Vuurwerk en muziek 1682 - 1733

Curator: Look at this fascinating engraving by Romeyn de Hooghe, dating somewhere between 1682 and 1733. It's titled "Vuurwerk en muziek"—Fireworks and Music. It's held here at the Rijksmuseum. Editor: Immediately, the dichotomy grabs me. One side's explosive spectacle, pure outward expression, while the other’s a study of craft and instrument making—internal, focused labour. Curator: Exactly! The left side depicts, well, a tremendous fireworks display, reminiscent of Baroque theatricality and grand celebrations. You've got figures gazing up in awe, explosions galore... Editor: And what seems to be quite the industrious scene on the right panel. It’s grounded by materiality—metalworking, perhaps instrument making, the literal stuff from which music is coaxed, even a plump pig waltzes onto the scene. How many hands does it take to create an opera? This seems to want us to remember all of them. Curator: I'd never considered that… It’s less about performance on this side and more about the...engineering of the sonic experience, isn't it? The contrast emphasizes the different forms of spectacle. De Hooghe seems so interested in capturing both the dazzling effect of an event, and the grittier means of its creation. Editor: What strikes me is this unspoken connection – gunpowder ingredients perhaps refined and crafted similarly to these instruments. Consider the labour invested into the mining, processing, and eventual display, its a symphony of workers who also produce war and celebration alike. It presents interesting questions about colonial exploits and access to such materials Curator: Ah, you are inviting us to contemplate where those resources came from, yes? And, thinking about performance again… it hints at ephemerality, this grand fleeting spectacle paid for by labor whose traces will linger a good while longer. It makes one think about access, doesn't it? About who witnesses the fireworks and who's relegated to crafting the conditions for those moments? Editor: Absolutely. The act of artistic creation is very rarely separate from larger societal networks and labor. This piece feels like a potent acknowledgement of that reality. Curator: It leaves me pondering how we often consume finished products – art, music, fireworks displays - without considering the massive processes involved, and what that means about our relationship with material. Editor: I completely agree. It definitely prompts you to re-examine the boundaries between the magic and the mundane and to question the nature of creativity and craft.