Robert Jasper Grootveld
Encyclopedia
Robert Jasper Grootveld was a Dutch artist who is best known for his events on the Spui
in Amsterdam
. Grootveld's 'happenings' were a forerunner of the Provo (movement), which he later joined.
From 1964 he staged anti-smoking happenings at the Het Lieverdje ("The Little Darling") statue in Amsterdam, after discovering that it had been donated to the city by a tobacco company. Grootveld would appear at midnight on Saturdays, strangely attired, and dance around the statue in a cloud of his own cigarette smoke, as he called all sorts of incantations. "Uche, uche, uche" and "Klaas komt" were his best known incantations, the last meaning "Klaas is Coming!" became familiar graffiti around the city. At the core of Grootveld's philosophy was the belief that the masses had been brainwashed into becoming a herd of addicted consumers.
Novems, a Dutch subculture, were attracted to the street theatre as were some intellectuals inspired by Grootveld's innovative methods of communicating his message. One in particular, Roel van Duyn, observing the potential of street actions as provocations to alter society,began to distribute a magazine called Provo at these events.
Spui
Spui is a Dutch term meaning a specific type of small sluice used for refreshing the network of waterways in a village or town. It may refer to the following things:*Spui, a river in the Netherlands...
in Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
. Grootveld's 'happenings' were a forerunner of the Provo (movement), which he later joined.
From 1964 he staged anti-smoking happenings at the Het Lieverdje ("The Little Darling") statue in Amsterdam, after discovering that it had been donated to the city by a tobacco company. Grootveld would appear at midnight on Saturdays, strangely attired, and dance around the statue in a cloud of his own cigarette smoke, as he called all sorts of incantations. "Uche, uche, uche" and "Klaas komt" were his best known incantations, the last meaning "Klaas is Coming!" became familiar graffiti around the city. At the core of Grootveld's philosophy was the belief that the masses had been brainwashed into becoming a herd of addicted consumers.
Novems, a Dutch subculture, were attracted to the street theatre as were some intellectuals inspired by Grootveld's innovative methods of communicating his message. One in particular, Roel van Duyn, observing the potential of street actions as provocations to alter society,began to distribute a magazine called Provo at these events.