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Art moves throughout a free land
Jan Kassies

I have selected the slogan ‘Art moves throughout a free land’ for the Jan Kassies (1920-1995) pedestal. I saw it on a May 1946 poster for ‘art demonstrations throughout the country’. The campaign was led by Jan Kassies and the Federation. The statement is connected to the development of art and artist policy in the Netherlands.

An aspiration emerges from the words ‘Art moves throughout a free land’ that of course also applies to the present and the future (of the Netherlands). It touches the essence of art. Art is free and open to all possible statements and interpretations. No regulation may be imposed upon art, if this does not derive from the art itself. The Land of Art knows no borders.

That is why this slogan, coming from Jan Kassies and the Federation is a special contribution to the theme of the artwork ‘You Are Here’. And at the same time, the column ‘Art moves throughout a free land’ is a proclamation, a ‘poster’ for art, placed in the context of public space.

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Photo

‘Art moves throughout a free land’, column, 80cm x 80cm x 40cm.

Biography

Jan Kassies (1920-1995) was a cultural philosopher and politician. Jan Kassies vigorously devoted himself to culture and often acted as spokesman for cultural policy ideals, in particular for campaigns in the area of art policy in the Netherlands. Jan Kassies was always an advocate for art and artists.
At the end of the Second World War Jan Kassies came in contact with the leaders of the artist resistance directed against the Kultuurkamer, established by the Germans in 1942. The Netherlands Federation of Artist Guilds evolved out of that resistance in 1946, and Kassies became its first director. ‘The Arts Council’ and the present ‘Culture Council’ arose out of the Federation. The Boekman Foundation, the study centre for art, culture and policy founded in the Sixties, is a Federation initiative.

Artwork: You Are Here
Artist: Martijn Sandberg
Material: concrete
Measurements: (lxwxh) 80cm x 80cm x 40cm
Project: Legacy of the Twentieth Century
Realisation and completion: 2019
Location: Oranje Vrijstaatkade, Oostpoort, Amsterdam
Commissioned by: Amsterdam Municipality, District Oost