Catalogue Tapijt te Huur, Museum Hedendaagse Kunst Utrecht, 1974.

Postcard De Adresbeweging, Ellen Sragow LTD., from Roland Van den Berghe to Karel Geirlandt, 1977. Archive Toni Geirlandt.

Photo low overshoes, 1972. Photographer unknown.

Photo “feather holder Smithsonian Museum of the American Indian”. Photographer unknown.

The Address Movement

“As an annex to these bomb projects, Van den Berghe carried out an ‘address movement’ on 18 January 1973. At 10 o’clock in the morning, he sent a letter from Strasbourg to ‘Mr. Richard M. Nixon, The President of U.S.A., 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington, D.C., U.S.A. 20500,’ along with ‘two new overshoes for a president.’

On the overshoes (symbolizing both protection and concealment—an emblem of diplomacy!), he glued feathers, carving notches into them in a manner reminiscent of how Native Americans once did, transforming them into bomb-like shapes. The exterior of the shoes was then laminated. Later, he had multiple pairs of these shoes produced.

Photo boots De Adresbeweging, shop window Fred de la Bretoniere, 1976. Photographer unknown.

As the return address, he used: Poste Restante, 1211 Geneva 10, 1 Mt Blanc. Van den Berghe never received a reply. He deliberately chose this Strasbourg-Geneva-Washington triangle, referencing the values these cities represent. In matters of warfare, Nixon seems to have forgotten that Strasbourg and Geneva exist.”

Translated from the Dutch text: 1974, Catalog of the exhibition Tapijt te Huur, Museum Hedendaagse Kunst, Utrecht.

Text wrapping paper boots De Adresbeweging, 1976.

Timeline

1972
Production of low overshoes by Roland Van den Berghe.

1973
On 18 January, Roland Van den Berghe sends a pair of shoes from Strasbourg to President Nixon in Washington. As the sender’s address, the following Geneva address is used: Poste Restante 1211, Mt Blanc, Geneva.

1974
On 21 January, the leaflet Address Movement: 2 New Overshoes for a President is printed in an edition of 365 copies for public distribution by Nieuwscentrum Antheneum, Amsterdam.

1976
The Overshoes for a President are produced in a fashionable version designed by the artist, manufactured by Fred de la Bretonière in an edition of 300 pairs, and presented in De la Bretonière stores in Amsterdam and Paris.

1977
A second series of 120 numbered boots is printed, handcrafted by the artist himself for the exhibition at Ellen Sragow.

1977
Address Campaign exhibition, Ellen Sragow Gallery L.T.D., Fine Arts Building, New York.

1981
On 16 August, the ‘final response from the president’ appears in the form of a print, in an edition of 26 copies.

1984
Other Wargames exhibition at The Pentonville Gallery, London. The project is presented here in its final form.

Photo overshoes published in Tapijt te Huur, Museum Hedendaagse Kunst Utrecht, 1974. Photographer unknown.