In the series Learning to look at art differently, we investigate different ways of looking at art, so that you can get the most out of your visit to an exhibition. For each part in this series, a guide, who is an expert in his or her way of looking, will take us to the permanent collection of the Groninger Museum. In this second episode: how can art make you curious about the past and how do we place it in the present? Cissy Gressmann (1985), 'Praatjesmaker' at the Groninger Museum, teaches us to look at art in this way. "If you observe from your heart, you will always find something that touches you."
Cissy Gressmann has been working at the Groninger Museum since 2018 and studied at the Minerva Academy for Pop Culture. She also works as a spoken word artist and at Urban House Groningen. “At the Groninger Museum, they immediately thought of me when they searched for 'Praatjesmakers' – people who walk through the museum and speak to visitors.” Together with visitors she looks at a work of art and makes stories with them. “You get a lot of stories, really a blueprint from the visitors. Sometimes I talked with a visitor for up to an hour and heard a whole life story in response to a work of art.”
Certain things you learn collectively at school, so that you have a collective empathy for that, while you don't learn other things – and then you lack empathy. Cissy Gressmann
What kind of visitors do you speak to the most? “I try to speak to different people. The visitors you see most often in the museum are highly educated women of mostly Western European descent. I always hope to meet all kinds of visitors. Of course, it also depends on when you work and what kind of exhibition there is, to what extent people recognize themselves in it. The Stones exhibition also attracted a certain audience; an audience that loves music. But in terms of visitors, CHIHULY was more diverse and of course there were many women at the exhibition on Women's Suffrage. The Ploeg exhibition was more aimed at makers; local visitors, artists and people who had a background in this field: they know the uncle of the grandfather of the aunt of such a painter. But there was not one exhibition that I thought, especially Surinamese came to."
In addition to Praatjesmaker, she works as a project coordinator on a manifestation about slavery in Groningen. “In 2022, in collaboration with several museums and partners, there will be a manifestation about the shared past that we have together as Groningen, city and province. What is there to say about the slavery past? You look not only at the past, but also at the present. How has the past influenced the present – I personally find that very interesting. How do we now live together, are we aware of a shared history? It's about recognition, of course. Certain things you learn collectively at school, so you have a collective empathy for them, while you don't learn other things, and then you lack empathy. This creates friction in society, which is a shame, especially in Groningen. I think Groningen is a very nice city, it is a shame if there is unnecessary injury and misunderstanding.”
In the Ploeg Pavilion we walk past the silverware towards a room full of paintings. Cissy walks around the room and sees where the works were made. "Italy. Germany. This is quite a European area. Here, she points out, a European marketplace. Italy again.” It is of course a very small room, she says, and there is not much that can be hung here, but: “Of course you can ask yourself, if you want to be woke, why the only black figure in this room is a figure from the Bible. I would like to ask that, without judging it beforehand.”
The painting Adoration of the Kings by Peter Paul Rubens draws our attention. “This is the oil sketch of a large painting. Biblical Themes, The Three Wise Men. What strikes me is that the baby has blond hair, but that is of course possible – some people have blond hair and then within three years it is jet black. Because I assume that must represent Jesus, he is not from Scandinavia, is he? And what does it matter? Yes, representation. I find it complicated to explain all that. I do wonder: gosh, that's blond for a child born in the Middle East. Anyway, I also know blond Syrians.”
We continue to the room Travel through Time. Cissy says her favorite object in space is the 'ranja' (limonade). “I used to think that 'ranja' was just limonade, but apparently 'ranja' is lemonade and ranja is the brand name. I found that out while chatting. When you walk around a museum as big as this, you can never see everything in one day. But if you do it often, you will see and read everything at some point. The brand orange of the company is Kelmer-Polak. That's nice, because Polak is also a non-Dutch name. So that means we're quite rich in diversity and cultures through migration, but we already knew that. I think this is the coolest part here.”
We walk to the exhibition about De Ploeg. “I asked visitors: if these people are all in the pub, what kind of people are they? That's a bit taken away from the original goal. I like De Ploeg because it is colorful and tells something about expressionism in Groningen.
She looks at Dancing pair (Danspaar) by Jan Wiegers. “The portraits are of course super inclusive because people have green heads. There are dancing people. It's funny that everyone is purple, yellow, and green, but this guy has his own color, which is brown. And that woman kinda looks like she's got my nose. This makes me curious, I have the idea that it was already colorful in Groningen back then. Because I am bicultural, I find that interesting.”
The room 'Erflaterszaal' is full of gracious portraits from a few centuries ago. “When I look at this, I also wonder all the influences of the Spaniards and Fransosen. I haven't really looked into this room very deeply. Perhaps it would be better to ask myself the question: why did I not immerse myself in this room so much? But then you see what's there.” Cissy's eye falls on Jan Albert Sichterman of CL Haverkamp. She reads: "Sichterman makes a career in the East, found his wife there, worked at the VOC establishment. He returned to Groningen in 1750 to realize a colossal house on the Ossenmarkt." How does she feel about this person being portrayed? "That it hangs here is part of history. I am not very enthusiastic about his career. I would like to read more context."
We end at a sign that describes the permanent collection as 'a reflection of the culture of the Groningen people from the city and the surrounding area, and their love for collecting'. “That is also what we have seen. A nice representation, right? Only, is it still current is an interesting question? But history is always current. Is the history complete? You never know, because I don't know if what my neighbors tell me is also one hundred percent truthful. I think you know a lot as a human being, but you can't even trust your own memory. So, where does it end? Where do you draw the line? What will hang in the future: how would you organize it in forty years?
Be curious, look with an open mind and feel free to make up your own story, she gives as advice. "If you want to observe from a social context, try to look beyond your own perspective. For that you need to know what your bubble is. When you visit a museum, you step into a new world, where you can test your own perspectives against the work of a other. Even art that you think has nothing to do with you can suddenly come very close. If you observe from your heart, you always find something that touches you.”