The foundation 'Kromme Rijnstreek Terecht Anders' is an alliance of artists and farmers in the area who are trying to draw widespread attention to this beautiful Dutch landscape south-east of Utrecht. They organized an Art Route, titled 'Lines in the Landscape' covering a 40 km area. Ten artists were invited to produce temporary art pieces to be located at buildings, meadows and orchards. I concentrated primarily on the relationship between farmer and artist, as I have always had the feeling that they have many characteristics in common, i.e. independence, stubbornness, loneliness, vulnerability - even though farmers would have little or no interest in art. When we first visited the area in 2001, the entrances to the farms were marked with red and white plastic tape, due to the foot-in-mouth scare. The entrance marks an important place for the farmer, both in a psychological and in a practical sense. In my installation, I literally set out to place the one-man business of the farmer and that of the artist opposite each other situated on this important place. At the four farms participating in the art route, I placed a small loudspeaker on a pole on both sides of the entrance. The voice of the farmer can be heard from one of the speakers, and the artist's voice from the other. In a dry regular voice, they read out a list of things on which their work depends. For the farmers, these are: a statement from the fruit auction, a soil analysis report, a list of chemicals used over a given period, and an account of the milk yield for a given period. The artist read a list of color pencils used including the name, mark and number, a record of monthly expenses from the cash book, a list of performances for a given period and a list of titles and data about drawings made over a given period.
year
2002
location
Oude Rijn-area between Utrecht and Wijk bij Duurstede NL
performed by
Toine Horvers and the four farmers
curator
The organizors in collaboration with the Hermen Molendijk foundation in Utrecht
photography
Toine Horvers
further information
the project was initiated by artists and farmers in the area