Primary Colors-Part One

May 24, 2012

In the morning I spoke at a conference organized by the University of Utrecht on recent advances in genetic testing for obstetricians and midwives. It was held in a conference center built under the stands of the Utrecht soccer stadium!

The morning sessions were in English, but after lunch they switched to Dutch, so I was “excused” to do some sightseeing. 

For something different, I went to the Dick Bruna House, a museum dedicated to the art and creations of Dick Bruna (born in 1927). Mr. Bruna is the creator of the Dutch cartoon iconic rabbit named Miffy (but called Nijntje in Dutch). 

I recognized Miffy from seeing her in bookstores, but I don’t remember reading any of her books to Josh or Elliott. I found the videotape in which Mr. Bruna explained his inspirations (the artist Matisse and the architect Rietveld [more on him later]) very interesting. Furthermore, Bruna doesn’t “draw” Miffy, he does everything with cutouts and he uses only five primary colors: yellow, green, blue, red, and white.  

Miffy is clearly a star in Japan. The gift shop was full of adult Japanese women buying lots of Miffy-branded souvenirs! Mr. Bruna also uses primary colors and the outline approach to the advertisements he creates. The poppy below is advertising buttermilk for good health.

The primary color theme even continued outside to the bicycles that the museums lend visitors to get to the Rietveld-Schroeder House, a short ride away. The tours were full today, so I made a reservation for Sunday.