RKD STUDIES

Click here for the table of contents of the archive

2.1 Summary of the content of the archive
2.2 Selection
2.3 System of arrangment
2.4 Explanation of methods used

2.1 Summary of the content of the archive

The archive contains correspondence with private individuals, companies, galleries, museums and other art institutions at home and abroad. For each artist, there are files with correspondence, administrative data on works of art, documents concerning finances and exhibitions, originals, notes, photographs and (press) documentation material. There are letters, invitations and other documents (sent) from various national and international artists. It also contains archive material on the organisation and establishment, housing and documents on various activities of the gallery. In addition to all printed invitations, announcements and publications, the archive also contains preparatory material for printed matter and original work supplied by artists for bulletins and booklets. It includes photographs and slides of artworks, set-ups, interior and exterior photographs, portrait photographs and photographs (including 'snapshots') of various occasions. Realia and curiosities have also been preserved. These are materials, originating from artists and Art & Project, that were used for exhibitions or projects and for the ins and outs of the gallery. Archive documents from the personal lives of Geert van Beijeren and Adriaan van Ravesteijn are also included in the Art & Project archive. Documents concerning the art collection (Collection Art &Project/Depot VBVR) and the library with artists' books, monographs, catalogues, magazines from the Netherlands and abroad, are also part of this rich archive.

Dating
The Art & Project archive covers the years 1968-2001 (year of founding and closure of the gallery). There is also a personal archive section from before, during and after the Art & Project period, making the entire archive cover the period 1952 to 2014.

Size
The archive is about 75 metres in size.

2.2 Selection

By de-duplicating mainly documentation, small print (mailing) and inserting material, as well as by repackaging parts of the archive more efficiently, the number of metres on the shelf has become considerably less than before the inventory. The archivists made their own selections. From one year, 1989, almost everything down to the smallest receipt was kept and also included in the archive. During the inventory, a few magazines and catalogues, such as those of the KunstRAI, were removed from the boxes with photocopies in their place. These are copies that do not contain personal notes and have no added value to be kept in that place, but take up a lot of space. They are in the in the library of the RKD.

2.3 System of arrangment

The artists form the core of the archive. The arrangement is therefore largely alphabetical by name of the artist. This applies to correspondence, files with archival documents and documentation, photo files, work supplied for the bulletins and other original and special material. The correspondence with private individuals, galleries, museums and various cultural institutions is also arranged alphabetically by person's name, name of the institution or place name. An exception is the series of correspondence with domestic museums. The order here is chronological. Series and collection descriptions in the finance section also have a chronological order.

The original material supplied by the artists - in preparation for the bulletins - is arranged by artist with the relevant numbers of the bulletins behind them. Material for the booklets published by Art& Project are also listed here by artist. A complete listing of all published bulletins from 1-156 is housed in six binders (inv. nos. 642-646). A complete set of 'mailing' containing all 'art & project' invitations, announcements and removal notices, is arranged chronologically. A separate set concerns invitations outside the main location: Finsterwolde (Galerie Waalkens), Antwerp (MTL) and Planciusstraat (Depot) (inv. nos. 825-826, 830).

Personal life and working life for the gallery are intertwined. This is also visible in the archive. Art & Project's history is reflected not only in the archive, but also in the artworks collected by Van Beijeren and Van Ravesteijn, Art & Project Collection / Depot VBVR.

2.4 Explanation of methods used

In 2001, the first inventory work at the RKD was carried out by Tiny de Boer. As archivist at the IISH, she was temporarily seconded to the RKD. The inventory was then taken over by Lidy Visser. The inventory was worked on intermittently, with the early years and especially the last years of transfer being the most intensive.
The archive and library were mainly transferred to the RKD in flat archive boxes of small, medium and large size, provided with labels described in black felt-tip pen and an art & project sticker. Here and there, boxes were replaced by new blue acid-free boxes. This because of more efficient storage or because the boxes themselves needed replacing.

The arrangement made by the archive creators was maintained in the inventory. Thus, the correspondence with private individuals and companies contains two series, which overlap in terms of dating. It was decided to leave the arrangement as it was and not to transfer all correspondence up to 1979 to the first series. The same applies to correspondence with galleries and other cultural institutions. The incoming letters and postcards, inventory numbers 201 to 205, have not (yet) been arranged and are marked by the archive creator as more one-off 'blanks' than real correspondence. The dating of the correspondence concerns the Art & Project period with sometimes a run-out of a few years afterwards. Letters and e-mails of later date can be found in the Art & Project section after 2001 or filed in the personal archive.

Boxes of archive and documentation material have been formed for each artist. Galerie (Riekje) Swart, Galerie Plus-Kern, Video Gallery Gerry Schum and Seth Siegelaub each also have their own files. The order and arrangement found within the files has been maintained; what was together in folders or binders has been kept together and repackaged in acid-free covers. There are folders with correspondence (personal and business), documents in preparation for exhibitions, forms with artwork registration, documents concerning finances. There is not always a clear order or logical arrangement. For example, records in different covers overlap. Traces of reuse of the archive in the dynamic phase with photocopies and (draft) notes can be found in the files. Sometimes stray pieces, which obviously belong together, have been merged by the inventor. This was done only in cases where it was an orderly operation and, without risk of losing context, improved the situation. Documentation, especially incoming small printed matter, was mostly stored in separate folders and covers.

Contacts with artists (or their families) remained even after Art & Project ended. This is visible in the artists' files. Letters received from and about artists, and especially documentation sent after 2001, have been added inside the files of the artists concerned. A separate series with archival documents and documentation from after 2001 was not chosen here. This additional material, including pieces originating from the Art & Project period, was mostly arranged by Adriaan in cut-open envelopes with notes and packed in boxes labelled 'transit'.
The Incoming Letters and Documentation section also contains correspondence and documentation from artists at home and abroad. Original and special material largely belongs to the artists' files. For example, there are floor plans, sketches, etc., which have a direct relationship with exhibitions and other activities of Art & Project. There are also original pieces that are more personal in nature, including by artists whose material is not otherwise present in the archive.

The visual material of artworks are arranged by artist and are also part of the artist files. Within the files, this is a rough arrangement. In terms of description and dating, there is certainly room for improvement. Photographs, slides and ektas of works of art and installations were commissioned by Art & Project and taken by professional photographers, including Cor van Weele, Thijs Quispel and Tom Haartsen. Some files also include photographs of artworks sent or brought in by the artist, gallery or museum. They may also contain colour photographs (mostly snapshots) of (studio) visits and other occasions. Of particular note are the small black-and-white minox prints, made by Art & Project itself. Here and there, they can be found among archival documents in the artists' files. The photographs are packed in folders with photo archive paper. The slides and ektas are stored in separate secol sleeves: framed slides in a hanging system and ektas in a landscape browsing system. The audiovisual material is also described in the inventory and will be further reviewed for digitisation.

Realia and curiosities are housed in a separate subsection. Various packaging materials originating from artists, have also been preserved. The documentation and other material section also covers subjects other than Art & Project. The collection of publications from the 1960s offers a nice snapshot of the time around the early days of the gallery. The description of this collection can be found in the Appendix of this inventory. It belongs to the personal part of the archive. The descriptions of the pieces from the personal life and the activities of the gallery, are also within the inventory, not strictly separated from each other.

Both Adriaan and Geert held other positions besides Art & Project. Records concerning Geert's public functions are described in a separate section in the personal archive. Adriaan's ancillary positions and activities can be found elsewhere in the inventory, including inventory numbers 794 to 799 and 1148. Also described in the personal archive are some loose documents concerning their activities as art collectors. The archive documents and documentation relating to Collection Art & Project / Depot VBVR , is housed in a separate section.

Unused inventory numbers are: 190, 385, 459, 1551-1554, 648-650
*Further entries: These are mainly lists of further descriptions of photographs (snapshots). These lists are with the photographs in the boxes and will still be added to the inventory as appendices. The collection of posters has been stored in poster folders in a still random arrangement. A provisional list of all descriptions is present and retrievable.
The artists' books, monographs, catalogues and periodicals have been transferred to the RKD in numbered, horizontal archive boxes labelled 'Library'. The artists' books have been described in the library's database, RKD-Library, and have a location at the archive. A complete list and an essay on this collection can be found here. The other part of the library is also described in the library's database with indication of provenance, Archive Art & Project (possible search term in RKD-Library: provenance archive Art & Project).

Click here for the table of contents of the archive