Harald Szeemann's 'When Attitudes Become Form' and Wim Beeren's 'Op Losse Schroeven' in 1969
The essay examines two landmark 1969 exhibitions: 'When Attitudes Become Form' at Kunsthalle Bern, curated by Harald Szeemann, and 'Op Losse Schroeven (Situations and Cryptostructures)' at Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, curated by Wim Beeren. Both shows opened within a week in March–April 1969 and shared many artists, including Carl Andre, Giovanni Anselmo, Joseph Beuys, Jan Dibbets, Richard Long, Mario Merz, Robert Morris, Bruce Nauman, Richard Serra, Robert Smithson, and Lawrence Weiner. Szeemann's exhibition, sponsored by Philip Morris, gained international fame and led to his resignation from Kunsthalle Bern, launching his freelance curatorial career. Beeren's show, though less known historically, was equally ambitious. The essay contrasts their curatorial approaches: Szeemann acted as a 'catalyst' enabling artists to replicate working methods in the gallery, emphasizing process and attitude; Beeren initially focused on new materials and objecthood, later expanding to site-specificity and 'situation art'. Both curators were influenced by Piero Gilardi's 'Microemotive Art' and the Deposito D'Arte Presente in Turin. The exhibitions included radical works: Heizer excavated pavement in Bern, Serra splashed lead against the Stedelijk, and Dibbets dug trenches at both venues. The essay argues that understanding both shows together reveals the complexity of late-1960s art and curatorial practice.
Key facts
- 'When Attitudes Become Form' ran 22 March–27 April 1969 at Kunsthalle Bern.
- 'Op Losse Schroeven' ran 15 March–27 April 1969 at Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam.
- Both exhibitions included 34 artists in Amsterdam and 69 in Bern.
- Szeemann's show was sponsored by Philip Morris with $25,000.
- Szeemann resigned from Kunsthalle Bern after the exhibition.
- Beeren left Stedelijk Museum to curate Sonsbeek 71.
- Piero Gilardi advised both curators and contributed to catalogues.
- The exhibitions shared 32 artists, including many from Arte Povera and post-Minimalism.
Entities
Artists
- Harald Szeemann
- Wim Beeren
- Piero Gilardi
- Jan Dibbets
- Ger van Elk
- Marinus Boezem
- Richard Long
- Carl Andre
- Giovanni Anselmo
- Joseph Beuys
- Bill Bollinger
- Pier Paolo Calzolari
- Michael Heizer
- Douglas Huebler
- Paolo Icaro
- Neil Jenney
- Jannis Kounellis
- Walter De Maria
- Mario Merz
- Robert Morris
- Bruce Nauman
- Dennis Oppenheim
- Panamarenko
- Emilio Prini
- Reiner Ruthenbeck
- Robert Ryman
- Alan Saret
- Richard Serra
- Robert Smithson
- Keith Sonnier
- Frank Lincoln Viner
- Lawrence Weiner
- Gilberto Zorio
- Richard Artschwager
- Thomas Bang
- Robert Barry
- Mel Bochner
- Alighiero e Boetti
- Michael Buthe
- Paul Cotton
- Hanne Darboven
- Eva Hesse
- Alain Jacquet
- Stephen Kaltenbach
- Edward Kienholz
- Yves Klein
- Joseph Kosuth
- Gary Kuehn
- Sol LeWitt
- Claes Oldenburg
- Pino Pascali
- Markus Raetz
- Allen Ruppersberg
- Fred Sandback
- Sarkis
- Jean-Frédéric Schnyder
- Richard Tuttle
- Franz Erhard Walther
- William T. Wiley
- Olle Kåks
- Marisa Merz
- Victor Burgin
- Bruce McLean
- Roelof Louw
- Barry Flanagan
- Jared Bark
- Ted Glass
- Hans Haacke
- Jo Ann Kaplan
- Bernd Lohaus
- David Medalla
- Paul Pechter
- Michelangelo Pistoletto
- Gianni-Emilio Simonetti
- William Wegman
- Lucio Fontana
- Marcel Duchamp
- Öyvind Fahlström
- Dan Flavin
- Philip Glass
- Robert Fiore
- Peter Saam
- Hans-Peter Jost
- Harry Shunk
- Marlène Bélilos
- Charles Harrison
- Lucy Lippard
- Kynaston McShine
- Germano Celant
- Carel Blotkamp
- Rini Dippel
- Ank Marcar
- Gijs van Tuyl
- Edy de Wilde
- Franz Meyer
- Nina Kaiden
- Marcello Levi
- Luigi Carluccio
- Gian Enzo Sperone
- Rolf Ricke
- Leo Castelli
- Ileana Sonnabend
- Wim Crouwel
- Max Kozloff
- Tommaso Trini
- Cor Blok
- Jean-Christophe Ammann
- Jürgen Morschel
- Laszlo Glozer
- Hans Strelow
- Georg Jappe
- John Russell
- Aaron Schuster
- Hans Ulrich Obrist
- Teresa Gleadowe
- Christian Rattemeyer
- Steven ten Thije
- Francesco Manacorda
- Claudia Di Lecce
- Bruce Altshuler
- Walter Grasskamp
- Seth Siegelaub
- Michael Fried
Institutions
- Kunsthalle Bern
- Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam
- Philip Morris
- Ruder & Finn
- Agentur für Geistige Gastarbeit
- Museum of Obsessions
- Deposito D'Arte Presente (DDP)
- Galleria La Bertesca
- Galleria Schwarz
- Leo Castelli Gallery
- Fischbach Gallery
- Galerie Mickery
- Galerie Loehr
- Rolf Ricke Gallery
- Ileana Sonnabend Gallery
- Dwan Gallery
- Tibor de Nagy Gallery
- Institute of Contemporary Arts London
- Museum Folkwang Essen
- Museum Haus Lange Krefeld
- Van Abbemuseum Eindhoven
- Kröller-Müller Museum
- Boijmans van Beuningen Museum
- Jewish Museum New York
- University of Groningen
- St Martin's School of Art London
- Total Design
- Artforum
- Arts Magazine
- Art International
- Domus
- Frankfurter Rundschau
- Süddeutsche Zeitung
- Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
- The Sunday Times
- Télévision Suisse Romande
- Museumjournaal
- Afterall
- Royal College of Art
- Open University
- Yale University Press
- Abrams
- Stedelijk Museum
- Galleria La Salita
- Galerie Ricke
Locations
- Bern
- Switzerland
- Amsterdam
- Netherlands
- Turin
- Italy
- Genoa
- Amalfi
- Rome
- Milan
- Venice
- Kassel
- Germany
- Tegna
- Swiss Alps
- Monte Verità
- Ascona
- Arnhem
- Enschede
- Groningen
- Finsterwolde
- Heerlen
- Rotterdam
- Eindhoven
- Utrecht
- Loenersloot
- Cologne
- Düsseldorf
- Essen
- Krefeld
- Frankfurt
- Munich
- London
- England
- Paris
- France
- New York
- United States
- San Francisco
- Los Angeles
- Las Vegas
- Dallas
- Chicago
- New Jersey
- Salt Lake City
- Omaha
- Cleveland
- California
- Nevada
- Greenwich Village
- Berkeley
- Via San Fermo 3
- 103 West 108th Street
- 77th Street
- 57th Street
- Schiermonnikoog
- Vlake
- Zealand
- Pieterburen