Museum acquisitions round-up: a Joan Jonas dance performance and a squirrelly readymade

In a significant donation to the Detroit Institute of Arts, the estate of Gilbert B. Silverman and his wife Lila have gifted over 2,000 modern and contemporary artworks to the museum. The collection spans a diverse range of mediums, from decorative arts to performance pieces and time-based media. A particular emphasis lies on works by Fluxus artists, notably Joseph Beuys, George Maciunas, and Yoko Ono. These additions join 130 Fluxus works previously given to the DIA in 2008 by the Silvermans' foundation.

The museum also welcomed two performance art pieces by American artist Joan Jonas, aged 1936. One of these is Wind, a silent black-and-white film created in collaboration with dancers, depicting a group battling strong winds on a snowy beach. The film showcases two performers in mirrored costumes, emphasizing ideas of perception, reality, and viewer participation.

Another acquired work, Mirror Pieces Installation II (1969/2014), consists of mirrors reflecting a viewer and a television presenting Jonas's filmed performance Nudes with Mirrors (1969). The mirror-filled installation features a man changing a mirrored jacket in front of additional mirrors held by other performers.

A rediscovered book of around 30 drawings by Dutch artist Rombout Uylenburgh and his workshop adds to the oeuvre of the Dutch artist, whose works had fallen into relative obscurity posthumously. The book, containing biblical scenes and sketches of birds and animals, was donated to the Rijksmuseum by the Van Eeghen family, who owned it for over three centuries.

This unique collection of drawings, carefully preserved and relatively untouched by light, contrasts with most other books of drawings from the period, which have been fragmented and sold separately.