Studio Job at DWDD
Studio Job’s appearance on the daily TV talk show De Wereld Draait caused a commotion. Having been deluged by a wide variety of responses over the past weeks, we decided that more explanation was called for on our part. There was little opportunity for this in the programme, and we are therefore publishing this statement.
De Wereld Draait Door is a popular Dutch talk show, recorded live and watched by millions of people every day. We had been invited for a broad, general discussion of our work. To help prepare for the show, Studio Job sent the programme’s editorial team a survey including over 500 of the works we have produced over the past years.
Gate of Hell, The Book of Job 2010
During the broadcast, Nynke and Job were surprised by the programme-makers’ decision to focus primarily on two designs we had made in 2008 and 2009, one being a gate/fence for a private collector, and the other being a tablecloth for the Studio Job Lounge at the Groninger Museum. These works are controversial because of the associations they evoke and their iconography.
In our work we always aim to use iconographic images. In this particular case we have not realized the impact would be so heavy.
We regret this has caused upset and grief with affected parties. Art is in our view an invitation to dialogue, an invitation
that is sometimes paired with controversy.
- Studio Job