Forget criticism. Forget art history. Forget chronology and artistic divisions. Recall Cobra years: the post‑war struggle for upturned definitions of expression, the breaking with past constraints, the class clash, the desolation; the revival of youth.

Erected as a protest against early twentieth century culture‑packed intellectual figures, the Cobra artistic moment empowered a ludic avocation against residual surrealistic stumps, a veracious taste for creativity on a loose leash, and a frolicsome process of regaining the light‑hearted spirit of genuine conception. It proclaimed art engendered by the masses, not merely for the masses and it dispersed an embryonic language articulated through the shared dreams of three city esprits: Copenhagen, Brussels, Amsterdam.

There once was a president who was convinced that everything his predecessor had done was thoughtless, weak, stupid, and even corrupt. Consequently, this president found it wise to reverse almost every single decision and regulation of his preceding government's rule. White became black, cautiousness became aggressiveness, and saving became spending. His followers, excited as they were, vigorously applauded the daring decrees of their president. His name was George W. Bush.

door Philippe Dauphin

1968 was een gewelddadig jaar. De Vietnamoorlog escaleerde: het Tet-offensief kostte veel soldaten en burgers het leven, voor de ogen van tv-camera's executeerde de Zuid-Vietnamese generaal Nguyen Ngoc Loan koelbloedig een Vietcong-gevangene en in My Lai moordden Amerikaanse troepen een dorp uit. Over de hele wereld groeide de weerzin tegen oorlog. Ook in Europa en de VS waren gewelddadige conflicten: studentenprotesten in Frankrijk, Polen, Tsjechoslowakije, Mexico en verschillende steden in Amerika werden bruut neergeslagen omdat het gezag niet wist wat het ermee aan moest.

by Dinu Munteanu

"My wish is to be a citizen of the world" -- and although the world did not always understand him, the man who in a tormented age had expressed this irenic desire has since become such a symbol. Erasmus sounds familiar, centuries after his death in 1536. A model of scholarly erudition, subtlety and wit, he was the most perceptive and nuanced Christian humanist of all times, a champion of Gospel truth, but also of classical antiquity, a truly unprecedented defender of peace, and a prodigy at making compromises without once compromising himself. To honour him, Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen introduces Erasmus of Rotterdam to the wider public through other means than the philosopher's words.

Still under the impression of Den Bosch's very own 70s show, I find a copy of the weekly magazine intermediair (last issue of 2007) on the train back to Maastricht. It is titled The Year of Identity - The Netherlands from A to Z and I read keywords like bicycle, Maxima, holidays, Yab Yum (it was one of the best-known brothels in Amsterdam), and kissing that are supposed to be characteristics of Dutch culture and identity. It is not the first information I have come across recently, indicating that the Dutch are trying to define themselves. To a great extent, this search for identity can be traced back to the assassinations of Pim Fortuyn and Theo van Gogh.

Niet meer geld, maar een andere benadering, stelde Sarkozy onlangs in het Elysée tegen enkele honderden inwoners uit de banlieues als oplossing voor in de problematiek van de Franse voorsteden. Met een 'genadeloze oorlog' tegen de drugshandelaren en 'het einde van de bijstandscultuur' wilde de Franse president de achterstanden bestrijden, aldus NRC-Handelsblad. Dat voornemen past in de eerder dit jaar geformuleerde beschavingspolitiek, waarin "mensen centraal staan in plaats van gebouwen". De Franse president beloofde maatregelen die werk en opleiding garanderen en discriminatie tegengaan.

Eveliene Wassen

'De De Medicis hebben me groot gemaakt, maar ook gesloopt,' schrijft Leonardo da Vinci in 1515. De inrichting van de Sint Pieter werd namelijk door Paus Leo X, een telg uit dit geslacht, aan Rafaël en aan Michelangelo toevertrouwd. Toch klinkt Da Vinci's naam tegenwoordig in één adem met beide andere grootheden. Deze spirituele kunstenaar, wetenschapper, uitvinder en humanistisch filosoof is één van de grootste uit deze grote tijd. De tentoonstelling Leonardo da Vinci, The European Genius, in de Basiliek van Koekelberg te Brussel, gaat nader op die 'unieke' veelzijdigheid in.

The inhabitants of Asmara, the capital of the young African nation of Eritrea situated in the mountains towering to the east of the Red Sea, have seen their share of conflict and violence. Neighboring Somalia, Ethiopia, and Sudan, the Eritrean city is regional witness to a century characterized by colonialist exploitation, racist genocide, ideologically fused proxy wars maintained by the cold war superpowers, despotic dictatorships, and lethal ethnic clashes. Eritrea is known as a subject of countless news reports depicting yet another human catastrophe resultant in immeasurable suffering.

Whilst walking down Swanston Street in Melbourne, in the direction of Flinders Street Station on a pleasant September afternoon, one may encounter one of the sparse contemporary visions of Indigenous Australia. The vision is often first encountered when one has arrived at the foot of St. Paul’s Cathedral. It is definitely not the image that a tourist would expect of these people; nowhere is a didgeridoo to be seen, nor is there a re-enactment of a traditional corroboree (dancing ceremony) for the quick indulgence of tourist exoticism to be found. Rather one sees a bunch of shaggy-haired, smelly, badly dressed, foul-mouthed, chain-smoking, beer or whisky drinking people. Not only men, but also women, and even some children. The colour of their skin, and their version of the Australian accent are clear indicators that these people are Indigenous Australians.

By Janneke Frambach

Watching Michael Moore's movies makes me feel convinced and deceived at the same time. At the end I just want to shout: "See?! There's really something wrong with this world and we have to act right now!" But it is also obvious that Moore - a filmmaker, author and social and political activist - is a brilliant propagandist who plays his audience "like a violin", as one of his critics puts it, and so I should temper my enthusiasm.