New York City
Link: Homelessmuseum.org
Bio:
The Homeless Museum (HoMu) is primarily a conceptual art project that presents itself as a legitimate cultural institution. Not to be mistaken for an anthropological museum about the homeless or homelessness, it was initiated by New York-based Belgian artist Filip Noterdaeme as a reaction to the infiltration of the cultural sector by corporate business tactics and morals in a society that lacks social responsibility, exemplified by New York City’s inability to prevent the steady rise of homelessness.
For Noterdaeme, homelessness begins at home. One of the main ideas behind HoMu is the notion that fear of failure is a major driving force in our society, and that the ultimate consequence of failure is homelessness. HoMu sees the homeless as modern-day martyrs who pay the price for a society that has settled for a cruel Darwinian lifestyle in which “success by all means” has become the norm. Within such a system, those who have not been properly prepared and don’t have the means or tools to arm themselves in this constant, competitive battle are bound to be crushed. HoMu questions the standard of modern life, which has turned citizens into consumers, and goes as far as to declare homelessness as the most radical way to escape the boundaries of a commercialized world.
Filip Noterdaeme was born in Brussels, Belgium, in 1965. His father’s diplomatic career lead to a childhood spent in Belgium, England, and Switzerland. In 1987, after three years of study of philosophy and fine arts in Brussels, he moved to New York and enrolled in the School of Visual Arts to complete his BFA. In 1990, he was accepted in the MFA program at Hunter College. During his years as a student, he also worked as a supernumerary at the Metropolitan Opera, painted for artist duo David McDermott and Peter McGough, and volunteered for the Artist and Homeless Coalition. While at Hunter College, Noterdaeme developed his penchant for upsetting the status quo and produced subversive artwork that undermined the school’s conservative spirit. In 1992, a disciplinary committee of the school’s faculty decided to expel Noterdaeme from the program for “plagiarism.” Noterdaeme then devoted himself to the study of art history and literature, earning an MA at the School of Individualized Studies at New York University. He eventually became a museum educator at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where he worked for nine years as a gallery lecturer and ran a visitors’ program for children and their parents.
In 2002, appalled by the rise of homelessness in New York City, Noterdaeme created the Homeless Museum, using homelessness as a canvas to mock and challenge the commercial leanings and political maneuverings of leading cultural institutions. Besides running HoMu, Noterdaeme is a free-lance lecturer at the Guggenheim Museum and a part-time teacher of art history and cultural studies at New York University and the City University of New York.
When asked by Daniel Isengart, in July 2005, where he stands “in terms of homelessness as a fate so many people in [New York City] endure,” Noterdaeme responded:
“I look at them with horror, realizing that, because of my unwillingness to conform and my chronic inability to carve out a life of financial stability for myself, this could be me someday. I think that homelessness is one of the last taboos of our society, and obviously one of the only subjects that hasn’t been appropriated by commerce, which by itself makes it an intriguing subject for art. HoMu, without being literal, is offering a striking view on the conditions of homelessness. The homeless personify our internal fear of failure. They live out the American nightmare as opposed to the American dream. We look away and remain in denial that we live in a pitiless society that doesn’t properly prepare everyone for the pressure of success that has become the predominant feature of our daily lives. My inspiration for the Homeless Museum came from seeing these poor people whose situation seems beyond repair. I always say that homelessness begins at home. What we see on the streets is the last phase. I am not a social worker and I don’t say that I have a solution to end homelessness, but I instinctively feel that homelessness is a slow process that begins with the deconstruction of the ego. Both as an artist and as an art educator, I am always trying to wake up people’s senses and engage them mentally, because I believe that this is the only way to remain truly alive. If I had to sum up HoMu’s purpose in one phrase, that would be it.”
Adult admission to the Museum of Modern Art: $20
“Visiting the Museum | Admission and Ticketing,” The Museum of Modern Art, HYPERLINK "http://www.moma.org/visit_moma/admissions.html"(accessed February 1, 2006).