News — Oct 10, 2012

The Stedelijk Museum is proud to announce the purchase of Marinus Boezems project "Weather Drawings" from 1969. This keypiece from the rich oeuvre of Boezem was first represented by the Stedelijk Museum in the revolutionary exhibition "Op Losse Schroeven" ("On Loose Screws"). Every day a manually coloured weather map as slide was projected in a dimly lit room, with which the current forecast was intensified as a new experience. The hall echoed the voice of a famous weatherman who read the forecasts of that day. The work Lichtbak met windschaal van Beaufort ("Lightbox with windscale of Beaufort"), on which the windpressure from stillness to hurricane was displayed, completed the installation.

For Wim Beeren (curator at "Op Losse Schroeven"), the work of Marinus Boezem was an important referencepoint in the development of the exhibition. Like Arte Povera artists, Boezem placed natural materials and processes centrally. By presenting the weather in the museum the artist made, in the words of Beeren, a kind of ‘never ready made’. The importance of the work of Boezem was also expressed by the fact that one of the weathercards was used as the cover of the exhibition catalogue.

Marinus Boezem belongs, together with Jan Dibbets and Ger van Elk among the most important representatives of the Conceptual Art and Arte Povera in the Netherlands in the second half of the sixties. In 1969 Boezem took part in two ground breaking international exhibitions: "Op Losse Schroeven" in the Stedelijk Museum and "When Attitudes Becomes Form" in the Kunsthalle in Bern, together with e.g. Joseph Beuys, Bruce Nauman, Walter de Maria and Gilberto Zorio. The intangible and on ideas based artworks in this exhibition caused a revolution in the international art world.

Boezem undermined the uniqueness and durability of the artwork. He ‘dematerialized’ art and freed himself from the prevailing values and traditions.

Boezem’s oeuvre developed during the fifties besides ground breaking ideas and videoworks also to sculptures, spatial installations and site specific commissioned work (i.a. the "Green Cathedral" in Almere and the" Podio del Mondo per l’Arte" on the Dam Square in Middelburg). From the mid-sixties the environment, with themes such as air, light, sound and movement plays an important role in his work. Education also formed an important part of his activities from that period, out of an idealistic belief that art is for everyone.

Boezem’s work is also a source of inspiration for young contemporary artists, this became clear this summer in the installation of Ryan Gander at Documenta. This installation contained a direct reference to Boezems work "Show II, Lucht als een zintuiglijke ervaring" from 1965 (Show II, Air as a sensory experience, panels with holes, behind which hairdryers blowing air past the viewer) and "Show V, immaterieel Plastiek", from the same year (Show V, Intangible Plastic, where rooms through air-doors had different temperatures, and the visitors sensory experienced heat, air and cold.

Work of Marinus Boezem are on show at Upstream Gallery in Amsterdam until 13 October. His soloshow "Della Scultura Rustica" contains works from the years 1968-2012.