Jan Dibbets recounts the rivalry behind 'Op Losse Schroeven' and 'When Attitudes Become Form'

In a 2009 interview with Lucy Steeds for Afterall's Exhibition Histories series, Dutch artist Jan Dibbets details the parallel development of two landmark 1969 exhibitions: 'Op Losse Schroeven' at the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam and 'When Attitudes Become Form' at Kunsthalle Bern. Dibbets, who studied at St Martin's School of Art in London in 1967, was initially excluded from 'Op Losse Schroeven' by curator Wim Beeren, who had dismissed his work in 1967. However, Harald Szeemann discovered Dibbets in July 1968 while visiting Reinier Lucassen's studio, and after seeing works like 'Perspective Correction' and 'Grass-table', included him in 'When Attitudes Become Form'. Dibbets, along with Ger van Elk and Marinus Boezem, forced Beeren to include them in 'Op Losse Schroeven' by threatening to withdraw. Both exhibitions opened on the same day in 1969, with 'Op Losse Schroeven' preceding 'When Attitudes Become Form' by just over a week. Dibbets contributed the same site-specific work to both: 'Museumsokkel met 4 hoeken van 90 o', for which he dug out the four corners of each building to expose the foundations. He describes Szeemann as more adventurous and inclusive, while Beeren was more scientific and constricted. The interview also covers Dibbets's earlier involvement in a 1967 Frankfurt exhibition organized by Paul Maenz, and the role of Piero Gilardi in uniting artists.