Famous internationally for his sculptural texts, seen as works of art independent of whether or not they ever took material form, Lawrence Weiner worked from the early 1970s on the production of films and videos that remain relatively unknown. In 1970, having participated in numerous exhibitions in Europe (Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Switzerland), [1] the artist set up his studio in Amsterdam and began spending his time between the Netherlands and New York. Several pieces from this period, including BEACHED, are set in this geographical context, particularly on the shores of the North Sea.

His first video works were created between 1970 and 1971 in collaboration with the German gallerist and producer Gerry Schum [2] and were broadcast on television [3] before being exhibited in Schum’s gallery in Cologne. In line with Weiner's previous outdoor interventions, [4] known only through photographs, BEACHED is the recording of an action, a simple gesture, performed in front of the camera in five different ways, separated by black fades. Wearing jeans and a T-shirt, he offers five possible ways to extract pieces of driftwood from the North Sea and leave them—beached—on its rugged shores. This was his second video piece, shot just after the first, TO THE SEA/ON THE SEA/FROM THE SEA/AT THE SEA/BORDERING THE SEA [5] in 1970, and before BROKEN OFF, [6] in 1971. These three videos form an ensemble of works that share the same structure: the recording of a simple action by the artist, completed by the reading, in voice-over or on camera, of a protocol. BEACHED is also, and above all, an illustration of what an artwork might be when produced outside the artist’s direct responsibility and control. By showing several possible outcomes of an action, each of which is seen as having the same artistic validity, he was emphasizing the idea that realization is facultative and that a work of art is endlessly reproducible. In 1968, Weiner, who had contributed to the definition of so-called conceptual art in the late 1960s, defined his radical idea of the work of art in his famous declaration of intent, [7] which states that material realization of an artwork is optional, as it exists primarily in language. This video, then, embodies a fully realized form of his new definition of artistic practice, which he announces at the beginning of the work: “[…] The artist may construct a work and/or a work may be fabricated and/or a work need not be built. […] I elected to construct five material possibilities for videotape.” Although it is one of the first material realizations of his new radical definition of what makes a work of art, this video also falls within a broader artistic context that aimed to counter the heroic and mechanistic practices of Land Art. Weiner’s simple, routine gestures, performed with his bare hands, are indeed in stark contrast to the gigantism of what he later dubbed “heavy-metal macho sculpturehood.” [8] The artist thus favored the use of basic actions—economically and environmentally modest but rich in meaning—which, accorded equal artistic status, are all subordinate to the supreme power of language.

Coline Davenne, 2021

Translated by Anne McDowall

[1] Notably “Op losse schroeven/Square Pegs in Round Holes,” March 15 – April 27, 1969, Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, and “When Attitudes Become Form,” March 22, 1969 – April 27, 1969, Kunsthalle Bern, Switzerland.

[2] His “TV-gallery,” the Fernsehgalerie, was operational from 1969 to 1970 on various German television channels. It broadcast, notably, the program Land Art, as well as works by Joseph Beuys, Daniel Buren, Hamish Fulton, and Mario Merz.

[3] “Identifications,” the second “TV-exhibition” by Gerry Schum’s Fernsehgalerie, broadcast on November 30, 1970 on Südwes[4] Notably THE RESIDUE OF A FLARE IGNITED UPON A BOUNDARY, 1968/1969 and A SHALLOW TRENCH DUG FROM HIGH WATER MARK TO LOW WATER MARK UPON A NORTH ATLANTIC BEACH, 1969.

[5] TO THE SEA/ON THE SEA/FROM THE SEA/AT THE SEA/BORDERING THE SEA, 1970, video, black and white, sound, 00:50.

[6] BROKEN OFF, 1971, video, black and white, sound, 01:30, AM 1996-472.

[7] “(1) The artist may construct the piece… (2) The piece may be fabricated. (3) The piece may not be built. [Each being equal and consistent with the intent of the artist, the decision as to condition rests with the receiver upon the occasion of receivership.]” Published for the first time in January 5 – 31 1969, exh. cat. (New York: Seth Siegelaub, 1969), n.p.

[8] Lawrence Weiner in “Early Work, Interview by Lynn Gumpert,” in Lynda Benglis, Joan Brown, Luis Jimenez, Gary Stephan, Lawrence Weiner: Early Work, exh. cat. (New York: The New Museum, 1982), quoted in Gerti Fietzek and Gregor Stemmrich (eds.), Having Been Said: Writings and Interviews of Lawrence Weiner, 1968–2003 (Ostfildern-Ruit: Hantje Cantz, 2004), p. 122.