He was tired of serious installations for a while and so Jan Veldhuis from Schoonloo started making useless art. His peculiar objects stand out in Schoonloo because they have no function whatsoever.
When walkers press one of the three buttons in front of the artist’s house from Schoonloo, some cogs start spinning, spoons cling and Veldhuis’ largest work of art even sprays water. A minute of staring later, the lawn is peacefully calm again and the water drains away.
“I don’t really want to call myself an artist”, Veldhuis wants to be clear in advance. “In my life I have made a lot of useful things and then the tension is gone. Then I discovered for myself that I like it much more that I make things that I do not know what the end product will look like.”
With old iron – think of forks, a bicycle frame, three badminton shuttles – Veldhuis fiddles with great dedication in his garage. A year ago he decided to exhibit his creations. “It shouldn’t actually have any function, but it should be nice to see.”
“Then you pass here as a walker, then you see this. Or you don’t see it. Most people don’t see it and just keep walking,” says the artist from Schoonloo, pointing to the three buttons in front of the field. “And then the doubt starts with the walker. Should I use this button? If they do, a work of art will ‘turn on’.”
Veldhuis’ latest work is secretly not completely useless, because the art object can drive. “It’s not going fast and if I want to turn around I have to make a very wide turn,” he laughs. It’s not really effective. “When this will be finished? I never know. I can always tinker with it. That’s the beauty of this art form. I don’t know where I’ll start or end.”