Page 28 - Studio International - September 1971

Sculpture at het Wad at Leens in Groningen province); in in newspapers and in the catalogue by Daniel
the same province Edward Ruscha, having
Buren, Hanne Darboven, Pieter Engels,
Sonsbeek studied the almost continuous flow of houses Douglas Huebler, On Kawara, Yutaka
along the canal from the city of Groningen to Matsuzawa, Mario Merz, Emilio Prini,
Card Blotkamp Ter Apel, a total of 30 kms, made a series of Lawrence Weiner and others.
photographs, starting at one side of a bridge Sonsbeek 1971 comprised many works
The sixth international exhibition of sculpture and taking six photographs approaching a and met with contradictory reactions. The
in the Sonsbeek Park at Arnhem was open to specific detail, a fence or a window pane, on Artists' Union, the BBK, which in recent years
the public from 19 June until 15 August. the other side of the canal, and then taking has been very critical about cultural policy,
This year's Sonsbeek exhibition was six photographs from the other direction (the called the exhibition 'snobbish' and the
totally different from all others. Previous series was exhibited in four localities along the expenditure of slightly more than £100,000
exhibitions had a twofold purpose : to show a canal and was also used for Ruscha's thirteenth unjustified. Pieter Engels' work in the exhibition,
cross-section of contemporary sculpture, booklet, Dutch details, recently published by a full-page illustrated text in the weekly
sometimes with special attention to new trends, the Octopus Foundation); in a sandpit near Vrij Nederland, parodied such opposition:
and to present a selection of European sculpture Emmen, Robert Smithson had a semi- WASTE OR TASTE EVENT
since Rodin as an historical basis for judging circular dyke built out into the standing water, (SHORT SERIES OF EVENTS ON TASTE
recent art. In those years the sculptures, jointed to a semi-circular canal dug out in the OR WASTE)
200 or 300 or more, were scattered in the land, together almost describing a circle. An THE SPENDING OF A REMUNERATION
pseudo-natural surroundings of Sonsbeek Park, asymmetrical boulder was placed in the centre of BY PIETER ENGELS TO BE RECEIVED
while smaller works were housed in specially this circle, and one could meditate on the work FROM THE FOUNDATION
designed pavilions. from the vantage of a specially created hill, with SONSBEEK BEYOND LAWN AND
This year the presentation has been entirely a path spiralling to the top; at Maastricht Lex ORDER 1971' FOR A (THIS)
different: no survey from Rodin etc. etc., but a Wechgelaar erected a Modern ruin, a monument CONTRIBUTION TO THE MANIFESTA-
choice of works produced in the last five years to today's housing. TION OF MODERN ART 'SONSBEEK
or so; no 30o sculptures scattered in the park but At Santpoort, near Ijmuiden, Robert BEYOND LAWN AND ORDER 1971'
only fifteen works by different artists; no shrines Morris realized the Observatory (the maquette PICTURE 1) ENGELS AT HOME WITH
for, say, Brancusi or Gonzalez, but three was used on the poster of his recent Tate HIS BLACK-AND-WHITE TV. FOR
inflatable pavilions designed by the exhibition). To see Josef Beuys's contribution SOME TIME ENGELS HAS BEEN
Eventstructure Research Group and used as one had to travel to Kruiningen-Ierseke in THINKING OF EXCHANGING THIS
information centre, debating room and video Zeeland, walk or cycle, as part of the piece, SET FOR A PHILIPS COLOUR TV.
studio. The exhibition extended outside from the station to the village of Vlake, where AT THE SAME TIME ENGELS
sculpture and Sonsbeek Park and spread over in a farmhouse one could listen to a tape- CONTEMPLATES SPENDING HIS
the Netherlands, while texts and concepts recording of interviews given by friends of REMUNERATION FOR HIS (THIS)
published in newspapers and weeklies reached Beuys who had known him during a period of CONTRIBUTION TO `SONSBEEK
an enormous number of people. Information depression and helped him to get over it, BEYOND LAWN AND ORDER 1971'
centres connected by telex with the central complemented by fragments from the writings ON THE PURCHASE OF A PHILIPS
pavilion in Sonsbeek were installed in five cities, of Julien Green; in Amsterdam a text of Hans COLOUR TV.
and projects were realized from the. Koetsier's was published by a newscaster on PICTURE 2) ENGELS VISITING
Waddebeilanden (Frisian Islands) in the north to top of the Carlton hotel; and in the Tropen- HIS TV DEALER WHERE HE IS TO
Maastricht in the south. Sonsbeek had grown museum Ger van Elk exhibited a small piece PURCHASE THIS PHILIPS COLOUR TV.
`beyond lawn and order', and to see everything of wood painted white in mid-Atlantic. PICTURE 3) AFTER RECEIPT OF HIS
involved travelling at least 1,000 kilometres. Other projects in the country were realized REMUNERATION.
The exhibition was dedicated to movements by Ben d'Armagnac, Richard Artschwager, by the way : the remuneration consists of an
in art -not just sculpture -that had come to Douwe Jan Bakker, Boezem, Ger Dekkers, amount of f.1500, -and is indirectly paid by
the surface in the last few years. It started Eykelboom, Panamerenko and Sanejouand. you -Dutch tax-payer
where the exhibition of 1966 ended. In the There were several non-sculptural activities. by the way: as a Dutch tax-payer Pieter Engels
park at Arnhem were works by the Americans, An extensive film programme was presented in pays part of this (his) remuneration
Andre, Bladen, Grosvenor, Judd, LeWitt, a tent in the garden of the Gemeentemuseum (ANTI-) PUBLICITY SPOT FOR PLASTIC
Oldenburg, Fred Sandback, Snelson and Tony at Arnhem. Two different whole-day ARTS IN GENERAL AND FOR PIETER
Smith; by the Netherlanders Ad Dekkers, programmes, released on alternate days, ENGELS AND `SONSBEEK BEYOND
Wim Schippers, Carel Visser and Andre comprised films by nearly sixty artists, among LAWN AND ORDER 1971' IN
Volten; by the Germans Wolf Knoebel and them Vito Acconci, Bas Jan Ader, Christo, PARTICULAR q
Ulrich Rückriem. Some of these were gigantic Jan Dibbets, Dan Graham, Bruce Nauman,
Kenneth Snelson
and most were designed for a special site. Peter Roehr, Wim Schippers, Richard Serra Easy K 1970
Where this was not so, the artists themselves and Michael Snow. Land Art and Identifications, Anodized aluminium and stainless steel
in general chose a site. The organisers realizing Gerry Schum's productions for German 6 x 6 x 33 m
that some artists would find an artificially television, and a slightly older film about Sonsbeek Park
created environment restricting, provided Fluxus activities were also shown. Video 2 Tony Smith
Arch 1968-70
opportunities to execute works in other recordings were available in the video studio Plywood 7.3 x 7.3 x 7.5 m
surroundings. in the park, and some artists worked there for Sonsbeek Park
Some of the projects : Daniel Buren glued a week or more : Nam June Paik, Jack Moore, 3 Ronald Bladen
his striped papers on, in and near the various Eric Siegel, Stanley Brown and Joe Patiniot. Wedge 1970
Plywood to x 30 x 5.5 m
buildings where parts of the exhibition were on In the park and in Arnhem events were Sonsbeek Park
show; Richard Long scratched a Celtic sign created by Klaus Rinke, the dancer Koert Photo: Van de Ven
in the dunes of one of the Waddebeilanden (a Stuyf and groups of artists and actors. Finally 4 Donald Judd
Untitled 1970
photograph documenting this work was an important addition to tactile and visual Steel 2.3 X 7.5 x 7.5 m
exhibited in the otherwise folklore Museum van works in the exhibition were concepts published Sonsbeek Park