ECJ EUROPEAN Cleaning Journal

Cleaning staff at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam have been told to put away their vacuum cleaners and feather dusters in the name of art.

As part of an exhibition exploring the changing perceptions of creepy-crawlies in art and science through the ages, the national museum of the Netherlands has been actively encouraging the presence of spiders and insects.

The idea is the brainchild of Argentinian artist Tomás Saraceno whose work is appearing in the show. He is calling for the museum's curators to treat spider webs as works of art.

"Saraceno challenged us to acknowledge the spider webs that are already here at the Rijksmuseum," said assistant curator Julia Kantelberg. "This meant we had to change our procedures and broaden our perspectives.

"Three months before the exhibition opened we had to ask cleaners not to remove spiders or their webs. I've been going around weekly ever since to spot where webs started to appear - it's a very different way of viewing the building I know so well."

Insects and spiders were associated with death and the devil in 16th and 17th century European culture. The exhibition will explore how attitudes to these creatures have changed over time.

The centrepiece of the show is Saraceno's own sculpture made from silk woven by four spider species. Other works on display will include Albrecht Dürer's 1505 painting of a stag beetle, and an installation by Colombian artist Rafael Gomezbarros which features a swarm of gigantic sculptural ants.