jaune, geel, gelb, yellow

The publication 'jaune, geel, gelb, yellow. Monochrome' discusses the failure, collapse and historicization of the modernist ideals espoused by Theo van Doesburg, set against the current political backdrop of mass protest. It brings together writers from a variety of fields who reflect on the legacy and failures of modernism from the perspective of their individual backgrounds and expertise.

Edited by Lisa Bakker and Eleonoor Jap Sam. With text contributions by (poet) Maria Barnas, (poet) I.K. Bonset, (curator) Laurie Cluitmans, (philosopher) Johan F. Hartle, (architecture historian) Dirk van den Heuvel, (philosopher) Bram Ieven, (sociologist) Bruno Latour, (social anthropologist) Thalia Ostendorf, (director Centraal Museum) Bart Rutten, and (curator) Doris Wintgens.

The book is an extension of Pittas’ residency and research at the Van Doesburghuis in 2019, coincided with the yellow vests protest, where Pittas turned the Van Doesburghuis into a performative crime scene. The murder of modernity. Based on this project, the Centraal Museum in Utrecht invited Pittas for a solo exhibition, where he curated works of Theo Van Doesburg and juxtaposed them with his work as a staged scenography of dialogue. The installation looks at the heritage of De Stijl through the current political lenses.

Antonis Pittas (1973, Athens) is a visual artist who lives and works in Amsterdam.  He is an honorary fellow in the faculty of humanities at the University of Amsterdam, where he conducts research and produces work under the heading Recycling History (Contemporising History/Historicising the Contemporary). His artistic practice focuses on contemporary social and political issues, exploring topics such safety and control, economic crises and acts of resistance, as well as violence and vandalism.