Reportage

“Following discussions with Broodthaers, Van den Berghe conceived the idea of bringing together a number of young Belgian artists whose work he admired under the banner of Reportage. In addition to Van den Berghe, Christiaens, and Broodthaers, this group eventually included Dees De Bruyne (1940–1998), Etienne Bertozzi (1926–2019), Frans Van Roosmaelen (1943–2013), Panamarenko (1940–2019), and Jacques Charlier. Their first major achievement as a group was a happening on September 1, 1967, at various public locations in the heart of Brussels. The event served as an announcement for the Modern British Theatre evenings and the Poetic Show, which were held a month later at the Centre for Fine Arts.”

From: https://www.dewitteraaf.be/artikel/naar-de-letter/.

“One of the first projects Roland van den Berghe undertook together with Marcel Broodthaers and several other artists was ‘reportage.’ It was a traveling exhibition that visited various Belgian universities. It was a typical experiment for that time. The focus was not on the artwork as a finished object to be preserved, but on the act itself. Broodthaers, who wrote the catalog text, put it this way: “What connects the participants is the need for communication. What distinguishes this group from many others is the way in which it came into being, namely without the cooperation of any official body. Thus, not the slightest advice was sought or given by the government regarding the appropriateness of this event.” A genuine artists’ protest that fits well within university life during that period.”

From: Aspects of Belgian Art after ’45, Volume 1, Willem Elias, pages 174–175, 2008.