The land art work Broken Circle / Spiral Hill in a sand quarry near Emmerschans is taking a serious step towards permanent opening. Now that the work of the American artist Robert Smithson has been designated as a national monument this year, there is now also serious interest from the museum world in purchasing the work of art for that purpose.
Broken Circle / Spiral Hill was realized in 1971 by the American artist Robert Smithson. In recent years the artwork could be visited, but only by appointment at the De Boer sand company. In 2019, the sand hole came into the hands of project developer Knarphoorn, who wants to build homes on that site.
In the meantime, developments surrounding the artwork also gained momentum. It obtained provincial monument status earlier this year, and an application for a national monument has already been submitted. Since this year, the Land Art Contemporary foundation has been organizing bus trips from Emmen to the artwork together with Diep. “And they are almost all sold out,” says Anne Reenders of this foundation, which also takes care of the maintenance of Broken Circle/Spiral Hill.
Requests for these bus trips come from all over the world. “People from Japan, Spain and even Argentina want to visit the work of art, even though we hardly advertise it internationally.” According to Reenders, it underlines the status and appeal of the work of art.
The budget of the municipality of Emmen presented on Tuesday therefore mentions ‘serious interest from the museum world’ in purchasing the work of art and thus making permanent opening possible. The municipality and province could contribute financially to this. Reenders calls this a wonderful development:
“If a museum institution can manage the work of art, that is a huge step forward. You could also do more in the field of education and information, for example with a small information center.”
Moreover, in that case there are quite a few hurdles to overcome. The ownership is complex: the land belongs to Knarphoorn, while the copyright belongs to the American Holt/Smithson Foundation. “That is often the case with land art,” Reenders explains. “The work is literally anchored in the ground. Legally speaking, the land belongs to the owner, but the artist retains the copyright. Decisions about restoration or change are therefore not possible without consultation with all parties involved.”
Permanent opening would be the icing on the cake, says Reenders. “It is a work of art of world importance and you obviously want people to be able to see it.”