Project facts
Presentation
BePAPER is a four-year research project. It is to provide the first overview of the field of Belgian avant-garde works on paper within an international context between 1918 and 1950 that is up and until the dawn of CoBrA and the rise of the neo-avant-gardes. One of the project’s aims is to contribute to a better definition of the collection of modern works on paper of the Royal Museum of Fine Arts of Belgium (RMFAB).
Impacts & Results
The project main objectives are, first, to study why and how this wide variety of Belgian classic avant-garde artists turned to paper during the interwar period and to isolate possibly late appropriation tendencies within the Belgian avant-gardes as well as the emergence of trends already pointing ahead to the neo-avant-gardes. Second, we aim to better disclose the RMFAB collection of works on paper through the findings gained within the study and through the development of open data solutions. As result several outreach events such as conferences, publications or exhibitions addressing a scientific and student audience as well as a wider audience are planned.
In addition to the collection of artworks, the research will be based on holdings in the Archives of Contemporary Art in Belgium (ACAB), Archives of the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium (ARMFAB) and the museum library.
Cover image Fragment of Paul Joostens, "Collage," colored paper on cardboard, 1920. © RMFAB, Brussels (photo: J. Geleyns - Art Photography)