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Artists give their vision on the relationship between art and society from their own experience, theory or utopia. Quarterly “Kunst en Bedrijf”, 1988. Maria van Elk, “Circle”, printed on wrinkled paper, one from a series of 18, 65 x 65 cm, 1980

Jetteke Remt

“Policy and subsidies should be adjusted continuously according to the direction pointed
by art”. This way Maria van Elk is prepared to utilize her views and experience in a.o.t.
committees. Her view is clear and, as we will see, closely interrelated with her own
experiences.
Maria van Elk (1943) works as autonomous artist The assignment “For me art starts with a concept.
since the beginning of the seventies. In addition With a large assignment, at which I work at the
to her free work, which she shows regularly, she moment, looking around the building comes first.
teaches at the Academy of Visual Arts, the AKI, In this case the Academic Hospital Utrecht. The
in Enschede. From 1984 to 1987 she has been a foundation “Kunst en Bedrijf” (Art and Enterprise)
member of the committee of advisors for public has the assignment to guide the implementation of
art assignments of the “Praktijkburo Beeldende the art project for this hospital.They contracted the
Kunstopdrachten”. At the moment she is a member artist Eugène Terwindt as coordinator and formed
of various work groups and advise in different also a group of 4 artists, Marinus Boezem, Herman
areas on art policy and realisation. Although she Kuyer, Jan Hein Daniels and myself. To begin with
endorses the public authorities in protecting the we were asked to develop a concept which will give
arts relatively from its continuous cutbacks, she a distinct identity to three different light streets by
nonetheless thinks that the subsidy systems, the application of art. A distinction they originally
which imply bureaucracy inevitably, are a thread to did not have out of the architecture. This was in
art. All too often subsidy schemes are not flexible the beginning of 1985.
enough. The result is that artists have to focus on First, the architects lectured us on the function
the questions posed by the subsidy. That is the and philosophy of the building. Drawings, scale
end of art. Art and artists should never become models, the whole of the building process. To begin
dependent on subsidy schemes as some sort of with we were asked for a concept with which all
artificial respiration. sorts of visual things could happen in applied as
well as in a free sense. The building process at
that time was already in a well-advanced stage
of implementation. Budgeting was approved,
materials were already ordered and so on. Actually,
only the floors and the acoustic facilities were not
yet finished. The architects themselves also had a
color concept which they called at a meeting “Bart
van der Lek plan”. That is red, yellow, green and blue.

ARTICLE: INTERVIEW JETTEKE BOLTEN REMT AND MARIA VAN ELK | 1988

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