Wednesday, May 12, 2004
Kunst Uitschot Team Part II: The return of the sculpturer
My brother Barthel Brussee is an artist. As long as I can remember, he used to draw and as a teen he made his own comic books. These days, his paintings and graphics are quite nice, I think, and I have actually bought a few of them.
His new thing is the
Kunst Uitschot Team (something like Art Scum Scene). The Kunst Uitschot Team secretly and illegally hacks in the middle of the night. They don't hack computers but big oak poles that they transform into sculptures. For example they created this six toe foot sculpture on the Dutch beach between Katwijk en Wassenaar of one of the beach poles. Unfortunately Rijkswaterstaat sawed it off because they didn't like the idea of people changing state property. Not to be outdone, the team just put a new sculpture on the sawed off pole.
They also put a Venus from Leiden in the middle of the Leidse plantsoen park, close to the Dutch branch of Cetim. If you listen to the interview made on the beach it should be clear their work has as much to with the performance as it has to do with making art. And of course, they want their share of the 15 minutes of fame, and they want to be ARTISTS!
Anyway, at Koninginnen dag (30 April) my kids and I found my brother and the rest of the team chipping away on a pole at Leidens Townhal square This being koninginnendag, everywhere around them, people where listening to music, doing garage sales, plugging their book, or just enjoying the lovely weather (see this movie). His kids and wife were around too. Clearly his kids where not quite as impressed as the admiring crowd they had gathered around them though. I don't know if the statue is still there. They planned to leave it right there at the square, and made it impossible to be removed without brute force, but perhaps the authorities have flexed their muscles.
Note to self: make an appointment with B. next time I go to Leiden.
update 17/5 : I went to see my brother this weekend and he showed me the teams latest creation, unimaginatively called number 9. By the way, the statue on the townhal is still there.
update 29/5 : The Leiden local council has decided to remove the statues. Go sign the petition supporting their stay here!
His new thing is the
Kunst Uitschot Team (something like Art Scum Scene). The Kunst Uitschot Team secretly and illegally hacks in the middle of the night. They don't hack computers but big oak poles that they transform into sculptures. For example they created this six toe foot sculpture on the Dutch beach between Katwijk en Wassenaar of one of the beach poles. Unfortunately Rijkswaterstaat sawed it off because they didn't like the idea of people changing state property. Not to be outdone, the team just put a new sculpture on the sawed off pole.
They also put a Venus from Leiden in the middle of the Leidse plantsoen park, close to the Dutch branch of Cetim. If you listen to the interview made on the beach it should be clear their work has as much to with the performance as it has to do with making art. And of course, they want their share of the 15 minutes of fame, and they want to be ARTISTS!
Anyway, at Koninginnen dag (30 April) my kids and I found my brother and the rest of the team chipping away on a pole at Leidens Townhal square This being koninginnendag, everywhere around them, people where listening to music, doing garage sales, plugging their book, or just enjoying the lovely weather (see this movie). His kids and wife were around too. Clearly his kids where not quite as impressed as the admiring crowd they had gathered around them though. I don't know if the statue is still there. They planned to leave it right there at the square, and made it impossible to be removed without brute force, but perhaps the authorities have flexed their muscles.
Note to self: make an appointment with B. next time I go to Leiden.
update 17/5 : I went to see my brother this weekend and he showed me the teams latest creation, unimaginatively called number 9. By the way, the statue on the townhal is still there.
update 29/5 : The Leiden local council has decided to remove the statues. Go sign the petition supporting their stay here!
These are my personal views and do not necessarily reflect those of my employer.
