Broek van zaalwachtersuniform van het Rijksmuseum 1976

Here's a pair of pants from a Rijksmuseum guard's uniform, designed by Kattenburg-Bodenheim. Looking at these trousers, I imagine the hours spent standing, walking, quietly observing art and people. There’s a certain formality to them, yet they speak of everyday labor. It makes me think about what it’s like to try to make a painting, the labour involved in making something from nothing. The way you build it up, layer after layer. The material itself— the dark fabric— it’s not paint, but it’s got a similar kind of presence, a texture and weight. I wonder if Kattenburg-Bodenheim ever thought about how these pants would be seen, worn, and what stories they would silently witness. Each crease and fold tells a tale of movement, of someone living and working within the halls of art. It’s like a collaboration with time, the way the pants carry the marks of their purpose. And isn’t that what art is all about? Finding beauty and meaning in the everyday, whether it’s a stroke of paint or a simple pair of trousers.