Press Kit Contacts

Press Relations CARACAS RP Hélène van den Wildenberg [email protected] T. +32 (0)4 349 14 41 Gsm +32 (0)495 22 07 92

Juliette Picry Press Secretary for the City of Mons T. +32 (0)65 40 59 71 Gsm +32 (0)497 970 873 [email protected]

Géraldine Simonet PR Manager T. +32 (0)65 40 51 72 Gsm +32 (0)473 604 994 [email protected]

Organised by the Exhibition Department of the Mons Museum Network, supported by the Wallonia-Brussels Federation. Contents

Signs of the times

Press release / page 05 — The exhibition / page 05 — The exhibition’s artists / page 06 — The curator / page 06 — The catalogue / page 06 — Visuals available to the press / page 07

The Battle of Mons

Press release / page 10 — Different themes in the exhibition / page 10 — The curator / page 11 — The catalogue / page 11 — Visuals available to the press / page 12

Fritz Haber

Press release / page 14 — The exhibition / page 14 — David Vandermeulen / page 15 — Fritz Haber / page 15 — Visuals available to the press / page 16

The First and the last / page 17

Practical details / page 17

Activities connected to the exhibitions / page 17

Press Kit 03

Curator Exhibition coordination Signs of Nikola Doll Alice Cantigniau T. 065 40.53.08 the times [email protected] Odile Moreau visionary art T. 065 40.53.05 from pre-1914 [email protected]

Press release

But we were talking about the Belle Époque! A period marked by dazzling in no small part, by the collapse of traditional values, is one of the roots of social, technological, economic and political progress, brought to an abrupt modern art. Visions of fear, threats, and the apocalypse rub shoulders with end on 4 August 2014. But how could we ever get to that point? This exhibi- projects looking at utopic, idyllic worlds. Interpreted today as Signs of the tion, entitled Signs of the times attempts to explore the widespread sense times, above all these pieces bear witness to a world in a state of revolution, of restlessness that clearly manifested itself in the art scene in the pre-war one that we attempt to understand with the benefit of hindsight as visionary period. The upheaval of day-to-day habits unleashed a range of contradictory images of a gloomy future. emotions: fear and hope, uncertainty and dreams, intoxication and aspiration. The 150 pieces in this exhibition include paintings, sculptures, graphic pieces More than forty artists from 6 different European countries have been and photographs by German, French, Belgian, Swiss and Austrian artists from brought together to look at themes that help us analyse the boundaries major international collections: Georges Minne, Auguste Rodin, Edvard Munch, and the bridges between different artistic trends such as naturalism, sym- Félicien Rops and Alfred Kubin as well as Léon Spillaert, Fernand Khnopff, bolism and expressionism. Together, they reveal the signature, reflected in Arnold Schönberg, James Ensor, and Ludwig Meidner to name but a few… visual arts, of a period filled with uncertainty. This state of crisis produced, The darkest pages of the Belle Époque are revealed as the exhibition goes on.

The exhibition

Periods of upheaval have always generated new waves of artistic trends. 3. Half-man – half-animal With the benefit of hindsight, we can rediscover a number of masterpieces In 1859, Charles Darwin published On the origin of the species by means of and see them as the reflection of a period of uncertainty. The 6 themes natural selection. No theory other than that of Evolution has revolutionised tackled in this exhibition are: science to this extent, shaking the foundations of social hierarchies. In around 1900, the notion of “fighting for survival” is established in the consciousness 1. Signs of the times of the European bourgeoisie. The visitor is immediately confronted by a huge wall of more than 250 photographs on a glass background from the Mundaneum’s image collections. Most Artists such as Félicien Rops, Edvard Munch and Alfred Kubin leaned of these translucent images date back to the beginning of the 20th century. towards Darwin’s theories. Their representations of mixed beings, half-man, They have been put together to create a panorama that reveals a whole half-animal, defined the boundaries ofdecadence and bear witness to the new world: illustrations of technical advances, economic riches and mass rocky hierarchy in the relationship between men and women. consumption, alongside representations of how cities have changed, to the detriment of nature. The whole thing creates a kaleidoscopic overview of 4. State of emergency a world undergoing major changes. The place of the individual can only be The demographic growth seen in Europe at the beginning of the 20th century turned upside down faced with so many changes in such a short period. triggered new fears. The artistic output of James Ensor and Ludwig Meidner illustrate this individual awareness, intensified by the standardisation trig- 2. Homo sacer gered by mass culture. Visual arts became virulent and incisive. Some Compassion, this word, with Christian connotations, goes perfectly with paintings take the form of allegories. Others, like those by Henri de Groux, the 19th century as it sums up the social concerns of the burgeoning middle are visions of a social apocalypse. These works of art often have an indefinable class. Clearly this period did not invent the concept, but it did give it an extra style, giving a sense, not without irony, of a wretched, almost paranormal element, tinged with suffering and despair. The depictions of women and destiny. Idealistic or prophetic? That is the question that underlies our take children at work have become symbols of human exploitation in a century on these works of art. overcome with rampant industrialisation. These works of art become the precursors of a precarious humanity.

Press Kit 05 5. “I” is someone else 6. Out of the ordinary A sense of languid unease took possession of humanity at the beginning The ideal of modernity in the guise of technical progress was by no means of the 20th century. Artists began to understand reality from the starting one that everybody shared. Indeed, criticism blossomed faced with a point of their own subjectivity. Influenced by Sigmund Freud’s psychoa- certain industrial culture that saw nature as an object to be fashioned nalysis method, artists released the irrational from a world of seemingly to the service of mankind. For artists like Wilhelm Diefenbach and Gusto well-ordered objects. They saw the artistic process as the expression of Gräser, the city, the nation and technical advances represented a threat a psychological density that was starting to blossom in a conventional to humanity. In their eyes, the choice of a different life was possible. social setting. So all of a sudden the barren landscapes of Degouve de So the artist became the creator of parallel universes or seemingly perfect Nuncques or the lifeless interiors of Xavier Mellery can resonate with technical systems. Albert Trachsel, for example, came up with architectural the enigmatic representations of Schönberg; each one has his own way models for the ideal humanist society. Somewhere between science fiction of highlighting what some call the “hidden trapdoors of the soul”. and post-Romanticism, the works of art express the dream of a perfect union between mankind and the cosmos, while a whole other reality is coming into existence.

The exhibition’s artists

Max Beckmann, Cécile Douard, William Degouve de Nuncques, Wilhelm Diefenbach, Louis Mascré, Ludwig Meidner, George Méliès, Xavier Mellery, Constantin Meunier, Henry Dunant, James Ensor, Gusto Gräser, Otto Greiner, Otto Gutfreund, Henry Georges Minne, Wilhelm Morgner, Edvard Munch, Auguste Rodin, Félicien Rops, de Groux, Wenzel Hablik, Hugo Höppener (Fidus), Ludwig von Hofmann, Fernand Arnold Schönberg, Paul Sérusier, Max Slevogt, Léon Spilliaert, Jakob Steinhardt, Khnopff, Käthe Kollwitz, Alfred Kubin, Auguste Levêque, Wilhelm Lehmbruck, Felix Vallotton, Albert Weisgerber, H.G. Wells, Philippe Wolfers, Ossip Zadkine.

The curator The catalogue Nikola Doll is an exhibition curator, researcher and lecturer. She is currently involved in research with the prestigious group Bild – Wissen – Gestaltung / The exhibition is accompanied by a 144-page illustrated book containing 4 essays image – knowledge – Gestaltung, at the Humboldt University of Berlin. by Nikola Doll, Denis Laoureux, Sabine Faster and Jörg Templer, a catalogue with 6 themed chapters written by Nikola Doll, a chronology of the successive crises Her fields of research essentially focus on the following themes: in Europe between 1789 and 1914 by Felix Jäger, a list of the works of art on display and a selective bibliography. – Fine art in the 19th and 20th centuries

– Arts and cultural policy Contents Editorial / Collège communal de la Ville de Mons – History and history of art Foreword / Xavier Roland – Head of the Pôle Muséal – Fine art and architecture in National Socialist Germany Essays and the Democratic Republic of Germany I – Introduction / Nikola Doll (Humboldt University of Berlin) II – The catastrophes and their origins in images / Jörg Templer (Humboldt – Exhibition narratives and posters University of Berlin) III – See Sedan, catch a glimpse of Verdun: the spectre of disaster in fin She has already been the curator of a number of exhibitions including: de siècle Belgium / Denis Laoureux (Université Libre de Bruxelles) IV – On the borders: artistic concepts and the birth of psychiatry / Sabine Faster – Weltwissen. 300 Jahre Wissenschaften in Berlin, Martin-Gropius-Bau, Berlin 2010/11. Catalogue Chapter I – Signs – Kunst und Propaganda im Streit der Nationen, Deutsches Historisches Chapter II – Homo Sacer Museum Berlin, Berlin 2007. Chapter III – Half-man – half-animal – As well as other exhibitions for the Humboldt University of Berlin, Chapter IV – State of emergency Rheinisches Landesmuseum Bonn, Haus der Geschichte der Bundesrepublik Chapter V – “I” is someone else Deutschland, Bonn. Chapter VI – Out of the ordinary Chronology (1789 – 1914) / Felix Jäger List of the works of art on display Selective bibliography Colophon Acknowledgements Photo credits

The catalogue is on sale for €29. It is published by Éditions Racine in French and is available in bookshops belonging to the network covered by Racine.

Press Kit 06 visuals available to tHe Press

1. Léon Spilliaert, Autoportrait au carnet de croquis bleu, 7. Max Slevogt, Le vainqueur, 1912. Oil on canvas, stiftung 14. Ludwig Meidner, Vision apocalyptique (with portrait of Lotte 1907. Chinese ink wash, brush, colour pencil, pastel on Museum Kunstpalast, Düsseldorf, inv. M 5466, © stiftung Wahle in the middle), 1914, pencil on board, sammlung paper. royal Museum of Fine Arts, Antwerp, inv. 2697, Museum Kunstpalast, Horst Kolberg , ArtOtHeK. Winfried Flammann, Karlsruhe. © Lukas - Art in Flanders VZW / royal Museum of Fine Arts, Antwerp, photo : Hugo Maertens / sABAM 2014. 8. Henry Dunant, Diagramme symbolique: la première création, 15. Arnold Schönberg, Regard, May 1910, oil on board, sign. late 1880s, ink, Chinese ink and pastel on paper. international u.dat. u.re.: Arnold schönberg, Belmont Music Publishers, 2. Henry de Groux, Le Charnier (Courrières), 1906, pastel red Cross Museum, Geneva, inv. Col-2000-14-1. Pacifi c Palisades. Arnold schönberg Center, Vienna, Cat. on paper, collection belonging to the Hainaut Province raisonné Nr. 61. de – looked after by the B.P.s.22 – Charleroi © Photo 9. Fidus, Invocation à la lumière, 1894/1922, oil on canvas. DGACH-r.sAUBLAiNs. Archiv der deutschen Jugendbewegung, Witzenhausen, inv. 16. Wenzel Hablik, Voûte céleste I, 1909 (29./30.1.1909), oil on N 38, Nr. 586, © Barbara Krippner / sABAM 2014. canvas. Wenzel-Hablik-Foundation, itzehoe, inv. WH ÖL 194. 3. Ossip Zadkine, La misère de Job, 1914, wood, royal Museum of Fine Arts, Antwerp, inv. 2338, © Lukas - Art in Flanders 10. William Degouve de Nuncques, La forêt lépreuse, 1895, 17. Auguste Levêque, Le Job, before 1906, oil on canvas, VZW / royal Museum of Fine Arts, Antwerp, photo: Hugo oil on canvas. Private collection. Collection belonging to the Belgian state, Brussels, inv. 10.689. Maertens / sABAM 2014. 11. Auguste Rodin, Femmes damnées, 1885, bronze. Musée rodin, Paris, inv. Nr. s 489 / ML 219. , , 1894, oil on canvas, Museum 4. Félicien Rops, Satan semant l’ivraie, 1882, rotogravure 18. Felix Vallotton Le cadavre of Grenoble, Grenoble, inv. MG 3900. with soft ground, Collection belonging to the Félicien rops 12. Philippe Wolfers, Civilisation et Barbarie, 1897, silver, Museum, Namur Province, inv. G 19. ivory and onyx. Collection belonging to the King Baudouin 19. James Ensor, Auto-da-fé, 1893, etching on coloured copper Foundation, looked after by the royal Museums of Art and on paper. Belfi us Collection, Brussels / sABAM 2014. 5. Cécile Douard, Le terril, 1898. Oil on canvas, Collection History, Brussels © Hughes Dubois. belonging to the French Community, looked after by the 20. Eugène Carrière, Méditation, circa 1900, oil on canvas, BAL, Liège, inv 1657. 13. Pierre Paulus, Maternité (La Sambre), 1912. Oil on canvas, Musée d’art roger Quilliot [MArQ], Clermont Ferrand, photo BAM, Mons, inv. 2 / sABAM 2014. Patrick André. 6. Alfred kubin, Une pour tous, circa 1900/1901. Chinese ink, wash, sprayed on to cadastral paper, Oberösterreichisches Landesmuseum, Linz, inv. Ha ii 3179.

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[suite Des Visuels DisPonibles PaGe suiVante]

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Press Kit 08

Curator Exhibition coordination The Battle Guillaume Blondeau, Caroline Dumoulin assisted by T. 065 40.53.09 of Mons Aline Staes [email protected] objects bearing witness

Press release

23 August 1914. The Battle of Mons begins. This marked the first conflict Although it focuses on the Battle of Mons, this exhibition also explores of the Great War between the German army and British soldiers. Mons was wider themes, such as the importance of belief and spirituality during in the hands of the enemy, and would remain so until it was liberated on times of war, as well as the civil resistance during this conflict. 11 November 1918. Fitting in chronologically with the Signs of the times exhibition, this exhi- The exhibition looks at this historic event from an intuitive, reflective angle. bition is designed to attract art lovers, thanks to its sensitive approach The objects in the military history collection of the City of Mons are at the to historic subjects, as well as those interested in history. Indeed, any- heart of the project. Visitors are invited to look at the historic items on body fascinated by the Great War will be able to look at genuine objects, display to reflect or raise their own questions on the subject. They will then eye witness accounts and photographs connected to the Battle of Mons, be able to compare their own interpretations with the ‘historical truth’. which took place on 23 August 1914. A fantastic opportunity to explore items that will subsequently be taken to the Mons Memorial Museum.

Different themes in the exhibition

After a short overview of the context of the Battle of Mons, different themes – Mons marks the first fighting by the British Expeditionary Force during the connected to the eleven main objects will be covered. Great War. A medal, the “Mons Star”, demonstrates the symbolic importance of Mons for Great Britain and would be awarded to 350,000 British – The importance of music in the sound landscape of the war. Used for military soldiers promoted to the rank of national heroes. purposes on the battlefield, music also illustrates soldiers’ affection for their region or regiment. – During the Battle of Mons, some German soldiers committed unwarranted acts of violence. Houses were set on fire, local residents shot, hostages – The dominance of the artillery and machine guns on the battlefield in the taken and civilians used as a human shield: these are some of the atrocities Great War. They would become symbols of industrial war. seen by the Mons region. – The German soldier with his spiked helmet instilled fear in the residents – Starting in August 1914, press, propaganda and censorship organisations of Mons. Allied propaganda depicted the enemy in this headgear as a were gradually established. It is hard to get reliable information about subcultural barbarian. events and soldiers on the front line. Letters became the main means of – The Great War was the backdrop for many legends in which soldiers were communication for families. helped by celestial figures.T hese apparitions were based on a complex – After the Battle of Mons, locals found themselves on occupied land. A few phenomenon legitimising the war. civilians chose to fight in secret. They helped British soldiers leave Belgium – Life for soldiers during the Battle of Mons in 1914 was hard: quick mar- and go to the Netherlands, which was still neutral. ches, heavy equipment unsuitable for the conditions, stifling heat, lack – After the Battle of Mons on 23 August 1914, the British Expeditionary of food and water. Force began a long retreat to the Marne. Over the course of 12 days, the – Thousands of men were injured, killed or disappeared on both sides during soldiers travelled more than 250 km in the oppressive heat without any the Battle of Mons. The creation of the military cemeteries and monuments rest and with no water or food. to the dead were an attempt to help civilians in their grief.

Press Kit 10 The curator The catalogue

Guillaume Blondeau, curator of the future Mons Memorial Museum The exhibition is accompanied by a fantastically illustrated 56-page book. A historian by training, Guillaume Blondeau joined the Pôle Muséal de la Ville de Mons in 2011 as the curator of the future Mons Memorial Museum. Contents Before joining the team dedicated to the culture of Mons, he worked with Editorial / Collège communal de la Ville de Mons the federal centre for historic research, the CEGES. His field of study, Foreword / Guillaume Blondeau directly linked to the Mons Memorial Museum, focused on the City of Mons Objects bearing witness / Guillaume Blondeau and Aline Staes during the two World Wars. I. Kilt and canon noise II. Power of fire III. Fritz VS Tommy IV. Gott mit unz V. 27 kg VI. The injured, dead, and disappeared VII. To the rank of hero VIII. Atrocities IX. News from the front line X. In secret XI. The Great Retreat Colophon and acknowledgements

The catalogue is on sale for 16 € at the BAM. Available in French, Dutch and English.

Press Kit 11 Visuals available to the press

1. Drum belonging to the Duke of Cambridge’s Own 5. Notebooks belonging to François Petit, a civilian from Mons, 8. Crushed bugle from the King’s Royal Rifle Corps. Collections (Middlesex) Regiment, found on the battlefield. Collections in which he made daily notes detailing events in Mons from belonging to the City of Mons / © photo: Rino Noviello belonging to the City of Mons / © photo: Rino Noviello 3 August 1914 until 31 October 1918. Collections belonging to the City of Mons / © photo: Rino Noviello 9. Machine gunner Vickers from the 1/Cheshire who took part 2. Artillery shell engraved “Mons 1914-1918”. Collections in the Battle of Mons on 23 August 1914 (detail). Collections belonging to the City of Mons / © photo: Rino Noviello 6. Funeral cross on the grave of a German soldier and a belonging to the City of Mons / © photo: Rino Noviello British soldier killed on 23 August 1914. Collections be- 3. Spiked helmet used by the Prussian infantry. Collections longing to the City of Mons / © photo: Rino Noviello 10. Machine gunner Vickers from the 1/Cheshire who took belonging to the City of Mons / © photo: Rino Noviello part in the Battle of Mons on 23 August 1914. Collections 7. Spiked helmet used by the Prussian infantry (detail). belonging to the City of Mons / © photo: Rino Noviello 4. German infantry uniform. Collections belonging to the Collections belonging to the City of Mons / © photo: City of Mons / © photo: Rino Noviello Rino Noviello

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Press Kit 12 12.07.14 › 16.11.14 salle saint-GeorGes mons Curator Exhibition coordination FRITZ HABER Jean Marie Derscheid Bruno Vande Graaf T. 065 40.53.10 a mind at war [email protected]

Press release

This exhibition tells the story of Fritz Haber, a Jewish-German chemist who and political elite during the First World War. Working with ink wash and was a paradoxical figure, a friend of Einstein and the inventor of mustard using sepia ink, David Vandermeulen has a very specific technique that gas, which was used as a weapon during the Great War. It tells the story makes his work so original. He manages to develop an almost photographic of the 1918 Nobel Prize for Chemistry and is illustrated by the Belgian realism, while also introducing contrasting effects with shadows in dif- artist David Vandermeulen. The series was launched over 10 years ago; ferent shades of brown. An unflinching project, which will be laid out by this year, the author will publish his fourth album. Critics recognised his his very own team of designers. An exhibition that is likely to haunt you rigorous work and impeccable historic methods, backed up by an aca- thanks to the subject matter, the work and the atmosphere that will fill demic background that is essential when it comes to tackling this sort of the Salle Saint-Georges, a former chapel that has been converted into controversial subject: the responsibility of the Jewish-German scientific an exhibition room.

The exhibition

The exhibition housed in the Salle Saint-Georges presents the artistic and 4. Science and University symbolist aspects of the work of David Vandermeulen, as well as showcasing From Fritz Haber’s rejection as professor by a number of German universities the educational and historic features that make his cartoons so unique. because of his Jewish roots, to his incredible scientific achievements and recognition. David Vandermeulen tells the story through portraits of the David Vandermeulen’s work has an incredibly “realist” feel. He creates individual German Jewish scientific elite. small squares with a sepia wash, making adjustments with bleach (to preserve the “chemical” look of the narrative). The images are then scanned and put 5. Industry together in the form of “comic book pages”. So the original drawings are very The author tells the story of industrial development that would make Germany small, and the exhibition contains a huge number of them. the world’s second largest economic power at the beginning of the 20th century, one capable of standing up to the rest of the world. The exhibition focuses on a number of general themes: 6. Fritz Haber, Nobel Prize for Chemistry 1. The Empire After a difficult beginning, Fritz Haber was awarded the Nobel Prize for The author tackles the biography of Fritz Haber, presenting the historic Chemistry for his research into Nitrogen fixation and the industrial devel- context and depicting Imperial Germany and its cities, the cradles of the opment of ammonia. He was keen to earn recognition from the German most innovative scientific and industrial innovations. Empire, and served the German nation. He designed and created the first ever chemical weapon: mustard gas. 2. Fritz Haber and Clara (youth) Two exceptional young chemists meet before having very different futures, 7. Gas warfare ending in tragedy. Fritz Haber was aware of his terrible invention, and convinced the German army of its “usefulness”. He went to the front at Yser to see for himself how mustard 3. The Nibelungen gas could be used and the results. An 18th century German story with Scandinavian roots, set to music in the famous ring cycle by Wagner, and told on the big screen by Fritz Lang. 8. The birth of Zionism David Vandermeulen draws on Lang’s iconic classic and reinvents the tale A people without a homeland, the Jewish community assembled. David in cartoon form, illustrating the Prussian future of Fritz Haber, and giving Vandermeulen looks at the first signs of the creation of the State of Israel the story the fantastical element needed to understand the German state and depicts its founding fathers: Herzl and Weizmann. Fritz Haber continues of mind at the beginning of the 20th century. to look for his identity, unable to choose between his Jewishness and his quest for recognition from his German homeland.

Press Kit 14 David Vandermeulen

Born in 1968, David Vandermeulen spent his childhood in the south-east After working on a number of different projects, David found the starting of Brussels, between Auderghem and Boitsfort. An only child, he grew up point for his quest for artistic identity that would lead to Fritz Haber, in quiet residential areas, where he devoured comic books. his future masterpiece.

Showing real promise, David quickly became the class artist at the Collège At the beginning of the 21st century, David Vandermeulen dedicated himself Saint-Hubert. The young Vandermeulen was already imagining himself as a completely to comic books, alternating between humorous and serious comic book author. After struggling at school, David went to the Académie material. Two sides of his personality that he cultivates with the same des Beaux-Arts in Brussels, and then the Ecole du Louvre, which opened dexterity. a school in Brussels. However, David was never satisfied with this new direction, and realised that his life lay elsewhere. Started in 2003, this biography of the German Jewish chemist, Fritz Haber, would contain more than a thousand pages and take some twenty years For five years, David Vandermeulen stayed away from pencils and brushes. to complete. The four volumes that have been published so far have been His love for comic books returned when he discovered the vibrancy of the rewarded with a host of prizes and awards around the world. alternative comic book scene. He discovered Stéphane Noël’s BrainProduk and got excited about the new wave of independent publishers.

Fritz Haber

Chronology 1915 – The first attack using chlorine on the front line at Ypres was personally supervised by Haber. His wife, Clara, committed suicide. 1868 – Fritz Jacob Haber was born in Breslau. 1917 – Haber married his second wife, Charlotte Nathan. 1891 – Successful doctoral thesis. 1918 – Afraid of being seen as a war criminal Haber fled to Switzerland. 1898 – The great English chemist, William Crookes appealed to chemists all around the globe that the world would soon suffer from widespread 1919 – Haber was awarded the 1918 Nobel Prize for Chemistry for his research famine if a synthetic version of nitrogen wasn’t developed soon. into making a synthetic version of ammonia. Haber made this his personal challenge. 1923 – Keen to be the saviour of Germany once again, Haber prepared for an 1901 – His young wife, Clara Immerwahr Haber, gave birth to their son, Hermann. expedition to the southern seas in the hope of being able to extract several tonnes of gold from the seawater. He abandoned the project 1906 – Haber converted to Protestantism. He landed his first position as professor. after a few months as the results were so awful. 1908 – Haber registered the patent for ammonia and sold it to BASF the 1933 – Regarded as a national hero, Haber was one of a handful of Jews following year. not to be affected by the new Nazi laws. However, he was ordered 1912 – He was appointed director of the Kaiser-Wilhelm Physics and Chemistry to get rid of all the Jews working in his institute. He made the de- Institute in Berlin by Wilhelm II. cision to resign and go into exile in France. Chaim Weizmann, the 1913 – Haber and Einstein became friends. future President of Israel, offered him the position of Rector of the 1914 – During the first few days of the conflict, Haber went to see the Minister University of Jerusalem. to offer his services to the war effort. He was allocated a budget for 1934 – Haber died of a heart attack in late January, in Basel, without really his work on new chemical weapons. having the time to respond to Weizmann’s offer.

Much more than just a comic book The Fritz Haber project is much more than just a biography of a German contradictions of the German Jewish scientific and political elite during the Jewish Nobel Prize winner. It attempts to avoid the pitfalls of a hagiography First World War. Or, to put it another way: how did a state-less community by taking a broader look at the cultural and political context of Germany in view the rise of nationalism in the west, and what were the repercussions the years between 1880 and 1933. The narrative embraces a theme that is of these troubling times for the issue of Jewish identity? This is an original rarely tackled within the realms of human science: the responsibilities and and key question for the author, and one that he continues to ask himself.

Press Kit 15 Visuals available to the press

Press Kit 16 The first and the last An exhibition organised in collaboration with Arts², the WBT and Central Saint Martins in London

Within the context of the centenary of the First World War, the Belgian Tourist Office Brussels-Wallonia in London has launched a commemorative art competition with the prestigious Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design in London. The students of today, who would have been soldiers in 14-18, express what the Great War represents and what feelings it evokes for them. The competition builds a bridge between two eras and two generations based on artistic creativity. The same concept was launched at the Mons-based college, Arts², triggering a cultural, peaceful rivalry with their British counterparts.

BAM MONS Activities 8, rue Neuve - 7000 Mons – +32 (0)65 40 53 30 connected to open every day apart from Monday from 10am until 6pm SALLE SAINT-GEORGES the exhibitions Grand’Place - 7000 Mons – +32 (0)65 40 52 06 open every day apart from Monday from 12am until 6pm

Free Sundays 07.09, 05.10 & 02.11 Price for the exhibition “Fritz Haber” only: 2 € Evening openings until 9pm — Combined ticket for all exhibitions Thursdays 11.09, 09.10 & 13.11 Price: 9 € Talks Concessions (groups of more than 10 people, students and discount cards): 6 € › Thursday 25.09 at 7pm: Talk by David Vandermeulen, Article 27 : 1,25 € the illustrator behind “Fritz Haber” Free for anyone under 12 — › Sunday 9.11 at 3pm at the BAM: Talk by Guillaume Blondeau, BAM reception (during opening hours) curator of the exhibition entitled “The Battle of Mons” +32 (0)65 40 53 30 Saturday 11.10, a day dedicated to Salle Saint-Georges reception (during opening hours) “War, Mankind and the Subconscious” +32 (0)65 40 52 06 The programme includes a choice of two exhibitions and the chance to meet experts on the trauma of war. Tourist Information Office (every day from 10am until 6pm) +32 (0)65 33 55 80 Sunday 19.10, “curious Sunday” with Lille 3000 Guided tours available, booking required via the Tourist Information Office Sundays 21.09, 26.10 and 16.11, “Special shuttle buses” +32 (0)65 35 34 88 Show your entry ticket and enjoy a guided tour of Saint-Symphorien cemetery, transport included.

www.polemuseal.mons.be For info and to register: 065 40 53 12 polemuseal.mons / MonsPolemuseal

Press Kit 17 www.polemuseal.mons.be polemuseal.mons / MonsPolemuseal

OrGANiseD BY tHe eXHiBitiON DePArtMeNt OF tHe MONs MUseUM NetWOrK, sUPPOrteD BY tHe WALLONiA-BrUsseLs FeDerAtiON.