Jacqueline de Jong
Encyclopedia
Jacqueline de Jong was born in the Dutch
town of Hengelo
to Jewish parents. Faced with the German invasion, they went into hiding. After an abortive escape attempt to England
, her father Hans remained in Amsterdam
while she and her mother made for Switzerland
. At the border they were captured by the French
police, but just as they were about to be deported to the Drancy
deportation camp, they were rescued by the resistance
, who helped them over the border. When they returned following the war, Jacqueline could not speak Dutch.
After a brief interlude learning drama
at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama
, she returned to Amsterdam to work in the Stedelijk Museum
, the home of Modern Art
there. She visited Paris
, where she met Danish
painter
Asger Jorn
, the founder of the CoBrA
group, with whom she started a ten-year love affair. Asger Jorn was forty-five years old, compared to her twenty years.
Through Jorn she met the Situationist International, and started to participate in conferences and the Central committee. After the expulsion of Constant Nieuwenhuys
and his group, she became the Dutch Section of the organization. She resigned over the way the German section, also known as Gruppe SPUR
, had been expelled. As the split deepened between the Debordists and the Second Situationist International
, she refused to join either faction, instead saying that people should fulfill act as situationists as they felt fit.
As for herself, between 1962 and 1967 she edited and published the Situationist Times
involving Gaston Bachelard
, Roberto Matta
, Wifredo Lam
and Jacques Prévert
in this project. In 1968 she was in Paris, printing and distributing revolutionary posters. She also collected examples for the Van Abbemuseum
.
In 1970 she left Jorn and moved back to Amsterdam with Hans Brinkman, a businessman and gallery owner. Since then she has been a familiar media figure across Belgium
and Holland, doing TV programmes, producing large action painting
s and taking responsibility for the large mural on the new Amsterdam Town hall.
She now spends her time between France
and Amsterdam, devoting as much time to growing vegetables as to painting. She has an extensive archive of avant-garde material.
"My function as an 'undercover' in the arts is to discover and modify all universal experience to my own gusto."
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
town of Hengelo
Hengelo
Hengelo is a municipality and a city in the eastern Netherlands, in the province of Overijssel. The city lies along the motorways A1/E30 and A35 and it has a station for the International Amsterdam – Hannover – Berlin service.-Traffic and transport:...
to Jewish parents. Faced with the German invasion, they went into hiding. After an abortive escape attempt to England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, her father Hans remained in Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
while she and her mother made for Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
. At the border they were captured by the French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
police, but just as they were about to be deported to the Drancy
Drancy internment camp
The Drancy internment camp of Paris, France, was used to hold Jews who were later deported to the extermination camps. 65,000 Jews were deported from Drancy, of whom 63,000 were murdered including 6,000 children...
deportation camp, they were rescued by the resistance
French Resistance
The French Resistance is the name used to denote the collection of French resistance movements that fought against the Nazi German occupation of France and against the collaborationist Vichy régime during World War II...
, who helped them over the border. When they returned following the war, Jacqueline could not speak Dutch.
After a brief interlude learning drama
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama
Guildhall School of Music and Drama
Guildhall School of Music and Drama is an independent music and dramatic arts school which was founded in 1880 in London, England. Students can pursue courses in Music, Opera, Drama and Technical Theatre Arts.-History:...
, she returned to Amsterdam to work in the Stedelijk Museum
Stedelijk Museum
Founded in 1874, the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam is a museum for classic modern and contemporary art in Amsterdam in the Netherlands. It has been housed on the Paulus Potterstraat, next to Museum Square Museumplein and to the Rijksmuseum, Van Gogh Museum and the Concertgebouw, in Amsterdam Zuid...
, the home of Modern Art
Modern art
Modern art includes artistic works produced during the period extending roughly from the 1860s to the 1970s, and denotes the style and philosophy of the art produced during that era. The term is usually associated with art in which the traditions of the past have been thrown aside in a spirit of...
there. She visited Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, where she met Danish
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
painter
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
Asger Jorn
Asger Jorn
Asger Oluf Jorn was a Danish painter, sculptor, ceramic artist, and author. He was a founding member of the avant-garde movement COBRA and the Situationist International...
, the founder of the CoBrA
COBRA (avant-garde movement)
COBRA was a European avant-garde movement active from 1948 to 1951. The name was coined in 1948 by Christian Dotremont from the initials of the members' home cities: Copenhagen , Brussels , Amsterdam .-History:...
group, with whom she started a ten-year love affair. Asger Jorn was forty-five years old, compared to her twenty years.
Through Jorn she met the Situationist International, and started to participate in conferences and the Central committee. After the expulsion of Constant Nieuwenhuys
Constant Nieuwenhuys
Constant Anton Nieuwenhuys was a Dutch painter, and one of the foremost innovators of Unitary Urbanism. In 1941, he became deeply interested in the work of Paul Cézanne, Cubism and German Expressionism....
and his group, she became the Dutch Section of the organization. She resigned over the way the German section, also known as Gruppe SPUR
Gruppe SPUR
Gruppe SPUR was an artistic collaboration formed by the German painters Heimrad Prem, Helmut Sturm and Hans-Peter Zimmer and the sculptor Lothar Fischer in 1957...
, had been expelled. As the split deepened between the Debordists and the Second Situationist International
Second Situationist International
Jørgen Nash identifies the first manifestation of the Second Situationist International after it broke away from the Situationist International as a leaflet signed by himself along with Jacqueline de Jong and Ansgar Elde, shortly after the group Seven Rebels was formed at Situationist Bauhaus at...
, she refused to join either faction, instead saying that people should fulfill act as situationists as they felt fit.
As for herself, between 1962 and 1967 she edited and published the Situationist Times
Situationist Times
The Situationist Times ran to six issues edited and published by Jacqueline de Jong between May 1962 and December 1964 in Hengelo , Copenhagen and Paris, in editions of between 1,000-2,000....
involving Gaston Bachelard
Gaston Bachelard
Gaston Bachelard was a French philosopher. He made contributions in the fields of poetics and the philosophy of science. To the latter he introduced the concepts of epistemological obstacle and epistemological break...
, Roberto Matta
Roberto Matta
Roberto Sebastián Antonio Matta Echaurren , better known as Roberto Matta, was one of Chile's best-known painters and a seminal figure in 20th century abstract expressionist and surrealist art....
, Wifredo Lam
Wifredo Lam
Wifredo Óscar de la Concepción Lam y Castilla , better known as Wifredo Lam, was a Cuban artist who sought to portray and revive the enduring Afro-Cuban spirit and culture...
and Jacques Prévert
Jacques Prévert
Jacques Prévert was a French poet and screenwriter. His poems became and remain very popular in the French-speaking world, particularly in schools. Some of the movies he wrote are extremely well regarded, with Les Enfants du Paradis considered one of the greatest films of all time.-Life and...
in this project. In 1968 she was in Paris, printing and distributing revolutionary posters. She also collected examples for the Van Abbemuseum
Van Abbemuseum
Van Abbemuseum is a museum of modern and contemporary art located in central Eindhoven, Netherlands, on the east bank of the Dommel river. Established in 1936, the Abbe Museum is named after its founder, Abbe Henri. Abbe was a lover of modern art and wanted to enjoy it there from Eindhoven...
.
In 1970 she left Jorn and moved back to Amsterdam with Hans Brinkman, a businessman and gallery owner. Since then she has been a familiar media figure across Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
and Holland, doing TV programmes, producing large action painting
Action painting
Action painting sometimes called "gestural abstraction", is a style of painting in which paint is spontaneously dribbled, splashed or smeared onto the canvas, rather than being carefully applied...
s and taking responsibility for the large mural on the new Amsterdam Town hall.
She now spends her time between France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and Amsterdam, devoting as much time to growing vegetables as to painting. She has an extensive archive of avant-garde material.
"My function as an 'undercover' in the arts is to discover and modify all universal experience to my own gusto."