Sonsbeek Park in Arnhem, Netherlands is internationally known for its public sculpture garden exhibitions, a tradition that has taken place since 1949. The sixth edition took place in 1971 and was a turning point, as it exhibited new art with a special emphasis on land art and minimalism. After a fifteen-year hiatus, the seventh edition took place in 1986, where a new generation of artists took over Sonsbeek Park. Both in 1971 and 1986, Cornelis covered the exhibition for VRT, and together the two reports function as a representation of the visual art field’s rapid evolution during the period.

Sonsbeek buiten de perken (1971) (46 min) English subtitles.

Sonsbeek buiten de perken [Sonsbeek, Beyond its Bounds] is a documentary that takes the public sculpture exhibition Sonsbeek from 1971 as a point of departure. The documentary examines the concept of art in an expanded field, more precisely the move from sculpture to a variety of new forms of expression, including land art, conceptual art, process art, minimalism, performance and video art – a development that took place in the late 1960s and well into the 1970s

Spaziergaenger mit hund – Sonsbeek 86 (1986) (30 min) English subtitles.

In the report from Sonsbeek ‘86, we follow a young Chris Dercon as a staged reporter, moving through the park in Arnhem. In this edition of the sculpture exhibition, most of the works – in contrast to earlier editions – are displayed in specially designed glass pavilions. Works by artists such as Robert Smithson, Katharina Fritsch, Marcel Broodthaers, Richard Artschwager, Michael Asher, Panamarenko, Luciano Fabro, Ettore Spaletti, Thomas Schütte, Bruce Nauman, Claes Oldenburg and Rebecca Horn are shown. The report meditates on how the park, not unlike the museum, is a delineated and defined area with cultural codes and norms for the space of art.