’ method for investigating nature as combining rational thinking with cultural and mystical projection. He associated nature with complex psychological processes and the desire for a higher consciousness, and thus wanted to fuse the natural and the cultural world. As well as the recurring motif of animals such as hares and bees in his work, Beuys also depicted the landscape such as mountainous regions as a way to represent borderlessness and freedom. The protection and respect for nature was also central to his work for the Die Grünen (the Greens) in Germany.

About M HKA / Mission Statement

The M HKA is a museum for contemporary art, film and visual culture in its widest sense. It is an open place of encounter for art, artists and the public. The M HKA aspires to play a leading role in Flanders and to extend its international profile by building upon Antwerp's avant-garde tradition. The M HKA bridges the relationship between artistic questions and wider societal issues, between the international and the regional, artists and public, tradition and innovation, reflection and presentation. Central here is the museum's collection with its ongoing acquisitions, as well as related areas of management and research.

About M HKA Ensembles

The M HKA Ensembles represent our first steps towards initiating the public to today's art-related digital landscape. With the help of these new media, our aim is to offer our artworks a better and fuller array of support for their presentation and public understanding.