The grain silos in the port of Assen, Hekmans Boô in Schoonebeek, the artwork Broken Circle/Spiral Hill in a sand excavation near Emmen, the Holthersluis near Beilen, the polder pumping station at Peize, De Berk mill and the ‘small’ radio-telescope near Dwingeloo.
What do they have in common? They are all new protected provincial monuments. Every Sunday we put one in the spotlight.
Between 1971 and 1972 the American artist Robert Smithson designed a large ‘Land Art’ artwork in the sand excavation near the Emmerschans district: Broken Circle/Spiral Hill. The artwork consists of two parts: a dike laid out in the water and an excavation on the land side. On the headland there is a boulder from the ice age in the middle. From above both seem like a letter S, but it is actually a broken circle. On the land is the Spiral Hill: a cone -shaped hill with a spiral path but above.
On and near the circle you are part of the artwork and sand extraction. At the low point of the circular pier you are surrounded by water. By walking on the spiral path of the hill, your view of the work and the landscape always changes a bit because you walk around in 360 degrees. On top of the hill the circle and the sand excavation are clearly visible.
Robert Smithson came up with the artwork to show how much the landscape changes when people intervene because, for example, she needs raw material such as in Emmen Zand. The ground and waterwork was done by the De Boer company of the Zand- en Operatie Maatschappij Emmen.
Smithson found the designed and planned landscape of the Netherlands fascinating and was interested in landscapes where prehistory could still be experienced. The geological and industrial history of Southeast Drenthe eventually lured Smithson to the sand excavation in Emmen.
Smithson was at the basis of the so -called ‘Land Advertlamation’: the redevelopment and redevelopment by artists of areas who were affected by industrial or other human intervention.
Robert Smithson made exploratory trips in search of suitable locations and sites for future Land Art projects to be carried out. In 1973, during such a search, Smithson came to life in the state of Texas during such a search in Amarillo. His wife Nancy Holt then finished Broken Cricle/Spiral Hill. It is the only landscape artwork by Robert Smithson outside the United States.
Together with the Land-art artwork Spiral Jetty in Utah and Amarillo Ramp in Texas in the United States, it is also the only remaining ‘Earthworks’ by Robert Smithson. He was one of the creators of the American and European Land Art art movement. The artwork in Emmen was one of the first landscape artworks in the Netherlands.
That is why Broken/Circle Spiral Hill has been nominated at the National Service for Cultural Heritage for designated a protected national monument. However, the completion of this process is not expected in the short term, but according to Word Furmer Dolf Muller of the National Service, the artwork has a good chance because it is the only country art work by Robert Smithson outside the US. Protection to the provincial monument is arranged faster and easier.
Anne Renders from the Dutch Land Art Contemporary Foundation is very happy with the designation as a provincial monument and finds it a recognition for the artwork that can also be better protected in this way.
Thorough maintenance on the artwork must be done again. For years, the Zandbedrijf van de Boer has done that. Nowadays the Land Art Contemporary Foundation does that. The Broken Circle is now a few centimeters under water. Anne Renders of Land Art Contemporary: “And for a while because the water level has been relatively high for a few years. It has a relationship with the groundwater level. First we thought the water was going to sink again, but that is not happening yet.”
“A few years ago there was a very low water level, so the Broken Circle came to be completely dry. We are not going to restore it now, first see what the water will do. But dry or completely wet: maintenance is needed.”
Land Art Contemporary monitors the situation and in collaboration with various experiential experts and experts are being worked on a multi -year maintenance plan.
REENDERS hopes that the artwork will someday be freely accessible again. “Just like in the past when you could just buy a ticket from the De Boer family.” But that will also depend on the plans for housing and recreation at the Zandwinplas. “I only see the current situation as a pause position.”
Project developer Knarphoorn, the municipality of Emmen and the province of Drenthe have staggered in recent years about housing around former Zandgat de Boer near Emmerschans. The developer wants to build more houses than the municipality and province want to allow. An agency has been hired to show what the area can handle in terms of housing. Knarphoorn has since released the number of 150 homes and awaits the outcome. Knarphoorn took over the lake in 2019 from the De Boer family.